Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Seventy years ago in 1953 Ray DeLisle won the season ending 100 lap Modified event at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Delisle was forced to share the winning prize money with Red Foote whom he had dumped in order to take the lead. Bud Matter was the non-Ford feature winner.
Ted Swaim was the winner of the third annual Race of Champions at the Langhorne Speedway in Pennsylvania.
Sixty five years ago in 1958, at the Race of Champions in Langhorne, Pa., Jim Delaney took the win and Dutch Hoag finished second. Langhorne was a one-mile dirt circle dirt track.
Red Foote won the 25 lap Sunday afternoon Modified feature at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Charlie Webster was the non-Ford winner.
Sixty years ago in 1963, Dutch Hoag took the win in the 100 mile Race of Champions at the Langhorne Speedway. Budd Olsen finished second and was followed by Wally Dallenbach, Ralph Smith, Neil Haight, Lou Lazzaro and Kenny Shoemaker.
George Pendergast made it two in a row at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl as he won the season ending 25 lap Modified feature at the shoreline oval. Dick Caso was the Bomber winner. Seekonk closed out the season with a 100 lap Class A event that was won by Dave Humphrey.
Fifty five years ago in 1968, Dutch Hoag won the Race of Champions at Langhorne Pa. It was his fifth win at the historic oval that went from dirt to asphalt in 1965.
Following Hoag at the finish was Bobby Gearhart, Chuck Boos, Bugsy Stevens and Gene Bergin. Sixth through tenth were Don McTavish, Sammy Beavers, Bill Strosahl, Al Tasnady and Roger Treichler.
The event was not NASCAR sanctioned. NASCAR sanctioned the Albany-Saratoga Speedway and a 100-lap double point event was run to keep the NASCAR drivers from going to Langhorne. Eddie Flemke took the win over Bob Bruno, Rene Charland, Ernie Gahan and Ron Narducci. Thompson also ran and it was Lou Austin taking the win.
A Sunday afternoon modified event scheduled by the Lee Raceway in New Hampshire was rained out.
Don Collins was the Sunday afternoon Modified winner at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Wayne Smith was the Daredevil winner while Bobby Sprague won a 200 lapper at Seekonk..
Fifty years ago in 1973,the Northeast racing season had ended and race teams were getting ready for their annual trip to Martinsville.
Forty five years ago in 1978, Thompson ran a 50 lapper which was won by Ray Miller. Kenny Bouchard finished second and was followed by George Summers, Bobby Clarke, Dick Dunn and Freddie Schulz. At Hickory, N.C., Geoff Bodine took the win over Richie Evans, Jerry Cook and Wayne Anderson.
Forty years ago in 1983 was another off weekend.
Thirty five years ago in 1988, the modified tour was at Rougemont, N.C. Ricky Fuller took the win over Tom Baldwin, Jamie Tomaino, Jeff Fuller, Mike Stefanik, Brian Ross and Mike Ewanitsko. It was at this event that Rod Spaulding was involved in an accident that saw him receive severe head injuries. It was also announced that the Arute Family had sold the Stafford Speedway to Dan Avery for $2.5million. Avery withdrew the offer a week later.
Thirty years ago in 1993, the Race of Champions was held at Flemington, N.J. Billy Pauch, driving the Mario Fiore No.44 started 43rd and avoided numerous wrecks and took the win in the 200 lap event. Jeff Fuller finished second and was followed by Tony Siscone, Mike Ewanitsko, Reggie Ruggerio and Steve Park. In the Triple A-sk type feature, Ted Christopher came back after being involved in a 20 car wreck, then took the lead from Tom Tagg with10 laps to go and went on to score the win. Taggs distributer broke. Eric Beers finished second.In the National Parts Peddler Street Stock event, Tom Fox,who crossed the finish line second was awarded the win after apparent winner Shannon Connor was disqualified.
At Rockingham, N.C., Mark Martin won the Grand National event. Jim Spencer and a crew member were suspended for the rest of the year for fighting with Joe Besseys crew. In Winston Cup action, Rusty Wallace took the win.
