RPW Exclusive: Looking Back A Bit: Third Week Of May

Column By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Seventy five years ago in 1949, Seekonk fell victim to rain.  Seventy years ago in 1954 at the New London Waterford Speedbowl the shoreline oval management shifted to a two nights a week scheduler running on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Dick Beauregard, the guy they loved to hate was the Sportsman winner on Wednesday and Moe Gherzi was the winner on Saturday. Irwin Fox and Charlie Schreiber were the non-Ford winners. At Seekonk, Ray Delisle took the A division main with Ed Hoyle taking the top spot in the B division.

Sixty five years ago in 1959 Pete Corey was the Friday night winner on the dirt at the Stafford Springs Speedway. Scotland Connecticut native Don Collins was the 25 lap Sportsman winner at the New London Waterford Speedbowl. Rene Charland, who became a regular at the shoreline oval won the non-Ford feature while John Arigoni was the Bomber feature winner. At the Buffalo Civic Stadium in upstate western New York, Bill Rafter took the win over Jim Lerkins. At Seekonk, Deke Astle was the 25 lap A division winner.

Sixty years ago in 1964, Rene Charland was the Friday night winner in racing on the dirt at the Stafford Springs Speedway. Bill Wimble finished second with George Janoski, third, The New London-Waterford Speedbowl ran a 30 lap Modified May championship which saw Ted Stack taking the win. Bill Staubley was the winner in the Bombers. Tony Cortez was the 30 lap A division winner at Seekonk. Ray Lackey was the 15 lap Cadet winner.

Fifty five years ago in 1969 the newly formed New England Drivers and Owners Club headed by Dick Armstrong called a drivers strike against Stafford, Norwood and Thompson as club members felt they were running for sub-par purses. Stafford did run with a short field with Bugsy Stevens taking the win over Ernie Gahan and Don Flynn. Norwood and Thompson cancelled their racing events. At the Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Lou Lazzaro took the top spot over Jerry Cook and Richie Evans. At Fonda on Saturday night, Dave Lape beat out Lazzaro for the win with Andy Romano, third. At Islip, Ron Theil won out over Charlie Jarzombek and Jim Hendrickson. Joe Trudeau was the Modified winner at the Waterford Speedbowl. Bill Sweet Jr took the Grand American win. At Seekonk, Fred Astle Sr was the Class A winner and Bob McKinnen was the B division winner. Racing at Utica-Rome on Sunday rained out.

Fifty years ago in 1974 Utica-Rome suffered their third rainout in a row. At Freeport it cleared and Art Tappen beat out Ted Wesnoski and Lew Hennessy. At Islip, Wesnoski again had to settle for second as Gary Winters beat him to the stripe. Wayne Anderson finished third. At Stafford on Saturday night, Bugsy Stevens won a close one over Kenny Bouchard and Jerry Dostie. Maynard Troyer was the kingpin in New York State as he went two for two, taking checkers at Lancaster and Fulton. Joe Trudeau was the Modified winner at the Waterford Speedbowl. George Summers made it two in a row at Seekonk. Joe Oliver was the Late Model winner.

Forty five years ago in 1979, Bobby Santos beat out Bugsy Stevens and Leo Cleary for the win at Stafford on Friday night. Spencer ran a 100 lapper which saw Maynard Troyer dominate over Satch Worley, Jerry Cook and Doug Hewitt. Worley was driving for Lee Allard. At Shangri-La, Richie Evans won out over George Kent and Jerry Cook and on the Island at Islip, it was Charlie Jarzombek. Waterford, Seekonk, Riverside and Westboro rained out, as did Thompson on Sunday.

Forty years ago in 1984, Ray Miller hit full stride as he won at Stafford in the Mike Greci No.01.Reggie Ruggerio finished second with Richie Evans, third. At Spencer, George Kent beat Jan Leaty and at Shangri-La, Ron Shepherd bested Kent for the win. Rain washed out Islip, Waterford and Riverside. Randy LaJoie scored a Nascar-North win at Sannair in Canada and in Winston Cup action at Dover Downs, Richard Petty scored his 199th career win.

Thirty five years ago in 1989, Mike Christopher was the Friday night winner at Stafford. Bugsy Stevens passed Norman Holden on the last lap to win the Pro-Stock event at Seekonk and at Riverside; Reggie Ruggiero beat out Bob Polverari for the win. Local favorite Larry Lanphear beat out Ted Christopher and Bob Potter at Waterford and at Riverhead it was Chris Young. Sunday action at Monadnock saw Jerry Marquis taking the win over Reggie Ruggerio.

Thirty years ago in 1994, Steve Chowanski won the Friday night SK Modified event at Stafford. Mike Paquett finished second with Ted Christopher, third. At Waterford, Mark LaJunesse was leading the early going until he was drilled into the turn two fence. Dennis Gada was the eventual winner and was followed by David Gada, Jim Broderick, Jerry Pearl and Todd Ceravolo. At Riverside, Bob Gegetskas held off Richard Savory for the win and at Riverhead, Bob Park won out over Don Howe. The Modified Tour Series was at Nazareth where Jeff Fuller, in the Sheba No.8, took the 150 lap win over Satch Worley, Wayne Anderson and Reggie Ruggerio. A big wreck after the finish involved Tim Arre, Mike Ewanitsko and Russ Franz. Ricky Craven won the Grand National 200 that was also run at Nazareth. In Winston Cup action at Charlotte, Jeff Gordon won the Winston Open and Geoff Bodine won the Winston.

