Column By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Seventy five years ago in 1949 , Paul Carr was the winner at Seekonk. Seventy years ago in 1954, George Smaldone sat in victory lane at Seekonk. Sixty five years ago in 1959, Dave Dias took the top spot at Seekonk. Sixty years ago in 1964, Joe Rosenfield made it two in a row at Seekonk.
Fifty five years ago in 1969, rain washed out both Stafford and Albany-Saratoga on Friday. Saturday night at Norwood it was Freddie Schulz taking the top spot over Bob Santos, Eddie Flemke, Johnny Thompson and Bugsy Stevens. Lou Lazzaro made it three in a row at Fonda. Don Wayman finished second with Dave Lape and Jerry Cook rounding out the top four. Jim Hendrickson beat out Pat Moon at Islip and at Airborne Park it was Jean Guy Chartrand in the Hemi-Cuda beating Denis Giroux and Phil Spiak to the checker. Lazzaro made it two for two on the weekend as he won at Utica-Rome on Sunday. Lazzaro used the same car on both dirt and asphalt. Cook finished second with Bugsy Stevens, third. Bobby Sprague was the big winner at Seekonk. Thompson was silent as a sports car event was held on the road course-oval. Don Collins won the Modified 30 lapper at the Waterford Speedbowl. Don Bunnell was the Daredevil winner.
Fifty years ago in 1974, it rained on Friday night again, washing out events scheduled at Freeport and Utica-Rome. Saturday night was busy. At Stafford, Ronnie Bouchard put the Bob Johnson No.17 in victory lane, beating Bugsy Stevens and Leo Cleary to the stripe. At Islip, Charging Charlie Jarzombek rim rode to victory over Al Holmberg and Herbie Hulse and at Shangri-La, George Murray took the top spot at Seekonk. Geoff Bodine dusted the field despite attempts by Sonny Seamon and Dick Fowler to run him down. Richie Evans went to Lancaster where he beat out Jim Rudolph and Maynard Troyer while at Waterford Joe Trudeau took the win and on Sunday at Fulton, Troyer bested Bodine, Evans and Jerry Cook. In open competition action at Thompson on Sunday night, twin 30’s were on tap and Fred DeSarro scored a double. Bob Santos finished second in the first one and was followed by Dick Caso and Ronnie Bouchard. Bugsy Stevens finished second in the nite-cap and was followed by Bouchard, Santos and Angie Cerese.
Forty five years ago in 1979, Stafford ran a 100 lapper on Friday. Charlie Jarzombek took the win and it was almost ten years to the day from his previous win there. Jerry Cook finished second and was followed by Satch Worley and Dick Caso. At Spencer, Maynard Troyer beat out Billy Colton and Doug Hewitt. Jarzombek followed up his win at Stafford with a win at Islip on Saturday. At Riverside it was Richie Evans over Reggie Ruggiero and Jerry Cook and at Seekonk, Leo Cleary and Bugsy Stevens finished one-two. Other weekend winners were Jeff Fuller at Westboro, George Kent at Shangri-La, Rick Donnelly at Waterford, Ron Bouchard at Thompson, Reggie Ruggiero at Monadnock, Maynard Troyer at Lancaster, Punky Caron at Claremont and Richie Evans won the Port City 150 at Oswego on Sunday.
Forty years ago in 1984, monsoon type rains fell on New England and washed out Friday and Saturday night events at Stafford, Riverside and Waterford. The Connecticut River overflowed its banks and flooded Riverside Park up to the fifth row in the main grandstand. New Egypt got to run on Friday and it was Wayne Anderson taking the win over Tony Siscone and Jim Spencer. At Spencer Speedway, Jan Leaty led the charge to the checker with Roger Treichler and George Kent following. Leaty repeated the following night at Shangri-La as he beat out Corky Cookman and George Kent. Islip ran double features as did Wall Stadium. Tom Baldwin and Don Howe shared victory lane at Islip and at Wall it was Robert Hendrickson and Gil Hearne. In Winston Cup action at Riverside California, Terry Labonte took the pole and the win. The modifieds were at Thompson where Jeff Fuller took the win.
Thirty five years ago in 1989, Bob Potter was the Friday night SK Modified winner at Stafford. Ted and Mike Christopher followed. At Waterford, Rodney Tulba took the win and at Riverside, Stan Gregger beat out Reggie Ruggiero. Frank Vigliorolo won at Riverhead .The Modified Tour was at Waterford on Sunday. Mike McLaughlin took the event over Tom Baldwin and Mike Stefanik.
Thirty years ago, in 1994 ago this week, Mike Paquette won at Stafford on Friday night over Ted Christopher. At Waterford, David Gada held off Todd Ceravolo and John Anderson. Tom McCann won at Riverhead and Dan Avery was the main man at Riverside. In Winston Cup action at Dover, Rusty Wallace survived many wrecks to take the win and in BGNN action at Watkins Glen, Butch Leitzinger won with little trouble.
