RPW Exclusive: Looking Back: First Week Of November

Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Forty five years ago in 1978, Fred DeSarro was laid to rest on November 4. The following day, the Thompson Speedway hosted a benefit race which saw all the proceeds go to Fred’s wife and kids. The pit area was jammed as was the grandstand. The competitors raced for nothing and the entire purse was donated as was all monies collected for admission.
Bugsy Stevens who had been a fierce competitor and close friend, was driving the Joe Brady No.41 and was driving down the backstretch on the parade lap when a ball joint broke. Stevens swore that DeSarro had given him a message and became quite upset. Brady’s car was towed off the track. Stevens joined chief starter Dick Brooks and his assistant Bob Gelinas on the starter stand. Stevens dropped the green and the race was on.
The event was scheduled for 50 laps. Geoff Bodine took an early lead and was cruising to another win. When Brooksie waved the white flag, Bodine slowed and as the checker waved the next time around, Bodine turned into the infield pit area and the rest of the field followed suit. The Speedway became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop! It was a fitting tribute to a fallen hero and fellow competitor. Bodine was credited with the win which happened to be his 55th which set an all-time modified record which still stands today. Richie Evans was credited with finishing second and was followed by Ronnie Bouchard, John Rosati, Dick Dunn, Charlie Jarzombek and Bobby Vee. It was a day, which many of us will never forget.
Fifteen years ago in 2008, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series settled into a long winter’s sleep with the exception of the upcoming Banquet of Champions, which would be held at the Mohegan Sun Casino on Saturday, September 13.
The weekly stars of NASCAR headed for Las Vegas for the 27th annual NASCAR Whelen All-American Series awards banquet at the Rio Hotel. NASCAR, series sponsor Whelen Engineering and track operators gathered to honor national champion Philip Morris, plus U.S. state, Canadian provincial, and track champions from throughout North America.
Morris, of Ruckersville, Va., made history, becoming only the second driver to win the title more than once. Morris, the champion also in 2006, joined five-time champion Larry Phillips in the series’ very elite category.
Morris, who raced at the Motor Mile Speedway in Virginia entered 28 events and scored 14 victories. Including the wins he had 23 top fives. Finishing second was Brian Harris who raced at the West Liberty Raceway in Iowa. Harris had 35 top fives in 38 starts including 20 wins. Third is Marty Ward who raced at the Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. Ward recorded 22 top fives in 24 starts including 13 wins. Fourth was New England’s own, Keith Rocco who raced at Stafford, Waterford and Thompson. Rocco entered 49 events and scored 32 top fives including 11 wins. Rocco drove for three different car owners. Rounding out the top five was Jeff Strunk who raced at the Grandview Speedway in Pennsylvania. Strunk ran in only 20 events but made the best of it as he had 19 top fives which included four wins.
NASCAR also honored their state champions. Keith Rocco, who made his Whelen Modified Tour debut at the 2008 World Series at Thompson took top honors as the Connecticut State Champion. Rocco was also the 2008 SK Modified Champion at the Stafford Motor Speedway. Woody Pitkat, who, like Rocco raced at all three tracks, finished second. Pitkat entered 29 events and recorded 13 top fives, which included six wins. Jimmy Blewett, with 12 top fives in 25 starts, finished third. Blewett raced at Thompson and Stafford. Doug Coby, who also raced at all three tracks, finished fourth. Dennis Gada who won a record seventh Modified Track Championship at the Waterford Speedbowl, rounded out the top five. Gada, who raced only at Waterford, scored 13 top fives in 21 starts which included three wins. Sixth through tenth in the final NASCAR State standings are Rob Janovic from the Waterford Speedbowl, Todd Ceravolo from the Thompson Speedway, Jeffrey Paul from Waterford, Ted Christopher from the Stafford Motor Speedway and Tyler Chadwick from the Waterford Speedbowl.
At the Waterford Speedbowl the word had it that Jerry Robinson’s lease of the shoreline oval was up as of November 1. According to reports Mr. Robinson had removed himself and his belongings from the facility. In the mean time competitors who raced in the season ending Fall Finale had not been paid.
In NASCAR Sprint Cup action, Carl Edwards won for the second straight week, squeezing a victory out of his last tank of gas. The combination of the win by Edwards and a 15th-place finish by Jimmie Johnson in the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth left Edwards 106 points behind NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Johnson with two races remaining. Edwards dominated most of the race, leading 199 of the first 264 laps on the 1 1/2-mile oval. Edwards, who inherited the lead when Greg Biffle pitted with 13 laps remaining, beat runner-up Jeff Gordon by more than 8 seconds still had enough gas left to do a couple of victory doughnuts. Edwards went the final 103.5 miles on his last fill-up.
