Dupuis to Make First NASCAR WSMT Start at Hickory
On Saturday, April 2, Renee will open the 2011 season by running the Hickory 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway (Newton, NC).
The Hickory 150 is a NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour event – the first ever WSMT event Renee will compete in. She will run the race in the No. 59 car fielded by Ed Bennett III – not in her own equipment.
“We’re looking forward to making our first NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour start in a few weeks. A good run there will be a good way to open the 2011 season for us,” offered Renee.
Scheduling for Hickory is as follows:
- Two 30-minute practice sessions are scheduled between 2:30 and 3:45 PM
- Qualifying goes off at 6 PM (2 laps, fastest 23 cars advance)
- Green flag drops at 8 PM (150 laps)
For those that are unable to make it to North Carolina, the race is one of 32 touring series events during the 2011 race season featuring live internet radio broadcasts on NASCARHomeTracks.com. As with all NASCAR events, practice, qualifying and live lap-by-lap race coverage can also be found at NASCAR’s Home Tracks website.
Following the Hickory event, Renee will likely concentrate her season on select 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races – as well as some open-comp shows and perhaps a sampling of Valenti Modified Racing Series events in her own UNION Insurance Group sponsored ride.
NASCAR Announces 2011 Whelen Modified Tour Schedule
Schedule highlighted by First International Trip, Third New Hampshire Date, Thompson Special Event
NASCAR has announced the 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule which features 16 races – highlighted by a new special event at a historic New England track and an inaugural venture into Canada.
The 27th season of the Whelen Modified Tour will see NASCAR’s oldest division return to traditional venues like Connecticut’s Thompson and Stafford Speedways. The Connecticut dates are highlighted by the September 11 date at Thompson which will bring both the WMT and WSMT together. The event will feature separate 125-lap, points-paying races for each Tour – with the top 15 finishers of each race then lining up for a 50-lap non-points ‘dash for the cash’ race.
The Whelen Modified Tour will also head across the border into Canada for the first time in 2011. New to the schedule will be an appearance on Sept. 4 at Delaware (Ontario) Speedway, a half-mile asphalt oval.
Returning to the schedule will be the traditional summer and fall events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway during NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series weekends on July 16 and September 24. The WMT will also have a third event in Loudon on August 13 as part of the IZOD IndyCar Series race weekend.
The WMT will return to Bristol Motor Speedway (TN) for the third year in a row as part of a doubleheader with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Aug. 24.
Returning to the Whelen Modified Tour schedule for the 27th season will be Riverhead Raceway and – after they were successful additions to the 2010 slate – Lime Rock Park (Lakeville, CT) and Monadnock Speedway (Winchester, NH) will also remain on the docket.
| Date | Facility | LOCATION |
| Sun., April 10 | Thompson International Speedway | Thompson, CT |
| Sun., May 1 | Stafford Motor Speedway | Stafford, CT |
| Fri., May 27 | Stafford Motor Speedway | Stafford, CT |
| Sat., June 25 | Monadnock Speedway | Winchester, NH |
| Thur., June 30 | Thompson International Speedway | Thompson, CT |
| Sat., July 16 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | Loudon, NH |
| Sat., July 30 | Riverhead Raceway | Riverhead, LI, NY |
| Fri., Aug. 5 | Stafford Motor Speedway | Stafford, CT |
| Sat., Aug. 13 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | Loudon, NH |
| Wed., Aug. 24 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Bristol, TN |
| Sun., Sept. 4 | Delaware Speedway | Delaware, ON, CA |
| Sun., Sept. 11 | Thompson International Speedway | Thompson, CT |
| Sat., Sept. 17 | Lime Rock Park | Lakeview, CT |
| Sat., Sept. 24 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway | Loudon, NH |
| Sun., Oct. 2 | Stafford Motor Speedway | Stafford, CT |
| Sun., Oct. 16 | Thompson International Speedway | Thompson, CT |
Broken Shock Ends Thompson Run
NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Tour closed out the 2010 season with the running of the Sunoco World Series at Thompson International Speedway (Thompson, CT) on Sunday, October 17.
The weekend began as per usual – with practice and qualifying taking place on Saturday. What wasn’t usual was the car Renee chose to run for the World Series.
“Ed (Bennett owner of the No. 59 cars driven by Chuck Hossfeld) asked if I wanted to run one of his cars at Thompson. His equipment is top-10 everywhere we go. So, naturally, we said yes. ”
Renumbered as the No. 90 - Renee's ride proudly displays the Stratford Fire Fighter's Union logo (with special thanks to Don Kingsbury). Photo by Howie Hodge.
In addition to a different car, the team emphasized the sponsorship from members of the Stratford Professional Fire Fighters Union. Above and beyond their generous sponsorship, three fire fighters (Mike Tiberio, Scot Sanford and Don Kingsbury) generously supplied food and cooked for the team throughout the weekend.
“We were really fortunate to meet Mike, Scot and Don earlier in the year. Their support has been immeasurable in helping us to make it to the end of the season. To top it all off, they really outdid themselves cooking for all of us this weekend. It’s no myth – fire fighters are great cooks! In all seriousness, all of their efforts were truly appreciated.”
Race day began with a driver’s meeting, followed by an autograph session. Shortly thereafter the green flag fell on the 150-lap feature at approximately 3:30 PM. The start of the race was rough for the No. 90 team. Unaware there was oil in the racing groove Renee spun the car after the yellow was displayed on lap 8 and was involved in another skirmish on lap 32. From there, things improved as she picked off positions. The pit crew helped the cause by offering up another great stop at about the lap 90 mark.
By lap 130 Renee was pressuring the No. 54 car – an early race leader – for position. However, off a lap 141 restart, Renee began experiencing problems with the left-front.
“We went down into turn one fine, but in the middle the left front started shaking uncontrollably. I was pretty sure we broke something on the suspension. Rather than wreck the car, I pulled down and just nursed the car the rest of the way. It’s certainly not how we wanted to end the season.”
Finishing as the last car on the lead-lap, the No. 90 was credited with a disappointing 24th place finish. And, in the points run down, the team tied for 17th place (but, with the tie-breaker, will be credited with 18th).
Explaining the suspension problem, Renee said: “The Schrader valve on the left front shock must have gotten hit by some sort of debris – because on post-race inspection we found the valve was damaged and all the air was out of the shock. It’s just something else that went wrong, that never goes wrong, but happens to us. It’s been like that all year – we struggled with brake problems up until Bristol (the 11th race of the year). We had oil lines collapsing that went undiagnosed for a stretch. And we flat out got taken out at Matinsville, Riverhead and NHMS. I’m just disappointed, we had much higher expectations going into the season.”
For those who couldn’t make it out to the track, the event will air on Versus at 8 PM EST on Wednesday, October 20.
Looking forward, the team awaits NASCAR’s much-anticipated release of the 2011 schedule. Until then, it’s safe to say they’ll thoroughly enjoy some down time. In the meantime, any news or information will be reported here.