Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Seventy five years ago in 1948 the drivers strike at the Seekonk Speedway was settled and the Midgets returned Bill Randall was the winner.
Seventy years ago in 1953, Freddy Luchesi made it three in a row in Sportsman action at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl as he won the Wednesday night feature. Bud Matter was the non-Ford winner. Red Foote broke the Luchesi streak as he won a 50 lap Sportsman feature on Saturday night. Ted Dean was the non-Ford winner. At Seekonk, Art Gobin was the winner.
Sixty five years ago in 1958, Dick Beauregard, the guy they loved to hate, won the 25 lap Modified event on Thursday night. Hank Stevens was the non-Ford winner. Red Foote was the Saturday night Modified winner and Beauregard was the non-Ford winner. Ralph “Hop” Harrington took the top spot at Seekonk. Bud Olsen was the winner at Old Bridge
Sixty years ago in 1963, Steady Eddie Flemke Sr. won the 25 lap NASCAR Sportsman feature at the Utica-Rome Speedway. Bill Wimble finished second with Lou Lazzaro, third. Lee Millington and Bob Zeiglar rounded out the top five. Augie Moschera was the winner at Fort Dix. Flemke also won at Old Bridge. Ernie Gahan made it three in a row on the dirt at Stafford. At the New London-Waterford Speedbowl Ted Stack was the Thursday night 50 lap Modified feature winner. Maine transplant Jerry Dostie was the Bomber feature winner. Don Bachand was the 25 lap Modified feature winner on Saturday night at the shoreline oval. Bachand drove what was to be a long line of Modifieds that were called the Mystic Missile that were owned and built by Bob Garbarino at the Mystic River Marina. Dick Caso was the Saturday night Bomber winner. Dave Dias took a 50 lap win at Seekonk. Norwood fell victim to rain.
Fifty five years ago in 1968, Bob Bruno was the Friday night winner at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Robbie Kotary finished second and was followed by Hop Harrington, Ed Pieniezek and Dave Kotary. At Stafford, Eddie Flemke got the best of Bugsy Stevens in traffic and came out the winner. Stevens finished second and was followed by Leo Cleary, Dick Watson and Tommy Borget. Fred DeSarro, driving his own 327 Chevy powered Sportsman took down the Saturday night feature at Norwood. Ronnie Mayer took the win at Riverside Park and on the dirt at Fonda, Eddie Pieniezek took the win over Lou Lazzaro and Don Wayman. Dick Dunn was the 30 lap Modified winner at the Waterford Speedbowl. Lou Caso was the Late Model Daredevil winner. Bobby Sprague took top honors at Seekonk. Rain prevailed at the Lancaster Speedway in western New York. Thompson was idle on Sunday. At the Utica-Rome Speedway Bernie Miller scored a popular win over Jerry Cook, Richie Evans, Lou Lazzaro and Eddie Flemke. Ray Hendrick won another at South Boston.
Fifty years ago in 1973 the Friday night races at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, N.Y. rained out. Stafford Speedway ran a 100 lapper on Saturday night. Young sensation Ronnie Bouchard took the win over Richie Evans, Bugsy Stevens and Eddie Flemke. Bouchard backed up his Stafford win with a win in the Parodi Cigar Modified 150 at Pocono on Sunday. Jerry Cook finished second. Other Saturday night winners were Mike Loescher at Tioga, George Allum at Waterford and Artie Tappen at Islip. On Sunday evening, Utica-Rome ran twin features with Eddie Pieniezak and Richie Evans taking the wins. At Lee Raceway, Lou Austin won a close one over Ernie Gahan and Jim Landry. Bob Melnick won his second of the year at Seekonk.
Forty five years ago in 1978, Geoff Bodine made it five in a row at Stafford plus went three for three on the weekend as he also won at Riverside on Saturday and at Monadnock on Sunday. Because of previous rainouts, Waterford and Seekonk ran twin features. At Waterford, Dick Dunn and Moose Hewitt took the checkers and at Seekonk, Ronnie Bouchard and George Summers sat in victory lane. Fred DeSarro made it two in a row at Thompson on Sunday over Bouchard and Leo Cleary. Other weekend winners were Maynard Troyer, who won at Lancaster and Fulton, Tim Mislin at Spencer, George Kent at Tioga and Richie Evans at Utica-Rome.
