Column By: PHIL SMITH / WESTERLY, RI – Sixty five years ago in 1953 Ray DeLisle won the season ending 100 lap Modified event at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Delisle was forced to share the winning prize money with Red Foote whom he had dumped in order to take the lead. Bud Matter was the non-Ford feature winner.
Ted Swaim was the winner of the third annual Race of Champions at the Langhorne Speedway in Pennsylvania.
Sixty years ago in 1958, at the Race of Champions in Langhorne, Pa., Jim Delaney took the win and Dutch Hoag finished second. Langhorne was a one-mile dirt circle dirt track.
Red Foote won the 25 lap Sunday afternoon Modified feature at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Charlie Webster was the non-Ford winner.
Fifty five years ago in 1963, Dutch Hoag took the win in the 100 mile Race of Champions at the Langhorne Speedway. Budd Olsen finished second and was followed by Wally Dallenbach, Ralph Smith, Neil Haight, Lou Lazzaro and Kenny Shoemaker.
George Pendergast made it two in a row at te New London-Waterford Speedbowl as he won the season ending 25 lap Modified feature at the shoreline oval. Dick Caso was the Bomber winner.
Fifty years ago in 1968, Dutch Hoag won the Race of Champions at Langhorne Pa. It was his fifth win at the historic oval that went from dirt to asphalt in 1965.
Following Hoag at the finish was Bobby Gearhart, Chuck Boos, Bugsy Stevens and Gene Bergin. Sixth through tenth were Don McTavish, Sammy Beavers, Bill Strosahl, Al Tasnady and Roger Treichler.
The event was not NASCAR sanctioned. NASCAR sanctioned the Albany-Saratoga Speedway and a 100-lap double point event was run to keep the NASCAR drivers from going to Langhorne. Eddie Flemke took the win over Bob Bruno, Rene Charland, Ernie Gahan and Ron Narducci. Thompson also ran and it was Lou Austin taking the win.
A Sunday afternoon modified event scheduled by the Lee Raceway in New Hampshire was rained out.
Don Collins was the Sunday afternoon Modified winner at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Wayne Smith was the Daredevil winner.
Forty five years ago in 1973,the Northeast racing season had ended and race teams were getting ready for their annual trip to Martinsville.
Forty years ago in 1978, Thompson ran a 50 lapper which was won by Ray Miller. Kenny Bouchard finished second and was followed by George Summers, Bobby Clarke, Dick Dunn and Freddie Schulz. At Hickory, N.C., Geoff Bodine took the win over Richie Evans, Jerry Cook and Wayne Anderson.
Thirty five years ago in 1983 was another off weekend.
Thirty years ago in 1988,the modified tour was at Rougemont, N.C. Ricky Fuller took the win over Tom Baldwin, Jamie Tomaino, Jeff Fuller, Mike Stefanik, Brian Ross and Mike Ewanitsko. It was at this event that Rod Spaulding was involved in an accident that saw him receive severe head injuries. It was also announced that the Arute Family had sold the Stafford Speedway to Dan Avery for $2.5million. Avery withdrew the offer a week later.
Twenty five years ago in 1993, the Race of Champions was held at Flemington, N.J. Billy Pauch, driving the Mario Fiore No.44 started 43rd and avoided numerous wrecks and took the win in the 200 lap event. Jeff Fuller finished second and was followed by Tony Siscone, Mike Ewanitsko, Reggie Ruggerio and Steve Park. In the Triple A-sk type feature, Ted Christopher came back after being involved in a 20 car wreck, then took the lead from Tom Tagg with10 laps to go and went on to score the win. Taggs distributer broke. Eric Beers finished second.In the National Parts Peddler Street Stock event, Tom Fox,who crossed the finish line second was awarded the win after apparent winner Shannon Connor was disqualified.
At Rockingham, N.C., Mark Martin won the Grand National event. Jim Spencer and a crew member were suspended for the rest of the year for fighting with Joe Besseys crew. In Winston Cup action, Rusty Wallace took the win.
Twenty years ago, in 1998, Flemington ran a mod tour 250 which was won by Ed Flemke Jr.who took the lead from Mike Stefanik with three laps to go.Stefanik hung on for second and was followed by Mike Ewanitsko, Reggie Ruggiero, Tony Hirschman, Jamie Tomaino and Tim Connolly.
