Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – On a sad note, Carl “Bugsy” Stevens passed away on Monday, May 20. RIP Champ!
We lost a remarkable individual to say the least. Bugs was highly respected by his peers and loved by his thousands of fans. Stevens will take one last lap around the Seekonk Speedway this coming Saturday night, June 1.
The post full moon syndrome was evident on Friday both at Stafford and in Virginia at the Franklin County Speedway’s SMART event. At Stafford it was a normal night of great racing until the final event hit the track, the 40 lap Double Down SK Light feature. Tyler Chapman was gunning to make it four in a row until he suddenly turned into the wall between turns three and four, thanks to Nick Anglace. No contact with the wall but numerous positions in the running order were lost. Anglace, who had led from lap 3, wasn’t about to give up the lead. Meg Fuller, who started 7th, worked her way up to the second spot on lap 24. With her foot to the floor she passed for the lead on lap 38. Anglace retaliated one lap later, diving wide open under Fuller going into turn three and moving her up, out of his way. Anglace took the checker and was booed and cat-called while in victory lane. After an extensive review Brien Sullivan was scored as the race winner when Nick Anglace was penalized to the last car on the lead lap for making contact with Meghan Fuller on the final lap of the race. Alexander Pearl finished second with Tyler Chapman, Robert Bloxsom, and Amanda West rounding out the top-5. Fuller touched the dirt coming out of turn 4 and she spun, which relegated her to a 23rd place finish. There were 40 SK Lights on hand.
Cory DiMatteo made it three in a row in SK Modified competition. Coming from a 12th starting spot with his RaceWorks mount, DiMatteo took the lead on lap 32 from Andrew Molleur. DiMatteo and Molleur swapped the lead before DiMatteo sealed it on lap 36. Molleur settled for second with Kieth Rocco, third. Noah Korner and Marcello Rufrano rounded out the top five. Sixth thru tenth included Michael Gervais, Jr., Austin Beers, Michael Christopher, Jr., Bryan Narducci and David Arute,
Other Friday night winners included Andrew Durand in the Late Model feature, Rich Hammann in the Limited Late Model feature, and Travis Hydar was a winner in the Street Stock division for the second week in a row.
In SMART Modified Tour action at the Franklin County Speedway in Callaway, Va, Carson Loftin continues to impress his peers on the SMART Modified Tour but his win on Friday night at Franklin County Speedway might have been a little good fortune in the eyes of Luke Baldwin. The decisive moment of the race came on a restart with 26 laps to go when Baldwin, in the lead at the time, washed up the track into second place Ryan Newman. This is what allowed Loftin to get a run on Baldwin and survived an additional restart with seven to go for the win.
Loftin also felt some remorse for the contact with his friend, Baldwin. “We all stacked up into (Turn) 1,” Loftin said. “We fired off really tight on the new tire. “It’s a tight race track. I got into the back of Luke going into (Turn) 3. I didn’t mean to get into the back of him that hard. That’s not how I want to race or pass for the lead.” Baldwin took a playful jab at Loftin on the frontstretch and said he got lucky but congratulated him. “First of all, just too many mistakes on my part,” Baldwin said. “I drove too deep into 1, slid up into 2 and locked up … If I would have played it smarter, they wouldn’t have had a chance. Restarts weren’t good. Made too many mistakes.”
He also took exception to the debris caution that set up the restart where he lost the lead. “ Wish that caution didn’t come out on the long run because I didn’t see anything on the track. But that’s not an excuse. I said it a lot this this year but I need to clean some stuff up. I’m a little frustrated with my race because I had the best race car here.
His dad, the legendary Tommy Baldwin Jr. was not as cordial, confronting Newman afterwards. Ryan Newman contended for the win earlier in the race but fell from second all the way to off the lead lap by the caution with 26 to go. He got the free pass but was then involved in a crash with seven laps to go.
The official finish showed Carson Loftin the winner with Luke Baldwin, second and Danny Bohn, third. Joey Coulter and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five. Sixth thru tenth included Tom Buzze, Brandon Ward, Jason Myers, Patrick Staropoli and Sam Rameau. Others at Franklin County included Burt Myers who finished 13th, Jimmy Blewett who finished 15th and Ryan Preece who finished 18th after crashing.
Burt Myers made an over-protective fatherly move when he confronted SMART officials over an incident involving his son. The entire ordeal began with an incident involving Slate Myers and Paul Hall racing for third place with seven laps left of the Carolina Crate Modified Series race. Myers passed on the outside but was spun on exit. Race control ordered Myers to go to the rear of the field but he objected, either on his own or on the recommendation from his father. Myers eventually drove right back under caution where he thought he should have blended back in and rode there despite being told repeatedly by race control to go further to the rear, behind Richie Cooper. You could hear the race director increasingly getting more and more animated on the FloRacing race broadcast, his loud orders bleeding over onto the broadcasters microphones. The series eventually stopped scoring Myers and then he was ordered to get off the track. Myers once again refused and the race resumed even with Myers on the track.
An immediate, unrelated, spin brought the field under caution and Myers still refused to get off the track. As a result, race control red flagged the race to sort out the issue. Burt Myers then walked over to the frontstretch where he tossed his headset at one official before being met by another at the start-finish line. The elder Myers, a 10-time Bowman Gray Stadium champion, was then met by additional officials where both the shouting and punching commenced.
Burt Myers could be looking at a suspension and or fine from SMART because of his actions.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series takes a week off before heading to the Cement Palace, the Seekonk Speedway, on Saturday night, June 1.
