Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – The SMART Modified Series invaded the South Boston Speedway last weekend with a strong 33 car field for the inaugural King of the Modifieds event with $20,000 on the line for the winner.
The annual Spring Sizzler at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway is considered by many to be one of the biggest Crown Jewels in Modified racing. Last year’s edition saw Ron Silk take home over 30-thousand dollars by winning the preliminary night feature, the Saturday Spring Sizzler main coupled with bonus lap money.
The Monaco Tri-Track Series’ created a great annual tradition in 2005 with the Open Wheel Wednesday event at Massachusetts’ Seekonk Speedway. In 2022, Matt Hirschman banked the annual 10-thousand-dollar winners check and another eight-thousand in bonus money. The 125-lap race at South Boston Speedway paid 20-thousand dollars to the winner, 10-thousand dollars to second place and $1200 to the last place finisher.
Originally scheduled for Saturday, March 23, the South Boston event was washed out and was rescheduled for Sunday. Mother Nature cooperated with a perfect day for racing. During the early Sunday afternoon practice Jimmy Blewett had lady luck take a powder as his engine went sour causing him to withdraw from the event. Luke Baldwin led the SMART Modifieds in qualifying as he turned the 4/10 mile oval in 13.610 seconds. Carson Lofton was second fastest with Matt Hirschman, third. Jake Crumb and Will Lombrose rounded out the top five. Luke Baldwin re-drew the top four which placed Matt Hirschman on the pole and Crumb on the outside pole. Baldwin drew himself a fourth starting spot and Lofton, third.
Among those in the field was Stephen Kopcik who was recently suspended by NASCAR for his part in a physical confrontation at a hockey game in Connecticut. Evidently SMART does not recognize NASCAR’s ruling as those who are in charge feel that a person is considered innocent until convicted in a court of law. Kopcik qualified seventh.
Luke Baldwin, who was only in his third tour type Modified event beat the best there is, Matt Hirschman, in the 125 lap King of the Modifieds. Baldwin, the son of Tom Baldwin Jr and grandson of Tom Baldwin Sr. was in the hunt all day, took the lead following a restart on lap 107 and held off Hirschman and Doug Coby for the win.
Hirschman led the charge to the initial green with Carson Loftin in hot pursuit. Hirschman’s misfortunes begam on lap 39 when Doug Coby spun just before he was about to be lapped. Coby clipped Hirschman’s left front tire as he was backing up to get restarted. Hirschman continued on as Coby pitted for a right rear adjustment. Jake Crumb, who has a reputation of riding rough at times took the lead on lap 70 with Baldwin running second and Hirschman, third. A mandatory yellow for fuel was displayed on lap 73. The entire field pitted except for Brandon Ward and Andrew Krause.
Ward and Krause led the restart with Baldwin, third, Hirschman, fourth and Burt Myers, fifth. Within a lap Hirschman had moved into second and one lap later was in the lead with Ward second and Crumb, third with Baldwin, fourth. On lap 85 Crumb moved into the second spot and Baldwin, third. Baldwin made a move on Crumb on lap 87 for the second spot, setting up a run to the finish.
By lap 93 Baldwin had closed in on Hirschman’s bumper. Baldwin turned up the heat and on lap 98 took the lead after giving him a Ted Christopher bump in turn two. Anthony Bello spun in turn three on lap 100 bringing out yet another caution. Baldwin led the restart as Crumb chose the outside with Hirschman in the third spot. The caution flew again on lap 105. Ryan Newman was attempting to pass Woody Pitkat and found himself planted in the backstretch wall. Newman was extremely upset and displayed his displeasure in Pitkat’s direction. Following the event Pitkat was observed wearing one of Newman’s Shitti Cooler Sweatshirts!
Baldwin led the restart with Crumb, second, Hirschman, third and Pitkat, fourth. As the leaders thundered down the back stretch on lap 107 Hirschman and Crumb came together to trigger “A Big One” that collected 11 cars. Following the event Crumb claimed that Hirschman didn’t turn when they came together.
Baldwin led the final restart and ran the remaining 18 laps without incident. Hirschman finished second with Coby, third. Jonathan Cash and Anthony Bello rounded out the top five. Sixth thru tenth included
Burt Myers, Brandon Ward, Jimmy Wallace, Jason Tutterow and Jayden Harman. Rounding out the top 20 were Tyler Barry, Joey Coulter, Carson Loftin, Jason Myers, Jake Crum, Woody Pitkat, Will Lambos, Tom Buzze, Danny Bohn and Caleb Heady.
The SMART Modified Tour continues this coming Saturday at thr Tri-County Speedway in North Carolina. The event will be live streamed by FloRacing.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series resumes this coming Friday at the Richmond International Raceway, The green flag drops at 6:30pm. The event will be live streamed by FloRacing.
In somewhat of a surprise move NASCAR announced that it has acquired Winston-Salem Speedway, Inc., the lessee of the historic Bowman Gray Stadium. NASCAR will manage racing operations under the lease with the City of Winston-Salem that runs through Dec. 2050.
“As NASCAR’s first weekly racetrack, Bowman Gray Stadium holds a special place in the history of our sport,” said Ben Kennedy, Senior Vice President, Racing Development and Strategy, NASCAR. “We are grateful to the Hawkins family’s multi-generational legacy of leadership at this historic track and we’re thrilled to oversee racing at one of the crown jewels in NASCAR Regional. We look forward to leading the racing operations of the facility in partnership with the City of Winston-Salem to preserve the history and legacy of the racetrack for the next generation of fans and racers.”