Twenty five years ago, in 1998, Flemington ran a mod tour 250 which was won by Ed Flemke Jr.who took the lead from Mike Stefanik with three laps to go.Stefanik hung on for second and was followed by Mike Ewanitsko, Reggie Ruggiero, Tony Hirschman, Jamie Tomaino and Tim Connolly.
Twenty years ago in 2003 The NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series was at the Thompson Speedway with a field of 49 modifieds on hand. Because of steady rain, the previous week that showed no sign of letting up, the event was postponed to this Saturday afternoon. All qualifying took place a week ago with Tony Hirshman taking the pole with a run around the 5/8 mile oval to the tune of 120.501 mph. Doug Coby was second fastest with series point leader Todd Szegedy, third. Hirshman was also the lucky guy on the draw for starting positions as he pulled the pole starting spot. Jimmy Kuhn pulled second spot with John Blewett III pulling third. Chuck Hossfeld and Szegedy rounded out the first five starting positions. Sixth through tenth starters are Doug Coby, Eddie Flemke Jr., Jerry Marquis, Carl Pasteryak and Tony Ferrante Jr.
Once the World Series was postponed it was a mass charge to leave the speedway grounds. A major traffic jam developed when the hitch on Jamie Tomaino’s tow rig broke and it was nothing but gridlock until the road was opened up. A huge field of 64 SK Modifies were on hand at Because of the large field a “B” feature was run for non-qualifiers, which was won by Tom Cravenho. Other Saturday winners were Richard Savory in the Pro Four Modifieds, Chuck Docherty in the Pro Stocks, Rick Gentes in the Outlaw Late Models, Shawn Monahan won his seventh Limited Sportsman feature, Jim Silvia in the Outlaw Strictly Stocks, Joe Godbout in the Mini Stock feature and Mike Veins in the Outlaw Mini Stocks.
In Winston Cup action at Martinsville, Jeff Gordon started on the pole and led 311 of 500 laps to take the win. It was Gordon’s 63rd win. Jimmie Johnson finished second. Bobby Hamilton Jr. won the Busch Series Sam’s Town 300 at the Memphis Speedway.
Fifteen years ago in 2008, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series returned to the Stafford Motor Speedway to make up the rained out Fall Final. Just prior to the weekend it was learned that Speedway announcer Deane Mercier had passed away.
Mike Stefanik led a banner field of Modifieds as he captured the Coors Lite Pole award as he turned in the fast time in qualifying for the CARQUEST Fall Final. Stefanik toured the Stafford oval in18.158 seconds (99.130mph). It was the first pole for Stefanik since 2006 at the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. In the process he tied Tony Hirschman for the series’ all-time lead with 41 career poles, and extended his own record for poles at Stafford to 15. Eric Beers was the second-fastest qualifier at 18.168 seconds (99.075 mph) and started in the third row following the redraw. Rob Summers was third fastest at 18.316 seconds (98.275 mph). Series points leader Ted Christopher who seventh in time trials when he was clocked at 18.355 seconds (98.066 mph). After the redraw Christopher started alongside Stefanik in the front row on Sunday. Californian Brian Ickler was the pole sitter for the companion NASCAR Camping World Series East event. Mike Olsen, Kevin Swindell, Ted Christopher and Woody Pitkat rounded out the top five. Series champion Matt Kobyluck was sixth fastest.
Stefanik capped off a dominating weekend by reaching Victory Lane in the CARQUEST Fall Final for the eighth time in his illustrious career. Stefanik used the front row starting position to his advantage as he led 129 of the 150 laps in what was Stafford’s last race of the year. The win was Stefanik’s eighth in the Fall Final, Stafford ‘s traditional season-ending race. It was also his 20th all-time win at track and the 69th in his career overall. All three totals are NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour records.
Matt Hirschman came home second to Stefanik. With the runner-up finish, Hirschman trailed series leader Ted Christopher by just 35 points with one race remaining on the schedule. Christopher finished sixth. Chuck Hossfeld was third, while Todd Szegedy and Eric Beers rounded out the top five finishers. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Christopher, Rowan Pennink, Anthony Sesely, Glenn Tyler and Kevin Goodale. It was the best finish of the season for Sesely and Tyler.
