Modified Division (1947–1984) The NASCAR Modified Division was formed as part of NASCAR's creation in December 1947. NASCAR held a modified race as its first sanctioned event, on February 15, 1948, on the beach course at Daytona Beach, Florida.
Red Byron won the event and 11 more races that year, and won the first NASCAR Modified Championship. (The Strictly Stock Division, which evolved into today's premier Cup Series, did not race until 1949.) Post-
World War II modifieds were a form of "stock car" (contrasted against purpose-built
AAA championship cars, sprints, and midgets) which allowed some modification, typically substitution of stronger truck parts. Most cars were pre-WWII coupes and coaches. This pattern continued through the 1960s, with aftermarket performance parts and later-model chassis (such as the 1955–57 Chevrolet's frame) becoming more common. Modifieds became known for technical innovation, both in homebuilt parts and in adapting components from other types of vehicles. By 1970, many modifieds featured big-block engines, fuel injection, eighteen-inch-wide rear tires, radically offset engine locations, and other technologies that made them faster on short tracks than any full-bodied race cars including Grand National cars. The predecessor to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was NASCAR's National Modified Championship, which was determined by total points from weekly NASCAR-sanctioned races as well as a schedule of national championship races. Parts of the northeastern and southeastern US were hotbeds of modified racing in the 1950s and 1960s; some racers competed five nights per week or more. Often the same car was raced on both dirt and paved tracks, changing only tires and perhaps springs and shock absorbers. For
2017,
Bristol and
Charlotte were brought over in the merger and
Myrtle Beach was added to start the season. During the 2017 season,
Ted Christopher died in a plane crash near
North Branford on September 16 enroute to race at a tour event that night at
Riverhead Raceway. The car owner later dropped out of the event and Christopher was credited with a Did Not Start and last place position. Christopher was honored during the next race held at
New Hampshire with a decal displayed on the cars and with
Woody Pitkat driving Ted Christopher's modified.
Stafford Motor Speedway retired his number 13 from its weekly modified racing.
2018 line up in the garage before the
Musket 250 at
New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The NASCAR
Cup Series and
Truck Series dropped a race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in favor of
Las Vegas. New Hampshire replaced the series with the "Full Throttle Weekend", with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Musket 250. It became the longest race on the tour (250 laps, ). The weekend also featured the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East with the Apple Barrel 125 (which featured a driver from the
Euro series and another from the
Mexico series, and, for the first time since its formation in 2007, a
NASCAR Pinty's Series race outside of Canada (the Granite 100).
2019 For 2019, the tour went back to
South Boston for the first time since the merger of the northern tour and the
southern tour. Beginning with 2019, all NASCAR modified events will be live on Fanschoice.tv.
2020 The
2020 season was one of constant change, as the planned season was temporarily put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many races were postponed or cancelled, while others were added to help fill the schedule. Justin Bonsignore, on the strength of 3 wins, won the championship. Jennerstown returned to the Tour for the first time in 2006, hosting two races, while New Hampshire's White Mountain Motorsports Park hosted back-to-back races that were the WMT's first ever visit to the beautiful bullring in White Mountains. 6 time champion
Doug Coby saw his Mike Smeriglio III Racing team close as Smeriglio chose to retire after a very successful career. Coby would form his own team in partnership with Steve Pickens, scoring one win at WMMP. Jon Mckennedy showed great speed on his way to second in points driving for
Tommy Baldwin Racing, while
Craig Lutz had a breakout year scoring wins at Jennerstown and Thompson.
2021 2021 saw the WMT return to two popular southern venues in
Martinsville Speedway and
Richmond Raceway, as well as an additional race at both
Oswego Speedway and
Riverhead Raceway. Lancaster Raceway and
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway also made their returns after long stretches without WMT races. Patrick Emerling proved a worthy competitor to Justin Bonsignore, as the two ran head to head right down to the wire at the final race of the season at
Stafford Speedway. Bonsignore would celebrate a long awaited win at the storied CT race track as he clinched the 2021 title on the strength of 2 wins. Cup series regular
Ryan Preece would have a solid year, scoring wins at New Hampshire, Stafford, and Richmond. Tragically his car owner Eddie Partridge would pass away in the hours after the win at Richmond. The loss was huge for the modified racing community, as Partridge was one of the strongest supporters of modifieds over the years, fielding cars in many series, as well as saving the Riverhead Raceway. Doug Coby made a bold move to miss the first race at Oswego to run in the inaugural
Superstar Racing Experience race at Stafford - a move that proved fruitful as he would go on to beat the star studded field in front of a live national TV audience. The win parlayed Coby to his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck series start, scoring a 12th place finish at Bristol driving the
GMS Racing 24 truck. A large story line was the absence of any races at the fabled
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. After being on the WMT schedule every year since the tours inception in 1985, the managing partners of the speedway decided to hold open tour type modified races instead. This did not prove popular amongst fans and teams alike, however TSMP returned to the WMT schedule for the 2022 season. ==The cars==