Forty years ago in 1983, Reggie Ruggerio was the top banana at Stafford as he beat out Bob Polverari and Kenny Bouchard for the win. Tom Bolles was the SK modified winner. Rain washed out Waterford and Seekonk. Brian Ross won at Riverside and the first of two features at Thompson. Richie Evans was the other Thompson winner. Other weekend winners were Doug Hewitt at Spencer, Evans at Tioga and John Blewett at Islip. In Winston Cup action at Riverside in California, Ricky Rudd was the winner.
Thirty five years ago in 1988, rain washed out Stafford but at Monadnock it stayed clear and Reggie Ruggerio put another notch in his gun as he won the modified main event. Jerry Marquis finished second with Punky Caron, third. On Saturday night at Waterford, Don Fowler was the winner with Dennis Gada second. Ruggerio carried his winning ways over to Riverside on Saturday where he beat out Mike Stefanik and Stan Gregger for the win. At Riverhead it was Tom Baldwin holding off Wayne Anderson and Don Howe. Randy Hedger won at Tioga and Jamie Tomaino won at Wall Stadium.
Thirty years ago in 1993, At Stafford on Friday night, Mike Christopher was given back his spot after getting spun by Bo Gunning on the last lap and went on to take the win. Gunning was put to the rear but came back in one lap to finish fourth behind Christopher, Dennis Gada and Frank Cardile. Jerry Marquis won at Monadnock. In Busch Grandnational North action at Watkins Glen, Bob Dragon took the win over Dick McCabe, Curtis Markham, Dave Reszendes and Ted Christopher. In Winston Cup action at Dover Downs, Dale Earnhardt took the win and in Grandnational action Todd Bodine took the win. It was also announced that Randy LaJoie had secured the ride in the Moroso car. Riverside Park, Riverhead and the Thompson Speedway rained out.
Twenty five years ago in 1998, Ted Christopher failed to qualify for a Busch Grandnational event at Richmond and made a hasty flight to Stafford where he finished third behind brother Mike and Bo Gunning. Christopher made up for it on Saturday as he won the SK Type event at Thompson over Ed Flemke Jr. and Bert Marvin. Twin features were run at Waterford on Saturday. Bert Marvin arrived from Thompson in time to win the first one with Rick Donnelly and Jon Bunnell following. The Pearls, Jerry and Jeff ran one-two in the nightcap with Donnelly coming home third. At Riverside, Eddie Spiers held off Rob Summers and Billy Bolton. In BGN action at Richmond, Jeff Burton took the win over Dale Earnhardt Jr. The Winston Cup event was a slam bang-exciting event. Rusty Wallace gave Jeff Gordon an attitude adjustment on lap 372 when he returned a bumping favor and turned Gordon into the wall. Terry Labonte took the win after bumping Dale Jarrett out of the way with two laps to go.
Twenty years ago in 2003, the weekend started on a wet note as all-day rain on Thursday forced the Thompson Speedway management to cancel opening night for Thursday night Thunder. The NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series had a scheduled 200-lap event at the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island rained out. At that time there is no rain date. The Busch North Series was slated to run at the Beech Ridge Speedway in Maine suffered the same fate. This event would run the following Saturday night. Mike Stefanik had hopes of racing at the Lake Erie Speedway in the Art Barry modified but because of his commitment to the Busch North Series, his plans changed and he was at Beech Ridge. For the third week in a row rain-washed out racing at the Waterford Speedbowl. At the Stafford Speedway on Friday night, Eric Berndt started on the outside pole and ended up leading 97 of the 100 laps scheduled SK Modified feature. Ted Christopher presented the only challenge and at one point, Lap 63 to 66, had the lead. Christopher faded in the closing laps as he experienced engine trouble. He ended up 27th in the final rundown. Chris Jones finished second with Frank Ruocco, third. Defending track champion Bo Gunning who had been a victim of some early season bad luck, finished fourth and Jim Williams rounded out the top five. In addition to wreaking havoc in New England, the never-ending rain hampered other parts of the country. Among the tracks that had been dumped on is the South Boston Speedway in Virginia that had lost six out of nine events scheduled so far.
Fifteen years ago in 2008, After a one week delay because of rain the Thompson Speedway began their series of Thursday Night Thompson Thunder (TNTT) racing programs. Under warm, sunny skies, 132 cars including 25 Sunoco (SK type) Modifieds were on hand. As they are noted for, the Thompson management ran true to form as the entire program was run in an efficient manner with fans in their cars and on the way home by 9:30pm. Despite soaring fuel prices the Thursday night crowd was fairly good. The new Musco Lighting System was very impressive making for a daylight type atmosphere.