Fifteen years ago in 2003 The NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series was at the Thompson Speedway with a field of 49 modifieds on hand. Because of steady rain, the previous week that showed no sign of letting up, the event was postponed to this Saturday afternoon. All qualifying took place a week ago with Tony Hirshman taking the pole with a run around the 5/8 mile oval to the tune of 120.501 mph. Doug Coby was second fastest with series point leader Todd Szegedy, third. Hirshman was also the lucky guy on the draw for starting positions as he pulled the pole starting spot. Jimmy Kuhn pulled second spot with John Blewett III pulling third. Chuck Hossfeld and Szegedy rounded out the first five starting positions. Sixth through tenth starters are Doug Coby, Eddie Flemke Jr., Jerry Marquis, Carl Pasteryak and Tony Ferrante Jr.
Once the World Series was postponed it was a mass charge to leave the speedway grounds. A major traffic jam developed when the hitch on Jamie Tomaino’s tow rig broke and it was nothing but gridlock until the road was opened up. A huge field of 64 SK Modifies were on hand at Because of the large field a “B” feature was run for non-qualifiers, which was won by Tom Cravenho. Other Saturday winners were Richard Savory in the Pro Four Modifieds, Chuck Docherty in the Pro Stocks, Rick Gentes in the Outlaw Late Models, Shawn Monahan won his seventh Limited Sportsman feature, Jim Silvia in the Outlaw Strictly Stocks, Joe Godbout in the Mini Stock feature and Mike Veins in the Outlaw Mini Stocks.
In Winston Cup action at Martinsville, Jeff Gordon started on the pole and led 311 of 500 laps to take the win. It was Gordon’s 63rd win. Jimmie Johnson finished second. Bobby Hamilton Jr. won the Busch Series Sam’s Town 300 at the Memphis Speedway.
Ten years ago in 2008, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series returned to the Stafford Motor Speedway to make up the rained out Fall Final. Just prior to the weekend it was learned that Speedway announcer Deane Mercier had passed away.
Mike Stefanik led a banner field of Modifieds as he captured the Coors Lite Pole award as he turned in the fast time in qualifying for the CARQUEST Fall Final. Stefanik toured the Stafford oval in 18.158 seconds (99.130mph). It was the first pole for Stefanik since 2006 at the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. In the process he tied Tony Hirschman for the series’ all-time lead with 41 career poles, and extended his own record for poles at Stafford to 15. Eric Beers was the second-fastest qualifier at 18.168 seconds (99.075 mph) and started in the third row following the redraw. Rob Summers was third fastest at 18.316 seconds (98.275 mph). Series points leader Ted Christopher who seventh in time trials when he was clocked at 18.355 seconds (98.066 mph). After the redraw Christopher started alongside Stefanik in the front row on Sunday. Californian Brian Ickler was the pole sitter for the companion NASCAR Camping World Series East event. Mike Olsen, Kevin Swindell, Ted Christopher and Woody Pitkat rounded out the top five. Series champion Matt Kobyluck was sixth fastest.
Stefanik capped off a dominating weekend by reaching Victory Lane in the CARQUEST Fall Final for the eighth time in his illustrious career. Stefanik used the front row starting position to his advantage as he led 129 of the 150 laps in what was Stafford’s last race of the year. The win was Stefanik’s eighth in the Fall Final, Stafford ‘s traditional season-ending race. It was also his 20th all-time win at track and the 69th in his career overall. All three totals are NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour records.
Matt Hirschman came home second to Stefanik. With the runner-up finish, Hirschman trailed series leader Ted Christopher by just 35 points with one race remaining on the schedule. Christopher finished sixth. Chuck Hossfeld was third, while Todd Szegedy and Eric Beers rounded out the top five finishers. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Christopher, Rowan Pennink, Anthony Sesely, Glenn Tyler and Kevin Goodale. It was the best finish of the season for Sesely and Tyler.