Kyle Busch won the O’Reilly Challenge Nationwide event at Texas Motor Speedway to capture his 10th win of the season, tying him with Sam Ard for the most wins in a season in the series, and giving Joe Gibbs Racing it’s 19th win of the year. Carl Edwards finished second followed by Mark Martin, Joey Logano, and David Ragan. The race was slowed by 5 cautions for 20 laps and there were 4 lead changes among 10 leaders.
Ten years ago in 2013, With the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season in the history books the facts and rumors were beginning to fly concerning the 2014 season. Series champion Ryan Preece had made it known that he would like to advance up the NASCAR ladder. If he does, it would open the door for someone at Flamingo Motorsports. Preece, in addition to taking the championship was the series top winner with four victories. Doug Coby, who was the defending champion, fell short of defending his title through no fault of his own when he was a victim of a stuck throttle at Riverhead which resulted in a destroyed car and a missed race. With two wins to his credit, Coby finished the season in second spot, 32 points behind Preece. Coby, at the top of his game, finds himself between a rock and a hard place as car owner Wayne Darling has made it known that he will not run a full schedule in 2014. Darling told Area Auto Racing News editor Lenny Sammons that the main problem is getting people to work on the car. Donny Lia and Rowan Pennink seem to be pretty secure with their rides while Mike Stefanik’s future remains up in the air pending on a sit-down with his team in the near future. If he were to retire he could walk away with his head high as he had nothing to prove as he has done it all. Todd Szegedy, Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore are secure with their rides as Woody Pitkat is out there looking as car owner David Hill had previously stated that unless ample sponsorship comes along his team will no longer be able to participate. Pitkat didn’t remain without a full time ride for long as he was selected to replace Bryon Chew who retired from driving the Buzz Chew entry. The Long Island based Modified Tour team plans on running the entire schedule in 2014.
Two major personnel changes were announced by Thompson Speedway General Manager, Josh Vanada. Both appointments were effective immediately. The first announced by Vanada was the promotion of Race Director, Jeff Zuidema, to the position of Director of Competition. This post had been held by Vanada but was recently vacated when he was named the track’s General Manager. Zuidema, a four-time Thompson champion and winner of some 52 races at the track, would have the responsibility of oversight of on-track competition and the inspection process.
The second personnel announcement from Vanada concerned a replacement for the position previously held by Zuidema. “I am pleased to announce that Scott Tapley will join our team and will fill the position of Race Director,” said the GM. Tapley, a UNOH graduate, served as a spotter for the 2008 NASCAR K & N Pro Series East Champion, Matt Kobyluck. He served as Assistant Race Director at the Waterford Speedbowl from 2009 to 2010 and Race Director at the Speedbowl for 2011 and 2012. He then joined the Valenti Modified Racing Series and had just completed his first year as Series Director.
Despite rumors that suggested the races would be cancelled or moved to another NASCAR-affiliated short track, autoweek.com reported the “Battle at the Beach” would return to Daytona International Speedway in 2014 as part of Speedweeks. Debuting in 2013, the Battle was a way to generate some excitement at the track during the normally dormant Monday and Tuesday after the Daytona 500 qualifying weekend. NASCAR set up a temporary course on the back straight using part of the track and part of the apron, outlined by stacked tires and pylons that delineated a roughly .4-mile oval that required drivers to nearly stop for the turns, making for a lot of crashes and caution-flag laps.
Though it hasn’t been announced, the format is expected to be the same as in 2013, when three non-points races featured the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tours, and the Late Model division of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. Top finishers in the regular season in those divisions earned spots in the Battle, with remaining slots filled by time trials and heat races. The University of Northwest Ohio sponsored the races, and is expected to return.
The races were not without controversy or complaints: Kyle Larson won the late model race after unceremoniously dumping leader C.E. Falk III, drawing more boos than cheers from the fans. Former NASCAR Cup racer Steve Park used a similar tactic on Mike Stefanik to win the modified race. Cameron Haley won the K&N race, with some controversial shoving behind him. But if the event is to have any sort of credibility, NASCAR needs to make sure the drivers know that simply spinning the leader on the last lap will result in consequences other than a visit to the winner’s circle.