Twenty five years ago, in 1999, Mike Christopher recorded his 23rd career win at Stafford on Friday night. Jerry Marquis finished second. Dennis Gada passed Rick Donnelly with 11 laps to go and made it five wins in a row at Waterford. Donnelly finished second and was followed by Bill Sharp and Todd Ceravolo. Ricky Miller got his third win at Riverside and at Riverhead, Ken Matlach won out over Al Ermarino. A dark cloud hung over Riverhead as NASCAR Chief Steward Walt Edsall, who was standing in turn three, was struck by a flying wheel off the modified of Joe Hartmann. Edsall suffered severe head injuries and would lie in a coma until he eventually passed away. Racing also lost one of its legends as Ralph”Hop”Harrington passed away in Florida after a lengthy illness. Bryan Wall got his first Busch North win at Holland, N.Y., after Brad Leighton and Tom Carey tangled. Evidently Busch North officials felt that Leighton had put Carey out as they placed him at the rear. At Dover Del., Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Grandnational event. Ted Christopher wrecked after a tangle with Johnny Benson and ended up 30th.Bob Labonte was the Winston Cup winner.
Twenty years ago 2004 the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series was at the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island on Saturday night. A strong threat of rain didn’t dampen the spirits of the competitors or the fans. A huge field, 47 cars, was in the pit area. Jerry Marquis was the Busch Pole sitter. Marquis drew the outside pole starting spot and led the entire 200-lap contest to record the win, the 16th of his career in Tour competition. Marquis put on a superb display of precision driving. The Boehler Racing entry never missed a beat and handled like it was on a wire. Marquis lapped all but the top five despite five cautions that consumed 56 laps. John Blewett III, who has had nothing but bad luck this year, used the Riverhead event as a breakout race as he finished second. Mike Stefanik finished third with Ted Christopher and Eddie Flemke Jr. rounding out the top five. Tony Hirschman, fresh off his win at Stafford finished sixth, one lap down. Gregg Shivers, Ricky Fuller, Doug Coby and Chuck Steuer rounded out the top ten. Racing at Riverhead can be very intense and nerves of steel are required for one to be successful. Among the seven caution periods was a red flag condition on lap 52 when Fred Vordermeir and Jamie Tomaino wrecked. Many of the tour regulars had their problems. Defending series champion Todd Szegedy retired with overheating problems after he completed only 114 laps. Rookie candidate Ken Barry got caught up in a wreck and completed only 90 laps. Chuck Hossfeld toughed it out with handling problems and ended up 16th at the conclusion of the event. Hossfeld was parked in the infield when the checkered flag was displayed. Eddie Flemke Jr. continues to lead the point standings with a 49-point lead over Ted Christopher. Tony Hirschman sits third with Jerry Marquis and Tony Ferrante Jr. rounding out the top five.
Competitors, fans and officials endured at Thompson on Thursday night. Rain fell on the speedway shortly after Late Model qualifying. In what looked to be a rain out the speedway management persisted and in the end completed their racing program and had everyone headed home by 9:30 PM. Bo Gunning, who is concentrating on just racing at Thompson put the Eddie Partridge owned mount in victory lane. Gunning took the lead from Bert Marvin on lap six of the 30-lap feature. Ted Christopher, who finished second, made numerous attempts to pass but in the end settled for the runner-up spot. Jeff Malave was also a contender but lacked that little extra and settled for third. Rounding out the top five were Bob Santos III and Kerry Malone. Going into the event Todd Ceravolo and Eric Berndt were tied for the point lead. Thanks to the efforts of Adam Norton both were denied a top spot at the finish. In two separate incidents Norton turned into them. Berndt hit the wall and didn’t finish. Ceravolo ended up with bent wheels and a bent rear end but managed to finish. In Late Model action Corey Hutchings made it three out of five at the 5/8 mile banked oval. Hutchings and Charlie Bailey swapped paint on the final lap and in an almost photo finish Hutchings nipped Bailey at the finish line. Woody Pitkat finished third. Other winners were Mike O’Sullivan over David Berghman in the Pro Stocks, Larry Barnet over Glenn Boss in the Limited Sportsman and Eric Bourgeois in the Mini Stocks.
Ted Christopher was on the giving end rather than on the receiving end at Stafford on Friday night. Christopher used his famous bonsai bottom shot on Steve Chowanski in the closing moments of the 40 lap SK-Modified feature. In taking the win Christopher became the first repeat winner in SK Modified competition at Stafford. Chowanski faded to third as Willie Hardie took over second spot at the finish. Last week’s winner Jim Civale recovered from a flat tire and stormed his way into fourth spot. John Sanberg rounded out the top five. Other Friday night winners were Joe Rzeszutck in the Late Models and Glenn Barthowski in the Dare Stocks. Numerous wrecks and spins made for a long night. The SK-Modifieds continue to self-destruct. It seems that competitors have little respect for their peers or equipment.
