RPW Exclusive: Looking Back: Third Week Of February
Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Sixty years five ago in 1959, fifty nine starters took the green for the inaugural Daytona 500. As 41,921 spectators looked on, Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp crossed the finish line in what appeared to be Beauchamp by a whisker.
There was no photo finish camera but Petty was declared the winner, 61 hours later. Bouchamp was put back to second spot with Charlie Griffith, third. The event, which went non stop without a caution, had an average speed of 135.521 mph. For his efforts, Petty received $19,050.
Sixty years ago in 1964, Richard Petty led all but sixteen of the 200 lap Daytona 500 and finished three miles ahead of Jim Pardue. Paul Goldsmith finished third and was followed by Marvin Paunch and Jim Pascal. Among those in the field were Ralph Earnhardt who finished 19th, 20 laps down and New England modified and cut down driver Nathan”Smokey”Boutwell who finished 20th.There were three cautions for 19 laps. Petty, who averaged 154.334mph collected $33,300 for his efforts as 69,738 spectators looked on. One hundred-mile qualifying race winners were Junior Johnson and Bobby Isaac.
Fifty five years ago in 1969, the late model sportsman (Busch Grandnationals) replaced the somewhat modified cars that ran on Saturday. LeeRoy Yarbrough won the event, which saw New England Sportsman and Modified great Don MacTavish lose his life in a violent front stretch crash. Yarbrough came back on Sunday to win the 500 by a car length over Charlie Glotzbach. Donnie Allison finished third and was followed by A.J.Foyt. Yarbroughs average speed was 157.950mph with 101,800 looking on. For his efforts he received $38,950.
Fifty years ago in 1974, the Modifieds were included at Daytona and raced on the road course. Bobby Allison and Tiny Lund finished one-two as they clearly outclassed the field. John Bryant finished third and was followed by Denis Giroux, Geoff Bodine, Jerry Dostie and road racer, Charlie Blanton. The Daytona 500 was shortened to 450 laps because of the then, energy crunch. Even and odd days for getting gas were the norm. Bobby Isaac and Donnie Allison won the twin 125’s which were also shortened to 112.5 miles in length. Richard Petty won his fifth Daytona 500 after Donnie Allison cut down two tires with eleven laps to go. Cale Yarborough ended up second with Ramo Stott, third. A record $300,000 was paid by ABC for broadcast rights and only the second half of the 500 was shown live.
Forty five years ago in 1979, Richie Evans dominated the modified World Series at New Smyrna as he won seven of the nine events run. Merv Treichler and Ronnie Bouchard were the only other drivers to break the stranglehold that Evans had on the competition. Evans also won a 200 mile modified event at Daytona. Neil Bonnett finished second and was followed by Harry Gant, Ronnie Bouchard, Joe Thurman and Bob Riley. For the first time, the Daytona 500 was shown live, pole to pole, by CBS. Ken Squire called the action. Richard Petty became a surprise six-time winner after Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison wrecked going for the lead in the closing laps. As Petty took the checkered flag, Yarborough, Allison and Bobby Allison were slugging it out on the infield grass in turn three. When the TV crew realized what was going on they picked up the physical combat as it unfolded. Darrell Waltrip ended up finishing second with A.J.Foyt, third.
Forty years ago in 1984, Richie Evans won seven of eight modified events run at New Smyrna. Evans lost a fuel pump on the night he didn’t win. Charlie Jarzombek took the win that night. At Daytona, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison won the 125’s.Yarborough went on to win the 500 over Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip won the Goodys 300 the day before.
Thirty five years ago in 1989, Reggie Ruggiero won six of the nine events at New Smyrna. Mike Ewanitsko won two and Tom Baldwin won the series closing Richie Evans Memorial. Darrell Waltrip was at the top of his game as he won both the Goodys 300 and the Daytona 500.
Thirty years ago in 1994, Richie Gallup ended up winning four of the eight modified events run at New Smyrna. Tom Baldwin, although winless used consistency to win the series championship. Other winners were Ricky Fuller, Bruce D’Assandro and Ted Christopher who won the series ending Richie Evans memorial. At Daytona, Bob Newton pulled his Hoosier Tires out of the event in the interest of safety, as the tires were not wearing properly. Ernie Irvan and Dale Earnhardt won the 125’s.For the fifth straight year; Dale Earnhardt won the Busch GN Goodys 300 with Dale Jarrett, second. Chad Little the first GN regular finished third. Among the casualties were Mike Stefanik, Doug Hevron and Mike McLaughlin who were collected in a lap five wreck. The 500 saw Sterling Marlin score his first Winston Cup win. Ernie Irvan finished second with Terry Labonte, third.
Twenty five years ago, in 1989, at New Smyrna on Monday night, Ted Christopher made it two in a row George Kent in the Gary Cretty No.26.Kent switched from Hoosier to Goodyear but still couldn’t catch the Connecticut speedster. JR Bertuccio finished third with Eric Beers, fourth. At Daytona, Ken Schrader was the Busch Grandnational Series top qualifier as he took the pole for the NAPA 300 with a speed of 189.865mph.Randy Lajoie was the outside pole sitter. Tuesday night at New Smyrna belonged to Doug French as he jumped out in front and beat Ted Christopher to the line. Jamie Tomaino finished third. Christopher returned to winning form on Wednesday at New Smyrna as he won his third event of the series over Kent, Beers and Tomaino. At Daytona the big news was that Mike Helton was named as SR. Vice President and CEO of NASCAR and his duties were to oversee the day to day operations of NASCAR. Bill France would still maintain ultimate control as he remained as President of the sanctioning body. At Daytona on Thursday at the 125’s, Bobby Labonte passed Jeff Gordon with 12 laps to go to win the first event. Dale Earnhardt won the second 125 over Jeremy Mayfield. During the first lap, Wally Dallenbach took out John Andretti and Jeff Green. Christopher and Tomaino opened up a lead of a half lap at New Smyrna on Thursday night. Christopher maintained the point and recorded his fourth victory. George Kent finished third with Doug French, fourth. On Friday at Daytona, Speedway Motorsports announced that they had sold the Charlotte Motor Speedway name to home improvement giant Lowes for $35million. Lowes had previously been a NASCAR sponsor but was dumped in favor of Home Depot. Dale Earnhardt Sr. won the IROC event held at the 2-1/2 mile speedway.