Brad Keselowski raced to his sixth Nationwide victory in his last eight starts, leading 106 of 200 laps at Texas to give Roger Penske’s No. 22 car the lead in the owners’ standings. For the drivers’ title, Sam Hornish Jr. overcame being a lap down early in the race to finish third and cut his deficit behind Austin Dillon from eight points to six with two races left in the season.
Jimmie Johnson firmly established himself as the man to beat for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship on Sunday, scoring a dominant victory in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Johnson led a race-high 255 laps during the 334-lap event and was rarely challenged en route to his sixth victory of the 2013 season. Dale Earnhardt Jr finished second.
Five years ago in 2018, The International Speedway Corporation was feeling quite frisky last week as they announced that they have entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Racing Electronics. Racing Electronics is known worldwide as a leader in motorsports communications technology and equipment for motorsports drivers, teams, series, venues, and fans, as well as the exclusive provider of FanVision technology to NASCAR and NHRA. Racing Electronics is also the Official Two-Way Radio and Race Communications Provider of 14 major sanctioning bodies including ARCA, IndyCar, NHRA, World Racing Group and USAC.
That news was overshadowed last Friday when the International Speedway Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select Market: ISCA; OTC Bulletin Board: ISCB) (“ISC”) announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has received a non-binding offer from NASCAR, to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock of the Company, other than the shares held by the controlling shareholders of ISC, for a cash purchase price of $42.00 per share. The intention is to combine ISC and NASCAR as one privately-held group of companies with the France family as primary owners. A copy of the proposal letter is attached as Exhibit Number 99.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission today.
“In a highly competitive sports and entertainment landscape, a more unified strategic approach is important to our future growth,” said Jim France, Chairman of ISC and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, NASCAR. “We believe the industry requires structural changes to best position the sport for long term success and this offer represents a positive step forward in that direction.” NASCAR’s proposal letter indicates that the outcome of this prospective offer will not impact the France family’s long-term commitment to the sport, nor its interest in maintaining its current ownership in ISC, as the France family is not interested in selling its shares of ISC at this time.
The ISC Board has formed a special committee (the “Special Committee”) comprised of J. Hyatt Brown, Larry Aiello, Jr., Larree Renda and William Graves , each of whom is an independent director of the Company, to act on behalf of the Company to consider this proposal. Mr. Brown, the Company’s lead independent director, will serve as Chairman of the Special Committee. The Special Committee will be advised by independent legal and financial advisors. NASCAR’s offer will be reviewed by the Special Committee and will be subject to the approval of the holders of a majority of the Company’s outstanding common stock, other than the common stock held by the France family. In the interim, NASCAR and ISC will continue to operate as separate and independent entities.
The Company cautions shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that the Board just received the non-binding proposal letter from NASCAR and no decisions have been made with respect to the Company’s response to the proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated.
International Speedway Corporation is a leading promoter of motorsports activities, currently promoting more than 100 racing events annually as well as numerous other motorsports-related activities. The Company owns and/or operates 13 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities, including Daytona International Speedway® in Florida (home of the DAYTONA 500®); Talladega Superspeedway® in Alabama; Michigan International Speedway® located outside Detroit; Richmond Raceway® in Virginia; Auto Club Speedway of Southern CaliforniaSM near Los Angeles; Kansas Speedway® in Kansas City, Kansas; ISM Raceway near Phoenix, Arizona; Chicagoland Speedway® and Route 66 RacewaySM near Chicago, Illinois; Homestead-Miami SpeedwaySM in Florida; Martinsville Speedway® in Virginia; Darlington Raceway® in South Carolina; and Watkins Glen International® in New York.
The Company also owns and operates Motor Racing NetworkSM, the nation’s largest independent sports radio network and Americrown Service CorporationSM, a subsidiary that provides catering services, and food and beverage concessions. In addition, the Company owns ONE DAYTONA, the retail, dining and entertainment development across from Daytona International Speedway, and has a 50.0 percent interest in the Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway.
Modified action moved south to Concord, NC for the 16th annual running of the John Blewett III Memorial North South Shootout in Memory of Charles Kepley. Twenty eight Modifieds and a real slim crowd were on hand.
Jon McKennedy finished his season just like he started it with a win at Myrtle Beach in March as he rallied back late in Saturday’s caution-filled 16th annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout and held off a final-lap charge from Matt Hirschman to take down the $10,000 victory at Concord Speedway. McKennedy, who started from the pole and led uncontested until his pit stop at lap 43, only ran outside the top five for 13 of the 125 laps in the tour-type modified event. However, it wasn’t until a restart with 21 to go that he truly retook command of the race.