Twenty five years ago in 1999, Jerry Marquis was the SK-Modified feature winner at Stafford. Lloyd Agor finished second. At Waterford on Saturday night, Dennis Gada made it three in a row as he took the win over Mike Holdredge and Bert Marvin. At Riverside Park it was Billy Bolton over Rob Summers and Ed Spiers and at Riverhead, Frank Vigliorolo took the win over Ken Matlack, Chris Young and Howie Brode. The NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series was at Nazareth along with the Busch Racing Series and Busch North Series who had a combined event. Tony Hirschman wrecked in practice and after his crew made repairs, came back to take the Busch Pole. Ted Christopher was second fastest. It was all for nothing as the event was rained out. The event was re-scheduled for July 16. After a 5-1/2 hour delay, the Nazareth Busch Series event was run. Matt Kenseth, who had taken the lead on lap 151, was still leading when the event was stopped because of darkness on lap 168. Kenseth was declared the winner. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second with Tim Fedewa, Dave Blaney and Adam Petty rounding out the top five. In Winston Cup action at Charlotte, Tony Stewart flew in from Indianapolis and won the Winston Open. Terry Labonte won The Winston. Stewart finished second. Ernie Irvan triggered a big wreck that took out 11 cars.

Twenty years ago in 2004 the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series was at the Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania, for the final time as the International Speedway Corporation had decided to close the facility. With 44 cars on hand Ted Christopher was clearly the fastest as he toured the one mile oval at 133.963 mph. Second fastest was Todd Szegedy who’s speed was 133.660 mph. John Blewett III qualified third with Kenny Barry, fourth. It was ungodly hot with temperatures in the high 80’s and humidity that would make one feel like they were melting. Todd Szegedy redeemed himself from a disqualification earlier in the year as he won the event. Szegedy took the lead following the first caution of the event and never looked back. Christopher pitted later in the event and spent the race trying to get to the front at the end. His bid fell short as the laps ran out and he had to settle for third. Doing an outstanding job was Kenny Barry who finished second, 0.10 seconds behind the winner. Eddie Flemke finished fourth and continued to maintain the point lead for the 2005 championship. Rounding out the top five was Jerry Marquis. Chuck Docherty took his first SK-Modified win in three years at Stafford on Friday night. Dochery, who started on the pole, led the entire 40-lap distance. Mike Holdredge finished second with Brad Hietala, third. Woody Pitkat and Jeff Malave rounded out the top five. Ryan Posocco was the late model winner and Fred Nees Jr. won the DARE Stock event. The Waterford Speedbowl and the Thompson Speedway went head to head on Saturday night. Waterford who had their regular Dodge Weekly Racing event and Thompson who ran the Busch North Series event along with their regular divisions both suffered in attendance as they were both plagued with unseasonably cold weather. At Thompson Brad Leighton won the Busch North Series event. Defending series champion Andy Santerre made a late race bid to take the lead on lap 145 but ended up in the grass and ultimately hit the wall in the 150-lap event. Mike Stefanik ended up second, followed by Dave Dion, Dale Quarterly and Ryan Moore. Todd Ceravolo started third and led every lap of the 30 lap Sunoco Modified feature. Because of wrecks and spins it took three restarts to get the event going, finally with a single file start. Jeff Malave finished second, three car lengths behind. Ted Christopher made it back from Nazareth and finished third. Eric Berndt and Shawn Monahan rounded out the top five. Dennis Botticello took advantage of a last lap confrontation between Corey Hutchings and Rick Gentes. Fighting for the lead coming off the fourth turn, Hutchings and Gentes made contact and both slid up the track giving Botticello the chance to steal a win, which he did. Rob Janovic took the SK-Modified win at Waterford. Dennis Gada ended up in second spot with Chris Pasteryak, third. Ted Christopher had entertained trying to make it to Waterford after Thompson but it didn’t happen. Ron Yuhas Jr. and Doug Coby rounded out the top five. Corey Hutchings made a fast trip down I-395 to Waterford and won the late model feature. Norman Root was the Sportsman winner. Dave Silvia was the Mini-Stock winner and Silas Hiscock Sr. was the Legends winner. Ted Christopher was able to breathe a little easier once he found out that he didn’t have to contend with Chuck Hossfeld at Stafford in SK-Modified competition anymore. Hossfeld had been driving the No.47 Wisk-Clorox SK-Modified. Hossfeld announced last week that he had resigned as the driver in order to concentrate on the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series. It sounded like Hossfeld and car owner Bob Garbarino had a father-son talk after his confrontation with Christopher at the recent tour event at Waterford. Hossfeld had also been driving his own car on open Saturday nights at the Lancaster Speedway in western New York. Christopher had to feel like a yo-yo after the weekend. His travels started on Friday when he flew to Nazareth, Pa. To practice his Featherlite Modified. He then flew to the Stafford Speedway in Connecticut for their Friday night Dodge Weekly Racing Series SK-Modified event. Saturday morning it was back in the plane to Nazareth for Modified Tour qualifying. Once completed he flew back to Connecticut where he raced at Thompson. Sunday morning it was back to Nazareth. Other weekend winners were Steve Whitt at Wall Township and JR Bertuccio at Riverhead.

