Whelen Southern Modified Tour
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Inaugural season | 1989 |
| Inaugural season | 2005 |
| Manufacturers | Chevrolet · Ford · Pontiac |
| Tire suppliers | Hoosier |
| Drivers' champion | Burt Myers |
| Teams' champion | Myers Brothers Racing |
| Makes' champion | Ford |
| Official website | hometracks |
 Current season
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The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour (WSMT) is a stock car racing series owned by NASCAR and operated in the Southeastern United States as part of its Modified Division. The series began in 1989 as the Southern Modified Auto Racing Teams (S.M.A.R.T.) before NASCAR took over the series in 2005. The Whelen Southern Modified Tour uses nearly identical rules as its northeastern-based counterpart the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
NASCAR itself has a long tradition of Modified racing in the Southeastern U.S. Prior to the formation of today’s Northeastern-based Whelen Modified Tour in 1985. The evolution of Modified racing began in the late 1940s with the first NASCAR sanctioned race taking place at Daytona beach course in February,1948. Coupes and sedans were the vehicles of choice and provided a new form of entertainment as tracks began spring up all over the country. NASCAR Modified teams competed in championship events up and down the east coast, including stops at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, North Wilkesboro Speedway and Martinsville Speedway. Top drivers from North Carolina and Virginia, such as Ralph Brinkley, Ray Hendrick and Satch Worley, were regular NASCAR Modified competitors.
In the late eighties, while modified racing was maintaining its popularity in the Northeast U.S. Late Model Stock cars moved into the spotlight throughout the south. The downward slide suffered by the southern modified's made many people feel that the division was fading and quite possibly disappearing altogether from the region.
In September 1988, after a rain-out in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a group of dedicated car owners and drivers banded together and formed the Southern Modified Auto Racing Teams, or S.M.A.R.T., as they became known to race fans throughout the region. The group had the goal for the club to strive to return Modified's to their previous state of popularity in the South. For the next 16 years Modified racing through the S.M.A.R.T. Tour raced up and down the Carolina's and Virginia.
The Inaugural Season included a total 6 races. The Schedule had two race each at North Wilkesboro and Pulaski County and one race each at Langley and Myrtle Beach. The first race in series history was on April 9, 1989 at Langley Speedway in Hampton, VA. 18 modified's entered the inaugural event. Frank Fleming's pole-winning lap of 15.990 seconds (89.660 mph) for the event was the quickest in Langley's history. Robert Jeffreys earned the honor of being the first race winner by holding off Philip Smith. At the Lowe's 150 on April 15 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, driver Don Smith had to be cut from his car after crashing on the second lap. Smith had a broken left shoulder from the crash. Northern Modified superstar Jimmy Spencer won in his only career S.M.A.R.T. start after recovering from a mid-race crash to finish two car-lengths ahead of Gary Myers. The season concluded at Pulaski County Speedway on October 15. Johnny Bush grabbed his only career series victory while Philip Smith was crowned the tour's inaugural champion. In the first season there was 6 different winners, with no drivers win more than one event.
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