“Bowman Gray Racing has been a part of the fabric of Winston Salem for many years. In fact, some attribute NASCAR’s beginning to the races held at Bowman Gray Stadium,” said City of Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines. “It is for that and other reasons that the City of Winston Salem is delighted that NASCAR is acquiring Winston-Salem Speedway Inc. I am doubly happy that NASCAR has committed to the continuance of the weekly races at the stadium, that are so popular with our citizens and visitors.”
Austin Shuford has been named the new general manager of racing operations for Bowman Gray Stadium. Shuford has worked with Track Enterprises’ Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, where he annually promoted and managed 25 events a year at more than 15 racetracks throughout the south and Midwest since 2020. He is a graduate of Western Carolina University.
Built in 1937, Bowman Gray Stadium, a quarter-mile short track, holds a special place in NASCAR history as the longest-running weekly racetrack. In 1949, Bill France Sr. and Alvin Hawkins, two founding fathers of NASCAR, brought motorsports to the facility as the first weekly racetrack and first paved racetrack that NASCAR competed on.
The racetrack hosted 29 NASCAR Grand National, now NASCAR Cup Series, races from 1958 to 1971. Bowman Gray Stadium has hosted many NASCAR’s legends including Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Glen Wood, David Pearson, Ned Jarrett, Richie Evans, Ed Flemke, Jerry Cook, and others. Petty won his 100th NASCAR Grand National race in the 1969 Myers Brothers 250 at the racetrack.
The 2024 Bowman Gray Stadium race season begins on Saturday, April 20. In the past, racing at the stadium has been a rockem-sockem affair that draws at or near 10,000 spectators on a Saturday night who pay $12,000. It will be interesting to see if the new management will handle the temper tantrums that some of the competitors display from time to time.
In another big surprise, Skip Barber Racing School has acquired the Superstar Racing Experience, it announced March 22. As part of the purchase, the school revealed it has plans to revive the series this year. Skip Barber, a logistics partner for SRX responsible for the care and transportation of cars, said in a press release that plans for a 2024 season are being formed. More information is expected “in the coming weeks,” per the release.
“This is an exciting time for the entire SBRS team,” Skip Barber CMO Dan DeMonte said in a release. “We take great pride in providing valuable and exciting events to the motorsports community and now have the opportunity to continue that with the SRX series.” Former SRX CEO Don Hawk joined Skip Barber on March 21 as the company’s new chief strategy officer. SRX was founded in 2021 by Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham, Sandy Montag and George Pyne as a summer all-star series. It was announced on Jan. 11 that the 2024 season would be postponed due to “market factors” and poor TV ratings in their first season with new broadcast partner ESPN.
The pot of purse money at the Stafford Motor Speedway continues to grow. For the 9th consecutive season, Maybury Material Handling of East Longmeadow, MA, will be a first place contingency program partner at the nutmeg oval. Maybury will present a weekly bonus of $150 to each SK Modified® winner and a $150 bonus to each SK Light feature winner. With 22 SK Modified® and 23 SK Light races on the schedule, Maybury will contribute a total of $3,300 to SK Modified® feature winners and $3,450 to SK Light feature winners. Maybury Material Handling will also serve as the title sponsor of the August 30 Back to SKool Night.
The 2023 season was one of the most competitive seasons in the division’s history in the SK Modified® division with 10 different drivers reaching NAPA Victory Lane over 17 races. Todd Owen, who won his third consecutive championship in 2023, led all drivers with 3 wins. Scoring two wins each were Michael Christopher, Jr., Cory DiMatteo, Stephen Kopcik, Keith Rocco, and Marcello Rufrano. Single event feature winners included David Arute, Jimmy Blewett, Michael Gervais, Jr., and RJ Marcotte.
The SK Lights saw 6 different feature winners over 15 races. George Bessette, Jr., Tyler Chapman, and Brian Sullivan were the big winners of last season with each driver notching 4 wins. With those 3 drivers accounting for 12 of the division’s 15 feature wins, the season was rounded out with single feature wins going to Tyler Barry, Meghan Fuller, and Chris Matthews. Matthews’ feature victory was the 20th SK Light win of his career, which is the all-time record thus far at Stafford with Joey Ferrigno in second place sitting on 17 career wins.
Stafford begins their season with the Annual Spring Sizzler on April 27 and 28.
Congratulations to Bob Cuneo, the founder of Chassis Dynamics in Oxford, Ct who will be recognized by the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance (CSMA) for his contributions to the country’s sporting landscape. Cuneo will receive the President’s Award at the 82nd Gold Key Dinner, slated for Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington, Ct. In 1992, NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine learned the Americans were using second-hand bobsleds purchased from its rivals in Europe. He contacted Cuneo, and the task of designing and building a better vehicle resulted in the formation of the Bo-Dyn Project (Bo for Bodine, Dyn for Chassis Dynamics). The new sleds debuted at the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.
That set the stage for the 2002 competition in Salt Lake City, where the U.S. won the gold medal in the inaugural two-woman event, and four-man teams took home silver and bronze medals.
Cuneo, 77, a native of Trumbull Ct who graduated from Fairfield Prep and Northeastern University, began his lengthy career with Bob Sharp Racing in Wilton Ct as a car designer in 1972, and accumulated more than 30 championships in road racing competition with the International Motorsports Association and the Sports Car Club of America. He was involved with cars that won four Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona; a Whelen Modified Tour division title in 2002 with Ridgefield driver Todd Szagedy; and modified track titles in Lancaster, N.Y., at the Danbury Fairgrounds Racearena and Stafford Motor Speedway. He was inducted into the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame in 2021.
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).