The Waterford Speedbowl also beat the impending rain. Nextel Cup stars Bill Elliott, Kerry Earnhardt and Ken Schrader were on hand to greet the fans and engage in a special race. In regular competition Ed Reed Jr. ended a long dry spell as he took the win in the SK-Modified feature. Rob Janovick finished second with Don Fowler, Dennis Gada and Chris Pasteryak rounding out the top five. Dwayne Conant was awarded the win in the Sportsman division after apparent winner Dwayne Dorr was disqualified because of an illegal suspension part on his car. Former Late Model competitor Danny Field went pole to pole to win the 20 lap Mini Stock event.
Connecticut developer Gene Arganese officially announced that he planned to build his $400 million domed ¾ mile speedway in Plainfield, Connecticut. The proposed speedway, which Arganese continued to imply that he will be holding Nextel Cup racing within four years after the track opens, would be located next to the existing Plainfield Greyhound Park. Once the local permits are submitted and filed it would take a little over two years to construct the facility. Arganese had previously proposed building his track in North Stonington, Connecticut. Anyone who follows Nextel Cup racing knows that their schedule is maxed out. The only way a Cup date would be available would be if NASCAR extended their season and that is very unlikely. The most that Arganese could hope for were dates for the Craftsman Truck Series, Featherlite Modifieds and the Busch North Series. It was also mentioned that the track could host the IRL. Bob Bahre tried that at Loudon and dropped them like a hot potato when they couldn’t draw flies. Based on Arganese’s projections the track will be ready for racing in late 2007 or early in 2008
The Nextel Cup division of NASCAR was at the Dover Downs Speedway. Mark Martin survived a 400-mile wreck fest as he outran Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kasey Kahne had victory in sight when he spun in oil while leading and hit the wall in the closing laps.
Fifteen years ago in 2009, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, after the completion of the first three, of 14 events, had gone back on “Spring Break” until June 27 when the ground pounders would travel to Loudon, NH. Evidently NASCAR had chosen to ignore competitor’s requests for a “Town Hall” type of meeting where they could air their concerns and complaints.
Defending WMT Champion Ted Christopher had himself a busy schedule. Starting off at Thompson on Thursday night where he finished sixth, he had planned on running at Stafford until the rain prevailed. To round out the weekend Christopher traveled to the Franklin County Speedway, which is located in the Moonshine Capitol of the world, Callaway, VA. The Virginia event, which drew only 14 cars, was won by Brian King. Burt Myers was second with Danny Bohn, third. Christopher and Ron Silk drove team cars for Roger Hill’s Hillbilly Racing and finished eighth and ninth respectively.
In Thursday Night Thunder action at the Thompson Speedway Danny Cates of Chaplin, CT, was the big winner as he scored his first-ever Sunoco Modified feature event win. Derek Ramstrom of was tops in the Super Late Models while Rick Gentes celebrated his birthday with a Late Model victory. Leo Oliveira earned the TIS Modified feature win in a photo-finish. Leadfoot Larry Barnett of Ledyard, CT, took down the Limited Sportsman feature win on Thompson Night at the races. Tim Taylor made it two straight in Mini Stocks.
Cates took advantage when a situation erupted between Keith Rocco and Todd Ceravolo when they were fighting for the lead in the closing moments and ultimately crashed. Both drivers escaped unhurt but their cars sustained thousands of dollars in damages. Setting the stage for the confrontation, Ceravolo took the lead from Kerry Malone on a lap 18 restart. By lap 22 Rocco had moved into second spot. On lap 25 of the 30 lap contest Rocco drilled into the side of Ceravolo’s car, almost pushing him into the concrete wall between turns one and two. Ceravolo lost a couple of spots as he managed to regain control of his family owned mount. By lap 27 Ceravolo had worked his way back into second spot. As the pair entered the third turn Ceravolo dove in low. Rocco attempted to block and the two made contact with the end result showing Rocco taking a hard shot into the wall along with Ceravolo.
In the beginning, Kerry Malone drove by pole-sitter Ted Christopher to lead lap one. Josh Sylvester ran in third ahead of Woody Pitkat and Ceravolo. The cars got strung out immediately throughout the pack. The first car to step out of line was Pitkat looking for position on Sylvester. Keith Rocco was a bit more successful taking the ninth position from Jimmy Blewett. Ceravolo was making his way toward the front taking the fourth spot from Pitkat. A lap later, he took the third spot from Sylvester. Rocco was mired behind a double-file battle between Bert Marvin and Cates.
On lap 10, Marvin was able to free himself of Cates. Rocco followed through. Up front, Malone had worked his way out to a half straightaway advantage over a brewing battle between Christopher and Ceravolo.
Ceravolo was able to take over the second position on lap 14. Rocco made a bonsai move exiting turn three to shove Marvin out of the groove. Rocco gained the edge and the position. He made quick work of Sylvester making his first appearance in the top five. Jimmy Blewett was off the pace with a faulty ignition on lap 18, coming to a stop in turn one, to bring out the event’s first caution. On the restart, Pitkat got out of shape nearly making contact with the backstretch wall. He fell back as far as ninth. Rocco got a run on Christopher to take over the third position. A spin by Blewett brought out another caution on lap 22.
