NASCAR Whelan Modifieds invade Wall

WALL TOWNSHIP - The Thunder at the Shore Weekend's headlining NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race may determine whether Wall Township Speedway regulars have a home track advantage here Sunday.

John Blewett III, of Howell, says having the Whelen Tour stop here is a plus for him and those more familiar to Wall's banked, paved one-third-mile oval. The reigning Wall Whelen All-American Series modified track champion won the inaugural tour stop here June 28, 2003. He also won three Tour races at Stafford, Conn., and Loudon, N.H., last year.

"We love having the tour modifies at Wall," said Blewett. "We get to stay home and let the others have to travel."

Blewett and brother Jimmy are coming off respective 29th- and fourth-place finishes in the April 22 Tour season opener at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway. Both Blewetts led parts of the Icebreaker 150, but John bowed to a radiator problem on lap 118.

Tour sophomore James Civali, of Meriden, Conn., won his second career race. Reggie Ruggiero, of Rocky Hill, Conn., may well disagree with "JBIII." The 44-time Tour feature winner won the June 26, 2004, edition after a last-lap collision with Ken Barry of Griswold, Conn. The victory was Ruggiero's first for Lakewood car owner Dick Barney. Toms River's Tim Arre finished third as best of the seven local drivers who started that race. Ruggiero was placed 23rd in the April 22 Icebreaker after a lap-143 collision. Ruggiero and Civali are to be joined by fellow Wall "invaders" Ted Christopher, Mike Stefanik, Bobby Santos III and Eric Beers.

Those defending Wall honor with the Blewetts Sunday include Jamie Tomaino and Rowan Pennink. Tomaino, of Howell, won 29 Wall WAAS modified mains before going on the Tour. Pennink, of Huntington Valley, Pa., is aiming for WMT's Rookie of the Year title. There are several Garden State natives on the Tour who are less familiar at Wall. Billy Pauch Jr., of Frenchtown, Danny Sammons, of Trenton, and Anthony Sesley, of Matawan, are among these "Jersey Boys."

WTS will be the first track to have the Whelen Tour's flash format: two 50-lap heats followed by a 50-lap feature. The American Three-Quarter Midget Racing Association is to visit, and Wall's street stocks complete the May 6 program. Gates open at 10 a.m.