Twenty years ago in 2004, the action continued at the New Smyrna Speedway in Florida on Tuesday night, February 10. The Modifieds had Monday night off. On Tuesday night, Eric Beers took advantage of Ted Christopher and Donnie Lia’s misfortune as he took the win in Round 4 of the World Series. Christopher started on the pole and was looking to be the first repeat winner when Lia made a move under him, which resulted in both ending up in the wall. Lia accepted responsibility for the incident. There had been virtually no passing on the high-banked oval this year as the track had become worn and the temperatures had not been ideal for racing. Buck Catalano, who normally races at the Spencer Speedway in upstate New York, ended up second with Charlie Pasteryak, third. JR Bertuccio and Mike Fitch rounded out the top five. Lia was able to make repairs after the crash and ended up seventh behind John Blewett III who was sixth. Chuck Hossfeld, who was driving for Bob Garbarino on the Modified tour made his first appearance driving his own car and finished 11th. It was also good to see Bo Gunning break into the top ten as he finished 8th. The Modifieds went the 50-lap distance on Wednesday night. Eddie Flemke Jr. and the Hill Enterprises team joined the field and made the most of their effort as they took the win. Flemke, who started third, took the lead on the first lap when John Blewett III drifted up, leaving an opening. It was clear sailing from then on. Blewett, who was then slugging it out with Ted Christopher, lost a radiator hose and triggered a wreck, which ultimately put him out for the night. Christopher applied the pressure to Flemke to the point where his rear bumper looked like it had been through a war but the second generation driver never faltered as he romped home for the win. Christopher settled for second with George Kent, third. Charlie Pasteryak and Chuck Hossfeld rounded out the top five. Flemke stated they never intended to run the whole series, just the last three or four events. On Thursday night Ted Christopher became the first repeat winner in modified competition at New Smyrna. Christopher started on the pole and led the entire 25-lap distance. Buck Catalano finished second with Eric Beers, third. JR Bertuccio and Mike Fitch rounded out the top five. Things got ugly during the early going when Ed Flemke Jr. came together with George Kent. Kent spun out and went after Flemke, eventually planting him into the wall. Flemke ended up in 19th spot while Kent ended up 9th behind Don Lia, Chuck Hossfeld and Bo Gunning. On Friday night it was the Richie Evans Memorial 100. John Blewett III, who had horrible luck in the series, started dead last in the 27-car field and survived numerous restarts and a crash to walk away the winner. A lap nine crash collected eleven cars, including Blewett. Blewett was able to rejoin the field but others weren’t as fortunate. The accident was triggered when Charlie Pasteryak and Bo Gunning made contact with Pasteryak getting the worst of the deal as he hit the outside wall. Once the field restarted those not involved in the wreck made pit stops with many putting on fresh rubber. Another late race caution found the same scenario. On the restart, Ed Flemke was attempting to rundown leader Blewett and George Kent. Flemke appeared to be the fastest car but as the laps wore down he appeared to be getting loose. Ted Christopher then put the bumper to him and sent the Hill’s Enterprises No.79 into the inside wall. Flemke was able to re-fire his engine and took off after Christopher while he circled the track under caution. Flemke figured that the track officials should have taken action against Christopher for his overly aggressive driving and seeing as though they didn’t, Flemke plowed Christopher in the rear and then exited the track to the pit area. Once in the pits, Christopher’s crew joined Flemke’s crew for some tea and crumpets! Needless to say, it wasn’t pretty. George Kent ended up finishing second to Blewett. Rounding out the top five were Eric Beers, JR Bertuccio and Chuck Hossfeld. Christopher managed to finish tenth. The heavy rains that washed out the racing at Daytona on Saturday also washed out the final night of the World Series at New Smyrna. There will be no make up. Eric Beers was named the modified champion of the series as he beat Ted Christopher by 31 points. Donnie Lia ended up third with JR Bertuccio, fourth and George Kent, fifth. Rounding out the top ten were Charlie Pasteryak, Buck Catalano, Kevin Goodale, John Bush and Chris Young.
At the Daytona International Speedway on Thursday the twin 125 qualifying races for the Daytona 500 were run with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Elliott Sadler scoring the wins. Of the 45 cars that entered the events, 43 of them qualified for the 500. Going home were Kirk Shelmerdine, a former crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Andy Hillenburg. In comparison to other years, a 45-car field for the 500 is a light one. The NASCAR Craftsman Trucks ran under the lights at the Daytona International Speedway last Friday night. Carl Edwards won it in a Ford. Toyota, in its first showing, almost stole the show as Travis Kvapil finished second in the once domestic brand series. Heavy rains descended on the Daytona area on Saturday afternoon bringing the Busch Series Hershey’s Kisses 300 to a halt. The event was completed on Monday, February 16 at 11:00 am. An estimated 200,000 were on hand when President George Bush gave the command to start the engines. The only scary wreck occurred when Michael Waltrip took a mean tumble on the backstretch. It seemed like ages until Waltrip emerged unhurt. In a TV interview Waltrip was extremely critical of the track crew, which left him hanging upside down for quite a while. Waltrip finally convinced the rescue workers to roll his car back in the upright position and loa and behold he got out without a problem. Unlike last year when the 500 was stopped because of rain, the event ran the entire posted distance.