There were five caution flags for 27 laps. For the most part the race was wreck free with only a few minor spins. Ted Christopher held a 35 point lead over Matt Hirschman going into the final event. Todd Szegedy sat in third, over 143 points out of the lead. Chuck Hossfeld was fourth with Stefanik rounding out the top five. Prior to the race NASCAR legend Bobby Allison was honored for his 1964 and 1965 NASCAR Modified division titles as part of the celebration of 60 Years of Modified Champions.
Woody Pitkat won the battle but it was Keith Rocco who won the war in the SK Modifieds. Rocco finished second to Pitkat and beat out Ted Christopher for his first Stafford Track Championship. Peyton Sellers won the slam-bang NASCAR Camping World Series East event. In lat Model action, Ryan Posocco took the lead from Scott Cook on lap 11 and led the rest of the way to win the 30-lap Late Model feature. It was the seventh victory in 17 starts this year for Posocco, the division’s all-time winningest driver. Posocco had already sewed up the Stafford Late Model title.
In True Value Modified Series action at the Seekonk Speedway last weekend twenty six Modifieds were on hand for the annual D.Anthony Venditti Memorial event. Three qualifying heats were run with Chris Pasteryak, Kevin Iannarelli and Todd Annarummo taking the wins. Chris Pasteryak went pole to pole to win the 100 lap contest. Todd Annarummo finished second and was followed by Dwight Jarvis, Les Hinckley and Mike Holdridge. Prior to the start of the event Kirby Monteith, who died this past week was honored by his fellow drivers. They had a moment of silence and the front row at the start had an open spot for him.
Jeff Burton used three gas-only pit stops to pull off a Sprint Cup victory in Concord, N.C., that catapulted him into championship contention. Burton culminated savvy pit strategy on a final stop, going into the pits with the lead and taking fuel only to make sure he was still out front on the restart with 34 laps to go at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Jimmy Johnson staged a brief battle for the lead, but Burton held steady to snap a 25-race winless streak. Kasey Kahne, who swept the May races at the track, finished second and was followed by Kurt Busch. Kyle Busch returned to his familiar spot in the Nationwide Series on Friday night, cruising to a win in the soggy, wreck-filled Dollar General 300. The victory was the ninth for the 23-year-old Busch in NASCAR’s second-tier series. He has won eight Cup races and three more in the Craftsman Truck Series. The busy Busch’s 70th race of the season followed a familiar script for Joe Gibbs Racing, whose teams had won 18 of the 31 Nationwide races. Busch started 16th, but his superior No. 18 Toyota was on display early. He quickly moved to the front and led 137 of the 200 laps. Busch pulled away from Jeff Burton on a restart with three laps to go, despite taking just two tires on his final pit stop. Burton held on to finish second and Brian Vickers was third. Point leader Clint Bowyer finished fourth and Carl Edwards was fifth.
Ten years ago in 2013, the Thompson Speedway released a comprehensive seven race schedule for 2014. Speedway General Manager Josh Vanada made the announcement Sunday morning at the drivers meeting. The schedule would consist of three NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series dates, The Icebreaker on April 5-6, Bud King of Beers 150 on Wednesday, August 15 and The World Series 150 on October 17-19. The Valenti Modified Racing Series will have two dates, Thursday, May 29 and at the World Series. The Granite State Pro Stocks will run as part of the Icebreaker and the World Series. Vanada further stated that all regular Thompson racing divisions would run at all races and NASCAR points will be awarded. Something new to New England racing would be segment style races will allow enough events to qualify for NASCAR Championships. This was done at Riverhead raceway in 2013.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series closed out the 2013 season at the Thompson Speedway. There were 29 cars on hand. Defending Sunoco World Series 150 presented by Xtra Mart winner Bobby Santos secured the Coors Light Pole Award in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour qualifying Saturday at Thompson Speedway. Santos had a fast lap of 18.712 seconds (120.244 mph) around the .625-mile oval for his fifth Coors Light Pole of the season, and 13th of his career overall. Mike Stefanik posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 18.715 (120.224).
Fifteen divisions of race cars and trucks were in competition. There were 10 feature events Saturday evening after Bobby Santos posted the fastest time in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour qualifying. Keith Rocco picked up the win in the Valenti Modified Racing Series 75-lapper while NASCAR Whelen All American Series victories went to Adam Norton, Corey Hutchings, Rick Gentes, and Mike Viens. Duane Noll earned the New England Truck Series win while Dan Meservey picked up a win in the Pro 4 Modified Series. Outlaw wins went to George Rego, Mike Viens and Wayne Coury, Jr.