There were five caution flags for 27 laps. For the most part the race was wreck free with only a few minor spins. Ted Christopher held a 35 point lead over Matt Hirschman going into the final event. Todd Szegedy sat in third, over 143 points out of the lead. Chuck Hossfeld was fourth with Stefanik rounding out the top five. Prior to the race NASCAR legend Bobby Allison was honored for his 1964 and 1965 NASCAR Modified division titles as part of the celebration of 60 Years of Modified Champions.
Woody Pitkat won the battle but it was Keith Rocco who won the war in the SK Modifieds. Rocco finished second to Pitkat and beat out Ted Christopher for his first Stafford Track Championship. Peyton Sellers won the slam-bang NASCAR Camping World Series East event. In lat Model action, Ryan Posocco took the lead from Scott Cook on lap 11 and led the rest of the way to win the 30-lap Late Model feature. It was the seventh victory in 17 starts this year for Posocco, the division’s all-time winningest driver. Posocco had already sewed up the Stafford Late Model title.
In True Value Modified Series action at the Seekonk Speedway last weekend twenty six Modifieds were on hand for the annual D.Anthony Venditti Memorial event. Three qualifying heats were run with Chris Pasteryak, Kevin Iannarelli and Todd Annarummo taking the wins. Chris Pasteryak went pole to pole to win the 100 lap contest. Todd Annarummo finished second and was followed by Dwight Jarvis, Les Hinckley and Mike Holdridge. Prior to the start of the event Kirby Monteith, who died this past week was honored by his fellow drivers. They had a moment of silence and the front row at the start had an open spot for him.
Jeff Burton used three gas-only pit stops to pull off a Sprint Cup victory in Concord, N.C., that catapulted him into championship contention. Burton culminated savvy pit strategy on a final stop, going into the pits with the lead and taking fuel only to make sure he was still out front on the restart with 34 laps to go at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Jimmy Johnson staged a brief battle for the lead, but Burton held steady to snap a 25-race winless streak. Kasey Kahne, who swept the May races at the track, finished second and was followed by Kurt Busch. Kyle Busch returned to his familiar spot in the Nationwide Series on Friday night, cruising to a win in the soggy, wreck-filled Dollar General 300. The victory was the ninth for the 23-year-old Busch in NASCAR’s second-tier series. He has won eight Cup races and three more in the Craftsman Truck Series. The busy Busch’s 70th race of the season followed a familiar script for Joe Gibbs Racing, whose teams had won 18 of the 31 Nationwide races. Busch started 16th, but his superior No. 18 Toyota was on display early. He quickly moved to the front and led 137 of the 200 laps. Busch pulled away from Jeff Burton on a restart with three laps to go, despite taking just two tires on his final pit stop. Burton held on to finish second and Brian Vickers was third. Point leader Clint Bowyer finished fourth and Carl Edwards was fifth.
Five years ago in 2013, the Thompson Speedway released a comprehensive seven race schedule for 2014. Speedway General Manager Josh Vanada made the announcement Sunday morning at the drivers meeting. The schedule would consist of three NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series dates, The Icebreaker on April 5-6, Bud King of Beers 150 on Wednesday, August 15 and The World Series 150 on October 17-19. The Valenti Modified Racing Series will have two dates, Thursday, May 29 and at the World Series. The Granite State Pro Stocks will run as part of the Icebreaker and the World Series. Vanada further stated that all regular Thompson racing divisions would run at all races and NASCAR points will be awarded. Something new to New England racing would be segment style races will allow enough events to qualify for NASCAR Championships. This was done at Riverhead raceway in 2013.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series closed out the 2013 season at the Thompson Speedway. There were 29 cars on hand. Defending Sunoco World Series 150 presented by Xtra Mart winner Bobby Santos secured the Coors Light Pole Award in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour qualifying Saturday at Thompson Speedway. Santos had a fast lap of 18.712 seconds (120.244 mph) around the .625-mile oval for his fifth Coors Light Pole of the season, and 13th of his career overall. Mike Stefanik posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 18.715 (120.224).
Fifteen divisions of race cars and trucks were in competition. There were 10 feature events Saturday evening after Bobby Santos posted the fastest time in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour qualifying. Keith Rocco picked up the win in the Valenti Modified Racing Series 75-lapper while NASCAR Whelen All American Series victories went to Adam Norton, Corey Hutchings, Rick Gentes, and Mike Viens. Duane Noll earned the New England Truck Series win while Dan Meservey picked up a win in the Pro 4 Modified Series. Outlaw wins went to George Rego, Mike Viens and Wayne Coury, Jr.