In the Sunoco Modifieds, Woody Pitkat wasted little time as he jumped from his third starting position in the 30-lap feature and took the lead shortly after completing the opening lap. Pitkat had a lot of heat on his rear bumper from Keith Rocco but held fast as he took the opening night win. Rocco settled for second and was followed by Kerry Malone, Bert Marvin and Bob Grigas III. Tommy Cravenho. Josh Sylvester, Todd Ceravolo, Harry Rheaume and Josh Steeves, rounded out the top ten. Among the missing was Jimmy Blewett who is on the sidelines with a broken wrist
For the second year in a row, Larry Barnett took the win in the Limited Sportsman division’s marquee 50-lapper. Veteran Fred Astle, Jr cleaned house in the Pro Stocks while Jeff Zuidema made it two in a row in Late Model action. Rick Blanchard was the Mini Stock winner with R.J. Marcotte taking the victory in the TIS Modifieds.
The Stafford Motor Speedway was the scene of an epic battle for SK Modified supremacy between Ted Christopher and Bo Gunning. Christopher, who was hoping to annex his 100th career win was forced to settle for second as Gunning won his 47th feature at the Connecticut oval. Richie Pallai, Jr. led the first lap before giving way to Eric Berndt, who held the lead until lap-7 when Todd Owen took over the top spot. Owen held the lead until lap-16 when he and Berndt made contact on a restart that saw both cars spin, which handed the race lead over to Gunning. Once the race went back to green after several lap-16 restart situations, Gunning and Kenny Horton began to pull away from the field. Christopher, who had earlier been black flagged for rough riding, was back into the top-5 and was running the top-2 cars down lap by lap. Christopher took second from Horton on lap-30 and set his sights on Gunning for the final 10-laps. Several times Christopher nearly had a pass made, but couldn’t complete a pass. The two cars made contact in turn 2 on lap-37, but heady driving by both competitors kept the action going. Christopher reeled Gunning in for one last try at victory, but Gunning was too strong to be overtaken. Horton finished third behind Gunning and Christopher, with Woody Pitkat and Keith Rocco rounding out the top-5. Ryan Posocco extended his record for career Late Model victories with his 29th career feature win in the Late Model feature event, Mark Bakaj took down his first career victory in the SK Light Modified feature, Rob Dow was the winner of the first of two Limited Late Model feature events, while Andrew Durand took the victory in the regularly scheduled Limited Late Model feature event, and Dan Flannery took down the DARE Stock feature event victory.
The Waterford Speedbowl ended up a victim of thunderstorms that hammered southeastern Connecticut late Saturday evening. Defending champion Bruce Thomas Jr. won the rain-shortened Late Model main event. Other feature winners were Ken Cassidy Jr. (Mini Stock) and Kevin Iannarelli (Pro-4 Modifieds). Starting from the pole, Thomas drove into the lead immediately and was never seriously challenged. Behind him, the trio of Ed Reed Jr., Tim Jordan, and Ron Yuhas Jr. battled, with Reed claiming the runner-up spot. The event was red-checkered at lap-19 due to severe weather conditions entering the area. Completing the top-5 was Jordan, Yuhas, and Joe Curioso III.. Thomas’ win put him in the point lead by a mere four points
In the Mini Stock 20-lap feature, pole sitter Chris Williams led until passed by Phil Evans with twelve laps remaining. Ken Cassidy Jr. slipped by Evans on a restart at the halfway point, going on to win by several lengths. Randy Churchill, Williams, and Mark Panaroni completed the top-5. The first win of 2008 for the defending champion, the event was a qualifier for the Four Cylinder Nationals to be held at Maine ’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on June 27.
Taking the 25-lap Pro-4 Modified feature was Kevin Iannarelli of Maynard , Mass. Starting mid-pack he quickly worked his way to the front, winning by a wide margin. Following was 2008 Bud Nationals winner Norm Wrenn, Bob Richard Jr., Brian Vincent, and George Sherman. Sixth through tenth were Cory Cleary, Phil Laujier,. Tyler Andersen,. Dan Merservey and Robin Berghman, Berghman is the wife of chassis builder and Modified driver David Berghman as well as the daughter-in-law of three time NASCAR National Modified Champion and Mrs Carl Bugsy Stevens. Cory Cleary is the grandson of Modified great Leo Cleary. Daniel Bisignano notched the Legends Young Lions Event.
