RPW Exclusive: Looking Back A Bit: Second Week Of June
Column By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Seventy five years ago in 1949, Henry Hager won a 20 lap feature for stock cars at the Buffalo Civic Stadium in western New York. Slim Ingalls was the winner at Seekonk.
Seventy years ago in 1954 Moe Gherzi picked up the Wednesday night Sportsman winner at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Red Foote took the Saturday night event. Tom Van Epps made it four in a row in non-Ford action on Wednesday night at the shoreline oval but gave way to Arnie Harris on Saturday night. Hank Stevens was the A-main winner and Tex Barry was the B-Main winner at Seekonk.
Sixty five years ago in 1959, rain washed out the action on the dirt at the Stafford Springs Speedway. Rain also washed out the Wednesday racing at the New London Waterford Speedbowl. It cleared by Saturday allowing Bill Slater to take the victory in the 25 lap Sportsman feature. Charlie Webster was the non-Ford winner and Ben Hewitt was the Bomber feature winner. Bill Rafter made it two in a row at the Buffalo Civic Stadium. Midgets ran at Lancaster with Buddy Martin taking the win. For the second week in a row it rained at Seekonk.
Sixty years ago in 1964 saw a full weekend of racing without rain. Feature winners included Elton Hilldreth at Old Bridge in New Jersey and Joe Kelly who won twin features at the Wall Stadium, also in New Jersey. Bill Wimble took his third win of the year over George Janoski and Pete Corey on the dirt at the Stafford Springs Speedway. In the great state of New York, Rene Charland took the win at Fonda and on the Island at Islip a power failure forced a cancellation. Ray Moran was the 30 lap June Modified championship winner at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Bob Potter, who was bareley out of his teens, was the Bomber winner at the shoreline oval. A young guy fresh out of the service by the name of Bugsy Stevens was the A-main winner at Seekonk. Pop Silvia was the Cadet winner.
Fifty five years ago in 1969 rain washed out Friday night action at Stafford and at Albany-Saratoga. Saturday night at Norwood, Johnny Thompson in his Ford powered No.122 dusted the field. Bugsy Stevens finished second. At Fonda, Lou Lazzaro continued his hot streak to five in a row as he beat out Jerry Pennock and Ken Shoemaker for the win. Guy Chartrand made it three in a row for Ed Cloce’s Hemi-Cuda at Airborne and at Islip, Island favorite Jim Hendrickson beat out Fred Harbach and Gary Winters. Bob Potter made it two in a row as he took the Modified win at the Waterford Speedbowl. Don Bunnell was the Daredevil winner. At Seekonk Johnny Tripp Jr took the A-main feature. At Thompson on Sunday, Fred DeSarro held off Eddie Flemke and Bugsy Stevens for the win. Utica-Rome rained out.
Fifty years ago in 1974, Ted Wesnofske mastered the tight Freeport oval as he won out over Charlie Jarzombek and Fred Harbach. At Utica-Rome, Richie Evans won a 100 lapper over Geoff Bodine and Jerry Cook. At Monadnock, Bob Santos won with John Rosati, second. Ron Bouchard was involved in an early crash and finished third, only to be disqualified because work was done on his car. Bouchard brushed the first turn wall which somehow moved the firewall enough to make the throttle hang up. Car owner Bob Johnson climbed in the car with Bouchard and kicked the firewall out enough so the throttle rod would clear. Bill Brown, who owned Monadnock at the time had a rule that stated that no work could be done on the cars once the race started and told Bouchard and Johnson after the race that they had run for nothing. Needless to say, Johnson became ballistic but to no avail as the disqualification stood. Saturday night at Stafford, Bouchard was on a tear and he blistered the field to take the win. Hop Harrington finished second and was followed by Bugs Stevens and Jerry Cook. Shangri-La and Lancaster rained out but at Islip, Charlie Siebert was the winner. Don Bunnell was the Modified winner at the Waterford Speedbowl. Ron Cote was the Grand American late model winner. Jimmy Wilkins was the A-main winner at Seekonk. The finish at Fulton on Sunday was the same as that at Utica on Friday as Evans made it two for two on the weekend.
