THOMPSON – Ron Silk began defense of his 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship in perfect fashion, celebrating in victory lane Sunday at Thompson International Speedway, though the path to celebration proved a strange one.
Ron Silk celebrates his Icebreaker 150 victory Sunday (NASCAR/Corey Sipkin)
On the track, Silk was second at the start/finish line behind Rowan Pennink when the checkered flag flew, though NASCAR officials immediately deemed Silk the winner of the season opening Icebreaker 150 at Thompson.
The race was extended to 159 laps because of late cautions.
Pennink was penalized after the race because NASCAR officials deemed he jumped Silk, of Norwalk, on a lap 158 restart to take the lead.
Ted Christopher of Plainville was second and Mike Stefanik of Coventry, R.I. third. Pennink was penalized to a 10th place finish, the last car on the lead lap.
Silk had no sympathy for Pennink.
“He jumped [the restart],” Silk said. “He got what he deserved.”
Though the controversy was hardly as cut and dried as Silk made it sound.
Silk passed Pennink for the lead on lap 138. On a lap 154 restart, Pennink got under Silk in turn two and took retook the lead, with Christopher then moving past Pennink for the lead in turn four before the caution flew again prior to the lap being completed, putting the three back to the positions they were in before the restart.
On the next restart Silk seemed to spin his tires coming out of turn four to restart the race. When the two cars reached the start/finish line for the official restart, Pennink was ahead of Silk. NASCAR rules state that the leader of the race must cross the start/finish line first on a restart.
“I don’t make the rules, I don’t make the calls,” Silk said. “If I was making the calls I probably would have penalized Rowan when he had me up [near the wall] in turn two on the restart before that. I don’t think Rowan had a better car than me. I don’t think it’s a fluke that we won. I ran him down with 15 laps to go and I passed him.”
Silk said he didn’t spin his tires on the restart, though his car clearly got sideways, indicative of spinning tires.
“He spun the tires, he was sideways,” said Christopher, who was directly behind Silk. “If I stayed with him I would have spun him out and then I would have been the bad guy.”
Said Pennink: “Am I supposed to stop and wreck the whole field because [Silk] spun his tires on the restart and he couldn’t go? It’s stupid. There’s nothing I could do. My choice was either brake check the whole field and give it back to him right there or do what I did and [get penalized].”
Whelen Modified Tour series director Chad Little said Pennink had the option of allowing Silk to catch him after the restart and avoid a penalty.
“The rule is you can’t beat the leader to the start/finish line,” Little said. “The exception is if the leader clearly has a bad start. Blows a motor, spins his tires and goes sideways. We didn’t see it that way.
“If you beat the leader at the start/finish line, as a courtesy, what we tell the drivers and the spotters, they need to make an attempt to give it back. Give back what they took away on the start. We didn’t see him make an attempt to give it back.
“Obviously you make the call quick. We went down and looked at the tape [after the race]. We saw [Silk] jerk sideways about 20 or 30 feet before the cone which is the restart mark. At the cone they were even. I assume [Silk] lost his momentum because he did jerk sideways. So [Pennink] beats him to the start/finish line. We watched [Pennink] to see if he would give an attempt to give back what he took and he didn’t.”
Said Pennink: “It’s just [bull]. It seems like every time we got going and get some good runs they [hurt] us. I guess that’s NASCAR.”
It was the eighth career Whelen Modified Tour victory for Silk, and fourth at Thompson Speedway. Silk was greeted in victory lane by a chorus of boos from fans.
“I think it means a lot to do this in the first race,” Silk said. “We won the championship last year and we had a great car today. We didn’t have a great car all day. We were about a sixth to seventh place car before the pit stop [on lap 72] and as a team we made it better and drove to the front.”
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40 Responses to Strange Spin: Ron Silk Declared Winner After Odd Finish Of Modified Tour Season Opener At Thompson
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Of course it happens here. Nascar made the call,just like Pass did a few years back,letting us know the winner of the race 2 days later .This track can’t catch a break! With all the crap that went on the last couple years in the pits, rain outs,pathetic car counts,etc.I’m surprized they get the 300 or so people on Thursday nites. Owners are good people.
Silk spun the tires. He didn’t deserve the win. He was trying to get a push/block Christopher on the restart. It backfired on him. There was no contact between him and Teddy, he just got to aggresive on old tires. NASCAR made a really bad call. I watched the whole restart from my seat where they restart off of turn 4. And That was an awesome move by Teddy on the previous restart. Pennick won…
Wait a minute, am I reading this right? Chad explains the exception to the “you can’t beat the leader to the start finish line rule” as “if the leader has a bad start…spins his tires and goes sideways.”
Clearly Silk had a bad start. Clearly the exception to the rule then applies.
And on the 3rd and final GWC, they still think Rowan has to, AS A COURTESY , give back what he gained on the restart because Silk screwed up?!
C’mon. That’s garbage officiating Chad/NASCAR. What would have happen if Silk missed a 3-4 shift on the restart? That’s NOT an exception?!