It looked like there would be a break in the Anti-trust suit that had been filed against NASCAR over the awarding of NEXTEL (formerly Winston) Cup dates. It had been strongly rumored that the International Speedway Corporation, which is controlled by the France family that also controls NASCAR, may sell their track in Rockingham, North Carolina to Speedway Motorsports, which owns the Texas track that has been seeking a second date. If Speedway Motorsports ended up owning Rockingham they could move their date to Texas. A similar situation took place when O. Bruton Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports and Bob Bahre, owner of the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire bought the North Wilkesboro Speedway, also in North Carolina, and moved their dates. One went to Loudon and one went to Texas. If the deal for Rockingham ever goes through it’s a good bet that the Anti-trust suit will go away. A few months later it happened!
Fifteen years ago in 2009 after having Sunday off to repair and refresh some of the tour type and SK type Modifieds that were damaged in the first two nights of the World Series at the New Smyrna Speedway in Florida a near full field was on hand. Among those on hand for race #3 was Sprint Cup star Ryan Newman. Ted Christopher beat out Newman at Loudon in 2008. Newman redeemed himself at New Smyrna on Monday night. The closing laps saw numerous lead changes between the two and in the end at the checkered flag it was Newman in for the win by inches. Christopher finished second and was followed by Eric Goodale, John Jensen and Jon McKennedy. Jimmy Blewett made it three in a row in SK type Modified competition
Eric Goodale and Ted Christopher led the 23 car field down for the start of the night’s 25 lap feature. Before one lap was completed Christopher had taken the lead. Matt Hirschman slowed immediately in what was suspected to be transmission problems. A big wreck on the seventh lap collected Ryan Preece, Chuck Hossfeld, Bobby Grigas, III, Jon McKennedy, Jimmy Blewett, Louie Mechalides, Richard Savory and Eric Goodale. Christopher continued to survive several restarts while Goodale slipped a bit, which opened a door for Newman. Newman dogged the defending NASCAR champion until the closing laps when he blew him away with an outside pass on a restart.
When Jimmy Blewett took the checkered flag in the SK type Modified 15 lapper it was almost 12:30am on Tuesday morning. Frank Ruocco, Jimmy Zacharis and David Cranmer rounded out the top five. Those five were the only drivers who finished the race.
Ted Christopher ended his World Series dry spell on Tuesday night as he won the Tour type Modified 25 lap feature. Jimmy Blewett remained unbeatable in the SK type Modifieds as he went pole to pole to record his fourth feature win in the division.
Monday night’s winner Ryan Newman started on the pole of the Modified feature with Jimmy Blewett on the outside. Blewett jumped into the lead at the start. Newman faded a bit as Christopher, who started third, moved into the runner-up spot. By the eighth lap Christopher had moved into the lead. Newman continued to fade as Chuck Hossfeld moved into the third position. In what looked to becoming a non-stop event changed quickly as Eric Goodale, Matt Hirschman and Ryan Preece wrecked together in turn four on the 16th lap. Once the cars and debris was cleared the feature went non-stop from there. Blewett had nothing for Christopher and was forced to settle for second. Hossfeld ended up third with Ronnie Silk, fourth. It was the first night of competition for Silk and the Roger Hill Race Team. Jon McKennedy rounded out the top five. Ryan Newman rebounded from a pit stop on lap 16 to finish sixth.
Following Blewett in the SK type Modified feature were Bobby Grigas, III, Frank Ruocco, David Cranmer and Ron Schultz. The event was cut two laps short when Jimmy Zacharias, Eric Goodale and Wayne Arute were all involved in grinding crash on the front stretch. Arute got the worst of it, hitting the wall head-on. He exited the car uninjured, but his car suffered heavy damage.
The tour type Modifieds at New Smyrna ran the 50 lap John Blewett III Memorial 50 lapper on Wednesday night. Ronnie Silk, in his second night of competition, took the win over Ted Christopher, Matt Hirschman, Jimmy Blewett and Eric Goodale. Jimmy Blewett made it five in a row in SK type Modified competition.
Early in the evening Louie Mechalides replaced Frank Ruocco in the Bear Motorsports No. 14. Ruocco picked up a ride in the Joe Brady back-up car. Chuck Hossfeld drew the pole starting spot and took the lead at the start. By the second lap Silk had closed on the leader and was applying the heat. Hossfeld got a slight reprieve when Mechalides spun in turn two, bringing out the caution. Shortly after the field restarted Hirschman brought out the caution when he spun on the front stretch, hitting the water barrels that guard pit road. Hirschman was able to drive away and rejoin the field. Hossfeld led until lap 11 when he gave way to a determined Silk. The caution flew again on lap 23 for Shelly Perry who spun on the back stretch and for Steve Witt who hit the wall at the start-finish line. On the restart, Hossfeld, who had been running second, faded. Eric Goodale moved into the runner-up spot. At just about the same time Richard Savory’s engine dumped its innards in a billow of smoke. Following a realignment of the field Silk jumped out to a sizeable lead with Goodale, Ryan Preece, Bob Grigas and Hossfeld in tow.
On lap 46, Ryan Preece had a run on Eric Goodale for second place on the backstretch. Preece pulled out and Goodale threw a block on him. The pair made contact and Goodale went spinning down low. Preece made it to the end of the straightway when his right rear tire went down. He then slid up into Chuck Hossfeld, who impacted the outside wall in turn three. Preece drove away and pitted for a new tire. Goodale also drove away and pitted. Hossfeld was hauled off by a wrecker. On the restart Silk led Grigas, Christopher, Ruocco and Hirschman. Grigas got a little over excited as he went high on the track and gave way to Christopher. In the end, Christopher had nothing for Silk. Christopher settled for second with Hirschman, third. Jimmy Blewett and Eric Goodale rounded out the top five. Grigas ended up in sixth spot and Preece in eighth.
Finishing behind Blewett in the Wednesday night SK type event was Frank Ruocco, Brad Van Hooten, Tommy Farrell and Jimmy Zacharias.