Forty five years ago in 1979, Richie Evans was the top gun in Friday night action at Stafford. Bob Vee finished second and was followed by Bugsy Stevens and Leo Cleary. At New Egypt it was Wayne Anderson over Greg Sacks and at Spencer, George Kent beat out Jerry Cook and Doug Hewitt. On Saturday, Jerry Cook got a rare win over Richie Evans at Riverside and at Seekonk, George Savory was the modified winner. Tom Baldwin beat his idol, Charlie Jarzombek to the checker at Islip. Other weekend winners were Roland LaPierre Jr. at Westboro, Mike Beebe at Waterford, Ronnie Rocco at Plainville, Maynard Troyer at Lancaster and Lou Lazzarro got his 97th career win at Fonda. In Winston Cup action at Michigan, Buddy Baker ran flat out to beat Donnie Allison for the win
Forty years ago in 1984, Bugsy Stevens, in the Mystic Missile, took the top spot at Stafford on Friday night. Jeff Fuller finished second with Charlie Jarzombeck, third. At Riverside it was Stan Gregger taking the top spot and at Waterford a 100 lapper and a regular program were run. Bob Potter won the 100 lapper over Don Bunnell and Tom Fox. Fox, driving his family owned modified won the regular 30 lapper over Bunnell and Potter. Spencer Speedway ran on Friday and Sunday. Richie Evans won a 100 lapper on Friday night over George Kent and Doug Hewitt. Twin 75’s were run on Sunday. Jim Spencer won the first event and finished second in the second event. He was later found to be running an illegal carburetor and was disqualified. Evans was awarded on win and Jan Leaty the other. Other weekend winners were Spencer at Shangri-La, Tom McCann at Riverhead, Don Howe at Islip, John Blewett Jr. at New Egypt and Punky Caron at Claremont. In Winston Cup action at Michigan, Bill Elliott was both the pole sitter and the winner.
Thirty five years ago in 1989, Teddy and Mikey Christopher finished one-two at Stafford on Friday night. At Thompson on Sunday it was Mikey followed by Teddy. Waterford rained out but not before Phil Rondeau would win another late model feature. Brian Schofield with a 340 ci powerplant won at Riverside over Tom Bolles while at Riverhead, it rained. At Shangri-La, Chris Amen beat out Jan Leaty and George Kent.
Thirty years ago, in 1994, Mike Christopher took the Friday night win at Stafford over John Anderson and Bob Potter. At Waterford on Saturday, Jim Broderick went pole to pole and held off Jerry Pearl and Bob Potter for the win. Todd Ceravolo received a broken thumb after being involved in an early race accident. At Riverside, Steve Park recorded his second win and at Riverhead it was Don Howe recording his second win of the season. A dark cloud hung over Wall Stadium as starter Dave Innes was struck and killed at the Jersey shoreline track. The Modified Tour Series was at Thompson on Sunday for a 125-lap event. Rick Fuller in the Chase 77 pitted on lap 46 and took the lead from brother Jeff on lap 77 and went on to take the win. Jeff Fuller didn’t pit and quickly faded to the point that he got lapped on lap 109. Reggie Ruggerio finished second and was followed by Jamie Tomaino and Wayne Anderson. Richie Gallup in the Ceravolo No.31 won the 30-lap SK event. In Winston Cup action at Michigan, Rusty Wallace made it three in a row.
Twenty five years ago, in 1999, in one of the saddest days of racing in New England, officials of Premier Parks that owns Riverside Park Speedway informed competitors, fans and race officials that racing would come to an end at the historical speedway at the end of the 1999 season. At Stafford on Friday night, Mike Christopher took the win over Jerry Marquis and Todd Szegedy. At Waterford on Saturday night, Ted Christopher took the top spot over Bert Marvin and Jeff Pearl. In the late models, Phil Rondeau recorded his 100th late model victory. Rondeau also has two modified wins. Twin 150’s for Busch North and Featherlite Modifieds. Tony Hirshman cleaned house with the all but unbeatable Cretty modified. Hirshman took the lead from John Blewett III on lap 112.Tim Connolly finished second and was followed by Mike Ewanitsko and Charlie Pasteryak. Tracy Gordon was the Busch North winner with Martin Truex and Brad Leighton rounding out the top three. In twin 35’s at Riverside, Tom Jensen and Rick Miller were the winners and at Riverhead it was JR Bertuccio over Ed Brunnhoelzl Jr. Ted Christopher closed out the weekend with a win at Thompson on Sunday night. Shaun Buffinton finished second with Todd Ceravolo, third. In Winston Cup action at Pocono, Bobby LaBonte took the win.
Twenty years ago in 2004, the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series had a well-deserved week off. After seven events Eddie Flemke JR and the Roger Hill owned No.79 led the point standings. Flemke, who won the Modified Tour event at the Waterford Speedbowl on May 15 had six top five finishes and led Tony Hirschman by 27 points. Hirschman had two wins, Stafford Speedway on May 28 and Lake Erie Speedway on June 12, including five top-fives. Jerry Marquis who drove the legendary Ole Blu owned by Janice and Michael Boehler was the top money winner in the series with $27,240 in winnings. Marquis, who had two wins to his credit, the Spring Sizzler at Stafford on April 25 and the Riverhead 200 on June 5, was 49 points out of the lead. Had it not been for a wreck at Thompson, which placed him in the 29th finishing position, Marquis would have been close if not in front of the point standings. Ted Christopher who benefited from Marquis’ misfortune at Thompson, sat in fourth spot, 95 points down from the leader. Defending series champion Todd Szegedy who won at Nazareth on May 23 rounded out the top five. Szegedy, who was disqualified after he apparently won at Thompson on April 18, was 189 points out of the lead. Sixth through tenth were Rick Fuller, Jamie Tomaino, Chuck Hossfeld, John Blewett III and Tom Bolles. Even without the help of Television exposure, with exception of the events at Stafford, the division is the highest drawing of competitors in all of NASCAR. With the exception of the event at Lake Erie, which drew 33 cars, all Featherlite Modified Tour Series events had drawn between 40-50 cars.