The Nextel Cup division of NASCAR was in Charlotte, North Carolina last weekend for the running of the Nextel All Star event. The Busch Racing Series was at the Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania. Matt Kenseth got a little richer as he won the $1 million first place money that the Nextel All Star event paid the winner. It was the longest short race ever seen. At the Busch Series race at Nazareth Martin Truex Jr. waited until the final turn of the final lap to take the lead and ace the win. Bobby Hamilton looked to be the winner until running amuck a lapped car. Hamilton drifted up after slight contact and that’s all she wrote. It was the fourth win for the New Jersey native.

Fifteen years ago in 2009, the Stafford Motor Speedway returned to racing action. Taking down feature victories were Keith Rocco in the SK Modified feature and Ryan Posocco in the Late Model feature. Tony Santangelo scored his second consecutive SK Light Modified feature win, while Shawn Thibeault took his first career Limited Late Model feature victory. With two DARE Stock feature events on the card, Robert Thompson and Todd LaPorta drove to CARQUEST Victory Lane.

The 40-lap SK Modified feature took the green flag with the action at the front of the pack fast and furious. Keith Rocco moved to the lead on lap-2 after riding side by side with Curt Brainard for the first lap. Frank Ruocco made a bid for the lead on lap-3, taking the lead from Rocco in turn 3 only to have Rocco pull the crossover move and retake the lead coming out of the fourth turn. Rocco held the lead until lap-12 when Ted Christopher made a move to the inside of Rocco in turn 4. Christopher and Rocco ran nose to tail until lap-23 when Rocco made a bottom shot move on Christohper in turn 1 to retake the lead. Rocco began to stretch his lead out over Christopher, but his lead was erased when the caution came out with 37 laps complete for a spin by Nichole Morgillo. On the restart, Christopher was judged to have jumped the restart and was penalized one lap. That put Woody Pitkat alongside Rocco for the restart. After several more caution periods, it was down to a green white checkered finish. Pitkat hung tough on the outside of Rocco, but he came up a half car length short at the checkered flag. Rounding out the top-5 behind Rocco and Pitkat was Ruocco, Jeff Malave, and Curt Brainard. Christopher, who parked his car after being penalized, ended up 15th. The defending Whelen Modified Tour Series Champion felt that the call by race director Frank Sgambato was unfair. Christopher told the Hartford Current that he will not be back at Stafford except for Whelen Modified Tour Series events.

The Waterford Speedbowl was forced to cancel their NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing program and Little League Night festivities due to inclement weather. A persistent fog, mist, and drizzle intensified as the practice rounds were underway and continued into the evening.

Congratulations went out to nationally recognized public relations, motorsports marketing and promotions specialist Ernie Saxton who had been named recipient of the 2009 Leonard J. Sammons Jr. Memorial Award which recognizes outstanding contributions to auto racing. Saxton would be honored when the 18th annual Northeast Modified Hall of Fame driver inductions and special award ceremonies take place Sunday, May 24 on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds in New York State.

General Motors and Chrysler announced that they were eliminating close to 2,000 dealerships.

Tony Stewart passed Matt Kenseth with two laps to go in a thrilling final 10-lap shootout to win for the first time in 11 All-Star event starts at the Lowes Motor Speedway. It was the first victory since he left Joe Gibbs Racing after two championships and 10 successful seasons, to become co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. Matt Kenseth was second, followed by Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards.

After a follow-the-leader parade for most of the first three segments, the action picked up at the drop of the flag of the final shootout. Kyle Busch used a three-wide pass to dart from fourth to first, aggressive driving that slowed the cars behind him. Denny Hamlin ran into the back of Jimmie Johnson, sending Johnson into a spin that he masterfully saved from a race-ending accident. A caution period set up another restart, and this time Jeff Gordon raced to the front. Newman decided to enter the action with a three-wide move to the outside, and Gordon and Kyle Busch touched at least once before all three cars collided.

It sent Gordon into a spin through the grass then back up across the track, where he crashed into the outside wall to end his race.

Kenseth eventually moved to the front, but he and Busch knew Stewart was coming quickly. Stewart was third on the final restart with five laps to go, and made several charges for the lead before finally getting past Kenseth with two laps remaining. The late-race action moved the attention back to the track after a week spent discussing Jeremy Mayfield’s indefinite suspension for failing a random drug test. Despite his ban from the track, Mayfield was on track property early Saturday night, complete with camera crew in tow, as he watched J.J. Yeley drive the Mayfield Motorsports entry to a 22nd-place finish in the preliminary race. Mayfield spoke with reporters who found him in the infield, insisting his positive test was not because of illegal drug use. Instead, he said it was the combination of a prescription drug, which he would not identify, and Claritin-D, which he said he used to combat allergies at Richmond that were “really, really bad.” Mayfield said he has hired legal representation and has undergone drug tests since his suspension. He declined to reveal those results.