In tour type Modified action on Thursday night Ted Christopher scored his second victory of the series. Jimmy Blewett continued to dominate in the SK types as he made it six in a row. Despite the fact that usually by Thursday there had been thousands of race fans in the Daytona-New Smyrna area the crowds were down to say the least. At New Smyrna the grandstands were less than half full and at Daytona where usually the Sprint Cup Duals are near a sell out there were considerable empty seats observed.
In the Modified 25 lapper, Christopher started from the pole and jumped out to an early lead at the start over Chuck Hossfeld, Matt Hirschman, Jimmy Blewett and Bobby Grigas, III. The first caution of the race fell on lap 3 when Frank Ruocco, driving the Joe Brady back-up, hit the second turn wall near the beginning of the backstretch. Christopher led the restart and was followed by Hossfeld, Ronnie Silk, Blewett, Grigas and Hirschman who had faded since the start. Silk, who was looking to make it two in a row, took over the runner-up spot on lap 10 after getting by Hossfeld on the low side. The caution flew again on lap 14, this time for John Jensen who had come to a stop on the front stretch. Once the field went back to green Silk turned up the heat on the backside of the leader. On lap 17 Silk took the lead in a somewhat rough way. Christopher returned the favor on lap 22 as he re-took the lead. Grigas followed as Silk slipped to third. Christopher held on for the win and was followed by Grigas, Silk, Hirschman, Hossfeld, Blewett, Eric Goodale, Rob Fuller, Jon McKennedy and Kevin Goodale.
In SK type competition Blewett took the lead from Frank Ruocco on lap 3 and that’s the name of that tune!
The Richie Evans Memorial 100 was the main attraction at New Smyrna on Friday night. Each year the New Smyrna Speedway honors the fallen Champion and icon to the sport of open wheeled Modified Racing. The RE 100 was the most exciting event of the week and kept the near capacity crowd on its feet for most of the event. Ted Christopher was the eventual winner after trading the lead close to ten times with Ronnie Silk. Temperatures were in the high 50’s-low 60’s at race time.
Jimmy Blewett took the lead on the start with Silk on his rear bumper. Silk passed Blewett for the lead on lap 3. The first caution of the evening flew on lap 11 for Shelly Perry who spun in turn 4. The restart was aborted when Vinnie Annarummo spun by himself. Annarummo was driving the Joe Brady back-up.
A strange thing happened on lap 11. Danny Marcello arrived at the track and was allowed to join the event. That was a dumb move by who ever made that decision as he could have wrecked half the field with an untested car. Marcello was black flagged for not getting up to speed. A big logjam took place on the restart. Several cars got together on the front stretch as the green flag came out. Those involved include Kevin Goodale, Chuck Hossfeld, JR Bertuccio, Rob Fuller, Ted Christopher, Jimmy Blewett, Jon McKennedy and Ryan Preece. The field returned to green flag conditions. All continued except Blewett as his car was sidelined with rear end problems. The caution flew again on lap 28. Butch Perry spun. Among those who pitted were Christopher, Chuck Hossfeld and Ryan Preece. Silk continued to lead as the field went back to green. At the halfway point, it was Silk, Bobby Grigas, Eric Goodale, Hirschman, Andy Seuss, John Jensen, Kevin Goodale, JR Bertuccio, Ted Christopher and Peter Jarvis. Butch Perry spun again on lap 53. Silk and most of the front runners pitted. Eric Goodale inherited the lead on the restart. With 13 cars left running Jensen pulled Goodale on the restart. Christopher stormed his way to the front and on lap 60 took the lead. Grigas and Silk came with him into second and third as Jensen dropped to fourth. At lap 67 the racing was at a fever pitch. Silk made bonsai move on the low side of Christopher to take the lead. Not one to take it sitting down, Christopher rose to the occasion on lap 69 to retake the top spot. At lap 77, Silk passed Christopher again for the lead. Christopher tried a crossover move to retake the lead, but it didn’t work. The caution flew again on lap 79 for the Perry’s who wrecked each other. Silk and Christopher served up a see-saw battle for the lead. Christopher took the lead for the final time on lap 96. Following Christopher at the finish was Silk, Grigas, Hirschman, Kevin Goodale and Chuck Hossfeld.
Jimmy Blewett made it seven in a row in the SK type Modifieds. Kevin Goodale was second, Tom Ferrall, Jimmy Zacharias, and Rob Schultz rounded out the top five.
Saturday night was pretty much a lame duck session for the Modifieds and the SK types. Ted Christopher had already sewed up the tour type Modified Championship and Jimmy Blewett, the SK types.
With only 17 tour type Modifieds left for the final night Ted Christopher made it three in a row and four for the week in World Series competition at the New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. Christopher’s main competition Ronnie Silk was on his way home to Connecticut as the Roger Hill Race Team headed for North Carolina. Jimmy Blewett completed a perfect week of SK type Modified racing as he went eight for eight.
Matt Hirschman and Bobby Grigas brought the field down for the start. Christopher started fifth. Once on the backstretch the front runners went three wide. Grigas, who had a tire getting soft and JR Bertuccio made contact. Both hit the wall a ton and in the process collected Jimmy Blewett, Hirschman, Kevin Goodale and Darwin Green. Bertuccio took out his frustrations on Grigas with a barrage of foul language, punches and kicks aimed at Grigas even though the culprit was a leaking tire! Eric Goodale led the restart with Christopher, second. By lap 5 Andy Seuss had moved into second spot after starting in seventh spot. Seuss was able to get close but was unable to make a move on Christopher. At the finish, Christopher took the win. Eric Goodale beat Seuss by a whisker for the runner up spot. Seuss settled for third. Jon McKennedy and Hirschman rounded out the top five.