The Busch North Series was at the Stafford Motor Speedway Friday night. Veteran Kelly Moore went non-stop without a tire change to record his 26th Series win. Moore jumped out from his outside pole starting spot and led all but one of the 150 laps run. Point leader Andy Santerre led lap 35 but Moore took it back as he was on a mission. Santerre ended up in second spot with Matt Kobyluck, third. Kobyluck also went non-stop. Mike Olsen and Dale Quarterly rounded out the top five. Local favorites Jerry Marquis and Mike Stefanik finished 12th and 13th Twenty-five cars were on hand.
Eric Berndt and Ted Christopher got lucky at Thompson on Thursday night. Berndt got lucky when Bo Gunning tangled with Kerry Malone on lap 24 of the 30-lap feature. Gunning and Malone went to the rear as the rain began to fall. Berndt, who was running third, inherited the lead and the eventual win as the rain intensified and the event was called official. Had they restarted Ted Christopher would not have finished, as his right rear tire was almost flat when the red and checkered flag was displayed. Todd Ceravolo, who had just got his motor back from the repair shop after breaking a camshaft, finished third. Harry Rheaume and Shawn Monahan rounded out the top five. Sean Caisse, who has had his problems qualifying for Featherlite Modified Tour Series events, finished sixth. The Thompson Late Models, Pro Stocks, Limited Sportsman and Mini Stocks will get to run their events at a later date. The speedway management announced that rain checks would be issued to those who held grandstand tickets. The rain checks are good for this week’s event only.
Jim Civale became the second repeat winner in SK Modified action at Stafford Friday night. Civale took a lot of heat from Steve Chowanski over the final two laps of the 40-lap feature but managed to hold on for the win. Chowanski settled for second and was followed by Ted Christopher, Jeff Baral and Kerry Malone. Craig Collins was the Late Model winner and Dan King took the win in the Dare Stocks. Eddie Reed Jr. became the first repeat SK Modified winner at the Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday night. Dennis Cherette was the early leader until Dennis Gada put the bumper to him on lap 16 of the 35-lap feature. Gada, who stated that he made a mistake and accidentally hit Cherertte, was sent to the rear as officials felt he was rough riding. Ron Yuhas Jr. ended up second Ted Christopher, Ronnie Silk and Rob Janovic rounding out the top five. Roger Brown was the winner of the American-Canadian Tour 100 over second-generation driver Brentt Dragon. Dragon is the son of NEAR Hall of Fame inductee Harmon “Beaver” Dragon. Jay Stuart was the Late Model winner and Bill Leonard was the Mini Stock winner.
Despite the fact that Gene Arganase was told by NASCAR that there were no Nextel Cup dates available he continually said he was confident that the Nextel Cup cars would come to his proposed domed speedway in Plainfield, Connecticut. Speaking of NASCAR, it had been let out that ABC/ESPN was targeting a takeover of the NBC/TNT half of the Television package, which would expire in 2006. ESPN laid the groundwork of how four-hour recasts were to be covered. It also looked like yellow flag finishes of Busch Series and Nextel Cup events may become a thing of the past in the not so distant future. The Nextel Cup division of NASCAR was at the Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. Jeff Gordon was the Busch Pole Sitter and Ryan Newnan was the winner. Kasey Kahne again finished second. Kyle Busch was the winner of the Busch Series event at Sparta, Kentucky on Saturday night.
Fifteen years ago in 2009 Thursday Night Thunder action at the Thompson Speedway was cancelled due to heavy rain.
Keith Rocco made it two in a row in SK Modified competition at the Stafford Motor Speedway. Rocco, who is a top contender for the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series National Championship continued to take no prisoners. Dillon Moltz, who made the choice to miss his High School graduation, took his third win of the season in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Heather DesRochers wired the field in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature for her first career victory, Andrew Durand picked up his third victory of the 2009 season in the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Albert Saunders picked up his first career victory in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature a week after his twin brother won his first career DARE Stock feature.
The 40-lap SK Modified® feature took the green with Dave Salzarulo holding down the lead from the pole position. Todd Owen was all over the back of Salzarulo for the lead, but he couldn’t muster up enough momentum to make a pass. The duel between Salzarulo and Owen allowed Frank Ruocco to close in on the front two.