The True Value Modified Series and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series were enjoying their second “Spring Break of the season.
In NASCAR Sprint Cup action at the Dover Downs Speedway Kyle Busch led the way again, dominating the second half of the 400-mile race Sunday at the Deleware and charging to his Sprint Cup series-best fourth win of the season and 10th overall. Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle were second and third in the Best Buy 400. Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five. Denny Hamlin made it nine victories for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series, leading all but 69 laps to win Saturday night at Dover Rookie Joey Logano, from Middletown, CT, finished sixth in his NASCAR national-level debut, running near the front of the 200-mile race with veterans such as Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and JGR teammate Hamlin. The 18-year-old Logano drove the No. 20 Toyota that entered leading the Nationwide Series in owner points and has won six races in 14 starts this season with Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Tony Stewart behind the wheel. Edwards, who started on the pole, was second. David Stremme was third and David Reutimann fourth.
It was also announced that Marcus Smith, son of billionaire track owner Bruton Smith, was selected as Humpy Wheeler’s successor at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Speedway Motorsports Inc.
Ten years ago in 2013, The Stafford Motor Speedway fell victim to rain again. A forecast of heavy rain and wind forced NASCAR and the Stafford management to postpone the TSI Whelen Modified Tour Series for the second time.
In a bold move, the Thompson Speedway went against the odds of being rained out and ran Thursday night and got most of their program in before the rains came. Rain put a damper on the Thursday Night Thompson Thunder program when track conditions forced the postponement of the Lite Modified and Limited Sportsman features until a later date. Keith Rocco, Rick Gentes, and Joe Baxter picked up feature wins in NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action while Darryl Dutch was the victor in a special 15-lap Outlaw Antique Racer’s feature.
Rocco didn’t let a wrist injury stop him from visiting victory lane at the northeast Connecticut oval. Rocco took the lead on lap nine of the Sunoco Modified feature and held off Woody Pitkat and Ryan Preece in an exciting finish to the 30-lap feature that was slowed for rain three times.
Woody Pitkat dove to the bottom on lap 24 and got side-by-side with Rocco before pulling ahead by a nose length out of turn two. Ryan Preece kept on the battling duo’s bumpers just waiting for a mistake. Rocco wasn’t about to settle in, however, and continued to fight on the outside groove before diving to the bottom of Pitkat on lap 26. The two fought door to door with Preece dropping to the bottom to go three-wide coming out of turn four of lap 27. Rocco reclaimed the lead coming out of turn two with Pitkat taking the white flag in second. Preece continued to keep the pressure on, but it was all Rocco at the checkered flag.
Paul Newcomb and Dennis Perry continued to impress as they rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth included Tom Abele Jr who has settled in as a Thursday night regular, Kerry Malone, John Catania, Jay Sundeen and Todd Ceravolo.
The rain dumped between 5-6 inches on the Waterford Speedbowl on Friday but by Saturday afternoon it cleared and the water level dropped, allowing the Saturday night program to go on. Keith Rocco won his fourth SK Modified feature of the season, capturing the 35-lap event.
Other feature winners in the weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series were Bruce Thomas Jr in the Late Model race, Corey Hutchings in the Street Stock race, Ian Brew in the Mini Stocks, Randy Church Jr. in the SK Light division and Nick Ladyga in the Legend Cars.
Rocco, who earned his first win since May 4, worked his way through the top ten to win this race. After Justin Gaydosh used a three-wide maneuver to take the lead, he held it until Kyle James moved in front on lap 14. Rocco, however, used the outside lane to challenge for the lead. He passed Gaydosh for second on lap 17 and used the outside again to get around James on lap 21.
Rocco then held off Todd Ceravolo over the remainder of the race to take the win. Kyle James, Justin Gaydosh, and Diego Monahan rounded out the top five.
In victory lane Rocco announced that he and his wife, Cassie, would have their first child in January. Cassie Rocco is the daughter of Todd and Terri Ceravolo and the granddaughter of Dickie Doo and Joyce Ceravolo.