In NASCAR action at the Daytona International Speedway Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch were the winners of the Thursday Gatorade Dual 150 mile Daytona 500 qualifying races. Gordon, ended the longest winless drought of his career by winning the first duel. Busch also made an overdue return to Victory Lane, where he was a frequent visitor in 2008 before tailing off when the championship was on the line. Busch won eight races and led the Cup standings most of the season, but started to falter in August and fell apart when the Chase for the championship began.
Tony Stewart held off a last-lap challenge from Kyle Busch to win the Nationwide race Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. Stewart passed 23 cars in 11 laps to get back into contention after pitting with 30 laps to go in the 120-lap Camping World 300, then hung onto the lead as Busch, Carl Edwards and Clint Bowyer fought for position. Brad Keselowski led several times and appeared to be one of the cars to beat, but he banged off the wall on lap 108. Two laps later, his right rear tire blew, bringing out the last of six caution flags and setting up the dash to the finish. Edwards led at that point, but Stewart, with help from Chevy driver Bowyer, pushed past into the lead after the restart on lap 114.As the laps wound down, Stewart seemed to be a sitting duck, especially after Busch, who won 10 Nationwide races last year, moved into second place three laps from the end. On the final trip around the 2.5-mile oval, Busch moved up to Stewart’s rear bumper and gave him a nudge. Stewart’s car wobbled and drifted high as Busch’s Toyota moved nearly alongside. But, somehow, Stewart stayed just ahead of Busch. Then Edwards and defending series champion Bowyer went to the outside to pass Busch.
Matt Kenseth drove from the back of the field to take the Daytona 500 lead minutes before the sky opened up, handing the former series champion his first victory in NASCAR’s version of the Super Bowl.
Coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, Kenseth’s bad luck followed him into Daytona International Speedway. He wrecked his primary car, had to go to a backup and started Sunday’s race in last place. But As Rain Closed In On The Season-Opening Event, The Field Turned It Up A Notch, anticipating the race would not go the distance. Kenseth used a huge push from Kevin Harvick to pass Elliott Sadler with 54 laps to go. Caution came out moments later for an accident started by Paul Menard, and the rain that had been threatening all day finally arrived. NASCAR stopped the race two laps later, and the cars were called to pit road. Some drivers climbed from their cars to await NASCAR’s decision on whether to restart the race, but Kenseth sat patiently inside his parked Ford on pit road. When NASCAR declared it over, the 2003 Cup champion tearfully climbed from his car to celebrate his victory, which snapped a 36-race winless streak. It was also the first Daytona 500 win for team owner Jack Roush. Kevin Harvick, who used a push from Kenseth to win the 500 in 2007, finished second. AJ Allmendinger, who had to race his way into the field in one of Thursday’s qualifiers, finished third. Clint Bowyer was fourth and Sadler was fifth, devastated he lost the lead moments before the rain stopped the race.
Ten years ago in 2014, The second annual Battle at the Beach for the NASCAR Modifieds was considerably better than the first one despite the fact that the dominant car didn’t win. Doug Coby took advantage of Ryan Preece’s misfortune to take the win and the $20,000 that went with it. Preece, who led the first 147 laps from the pole, hit the lapped car of David Sapienza with eight laps to go. Sapienza, a lapped car, was low in turn one when Preece approached. Evidently his spotter failed to inform him of the car in the low groove or Preece just mis-judged his pass as his left rear tire made contact with Sapienza’s car. The contact badly bent the left-rear wheel on Preece’s No. 16 and when the race resumed with three laps to go he couldn’t hold the bottom groove, allowing Coby to sneak from third to the lead. Coby led the final three circuits on the temporary three-eighths-mile track located on the backstretch at the superspeedway in his first race in the No. 2 modified.
Jason Myers put the bumper in typical Bowman Gray style as Coby was exiting the fourth turn on the final lap, but Coby held on. Myers finished second with Luke Fleming, Preece and Burt Myers rounding out the top five. Sixth thru tenth were Tommy Barrett, Jr. Cody Ware, Ron Silk, Eric Goodale and JR Bertuccio. Donny Lia, who ran second and third for 121 laps when he spun out and eventually finished 11th, the apparent victim of worn tires. Patrick Emmerling who was second on the final restart got shuffled to 12th in the final rundown.
Thirteen of the original 26 starters finished on the lead lap. There were eight cautions for 44 laps. As far as the race itself was concerned the reconfigured track provided better racing. The International Speedway Corporation which owns the Daytona Speedway is in the process of tearing down the backstretch grandstand which means that next year the Battle at the Beach may move to New Smyrna or cease to exist.
With Daytona in the record book the Modifieds returned to New Smyrna on Wednesday night, seventeen cars went to post for the John Blewett III Memorial 76 lapper. Ron Silk took the lead from pole sitter Tommy Barrett on lap three and went on to record his third win of the week. Ryan Preece finished second with Barrett, third. Eric Goodale and Matt Hirschman rounded out the top five.
The Living Legends of Auto Racing held their 20th annual awards banquet last Wednesday night at the Shores Resort and Spa in Daytona Beach Shores. Northern Legends Bugsy Stevens, Don LaJoie, Geoff Bodine, Jim Reed and Ken Squire were honored.
At New Smyrna on Thursday night the Modified field grew to 18, Justin Bonsignore, driving a brand new SPAFCO car crew chiefed by Kenny Barry cleaned house in the 35 lap Tour type Modified feature. Bonsignore started on the outside pole and took the lead from pole sitter Matt Hirschman following a restart on lap five. Bonsignore left little doubt that his new car was running to perfection as he opened up a 10 car lengths lead by lap 30 of the 35 lap main, Hirschman hung on to finish second only to be disqualified after the post race inspection indicated he has over the allowable left side weight. Ron Silk was moved up into second and Ryan Preece into third. Tommy Barrett ended up fourth with Patrick Emerling, fifth.