A caution with 14 laps complete slowed the action and set up a restart. Ruocco moved by both Owen and Salzarulo on the restart to take over the race lead. Keith Rocco moved from fifth to second behind Ruocco, dropping Owen to third and Salzarulo to fourth. Rocco went to the outside of Ruocco on lap-21 and he made a pass for the lead in the outside groove on lap-22. Mark Bakaj was on the move after the restart, moving by Salzarulo for fourth on lap-23 and he took third place from Owen on lap-29. At the front of the field, Rocco was stretching his lead out over Ruocco lap by lap. Rocco led the final 29 laps of the race to pick up his second consecutive and third overall SK Modffied® feature victory of the 2009 season. Ruocco finished second, with Bakaj, Owen, and Salzarulo rounding out the top-5. Sixth through tenth were Tom Bolles, Ted Christopher, Doug Coby, Woody Pitkat, and Jeff Malave,
The Waterford Speedbowl, in a wise move, cancelled Saturday’s racing due to the fact that the National Weather Service predicted monsoon like conditions for the entire Connecticut area.
In NASCAR Nationwide Series action, Carl Edwards and fellow Cup commuter Kyle Busch both took a brief break from their Sprint Cup duties in California to fly more than 2,000 miles and race in Milwaukee on Saturday.Edwards took the lead from Busch with 44 laps to go and wasn’t significantly challenged the rest of the way. Busch finished second, followed by Brad Keselowski. In Sprint Cup action, Kasey Kahne figured a spot in the Chase for the championship was an unrealistic goal just two months ago. He wasn’t running well, Richard Petty Motorsports was behind in its development, and the competition was steadily pulling away. Then came a strong five-race stretch, punctuated a win at Infineon Raceway. It came at a road course, of all places, and snapped Kahne’s 37-race winless streak. His win brought team co-owner Richard Petty to Victory Lane for the first time in over a decade. The last time a Petty-owned car won a race was John Andretti’s 1999 victory at Martinsville.Tony Stewart, an accomplished road racer, finished second and was followed by Marcos Ambrose, who blew a motor in Saturday’s practice that forced him to start at the back of the field and forfeit his third-place qualifying position. Jimmie Johnson was fourth and was followed by Denny Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Ten years ago in 2014, The Stafford Motor Speedway finally emerged from the bad weather cycle it had been stuck in for four weeks. In NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour action Doug Coby took the victory in the TSI Harley Davidson 125 Friday night. The race was postponed twice by rain and then Coby had to outlast Justin Bonsignore and Bobby Santos in a green-white-checkered finish that pushed the race to 130 laps.
Pole sitter Bobby Santos led the opening laps until giving way to Doug Coby during lap six. Coby led from lap seven until a restart on lap 127 when Santos just nipped Coby for the lead. Not to be denied Coby rallied to retake the lead one lap later and proceeded to romp to the win. Justin Bonsignore got by Santos on the final lap to finish second as Santos settled for third. Rowan Pennink and Woody Pitkat rounded out the top five. Ron Silk finished sixth, followed by Patrick Emerling, Ted Christopher, Ryan Preece and Glen Reen.
There were 13 cars on the lead lap at the finish. Among those who failed to finish were Tommy Barrett, Jr. and Jamie Tomaino who wrecked on lap 112, Ken Heagy who lost his steering on lap 101 and Keith Rocco who retired with a blown engine on lap 81.
The Stafford event went 104 laps before the first caution was displayed when Don Lia and Ken Heagy made contact and spun just past turn one. Heagy ultimately retired. Lia’s crew made repairs and he ended up finishing 15th, one lap down at the finish. The second caution occured on lap 112 Barrett spun in turn three and Tomaino hit him. Tomaino pulls away but Barrett was dumping water big time across the track. On lap 114 the race went to red for the clean-up. The caution flew again on lap 121 for Matt Hirschman who spun in turn four. Hirschman restarted and finished 14th, one lap down.
With the win, Coby took over the points lead from Bonsignore, 132-128. Pitkat is third in points at 123. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be back in action Saturday, June 21 with the Mr. Rooter 161 at Connecticut’s Waterford Speedbowl.
Taking down NASCAR Whelen All-American Series weekly feature wins on the night were Ryan Preece for the third consecutive race in the SK Modified® feature, Tom Fearn in the Late Model feature, Joey Ferrigno in the SK Light Modified feature, Justin Bren picked up his first career victory in the Limited Late Model feature, Johnny Walker in the DARE Stock feature, and Dana DiMatteo was a first time winner in the Legend Cars feature.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event that was resumed from lap-9 from May 23rd, Joey Cipriano resumed the race lead with Eric Berndt all over his back bumper. Behind Berndt, Todd Owen was fending off challenges from both Ryan Preece and Woody Pitkat. Preece went around Owen on lap-11 to move into third and he then took to the outside groove on lap-14 to make a pass on Cipriano to move into second. Owen fell back to fourth, just in front of Tony Membrino, Jr., and Keith Rocco. Berndt moved to the lead on lap-15 and then Preece went y Berndt on lap-16. Berndt came back to t e inside of Preece on lap-18, but Preece was able to keep Berndt behind him for the time being. The caution came out with 18 laps complete for Doug Coby, who came to a rest in a shower of sparks in turn 3.
