Weekly Tour Mods???

[Fkraft99]

I see Thompson added 4 35 lap tour type mod shows to their Thurs night program in place of the Super Late Models. Wonder what that could mean for the future.

[Howie]

The time may be right to try weekly modifieds again, and if these 4 shows (June 3, July 1, Aug 5 and Sept 2) are successful, I wouldn't be surprised to see Don give it a try next year.

[BigMac]

I like the idea but I'll be interested in seeing what kind of fields shows up. Tour types generally don't show for these kind of events if there aren't points on the line. Kills me to say it but its been the trend for a while now.

[mattphoto]

I hope this works out for Thompson. That's pretty cool what their doing

[Teds Race Tours]

I especially like the back to back Modified Races at Thompson(open) and Stafford(WMT). I can not remember the last time than was scheduled. Thats pretty much a no brainer weekend for me and my friends.

[MJProcko]

If they pay a reasonable purse then they'll show up as will the crowds, but they've establised that the modifieds will race for a tiny purse for 75 laps thanx to the TVers. But it's a great idea!

Although 50 laps would have been a better choice IMHO. Another good idea might be to pay a small point fund for the top 5 cars from all the mod events combined (include the WMT & MRS) to guarentee some of the heavy hitters at all the events.

[Jaws]

This is a very good sign for the long term health of the mods. More races more cars, more fans, more exsposure.

I know we have lost weekly mods at Lancaster and Spencer but are adding more races here in the Northeast, plus Shangra La II is running weekly.

[Bobby1717]

What current teams do you think will show up for these events? I'm thinking there would be more MRS teams then WMT. From the tour I was thinking E. Goodale, Silk, and Pennick just b/c they run weekly there

Also, do you think any WMT would use this as a test session instead of actually racing. Would any guys sit a full straight away back and run there own race to test some set ups and avoid wrecking there car.

How much money if any would a team save if they ran weekly compared to running a full tour. That saying there was a half way decent purse. I figure they would save a lot of money on tires (if there was a tire rule), overnight travel expenses.

If a track (for example Thompson) offered 4,000 to the winner of an open mod series on a weekly basis. (Just like Williamsgrove this year for the 410 sprints). Do you think the tour would collapse and the teams would run the weekly series instead?

[Muffy]

Based on the WMT and MRS schedules, this is what I figure for the 4 "Open Compeition Tour Type modified shows"....

1st race on June 3rd -
-WMT- guys who don't plan to go to Martinsville on the 6th may show
-MRS- will be at Twin State the next day on the 4th, so I doubt point chasers or regular competitiors will show

2nd race on July 1st -
-WMT- at NHMS on June 26th and then Lyme Rock on July 3rd...doubt 3 races in 8 days is doable for most of them, but some may skip The Rock.
-MRS- at Monadnock on the 3rd, so again I doubt point chasers or regular competitiors will show there either

3rd race on Aug. 5th
-WMT- at Stafford the next day -- doubt any will show
-MRS- at Beech Ridge 2 days later. Doubt anyone will skip that.

4th race on Sept 2nd-
-WMT- no shows for a month between Bristol Aug 18th and NHMS Sept. 18th, so I bet most will show, possibly with backup cars.
-MRS- at Waterford 2 days later, so I doubt anyone will show.

These guesses are all based on the fact that the Tour Type shows are only 35 laps and appear to be open competition (whatever that means anymore) and they are on Thursday nights. Some guys who run a little of everything might show, like guys from Monadnock, Riverhead and places like that that run Tour Type Mods on a weekly basis. Also, you may get guys showing up from the MRS that are only doing a partial schedule for $$$ reasons or just choose not to run certain MRS events.

Either way, I love the idea, but wish the lap count was higher to like 50-75 laps. I think that would entice more competitiors to show... that and the purse - whatever it is.

[MOD11RACER]

It's time to try it. Thompson's weekly show is dying the SK car count is at about 16 and not growing and the Super Late Models are dead. The speedway has to do something to fix the weekly shows or it is headed to a special events only track. JMO

Bring back the Modifieds to run weekly or bi-weekly @ Thompson. If they pay a good purse this will be successful with car counts and more fans in the seats and Thompson is the track that can do it. Just look at the crowds @ the WMT and MRS events. This is what the Real Modified fan really wants to be able to see. The Modifieds racing @ Thompson in a good old 35 lap race.

The purse will dictate how many teams will attend. Pay $5,000 to win and $500 to start and it will be successful.

[MJProcko]

"The purse will dictate how many teams will attend. Pay $5,000 to win and $500 to start and it will be successful."

Nice thought and would be nice but they don't even want to pay that for the WMT races. They pay 1400 for the 30 lap SK and 1800 for 50 laps, I think I remember reading it paid 1800 for the MRS race so don't expect to see more than that. I tried to find what the TVers paid but they never advertise the purse or list it in the results from what I can find.