Ten years ago in 2014, the Big Event in New England was the first annual Bull Ring Bash at the Lee Speedway in Lee, NH. This event, promoted by Dick Williams and his “Racing Guys” drew a huge field of 34 Modifieds, the largest drawing of asphalt Modifieds to date in 2014. Four qualifying heats were run with Tommy Barrett Jr, Todd Annarummo, Matt Swanson and Matt Galco taking the wins, Matt Hirschman won the 14 car consi with Dennis Perry a very competitive second. Johnny Kay was the Dash for Cash winner for non-qualifyers.

Jeff Rocco jumped out to an early lead at the drop of the green. The first caution flew on lap 30 for Josh Cantara who spun. The second caution was for Jim Storace who spun on lap 47. When the green came out on lap 46 Annarummo shot into the lead with Rowan Pennink hot on his heels. Rocco faded to third. Following the top three at the half way mark was Todd Ceravolo, Galco and Barrett.

By the time the field had clicked off 60 laps Annarummo and Pennink had opened up a sizable lead. On lap 62 Pennink took charge as he moved into the lead. Rocco, who had been running third apparently had used up his tires and began to fade. By lap 71 he was tenth. Tommy Barrett Jr had slipped out of the top ten by the 3/4 mark brought out the third caution of the day on lap 75. Among those who pitted for fresh tires were Barrett, Pennink, Annarummo, Ryan Preece, Max Zachem, Rocco, Ceravolo, Perry and Jim Dolan. Pennink was the first car out of the pits as Steve Masse assumed the lead.

When the green waved Masse jumped out as Pennink moved inside the top 15. Jim Storace brought out caution Number 4 on lap 79 as he spun on the backstretch. On the restart, Richard Savory and Justin Bonsignore moved in behind Masse and Todd Szegedy. Jim Dolan and Storace spun, bringing out caution No. 5 as the field attempted to restart. As the field finally restarted Masse continued to lead as Savory moved into second. On lap 81 Dolan spun again, bringing out caution No. 6. Dolan’s car lost a lot of water and oil and had to be towed off the track. Masse maintained the lead on yet another restart. With 11 laps remaining, Matt Hirschman has come out of nowhere as he moved into the third spot. On lap 90 he passed Savory who spun, bringing out caution no. 7 and set his sights on Masse. Hirschman shot into the lead on the restart. Jim Storace spun for the third time bringing out the eighth yellow. Masse was given back the lead for the restart. When the green dropped, Pennink and Barrett tangled bringing out yellow no.9.

On the restart Hirschman made it official as he took the lead over Masse. Two laps later Chris Pasteryak gets loose and spins just after turn one, bringing out caution no.10. Hirschman maintained his lead on the restart. With five laps to go Johnny Kay – “Dash for Cash” winner hit the front stretch wall a ton, bringing out caution no. 11. Hirschman continued to lead Masse as the field restarted. With four laps to go, Preece, driving the famous Ole Blu, turned up the wick. As Hirschman took the checkered flag for the win action behind him boiled over. Preece made a move to pass for second. Preece and Masse were side by side racing hard for checkers when they both got out of shape. Masse spun around and Annarummo went sideways over him after being accidentally hit. Dennis Perry was also in the tangle. Preece ended up second with Perry, third.

Rowan Pennink ended up fourth with Max Zachem, fifth. Sixth through tenth were Jon McKennedy, Todd Ceravolo, Richard Savory, Justin Bonsignore and Spencer Davis

The Stafford Speedway fell victim to a rainy forecast for Friday night.

The Waterford Speedbowl beat an early evening shower to get their Saturday night racing program in the record books. Kyle James, after some early season bad luck, recorded his first victory of the year in SK Modified® ranks. Keith Rocco continues his domination of the Late Model ranks as he won his fifth straight Valenti Auto Mall Late Model feature. Rocco is now five for five in the Late Models on the season. Ken Cassidy Jr. continued his mastery of the Mini Stock division. Paul French won his first SK Light Modified race on the year and Paul Bigelow came away with the victory in the NEMA Lite feature. Josh Galvin won the night’s Street Stock race, his second in a row.

In the closing laps of the SK Modified feature James had two heavy hitters behind him for the run to the checker. Ted Christopher lined up to his outside and Keith Rocco behind him in third. Christopher got a good restart to stay with James for a lap, but James pulled ahead into the lead with nine laps to go. From there, James slowly distanced himself as the race ran uninterrupted through the checkered flag. Rocco was able to grab second at the finish and Rob Janovic Jr. got by Christopher in the closing laps to take third. Christopher settled for fourth with Craig Lutz, fifth.

The Riverhead Raceway on Long Island was also threatened by rain but they endured and got their racing program in. A less than favorable weather forecast produced two 1-hour rain delays but in the end the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series program was for the most part completed. Former three time NASCAR Modified champion John Fortin Sr. of Holtsville made a triumphant return to victory lane as he swept the headlining Twin 30 NASCAR Modified features.

In Modified racing in the southland, Bowman Gray fell victim to rain.

