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The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is heading back to Pennsylvania for the 2020 season.

Jennerstown Speedway general manager Bill Hribar revealed exclusively to RaceDayCT that the Whelen Modified Tour will return to the Jennerstown, Pa. facility. for the first time in a decade and a half.

The Whelen Modified Tour to will run a May 23, 2020 event at the .522-mile oval.

“The last visit the Modifieds were there was 2006,” Hribar said. “Shortly thereafter the speedway sat dormant for approximately seven years. … Thanks to some wonderful local businessmen it was basically rebranded and resurrected and it’s absolutely thriving. We’ve been in communication with [NASCAR] for a couple years. In this sport it’s all about timing. We wanted to prove ourselves to the racing community and I think we did that last year and the timing is right and we’re glad to have NASCAR back at Jennerstown.”

The late Ted Christopher won the last Whelen Modified Tour event at Jennerstown Speedway on June 13, 2006.

“Jennerstown is a great track for the Modifieds and I’m excited to bring our series back to the fans of central Pennsylvania,” said six-time and reigning series champion Doug Coby, who is one of a handful of series regulars who competed at the track previously. “It was one of my favorite stops on the tour back when I drove Curt Chases car and it will be great to be back there. It’s a big win for our series to have them back on the schedule.”

The track has hosted the Whelen Modified 14 times in its history. Jan Leaty won the first series event at the track in 1987. The division ran two events at the track in both 1988 and 1989. And then one event each year in 1990 and 1991. The division returned to the track in 1995, and ran one event yearly from that point until 1999. After anther hiatus the division returned for one event in 2005 and one in 2006.

Tony Hirschman (three wins), Steve Park (two wins), Reggie Ruggiero (two wins) and Mike Stefanik (two wins) are the multi-time winners at the facility. Leaty, Christopher, Tom Bolles, Mike Ewanitsko and Doug Heveron are the other winners of events at the track.

Coby, Rob Summers, Jon McKennedy, Jimmy Blewett and Wade Cole are current series regulars who were in the lineup for the last event at the track in 2006.

NASCAR is expected to announce the full 2020 Whelen Modified Tour schedule in the coming weeks.

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