On the restart, Ceravolo got the jump leaving Malone to defend his position against Rocco and Cates. Contact between Pitkat and Christopher on lap 23 resulted in a melee on the front stretch. Cars also involved included Malone, who had slipped back to fourth, Sylvester, Marvin, Dave LaCroix, Ricky Shawn, John Catania, Brett LeBlanc, and Carl Oberg.
Rocco was able to muscle the lead away from Ceravolo on the restart. Cates moved into the second position following Rocco. Ceravolo gathered it back in to make a run at Rocco. The two made contact on several occasions. The final blow resulted in the two making hard contact with the outside wall in turn four. Cates emerged to take the caution as the new leader. On the restart, Danny Cates could taste his first career victory rocketing to the lead. He sailed under the checkers to take down the coveted win.Despite an eventful night for both Pitkat and Blewett, they were able to come home second and third respectively. Malone also salvaged a good finish in fourth ahead of Rowan Pennink.
The racing at Thompson so far had been nothing short of being exciting and spectacular!
The Stafford Motor Speedway fell victim to rain for the second week in a row.
The Waterford Speedbowl managed to get their racing program in the record books despite the threatening coastal fog that was creeping in. Jeffrey Paul earned his first 2009 win by passing pole-sitter Don Fowler with 9 laps to go on a restart in the SK Modified main event. Paul survived some incredibly rough driving by Don Fowler. Fowler has a reputation of being a blocker. Rob Janovic, Keith Rocco, Tom Abele and Tyler Chadwick completed the top 5. Other wins on Saturday night went to Vin Esposito in the 30-lap Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late-Model Stock Car feature; Ed Puleo in the 20-lap Street Stock feature, and to Jay Palmer in the 20-lap Legends Cars feature.
After winning his heat race, in a new car, young driving sensation Flyin Ryan Morgan started the 20 lap feature event in sixth position. On lap four, Ryan took the lead and looked like he was in a position to win his second feature event of the season until Jason Palmer, the winner of all feature events he completed this season, made a pass for the lead with five to go. Ryan’s car developed a push near the end of the race and crossed the finish line a close second, not what the team wanted, but not bad for being the first time on the track with a new race car.
The True Value Modified Series traveled to the Twin State Speedway in Claremont, NH. for the running of the “Granite State Harley- Davidson 100.” Jon McKennedy became the fourth different winner in four races, winning the True Value Modified Racing Series sanctioned event. It was McKennedy’s first win this season and his third career TVMRS victory. Rowan Pennink, from his pole starting position, took the lead at the drop of the green flag and held it until lap 19 when three-time series champion Kirk Alexander snuck by. Pennink regained the lead three laps later, lost it to defending champion Chris Pasteryak, regained it again on lap 27, before turning it over to Alexander on lap 29, at which point the series all time winning driver took control until the mid-way mark.
Dwight Jarvis, who started 24th on the field, worked his way to the front to contest for the lead. Jarvis and Alexander tossed the lead back and forth between laps 51 and 70. McKennedy, who started third in the lineup, faded to fifth in the early going and then methodically made his way to the front by mid-race. The part time ISMA supermodified driver moved to fourth on lap 46, third on lap 53, and then the lead as he passed both Jarvis and Alexander on lap 71. Jarvis took the lead back for one circuit on lap 87 only to turn it over to the race winner a lap later.
Jarvis finished a strong second, Alexander third, Eddie Dachenhausen, fourth, and Steve Masse, fifth. Pasteryak, Les Hinckley, Ron Goodenough, Sean Bodreau, and Mike Holdridge, rounded out the top ten. 18 of the original 24 starters finished the event. Nine caution flags for minor spins slowed the race that took 52 minutes 59 seconds to complete. The top 15 drivers finished on the lead lap. 26 teams entered the event.
Kyle Busch raced to his fourth Nationwide Series victory of the year and ninth overall NASCAR win of the season, easily holding off Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards in the Federated Auto Parts 300 at the Nashville Superspeedway in Tennessee.
Tony Stewart used every trick available to stretch out his fuel during the final laps Sunday at Pocono Raceway, and came from the rear of the field in his backup car to win his first Cup points race with his new team. Stewart made his last pit stop with 41 laps to go and figured he could drive the rest of the way without another break. He took the lead in the No. 14 Chevrolet with 37 laps remaining and roared to a 6-second lead over Carl Edwards that gave him a crucial buffer down the stretch. Edwards pushed Stewart and whittled the lead down to about 2 seconds with inside 10 laps remaining, and the two-time Cup champion was unsure of how much gas he had left in the tank. Edwards was second, followed by David Reutimann and Gordon. Stewart’s SHR teammate Ryan Newman was fifth.
Lou Modestino reported that Sunday’s fourth annual Norwood Arena Reunion saw a huge gathering of the competitors, officials and fans who frequented the famed Massachusetts quarter-mile oval every Saturday night during the spring, summer and fall. The event was held again at Bezema Buick, Pontiac, GMC on the Auto Mile located on Route 1 in Norwood. Norwood ran its last event in 1972. Among those on hand were Bill Slater, John Grady, Val LeSeur, Lew Boyd, Bruce Cohen, Bugsy Stevens, Leo Cleary and Deke Astle.