Keith Rocco ran a dominant race in the Valenti Modified Racing Series and was followed to victory lane by 2013 series champion Rowan Pennink. Many tried, but no one could knock Rocco from the point and he led wire-to-wire in the caution-filled race. Following Rocco and Pennink at the finish was Tommy Barrett, Jr., Richard Savary, Ted Christopher, Dave Etheridge, Jon McKennedy, Ryan Preece, Louie Mechalides and Brad VanHouten. There were 33 VMRS Modifieds on hand. It was Rocco’s 29th feature win of the season.
The Sunoco World Series of Auto Racing presented by Xtra Mart was highlighted by an exciting NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour finish that saw Rowan Pennink drive to victory lane and Ryan Preece earn a solid third place finish to earn the series championship. Other feature winners on the final day of the World Series were Kerry Malone in the Sunoco Modified Series, John Zych, Jr. in NEMA midgets, Ben Seitz in ISMA action, and Larry Gelinas in the Granite State Pro Stock Series.
Rowan Pennink used a late-race pass on lap 133 to take the lead and eventual win in the Sunoco World Series 150 presented by Xtra Mart Sunday afternoon. The victory was Pennink’s second win in the series. Ryan Preece’s third place finish secured the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Championship for the driver, who becomes the youngest champion in series history at 22 years, 11 months and 25 days old. The championship also marks the second title for Flamingo Motorsports. The team previously won with driver Mike Stefanik in 2006.
Bobby Santos led Justin Bonsignore and Mike Stefanik at the start of the 150-lap event. Doug Coby brought out the first caution on lap four after spinning in the middle of turns one and two. Coby was then penalized a lap for pulling up to pit too soon. Santos continued to lead on the restart with Pennink moving up to second and Mike Stefanik in third. Santos showed no signs of wavering and held strong out front until caution at lap 38 slowed him down. The caution was brought out when Rob Fuller spun into the front stretch inside retaining wall. Pennink made a bid for the lead on the restart, but is challenge allowed Matt Hirschman and Mike Stefanik to go by for second and third respectively. Santos pulled ahead to a comfortable lead over Hirschman for several laps, but Hirschman reeled him back in and used the bottom groove to go by for the lead on lap 66.
Caution came out on lap 70 for Woody Pitkat and saw Hirschman come down pit road to pit. Santos assumed the lead for the restart, which quickly went back to yellow. The top-three – Santos, Stefanik, and Ted Christopher – elected to stay out rather than pit. Santos beat Christopher into turn one for the lead on the restart as Christopher and Ryan Preece battled it out for third. After a side-by-side battle with Christopher, Preece took the position and set his sights on Stefanik. He looked to the high groove and then shot down low to drive by for second on lap 83. Santos held off Preece on the restart following a quick caution period, but Preece was persistent and, on lap 92, drove to the bottom heading into turn three and took over the lead. Two separate incidents on the track brought out a caution at lap 98, but Santos still opted not to pit. He finally came down during a caution at lap 103.
Preece, Donny Lia, Ron Silk, Justin Bonsignore, and Pennink made up the top-five for the restart at lap 109. The field strung out single file with Preece holding strong out front. Caution slowed the pace and put Preece and Lia side-by-side for a restart at lap 123. Lia got the advantage and took over the lead going into turn three. Preece and Lia continued to battle and got door-to-door on lap 127, but Pennink wanted a piece of the action and moved in to the mix. Lia retained the lead with Pennink taking over the second spot after all the dust had settled. Lia drove to the front on a lap 133 restart with Pennink up to second. Pennink passed Lia for the lead on the following circuit and pulled away to a three-car length advantage. Pennink continued to pull away as Preece kept Lia busy with his challenges for second. Pennink had a half a straightaway lead as he approached the checkered flag for the coveted World Series victory. Lia settled for the runner-up spot with Preece, third. Bobby Santos came back from a late pit stop to finish fourth with Ron Silk, fifth. Max Zachem turned in a fantastic performance as he finished sixth. Matt Hirschman, who challenged Santos in the early going, came back from a late race spin and finished seventh. Doug Coby, Todd Szegedy and Justin Bonsignore rounded out the top ten.