Bonsignore, on a roll from his Thursday night victory, came back on Friday night to win the series ending Richie Evans Memorial 100 lap tour type Modified event at the New Smyrna Speedway. Bonsignore started 14th in the rain delayed event that didn’t take the green until 20 minutes to eleven. The young charger from Long Island took the lead with two laps to go from Ron Silk. It was close to 11:30pm when Bonsignore took the checkered flag. With his third place finish, Silk wrapped up the series championship.
Silk led the charge at the start, which saw 19 cars go to post. Eric Goodale was the pole sitter. Silk led until lap 86 when it appeared he slowed because of worn tires. Goodale, waiting in the wings, took the point. Meanwhile Bonsignore had methodically worked his way to the front and on lap 98 passed for the lead and eventual win. Goodale hung on for second. Chuck Hossfeldt finished fourth and Doug Coby came all the way from 19th to round out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Rob Fuller, Spencer Davis, Ryan Preece Matt Hirschman and Al Emmarino. It was another disappointing night for Tommy Barrett who was forced to retire early with power steering problems.
Justin Bonsignore can now head north with his head held high as he has won one of Modified Racings Most Prestigious events, the Richie Evans 100. A true Modified racer, he came from the back to take the win. Good Job!
Congratulations to Ron Silk and car owner Eddie Partridge on their World Series Tour type Modified championship.
Matt Kenseth defeated Kevin Harvick by .022 of a seconds in a three-wide finish that also included Kasey Kahne in an impressive finish to Thursday night’s first Budweiser Duel 150 qualifying race for the s Daytona 500. Harvick’s Chevrolet, however, failed post-race technical inspection when NASCAR officials found the track bar exceeded the maximum split (3-inches of adjustment). That meant his finishing position from Thursday was disallowed and he would have to make it into the field through qualification times posted in the previous week’s time trials or the car owner points that belonged to Ryan Newman last year when he was the driver at Stewart-Haas Racing.
Denny Hamlin gave Joe Gibbs Racing a sweep of both Budweiser Duels, driving his Toyota to victory in the second 150-mile qualifying race Thursday night for Sunday’s 56th Daytona 500.
Hamlin was first to the checkered flag in a race that finished with a massive crash behind him that saw six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson run out of gas before being clipped by Jamie McMurray. That led to a big multi-car crash that saw Clint Bowyer’s car flip completely over before landing on all four wheels. Also, two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip’s Toyota ran into the opening of the pit wall.
One year after seeing an apparent victory end in one of the worst crashes in Daytona history, Regan Smith was finally able to see the checkered flag at Daytona Int’l Speedway. Smith used the high-line to nip Brad Keselowski by a fender and win Saturday’s DRIVE4COPD 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
Brad Keselowski lost the race by the narrowest of margins. Trevor Bayne was third in a Ford followed by Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota drivers Kyle Busch and Elliott Sadler.
In the weekend final Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt JR led 54 of the 200 laps in beating Denny Hamlin (who had no radio much of the night), Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, defending race and series champion Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Biffle, rookie pole-winner Austin Dillon, and Casey Mears. Several late-race cautions kept the field bunched and set up the week’s fourth spectacular Cup finish.
The 56th annual 500 began on time, then went under the red flag for rain after just 38 laps. Competitors and fans sat around for almost 6 hours, 22 minutes as the long-expected weather moved through the area. The race finally began again at 8:34 and ended at 11:45PM.
Congratulations to Geoff Bodine, Bob Cuneo and the USA Bob Sled team on winning the bronze medal in the two man event at the Olympics on Monday, 2/17 and the four man team event on Sunday.
Five years ago in 2019, Five years ago in 2019, The annual World Series of Auto Racing at the New Smyrna Speedway in Florida shifted into high gear on Monday running a make-up K & N event that was rained out plus the first of five tour type Modified events that were scheduled. Doug Coby and Phil Moran went to New Smyrna to get a leg up on their competition in the 2019 Whelen Modified Tour Series. If Monday night was any indication it appeared that they did their homework. Coby started on the pole and never looked back as he led the entire 50 lap distance to record the win in the 24 car starting field. Second place finisher Patrick Emerling was never a factor. Matt Hirschman finished third after a late race surge. Jimmy Blewett was never a factor as he finished fourth. Anthony Nocella rounded out the top five. Ryan Preece ran his first of three scheduled races but fell victim to a broken shifter which put him two laps down.
In the super late model division, Pollard also earned his first World Series triumph aboard David Rogers familiar No. 11. Other feature winners on the evening included Augie Grill in the pro late model class and Travis Eddy in the Florida Modified division. Derek Kraus won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East opener that kicked off the night of racing.
Ryan Preece got redemption on Tuesday night in Round 2 of the tour type Modified competition. Driving a brand new Chassis Dynamics Modified built by Mike Paquette that was powered by a Mike Petit Racing Engine, Preece cruised to a win after taking the lead from Tommy Catalano on lap 13. Earlier in the evening Preece had garnered the pole but because of a re-draw, started eighth on the 22 car starting field.
One caution with two wrecks, slowed the event. The yellow waved for Jeffrey Gallup who hit the wall in turn two. On the ensuing restart Anthony Nocella spun in turn two which triggered a pig pile which ended up with Andy Jankowiac sitting on top of Patrick Emerling. Following the restart it was all green to the finish on lap 35. Following Preece at the 35 lap finish was Jimmy Blewett, Doug Coby, Chuck Hossfeldt, Tommy Catalano, Amy Catalano and Nocella.
In other Tuesday night action at New Smyrna, Bubba Pollard picked up where he left off on Monday with his second-straight victory in David Rogers’ No. 11 in Super Late Model competition. Other feature winners included Augie Grill in the Florida Modifieds and Jeremy Miller in the pro late model class.
It rained on and off just about all day Wednesday with some doubt as to whether New Smyrna would get to run. Just before darkness set in the sun popped out and racing was on. A not so great forecast kept the crowd down the racing was top shelf. Big Money Matt Hirschman was the spoiler as he made it two in a row as he won the John Blewett III Memorial 76 lapper.