Marvin Rifchin, owner of the former M&H Tire Company in Watertown, MA, passed away on Tuesday, June 2, at the age of 94. Rifchin started in racing after WWII as the owner of midgets. Later on he got involved in stock cars. His cars raced at many area tracks, including Thompson and Waterford. He won championships at Seekonk and Stafford. The last raced car he owned was the #7 pinto bodied modified, driven by Ron Bouchard in the years before Bouchard moved south to become the 1981 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year. M&H shod Modifieds, Supermodifieds and Midgets won just about everywhere. During the 1970’s, he was at the top of his game as was Dick Dunn, driving Al & Peg Gaudreau’s #3 to four straight Modified titles at the Waterford Speedbowl. Rifchin took on Firestone and Goodyear, beating them both. Rifchin was also a man of his own convictions. When the New England Drivers and Owners Club attempted to institute a track tire at Stafford, Seekonk and Thompson Rifchin felt that he was being put out of business and filed an anti-trust suit against the club and the tracks as well as Hoosier Tire. He eventually lost the suit in the appeal process. Following his defeat he focused on the Midgets where he spent most of his time until his passing. Rifchin was a tough businessman but he was also a friend to many racers as he helped thousands with tires and money in order to keep them racing. RIP!
In other sad news, Frank E. Anyzeski, of Ashaway,RI the beloved husband of Ann (Palmer) Anyzeski for 46 years, died on Friday, June 5, 2009 at R.I. Hospital in Providence, at the age of 67. Frank, also known as Frankie Edwards, was a former All American Six Cylinder Champion at the Stafford Motor Speedway. He was the half brother of the late Leo “Ace” Hill of North Stonington, CT.
BusinessWeek Magazine reported less than a week after NASCAR called a mandatory state-of-the-circuit meeting for all Sprint cup drivers and team owners to discuss the dire economy, General Motors filed for the largest industrial bankruptcy in U.S. history. While the U.S. government will pump an estimated $50 billion into the failed company, ensuring at least its short-term survival, there was no word as to what the bankruptcy might mean for GM’s motorsports sponsorship programs, putting their estimated $125 million annual NASCAR investment into question.
NASCAR has likely been hurt more than any other sport as a result of the current economic climate. Attendance is down because of the high cost of traveling to races, while TV ratings are off due to a perceived lack of exciting ones. Every telecast on FOX has seen a drop in ratings from the respective 2008 broadcast, with total ratings on the network down 13% from last year. And only an estimated 100,000 people attended the NASCAR Sprint Cup Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway, well off the approximate 140,000 in years past.
Ten years ago in 2014, The Stafford Speedway again fell victim to rain on Friday for the third week in a row. Shortly after 8:00pm when the SK Modifieds were on the track the heavy rain plus thunder and lightening closed in on the track and brought a halt to all racing.
Prior to the rain, the 25 cars on hand took time for starting positions. Bobby Santos III scored his seventh pole at Stafford after turning a lap in 18.827sec or 98.216 mph. Doug Coby was second fastest with Eric Goodale, third. Completed earlier was the SK Lite feature which saw nine of the 14 starters involved in a wreck. Nick Salvo survived to record the win.
Racing action at the Waterford Speedbowl saw Keith Rocco take home his third NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified® win of the year. In other NASCAR action, a new face found the Valenti Auto Mall Late Model winner’s circle as Vin Esposito claimed the checkered flag, breaking the strangle hold on the division held by Keith Rocco. Josh Galvin won again in the Street Stocks while driver Garrett Denton was victorious in the Mini Stocks. The Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday divisions were also on hand, with Dave Yardley and Zac Thomas scoring the respective Super X-Car and X-Car wins. Dylan Izzo won in the night’s INEX Legend Cars feature.
In the SK Modified feature, Rocco sliced through the field, arriving in second position behind leader Shawn Thibeault on lap-13 just before the second caution flag of the race came out. Rocco restarted outside of Thibeault and stayed even with him for two laps, hanging on after the two cars made contact in turn three on lap-15 before driving away. Rocco was masterful over three late race restarts to cruise to his third victory of the year, padding his lead in the championship standings. Ed Puleo and Rob Janovic Jr. both got past Thibeault in the closing laps to finish second and third, respectively, while Thibeault finished fourth. Kyle James rounded out the top-five.
A bit of controversy erupted post race when it was discovered the cars of Rocco and Craig Lutz were not equipped with wheel tethers that are mandated by NASCAR. No disqualifications were handed out but fines were expected. In recent weeks both Rocco and Lutz had been the victims of hard crashes and have suffered severe front end damage and the lack of tethers could be just an honest mistake. It sounds like the tech inspector needs to get his head out of his butt and pay more attention to the cars he is supposed to be inspecting pre-race. There were 18 Modifieds in competition.