In some sad news, Danny Field, a long time racer from Deep River, Ct. who excelled in the Mini Stock ranks at the Waterford Speedbowl and at the Thompson Speedway passed away after battling cancer since the previous fall. A Pipefitter by trade at the Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton Ct, Field was a true backyard racer who built and maintained his own cars, racing out of his wallet.

During his racing career he won Mini Stock division championships at Waterford in 2005, 2006 and 2009 as well as Mini Stock Championships at Thompson in 2008 and 2011 along with the 2012 Northeast Mini Stock tour.

An emotional Saturday night opening ceremony at the Waterford Speedbowl began the night’s program following a brief rain delay earlier in the evening. The track honored the memory of multiple time track champion with much of his family and closest supporters in attendance. Field’s younger brother Eddie paced the Mini Stocks with an honorary pole-position behind the wheel of his brother’s #18 machine, pulling off the track before the start of the race.

Jeff Gordon held off Kevin Harvick over the final laps and went on to win the 5-Hour Energy 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway on Saturday night. The victory was by .112 seconds and was the first of the year for the four-time champion and his third at Kansas Speedway.

Five years ago in 2019, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series invaded the Jersey shore track, Wall Stadium for a 150 lap event last Saturday. Wall drew 28 Modifieds and a packed house of fans. The event, called by many as a Rumble at the Jersey Shore, lived up to its name as it was more a race, it was a rolling demolition derby. It became a game of high-speed chess as it required quick reflexes in order to survive.

When all was said and done Woody Pitkat, who started 19th, took the win over Blake Barney. Barney was involved in a crash on lap 113 with Anthony Sesely but was able to make up a lost lap and avoid further trouble. Rob Summers finished third in mid air after making contact with Timmy Catalano and Dave Sapienza as they came off the fourth turn, heading for the checker. Catalano finished fourth as he and Sapienza spun off the track. Sapienza, who hit the infield wall head on, finished fifth. Eric Goodale finished sixth and was followed by Ken Heagy, Ron Silk and Tommy Catalano, all on the lead lap. Doug Coby rounded out the top ten, one lap down.

Justin Bonsignore started on the pole with Wall regular regular Andrew Krause second. The two slugged it out from the start until lap 33 when Bonsignore lit up his tires and spun. By the 1/3 mark Coby had come from his sixth starting spot to move into the runner-up position behind Krause. Following a re-start on lap 67, Coby powered into the lead. NASCAR had planned a competition caution around the 100 lap mark because Wall has no infield pitting. Smoke began coming from the right rear of Coby’s car on lap 95. The competition caution actually flew at lap 101 which allowed Coby’s crew, led by Phil Moran, to make repairs and replace the tire.

Coby led the restart followed by Krause, Ron Silk, Eric Goodale and Jimmy Blewett. Blewett blew it on lap 131 when he took himself out after hitting the front stretch wall. On a lap 139 restart Coby and Krause made contact which caused the pair to spin with Krause hitting the wall backwards. Silk assumed the lead on the restart. His time in the spotlight was short lived. On a lap 146 restart Silk and Timmy Catalano made contact with Silk hitting the wall and collecting Justin Bonsignore in the process, triggering a big wreck.

. On the ensuing restart on lap 146, Catalano and Silk made contact, turn Silk spinning just after the green flag flew. Simultaneously behind Silk and Catalano, third place runner Calvin Carroll made contact with Bonsignore in fourth, sending Bonsignore into the back and back down the track, setting off another huge wreck.

Going past the posted 150 lap distance the event went into overtime setting up a green-white checker situation with Timmy Catalano in the lead. Pitkat shot by Timmy Catalano when the green was displayed. As Pitkat streaked under the checker another big wreck ensued. Barney moved into the second spot as Summers got airborne and finished third.

In addition to the top ten there were other stories. Wade Cole and Melissa Fifield who are usually back markers had their best finishes in quite a while. Cole started 24th, avoided all confrontations and brought his mount home in 11th spot. Fifield, despite being lapped six times managed to receive two “Lucky Dogs” and finished a career high 15th. Jimmy Blewett recovered from his wall banger and finished 12th, down three. Justin Bonsignore ended up 13th, four laps down because of multiple crashes and Matt Swanson brought Ole Blu home in 14th spot, two laps down. Calvin Carroll, who was running at the end finished16th, eight laps down because of crashes and Andrew Krause finished a disappointing 17th after crashing out while fighting for the lead on lap 138.Chris Pasteryak finished 18th, 25 laps down as he lost laps making repairs to his left front suspension. Kyle Elwood finished 19th after dropping out after wrecking with Calvin Carroll on lap 125. John Fortin finished 20th after a lap 124 crash. Anthony Sesely who finished 21st almost went out of the ballpark in turn four after a tangle with Blake Barney on lap 111. Sam Rameau finished 22nd after dropping out with ignition problems on lap 104 and Patrick Emerling finished 23rd after dropping out on lap 72 with transmission problems. Jamie Tomaino who has found new success as a car owner decided to drive is own car last Saturday night. Tomaino started 28th and ended his night on lap 57 with a hard crash between turns three and four. Timmy Solomito started fifth and only made it to lap 49 when the rear end in his car sprung a leak and put him out in 25th spot. Craig Lutz who was on a high from his Stafford Sizzler runner-up finish, qualified 17th and as a result of a blown tire and resulting crash on lap 43, broke his oil cooler and ended up 26th. Danny Bohn qualified ninth in the Eddie Harvey No. 1 crashed on lap 22 in turn 2, placing him in 27th spot. Last but not least, Joey Mucciacciaro finished 28th after losing his brakes on lap 12.