I think they need to revisit restart rules on a GWC situation. The heck with the leader having to start the race, make it AT THE RESTART MARK. NASCAR wanted to give the fans exciting finishes by going with the GWC a few years ago, and all today’s ruling did was show how to get around that.
I’ll give Silk credit, he just found a way for the leader to guarantee a win on a GWC situation under the current rule.
Sure “rules are rules” but the fact of the matter is the rule stinks. Quit trying to be like the Cup Series. No matter if the leader spins his tires, misses a shift, or is just plain asleep on a restart, he always gets the benefit of the doubt. It shouldn’t be that way. Restarts are a part of racing, whatever happens happens and just let it go.
Nascar didnt not once say give it back…..The only thing they said is 93 is no the winner coming to white flag…CHAD LITTLE IS A LIAR!!!!!!!!
Silk was quoted on Chrome Horn as saying he spun his tires. Why has his explanation of what happened changed?
Redliner,
Where on the Chrome Horn was he quoted saying that? I didn’t see that. He told reporters in the press box he didn’t spin his tires and told me the same when I talked to him in the pits.
Shawn, go to the live update replay and you’ll find it at 5:09.
I’ll check that out.
Ok, I see that. Interesting, not sure when he said that. He insisted to others who asked specifically that he did not spin the tires.
Silk and his team knew the risks of restarting on the inside with worn tires. Everyone at Thompson saw that the inside line had minimal grip. They messed up and the #93 paid the price. If NASCAR really wants to make restarts even, the only option is to line them up single file with the leader starting at the cone. It would not be fun to watch, but it would be fair.
I am so so glad I didn’t spend the money to attend this debacle. Once again it was proven that there is absolutely no integrity whatsoever in the officiating on the WMT. Chad has made a complete mockery out of the tour. Like a very wise scribe once wrote, NASCAR stands for Not A Single Clue About Racing. That’s never been truer than it is today. Sad to say, but if the WMT disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn’t shed a single tear. In fact, the sooner the better before nascar has the opportunity to make even more of a joke out of it.
As for Silk and his comments in this article, how utterly pathetic that someone can be so proud of a win that was gift-wrapped and sealed with a kiss by Chad Little. That’s ok though, everyone knows who the real winner was today. Congrats Rowan!
I spent the money to see this great race turn to crap after the checker. Another interference call by NASCAR…why am I starting to hate NASCAR?
On Ronnie Silk,
he didn’t score any points with the fans and he could have!”He got what he deserved” What a winner!!!
If NASCAR didn’t like the start, why not do it over like our own Thompson people???
I don’t think this rule ever applied to the regional tours until after NASCAR made up the rule for the Cup series. I remember going to some WMT and Busch North races where they counted as official lead changes the second place car beating the leader to the line on restarts. I am pretty sure that the last time Busch North ran at Waterford, half the official lead changes were because the second place car got a slight edge to the line on restarts, but lost the lead before they even cleared the second turn.
Another great weekend ruined by NASCAR in the last 60 seconds. But what’s new. I agree with GP and Bob Bateman 100%
Haven’t we played this song before, last September 11th? Masse gets the screw job at the Southern Tour race at the Showdown on 9/11/2011 and Rowan got it yesterday. Hmmm, aren’t they both regulars on the (Not NASCAR sanctioned) Valenti Modified Tour? How ironic!
NASCAR came over the scanner when the leaders were coming off of turn two after the final restart and said clearly that the 93 was posted. rowan had an opportunity to give back what NASCAR thought he took. Silk happened to be the beneficiary of a call from NASCAR, he did nothing wrong why would you come here and bash him. The last 30 laps of the race silk clearly had a fast car and went up and took the lead and started to drive off, not sure you can call that gift wrapped !
He spun the tires on the restart. I hope no one else defends him. Christopher actually won the race, minus the fastest caution of the day and maybe of my lifetime. The #33 was at the back of the pack, spun at the exit of turn #4 and they threw the caution as the leaders were around the start/finish line. As soon as he spun, the caution flew, atleast it appearred that way. Christopher won that race, or atleast Rowan. A really sad day at Thompson… NASCAR is horrible…
It was gift wrapped because he clearly lost the restart. He should not have won that race. Doesn’t matter how fast you WERE. The overused but true quotation “you’re only as good as your last restart” applies here. Silk lost that restart and he was given a gift by NASCAR. If that decision hadn’t been made so quickly, NASCAR would have come to the right decision in giving Rowan the victory. Fact is, they made a decision and they’re not going to overturn it; no matter if it’s wrong or right.
I dont know what Nascars problem is with the 93 team. Thats 2 Icebreakers in a row that they screwed Rowan!! {not taking TC’s win away when he was clearly cheating} I wonder if the 4 car gets dqed if he is in Rowans shoes on sunday…..hmmmm… I bet 4 car gets the WIN!!!!!!!!!