In NASCAR Modified action at the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island Ryan Preece scored his first win of the year at the tough and tight quarter mile oval.
It was a special night at the Seekonk Speedway as their annual Wall of Fame took place. The inductees for 2014 were drivers Wayne Dion, Don Dionne and Billy Clarke along with long time Speedway official Ron Manfredo.
In Modified racing in the Southland, Junior Miller, Bowman Gray Stadium’s all-time leader in feature-race victories, won for the first time in five years Saturday night in the second of two 25-lap Modified races. Love him or hate him, the 63 year old has won a Nascar Sanctioned Race in the 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s & Now the 2010’s, 5 Decades. Miller, is in his 40th year of racing and is a six-time Bowman Gray champion.
In the opening 25 lapper, Burt Myers registered his 59th victory but said it was a bittersweet one after his brother and pole-sitter Jason Myers went spinning after a two-lap, side-by-side duel for the lead between the two. Burt Myers led the rest of the way, Tim Brown finished second, and Lee Jeffreys third.
NASCAR announced the inductees who will comprise the 2015 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The five-person group, the sixth in NASCAR Hall of Fame history, consists of Bill Elliott, Fred Lorenzen, Wendell Scott, Joe Weatherly and Rex White. In addition, NASCAR announced that Anne B. France won the inaugural Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. Also on the ballot was Mike Stefanik and Jerry Cook, both past champions in NASCAR’ Modified division.
Kyle Larson cruised to victory in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Johnson passed Matt Kenseth with eight laps to go and pulled away to win Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, his first victory of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
Ryan Hunter-Reay and Helio Castroneves traded leads three times in the final three laps with Hunter-Reay defeating the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner by just .0600 second of a second – the second-closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. It was just a tick behind the famed 1992 finish when Al Unser Jr. defeated Scott Goodyear by .043 of a second.
Five years ago in 2019, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series headed to the Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, Mass. In operation since 1946 and under the direction of the Venditti family since day one. Dubbed the Cement Palace, the Speedway sits at the gate of the Cape Cod National seashore. Thirty two teams entered the event, thirty one were on hand for qualifying. Doug Coby captured the pole as he toured the Seekonk oval in 11.923 seconds Second fastest was Matt Hirschman. Chase Dowling was third with Ron Silk and Craig Lutz rounding out the top five. Not qualifying were Kyle Elwood and Walt Sutcliff who were bumped by Wade Cole and Melissa Fifield who were eligible for provisional spots. John Monsanto never attempted to qualify.
When Doug Coby and crew chief Phil Moran left the Seekonk Speedway to go home they had a broom attached to their race car hauler as they had made a clean sweep of the Seekonk 150. Starting on the pole, Coby lost the lead to Matt Hirschman in the opening laps but took it back on lap 15 and never looked back. From then on, Coby was in cruise control. In the late stages Hirschman faded to 12th while Justin Bonsignore moved into the second spot. Bonsignore couldn’t touch Coby and settled for the runner-up spot at the finish. Craig Lutz finished third with Ron Silk and Timmy Solomito rounding out the top five. Sixth thru tenth were Chris Pasteryak, Anthony Nocella, Matt Swanson, Patrick Emerling and Andrew Krause.
The event was started at 9:03pm by Grand Marshalls Peg and Rick Summers. The checker dropped at 9:44pm. Live streamed coverage of the Seekonk event was provided by FansChoice.tv. It must be noted that Meyhew Tools, which sponsor Coby, received thousands of dollars in TV exposure as did the Seekonk Speedway.
Friday night was Military Appreciation Night at the Stafford Motor Speedway. Andrew Molleur was a first-time winner in the SK Modified® feature, beating Michael Gervais, Jr. to the line by inches. Tom Fearn won the Late Model feature with Teddy Hodgdon winning the SK Light feature over Bryan Narducci, Jeremy Lavoie winning the Limited Late Model feature, and Meghan Fuller winning the Street Stock feature.
With 10 laps to go, Todd Owen was pressuring Molleur for the race lead with Ron Williams third, Keith Rocco fourth, and Glenn Reen fifth. Mike Christopher spun coming out of turn 4 to bring the caution out with 36 laps complete. Christopher was given a one lap penalty by NASCAR officials for drawing the yellow flag.
Cory DiMatteo and Reen spun on the restart to bring the caution immediately back out. The next restart saw Molleur and Owen side by side for the lead with Rocco and Michael Gervais, jr. side by side for third. Molleur got clear to the lead on lap-39 with Gervais and Owen side by side for second and Rocco in fourth. Gervais was able to get to the outside of Molleur as they came to the white flag. The two cars ran side by side for the final lap and they were still side by side coming to the checkered flag. Molleur beat Gervais to the line by inches to lock down his first career SK Modified® feature victory. Owen finished third with Rocco and Matt Vassar rounding out the top-5.