Preece took the lead on the restart while Cipriano briefly challenged Berndt for second before settling back into third. Rocco was fourth with Pitkat running in fifth. With 10 laps to go, Preece and Berndt were pulling away from the duo of Cipriano and Rocco, who in turn both had a comfortable margin back to the two cars of Pitkat and Sean Foster.
Preece led Berndt to the checkered flag to pick up his third consecutive victory to begin the 2014 season. Cipriano finished third, with Rocco and Pitkat rounding out the top-5.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action at the Waterford Speedbowl, Keith Rocco addded his point lead and his win total with another SK Modified® victory while Jason Palmer won his second straight Valenti Auto Mall Late Model race. Ryan Waterman was top bannana following an action packed Street Stock race and Dave Trudeau picked up his first Speedbowl Mini Stock checkered flag in several seasons. Plainfield’s Corey Barry won his second consecutive SK Light Modified race after the division was idle for two weeks and in INEX racing, Mike Christopher Jr. won for the third time in the Legend Cars division’s Saturday series. Before the night’s races, a track walk benefitting Lupus Foundation of America’s Connecticut Chapter netted nearly $6,000 for the charity
The SK Modified feature was led to the green flag by Diego Monahan, who led the opening laps while being challenged by Kyle James. James quickly moved into second position and used a valiant effort to Monahan’s outside to finally overtake him on lap-8. Rocco came through the top ten cars in early race traffic before going up top to attack the top four cars racing single file ahead. On lap-10, he was outside Craig Lutz for third and a lap later, used the same move on Monahan to power into second. James was out front by several car lengths and Rocco began to run him down when caution waved on lap-13 for a spinning Ted Christopher in turn two.
James hung tough following the restart, looking good as he held back Rocco’s outside charge through a lap-18 caution flag for a spin by Rob Janovic Jr. Rocco timed the ensuing restart perfectly to gain the edge over James, pulling ahead for good on lap-19. Rocco was perfect on two additional restarts to get away from James the rest of the way to close out the win. James ran strong to finish second and Lutz followed up his victory a week previous with another podium run, finishing third. Tyler Chadwick was up front all race and finished fourth and Shawn Thibeault was fifth.
For the record, Rocco is the overall feature winner in the Northeast with 12 victories to his credit including four in the SK Modifieds and five in the Late Models at Waterford.
The Valenti Modified Racing Series visited the Seekonk Speedway on Saturday night with 30 cars strong. Steve Masse won his first Series race of the season. Masse took the lead from Anthony Nocella on lap 9 and was never headed. Justin Bonsignore finished second for the third time in the last four races, while Norm Wrenn finished third for for his best finish since April 2012 at Monadnock (second). Max Zachem remained consistent with his fourth top 10. David Schneider was fifth for his best career finish. Sixth through tenth were Todd Szegedy, Chris Pasteryak, Geoff Gernhard, Mike Willis Jr and Jonny Kay.
At the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island, Timmy Solomito swept the Richie Evans Hall of Fame Twin 50’s.
In Modified racing in the Southland, twin Modified features were run at the Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC. Jason Myers won the first of two 25-lap Modified races at the place they call “The MadHouse” on Saturday night, and Junior Miller, still licking his wounds after being spun out of the lead a week previous, scored a win in the second race. Myers led pole to pole in the first race for the featured Modified Division and registered his second victory of the season. Tim Brown finished second and Lee Jeffreys was third. A draw for starting positions in the second 25 lapper put Miller on the pole for the start of the second race. He held off Robert Jeffreys to rack up another victory. Tony Black finished third. Burt Myers kept his lead in the season standings, finishing fourth and eighth in the Modified races.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway. Only Brad Keselowski stood between Earnhardt and the checkered flag as the laps wound down. He drove inside both Keselowski and a lapped Danica Patrick, seized the lead with five laps to go and never looked back en route to his second victory of the season and the 21st of his Sprint Cup career.
Five years ago in 2019, At the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night, the 2nd Annual Twisted Tea Open Modified 80 with tour style modifieds took center stage for an 80-lap race around the Connecticut half-mile. NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series driver Ryan Preece took the checkered flag by driving through the field after being the last of the lead cars to pit for fresh tires during the 80-lap race. With 47 laps complete, Preece came to pit road under the caution to change his 2 tires and rejoined the race at the rear of the field in 15th place for the restart with 33 laps to go.
Tommy Barrett was the new leader back under green with Todd Owen and Matt Galko side by side for second. Galko cleared Owen on lap-49 to move into second and now Keith Rocco was on the outside of Owen in a fight for third. Ron Williams was lined up behind Owen in fifth. Following a restart on lap 70, Preece powered his way into to the lead on the outside of Galko on the restart with Williams taking second and dropping Galko back to third. Dowling was fourth with Goodale up to fifth. The caution came back out with 73 laps complete for Dylan Kopec, who had a quick spin in the middle of turns 3+4. The restart saw Preece pull out to the lead with Dowling looking to get by Williams on the outside but Williams spun to bring the yellow back out before a lap could be completed. Preece again powered into the lead on the restart with Galko coming back up to second. The field completed one lap before the caution came back out for a spin by Anthony Flannery at the end of the backstretch, setting up a 6-lap dash to the finish.
