Column By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Seventy years ago in 1949, Charlie Barry was the feature winner at the Buffalo Civic Center in New York. Rain washed out all racing at Seekonk.
Sixty five years ago in 1954, Moe Gherzi was the winner in Sportsman action at the New London Waterford Speedbowl. Lou Tetreault was the non Ford winner.
Sixty years ago in 1959, George Janoski made it two in a row on the dirt at Stafford on Friday night. The New London Waterford Speedbowl ran its final Saturday night program before switching to Sundays for the final four events. Dick Beauregard won the 25 lap Sportsman feature while Charlie Webster took the checker in the non-Fords and Newt Palm took top honors in the Bombers.
Fifty five years ago in 1964, Ernie Gahan took the top spot on the dirt at Stafford on Friday night. George Janoski finished second with Bill Wimble, third. Saturday night at the Norwood Arena saw Steady Eddie Flemke in victory lane. Dick Watson was the Modified winner and Ed McAvoy was the Bomber feature winner at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Billy Clarke was the A division winner at Seekonk. Bob Anderson was the 15 lap Cadet division winner.
Fifty years ago in 1969, the Albany-Saratoga Speedway ran their season finale with Andy Romano taking the win. Lou Lazzaro finished second and was followed by Bernie Miller, Jerry Cook, Dick Clark, Ron Narducci and Kenny Shoemaker. At the Norwood Arena on Saturday night, Fred DeSarro took the win over Don McCullogh, Bugsy Stevens, Mike Murphy and Johnny Thompson. Jerry Cook, in search of Nascar points paid a surprise visit and finished 12th in his only appearance at the now closed track. Islip also ran on Saturday with Herbie Hulse taking the win over Mousie Kempster and Jack Reinhard. Waterford switched to Sundays and it was Newt Palm taking the win. Stafford ran a 50 lapper on Sunday with Bobby Santos taking the win over Bill Greco, Cook, Hop Harrington, Bugsy Stevens and Rene Charland. At Seekonk, George Summers was the A division winner. In Winston Cup action at Talledega the drivers went on strike but the event went on as planned and was won by Richard Brickhouse.
Forty five years ago in 1974, with the exception of Oswego and Thompson, the main action was on Long Island. Riverhead ran on Friday night with Charlie Jarzombek taking the win over Fred Harbach and Richie Evans. On Saturday at Freeport, Chargin Charlie made it two for two as he beat out Dan MacNamara and Gino Spada. At Islip on Sunday, 35 cars started the 300-lap grind on the tough 1/5-mile oval. Lou Lazzaro took the win over Jim Hendrickson, Gary Winters and Cliff Tyler. Rain washed out the final Saturday night at Waterford. George Murray took the A division win at Seekonk.Jim Shampine won the Oswego modified 200 over Don Diffendorf and Jim Winks and at Thompson, George Moose Hewitt took the win over Dick Caso and Fats Caruso.
Forty years ago in 1979, the annual Race of Champions was held at Pocono Raceway. Promoted by Joe Gerber, the event drew 97 modifieds. Richie Evans led 83 of the 120-lap distance to take the win over Maynard Troyer, Gail Barber, Jim Shampine and Satch Worley. Jack Bateman won at Monadnock while it rained at Westboro and Waterford.
Thirty five years ago in 1984, Stan Gregger won an open competition event at Riverside over John Rosati. Shangri-La ran a 150-lap event, which saw Richie Evans take the win. Corky Cookman finished second and was followed by Jim Spencer. Evans made an overnight trip to Maine where he finished second to Brett Bodine. Brian Ross finished third at Oxford Plains and was followed by Spencer. In Winston Cup action at Martinsville, Darrell Waltrip won the 500-lap event by a full lap. Pole sitter Geoff Bodine broke an oil line and finished 30th.
Thirty years ago in 1989,the mod tour was scheduled to run at Shangri-La on Saturday but was rained out. Lancaster ran an 89 lap open on Sunday which was won by Jan Leaty. Brian Ross finished second with Mike McLaughlin, third.