At the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island, With some 35 or so laps left in what would turn out to be a non-stop 75 lap NASCAR Modified feature at Riverhead Raceway Saturday night veteran driver John Beatty Jr. was perhaps thinking to himself second place is as good as it going to get. . However with 29 laps remaining in the race David Schneider who led the contest since the second lap went wide around some lapped cars opening the door for Beatty who pounced on the opportunity to score his first win of 2019. It was John’s 6th career NASCAR Modified triumph.
Down in the southland at the Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC Burt Myers ended a long dry spell in a big way. Myers, a nine-time and three-time defending champion, hadn’t won a race since June 30 of 2018. Saturday night Myers won the pole, then decided to go to the back of the field after taking the Fans’ Challenge. And not only did Myers come from 24th and last place to win the race, he also collected $3,000 for finishing in the top four after accepting the Challenge. Chris Flemming finished second with James Civali, third.
In NASCAR Monster Cup racing at the Pocono Raceway Kyle Busch matched Hall of Fame driver Rusty Wallace for ninth on the NASCAR Cup Series career victory list with 55. He won for the fourth time this season. And the season of JGR that already includes a Daytona 500 championship and a Hall of Fame nod for patriarch Joe Gibbs shows no sign of tapering off. Brad Keselowski was second. Ryan Preece finished 23rd.
In a joint announcement from NASCAR and the Martinsville Speedway, for the first time since 2010, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will return to Martinsville Speedway in 2020 for the MaxPro Window Films 200. The modifieds, which were a fixture at Martinsville for decades, will race the 200 lap race on Friday Night May 8, 2020 as part of the spring race weekend.
The modified division first raced at Martinsville in 1960 and raced every year through 2002. Virginian Ray Hendrick, who also is the career leader in overall wins at Martinsville with 20, is the all-time leader in modified wins at Martinsville with 15. NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans is second with 10.
Adrienne Venditti announced that her book, THE GODFATHER OF STOCK CAR RACING IN NEW ENGLAND was done and has been published and is available on Amazon. This book is dedicated to the man whose life inspired her to tell his story. His name is D. Anthony Venditti, widely known as the Godfather of Stock Car Racing in New England. It is also dedicated to her mother, with her eternal love and devoted support of her beloved Anthony, her family, and racing. She and the Godfather enabled and empowered their family to persevere in the sport. This is to all those with unending convictions in the Godfather and to the Seekonk Fraternity of racing.
This book is a pictorial and a closer look at the life of the Godfather. He was the youngest promoter in motor sports in the United States in the 1940s. And as a twenty-five-year-old, he planned, engineered, and built his speedway. He was young and full of ambition. It was his dream, an American dream, to build, open, and operate his speedway at the end of World War II, in 1946. Yet when in his advanced years, he then became known as the oldest living promoter in stock car racing. He consecutively ran his race plant each year, faithfully opening his facility, without fail. He never missed a season under his reign-an unheard-of feat of forty-five years as a stock car racing promoter.
Seekonk Speedway continues to run without any ambiguity by the same family. The speedway is proudly still in business all these consecutive years of racing in the books. Anthony is celebrated and acclaimed for his pioneering in the American sport of auto racing, awarded RPM’s “1978 Promoter of the Year.” It was with great adoration of the sports community that he is acknowledged for his forethought and far-reaching ideas of innovation pertaining to mechanical engineering, safety features in facility construction, and administrative procedures. Mr. Venditti is attributed to numerous awards for his devotion for the betterment of the sport of auto racing.
On a sad note, Adrienne Venditti sent word that New England racing pioneer Don Rounds had passed away. A Near Hall of Famer, Don Rounds Sr. passed on May 3rd at the age of 91. Don was Track Champion at Stafford Speedway when Stafford was still a dirt track. Don loved to travel to all the New England tracks for four decades and was well known throughout New England. His family was very proud of his racing accomplishments. Don was buried on May 8th with full military honors in Warwick, Rhode Island.
Don began racing stock cars at the dirt track of the Kingston Fairgrounds in 1948. He took down his first feature win three years later, driving the Familiar number 101, a “37” Ford Flathead. The next year he started racing at Seekonk, under the sanction of the Interstate Stock Car Racing Association, led by Lou Guiliano, and in 1950 The Tri State Racing Association led by Rusty Rushton. Don competed at dozens of tracks throughout the Northeast including Lakeville and Millers Falls in Massachusetts, Beech Ridge, Maine, Bennington and Rutland VT, and Keene, NH. He stormed through New York successfully racing at tracks in that state.
Last year, 2023, The regular Friday night racing series at Stafford fell victim to rain. Three events had been held at Stafford so far. In the SK Modified division Jimmy Blewett, Michael Gervais and Stephen Lopcik won features. Blewett was the current point leader with an 18 point edge over Cory Dimatteo and a 20 point edge over Kopcik. In the SK Lights, Brian Sullivan had two victories and George Bessette Jr had one. Bessette held a six point edge over Sullivan and a 12 point edge over Nick Anglace. In the Street Stocks Travis Hydar with one win led Bert Ouellette by 10 points. Ryan Newman with three wins is third. In the Late Models Tom Fearn with one win led Adam Gray by four points. Matt Clement led Kevin Comier by two points.
