Column By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – The countdown to speedweeks in Florida continues as only three weeks remain before action begins at the Daytona International Speedway and at the New Smyrna Speedway. The Modifieds run at New Smyrna starting on Monday, Feb 8 and will finish up with the Richie Evans 100 on Friday, Feb 12.
The 602 Modifieds are now part of this years World Series of Asphalt Stocks Car Racing and will Run Sunday, February 7th, Monday February, 8th and Tuesday, February 9th!
Also included in the line-up is Jason Boyd who has had a ton of success behind the wheel during The World Series. He has 28 Career World Series wins including a Sweep of the 2002 Limited Late Model Series winning 9 races that week. Boyd has 26 Limited Late Model wins (3 titles) and 2 FL Mod wins to his credit.
Don’t forget to allow an extra two weeks for your racing vacation in Florida. Following the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb 14 the NASCAR Cup cars continue for another week of practice and qualifying on Daytona’s Road course for an event on Sunday, Feb 21 then move a short distance down the road to Homestead for another weekend of racing.
It looks like the month of April will be a busy one as American – Canadian Tour (ACT) and Pro All Stars Series (PASS) officials have confirmed the dates for the inaugural Northeast Classic at Loudon’s New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The long-awaited event will be held on the weekend of April 16-18, 2021 with a six-division card of touring series and open events.
The Northeast Classic was originally scheduled to debut in April 2020 before ultimately being cancelled due to the outbreak of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The event was highly anticipated throughout the region, and this coming April, the first running will finally be held on the “Magic Mile”.
“We can’t wait to finally get the Northeast Classic off the ground,” PASS owner Tom Mayberry said. “The buzz leading up to the expected debut last April was incredible. Unfortunately, world circumstances didn’t allow it to happen, much to everyone’s disappointment. With another year to look forward to it, we think the inaugural Classic will be just as big if not bigger than it would have been.”
The event schedule for 2021 has also been expanded beyond what was planned for 2020. The PASS North Super Late Models, ACT Late Model Tour, Tour-Type Modified Open, and 8-Cylinder Street Stock Open all remain on the card. In addition, the North East Mini Stock Tour and Exit Realty Pro Truck Challenge have been added to the program.
The Riverhead Raceway on Long Island, like many short tracks in 2020, was forced into making numerous schedule changes due to the Covid 19 worldwide pandemic including a late start to the race season, canceling two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events and moving the Islip 300 into mid November. The only silver lining in ’20 shined brightly when the Islip 300 turned out to be an ultra successful event on and off the track with a stellar field of 29 cars competing in the race. Thursday Eddie & Connie Partridge and Tom Gatz announced with the approval of the Town of Riverhead that they will present the 5th annual Islip 300 on Saturday November 13th, 2021.
The Stafford Speedway and TickMike.com have announced the TickMike.com SK Modified® All-Star Showdown to run in conjunction with the Superstar Racing Experience event scheduled for Saturday, June 12th. A fixture in the Stafford paddock for many seasons, TickMike.com will also serve as the presenting sponsor for the inaugural SRX event.
The TickMike.com SK Modified® All-Star Showdown will showcase the top SK Modified® drivers in a 50-lap event featuring a purse of $20,000. The top-15 in Stafford SK Modified® points will be locked into the field along with SK Modified® past champions. Race fans can expect a unique all-star style race format for the non-points event.
“This event is going to be big,” explained Stafford Speedway COO Paul Arute. “Mike approached us last season with the idea of an All-Star race and at the time it really didn’t fit into our schedule. With the addition of Tony Stewart and Ray Evernham’s Superstar Racing Experience event in June, it made perfect sense to showcase our SK Modified® drivers with an All-Star event alongside the stars of the SRX series.”
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On May 17, 1968 Defending NASCAR National Modified Champion Bugsy Stevens was on a tear as he won his first of three in a row as he took the top spot over Jack Malone, Bill Slater, Lou Toro and Joe Trudeau. The all new book, The Modified Years At Stafford, is gaining interest and has become a must have in race fans and competitors library. Race by Race, Year by Year, it’s all there. Read all about! Books are now available on Amazon.com and Coastal 181 (877-907-8181 toll free) and are available thru Stafford’s web site in their store. Order yours now. Makes a great gift!
