Column Comiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Due to the forecast of steady rain throughout the weekend Stafford Speedway and Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series officials have officially postponed the NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final to Saturday, October 28th.
It was only fair to the competitors and fans who had already made plans to compete elsewhere in the coming weeks. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series competes at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina next Saturday, Sept 30 and at the Thompson Speedway on Sunday, Oct 8. The 14th and 15th of October will serve as a rain date for Thompson. On Saturday, Oct 21 the Tri Track Series competes at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl which brings us to October 28 and 29. The only possible conflict will be for a SMART event in North Carolina on Saturday, 28th of Oct. Stafford will host their final Friday night program, Champions Night, this week. All weekly champions with the exception of the SK Modifieds will be crowned. The SK Modified championship will be decided on Fall Final weekend.
“There were many conflicting events to work through and this is the best date we could find to ensure a strong field of cars for our fans,” explained Mark Arute. “It’s a bit late in the Fall but we’re looking forward to closing out the Modified season in New England at the NAPA Fall Final.” Arute added, “Scheduled events for this past Friday, September 22nd and Friday, September 29th remain on schedule”.
The NAPA Fall Final event will remain the same with the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series headlining the day with a $15,000 to win event. Stafford’s SK Modified® division will wrap up their points season with a 40 lap feature while the SK Light Modified division will have a 20 lap invitational race open to any driver who has not won a race at Stafford in 2023. The Vintage All-Stars will also be on hand. Tickets for the event remain on sale at StaffordSpeedway.com/tickets. For those unable to attend FloRacing will provide complete coverage.
The Stafford Motor Speedway and the Monaco Tri-Track Series had previously jointly announced that the 80 lap 80 lap Fall Final will carry a total purse of over $60,000. The winner will receive $15,000 with second paying $4,000. With over 30 cars entered, those who fail to make the final cut will receive $300. The Tri-Track Series is slowly but surely becoming the premier modified racing series in the northeast.
Last Friday night at Stafford one of the largest fields of cars were on hand as the speedway beat the on-coming rain and wind from a tropical storm that was headed for the northeast. Twenty-nine SK Modifieds, forty two SK Lights, Sixteen Limited Late Models, nineteen Late Models and twenty four street stocks jammed the pit area.
The speedway hosted Maybury Kids Night with Stafford’s five weekly divisions in feature action. Scoring feature wins were Todd Owen in the SK Modified® feature, Andrew Durand in the Late Model feature, Tyler Chapman in the SK Light feature, Damian Palardy in the Limited Late Model feature, and Ryan Waterman in the Street Stock feature. The two kids big wheel races were won by Callie Midford and Makayla Midford. Kevin Gambacorta finished second in the Late Model feature which was good enough to clinch the 2023 Late Model championship with one race to go.
In the SK Modified 40 lapper Todd Owen started 12th and methodically worked his way thru the 27 car starting field into the top three on lap 23 as he passed Anthony Flannery for second spot behind Marcello Rufrano. Owen secured the lead following a restart on lap 30 when Rufrano slipped to third which allowed Kieth Rocco to move into the second spot. Owen led to the finish, recording his second win of the season. Owen holds a 68 point edge over Cory DiMatteo. Rocco followed with Rufrano, third. Flannery, fourth and Troy Talman rounded out the top five. Sixth thru tenth included Cory DiMatteo, George Bessette, Jr., Noah Korner, Michael Christopher, Jr. and Jack Baldwin. Baldwin, by the way, is the son of Tom Baldwin Jr.
The SK Light 20 lapper saw Tyler Chapman come out on top at the finish in the 36 car starting field. Chapman started ninth and held off Chris Mathews for the win. George Bessette Jr, in a determined run from his 18th starting spot, finished third and is now tied with Brian Sullivan for championship honors. Sullivan finished in fourth spot. Rounding out the top five is Luke Baldwin, another son of Tom Baldwin Jr. Sixth thru tenth included Alexander Pearl, Norm Sears, Tyler Barry, Casey Vogt and Daltin McCarthy.
On a sad note it was announced that car owner Jean Guy Poulin had passed away. Jean-Guy Poulin, 80, of Hartford, CT, beloved husband of Brigitte (Dumais) Poulin, passed away Thursday, September 21, 2023. Jean-Guy was born in Notre-Dame-des-Pins, Quebec, Canada and was the son of the late Armand and Jeanne (Loubier) Poulin.
In addition to Brigitte, his loving wife of 58 years, Jean-Guy is survived by his devoted son Steve (Joan) of Somers, NY, his devoted son Scott (Maria-Fernanda) of Miami, FL, his sister Thérèse Poulin, his brother Jules (Lucie) Poulin, his sister Amélie (Francis) Poulin, his grandchildren Olivia Poulin Connolly, Juliette Poulin, Sebastian Poulin and Maria-Gabriela Poulin. He is additionally survived by his sisters-in-law Louise Poulin and Esther Poulin, and his brothers-in-law Cyr Leonid (Barbara) Dumais and Philip (Louise) Dumais. He is also survived by nieces and nephews Lisa, Kylina, Cynthia, Brian, Mariette, Lydia, Michael, Alex, Éric, and Annick.
He was predeceased by his sister Mariette Poulin and his brothers Marcel Poulin and Marc Poulin.
He worked and owned a drywall business, JG Poulin Drywall for over 50 years, building a life for his family in Hartford, CT. He was a man full of passions that went far beyond business. He loved racing and was very mechanically inclined. He designed and built innovative snowmobiles which advanced the sport of snowmobile oval racing. He raced all over the country and in Canada. In 1986 he became a driver on the Connecticut short track racing scene. Through the years he would continue to own and sponsor many successful race teams at Stafford Motor Speedway. Jean-Guy has been a part of the fabric of Stafford Speedway for over 30 years.
Kieth Rocco was one of the many was helped to develop into a championship contender. He said, “Words can not describe what this man has done for my racing career! He took a chance by putting me in his car with no open wheel or modified experience and when we were done we etched our name in the record books as champions! Countless stories and memories dynoing and searching for more power probably because he read it in hot rod magazine! When you see your brother Marcel up there tell him he can still keep his fords we don’t want them! RIP Jean Guy #78 Thanks for everything!”
Up next for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is the series’ inaugural visit to one of the Southeast’s most cherished facilities, North Wilkesboro Speedway. The Brushy Mountain Powersports 150 at North Wilkesboro is set to take place on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. ET, with FloRacing providing live coverage. Justin Bonsignore leads the point standings with a slim 3 point lead over Ron Silk. It will be interesting to see if the bad blood that was generated between the two will boil over at North Wilkesboro. Austin Beers sits in third spot some 38 points back. Kyle Bonsignore and Tyler Rypkema round out the top five.
The New London Waterford Speedbowl fell victim to rain.
Bob Finan sends word that with a Nor’ Easter barreling towards Long Island just in time for the weekend, Riverhead Raceway officials announced last Friday morning their doubleheader of racing planned Saturday & Sunday has been canceled. The Cecil Palm Tree 160 event for the NASCAR Modifieds, a Crown Jewel Series event will be downsized to a 66-lap affair and move to Championship Saturday September 30th. The Sunday Championship Day now slides over to Sunday October 1st.
The all new book, The Modified Years At Stafford, by the Grace of God and 600 hp, 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 it! 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!
With the cooperation of the Arute family another 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).