Ryan Preece took the lead on the start from his outside pole starting spot. Doug Coby displaced Preece from the top spot on lap 3. For the first of many times Nikki Carroll spun on lap 25 and brought out the caution.
On the restart, Preece used a bottom shot to retake the lead and dragged Hirschman along for good measure. Coby slipped to third while Tommy Catalano and Chuck Hossfeld broke into the top five. At the 35 lap mark Preece continued to lead with Hirschman, Tommy Catalano, Hossfeld, Jeff Goodale, Dave Sapienza, Blewett, Coby, Emerling and Jankowiak making up the top ten.
Jeff Goodale’s strong run came to an end on lap 51 when a suspension part broke, sending him in hard into the wall between turns three and four. On the restart Preece continued to lead with Hirschman, Sapienza, Tommy Catalano, and Jankowiac rounding out the top five.
Hirschman turned up the wick and the pressure was on to get by Preece. The fruits of his efforts came to bear as Hirschman got the bite he needed following a lap 60 restart. Coming out of turn two Hirschman got his nose under Preece to execute the pass for the lead. In a high speed sprint to the finish, Hirschman led the charge to the checkered flag. Hossfeld finished second with Dave Sapienza, third. Doug Coby and Jimmy Zacharias rounded out the top five. Amy Catalano, Patrick Emerling, Dillon Steuer, Ryan Preece and Jeremy Gerstner rounded out the top ten. The tour type modified #2 of Doug Coby was disqualified from the “John Blewett III Memorial” race. Officials made the determination that the crew made an unapproved tire change. Coby was scored at the end of the lead pack.
In the 35-lap super late model feature, Brad May secured his first victory of the week after previously finishing second three times. Other winners on Wednesday included Sammy Smith in the pro late model division and Wayne Parker in the Florida Modified class.
A final tribute was bestowed upon the late George Summers posthumously as he was inducted into NASCAR’s Living Legends of Auto Racing Hall of Fame on Wednesday night. Peggy Summers accepted the award surrounded by her family. A tip of the hat to Dick Berggren who did an outstanding job of highlighting George’s career.
Up until Thursday Timmy Solomito and his Flamingo Racing entry had been less than impressive in tour type Modified action at New Smyrna. Solomito had started sixth and by lap 9 of the 35 lap-20 car feature, passed Doug Coby for the lead. Solomito was well on his way to recording his first win in the series when he got snakebit again. Following a restart on lap28 Solomito and Tommy Catalano made contact on the backstretch. While the two were struggling to regain control Matt Hirschman seized the moment with a bold move and shot into the lead. Hirschman went on to record the win, making it two in a row. Solomito recovered and finished second. Catalano also recovered but was passed by Chuck Hossfeld and Bobby Measmer, placing him fifth.
Other winners on Thursday night were Bubba Pollard on the Super Late Models, Jamie Skinner in the Pro Late Models and Jerry Symons in the Florida Modifieds.
Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano won the Daytona 500 qualifying races (Duels) in a pair of Ford sweeps that gave the new Mustang positioned for a strong showing in “The Great American Race.”. Harvick won the first of the 150-mile qualifying races Thursday night that set the field for NASCAR’s showcase event. Logano used a last-lap pass for the lead in the second one.
Ryan Preece ran in the first 150 and after starting 15th finished 10th.
The Friday night Richie Evans 100 closed out the tour type segment of the World Series at New Smyrna. Matt Hirschman won the final battle but it was consistent Chuck Hossfeld who won the war (Series Championship). Hirschman started sixth. Doug Coby took the lead at the start with Tommy Catalano in tow. By lap 32 Hirschman had advanced to the runner-up spot. Going down the backstretch on lap 41Hirschman put Coby away as they entered turn three. From then on Hirschman kept the field at bay as he cruised to victory. A competition caution for fuel and tires didn’t make any difference as Hirschman continued unchallenged.
At the finish it was Hirschman followed by Jimmy Blewett, Anthony Nocella, Tommy Catalano, Patrick Emerling, Dave Sapienza, Hossfeld, Calvin Carroll, Coby and Jim Zacharias.
The NASCAR trucks ran at the Daytona International Speedway on Friday night. It was a high speed demolition derby to say the least. Of the 32 trucks that started only nine were running at the end. Austin Hill was the winner. Eleven cautions slowed the event as 55 of the 111 laps were under caution.
Saturday at Daytona saw the Xfinity cars in the spotlight for a 300 mile event. Michael Annett won the Xfinity opener at Daytona, inheriting the lead on Lap 75 and never looking back. Teammate Justin Allgaier finished second, followed by the No. 19 of Brandon Jones.
Hudson New Hampshire driver Derek Griffith drove to a dominant victory in the 100-lap Orange Blossom 100 for super late models Saturday during the final night of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway.
Griffith took the lead for the final time on lap 77 from Jett Noland and pulled away in the closing laps, easily besting runner-up Bubba Pollard for his first checkered flag during the World Series. Pollard settled for second in David Rogers No. 11, which was enough to give Pollard the overall super late model title during the World Series. Pollard earned three victories earlier in the week, which helped catapult him to a comfortable lead entering Saturday’s finale.
Noland finished the Orange Blossom 100 third after leading the most laps. Tate Fogleman and reigning USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series champion Logan Seavey completed the top-five.
George Gorham won the sportsman feature, Wayne Parker won the Florida Modified main, Cody Haskins earned another pro truck triumph and Michael Trocki claimed the super stock checkers.
Denny Hamlin came to the Daytona 500 determined to honor his late car owner with a victory. He delivered in a storybook tribute for Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin won NASCAR’s biggest race for the second time in four years. Hamlin and Busch alternated as the leaders during the handful of late restarts, and the final rush to the checkered flag was a push to hold off Ford driver and reigning NASCAR champion Joey Logano. The Ford camp went 1-2-3 in both of Thursday’s qualifying races and was favored to win the Daytona 500. Logano, who started his career at JGR, settled for fourth.