Down on the Connecticut shoreline at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl Kyle James started on the front row of the SK Modified feature hoping to redeem himself after two difficult weeks. At the drop of the green he took off from RJ Marcotte and found himself locked in an early battle with Anthony Flannery. Flannery broke free easily and set his sights on James, reeling him in and trying to make the pass but ultimately he fell back in line. A tough chain reaction of events crippled the cars of Adam Gada and last week’s winner Timmy Jordan. The ensuing restart gave Flannery the opportunity to steal the lead away from James, which he held for the remainder of the race. With Flannery checked out and James safely in second, eyes were on the battle for third between Marcotte, Andrew Molleur, and Jon Puleo. Molleur quickly had third place ripped away from Marcotte until Puleo, who rebounded from a spin earlier, was able to take down the final podium position. Flannery’s win makes him the third different winner in as many events.
Other Saturday night winners were Jason Palmer in the Late Models, Tyler Chapman in the Trucks, Christopher Garside in the Mini Stocks, Phil Evans in the Legends, Ryan Lineham in the Street Stocks, Paul Scally in the NEMA Midgets and Dylan Coutu in the NEMA Lites.
Across the big pond we call Long Island Sound there was a battle for the ages at the Riverhead Raceway. John Beatty Jr. and JR Bertuccio were in mid-season form waging a war for the victory as they slugged it out for prowess in the Modified feature. . When the dust settled defending champion John Beatty, who went winless during his championship run last year scored his first win since June 4th, 2022, the 11th of his career.
In twin 25 action at the Bowman Gray Stadium Lee Jeffreys and Burt Myers both went pole to pole to win their respective events. It was the 96th career win for Myers. The track announcer announced the attendance at 16,000..
The Monaco Tri-Track Modified Series traveled to the Thunder Road Speedbowl last Sunday. There were 19 cars on hand. Qualifying heats were won by Chris Pasteryak and Matt Swanson. Stephen Kopcik took a surprise win in the 100 lap contest over Woody Pitkat and Matt Kimble. Kopcik, who started seventh, took the lead from Matt Kimble following a restart on lap 95. Kimble had inherited the lead after Matt Hirschman had spun while trying to pinch Ron Williams who was attempting to pass on the low side. Wo ever made the call to put Williams to the rear evidently didn’t watch the instant replay video which clearly shows that Williams didn’t move up to take Hirschman out.
Pole sitter Jon McKennedy led the early going with Matt Swanson on his tail. Matt Hirschman moved into second following a lap 6 restart. Williams took the runner-up spot on lap 11 before giving way on lap 17 to Hirschman. Hirschman closed in on McKennedy and passed him for the lead on lap 30. Cone restarts were used and Kopcik took full advantage. A restart on lap 59 showed Hirschman leading with Kimble second and Kopcik, third. Williams came alive on lap 70 as he passed Kopcik for third, ten laps later he was in second spot. Following the confrontation between Williams and Hirschman and Williams, Kimble led the restart on Lap 94. Kopcik , who was running second, took the lead on lap 95. Woody Pitkat ended up second with Kimble, third. Rounding out the top five was Teddy Hogdon and Chris Pasteryak. Sixth thru tenth included Brett Meservy, Hirschman, Williams, Tyler Hines and Joey Jarvis.
In closing out the event, officials should take full advantage of the instant replays that are available from television or live stream broadcasts when making decisions as to who did what to another competitor.
Officials with the Pro All Stars Series and American-Canadian Tour made the difficult and unfortunate decision to cancel Monday’s scheduled Memorial Day Special at Thompson Speedway as well as the opening event for the Outlaw Open Modified Series due to a continued poor forecast for the holiday.
Midweek racing is set to return to Stafford Speedway on Wednesday, July 17th with the GAF Roofing Modified Masters presented by Riverhead Building Supply. The new event will feature a 100-lap, $12,000 to win Open Modified feature and will be accompanied by a 40-lap SK Light Modified event dubbed the King of the Crate.
The qualifying format will feature a unique twist on setting the field. Open Modified teams will face off with the stopwatch in time trials to set the heat race lineups. The top 6 in time trials will transfer directly to a pole dash which will set the lineup for the first 3 rows in the 100-lap feature. The remainder of the field will be lined up based on heat race results. Additionally, the starting lineup will be limited to 28 putting an even greater emphasis on qualifying.
Thursday Night Thunder returns to Thompson Speedway on Thursday, June 13 headlined by the $5,000-to-win Nutmeg State 50 presented by Twisted Tea for the Outlaw Open Modifieds! All five divisions of track championship action including the Sunoco 604 Modifieds, Late Models, AZ Roofing SK Light Modifieds, Street Stocks and Mini Stocks all return to action on Thursday, June 13! Thursday Night Thunder is Back with a 6:00pm Post Time!
NASCAR announced that Ricky Rudd, Carl Edwards and Ralph Moody have been selected as members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2025. In addition, Dr. Dean Sicking was named the recipient of the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.
The mechanically skilled Moody, originally from Massachusettts, paired with business-minded John Holman to form Holman-Moody Racing in 1957, forming the foundation of a powerhouse NASCAR team. Holman-Moody competed from 1957-73 winning consecutive championships with David Pearson (1968-69) and taking the checkered flag with Mario Andretti at the 1967 Daytona 500. Some of the sport’s most legendary figures piloted cars owned by Holman-Moody Racing, including NASCAR Hall of Famers Joe Weatherly, Fred Lorenzen, Fireball Roberts, Bobby Allison and Pearson. Overall, the Holman-Moody partnership earned 96 wins and 83 poles in 525 premier starts.
The impact Dr. Dean Sicking has made in keeping drivers safe cannot be overstated. Sicking is best known as an inventor of the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier, an advancement that has saved countless lives over the past 20 years.
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).