Preece took the lead with Eric Goodale coming up to second on the restart. Galko was third with Bryan Narducci all over the back bumper of Chase Dowling in a fight for fourth place. Narducci took fourth on lap-77 while Preece was slowly pulling away from Goodale and Galko.
Preece led Goodale to the checkered flag to win the Twisted Tea Open 80. Galko finished third with Narducci and Dowling rounding out the top 5. Sixth thru tenth included Max Zachem, Andrew Molleur, Ronnie Williams, Keith Rocco and Dave Etheridge.
In regular Friday night action at Stafford, scoring feature wins were Todd Owen in the SK Modified® feature, Tom Fearn in the Late Model feature, Mark Bakaj in the SK Light feature, Matt Clement in the Limited Late Model feature, and Zack Robinson in the Street Stock feature.
Following Owen in the SK feature were Michael Christopher, Jr., Keith Rocco, Michael Gervais, Jr and Matt Galko. In the SK Lite feature Bryan Narducci took the lead after a bump and run incident with Steven Chapman. As the field took the white flag, Chapman held the lead with Narducci, Mark Bakaj, and Teddy Hodgdon lined up behind him. Going into turn 3, Narducci got into the back of Chapman, sending him up the track and allowing Narducci and Bakaj to get by. Narducci took the checkered flag first but NASCAR Officials penalized Narducci for overaggressive driving, making Bakaj the winner. Hodgdon finished second, with Chapman, Alexander Pearl, and Mikey Flynn rounding out the top-5. Narducci was penalized to the last car on the lead lap, placing him 22nd in the final rundown.
In Valenri Modified Racing Series at the Claremont Motorsports Park, Claremont, NH. Mike Willis Jr notched his first Series victory. Willis previously won at Claremont in a Tri-Track Series event. Willis started on the pole in the Spirit of Alaska/Maurice Enterprise/Legacy Landscaping # 83 thanks to winning his heat race and led the opening seven laps when Kirk Alexander took the lead briefly. . Claremont’s Jeff Murray, making his first start this season, took command on lap-10 and led for 70-laps when Willis slipped by on the outside and pulled away from the field. Willis was followed by a persistent Woody Pitkat, who finished second followed by Matt Swanson, Brian Robie finished fourth, with Kirk Alexander, fifth.
Eleven starters took the green as the field was adversely affected by the Open Modified race at Stafford.
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Parks hosted its second of three afternoons of racing scheduled for the month of June as the American Canadian Tour, or ACT, highlighted an evening of on-track action at the nation’s oldest paved oval racetrack. Four of Thompson’s track divisions also took center stage throughout the afternoon, but it was the best Late Model drivers in the Northeast who were the stars of the night with the Thompson 75 serving as the first of two ACT events at the Big-T in 2019.
Jimmy Hebert was the 75 lap ACT Late Model winner with Woody Pitkat, second. followed by Bryan Kruczek and Scott Payea. Despite battling hard for the lead most of the race Ryan Kuhn had to settle for a fifth-place finish after his car went away from him in the final laps. Jonathan Bouverette, Ruch Dubeau, Derek Gluchacki, William Wall, and Ryan Morgan rounded out the top ten.
In the Sunoco Modified 30-lap feature. Mike Christopher, Jr. continued the family tradition by claiming his first ever Thompson Speedway win in a wild last lap pass of Troy Talman who had dominated much of the race to that point. The nephew of the late Ted Christopher who won 99 races at Thompson, Mike Christopher, Jr. celebrated his win in a victory lane baring his uncle’s initials dedicating his victory to the racing legend before posing for photos with his father, Ted Christopher’s twin brother Mike. Talman hung on for the runner-up spot and was followed by Todd Owen, Keith Rocco, Ronnie Williams, Woody Pitkat, Kyle James, Adam Gada and Corey Barry.
Bryan Narducci swallowed a bitter pill when he had a win taken away at Stafford on Friday but got redemption at Thompson as he went eight for eight in SK Lite competition at the big T. He arrived at the track with a chip on his shoulder using his loss as motivation to pass Steven Chapman again at Thompson, this time with five laps remaining.
Other wins were recorded in the Limited Sportsman Shawn Monahan and Mini Stocks, Charles Canfield.
Thompson Speedway Motosports Park will close out the month of June with another afternoon of racing on Sunday, June 30. The stars and cars of Thompson’s five track divisions will take to the track once again looking to pick up important championship points as the race for the 2019 track titles continues.