The Valenti Modified Racing Series visited the Seekonk Speedway on Saturday night for a 100 lap event. Louie Mechalides picked up his third career Valenti Modified Racing Series win holding off some late race charges from Tommy Barrett and Dwight Jarvis.
Todd Annarummo jumped out to the lead from his pole position start, and set the pace for the first half of the race. Todd had his hands full, as Stephen Masse made his way through the field from his 11th starting position. By the time the race reached the one-third mark, Masse had closed in on the second generation racer, and put heavy pressure on Annarummo. Todd was able to hold on through a pair of restarts, but it would be lapped traffic that would be their undoing, as just past the half-way point, a car about to go a lap down struggled to find the right groove, causing Annarummo and Masse to get together.
Mechalides took over at the top of the leader board with Jarvis next to him on the restart. The pair raced wheel to wheel for several laps before Jarvis settled in behind. Chris Pasteryak joined the fight for second, taking over the spot for a couple of laps in the latter stages before falling back. With a restart in the final 25 laps, Barret started making a move to the front, and settled into third. At this point, Jarvis was back to trying to find a way by the leader, but Lightning Lou was keeping his hands busy keeping his ground pounder at the front of the pack.
Barret tried a couple of times to squeeze by on the outside, making a strong bid for the lead over the final laps, but Mechalides kept pace at the front, and held on for his first win of the season. Jarvis slid underneath for second by several inches over Barrett. Todd Patnode and Rowan Pennink rounded out the top five.
At the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island, Ryan Preece won the Richie Evans Hall of Fame 100. Justin Bonsignore finished second with Ron Silk, third. Tom Rogers Jr and Howie Brode rounded out the top five.
Down in the southland at the Bowman Gray Stadium Jason Myers and Michael Clifton were the winners of the night’s scheduled twin 25 lap NASCAR Modified events.
In NASCAR Sprint Cup racing one week after a controversial restart cost Jimmie Johnson a victory at Dover (Del.) Int’l Speedway, the former Sprint Cup champion drove to a dominant victory in the Party in the Poconos 400. Johnson led 129 of 160 laps en route to his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the 2013 campaign.
Austin Dillon looked like he had the field covered during Sunday’s rain-delayed NASCAR Nationwide Series DuPont Pioneer 250 at Iowa Speedway. Trevor Bayne had other ideas. Dillon started on the pole and completely dominated the race, which was pushed to Sunday because of rain Saturday night. He looked like he was his way to his first victory of the 2013 season, but it all went away in the final 30 laps of the 250-lap event. The Ford Mustang of Bayne was able to nose ahead of Dillon’s Chevrolet Camaro as they crossed the start-finish line with 11 laps left to take the lead. Bayne completed the pass for the lead as he entered turn one, dropping Dillon back to second.
Five years ago in 2018, The Stafford Motor Speedway started the weekend of racing off on Friday night under threatening skies. Taking down feature wins were Chase Dowling in the SK Modified feature, Tom Fearn in the Late Model feature, Marcello Rufrano in the SK Light feature, Jeremy Lavoie in the Limited Late Model feature, and George Bessette, Jr. in the Street Stock feature.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Dowling started third and took the lead on lap four as he went on to win the non-stop event, his first of the season at Stafford. Eric Berndt finished second and was followed by Ronnie Williams, Todd Owen and Mike Christopher Jr. A predicted battle between Keith Rocco and Ryan Preece never materialized as they finished eighth and ninth respectively.
Spring Break for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series came to an end. The mighty modifieds resumed at the track known as the cement palace, the Seekonk Speedway located at the Gateway to Cape Cod in Seekonk, Mass. Thirty-one cars were on hand for the 150 lap event.
Justin Bonsignore, who is hot to trot for the series championship made it two out of four after a heated battle with Chase Dowling and Matt Hirschman. After trading the lead numerous times Bonsignore took the lead for the final time on lap 128. In the end, Dowling settled for the runner-up spot with Hirschman, third and Rowan Pennink, fourth. Ron Silk was fifth. Ronnie Williams was sixth, followed by Timmy Solomito, Tommy Catalano, Dave Sapienza and Craig Lutz.