Twenty five years ago in 1994, Waterford ran on Saturday night. Bert Marvin took the mod win over Mark LaJunesse and David Gada. Twin late model features were run with Phil Rondeau and Larry Cote taking wins. Riverside ran their final point event of the year. Bobby Gegetsas took the win over Steve Park. Chris Kopec finished third and sewed up the track championship. The modifieds and the Busch Grandnational North Series were at Loudon. Jeff Fuller took the lead from Reggie Ruggerio with four laps to go and went on to take the win in the Modified event. Ruggerio finished second and was followed by Steve Park, Wayne Anderson and Bruce Dell. Joe Bessey was the BGNN winner. It was on this weekend that Richie Gallup was relieved of the driving chores of the x6 and it was announced that Mike Stefanik would be the new driver. In Winston Cup action at Martinsville, Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt finished one-two.
Twenty years ago, in 1999, Tony Hirschman won the Stafford Fall Final 300 lapper. It was a day of excitement to say the least. Ed Flemke Jr. was the center of attention as he was involved in three separate incidents. First off, he dumped Mike Ewanitsko on lap 115, and then he spun out his business partner, Reggie Ruggiero who was leading. After the second incident he was parked for two laps. The third and final incident came on lap 288 when Nascar parked him again when he was blocking the leader. Also the center of attention was John Blewett III who became upset after a confrontation with Carl Pasteryak. While the field was under caution, Blewett jumped on Pasteryak’s hood and started ripping wires off the engine. Reggie Ruggiero recovered from his early spin and finished second. Tim Connolly finished third and was followed by Tom Cravenho and Jan Leaty. Mike Christopher was the 50 lap SK-Modified winner. Waterford announced that they had secured a NASCAR sanction for 2000.In Saturday night action at the shoreline oval, Ed Dachenhausen took the win over Jerry and Jeff Pearl. During the running of the event, Todd Ceravolo suffered severe injuries when he was dumped into the retaining wall, drivers side first, by Rob Janovic. In Winston Cup news, Ray Everham announced that he was leaving Hendrick Motorsports and Jeff Gordon to form his own team. Mark Martin was the winner of the Winston Cup event at Dover.
Fifteen years ago in 2004 the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour was at the Stafford Motor Speedway for the annual Fall Final. The Modifieds continue to be the big draw for any of NASCAR’s touring divisions as 48 cars were on hand. Ted Christopher was the Busch Pole sitter and as luck should have it, picked the pole starting position. Christopher led the first 10 laps before giving way to Mike Stefanik whom led to lap 23. Christopher took it back after a restart on lap 24. Chuck Hossfeld, who had been rumored to be considering changing rides, put the Mystic Missile out in front on lap 38. Tony Hirschman and Ed Flemke, who had been battling for the series title kept each other in sight and on lap 75 displaced Hossfeld for the lead. With only 20 points separating them going into the event Hirschman knew he had to finish ahead of Flemke if he had any hope of getting the title. Hirschman passed Flemke for the lead on lap 87 and never looked back as he went on to score the win. Flemke glued himself to Hirschman and wasn’t about to give up another spot as he held off Stefanik to finish second. Rounding out the top five were Jerry Marquis and Hossfeld. Hirschman left Stafford leading Flemke by 30 points going into the season finale at Thompson. Jerry Marquis sits in third spot with Christopher fourth and Jamie Tomaino, fifth.
In Dodge Weekly Racing Thunder at the Thompson Speedway on Thursday night Todd Ceravolo was looking to sew up the 2004 Sunoco SK-type Modified title but lady luck had other ideas. During his qualifying heat the Ledyard, Connecticut driver was hit from behind and ended up suffering severe damage to his family owned modified. Mike Finkeldey was gracious enough to loan his car to Ceravolo for the 30-lap feature but lady luck stepped in again, causing electrical problems and an ultimate low finishing spot. Kerry Malone, who was second in points going into the event, suffered a similar fate, as he was involved in an accident, which also resulted in a low finish. Bert Marvin, who has had terrible luck this season, took his second win of 2004. Bo Gunning finished second with Richard Savory, third. Ted Christopher recovered from an early spin and finished fourth. Jeff Malave rounded out the top five and put himself in second spot in the point standings, 20 points behind Ceravolo. Norm Wrenn won the Pro Stock feature. David Berghman, despite a 16th place finish, sewed up the division championship. Glenn Boss won the Limited Sportsman feature but it was Larry Barnett who sewed up his division championship with a third place finish. Rick Gentes was the Late Model winner, Seth Duval won the All-Star Truck feature and Scott Michalski was the Mini Stock winner.
