Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – With the price of gasoline closing in on $4.50 a gallon and the price of heating oil over $5.00 per gallon, unfortunately, many race fans and competitors are having second thoughts about attending races on a weekly basis.
These prices affect all of us but there is a way of “having your cake and eating it too” It’s called live streaming of FloRacing.
For a reasonable cost, you can access all racing live from the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday nights, Riverhead Raceway and or Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday night plus the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series where ever the race plus also all NASCAR Touring division races.
For dirt track fans FloRacing covers weekly action at the Utica-Rome Speedway on Friday nights and weekly action at the Fonda Speedway on Saturday nights plus all the Short Track Super Dirt Series events. All events are archived for repeat viewing at your convenience. It’s the best deal in auto racing!
Stafford Speedway cancelled its Weekly Racing event scheduled for Friday, May 6th due to forecasted showers and rain. Stafford Speedway will return to racing action next Friday night, May 13 with a Weekly Racing Series / Kids Night program featuring the SK Modified®, Late Model, SK Light, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions along with a Big Wheel race for kids 7 & under. Any tickets sold for the May 6 event will be honored next Friday night, May 13.
A little sunshine on a rainy day came in the form of some more good news for competitors at Stafford in that for the 7th consecutive season, Maybury Material Handling of East Longmeadow, MA, will be a first place contingency program partner at Stafford Motor Speedway. Maybury will present a bonus of $150 to each SK Modified® winner and a $150 bonus to each SK Light feature winner. Maybury’s bonus money pushes the first place winner’s check for SK Modified® drivers up to $1,975 and each SK Light feature winner’s check to $650.
An approaching coastal storm arriving on Long Island Friday that carried over to Saturday washed out the 2022 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series season opener set for Saturday evening, May 7 at the Riverhead Raceway. While that is the bad news, the good news is the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Northeast opening event, the Miller Lite 200 takes center stage at Riverhead, this coming Saturday night, May 14th. The opening night seven division slate of racing set for May 7th will move to May 21st with the Eddie Partridge Vintage All Stars also in action.
Riverhead native Eric Goodale and Tommy Catalano of Ontario, NY are tied for the lead in the early season championship standings with Tyler Rypkema of Owego, NY just one marker out of the lead. Drivers who complete the current top ten rankings, Jon McKennedy of Chelmsford, Ma, Ron Silk of Nowarlk, Ct., Jimmy Blewett of Howell, NJ, Craig Lutz of Miller Place, Austin Beers of Northampton, Pa, Justin Bonsignore and his Holtsville neighbor JB Fortin will all take a shot at winning the Miller Lite 200 Saturday.
The opening program for the New London – Waterford Speedbowl was also canceled as was the weekly racing program at the Bowman Gray Stadium.
A big shout-out to Jacob Perry who scored his first ever win on dirt at the Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, NY on Saturday night. Perry added his name to the record books at the historic facility by winning the 15-lap Limited Sportsman feature Saturday at the half-mile high-banked dirt circuit.
The life of Ron Narducci Sr was celebrated as his ashes were spread at the start/finish line at the Stafford Motor Speedway along with a final lap around the track. Narducci was one of the top runners at the track when it was dirt. In the coming weeks his ashes will also be spread at the Fonda Speedway Museum and at the Sampson Military Cemetery.
Get Well wishes to Carl “Bugs” who suffered a broken hip last week. The three time NASCAR National Modified Champion is tough as nails and won’t allow this little setback to slow him down. Stevens was operated on Sunday morning and came thru it with flying colors. With a little rehab he will be back to normal, what ever that is, in short order.
Drivers Matt Kenseth and Hershel McGriff and crew chief Kirk Shelmerdine were selected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Mike Helton was named the Landmark Award winner for outstanding contributions to the sport Wednesday during a ceremony at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. They will officially be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Jan. 20, 2023.
July 12, 1968 Bugs Stevens, who made it two in a row at Catamount on Thursday night carried his winning ways over to Stafford on Friday night where he beat out Fred Harbach for the win. Smokey Boutwell, Fred DeSarro and Frank Faria rounded out the top five. Read all about it in the all-new book, The Modified Years At Stafford, by the Grace of God and 600 hp, which is gaining interest and has become a must have in race fans and competitors library. The book documents Modified Racing at the Stafford Motor Speedway from 1967 to 1986. Race by Race, Year by Year, it’s all there. Read all about it! Books are now available on Amazon.com and Coastal 181 (877-907-8181 toll free) and are available thru Stafford’s web site at the track in their store. Order yours now. Makes a great gift!