Keith Rocco ran a dominant race in the Valenti Modified Racing Series and was followed to victory lane by 2013 series champion Rowan Pennink. Many tried, but no one could knock Rocco from the point and he led wire-to-wire in the caution-filled race. Following Rocco and Pennink at the finish was Tommy Barrett, Jr., Richard Savary, Ted Christopher, Dave Etheridge, Jon McKennedy, Ryan Preece, Louie Mechalides and Brad VanHouten. There were 33 VMRS Modifieds on hand. It was Rocco’s 29th feature win of the season.
The Sunoco World Series of Auto Racing presented by Xtra Mart was highlighted by an exciting NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour finish that saw Rowan Pennink drive to victory lane and Ryan Preece earn a solid third place finish to earn the series championship. Other feature winners on the final day of the World Series were Kerry Malone in the Sunoco Modified Series, John Zych, Jr. in NEMA midgets, Ben Seitz in ISMA action, and Larry Gelinas in the Granite State Pro Stock Series.
Rowan Pennink used a late-race pass on lap 133 to take the lead and eventual win in the Sunoco World Series 150 presented by Xtra Mart Sunday afternoon. The victory was Pennink’s second win in the series. Ryan Preece’s third place finish secured the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Championship for the driver, who becomes the youngest champion in series history at 22 years, 11 months and 25 days old. The championship also marks the second title for Flamingo Motorsports. The team previously won with driver Mike Stefanik in 2006.
Bobby Santos led Justin Bonsignore and Mike Stefanik at the start of the 150-lap event. Doug Coby brought out the first caution on lap four after spinning in the middle of turns one and two. Coby was then penalized a lap for pulling up to pit too soon. Santos continued to lead on the restart with Pennink moving up to second and Mike Stefanik in third. Santos showed no signs of wavering and held strong out front until caution at lap 38 slowed him down. The caution was brought out when Rob Fuller spun into the front stretch inside retaining wall. Pennink made a bid for the lead on the restart, but is challenge allowed Matt Hirschman and Mike Stefanik to go by for second and third respectively. Santos pulled ahead to a comfortable lead over Hirschman for several laps, but Hirschman reeled him back in and used the bottom groove to go by for the lead on lap 66.
Caution came out on lap 70 for Woody Pitkat and saw Hirschman come down pit road to pit. Santos assumed the lead for the restart, which quickly went back to yellow. The top-three – Santos, Stefanik, and Ted Christopher – elected to stay out rather than pit. Santos beat Christopher into turn one for the lead on the restart as Christopher and Ryan Preece battled it out for third. After a side-by-side battle with Christopher, Preece took the position and set his sights on Stefanik. He looked to the high groove and then shot down low to drive by for second on lap 83. Santos held off Preece on the restart following a quick caution period, but Preece was persistent and, on lap 92, drove to the bottom heading into turn three and took over the lead. Two separate incidents on the track brought out a caution at lap 98, but Santos still opted not to pit. He finally came down during a caution at lap 103.
Preece, Donny Lia, Ron Silk, Justin Bonsignore, and Pennink made up the top-five for the restart at lap 109. The field strung out single file with Preece holding strong out front. Caution slowed the pace and put Preece and Lia side-by-side for a restart at lap 123. Lia got the advantage and took over the lead going into turn three. Preece and Lia continued to battle and got door-to-door on lap 127, but Pennink wanted a piece of the action and moved in to the mix. Lia retained the lead with Pennink taking over the second spot after all the dust had settled. Lia drove to the front on a lap 133 restart with Pennink up to second. Pennink passed Lia for the lead on the following circuit and pulled away to a three-car length advantage. Pennink continued to pull away as Preece kept Lia busy with his challenges for second. Pennink had a half a straightaway lead as he approached the checkered flag for the coveted World Series victory. Lia settled for the runner-up spot with Preece, third. Bobby Santos came back from a late pit stop to finish fourth with Ron Silk, fifth. Max Zachem turned in a fantastic performance as he finished sixth. Matt Hirschman, who challenged Santos in the early going, came back from a late race spin and finished seventh. Doug Coby, Todd Szegedy and Justin Bonsignore rounded out the top ten.
