NASCAR SOUTHERN MODS, BUSCH EAST ADD EVENTS

After four races, defending champion Junior Miller, of Pine Hall, N.C., leads the Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship point standings, by a 54-point margin (675-621) over L.W. Miller, of Mooresville, N.C. (no relation). Tim Brown, of Cana, Va., sits third in the standings, 60 points behind Junior Miller.

The Whelen Southern Modified Tour returns to action Fri., June 30 at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C.

NASCAR has also announced that the NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch East Series will compete at the Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway on Thursday, June 29, as part of a doubleheader with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Both touring series will contest 100 lap feature events that evening in addition to Thompson's regular Thursday night NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series program.

The Busch East Series, formerly known as the Busch North Series, has appeared at Thompson 22 times since 1988, making the Hoenig family's high-banked 5/8-mile track third in seniority on the series schedule. Eddie MacDonald is the defending event winner.

The Thompson race will wrap up a busy month of June for the Busch East Series, which opens its season at Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway on Saturday, June 10, followed by traditional dates at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway on Friday, June 16, and Holland (N.Y.) International Speedway on Saturday, June 24.

Two events have been added to the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour schedule, bringing the Tour’s total schedule to 13 championship points races this season. Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway will host the Tour on Sat., Sept. 30, while Southern National Raceway Park, in Kenly, N.C., has added a Whelen Southern Modified Tour race on Sat., Oct. 7.

According to NASCAR Director of Regional Racing Development Don Hawk, the addition of these two races is another indication of the popularity of this new Tour.

“It’s hard to believe the Whelen Southern Modified Tour has only been sanctioned by NASCAR for just over one year,” said Hawk. “Our teams, tracks, fans and sponsors have responded in such a positive manner that it seems like the Tour has been part of the NASCAR family for many years. It’s been a great success and adding two more dates to the schedule will only make the 2006 championship race more exciting.”

REVISED 2006 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Schedule

Sat., March 25 – Caraway Speedway, Asheboro, N.C. (Winner: Ted Christopher)

Sat., April 8 – Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Greenville, S.C. (Winner: Junior Miller)

Sat., April 15 – Caraway Speedway, Asheboro, N.C. (Winner: Junior Miller)

Sat., April 22 – Motor Mile Speedway, Radford, Va. (Winner: L.W. Miller)

Fri., June 30 – Caraway Speedway, Asheboro, N.C.

Sat., Aug. 5 – Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem, N.C.

Sat., Sept. 2* – Martinsville (Va.) Speedway

Sat., Sept. 9 – Caraway Speedway, Asheboro, N.C.

Fri., Sept. 15 – Ace Speedway, Altamahaw, N.C.

Sat., Sept. 23 – Caraway Speedway, Asheboro, N.C.

Sat., Sept. 30 – Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway

Sat., Oct. 7 – Southern National Raceway Park, Kenly, N.C.

Sat., Oct. 14 – Motor Mile Speedway, Radford, Va.

REVISED 2006 NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch East Series Schedule

Sat., June 10 - Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Greenville, S.C., 150 laps

Fri., June 16 - Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford Springs, Conn., 150 laps

Sat., June 24 - Holland (N.Y.) International Speedway, 150 laps

Thurs., June 29 - Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway, 100 laps

Sat., July 8 - Lake Erie Speedway, North East, Pa., 150 laps

Fri., July 14 - New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon, N.H., 125 laps

Sat., July 29 - Adirondack International Speedway, Beaver Falls, N.Y., 150 laps

Sat., Aug. 19 - Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl, 150 laps

Sat., Sept. 16 - New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon, N.H., 125 laps

Fri., Sept. 22 - Dover (Del.) International Speedway, 150 laps

Sat., Sept. 30 - Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Conn., 82 laps