Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series is now on Spring Break.
Next stop for the tour will be on May 4 at the Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, NH.
After three events Ron Silk with two wins and a second is the point leader with a nine point edge over Justin Bonsignore. Jake Johnson currently sits third, 15 points behind Bonsignore. Craig Lutz sits in fourth spot, six points behind Johnson.
Rounding out the top five is rookie sensation Trevor Catalano who is 5 points behind Lutz. Catalano was on the march to the front at Thompson when a dead battery did him in.
The SMART Modified Tour continued this past Saturday at the Hickory Speedway in North Carolina with a 100-lap event. Twenty-five Modifieds were on hand for qualifying. Matt Hirschman brought the Pee-Dee car on what was a last-minute choice to head south.
Hirschman had originally planned on competing in a Race of Champions event in Pennsylvania which was cancelled due to a bad forecast. Hirschman qualified for the pole as he toured the speedway in 14.126 second fastest. The top four re-drew for starting spots. Hirschman drew no.1.
Danny Bohn who was second fastest, drew the third starting spot. Burt Myers drew fourth and Joey Colter drew the outside pole.
Rookie sensation Carson Loftin continued his domination of the SMART ranks as he scored yet another win, his fourth. Starting sixth in the 100 lapper, the 16 year old paced himself, stayed out of trouble, breaking into the top four on lap 20. Hirschman, who had led from the start, had Danny Bohn on his bumper. Joey Colter, who had been running third, passed Bohn for second on lap 25. The first caution of the day flew on lap 36 for Chris Pasteryak who had spun the Gary Putnam no. 77 in turn four. One lap after the restart, Loftin passed Colter for second.
By lap 50 Loftin and Hirschman were wheel to wheel. The two ran wheel to wheel for 19 laps when Loftin took the lead at the start-finish line. Once in the lead Loftin opened almost a full straight s way lead. At lap 79 the yellow was displayed for debris on the track. Just about all the front runners pitted for their allowable single tire.
For the most part, competitors swapped their left side tires from front to rear plus installed a new tire on the right rear. On the restart Loftin jumped out into the lead and was followed by Hirschman, Tom Buzzie, Joey Colter, Burt Myers and Luke Baldwin. As Hirschman began to fade, Myers came alive. By lap 86 Myers had moved his way into second spot.
Try as he might, Myers was unable to get the necessary steam and at the checker, settled for second behind Carson Loftin. Hirschman held on for third with Joey Colton, fourth. Jake Crumb rounded out the top five.
Following the event SMART confiscated the engines of the top three finishers. SMART will go on Spring Break starting this weekend, giving way to Bowman Gray Stadium which opens on Saturday, April 20. The next event for SMART will be at the Franklin County Speedway in Callaway, Va. On Friday, May24.
Sunday at the 4th annual Northeast Classic at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Anthony Nocella slugged it out with Jon Mckennedy to win the 50 lap tour type modified rvent. With two to go Nocella used a low move through turn two to go back to the front. But McKennedy was able to cross over off the corner and got back to the lead into turn three. With McKennedy low and Nocella high, the pair came to the white flag side-by-side.
With Austin Beers pushing him from behind into turn one, it was Nocella getting the advantage over McKennedy and powering off of turn two with a huge lead. With his foot to the floor Nocella powered his way to the checkered flag. Mckennedy finished second with Austin Beers, third. Matt Swanson and Ron Williams rounded out the top five. Sixth thru tenth included Doug Coby, Woody Pitkat, Ted Hodgdon, Mike Collins and Tyler Hines. A paltry field of 15 tour type modifieds were on hand.
The turn-out of ACT Late Models showed 39 cars on hand. Jessie Switser was the 50 lap winner. Derek Gluchacki finished second with Alexandre Tardif, third. A very slim field of six 604 Modifieds were on hand. Danny Cates took the 20 lap win over Tyler Barry. Twenty six Super Late Models were on hand with Eddie McDonald taking the win over DJ Shaw and Ben Rowe. Twenty five Street Stocks went 25 laps with Ryan Waterman taking the win.