It was a highly competitive event with six lead changes among five drivers.
Kerry Malone led every lap en route to the Sunoco Modified Series victory on Sunoco World Series presented by Xtra Mart weekend. Malone’s win was no easy feat, however, as he had to hold off a hard charging Preece through countless restarts to make it to victory lane. Woody Pitkat finished third with Dennis Perry a solid fourth. Kyle James, in his first time at Thompson, finished fifth with Keith Rocco, sixth.
Malone and Preece were disqualified following post race tech inspection. Malone had illegal fuel additives in his tank and Preece’s motor had illegal valve train components in addition to illegal fuel. Pitkat was awarded the win and Perry was moved up to the runner-up spot with James, third.
Other feature winners on the final day of the World Series were John Zych, Jr. in NEMA midgets, Ben Seitz in ISMA action, and Larry Gelinas in the Granite State Pro Stock Series.
Rumor had it that the New Smyrna Speedway may be the site of the “Battle at The Beach” come next February 2014 as a new MUSCO Lighting system was being installed for “TV quality lighting” . The 2013 “Battle” which was held at the Daytona Speedway was a total fiasco and discredit to the teams that make up NASCAR’s touring divisions.
In NASCAR Sprint Cup action at Talladega, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth swapped spots at the top, Johnson led Kenseth by a scant four points instead of the other way around, but those two were still firmly in control of the Chase with four races left. Jamie McMurray won Sunday’s race at Talladega. Johnson and Kenseth kept plenty of distance on the competition.
Johnson steered around a last-lap crash and finished 13th. Kenseth dropped to second with a 20th-place showing, but it’s another 22 points – a daunting margin – to Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick tied for third. Jeff Gordon, who had hoped Talladega’s unpredictable nature might help him make a big push, made up only two points and is 34 behind the leader.
Richard Petty Motorsports fired Todd Parrott for violating NASCAR’s substance-abuse policy.
Parrott was crew chief for the No. 43 car driven by Aric Almirola for the last year. NASCAR suspended him indefinitely for failing a random drug test.
Five years ago in 2018, the Tour type Modifieds were scheduled to return to the Richmond (VA) return for the first time in quite a while this past week on the 20th, as they would have been part of the Commonwealth Classic with a 75 lap main event. As many teams were loading up to make the trip south PASS official pulled the plug only saying the event may be run in the spring because of an impending bad weather forecast.
The New London-Waterford Speedbowl closed out their season last weekend with some exciting news and the Fall Finale. Mike Serluca will continue to operate the shoreline oval in 2019 with basically the same format and race management as this year.
Kyle James got redemption from the bitter pill he had to swallow at the end of the 2017 season. James had been announced as the track champion in the SK modifieds but an error was discovered and the title was awarded to Keith Rocco. James only needed to take the green in the feature event to secure the championship in 2018. James completed only 42 laps in the 80 lap feature as he finished last in the 23 car feature. Todd Owen took the win over Ron Williams, Rob Janovic,Cory Dimatteo and Diego Monahan.
The feature was not as kind to James. He was involved in an incident on lap 22 and was knocked from contention. That opened the door for Todd Owen, who held off Ronnie Williams down the stretch to post his fifth win of the season and his second straight. James, meanwhile, finished 23rd, but he was able to win the title by nine points over Owen. “It’s done, it’s over, and we’re the champs,” James said. “I have to thank my crew for what they did all year.” James won eight of 17 races and was in the Top 5 13 times. Owen had nothing to be ashamed of as he had six wins in his last seven races, it was definitely a great way to finish the season.
Other winners were Anthony Flannery in the Late Models, Peter Bennett in the Legends, Al Stone in the Limited Sportsman, Charles Canfield in the Mini Stocks, Wayne Burroughs in the SK Lites and Dwane Noll in the Trucks.