Driving Tommy Baldwin’s No. 7ny, McKennedy charged around the outside of leader Andy Seuss when the green flag waved for the final time and never looked in his mirror again. He raced away from his closest pursuers and then kept Hirschman at bay in the final half-mile en route to the win.
McKennedy’s main threat in the closing laps was six-time event winner Hirschman, who made his final stop for fresh tires after a red-flag period with 38 to go. He came off pit road in 18th place, but methodically started picking off cars one by one and was in position to slip through a multi-car accident that sparked the final stoppage of the night on lap 104. Among those eliminated were Chuck Hossfeldt, Chase Dowling and Jason Myers.
Avoiding the mayhem that ultimately blocked the track on the frontstretch, Hirschman found himself lined up seventh for the 21-lap sprint to the finish and wasted no time moving into position to run for the win. He broke into the top five with 15 to go and took just eight more laps to crack the top three, passing Andy Seuss for third with seven laps remaining. Hirschman got held up trying to pass second-running Jimmy Blewett and couldn’t secure the runner-up spot until three to go.
By then, McKennedy was just far enough out in front to stay there, and though Hirschman carved a near one-second gap into shreds in the closing moments, he fell a car length short at the checkered flag.
Blewett hung on to finish third in the race named in honor of his brother, John Blewett III, with John Smith trailing close behind in fourth. After leading 41 laps during the middle portions of the race, Seuss faded back to fifth in the end.
The marathon race was slowed by a multitude of wrecks, including four red-flag periods. The 125-lap distance took three hours to complete and only 12 of the 28 starters finished on the lead lap.
The finish:Jon McKennedy, Matt Hirschman, Jimmy Blewett, John Smith, Andy Seuss, Bobby Measmer Jr., Anthony Nocella, Todd Owen, Patrick Emerling, James Civali, Burt Myers, George Brunnhoelzl III, Jimmy Zacharias, Daniel Yates, Sammy Rameau, Gary Putnam, Chase Dowling, Calvin Carroll, Chuck Hossfeld, Brandon Ward, Cameron Sontag, Mike Norman, Jeremy Gerstner, Jeff Fultz, Chris Finocchario, Ron Silk, Jason Myers and Brian Loftin.
On Sunday, Nov 11, The New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame inducted their class of 2019 at Manley’s Banquet Hall in South Windsor, Ct. The class includes the late Ted Christopher, Mike Stefanik, Jamie Aube, Ken Tremont Sr, John Buffum, Butch Elms, Dick Glines and Pete Silva. George Weaver and George Pendergast were also inducted into the hall. Mark “Bones” Bourcier was presented the Ron Bouchard Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award by Paula Flemke Bouchard.
Stefanik, a Rhode Island racer and one of asphalt Modified racing’s very best, is a seven-time champion of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the series’ all-time winner with 74 victories. He was an outstanding driver in full-fendered equipment as well, winning Busch North Series and Modified Tour titles in 1997 and 1998. He was the 1999 Rookie of the Year on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and has hundreds of victories in weekly short track competition.
Christopher, who was killed in an airplane crash while on his way to race at the Riverhead Raceway in the fall of 2017, owns more than 370 victories in his career in an almost immeasurable variety of race cars, from Modifieds to Midgets to Super Late Models and more. Christopher was the 2001 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion and the 2008 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion. He is the all-time winner at both Stafford Motor Speedway (131 victories) and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (99). Christopher was named one of the top 25 drivers in NASCAR’s weekly series in 2006, when the series celebrated its 25th anniversary. In 2008, Stafford named a section of its grandstand in his honor.
Six out of the eight have strong ties to Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine. Though his name may not be familiar to many stock car fans, Colchester’s John Buffum is the most high-profile inductee from the class. The driver, team owner and car builder is the most accomplished American in the history of rally racing, winning 118 events at the national level in the United States and Canada, three events internationally, and a pair of Pikes Peak Hill Climbs. Buffum was born and raised in Connecticut but has called Vermont home for more than 50 years. He can claim 23 national rally championships and one road racing title as a driver, and another 31 titles as a team owner and constructor.