Overall, Fanschoice.tv did a great job of presenting the event live streamed. Track announcer Earl Krause was at his all time best with his description and notes of the event. There were many fans who traveled from New England, New York state and Long Island. Wall Stadium provided it all! Close competition and excitement that lasted to the final laps. Many car owners got close up recognition for their sponsors and the NASCAR Modifieds did not disappoint as they provided close competition at a fever pitch!

It had been raining every weekend, on and off since mid-February. After finally getting the season opening Sizzler in on the third try the Stafford Motor Speedway finally shifted to its regular Friday night format. Glen Reen wired the field to take the 40-lap SK Modified® feature, Al Saunders followed up his twin brother Cliff’s feature win at the Spring Sizzler with a win of his own in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Bryan Narducci took down his second win of 2019 in the 20-lap SK Light feature, Duane Provost took the 15-lap Limited Late Model feature, Zack Robinson won the 20-lap Street Stock feature, and 5-year old Madelyn Boudreau from Stafford won the Kids Big Wheel race that was held on the front stretch as part of Scout Night.

In the 40 lap SK Modified feature, Reen took the lead on the restart on lap 28 with Tyler Hines and Stephen Kopcik going side by side for second. Nick Salva was fourth with Mike Christopher Jr in fifth. Joey Cipriano spun coming out of turn 2 and collected several others cars including Tony Membrino, Jr. and Andrew Molleur to bring the caution back out with 30 laps complete.

Reen took the lead back under green with Kopcik taking second. Christopher took third with Todd Owen moving into fourth and Salva was side by side with Hines for fifth before taking the spot while Christopher also got by Kopcik to move into second as Reen began to stretch out his advantage on lap-33. Eric Berndt brought the caution back out with 36 laps complete with a spin coming out of turn 4.

There was a pileup of several cars mid-pack as the cars were coming back to green that kept the caution flag out. The next restart saw Reen take the lead with Christopher glued to his back bumper. Kopcik and Owen were side by side for third with Kopcik taking the position on lap-38. Reen led Christopher to the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the 2019 season. Kopcik finished third with Owen and Dave Gervais rounding out the top-5.

Bryan Narducci continues to be the real deal as he scored his 13th career victory at Stafford. He had six victories in the Limited Late Model division during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Friday’s victory was his second this season and his seventh overall in the SK Light Modified division since last year. Narducci’s 13thcareer victory gave him one more win than his grandfather. Jerry Pearl had 12 SK Modified victories from 1983-1989. Narducci took the lead from Mikey Flynn on a lap 13 restart and held off the challenges of Flynn over the closing laps to win the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature..

The Thompson Motorsports Park Speedway returned to action last Sunday. In an unprecedented move, the speedway admitted all active military and veterans free of charge. General admission was reduced to $18, Senior citizens over 65 had tickets priced at $16 and kids, 12 and under were free.

Extra distance events were held for all divisions. First up was a 40 lapper for the Late Models. To quote announcer Matt Buckler ”Ryan Morgan exploded like lava out of a volcano”. Morgan took the lead shortly after half way in the event and held off the aggression of Willie Wall and Woody Pitkat to take the win. Wall made a last ditch effort as he and Morgan exited turn four. At the finish line it was Morgan by 2/1000 of a second.

Bryan Narducci continues to be the “Real Deal” as he made it two for the weekend and six in a row at Thompson. Narducci, who started tenth, took advantage of early leader Steve Chapman who dropped out after a restart, midway in the event. Noah Porter finished a distant second with Mikey Flynn, third.

It took almost an hour for the Limited Sportsman division to run 30 laps. In the end, Shawn Monahan endured as he held off Ryan Waterman for the win. Larry Barnett finished third.

The full moon which cast its spell on the Whelen Modified Tour at Wall Stadium on Saturday night carried over to the Sunoco (SK type) Modifieds on Sunday afternoon. By the time the event was over there were nine of the original 21 starters still running with the rest sitting wrecked in the infield. Pole sitter Ronnie Williams held off challenger after challenger to hold on to the lead and it all came down to the closing laps as Keith Rocco, who recovered from a penalty that sent him to the rear of the field for the final restart, stole the top spot. Williams would not be denied, pushing Rocco up the track in turns three and four on the final corner edging Rocco in a drag race to the line. Williams’ margin of victory was .03 seconds. An extremely unhappy Rocco finished second. Timmy Jordan, Corey Barry and Justin Albernaz rounded out the top five;..

Jared Roy was the Mini Stock feature winner.

In Valenti Modified Racing Series action Jeffrey Gallup passed race leader Mike Willis Jr late in the race, to win the first of two 50-lap events in Sunday’s “May Madness” at Lee USA Speedway, Lee, NH. The victory was Gallup’s first win with the Valenti Modified Racing Series. Gallup, the son of former modified racer Richie Gallup, chased after early race leader Mike Willis Jr. When Gallup took command of the race on lap-25, it was Willis who chased the leader to the checkered flag. Dylan Rock finished third. One caution flag slowed race on lap-45 followed by a restart caution.