Worth noting was the outstanding run by up-state New Yorker Tommy Catalano who came from 21st to finish eighth. There were many who showed promise early on but in the end, had a not so good day. Anthony Nocella was as high as fourth until getting collected after Wade Cole spun on lap 119. Cole was parked by NASCAR and Nocella, who lost two laps, finished 20th. Defending series champion Doug Coby started 12th and finished 12th. Just didn’t have that little extra. Jon McKennedy had a power steering malfunction and finished 25th after starting fifth. Woody Pitkat lasted 48 laps when his ignition quit, ending his race in 26th spot. Ryan Preece started 15th and lost an engine on lap 41 which placed him 27th at the checker. There were 7 cautions for 39 laps.
The New London-Waterford Speedbowl SK Modifieds suffered their fourth rain-out in a row. Two heats were run with a light field of 11 cars on hand. Support class winners were Peter Bennett in the Legends and. Jon Porter in the Limited Sportsman. Modified heat winners wereDylan Izzo and Tim Jordan.
Across the big pond on Long Island, John Fortin Jr. of Holtsville realized the dream of a lifetime Saturday night at Riverhead Raceway when he won the 40-lap NASCAR Modified feature event mastering numerous restarts during the race to take the Whelen All American Series victory. Once again weather played a role in at the 68-year old track as a rain delay slowed the program for about an hour but the hard working Riverhead Raceway track staff were not going to let mother nature win out and all nine feature events were presented.
Rookie drivers Dylan Slepian and Roger Turbush bought the 19-car field to the green flag with Slepian gaining the advantage at the drop of the green over Turbush. Lap 2 found Chris Young getting by Turbush for second and over the next five laps the second generation driver would test Slepian for the race lead. A double file restart on lap 7 would liven things up at the front of the field with Young riding the outside lane to take the race lead from Slepian as the duo began the 8th circuit. Just two laps later Slepian went for broke racing into the third turn diving very low on Young entering the turn. Unfortunately Dylan’s car slid back up the track clipping leader Young forcing him into a spin drawing a caution flag. When the field was reset John Fortin Jr, who started the race from 6th and Eddie Brunnhoelzl III who started 7th were now occupying the front row for the double file restart.
Eddie Brunnhoelzl III of Levittown was a close runner-up in his Go Green Generators entry while David Schneider of Northport completed the podium in his ESM Racing machine. Kyle Soper of Manorville and Chris Young of Calverton both recovered from early race misfortune to rally back for fourth and fifth place respectfully.
Down in the southland at the Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Burt Myers led wire-to-wire in the 100 lap featured race and it’s no surprise he wasn’t giving an inch even to his brother, Jason, who stayed on his bumper all night but couldn’t get out front.
Burt, the two-time defending division champion who has won eight tiles overall, drew the front row after a blind draw to determine the lineup after qualifying. Jason was in just behind Burt when the race started and the brothers stayed consistent throughout staying in front of the rest of the field at a pretty good clip.
It was Burt’s 76th career win and third win of the season. Brandon Ward wound up third with John Smith fourth and Tim Brown wound up fifth after a roller-coaster race. Brown was spun out on the first lap and fell back to 12th but worked his way up to fourth at one point but settled for the fifth-place finish.
Lost in the shuffle in a season where Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch have turned the NASCAR Cup Series into a two-driver show, Truex came to Pocono and gave the field a reminder that he’s still a driver to beat in the championship race.
Truex stayed out on pivotal caution late in the race to take the lead, then pulled away off a restart with seven laps left to win Sunday at Pocono Raceway
Last year, 2022, The Stafford Motor Speedway started off the weekend with their regular Friday night open competition program plus a big announcement. -RaceChoice.com has partnered with Stafford Speedway to present the RaceChoice.com SK Modified® Showdown accompanying the SRX Series on Saturday, July 2nd. The RaceChoice.com SK Modified® Showdown will be a 50-lap, $4,000 to win, points race, featuring prize money in excess of $32,000.
Stephen Kopcik came up a winner for the second consecutive week in the SK Modified® feature while it was a big night for the Gray family as Adam Gray won the Late Model feature and his 6-year-old son Jacob won the Kids Big Wheel race. There was a pair of first time winners on the night with Josh Carey winning the SK Light feature and Damian Palardy winning the Limited Late Model feature while Travis Hydar scored his second win of the season in the Street Stock feature.
In the SK Modified 40 lapper with 33 laps complete, Kopcik and Marcello Rufrano were out front but behind them Bryan Narducci was now up to third with Keith Rocco fourth and Teddy Hodgdon up to fifth. Mike Christopher was back to sixth followed by Ronnie Williams. As the cars were on the final lap, Fran Siana went through the grass in turn 1 and came back on to the track just in front of the leaders but Kopcik was able to hold off Rufrano and Narducci to the checkered flag to pick up his second win of the 2022 season. Rocco finished fourth and Hodgdon rounded out the top-5.
