Conventional wisdom has it that modified stock cars– both those that race on dirt and those that race on asphalt– can only compete on short-circle tracks, with an occasional trip to a 1-mile oval.

With the steady loss of racetracks in New Jersey, only three remained before the opening of N.J. Motorsports Park. Dirt modifieds compete at both Bridgeport Speedway and New Egypt Speedway, while pavement modifieds tackle the one-third mile Wall Stadium oval. (New Egypt was a 1⁄4-mile paved track before it was converted to a 1⁄3- mile clay oval). Bridgeport was a 5⁄8-mile clay oval from its inception over 30 years ago.

Most of the drivers who compete at these Garden State tracks never have the chance to wring out their chariots at the higher speed allowed by larger speedplants. Some of the top Eastern dirt-modified drives get a once-a-year chance to compete at the one-mile Syracuse dirt track, and occasionally the asphalt-modified get to run at larger paved facilities.

However, the thought of either of these classes of race cars running on a road course seemed to be someone’s fantasy.

Well, that thought was not fantasy to three NJMP stalwarts. Wayne Weaver, Dan Rieck and Donald Fauerbach believed that it could be done, and NJMP will make racing history on Father’s Day, June 20, this year when both big- and small-block dirt cars take to the 21⁄4-mile Thunderbolt Raceway. The asphalt track-modifieds will race next year.

Weaver, a veteran dirt-track modified pilot, who competed for years at Bridgeport Speedway, and has been active in promoting vintage modified racers, had taken his classic racer around Thunderbolt Raceway on numerous occasions for show purposes. The Vineland racer has been an active member of the track’s Green Flag committee, and he has been able to get other short-track modified drivers to show their cars at NJMP for special events.

Weaver, a short-track veteran, enjoyed his forays around Thunderbolt’s 21⁄4 miles, and started seriously pursuing the possibility that both the upright dirt modified, and the low-slung asphalt cars could capably compete on a road course.

Encouraged by Green Flag co-chairs Fauerbach and Rieck, Weaver set about to get a number of past and current modified pilots to conduct a rigorous testing of these cars on Thunderbolt.

The cars passed with flying colors, and modified competition was penciled in the track’s schedule for Father’s day, June 20.

To add to the pot, the Sports Car Club of America South Jersey region will be presenting the first-ever true en­durance race at NJMP on Saturday, June 19. The SCCA cars and drivers will take a page from the world famous Sebring race and run New Jersey’s first 12-hour contest.

Weaver was not the first person to conceive of dirt-modifieds running on a road course. NJMP preempted the legendary Watkins Glen course, which had been working with the New York-based modified sanctioning body, Driver’s Independent Race Tracks (DIRT), to bring the New York state mods to the Glen.

To put it mildly, the DIRT folks, who were exhibiting at this year’s Motorsports Expo in Oaks, Pa. were stunned to see an NJMP booth promoting the “road mods.”

Chalk one up for Don Fauerbach and his crew.

The 2010 schedule at NJMP will have most of the major attractions that highlighted the 2009 season.

Both the Vintage Sports Car Club of America and the Vintage Racing Group racers will be back, as will the Ferrari Challenge, Automobile Racing Club of America, the Rolex Daytona Prototypes, the Mazda Formula Atlantics, and the American Motorcyclist Association Superbikes.

The SCCA has scheduled, in addition to the 12-hour race, a national points event and two regional points races. For the first time at the Millville speedplant, the Trans-Am series will be competing.

Here’s the NJMP racing schedule for 2010; it does not include club days, racing schools, etc.

NJMP Racing Schedule 2010

(including track)

April 30-May 1–N.J. Road Racing Series-SCCA (Thunderbolt)

May 7-9–SCCA Trans-Am,/VW TDI Cup/ Formula Enterprise (Thunderbolt)

May 21-23–VSCCA Vintage racing/Family weekend (Thunderbolt)

June 5-6–SCCA National Points race (Thunderbolt)

June 19-20–SCCA 12-hours/Dirt & asphalt modifieds (Thunderbolt)

June 25-27–Mazda Formula Atlantic (Thunderbolt)

July 10-11–S.J. SCCA Regional (Lightning)

July 16-18–Rolex Daytona Prototypes/Koni series (Thunderbolt)

July 30-Aug. 1–Ferrari Challenge (Thunderbolt)

Aug. 13-15–Remax ARCA series (Thunderbolt)

Aug. 21-22–S.J.SCCA Regional (Lightning)

Sept. 3-5–AMA Superbike series (Thunderbolt)

Sept. 23-24–VRG Vintage series (Lightning)

Oct. 23-24–S.J. SCCA Regional (Lightning)