In Saturday action at the Speedbowl, it wasn’t the first time Ray Christian III had won at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. This one, however, might have been the sweetest. Christian passed Ben Rowe with 20-laps remaining to win his first ever Granite State Pro Stock Series race at the Waterford, Ct track.The fact that Christian won the race at his hometown track made the victory even more significant. Christian came into Saturday’s race with 13 Speedbowl wins — nine in the Mini Stocks and four in the Late Models.
“I had this race circled months ago,” Christian said. “This was the one I wanted to win. We had a great car and the right motor and we were able to get it done.
Christian’s win in the 100-lap Granite State feature was one of the highlights of Day 1 of The Finale at the Speedbowl.
Devin O’Connell, another former Speedbowl regular, finished 16th in the race, but it was enough to wrap up the Granite State title.
Other winners were John Zych in the 25-lap NEMA feature, Danny Cugini in the 25-lap NEMA Light race and Randy Cabral in the Ct. Pro Four Modified by 0.002 over Doug Meservey. The win clinched the title for Cabral.
Alby Ovitt won the 375-Pro Sportsman feature, but Shawn Monahan finished second to wrap up the title. Brody Monahan won the Bandolero race. T.J. Racicot captured the 36-lap X-Car feature and Ed Ryan Jr. staged a come-from-behind effort to win in the 25-lap Super X car win.
As a prelude to the upcoming North-South Shootout in the southland the Orange County Speedway in North Carolina ran a 100 lap Modified event on Saturday. Taking the win was Burt Myers over Bobby Measmer, James Civale, Jeremy Gerstner and Jason Myers. Only 12 cars were in competition. Jon McKennedy finished 12th after completing 81 laps.
Chase Elliott won at Kansas Speedway on Sunday for his second victory in three races, cementing himself as a title threat late in a season in which mighty Hendrick Motorsports has lagged. He needed 98 career starts and maybe a dozen near-misses before he finally closed out his first Cup victory. Ryan Preece finished 21st in the Xfinity Series event at the Kansas Speedway
The Tri-Track Open Modified Series (TTOM) will pay tribute to its founders Dick Williams and Jim Schaefer this coming Saturday, October 27 during the running of the series’ season finale at the Seekonk Speedway. The two have been driving force behind the continued success of the series. Williams served as the Grand Marshal for the event.
Dick Williams has been a fixture in northeast racing for decades. He was a race promoter in the early 80s even promoting multiple tracks in one year. After a rather long hiatus from the sport, Williams along with his band of “Racing Guys” that includes Wayne Coats returned to his roots to raise money for a variety of races in support of the drivers and teams.
Jim Schaefer is best known as the Long Island Maniac. Hailing from Long Island, he spent much of his time supporting the racers at Riverhead. In 2005, he began traveling to more and more race tracks. He gained notoriety in the heyday of the online message board Mod Series Scene with his positivity. His screen name was Long Island Mod Maniac. His reputation grew while working to raise additional money for Modified Tour teams at Riverhead.
Last year, 2022, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour heads to Martinsville, Va on Oct 27 for the 2022 season ending event. Four drivers are in contention for the series title, two from New England, Jon McKennedy and Ron Silk and two from Long Island, New York, Justin Bonsignore and Eric Goodale. McKennedy leads Silk by six points. Bonsignore is 11 points behind the leader and Goodale is 17 points behind the leader. Rounding out the top five is Austin Beers. Although out of the championship hunt, 52 points back, Beers has sewed up the Rookie of the Year title.
After 150 laps of nearly non-stop action Sunday at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Tommy Baldwin Racing was celebrating. With a second-place finish by Mike Christopher Jr. in the No. 7NY, Baldwin’s team unofficially clinched the series owner’s championship with still one race left on the schedule.
With three different drivers behind the wheel this season – Jimmy Blewett, Doug Coby and Mike Christopher Jr. – Baldwin’s team rocketed to five wins and countless top-five finishes in the first 15 races of the Whelen Modified Tour season. The consistent runs at the front of the field on the Tour, along with momentum from victories in multiple Open Modified events, was enough to seal the crown unofficially heading to the season-finale.
The New London-Waterford Speedbowl closed out their season with the Fall Finale. Ryan Morgan scored a convincing win in the Don Caddick Memorial 60 lap Late Model event. Matt Lowinski-loh was second. Stephen Kopcik beat out Jef Malave to win the SK Modified 60 lapper. Todd Owen finished third and wrapped up the track championship. Other winners included Sam Messick in the Minis and Corey Fanning in the Open Streets.