The Riverhead Raceway on Long Island presented “The Flying Dutchman 90”, a celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Fred Harbach’s 1992 NASCAR Modified championship and win in his final race on Saturday night. A total of 27 Modified cars and drivers paid tribute to the fallen driver. John Beatty won the 90 lap event after Timmy Solomito was taken out by the lapped car of Tom Rogers. Ed Brunnhoelzl III finished second with Kyle Soper, third.
At the New London Waterford Speedbowl Todd Owen made it two in a row in the SK Modifieds. RJ Marcotte finished second with Anthony Flannery, third. Andrew Molleur was the Late Model winner with Ryan Morgan a close second.
Down in the southland at the Bowman Gray Stadium Jonathan Brown was the 100 lap winner. Tim Brown finished second with Chris Fleming, third. Jason Myers and Danny Bohn rounded out the top five.
Word came from Loudon, NH of a name change for what has been known as the NortheastMotor Sports Museum. When plans to build a new locally-based motor racing museum were created over a dozen years ago it was assumed that the museum would cover the history of motorized racing in New England and nearby places that touch the six-state region.
As the nonprofit went forward the board of directors focused primarily on the history of New England motor racing. Now in its sixth year of operations, the museum has clearly become New England focused. It’s a lot more local, in our back yards, than was imagined when the museum was founded. And the word “motor sports” which also seemed right at the time of the museum’s founding, also came to not fit. Four-wheel-drive off-road vehicles are often termed “motor sports” which did not fully represent the racing within the region. “You tell me we’re going to see motor sports and I’m not interested. If you want to go see racing, I’m on board,” said museum trustee Mike Smeriglio as changing the “motor sports” part of the museum’s name to “racing” was addressed.
So, as of June, 2nd 2022 the North East Motor Sports Museum has a new name, “New England Racing Museum.” It’s shorter and more directly describes who we are and what we do. The old logo, signs, stationary, wearables with the museum’s original name are all being replaced. There is a wicked good sale of North East Motor Sports Museum wearables going on at the museum currently.
The new name “New England Racing Museum” clearly reflects the cars, motorcycles, photos, artifacts, books, helmets, trophies, and uniforms on display at the museum. Going forward the museum’s mission will be exclusively focused on preserving and educating the public on the history of motor racing within the New England region specifically.
With the cooperation of the Arute family a book has been published with pictures and biographies of the 50 Greatest Drivers at Stafford.
The Stafford Motor Speedway had become the epicenter of NASCAR Modified racing in the northeast by the late 1980’s. From its dirt beginnings to its lightning-fast asphalt, Stafford had become the toughest and most gratifying track to score a victory. The Arute family which has owned and guided the destiny of the facility commissioned their thousands of loyal fans to name their favorite drivers. In alphabetical order so as not to offend anyone:
Tom Baldwin, Gene Bergin, Brett Bodine, Geoff Bodine, Ken Bouchard, Ron Bouchard, Mario “Fats” Caruso, Rene Charland, Ted Christopher, Leo Cleary, Tim Connolly, Jerry Cook, Corky Cookman, Pete Corey, Fred DeSarro, Richie Evans, Mike Ewanitsko, Ed Flemke, Sr., Jeff Fuller, Rick Fuller, Ernie Gahan, Bill Greco, Bo Gunning, Ray Hendrick, George “Moose” Hewitt, Tony Hirschman, George Janoski, Charlie Jarzombek, George Kent, Buddy Krebs, Randy LaJoie, Jan Leaty, Jerry Marquis, Mike McLaughlin, Ray Miller, Steve Park, Bob Polverari, Bob Potter, Brian Ross, John “Reggie” Ruggiero, Greg Sacks, Ollie Silva, “Wild” Bill Slater, Jimmy Spencer, Mike Stefanik, Carl “Bugsy” Stevens, George Summers, Jamie “The Jet” Tomaino, Maynard Troyer and Satch Worley.
Books are priced at $17.95 each and be purchased at the track at the Novelty Booth or at the Stafford Motor Speedway on line store. Books are also available at Amazon.com and at Coastal181 (877-907-8181).
