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RaceDayCT has learned that NASCAR will announce today the consolidation of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour for the 2017 season.

NASCAR officials met with teams and drivers from the Southern Modified Tour this afternoon and also communicated with a number of Whelen Modified Tour teams on Wednesday.

“As NASCAR looks at the schedule for 2017 and beyond, we are looking at a number of options to continue growing the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour,” read a statement from NASCAR. “Our goal is to elevate the marque events on the calendar, strengthening the Modified brand along the East Coast. From Farmer and Allison to Evans and Cook, the Modifieds have always forged a unique identity and stoked intense passion among our fanbase. As we shape our future, we are focusing on what has made the Modifieds special and are committed to continuing that rich tradition.”

At this point much of the restructuring is a work in progress. The division is expected to have 17-20 events in 2017. It has not been finalized on whether or not events that land on the schedule at traditional Southern Modified Tour tracks will be points paying or non-points events. NASCAR has also not determined how the championship structure for the series will work.

The Whelen Modified Tour will still run its traditional highlight events at Stafford Motor Speedway (Spring Sizzler and Fall Final) and Thompson Speedway (Icebreaker and World Series) and is expected to continue to have a heavy presence in the state with other events.

In 2016 the division has raced at Thompson three times so far and will close its season Sunday with the running of the Sunoco World Series 150. The division also visited Stafford Speedway four times and traditionally runs one event annually at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl.

The Whelen Modified Tour began in 1985. The division had a 17-event schedule this year. In addition to the nine events at the Connecticut tracks the series also visited New Hampshire Motor Speedway twice, Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway twice, Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H., Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway, Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The Bristol event was a combination event with the Whelen Southern Modified Tour. New Hampshire Motor Speedway also hosted an exhibition All-Star event in July.

The Whelen Southern Modified Tour began in 2005, taking over what had formerly been the Southern Modified Auto Racing Tour (SMART), which was not sanctioned by NASCAR.

Long Island native George Brunnhoelzl III has won four Whelen Southern Modified Tour championships (2009, ’11, ’12, ’13). Hampstead, N.H. native Andy Seuss won championships with the Southern Modified Tour in 2014 and 2015. Burt Myers clinched the 2016 Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was the second series title for Myers, who also won it in 2010. Junior Miller (2005, ’06), L.W. Miller (2007) and Brian Loftin (2008) are the other Southern Modified Tour series champions in the division’s history.

At this point in time the new 2017 schedule for the restructured Whelen Modified tour is not expected to include any events at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. one of the cornerstone tracks of what is now the former Whelen Southern Modified Tour. Bowman Gray, one of the most well known short tracks in the country, hosted the Whelen Southern Modified Tour once in 2016.