It was a highly competitive event with six lead changes among five drivers.
Kerry Malone led every lap en route to the Sunoco Modified Series victory on Sunoco World Series presented by Xtra Mart weekend. Malone’s win was no easy feat, however, as he had to hold off a hard charging Preece through countless restarts to make it to victory lane. Woody Pitkat finished third with Dennis Perry a solid fourth. Kyle James, in his first time at Thompson, finished fifth with Keith Rocco, sixth.
Malone and Preece were disqualified following post race tech inspection. Malone had illegal fuel additives in his tank and Preece’s motor had illegal valve train components in addition to illegal fuel. Pitkat was awarded the win and Perry was moved up to the runner-up spot with James, third.
Other feature winners on the final day of the World Series were John Zych, Jr. in NEMA midgets, Ben Seitz in ISMA action, and Larry Gelinas in the Granite State Pro Stock Series.
Rumor had it that the New Smyrna Speedway may be the site of the “Battle at The Beach” come next February 2014 as a new MUSCO Lighting system was being installed for “TV quality lighting” . The 2013 “Battle” which was held at the Daytona Speedway was a total fiasco and discredit to the teams that make up NASCAR’s touring divisions.
In NASCAR Sprint Cup action at Talladega, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth swapped spots at the top, Johnson led Kenseth by a scant four points instead of the other way around, but those two were still firmly in control of the Chase with four races left. Jamie McMurray won Sunday’s race at Talladega. Johnson and Kenseth kept plenty of distance on the competition.
Johnson steered around a last-lap crash and finished 13th. Kenseth dropped to second with a 20th-place showing, but it’s another 22 points – a daunting margin – to Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick tied for third. Jeff Gordon, who had hoped Talladega’s unpredictable nature might help him make a big push, made up only two points and is 34 behind the leader.
Richard Petty Motorsports fired Todd Parrott for violating NASCAR’s substance-abuse policy.
Parrott was crew chief for the No. 43 car driven by Aric Almirola for the last year. NASCAR suspended him indefinitely for failing a random drug test.
Last year, 2017, The New London-Waterford Speedbowl closed out their racing season last week with BowlStrong-Fall Finale. Third generation driver Bryan Narducci of Colchester continues to dazzle the competition as he won the 25-lap SK Light Modified feature on Saturday night. Other Saturday winners were Anthony Flannery in the Late Models and Joe Squeglia in the Granite State Pro Stocks to name a few. Over 155 cars in 12 divisions were in competition.
There were 22 Modified Touring Series cars on hand Sunday for their season finale. Three qualifying heats were run. Heat winners were Jon McKennedy, Chris Pasteryak and Les Hinkley. Sk Modified heat winners were Keith Rocco, Dylan Izzo, and Todd Owen.
Keith Rocco accomplished what other competitors did not when he recorded a grand-slam in track championships in one year. Stafford, New London-Waterford (SK Modified and LateModel) and Thompson. Bob Potter and Ted Christopher recorded championships at all three but never all in the same year. Bugsy Stevens was a champion at both Stafford and Thompson as well as at Seekonk but never ran weekly at Waterford.
For Rocco it was touch and go until the final moments at Waterford. Kyle James won the 80 lap contest while Rocco first suffered a flat tire and then got collected in a wreck. When all was said and done, Rocco was credited with a 16th place finish and a one point advantage to secure the championship. James ended up second in the point chase.
After spending seven laps in the pits for repairs, Rocco rejoined the track with nine laps to go. Four laps later a weld on the chassis in the left front, broke, causing the left front tire to lay over and smoke. Rocco was shown the black flag with four laps remaining. He pulled off three laps later.
Following a period of heated discussion, the scorers at first awarded the championship to James by two points over Rocco. But immediately objections came up from the Rocco crew, who made their way to the fronstretch and contended that Rocco had made up enough positions from cars that had fallen out of the race before pulling off to win the championship.