In The Know, if you were really “in the know” you would know that the 4 car has had to give up the lead on two occasions. First, at Bristol, Donny had to give up the lead to TC ( Szegedy was also able to pass him, too) and was told to NOT PASS until NASCAR ok’ed it. Then, at Stafford in May 2010, Bobby, who was LEADING at the restart, had to give up the lead to Blewett. Neither driver ending up “brake checking” the field while doing this. Both times the 4 was leading, both times they had to give the lead to 2nd place, and both times they ending up WINNING because they followed the rules. And I believe this whole “give the lead back rule” is mentioned at the Spotter’s meeting each race.
Also if you were in the know you would know that they were not cheating last year. Not sticking up for ted as im not a TC fan. But i do know that they did that to that team to set an example. Most of the cars on the tour had the same part. They all also do not place the boosters in the carbs. That is the engine builder. Dont put the blame and call them cheaters when they dont deserve it
No where did I say TC was cheating. Maybe you should learn to read. I just stated that the 4 car has had to give up the lead on a restart on more than one occasion (while they were the leaders). You need to learn how to read before you go putting words in someone’s mouth.
Im sorry, i cant read haha. Your name had me confused
Right or wrong it was NASCAR that made the call ! Why bash someone who has no control over the situation ? This isn’t scripted, let me guess kayman and in the know, your second favorite sport is WWE !! LOL
I was not at all bashing Mr. Silk. He was trying to win. Looking at that replay, Mr. Silk seemed to jump the restart, not the #93. He then spun the tires. As for your WWE comment, it was a poorly executed attempt at making a joke of someone elses point of view. That’s fine. No problem. Maybe NASCAR officials have been studying the nuances of the art of wrestling. It has not been me.
Spotter, I can think of 2 reasons.
1) According to Shawn, he told all in the press box that he didn’t spin the tires on that restart. Then apparently he told someone from The Chrome Horn that he did spin the tires. Which is it? Is he a racer or a politician?
2) His smug, arrogant comments on the situation (at least when TC says something arrogant it’s usually clever and/or entertaining at the same time). A racer will “take one any way they can get one”, but a true champion would rather win on the track and doesn’t take this kind of pleasure from winning one on a technicality.
I was sitting right near the restart line at the start of the front stretch and they were starting right at the line all day. On the last restart both cars looked like they took off early (still in the turn). Which I guess you can’t blame either of them for trying to get an edge.
All of Silks storys have been different….First he said he spun em then he said He DIDNT….Listen to Gary Dankos show last night and he said he spun em a little bit!!! LMAO Make up your mind Silk!!!!!!!!!
What do you think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3pfK3nwxYc&list=UUg0WKCRNVS6of08ga5leXYw&index=3&feature=plcp
From that video it looks like TC might have won that one???
Im sure Ron’s mind IS made up. He won the Icebreaker and the plagues are sitting in Calverton, NY and Norwalk, CT to prove it. End of story. lol
Plagues? I certainly hope there are no plagues in Calverton, NY or Norwalk, CT. The last thing we need is for these acute cases to evolve into the Bubonic Modified Plague!
This is also the same call NASCAR made with Steve Masse last year at the UNOH Showdown.
Yup im sorry your right there are only Plaques in Calverton and Norwalk and there are a handful. But im sure the crown jewel is last weekends Icebreaker WIN!!! Proud of Ron, Eddie and Connie and all the TS guys on their win. I mean until all this BS with restarts happened they did have it won… No??? Actually the leader on the bottom cant get jumped according to the SAME team @ the Turkey Derby. Pick a rule! Or you guys just want the one that benefits you that day??? Jimmy beat Rowan on the Start at The Derby and the 93 team cried foul.( not under Tour Rules) This week Rowan clearly moved before Ron and they said claim they should have been allowed to beat the leader to the line. Which complaint would you guys which to stick with?? Lol #Canthaveitbothways.
freddie, why cant they have it both ways? one was nascar sanctioned one was not.
Well i guess they could have it both ways. I just find it amusing that they contradict themselves with their arguments.
Hey Shawn,
I was wondering if there is a way to e-mail you with questions that we have. I just read an article about the Our-Marceau team that Mike Stefanik drives for. It is at http://hometracks.nascar.com/nwmt_feature_Two_For_The_Price_Of_One. It conflicts with a previous article you wrote in that it says his team will be totally different from week to week according to whose equipment Mike is using. You quoted Mike in your article saying that it will be the same group of guys every week. I was wondering if you knew any more about this. Please let me know.
RaceChik,
Not exactly sure where things stand with that situation right now. The way I wrote it was obviously the way Mike understood it would work then. Maybe it’s changed since then. You never know with these two team/two owner/two group operations just how everything will come together.
I if I remember correctly the call on Masse was different, he was the leader and got called for jumping the start. That call was a little worse. NASCAR’s claim there was he cracked the trottle before the restart cone in turn 4. Both terrible calls and really killed what would have been some solid races.