At the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island this past weekend was the $32,650 Islip 300. Defending NASCAR Modified track champion Kyle Soper would hold off a torrid late race challenge of Tom Rogers Jr. to take home the $7,000 victory for he and car owners Wayne & Joette Anderson. It was Soper’s 4th win of 2019 but by far the biggest of his budding career. would lead the early going dictating the pace of the race with John Beatty in his tire tracks. Then during a caution flag slowdown the unthinkable occurred when Preece’s car came to a stop at the turn three exit gate on lap 28 unable to move due to a broken drive shaft. On lap 60 Kyle Soper who started the race 4th made his way by Beatty for second and he’d follow leader Fortin for the next 56 laps before moving out front with an inside pass entering the first turn on lap 117. As the cautions fell after the 100-lap mark teams revealed their tire strategy with several team ducking in for their change tires either 1, 2 or all 3 tires that were allotted for the race. Craig Lutz made his presence known when he made his way to second on lap 126 during a double file restart. Soper and Lutz both graduates of the former go-kart program at the track would run one-two until lap 155 when Lutz changed the running order by taking the lead from Soper.
As the race bore down on the 200 lap marker all but a quartet of the top running cars Lutz, Soper, Rogers and Jon McKennedy had been in for tires and as the race ran a long green flag period the four drivers struggled to keep their cars under them. This allowed Eric Goodale who was one of the teams to pit between the 100-200 lap mark to march his way to second in quick order and by lap 205 Goodale became the new race leader with Soper second. For the four drivers who had yet to pit it looked as though their game plan was going up in smoke when suddenly Lutz would spin off turn two. Unfortunately for Craig his car stalled in the spin and would not re fire right away putting him two laps down. However he along with Soper, Rogers and McKennedy roared into the pits for their much need change tires.
When the race resumed on lap 258 Goodale led Beatty but all eyes were on the drivers who had fresher rubber with all four on the march. Soper moved by Beatty on lap 264 for second and after chasing and catching Goodale over the next 11 laps Kyle would move to the race lead on lap 276. Just one lap later Tom Rogers Jr. worked by Goodale for second and he drive right up to challenge Soper for the rich victory. Some well placed cautions late in the race found Lutz awarded the lucky dog twice putting him back on the lead lap. With the race format having caution laps count up until lap 290 a yellow flag waved just prior to lap 290 and it would set up a dash for the cash between Riverhead rivals Soper and Rogers.
During those final ten laps it was evident Rogers had a better car from the center of the corner off as Soper’s car tightened up but Kyle was wise wise enough to slow his car up in the center of the turns stalling any run to the inside Rogers was attempting to make. The final 10-laps of the race alone were worth the price of admission with Kyle Soper prevailing in his Eastport Feeds Chevy as the large crowd on hand roared with approval. Tom Rogers Jr. finished second with Craig Lutz, Eric Goodale and Jon McKennedy rounding out the top five..
In racing at the Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina Chris Fleming and James Civali each won 50-lap Modified races Saturday night. Fleming won his first race since 2016 after leading for the entire races. He fended off Tim Brown in the first 50-lap Modified race for the win. Burt Myers was third, Jonathan Brown was fourth and Lee Jeffreys was fifth. In the second Modified race, Civali defeated John Smith for the win. Jeffreys was third, Burt Myers was fourth and Jonathan Brown was fifth
The Bullring Bash Quarter Mile Challenge presented by RaceChoice has decided to postpone its Battle at the Banks event at White Mountain Motorsports Park due to inclement weather forecasts for Sunday. Bullring Bash is working with White Mountain Motorsports Park to decide on a suitable make-up date. The next scheduled event is Saturday, August 10 also to be held at White Mountain Motorsports Park, which will now serve as both the inaugural event and season opener for Bullring Bash.
Congratulations to the late Jim “Smiley” Waterman on his induction to the Seekonk Speedway Wall of Fame. Smiley was the lead tech man at Seekonk for many years from the seventies through the early nineties. He worked with D. Anthony Venditti very closely in creating a rules package that was strict, yet affordable, where it would create close competition. When it came down to inspections, his decisions were fair, thorough and honest. He also served as the lead tech man for the NASCAR Modified Tour when it began in 1985. Mickey Gill and Pops Silvia were also inducted.
Last year, 2023, The regular Friday night racing series at the Stafford Motor Speedway almost didn’t happen as showers dotted the Stafford oval during the late afternoon. The skies cleared and the entire program went off as planned. Eric Goodale, a former regular on the Whelen Modified Tour Series, backed off on his schedule to spend more time with his family. Goodale wasn’t at the recent WMT event at Seekonk as he was at the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island cheering on his son Mason who recorded his first win in the Bandolero division. Goodale started seventh in the 23-car field. Goodale took the lead following a lap 39 restart. Glen Reen powered his way into the lead on lap-42 but Goodale came back to the inside of Reen on lap-44 and he retook the lead. Ron Williams was third in line with Max Zachem fourth and Craig Lutz in fifth. Zachem spun in turn 2 to bring the caution back out with 46 laps complete.
On the restart, Goodale took the lead with Teddy Hodgdon coming up to second. Reen was third in line followed by Williams and Matt Galko before the caution came back out with 49 laps complete for a spin through the frontstretch grass by Todd Owen. Following the restart Goodale and Hodgdon went wheel to wheel for a lap before Goodale got clear into the lead on lap-50. Reen got by Hodgdon to take second with Galko fourth and Anthony Bello up to fifth. Lutz was sixth with George Bessette, Lutz, Williams, and Joey Mucciacciaro making up the top-10.