For once NASCAR Dodge Racing Series at Stafford was tame. Willie Hardie Jr. won the SK Modified portion of the Fall Final. Chuck Docherty finished second with Jeff Malave, third. Malave was later disqualified, as it was determined that his engine had a lightweight flywheel. Ted Christopher who had previously sewed up the track championship, finished seventh. Ryan Posocco was the Late Model winner and also the track champion for his division. Brian Hitchcock was the DARE Stock winner and Larry Barnett won the first-ever Limited Sportsman feature run at the track.
Eddie Reed Jr. got a little closer to gaining his first SK-Modified championship at the Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday night. Reed didn’t win, in fact he finished fifth, but his main challenger Dennis Gada was eliminated early enough to give Reed a 40 point cushion going into the final two events at the shoreline oval. Gada had been hoping to set an all time record of six championships in a row but unless a miracle happened, it would be a done deal for Reed. Ronnie Silk started second in the 35-lap feature and led every lap to score his first win of the 2004 season. Don Fowler ended up second with Chris Pasteryak and Rob Janovic following. Other Saturday night winners at the shoreline oval were Jay Lozyniak in the Sportsman division, Timmy Jordan in the Mini-Stocks and Jeff Paul in the Legends. The tracks Late Models had the night off.
The Nextel Cup along with the Busch Racing Series and Busch North Series divisions of NASCAR were at the Dover Downs Speedway in Delaware. Dale Quarterly won the MBNA 150 for the Busch North Series event. Andy Santerre finished fifth and sewed up his third series total in a row. Twenty-eight started the event that saw six finish on the lead lap. Mike Stefanik finished fourth and Jerry Marquis experienced overheating problems and finished 18th. Ryan Newman took the Nextel Cup win over Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. Martin Truex and Mike McLaughlin finished one-two in the Busch Series event.
On again, off again. According to those at NASCAR that oversee the Dodge Weekly Racing Series everything was on the up and up at the Lee USA Speedway when Richard Wolf was declared the winners on September 11 after the first two finishers ahead of him were disqualified. Ted Christopher, who had been in the top spot of the New England Region, was been moved back to the second spot in the standings as Wolf has been designated the Region Champion. The change made for a big cut in pay for Christopher as the Champion would receive $45,000 and the runner-up received $24,000. Christopher, fresh off his dominating win in the Featherlite Modifieds at Loudon was extremely unhappy, not so much with NASCAR but with the Stafford Speedway as he feels that the track gave him “the business” on September 3 when he was put to the rear in the second of two 30 lap events. The incident in question involved Chris Jones who had since been put on indefinite suspension for his actions against Christopher. Christopher feels that if he weren’t put to the rear on September 3 he would have won and would have been in a better position to win the regional title. The Stafford management felt they made the right decision. Jeff Strunk, who competed at the Grandview Speedway in Pennsylvania, finished third in the standings with Ledyard Connecticut’s Todd Ceravolo in fourth. Ceravolo, who competed at the Thompson Speedway, would receive $16,000 for his and his family’s efforts. Waterford Connecticut’s Ed Reed JR who competed at the Speedbowl would receive $8200 for his sixth place finish. It’s also official that Corey Hutchings is the New England Region Short Track Champion. Hutchings, who hails from Salem, Connecticut, was the point leader at both the Thompson Speedway and the Waterford Speedbowl and had a combined feature win total of 14. Hutchings would receive $2,500 plus a $1,000 bonus for each track title at season’s end.
The town hall in Plainfield, CT was the scene of a meeting between the developer of the proposed domed speedway and the town’s Economic Development Commission. The object of the meeting was to change local zoning laws to allow the proposed project to go foreword. The commission did not take action that would have allowed for comprehensive entertainment and amusement facilities, hotels, etc. The application also called for allowing special revenue facilities. Some people in the town believed that the race track proposal was just a smoke screen which would hide the fact that another casino would be coming to the state. The New England Raceway Corporation continued to project that they would host approximately nine events per year including one Nextel Cup event or “Tier One” drag racing, two Busch Series races or two CART events. The NASCAR legal department had notified that there is no agreement in place or any promise made that any NASCAR sanctioned events would be held in Plainfield. The commission would re-convene on October 14. Later in the week, word was let out that the International Speedway Corporation planned to build a ¾ mile oval that will seat 75,000 in Washington State on the West Coast.