All three active Vermont stock car tracks find representation in the newly announced class. North Ferrisburgh native Jamie Aube rose from humble beginnings at Barre’s Thunder Road and Milton’s Catamount Stadium to become a household name in the short track world. Aube won the nationally-respected Oxford 250 in 1987 and ’89 and also won three consecutive championships on the former NASCAR Busch North Series.
C.V. “Butch” Elms III is one of two dirt track stars to be named to the NEAR Hall of Fame. The North Haverhill, New Hampshire native is undeniably one of the most accomplished dirt drivers in the Northeast, taking 136 documented wins and 11 track championships. Elms is best known these days as the owner and promoter of Bradford’s Bear Ridge Speedway, where the bulk of his success came in his driving days — which he has owned since 1989.
Ken Tremont Sr. also represents the dirt world, and is the only non-New Englander in the Class of 2018. The all-time greatest car owner and engine builder at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, Tremont has 93 wins and 10 track titles (and counting) within the borders of New England, and he remains active with both his son, Ken Jr., and grandson, Montgomery, driving his cars. Tremont’s accomplishments in his native New York State, though they were not factored into his nomination by NEAR, bring his career totals to well above 350 race wins and nearly 50 championships.
As a driver, New Hampshire native Dick Glines won a championship in the highly-competitive Oxford Open Series and was a winner at several Maine tracks. As a crew chief, he was responsible for the rise and dominance of Robbie Crouch in the 1980s, winning 49 touring series races and five championships including three-straight on the American-Canadian Tour, and was Aube’s crew chief during his 1990 Busch North title run. As a fabricator, Glines built cars for eight additional Busch North championship teams, and his cars also won NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity) races.
Maine’s Pete Silva won more than 120 races on paved short tracks up and down the East Coast, and is considered to be one of the Southeast’s most legendary drivers. After winning Late Model Sportsman races in his native New England, Silva relocated to the Carolinas and won many races and track championships at places like Greenville-Pickens, Hickory and Asheville, racing against many drivers who went on to national prominence in NASCAR.
In NASCAR Xfinity Series racing in Phoenix Arizona, Christopher Bell finished 1.877 seconds ahead of Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driver Daniel Hemric. Matt Tifft finished third with Austin Cindric and Ryan Preece rounding out the top five.
Kyle Busch won for the eighth time this season to tie Kevin Harvick for the most Cup victories and set up a head-to head battle for the championship. Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson, both already eliminated from the playoffs, finished second and third.
On a sad note, The great Frankie Schneider passed away on Sunday evening, Nov.11 . A great race driver and true gentleman. He was the 1952 NASCAR National Modified Champion.
One day later, three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion David Pearson, who won 105 races in the series, passed away. He was 83 years old. Pearson, known as “The Silver Fox,” is considered one of the best drivers to compete in NASCAR. His 105 victories rank him second in NASCAR Cup Series competition behind only seven-time series champion Richard Petty’s 200.
In addition to his 105 victories and three championships, Pearson earned 301 top-five finishes, 366 top-10 results and 113 poles. He won the Daytona 500 once, the Southern 500 three times and the Coca-Cola 600 three times. He also earned one victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The native of Spartanburg, S.C., was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1993 and the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011.
Last year, 2022, All eyes were focused on the North-South Shootout in Asheboro, NC. Thursday, November 3rd, was open practice for all divisions competing in the NSS. Friday was more practice and qualifying for the Modifieds and Late Models and Saturday, the 602 Mods.
Twenty five modifieds were on hand for qualifying on Friday including three Tommy Baldwin Racing entries. Taking the pole was Patrick Emerling with a 15.919 sec run. Second fastest was Matt Hirschman with Kyle Scisco, third. Caleb Heady and Brian Loftin rounded out the top five.
Pole sitter Patrick Emerling declined the fan’s Challenge and kept the pole starting position.
Matt Hirschman, outside pole starter chose to take the Fan’s Challenge along with 4th place starter Caleb Heady . They started at the back of the field and would try to capture the victory and an extra $2500.00
Kyle Scisco, third place qualifier also chose to keep his starting position and declined the chance to pocket a extra $2500.
Matt Hirschman parked it in victory lane after taking the challenge for bonus dollars and elected to start last and won for the 8th time in the 20 year history of The John Blewitt Memorial North South Shootout in memory of Charles Kepley. Burt Myers finished second with Patrick Emerling, third. Caleb Heady and Jimmy Blewett rounded out the top five.