Down in the southland, at the Tri County Speedway in North Carolina Burt Myers had quite a night. He qualified on the pole, led most of the laps only to be disqualified. Myers felt he was singled out. He alluded to the fact that there are multiple persons who are heavily affiliated with competitor teams who have the authority to make certain decisions that affect the outcome of official results. Myers was disqualified for having a data acquisition device on his car that was not connected to any data gathering accessories. It is in the rule book that this is not allowed on race day. But Myers claimed there was no data being collected. He stated other teams have been warned for these same type of infractions but not punished. This had ABSOLUTELY no bearing on what happened on the track during the race.
Brian Loftin was awarded the race win with Brandon Ward moved up to the runner-up spot. Caleb Heady finished third with Bobby Labonte and Joey Coulter rounding out the top five.
In NASCAR Cup racing, Joey Logano became the first driver to secure a position in the Championship 4 with a shot at the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series championship thanks to a valiant surge to victory in the final laps of Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Logano, on fresh Goodyear tires, rallied back through the field following a late race pit stop, passing Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain for the lead with three laps remaining and driving off to his third win at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas high banks – a slight 0.817-second ahead of fellow playoff driver Chastain, who led a race-best 68 of the 267 laps on the afternoon.
NASCAR suspended Bubba Wallace for intentionally wrecking Kyle Larson. There was no mention of a fine or probation or loss of points.
NASCAR’s latest high-profile retaliation incident erupted when defending champion Kyle Larson, on the inside, was trying to pass Wallace in Turn 3 when they touched. Wallace brushed the wall and bounced off, going down the high-banked track as Larson came by on the inside. Wallace appeared to chase Larson and slam into his car’s right-rear. That turned Larson around, driver’s-side hard into the wall as he slid backward toward the start-finish line.
After both cars stopped, Wallace walked directly to Larson’s wrecked car and repeatedly shoved him in the chest. (Wallace is a burly, muscular 6-something 200-pounder; Larson goes maybe 5-6 and less than 150). Wallace then disobeyed rescue workers by walking toward the pits as cars were passing nearby.
NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell said Wallace’s penalty was specific to ‘what took place on the race track.’
On a sad note, storied racer Pete Fiandaca passed away at the age of 73 after a valiant battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Fiandaca is as about as close to the definition of beloved New England racer as one can get. The Traveling Man from Fitchburg, Mass could wheel and be competitive in anything on 4 wheels. His racing machines were fast and won consistently with a low buck operation.
He donned the cover of Speedway Scene multiple times a season. it’s safe to say that he shares the most covers count with the likes of Bugsy Stevens, Richie Evans and Ronnie Bouchard. How fitting.
Peter, Petah, The Travelin’ man, however you said his name, he’d greet you with a smile. His victory Lane interviews were plenty, never dull, and always heard over cheers from the stands. Peter was just so damn likable.
In a career spanning 40 years, Pete Fiandaca has won feature events, track championships, and the hearts of race fans everywhere his familiar no. 135 cars have appeared. Known as The Travelin’ Man for his willingness to race anywhere, anytime, Fiandaca has captured 320 documented victories in Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Late Models and a variety of support divisions. He has also been one of New England racing’s standout characters, a genuine low-dollar hero. In Peter’s case, the term “backyard racer” absolutely fit; until 1978, he raced without the benefit of a garage, maintaining his cars beneath a shade tree behind the family home in Fitchburg, MA.
Fiandaca’s record of track championships, 16 total, is staggering. At Hudson Speedway alone he collected seven titles: two in Modifieds, three in Pro Stocks, one in Late Models, and one in Street Stocks. He grabbed four titles at Star Speedway, three more at Monadnock Speedway, and single championships at Thompson Speedway and Westboro Speedway.
It was during the 1970s, one of Modified racing’s most colorful periods, that Fiandaca built his reputation for doing a lot with a little. His homemade cars weren’t always pretty, but they were fast enough to win at Riverside Park, Westboro, Seekonk, Monadnock, Hudson, Pines, and Star, and even on a road trip to New Jersey’s New Egypt Speedway.
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).