Forbes Magazine listed the 400 wealthiest people in the country. Tied in 215th spot are Bill France JR and his brother Jim who own and control NASCAR and the International Speedway Corporation along with O. Bruton Smith who owns Speedway Motorsports. Forbes says they are each worth $1,300 million. Top man on the list is Bill Gates of Microsoft who is worth a cool $4.8 billion.
Ten years ago in 2009, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series headed to Martinsville Virginia for the Made In America Whelen 300. The 200-lap event carried a race purse of $131,427. Among those who got an early start for their trip south was Ted Christopher who found himself suspended by the Stafford Motor Speedway for his on track actions on September 18. Keith Rocco was also suspended from Stafford but remained behind in order to compete at Waterford on Saturday night. Ronnie Silk subbed for Rocco in the Eddie Partridge No. 12.
With the exception of a limited practice session on Saturday morning the rains washed all activity at Martinsville for the day.
Forty-three Modifieds were on hand to qualify for the 43 starting spots. Ron Silk and Donny Lia were the top qualifiers. Following the re-draw, Southern Modified Tour competitor Brian Loftin was placed in the pole position. Rowan Pennick drew the outside pole starting spot. Rounding out the top five starters were Burt Myers, Silk and Lia.
In a little over an hour and a half Mike Stefanik was able to take the win in the Made in America Whelen 300 at Martinsville. Stefanik, who managed to avoid multiple wrecks during the running of the event, took the lead from Todd Szegedy with 19 laps remaining in the 200-lap event. Szegedy finished second with Ryan Preece, third. Ronnie Silk and Burt Myers rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Kevin Goodale, George Brunnhoelzl, III, Donny Lia, Eric Goodale and Jamie Tomaino. Burt Myers was the highest finishing Southern driver which meant that he will get credit for the win in the southern tour as the event was a North-South combination event.
For Ted Christopher it was a long day as he spent most of the race going in and out of the pit area with engine problems. Finishing 30th in the final rundown, the defending series champion lost considerable ground to Lia. His finish, combined with Lia’s eight-place effort, closed Lia to within just one point of the championship lead with two races remaining in the season. Wrecks and mechanical problems took their toll. Of the 43 starters less than 12 were competive at the end. Brian Loftin led the opening three laps but ended up in 29th spot after his brakes failed. Rowan Pennick led from lap 4 through 80. Pennick, who was quite fast, ended up in 16th spot, 15 laps down as a result of being shoved into the wall on lap 186. Chris Pasteryak, who led from lap 81 to lap 165 was collected in the same wreck and ended up in 15th spot.
There were 10 cautions for 60 laps. Stefanik’s average speed was 68.091 mph. For his efforts he collected $9,534.
In Thursday night Thunder action at Thompson, the speedway closed out their weekly racing series with a better than average crowd thanks to the folks that officiate at the Stafford Motor Speedway. After the on-track confrontations between Ted Christopher and Keith Rocco plus their suspensions from competition the fans came out to see if there would be a showdown at high speed on the high banks at Thompson. There was an ongoing war of words but there was no crunching of metal between the two. Instead it ended up being a plain good night of racing. Christopher took his third straight victory but it was Rocco taking the Sunoco Modified Track Championship crown. Jim Banfield won his career first Super Late Model feature event while teenager Derek Ramstrom earned his first Thompson track championship. Rick Gentes made it two in a row in Late Model competition. John Materas had a joy ride on Thursday night as he clinched the championship the week before. Tom Tagg scored his fifth win of the season in the TIS Modifieds as Tim Sullivan earned the title in the division by a scant eight points. Shawn Monahan scored his second straight Limited Sportsman feature victory. After an eventful night, Larry Barnett recovered from an early race incident to become a multi-time Limited Sportsman champion. Randy Churchill scored his third win of the season in the Mini Stocks. Scott Michalski had a banner year to win the division’s title.