Rookie Ryan Preece, was best in class with an eighth-place finish. Going into the final restart Preece was in fifth spot but got shuffled by a couple of veterans. Needless to say, he did good in his first attempt at the cup level at Daytona.
Last year, 2023 The World Series opened on somewhat of a wet note this past Friday night. Derek Griffith, of Hudson, N.H., led every circuit on the way to victory in the 35-lap Sportsman feature. Rain moved in following the drop of the checkered flag and cancelled the remainder of the program which included features for the Super Late Model, Pro Late Model, Florida Modified and Bomber A divisions.
On Saturday morning 36 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour competitors and their race teams streamed thru the pit gate to set up shop in the infield for the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200. Under threatening skies the Mods took to the track for pre-qualifying practice as a capacity crowd looked on. Matt Hirschman dominated the second NWMT practice session finishing on the top of the charts with a time of 17.611. Austin Beers second followed by: Tommy Catalano, Ronnie Williams and Tyler Rypkema. Prior to qualifying NASCAR stated that all cars on hand would start the event. Kevin Shea with the #41 Modified withdrew from the race, dropping the starting field to 35 strong.
With thirty of the 35 cars qualified the rain began to fall. Ron Williams in the Jamie Tomaino entry was the fastest with Doug Coby, second fastest. The rain finally stopped and it was announced by NASCAR that time trials had been scrubbed and the starting field would be set using last year’s owner point standings. Coby got put on the pole with Jon McKennedy second. Williams got moved back to 22nd.
The 200 lapper took the 8:35pm. Joe Coss and Ben Dodge called the race with Jerry Cook as the color man. At the drop of the green Coby took the lead over McKennedy and Ron Silk. Last year’s winner of the event was mired in 16th spot. The first caution flew on lap 19 when Brian Robie and Ken Heagy spun in turn two. The field went back to green on lap24 with Coby leading McKennedy and Silk. The second caution flew on lap29 when Tyler Rypkema spun in turn four. Coby, McKennedy and Matt Hirschman pitted for fuel. The green flew on lap33 with Eric Goodale leading Austin Beers and Dave Sapienza. Patrick Emerling developed mechanical problems and parked it for the night. Beers passed Goodale for the lead on lap 35.
The third caution flew on lap83 when JR Bertuccio spun in turn2. Beers pitted along with Kyle Ebersol, Goodale and Jimmy Blewett. Coby and Hirschman pitted and took on three tires each. Coby made it out first and led the field to the green on lap 92. Tommy Catalano and Silk followed. At the half way mark Coby continued to lead over Silk, Catalano, Justin Bonsignore and Beers. Jerry Cook remarked that this event is the most competitive that he has seen in a long time. Coby continued to lead as the field clicked off lap 150. Catalano had moved into second with Silk, third. The fourth caution of the night flew on lap 157 when Jake Johnson and Craig Lutz spun in turn two. With a sprint to the finish coming up most of the front runners pitted for tires and adjustments. Tommy Catalano led the restart but spun his tires allowing Coby to take the lead.
Three laps later Coby slipped to third as Silk took the lead with Bonsignore on his bumper. As the field completed lap 168 it appeared that Bonsignore got a little wiggly in turn one and was hit by Coby. Many of the front runners were collected as they attempted to avoid getting wrecked. Blewett and Goodale were done for the night. Silk led the restart on lap176 with Hirschman, second, Anthony Sessley, third and Bonsignore, fourth. Bonsignore came alive on lap 182 as he shot up to the second spot. Bonsignore took the lead with five to go only to lose it to Silk on lap 196. Silk took the checkered flag at 9:58pm. Justin Bonsignore finished second with Matt Hirschman, third. Sessley and Coby rounded out the top five. Sixth thru tenth included Jake Johnson, Dave Sapienza, Austin Beers, Anthony Nocella and Tommy Catalano. There were 12 cars on the lead lap. Completing the top 12 were Tyler Rypkema and Kyle Ebersol.
Following the event NASCAR senior vice president Ben Kennedy presented Ron Silk with the 1948 Cup following Silk’s victory in the Whelen Modified Tour New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 Saturday at New Smyrna Speedway. The 1948 Cup was paterned by the trophy Red Byron received when he won NASCAR’s first points event, a Modified race on the beach course in Daytona Beach, Fla. on Feb. 15, 1948.
Unofficial results from Sunday Night #3 of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway on February 12, 2023. SUPER LATE MODELS: William Sawalich, PRO LATE MODELS: Carson Brown, FLORIDA MODIFIEDS: Cody Stickler, 602 MODIFIEDS: Trevor Catalano, Evan Rygielski, Lee Sharpsteen and Luke Baldwin, E-MODIFIEDS: Jeffrey White and BOMBER A: Charles Zukowski.
Glad to hear that Jacob Perry will be back in the Jack Bateman Modified for 2023.
After a breakout 2022 season which saw David Arute win an impressive 3 SK Modified® events, the 75 team has announced a partnership with Monaco Ford for the 2023 season. Not only will the 75 team contend weekly for SK Modified® victories, the Monaco Ford backed team will also make another attempt at qualifying for the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®.
“We are ecstatic to have Monaco Ford onboard for the 2023 season,” explained Arute. “Mike and Dave [Monaco] and everyone at Monaco Ford are great supporters of racing, I’m looking forward to carrying their colors on the number 75 Modified this year.” Arute attempted to qualify for the 2022 NAPA Spring Sizzler® but missed the field by one position. A new car and a better understanding of Open Modified competition has the 75 team looking forward to NAPA Spring Sizzler Weekend April 29th and 30th.
Arute is also a vital part of the management team that operates the Stafford Motor Speedway. As a competitor he has seen both sides of the fence and can relate to many problems competitors encounter. As a driver he has matured to a level that his grandfather Jack Arute would be extremely proud.
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).
