No Open Doors At Lime Rock Park For the Whelen Modified Tour

With a dwindling base of short tracks looking to host major touring events, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has seen their event schedule pared down over the past decade to a select few tracks.

The Modified Tour visits 8 tracks this season as part of a 16 race schedule. That schedule includes 5 events at Thompson International Speedway and 4 events at Stafford Motor Speedway.

Getting the tour to new venues is something first year series director Chad Little said recently was one of his goals.

But one place that can be scratched of the list of possibilities is Lime Rock Park in Salisbury.

The NASCAR Camping World East Series has been competing at the track for more than 10 years and is scheduled to run there Aug. 16. Modifieds have been tested at the track in the past and there have been issues in some areas about how viable the cars would be on the 1.53-mile layout. There had been some speculation that the new layout of the track, which was formally introduced by Lime Rock owner Skip Barber on Thursday, could open the door for the Modified Tour at the facility.

But Barber said Thursday it’s not something he expects, but not because he doesn’t think the cars would be safe at the track.

“We’ve [tested] Modifieds twice and boy they looked great,” Barber said. “It’s not a big purse to have Modifieds, but they don’t have a big following. They have a very loyal, very small following. It’s great racing in New England. It would look wonderful out there, but we would go broke.”

Shawn Courchesne, 1:47 p.m.

Comments

[Brian]

That Sucks!

[Mike]

Skip,
If you don't go broke on the Busch North... East... Camping East or whatever they are calling it this year you can afford the Whelen Modified Tour. Nascar needs to piggy back them with the Modifieds at Stafford just to get them a television crowd(yet will not show the same day modified race on TV). So save the rhetoric for ever dwindling wine and cheese crowd that frequents your facility.

[ray cote]

Lets see, I cannot count the number of times I have gone to STAFFORD, THOMPSON and WATERFORD whether or not the MODIFIED TOUR was there. I also cannot count the times I was at LIME ROCK, because I was NEVER THERE ! As Mike said, take your wine
(whine) and cheese, and I'll throw in a loaf of round bread, so Mr Barber can STUFF IT !