With Ted Christopher and Keith Rocco under suspension the Friday night season was anti-climatic without the track’s main attractions in competition. Both Christopher and Rocco had their twin brothers pinch hitting for them but it wasn’t the same. Doug Coby took his first victory of the season in the 40-lap SK Modified feature, Tom Fearn took his second win of the season in the 30-lap Late Model feature, David Webb took down his second win of the season in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Bill Davis took down his first victory of 2009 in the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, and Don Wood scored his second win of 2009 in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
Ted Christopher clinched the 2009 SK Modified track championship, his record seventh championship at Stafford Motor Speedway. Frank Ruocco, who was under federal indictment for obstruction of justice for trying to hide records of a scheme to illegally double the cost of removing contaminated soil from a New York construction site and had been charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, finished in 18th spot. Ruocco dropped to third in the point standings as Woody Pitkat moved into the second spot.
At the Waterford Speedbowl Ron Yuhas Jr. won his third SK-Modified feature of the season cutting into division leader Keith Rocco’s points lead. Tyler Chadwick finished second, followed by Rocco, who leads the points race by six with just two events left. Tim Jordan won his second Late Model feature. Danny Field (Mini Stocks), Walt Hovey Jr. (Street Stocks) and Jason Palmer (Legends) also earned victories.
Jimmie Johnson was the NASCAR Sprint Cup winner at Dover International. Clint Boyer was the Nationwide Series winner.
Five years ago in 2014, Keith Rocco broke the strangle hold that Rowan Pennink had on the SK Modified division at Stafford on Friday night. Pennink, up until Friday night, had a string of three wins in a row. It was also not a good night for Ryan Preece who lost the division point lead to Ted Christopher after his car developed problems and he was forced to drop out. Other winners were Adam Gray, who won his fifth feature of the year in the 30-lap Late Model Feature, and Justin Bren, who won his second Limited Late Model feature of the year. They were joined in NAPA Victory Lane by three first –time winners at Stafford and they were Paul French in the SK Light feature, Dan Dembek in the DARE Stock feature, and Devin O’Connell in the Legends Car feature.
In the SK Modified 40 lapper, Pennink finished second while Woody Pitkat beat Dan Avery to the checkered flag by a nose for third, and Eric Berndt got around Christopher for fifth. Christopher hung on for sixth. Preece ended up 20th while Nicole Morgillo finished 23rd. Preece had a very ambitious weekend planned as he intended to compete at Riverhead on Long Island on Saturday and at the Oswego Speedway in the Race of Champions on Sunday.
Rocco had won at all three Connecticut tracks and had a total of 27 feature wins to his credit which include 15 in Modified competition and 12 in the Late Models at Waterford.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series was scheduled for a 200 lap event a the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island this past weekend. Rain moved over the track during afternoon practice and persisted into the evening, forcing the cancellation of the event by NASCAR and track officials. There were 30 cars on hand
Due to local regulations that prohibit Riverhead Raceway from running events after the month of September, no make-up date was available to reschedule the Riverhead 200. Competitors were given refunds for pit passes and for unused tires that they bought for the event.
Once the cancellation was made Ryan Preece made a hasty retreat and did an all nighter to Oswego, NY where he finished third behind Chuck Hossfeldt and Tony Hanbury on the annual 200 lap Race of Champions.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action at the Waterford Speedbowl the races were cancelled for the second week in a row. Rain moved into the Waterford Ct area shortly after 5:00pm on Saturday afternoon. The only action at the speedbowl during the week was the final night of Wacky Wednesday competition which saw Mike Christopher Jr record his 23rd win if the season in Legends competition at the shoreline oval.
Christopher has already made his debut in open wheeled competition as he has recorded a 15th and a sixth in SK Lite competition. Ryan Morgan who had been a top runner in the Legends in past years will be moving up to the SK Modifieds in 2015.
In Modified racing in the Southland, Kyle Ebersole decided to change up his pit strategy and pitted early on Lap 53 and was able to hold off a late charge by Andy Seuss to win the South Boston 150 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour event at South Boston Speedway. It was the second career victory for Ebersole. His first came in 2013 at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia. Andy Seuss made several attempts in his quest for a season sweep at South Boston, but was ultimately forced to settle for second. He was followed across the line by George Brunnhoelzl III, Burt Myers and J.R. Bertuccio.
Pole winner Danny Bohn, rookie Spencer Davis, Jason Myers, Joe Ryan Osborne, and Thomas Stinson rounded out the top-10 finishers. There were 19 cars on hand.
Kevin Harvick got his fourth Nationwide Series win of the season, giving JR Motorsports nine on the year, with his victory Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway. In NASCAR Sprint Cup action, Brad Keselowski showed how badly he wants to win another championship.
