{"id":158587,"date":"2025-08-19T14:29:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/158587\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T14:29:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:29:12","slug":"nascar-unveils-40-greatest-whelen-modified-tour-drivers-in-celebration-of-series-40th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/158587\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR unveils 40 greatest Whelen Modified Tour drivers in celebration of series\u2019 40th anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASCAR capped off a season-long celebration of the Whelen Modified Tour\u2019s 40th anniversary by unveiling its complete list of the 40 greatest drivers in series history.<\/p>\n

The unranked list, revealed in groups throughout the year, honors the drivers who have defined the modern era of the Tour since its launch in 1985. It includes legends of the past, championship mainstays, and current stars who continue to shape the future of the series.<\/p>\n

Headlining the selections are NASCAR Hall of Famers Mike Stefanik and Richie Evans. Stefanik holds the record for the most Whelen Modified Tour wins (74) and championships (seven), while Evans won the inaugural modern-era championship in 1985 and captured eight titles during the earlier NASCAR Modified National Championship era.<\/p>\n

Six-time champion Doug Coby also earned his place on the list, having collected 35 Tour victories and notched wins in 13 consecutive seasons from 2011 through 2024. Current Cup Series driver Ryan Preece, the 2013 champion, is among the final group announced this week. Preece has 26 Tour wins to his name.<\/p>\n

The Hirschman family is represented by the father-son duo of Tony and Matt Hirschman. Tony captured five championships and 35 wins, while Matt has tallied 10 Tour victories, including a win earlier this season at Seekonk Speedway.<\/p>\n

NASCAR officials said the list reflects both the heritage and the ongoing vitality of the Tour. \u201cThese drivers are heroes at their local tracks and have made a name for themselves on a national level,\u201d said Joseph Dennewitz, NASCAR\u2019s managing director of regional racing.<\/p>\n

Jimmy Wilson, senior technical director of NASCAR Regional, added: \u201cThis list represents the best NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers of the past and also highlights the incredible talent currently on track in the Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here is the full list of the 40 greatest Whelen Modified Tour drivers, in alphabetical order:<\/p>\n

Wayne Anderson
Tom Baldwin
Jimmy Blewett
John Blewett III
Justin Bonsignore
Ted Christopher
Doug Coby
Tim Connolly
Patrick Emerling
Richie Evans
Mike Ewanitsko
Ed Flemke Jr.
Jeff Fuller
Rick Fuller
Eric Goodale
Doug Heveron
Matt Hirschman
Tony Hirschman
Chuck Hossfeld
Charlie Jarzombek
George Kent Jr.
Jan Leaty
Donny Lia
Jerry Marquis
Jon McKennedy
Mike McLaughlin
Steve Park
Rowan Pennink
Woody Pitkat
Ryan Preece
Brian Ross
Reggie Ruggiero
Bobby Santos III
Ron Silk
Timmy Solomito
Mike Stefanik
Todd Szegedy
Jamie Tomaino
Satch Worley
Jimmy Spencer<\/p>\n

Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox each morning.\u00a0Sign up for our Morning Edition to start your day<\/a>. FL1 on the Go! Download the free FingerLakes1.com App for iOS (iPhone, iPad)<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

FingerLakes1.com is the region\u2019s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASCAR capped off a season-long celebration of the Whelen Modified Tour\u2019s 40th anniversary by unveiling its complete list…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":158588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[1406,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-158587","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-nascar","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115055910239465775","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}