In a recent statement Matt Hirschman explains the whys and why nots of the recent decision to cancel the Tri-Track event that was supposed to run on Saturday, April 6, that has now moved to October. “In a time when weather forecasts are at our fingertips 24/7, we probably don’t realize how much of a negative affect this has on race event attendance. In the days leading up to a race if the forecast is poor or even a little questionable people are already deciding to not attend and making other plans. The weather can be unpredictable on any given day but yet we are making a decision to attend days or even a week in advance. A race promoter is often faced with a decision to move forward with the event or cancel/postpone based on the forecast that may or may not be accurate.
For example two weeks ago at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park the Saturday card was stopped short of completing the modified feature by rain and cold/damp conditions. For those that did attend I totally understand being disappointed. To spend your hard-earned money and not get to see a complete program especially the headline division is frustrating. Please keep in mind as team owner the cost to compete in this event will nearly double as the only expense that won’t be replicated will be our pit passes. On the flip side had we completed the feature the track would have paid the full purse despite not getting the crowd needed to cover the cost of the event. Before going to social media to complain or bash the race tracks remember we are all in this together. It can cost the race teams thousands of dollars and the race tracks potentially tens of thousands of dollars when Mother Nature isn’t kind. Another example is when a track or series does postpone an event in advance like the Race of Champions did they should be applauded not criticized for looking out for the fans, competitors and themselves to avoid a situation where everyone loses. Let’s hope for better weather days ahead so we can all enjoy the sport we love!” signed, Matt Hirschman #60.
With 81 career feature wins, Keith Rocco is one of the winningest drivers in Stafford Speedway history, trailing only Ted Christopher with 131 wins, Woody Pitkat with 83 wins, and Tom Fearn with 82 wins. Among his 81 career wins, Rocco has won just about everything there is to win at Stafford with the exception of the NAPA Spring Sizzler® and the NAPA SK 5k. Rocco has met with misfortune the last 2 years driving Mark Pane’s #57 M & M Stone Creations car which has prevented him from making the NAPA Spring Sizzler® starting field, but he is looking forward to turning his luck around in this year’s 52nd Annual edition of the “The Greatest Race in the History of Spring”.
Rocco’s career overall total of 303 wins include 154 victories at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl, 73 at Thompson and 81 at Stafford Speedway. Rocco would join the late Ted Christopher and the late Bob Potter as the only drivers in track history with four or more SK Modified championships. Christopher had nine titles at Stafford and Potter had five. The 2020 Stafford SK Modified title was Rocco’s 18th NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Division I track championship over 14 years, which set a new NASCAR record. Rocco has eight titles at Thompson.
The 52nd Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler® is set for Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28. Saturday, April 27th and will consist of two 40-lap NAPA Duel qualifying races for the Open Modified division. The 40-lap races will each pay $3,500 to win and will set the field for Sunday’s NAPA Spring Sizzler®. Stafford’s Late Model, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions will complete Saturday’s racing program with qualifying and feature racing.
Sunday, April 28th will play host to the $20,000 to win 52nd NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®. Filling out Sunday’s racing card will be qualifying and feature racing for the SK Modified® and SK Light Modified divisions along with last chance qualifiers for the NAPA Spring Sizzler®.
After yet another long winter of inactivity, Riverhead Raceway will roar back to life Saturday April 20th with the first of two preseason practice days signaling the start of the 74th year of racing on the quarter mile bullring. Another “spring training” test & tune will be presented Saturday April 27th with spectators admitted to the grandstands free of charge both days. It all leads up to the 2024 opening weekend with NASCAR Pack the Track night Saturday evening May 4th and the May Meltdown Enduro lid lifter Sunday afternoon May 5th.
The annual New England Racers Reunion presented by Autopac Gallery is set to feature a variety of race cars and race motorcycles for outdoor display at the New England Racing Museum (922 NH Route 106, Loudon, NH) on Saturday May 4th. The event will showcase racing exhibits from the Ron Bouchard Museum, Fred Harbach Mobile Museum, Ollie Silva Mobile Museum and the Maine Vintage Race Car Association. ACOT, STAR and NEAR will have car corrals. New for this year will be a historic drag racing cackle. The event is the season opening fundraiser for the nonprofit museum.
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).