Keselowski used a three-wide pass of Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday to win the opening race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. The victory automatically advances Keselowski into the second round of the 10-race Chase, which will eliminate four drivers every third race under NASCAR’s new format.
Last year, 2018, the previous weekend marked the first anniversary of the passing of Ted Christopher who lost his life in an airplane accident while on his way to a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island.
Christopher was the all-time winningest driver at Stafford Motor Speedway, with 131 wins, and Thompson Speedway, where he had 99 career victories. He also raced regularly at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl, where he had 48 career victories. The bulk of those victories came in each track’s weekly SK Modified division. He was also the the third winningest driver of all time on the Whelen Modified Tour.
At the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night the track paid tribute to Ambulance, EMS, Fire, Police, and all First Responder personnel. The track also had a moment of remembrance for Ted Christopher on the one year anniversary of his passing prior to the start of the SK Modified® feature. After Tom Fearn wrapped up the Late Model track championship one week previous, two more championships were decided as Ronnie Williams locked up the SK Modified® title and Jeremy Lavoie took the Limited Late Model crown. Scoring feature wins on the night were Mike Christopher, Jr. for the second week in a row in the SK Modified® feature, Darrell Keane scored his second win in the Late Model feature, Andrew Molleur took down his fourth win in the SK Light feature, Ryan Fearn scored his fifth win in the Limited Late Model feature, and Johnny Walker scored win #4 in the Street Stock feature.
In the 40 lap SK Modified feature, Keith Rocco took the lead shortly after half way with Christopher and Todd Owen side by side for second. Owen took second on lap-26 but Ron Williams moved into second behind Rocco on lap-27. As the two leaders came off turn 4 they touched with Rocco doing a 360 spin to bring the caution out. Williams was sent to the rear for the contact with Rocco, putting Owen and Christopher on the front row for the restart.
Josh Wood, Dowling, and Rocco got into the turn 1 wall on the restart to bring the caution right back out. Christopher got a good run in the outside lane and he took the lead from Owen on the next restart. Glen Reen followed Christopher in the outside lane and moved into second. Reen then almost took the lead from Christopher in turn 4 on lap-29 but he settled back into line. Michael Gervais, Jr. was now third with Owen back to fourth and Tom Bolles up to fifth.
With 5 laps to go, Christopher was still in command with Reen holding off Gervais and Owen for second and Eric Berndt now fifth. Christopher took the checkered flag to pick up his second consecutive win and third overall of the 2018 season. Reen finished second with Owen, Gervais, and Berndt rounding out the top-5. Ronnie Williams rebounded from his penalty to finish 6th, which was good enough to make him the 2018 SK Modified® track champion. Rocco ended up 16th.
Williams later admitted that he dumped Rocco on purpose as a payback from a previous incident.
On the Connecticut shoreline at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl all was quiet. It was announced, with no explanation, that all racing for possibly the rest of the year will be cancelled.
George Whitney, operator of the Speedbowl thanked Kevin Burgess, otherwise known as Chowder for taken time out of his busy life to report the Speedbowl to the Environmental Protection Agency which has now cost thousands of dollars in lawyer fees and engineered drawings and lots of unnecessary time that could’ve been spent on other things.
At the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island, it was a busy night of NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing with some 270-laps of feature event racing presented highlighted by the Whelen Engineering Night Twin 50’s for the NASCAR Modifieds. Kyle Soper of Manorville won the opening 50-lapper while John Beatty Jr. of Merrick topped the second 50-lap race. With a runner-up finish in the second race Soper will take a 11-point lead over defending NASCAR Modified champion Tom Rogers Jr. into the season finale September 29th.
Brad Keselowski raced to his third consecutive NASCAR Cup victory Sunday, persevering through a wreck filled Sunday afternoon and roaring away from the field in overtime to claim the playoff op ener.
Keselowski secured team owner Roger Penske’s 500th victory across all competitions with a resourceful performance amid trying circumstances and 99-degree Las Vegas heat.
Kyle Larson was second and defending Cup series champion Martin Truex Jr. third after a stop-and-start finish to a race that featured 12 cautions.
Ross Chastain won the Inaugural DC Solar 300, his first victory in 132 NASCAR XFINITY Series races. Ryan Preece finished sixth.v