In the second race, Andy Shaw overcame a first race incident when his crew got him race ready to become the class of the field until Nocella had other plans. The former serious champion passed Shaw with two laps remaining in the race. The win was Nocella’s first of the season and his 11th VMRS victory.

Down in the Southland in North Carolina, Tim Brown also added to his legacy at Bowman Gray. He picked up his 90th career win in the Modified Division, which just added to his lead at Bowman Gray. Brown, who also leads with 10 career championships, leads second-place Burt Myers by 12 wins. Brown defeated Jonathan Brown in the first 25-lap Modified race. James Civali, Jason Myers and Lee Jeffreys finished third-fifth respectively.

In the second 25-lap Modified race, Tim Brown’s teammate Carson Ware, won after racing in his first race at Bowman Gray. Ware defeated Frank Fleming, Civali, Jonathan Brown and Daniel Beeson.

At the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island, defending NASCAR Modified champion Kyle Soper survived a rough and tumble NASCAR Modified feature Saturday night to score his second win of the young season in Whelen All American Series action. Soper also had to rebound from brake issues during his heat race earlier in the day that saw him a drop to the infield just laps into the qualifier. The win was the 11th of Kyle’s career tying him with the late “Tiger” Tom Baldwin for 30th on the all time win list.

With a move that looked like it came straight from a superspeedway playbook, Kyle Larson won the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race and banked a $1 million payday at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night. Larson, who restarted sixth with 13 laps to go in the final stage, knifed his way up the middle with a huge push from Kevin Harvick and carved his way through three rows of traffic before passing Chase Elliott for the lead with an inside sweep in turn three.

From there, the Elk Grove, Calif., native held off late charges from both Harvick and Kyle Busch to notch his first All-Star Race victory and his first win in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car since September of 2017 at Virginia’s Richmond Raceway.

Larson won the 50-lap Monster Energy Open earlier in the day, coming from 18th in the 19-car field to take the victory. He is the first Open winner to cash the million-dollar check in All-Star Race history.

Last year, 2023, The Spring Sizzler at Stafford took center stage this past weekend. The best description of last weekends activity has to be “Modifieds on Long Play” Open wheeled Modifieds, 107 of them, were everywhere. There were Tour type Modifieds (40), SK Modifieds (28) and SK Light Modifieds (39). In addition there were 32 ACT Late Models, 25 Street Stocks, 22, Late Models and 16 Ltd Late Models.

The NAPA Spring Sizzler® weekend kicked off on Friday, May 12 and consisted of two 40-lap NAPA Duel qualifying races for the Open Modified division. The 40-lap races will each paid $3,500 to win and set the field for Saturday’s NAPA Spring Sizzler®. The American Canadian Tour (ACT) made its return to Stafford Speedway on Friday with a 75-lap feature.Limited Late Model and Street Stock feature events completed Friday’s racing program.

Scoring wins in the two NAPA Duel races were defending NAPA Spring Sizzler® winner Matt Hirschman and Ron Silk. Taking down feature wins were D.J. Shaw in the ACT feature, Matt Clement in the Limited Late Model feature, and Ryan Waterman in the Street Stock feature. In the first dual, Hirschman, who started sixth, led Woody Pitkat to the checkered flag to win the NAPA Duel Race. Marcello Rufrano finished third with Noah Korner and Anthony Bello rounding out the top-5. Eight cautions slowed the event. Buddy Cherette spun out causing three cautions and was also involved in a multi car wreck coming out of turn four. Thru attrition he finished eighth but in reality, should have been parked after the third spin! David Arute who was running eighth at the 25 lap mark had motor issues, ending his night. Jon Mckennedy was running second with 11 laps to go when he ran out of gas. He restarted and finished 12th. Ron Silk went pole to pole to win the second dual. Andrew Krause looked impressive as he came from an eighth starting spot to finish second. Stephen Kopcik finished third with Matt Galko and Eric Goodale rounding out the top five. Heavy hitters Doug Coby, Craig Lutz and Bobby Santos. Coby was running second on lap 18 when he hit the wall between turns three and four after contact with Lutz. Lutz was put to the rear. Santos was spun after contact with Matt Galko on lap 17. Galko was black flagged and put to the rear.

Saturday, played host to the $20,000 to win 51st NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®. Filling out Saturday’s racing card was qualifying and feature racing for the SK Modified®, SK Light Modified, and Late Model divisions along with last chance qualifiers for the NAPA Spring Sizzler®. Ron Silk left little doubt that he has mastered the Stafford Speedway lay-out as he picked up where he left off in modified competition at the nutmeg oval by following up his NAPA Fall Final victory last September with a victory in his NAPA Duel Qualifying Race along with taking the checkered flag in the 51st Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler. With $11,550 in lap money from the laps he led during the 100-lap race, plus $3,500 from winning his NAPA Duel and $20,000 for the NAPA Spring Sizzler, Silk went home with a payday of $35,050.