The speedway has announced that all seats for the SRX Superstar Thursday night Thunder event have been sold out.
It was extremely cool once the sun went down on the east end of Long Island at the Riverhead Raceway. Second generation driver Chris Young snapped a two plus year winless spell Saturday night when he powered his way to victory in the Riverhead Raceway 50-lap NASCAR Modified feature event. It was the third career win for Young who last won on October 31st of 2020.
When the initial green was displayed Matt Brode jumped to the early lead with Owen Grennan and Dave Brigati it tow for the first lap, one lap later Grennan and Brigati swapped positions. With the race embarking on a long green flag run, Matt Brode was able to get away from Brigati in second while Chris Young moved by Grennan for third on lap 14. While Brode was clicking off laps up front and hoping for a caution free race, Young was busy reeling in Brigati for second. On lap 35 Young rolling to the outside was able to work his way around Brigati for second. Just two laps later the scenario Brode did not want to see unfold did when the caution waved on lap 37 for a rare Dylan Slepian spin. The first attempt at restarting the race after the Slepian spin quickly went south as Chris Turbush pounded the wall in the first turn after contact.
Once the track was clear the double file restart with Brode to the inside and Young to the outside unfolded. Brode held serve for the first lap but on lap 39 Young rolled the top of the track to race his way into the lead. Once back to second Brode had a quick side by side battle with Tom Rogers Jr. for second. That duel ended quickly on lap 41 when Tom Rogers car suddenly dropped fluid in turns three and four with the entire field behind Tom piling in. Luckily all those caught up remained in the race, some after pit stops during an extensive clean up. The final restart of the race would again pit Young and Brode side by side, when the green flag reappeared for the final nine circuits Chris Young was able to remain out front to secure the long awaited return to victory lane. Matt Brode finished second while Dylan Slepian of Dix Hills rebounded nicely from his lap 37 spin for third in the Eastport Feeds Chevy. Michael Rutkoski of Mattituck and Jack Handley Jr. of Medford were fourth and fifth.
Down on the Connecticut shoreline at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl Eric Berndt made it two in a row in the SK Modifieds. Timmy Jordan finished second and Stephen Kopcik was third. Todd Owen and Jon Puleo rounded out the top five. Ray Christian III won the 30-lap Late Model feature.
The Winchester Open 100 at Monadnock drew 24 cars but because of the cool night the grandstands were extremely light. Matt Kimball took the eventual win over Carl Medeiros, Ryan Doucette, Richard Savory and Chris Pasteryak. Rain delayed the start of Saturday’s main event, but did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of Kimball, who raced Mini Stocks at “Mad Dog” before making a career shift to Tour-type Modifieds. The Bennington, N.H. racer started from the pole, yielding to Monadnock veteran Todd Patnode on lap eight of the 100-circuit feature. Chris Pasteryak settled into third with Kirk Alexander fourth when a turn-three spin brought out the night’s first caution.
Patnode immediately ducked down pit road, handing the lead back to Kimball. Alexander and Sam Rameau charged into third on the restart, while Pasteryak’s hopes for a solid finish turned bleak when contact left the Connecticut racer sideways in turn two with 60 laps to go. Rameau, who started 22nd, pounced on Kimball two restarts later to take the lead. Rameau set a fast pace, but Kimball was able to keep up, turning up the heat as slower traffic came into play. Early contender Alexander went for a backstretch spin with 17 laps left, though, eliminating the lapped-traffic wildcard and pitting Rameau against Kimball for the restart.
On the green flag, Rameau cleared Kimball for the lead, but Kimball loomed large in his mirror, tracing the curbs and keeping Rameau from building an advantage. With 11 laps left, Kimball dove inside on the backstretch, getting alongside Rameau in the turns and taking the lead back. Ryan Doucette threw his car to Rameau’s inside to steal second, upsetting Rameau and letting Kimball escape. Another bobble from Rameau slowed the field, with Medeiros charging from the high line to take second as the top five shuffled.
Kimball was hardly home free, as another spin with six laps left forced a late-race restart. But the youngster got the jump on Medeiros coming to the green, and as Doucette made a bid for second, Kimball was able to get away once again, coasting home to one of his biggest Modified wins yet and pocketing $5,000 for his efforts.
The Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina fell victim to rain for the second time this year.
In NASCAR Cup racing, Kyle Busch collected his 63rd NASCAR Cup Series victory on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, but the driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet had to work hard for the first-place money. Busch, the pole winner, survived five restarts in the last 40 laps of the Enjoy Illinois 300 and beat Denny Hamlin to the finish line by 0.517 seconds after Bubba Wallace’s broken brake rotor caused the 11th caution on Lap 236 and sent the race to overtime. Ryan Preece finished 17th.
The Whelen Modified Tour Series heads to the Seekonk Speedway on Saturday, June 10. Justin Bonsignore leads the current standings with a one point edge over Ron Silk. Austin Beers sits third, 19 points back.
With the cooperation of the Arute family a 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).