Rocco’s track win total is 149 wins, 89 of those in an SK Modified. Rocco also has 49 career Late Model victories, four Limited Sportsman division wins, three Valenti Modified Racing Series victories, two Truck Series wins, one Pro Four Modified win and one NEMA Lite win during his career at the shoreline oval. His career total sits at 251 wins which also include victories at Thompson and 45 at Stafford Speedway.
In the 125 Modified Touring Series championship event Rowan Pennink took the win and the top prize of $5,000 while Eric Goodale who finished second won the series championship that brought with it a $10,000 check. Chris Pasteryak finished third with Tommy Barrett and Jon McKennedy rounding out the top five.
In racing action below the Mason-Dixon line Danny Bohn won the Southern Modified Racing Series 75 at the Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina. Burt Myers finished second with Jeremy Gerstner, third. Jason Myers and Tim Brown rounded out the top five.
Matt Hirschman became $10,000 richer after earning his first victory at Wyoming County Int’l Speedway in Perry, NY during the third running of American Racer 100 for tour-type modifieds on Saturday.
A restart with around 40-laps remaining would see Jimmy Zacharias and Chuck Hossfeld on the front row, but it was Eric Beers and Matt Hirschman moving into second and third, behind Jimmy Zacharias. Austin Kochenash and Mike Leaty got together on the front straightaway to bring out the red flag on lap 63. Both Kochenash and Leaty climbed out of their racecars under their own power. Eric Beers would take the lead on the restart as Matt Hirschman moved into second, shifting Zacharias back to third. Hirschman would look underneath Beers for the lead on lap 66 and would take the lead on lap 67. Andy Jankowiak would move into the top five on lap 70 after passing Barber. Tony Hanbury came to a stop in turn four to bring out the caution on lap 89.
Hirschman would lead the final 11 circuits to grab the victory in the American Racer 100. Beers finished second, followed by Jimmy Zacharias in third.
All roads lead to the Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts this Saturday for the Tri-Track Open Modified Series (TTOMS). Officials have announced a bounty on Matt Hirschman, in the upcoming Haunted Hundred at Seekonk. Hirschman is undefeated in TTOMS competition thus far in 2017; scoring victories in the lucrative Open Wheel Wednesday and SBM IV events at Seekonk and Star Speedways respectively as well as the most recent event at Star. Any competitor who dethrones Hirschman will receive a $1,500 bonus (should Hirschman also be on the lead lap). If Hirschman out-duels the competition yet again, he will take home the $1,500 bonus.
A total of 34 teams have filed entries thus far for the Haunted Hundred. Pit gates will open at 8am on Saturday, October 28. Grandstands will open at 11am with racing starting at 1pm. Pit admission is $35. Adult general admission is $25 and children 12 and under are admitted free. Also on the racing card is a 50-lap main event for Late Models and a 30 lapper for the INEX Legends. Building on a Seekonk Speedway Halloween tradition, prizes will be awarded for the best costumes. Children and adults alike are invited to participate in the costume contest. The rain date for the Haunted Hundred is Sunday, October 29.
A tip of the hat to Paula and Chad Bouchard of Ron Bouchard Auto Stores who visited the Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster recently to present the club with a new van they donated to the club.
The donation was made through the Bouchard family’s RB Racing Charity. The van, a 2017 Nissan NV worth $35,000, can seat up to 12 children and will be used to transport club members to and from events.
NEAR Hall of Famer Billy Harman was feted at a surprise birthday party held in his honor last Sunday at the American Legion in Niantic, CT. Among those who celebrated with him was Ray Miller, Bob Potter, Dennis Zimmerman, Bugsy Stevens,Dickie Doo Ceravolo, George Summers and Richard Brooks.
Just when you thought there was no room for any additional Modified racing series along comes Joe Lewandoski, former Riverside Park Speedway general manager, who announced there would be a touring SK Light Modified division for the 2018 racing season in the Northeast. Details will be announced on Sunday, Nov 19 at Hoosier Tire East in Manchester, CT. Lewandoski did elaborate that there would be no conflictions with any weekly tracks as this series would run on Wednesdays and Sundays from April thru Sept.
Martin Truex Jr. was the NASCAR Monster Cup winner at Kansas. Christopher Bell won the Kansas XFINITY race. It was his 1st XFINITY Series win in his 5th career start.