Starting on the outside pole Silk fell in behind Matt Hirschman at the start. Wasting little time, Silk passed Hirschman for the lead as they exited turn two on lap 4. Woody Pitkat followed him thru for second while Hirschman slipped to third. After setting a torrid pace tire wear began to take its toll. During a caution period on lap 66 most of the leaders including Silk, Pitkat and Hirschman pitted for fresh rubber. Not pitting and assuming the lead was Doug Coby who had pitted on lap 43 while running fourth. Led by crew chief Phil Moran, Silk rejoined the field in a preferred spot and by lap 70 had closed in on the leader. Silk re-took the lead on lap 73 as he and Coby entered turn three. From then on it was clear sailing to the checkered flag where he became the 28th different winner of the classic event. Pitkat finished second with Coby, third. Hirschman and Eric Goodale rounded out the top five. Sixth thru tenth included Jon McKennedy, Anthony Bello, Noah Korner, Stephen Kopcik and Michael Christopher, Jr.

Eight cautions slowed the event. The new Soft Walls did their job as no one was hurt and car damage was minimal. The first caution came on lap six when Ryan Ducette spun in turn two. The second caution came on lap15 when Jake Johnson’s engine exploded. The third caution came on lap 25 when Bryan Narducci and Andrew Krause spun in turn three. Both drove away. The fourth caution came on lap 30 when Krause spun with a flat tire. The fifth caution was for Marcelo Rufano who spun in turn two. The sixth caution eliminated Bobby Santos III who suffered race ending front end damage as a result of a trip into the front stretch wall as a result of a tangle initiated by Jimmy Blewett. The seventh caution was for Bryan Narducci who stopped in turn two and the eighth and final caution was for Matt Galko.

In other Saturday action at Stafford, feature events for the SK Modified®, Late Model, and SK Light divisions along with two 15-lap last chance qualifiers for drivers to earn starting positions in the NAPA Spring Sizzler® 100-lap main event were run. Jimmy Blewett scored the checkered flag in the 40-lap SK Modified® feature his second career win at Stafford and first since the 2005 NAPA Fal Final. Tom Fearn was the winner of the 30-lap Late Model feature and the SK Light feature saw a photo finish with Brian Sullivan making a last lap pass on Tyler Chapman and winning the race by inches or .005 seconds. Matt Swanson won the15-lap Last Chance Qualifier for the NAPA Spring Sizzler®.

The regular Friday night racing series begins this week, May 19. The Call Before You Dig Open Modified 81will augment the regularly scheduled program.

The Bowman Gray Stadium again played to a packed house as Jason Myers held off Tim Brown as he scored his 38th career win at the North Carolina track. Myers qualified on the pole and never looked back. Myers moved up to a tie for ninth all-time in Stadium history in the Modified division, giving the Myers immediate family (Gary, Burt and Jason) 165 combined wins. Burt has 88 wins

Lee Jeffreys was third, Chris Fleming was fourth and Junior Snow was fifth. At about 9:30 p.m., a rain storm moved in during the second lap of the second Modified race.

The Riverhead Raceway on Long Island saw Jack Handley Jr. take down the Modified feature over Dylan Slepian, Chris Rogers, John Beatty Jr and Michael Rutkoski. Handley also won the truck feature.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series makes its first of three visits at the eastern Long Island oval this Saturday night.

Down on the Connecticut shoreline at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl Timmy Jordan followed up his second place finish in the season opener by recording his first victory of the season in the 35-lap SK Modified feature. The win was the 12th career SK Modified victory at the Speedbowl for Jordan and his 39th victory at the track overall.

Anthony Flannery was second and Eric Berndt, third. Defending division champion Todd Owen made a quick to Waterford after competing at Stafford, finished third. Jon Puleo was fifth Earlier in the day Flannery, Owen and Puleo all competed in the SK Modified feature at the NAPA Spring Sizzler at Stafford Speedway.

In other action at Waterford, Andrew Molleur won the 30-lap Late Model feature. Al Stone III won the 25-lap Street Stock feature. Christopher Garside won the 25-lap Mini Stock feature and Brody Monahan won the 25-lap Truck feature.

In NASCAR Cup action, William Byron took full advantage of a late on-track incident between Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson to triumph in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway and become the first three-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023. It was a Lap 288 crash between Chastain and Larson-while battling for the lead-that gave Byron the opportunity to collect his seventh career victory. Taking the inside lane, with Larson beside him, Chastain led the field to a restart after an eight-car wreck necessitated the seventh caution on Lap 281. Chastain drove hard into Turn 1, plowed up the track and wrecked both his No. 1 Chevrolet and Larson’s No. 5. Kevin Harvick finished second. Ryan Preece finished 15th.

In 1967 the Stafford Motor Speedway was paved. The NASCAR Modifieds were the headline division. For 20 years thru 1986 Stafford would host and provide competition from the best in the busines from throughout New England, New York State, Long Island and from the south. Names like Eddie Flemke, Bugsy Stevens, Fred DeSarro, Reggie Ruggerio, Ray Miller, Richie Evans, Maynard Troyer, Geoff Bodine, Charlie Jarzobeck, Greg Sacks, Wayne Anderson, Jamie Tomaino, Satch Worley and Ray Hendrick would be in the line-up and would record victories.

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).