Emerling and Scisco chose to start up front while” Money” Matt and “young-gun”, Caleb Heady took the “challenge”. That left Emerling and Burt Myers on the front row for the start of the 125 lapper. Jimmy Blewett muscled past to lead the first lap before Myers took over the point on lap four for the next 43 laps. Caution flew on lap 46 for oil on the track from the car of Jeremy Gerstner. Gerstner ran over an exhaust tip that fell off another car. The tip ruptured the oil tank on Gerstner’s #55 ending his night and creating a huge mess for the Caraway Speedway clean-up crew.
All cars were allowed to take on some SUNOCO Race Fuel during the cleanup period under a “controlled” pit stop. When the track went back under caution, several cars took the opportunity to make adjustments and change tires. That left Spencer Davis on the point for the restart. Hirschman made quick work of Davis by lap 50 and while Davis, Myers and Heady were racing hard for position, old “Big Money” drove away.
The field settled down with Myers and Blewett chasing Hirschman till caution flew on lap 96 allowing most of the field to stop for their remaining tires. Hirschman came out of the pits first picking up where he left off with Ronnie Williams driving the Jamie Tomaino #99 restarting in second, Jimmy Blewett third and Kyle Scisco fourth
Another caution on lap 98 for a crash involving 9 cars slowed the action for the third time. The crash eliminated John Smith, Brian Loftin, Tim Connolly, Johnny Keiveman, Jeff Fultz and Junior Snow and wounded the cars of Gary Putnam, Joey Pane and Paulie Hartwig, III. Those drivers returned to finish the race.
On the restart Jimmy Blewett was the next competitor to put pressure on Hirschman but Hirschman withstood the assault and hung on to the lead while Patrick Emerling worked his way into the runner up spot.
By lap115 Myers had charged past Emerling and took a run at Hirschman getting to the inside of him on lap116 but Hirschman prevailed and pulled away to claim the win. Myers held off Emerling for second while Heady and Williams rounded out the top five. Jimmy Blewett was sixth followed by Davis, Coby, Putnam, Jason Myers and Payne. Eleven cars finished on the lead lap. Hartwig finished 12th followed by Connolly, Dennis Holdren, James Civali, Scisco, Brian Loftin, Keiveman, Carson Loftin, Fultz, Smith, Snow, Michael Ritch, Gerstner and Caden Lapcevich completed the rundown.
Craig Gabriele sends long the Unofficial Money Won Results from The Whelen Modified Tour Race at Martinsville. Gabriele does not work for or represent NASCAR or the WMT.
1 53 Cory Lajoie $13,800
2 60 Matt Hirschman $6,000
3 39 Ryan Newman $4,900
4 44 Bobby Santos III $3,800
5 92 Anthony Nocella $3,350
6 24 Andrew Krause $3,300
7 58 Eric Goodale $3,600
8 64 Austin Beers $3,900
9 54 Tommy Catalano $3,250
10 34 JB Fortin $3,100
11 16 Ron Silk $3,300
12 79 Jon McKennedy $3,300.
Kevin Rice advises that Jon McKennedy will pocket a $600 bonus for every WMT event in which he competes in 2023. He also added that the top five in car owner standings should, based on 2022 bonus’, will receive $1,000 for the first three events for 2023. In a non-related manner Rice noted that the town of Waterford, Ct has approved the installation of a badly needed drainage system to the infield of the shoreline oval.
Burt Myers, a former champion at the Bowman Gray Stadium and a regular on the Southern Modified Auto Racing Tour (SMART) got caught with his hand in the cookie jar recently. Myers, who was the first to take the checkered flag at Tri-County, was disqualified after officials found an “illegal electronic device” in post-race technical inspection. Myers received no points or race earnings and was also suspended indefinitely.
The penalty has been overturned by the SMART Appeals Panel. Myers will be on a six-race probation to start off the 2023 racing season.
Dominating the action in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, Joey Logano started on the pole, won the first stage, led a race-high 187 laps, won the race and claimed his second series championship (2018, 2022). Logano joined two-time champion Kyle Busch as only the second active driver in the series to hold more than one title. The victory was his fourth of the season, his third at Phoenix and the 31st of his career in his 507th Cup start.
Logano finished 0.301 seconds ahead of Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney. Championship 4 contender Ross Chastain was closing fast in the final laps and came home third, 1.268 seconds behind Logano on the track and one spot behind the driver of the No. 22 Ford in the final standings.
Get well wishes to former driver Jon Potter who is on the mend from triple by-pass surgery.
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).