With 10 laps to go, Goodale was still in the lead with Reen giving chase from second place. Hodgdon and Bello were third and fourth with Galko in fifth. Bessette was sixth with Pasteryak, Williams, Mucciaciaro, and Tyler Barry making up the top-10. Bello made a move to the inside of Hodgdon on lap-78 in a bid for third place and he completed the pass on lap-79. It was all Goodale at the front as Reen couldn’t get close enough to make a move with Goodale winning the Casella Waste Open 80. Bello finished third with Hodgdon and Galko rounding out the top-5 behind Goodale and Reen.
In other Friday night action at Stafford, Stephen Kopcik scored his first win of the 2023 season in the SK Modified® feature, Tom Butler returned to NAPA Victory Lane for the first time in nearly 7 years in the Late Model feature, Tyler Chapman dominated the SK Light feature, leading all 20 laps for his first win of the season, Kevin Cormier took down his second win of the season in the Limited Late Model feature, and Ryan Waterman continued his white hot streak to start the 2023 season with his fourth win in five races in the Street Stock division.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Stephen Kopcik spun from midpack triggering a wreck that trashed Dylan Kopec and Keith Rocco who both ended up in the frontstretch wall before they got to the start/finish line to bring the caution out. SK Modified® points leader Jimmy Blewett was also collected and had to come to pit road for a new tire and suspension damage. Tyler Hines also had damage and came to pit road under the caution. Blewett missed the restart but was able to rejoin the field in the closing laps which allowed him to gain two spots in the finishing order.
David Arute took the lead on the restart but Mikey Flynn moved to the lead on lap-2. Tyler Leary was looking to follow Flynn by Arute but he couldn’t make the pass and settled into third. Noah Korner was up to fourth with Todd Owen and RJ Marcotte wheel to wheel for fifth place. Owen took fifth with Kopcik taking sixth to drop Marcotte back to seventh. Arute made a bid for the lead on lap-10 but Flynn was able to fend off that challenge. Kopcik was now wheel to wheel with Leary for third place and he took third on lap-12. Owen followed him by to take fourth and drop Leary back to fifth, just in front of Korner.
Kopcik made a move to the inside of Arute on lap-15 to take over second place and he took the lead from Flynn on lap-16. Owen got by Arute to take third with Arute fourth, just in front of Korner. Michael Christopher, Jr. was up to sixth with Marcello Rufrano seventh, Leary eighth, Cory DiMatteo ninth, and Jon Puleo tenth. With 25 laps complete the order was still Kopcik, Flynn, Owen, Arute, and Korner. Christopher and Rufrano were just behind Korner in fifth to make a 7-car train at the front of the field. Leary developed a flat right front tire and got into the turn 1 wall to bring the caution out for the first time with 32 laps complete.
Kopcik powered into the lead back under green with Owen taking second. Flynn slotted into third with Korner and Arute going wheel to wheel for fourth place. Korner took fourth on lap-35 and Rufrano got by Arute to take fifth and drop Arute back to sixth place. Kopcik led the field to the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the 2023 season. Owen finished second with Flynn, Korner, and Rufrano rounding out the top-5.
The SK Lights were 30 strong in their 20 lap feature. Tyler Chapman won by a country mile but it was Megan Fuller and Tyler Barry who put on the show for second and third. Fuller, daughter of Rick Fuller has come into her own and has become highly competitive. The same goes for Barry, a third generation racer.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour rolls next to Riverhead Raceway in New York on this coming Saturday night, June 24 for the Mike Ewanitsko 200. Ron Silk currently holds a four point edge over Justin Bonsignore. Austin Beers sits third, 21 points back. Doug Coby and Jon McKennedy round out the top five.
The eastern Long Island speed arena honored three of the all-time greats last Saturday night with the Tom Baldwin-Charlie Jarzombek-Richie Evans 77. Kyle Elwood took the win over John Beatty, Chris Young and Timmy Solomito.
Down on the Connecticut shoreline at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl heavy rain put a damper on the racing activity.
The Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina played host to close to 10,000 who were treated to another full slate of races in the 75th season at the track. With the new asphalt on the ¼ mile oval getting wore in. Tim Brown, who vaulted past Brandon Ward on lap 34 on a restart, showed everybody why the track is getting faster. On the double-file restart. Brown took the outside finding the lane to his liking and worked his way past Ward. Ward wound up second and did a nice job of navigating three restarts on the caution-filled race, but when Brown went to the outside in the closing laps Ward couldn’t keep up. Points leader Burt Myers went out on lap 34 of the first 50-lap race as he had to go to the pits. He didn’t return. In race number two Burt Myers came from 15th starting position to pick up the big win to cap off the night. Junior Snow finished second and Jonathan Brown driving for Tommy Neal rounding out the top three.
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).
