This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2017) |
Category | Stock car racing |
---|---|
Country | United States Canada |
Inaugural season | 1982 |
Drivers' champion | Connor Hall |
Makes' champion | Toyota |
Official website | Weekly Racing Series |
The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (formerly the Whelen All-American Series,Winston Racing Series and the Dodge Weekly Series) is a points championship for NASCAR sanctioned local short track motor racing around the United States and Canada.
In the 42 years of NASCAR sanctioning weekly racing for a national championship, the tracks have been split, initially by geographical proximity of the tracks for purposes of developing regional champions, then randomly among four divisions and currently by states that have tracks participating.
The series began as the NASCAR Winston Racing Series in 1982 as weekly, local track racing sanctioned by NASCAR. Due to restrictions imposed by the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, Winston's sponsorship was replaced by Dodge in 2001 (coinciding with their re-entry to the Cup Series that year), lasting until 2006. Whelen Engineering picked up the sponsorship in 2007, renaming it the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. For the 2010 season, NASCAR lowered the age minimum for its weekly racing series from 16 to 14.
In 2005 the Weekly Series became the first NASCAR-sanctioned series to have a permanent presence outside of the United States, as tracks in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Delaware, Ontario, and Wetaskiwin, Alberta, elected to be represented in the series.
Advance Auto Parts assumed naming rights for the series on June 10, 2020. [1]
Under the original regional format (1982–2004), a competition performance index (CPI) was used to determine the regional and national championships. The complicated CPI used four factors — winning percentage (feature wins / feature starts), top fives (top five finishes / feature starts available at tracks), car counts (track's average car count / highest average car count of track in a region) and starts (features driver started / feature starts available at the track). With the change to the divisional format in 2005 along came a more simplified point system. The system awarded two points per position in the feature event, with a maximum of 25 cars starting and 50 points going to the winner. If more than 25 cars started, two points were awarded from 26th place on back. Bonus points were also awarded to each driver starting a feature — 20 points for at least 21 cars starting, 10 points for 15 to 20 cars starting, and none for less than 15 cars starting. The same system was used when the change to the state format took place in 2007, but the bonus points were reduced to just five points for the feature winner. In 2010 the maximum was dropped to 20 cars starting and 40 points going to the winner. For the 2014 season the maximum cars starting was dropped to 18 resulting in 36 points for the winner. Bonus points for the feature winner was also changed to three points if the winner started in a single-digit position (i.e., fifth) or five points if the winner had a double-digit starting position (i.e., 12th).
What cars are used to score points in the weekly series is up to the discretion of the individual participating tracks, within Weekly Series guidelines. As of 2005, sportsman, two classes of pavement Late Model chassis (Super Late Models, which have offset chassis, and Late Models, which have perimeter chassis), pavement Modifieds (both the "Tour Type" and the SK formula), dirt Modifieds and Late Models, and street stocks, super stocks are considered eligible categories. Participating tracks are all short tracks, ranging from 1/4 mile to 5/8 mile; most are paved, but a significant number of dirt tracks also participate.
Richard Ernest Evans, was an American racing driver who won nine NASCAR National Modified Championships, including eight in a row from 1978 to 1985. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame lists this achievement as "one of the supreme accomplishments in motorsports". Evans won virtually every major race for asphalt modifieds, most of them more than once, including winning the Race of Champions three times. Evans was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 14, 2011. As one of the Class of 2012, Evans was one of the Hall's first 15 inductees, and was the first Hall of Famer from outside the now NASCAR Cup Series.
Myrtle Beach Speedway, was a short track located on U.S. Route 501 near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The track was built in 1958.
Concord Speedway was a motorsports facility located in the town of Midland, North Carolina, southeast of Concord, North Carolina. The complex featured a 1⁄2-mile asphalt tri-oval and a 1⁄4-mile asphalt oval.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) is a modified stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR in the Modified Division. The Modified Division is NASCAR's oldest division, and is the only open-wheeled division that NASCAR sanctions. NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events are mainly held in the northeastern United States, but the 2007 and 2008 tours expanded to the Midwest with the addition of a race in Mansfield, Ohio. The tour races primarily on short oval paved tracks, but the NWMT also has made appearances at larger ovals and road courses.
Jennerstown Speedway Complex is a racetrack in Jennerstown, Pennsylvania. Built on land that was once home to the Jenners Fair the track had its start in the 1920s as a flat, half-mile dirt track. After several changes, advancements and owners the track closed in 2009 until early 2014 when it was reopened. It is a NASCAR certified track, racing greats such as Dale Earnhardt, Sterling Marlin, Ken Schrader, and Darrell Waltrip.
Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway is a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) oval speedway located on CA 43 just off Interstate 5 in Bakersfield, Kern County, California, United States. Opened in 2013, it was built as a replacement for Mesa Marin Raceway.
The Southern Modified Auto Racing Teams (SMART) Tour is a Modified stock car racing series racing in the Southeastern region of The United States. The series began in 1989, NASCAR took over the series in 2005. During its time as a NASCAR sanctioned series it followed identical regulations to the Northern NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
The Oswego Speedway is a 5/8 mile race track in Oswego, New York. It was built in 1951 and was paved with asphalt since the 1952. The track has held dates on several national tours - the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, ASA National Tour, and USAC Silver Crown Series. It was temporarily covered with dirt in 2016 when it held it's first Super DIRTcar Series race. Super DIRT week has been held at Oswego Speedway since then with the exception of 2020. The track is the Labor Day Weekend home of the 200-lap, non-wing, big-block supermodified Budweiser Classic and Race of Champions.
New Smyrna Speedway is a 1/2-mile asphalt oval racetrack located near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that races the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series every Saturday night. It also has a smaller track, known as "Little New Smyrna Speedway" in the infield. This track races quarter midgets on Friday nights.
A late model car is a term used to describe an automobile which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model.
There has been auto racing in Illinois for almost as long as there have been automobiles. Almost every type of motorsport found in the United States can be found in Illinois. Both modern and historic tracks exist in Illinois, including NASCAR's Chicagoland Speedway and Gateway International Speedway. Notable drivers from Illinois include Danica Patrick, Tony Bettenhausen, and Fred Lorenzen.
Modified stock car racing, also known as modified racing and modified, is a type of auto racing that involves purpose-built cars simultaneously racing against each other on oval tracks. First established in the United States after World War II, this type of racing was early-on characterized by its participants' modification of passenger cars in pursuit of higher speeds, hence the name.
James Robert Blewett is a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver. He is the younger brother of the late John Blewett III.
Caffeine and Octane's Lanier Raceway is a 0.375-mile paved oval racetrack located just outside Braselton, Georgia. The track opened in 1982 as a dirt track, and was paved in the mid-1980s. It is currently owned and operated by High Octane, LLC, an auto events & multimedia business conglomerate. The track was under the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series banner with super late models, SuperTrucks, Junkyard Dogs, outlaw late models, mini stocks, INEX RaceCeiver/zMax legends cars and INEX bandolero cars. The track ended weekly racing at the end of the 2011 season, but remained open for larger events. In 2022, High Octane resumed weekly car events at the raceway for the first time since 2011.
The USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC). The division raced nationally; drivers from USAC's open wheel classes like Indy cars, Silver Crown, sprints, and midgets frequently competed in races and won championships. Several NASCAR drivers raced in USAC Stock Cars at various points in their careers.
Caraway Speedway is a short track located near Asheboro, North Carolina, U.S. Caraway Speedway was built in 1966 as a dirt track. The track was paved in 1972 and joined the NASCAR Weekly Series family as a .455 mile asphalt short track. Caraway Speedway was owned and operated by Russell and Valastra Hackett from 1977 to 2010. Russell turned over operations to Darren and Renee Hackett for the 2011 season. Caraway Speedway hosts a variety of weekly series, several Whelen Southern Modified Series events, as well as other touring series.
Justin Bonsignore is an American racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, driving the No. 51 car for Kenneth Massa Motorsports. He also competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 30 Ford Mustang for Rette Jones Racing.
The Busch All-Star Tour was a NASCAR-sanctioned dirt track late model racing series. The series, based in the Midwestern United States, started in 1985 and folded in 2002, and was NASCAR's only national dirt racing series.
The Southern Modified Race Tour was a modified stock car racing series that raced in the Southeastern United States. The series was formed in 2014 and is owned/operated by the Southern Modified Race Tour. The series features 2 classes of racing, the primary class (Modified) uses very similar rules package to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour and other modified touring series in the northeastern United States. They also have a Mod Lite class that features similar rules package to the Modified Lite class at Caraway Speedway and to the Modified class at ACE Speedway and must declare their home track to 1 of those tracks. The series ceased operations following the 2016 season.
Lee Pulliam is an American stock car racing driver and team owner. He is a four-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I national champion, and is the owner of late model racing team Lee Pulliam Performance.