Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Seventy five years ago Ted Tappett was the Class A winner at Seekonk. Seventy years ago in 1954, Wednesday night racing at the New London Waterford Speedbowl fell victim to rain.
Moe Gherzi took the Saturday night Sportsman feature at the shoreline oval and Tom Van Epps made it four in a row in non-Ford action. Norm Duquett was the winner at Seekonk
Sixty five years ago in 1959 George Janoski made it two in a row on the dirt at the Stafford Springs Speedway. Fred Luchesi with the Sgambato No.9 cleaned house in the Sportsman division at the New London Waterford Speedbowl on Wednesday night. Benny Desrosier was the non-Ford winner. Walt Dombrowski was the winner in the Bombers. Bill Slater regained his winning ways on Saturday night at the Speedbowl as he put the mighty V-8 in victory lane in the Sportsman division. Tom Sutcliff was the non-Ford winner and Dombrowski made it two in a row in the Bombers.. Don Coy won a 200 lap midget event at the Buffalo Civic Stadium and Ken Owens was the winner at the Lancaster Speedway. Seekonk rained out.
Sixty years ago in 1964, Bill Wimble made it six in a row on the dirt at Stafford Springs as he outran local favorites George Janoski and Ernie Gahan. Billy Harman made it two in a row in Modified action at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Jerry Glaude was the Bomber winner at the Waterford Ct. oval. At the cement palace in Seekonk, Ma, George Summers took his first win of the year.
Fifty five years ago in 1969, the All Star League was in full swing. Starting on Wednesday night at the Norwood Arena, Bugsy Stevens used his home track advantage to take on the best in the east and dusted the field as he won the 100 lapper. Freddie Schulz finished second and was followed by Eddie Flemke, Leo Cleary, Fred DeSarro, Johnny Thompson and Jack Malone. The top seven were all Norwood Arena regulars. The league moved to Stafford on Friday night and Stevens continued his winning ways. Flemke came home in second spot and was followed by Nathan “Smokey” Boutwell. Boutwell was driving the famous No.28 co-owned by the Garutti Brothers and Jack Arute. At the Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Ed Pieniezak was the winner over Bernie Miller and Maynard Forette. Back at Norwood for their regular Saturday night program, Johnny Thompson in his Ford powered No.122 was the victor. Jack Malone finished second and was followed by DeSarro and Stevens. At the Waterford Speedbowl Daring Dick Caso took the top spot in the 36 lap Modified feature. Fonda and Airborne rained out. At Seekonk, Jon Astle took the 50 lap A main. Eddie StAngelo was the Late Model winner. On Sunday at Thompson, Smokey Boutwell ruled the roost. DeSarro finished second with Stevens and Bob Santos following.
Fifty years ago in 1974, Geoff Bodine in his own No.99 dominated the upstate New York circuit as he went three for three as he took wins at Utica-Rome on Friday, Shangri-La on Saturday and Fulton on Sunday. On Long Island, Charlie Jarzombek equaled Bodine’s fete as he also went three for three as he took wins at Freeport on Friday, Islip on Saturday and Riverhead on Sunday. At Stafford, Bugsy Stevens won a Trenton qualifier. Ronnie Bouchard finished second and was awarded the spot. Stevens also won on Friday at Malta. Donnie Bunnell made it two in a row in Modified action at the Waterford Speedbowl. Ron Cote was the Grand American Late Model winner. At Monadnock, Dynamite Ollie Silva was the winner. George Summers recorded his seventh win of the year at Seekonk.
Forty five years ago in 1979, Stafford presented Modified Madness on Tuesday. Richie Evans and Maynard Troyer finished one-two in the 50-lap open comp event that drew 28 modifieds. Ronnie Bouchard made a run to the front but was hampered with a slipping clutch and was held to a third place finish. Rounding out the top five were Jerry Cook and Bugsy Stevens. Bouchard redeemed himself on Friday as he returned to Stafford and beat the pants off of Evans who had to settle for second. Bouchard continued his hot streak and went on to win at Seekonk on Saturday and again at Thompson on Sunday. Evans traveled to Islip on Saturday where he won a 150 lapper. A trip to Monadnock produced a DNF. Brian Ross was the Monadnock winner over Jerry Cook and Reggie Ruggiero. Other weekend winners included George Kent at Spencer and Shangri-La, Ruggiero at Riverside and Peter Schwartz at Westboro. Bob Potter won a 200 lapper at Waterford over Dick Ceravolo and it was also on this weekend that Tom Rosati, at 19 years of age, won the Oxford 250.
Forty years ago in 1984, Monadnock and New Egypt ran special events on Wednesday. Reggie Ruggiero won a 100 lapper at Monadnock while Jim Spencer beat out Richie Evans at New Egypt. The action switched to Star Speedway on Thursday where Evans took the top spot over Brett Bodine. Stafford rained out on Friday but at Spencer, Tom Druar won a 100 lap Race of Champions qualifier. Saturday action saw Dale Holdredge score a popular win at Waterford and at Riverside, Ruggiero was the top dog. Other weekend winners were Tony Siscone winning the Garden State 200 at Wall, Charlie Jarzombek taking a 75 lapper at Oswego and in Winston Cup action at Talledega it was Dale Earnhardt.
Thirty five years ago in 1989, the Modified Tour Series was at Stafford for a 125-lap event. Mike Stefanik took the win over Mike McLaughlin and Tom Bolles. Riverhead ran a Race of Champions qualifier on Saturday with invader, George Kent taking the win over McLaughlin. Sunday at Thompson, Jeff Barry was the SK modified winner.
Thirty years ago in 1994, the Modified Tour Series was at Riverside Park for a Wednesday event. Mario Fiore was without a driver and joined forces with Jerry Marquis for a one shot deal. Needless to say, the mighty No.44 found the fastest way around and Marquis won the show. Jeff Fuller finished second and was followed by Steve Park, Richie Gallup and Ed Kennedy. Thompson ran SK’s the same night with John Sneade taking the win over Frank Cardile. John Anderson won the Friday night SK modified feature at Stafford with Steve Chownnski, second. Bob Potter, driving with a broken wrist, finished third. Saturday night action at Waterford, Riverside and Riverhead rained out. In Winston Cup action at Talledega, Jim Spencer took the win over Bill Elliott.
Twenty five Years ago, in 1999, the Modified Tour was at Thompson on Thursday night. Tim Connolly started sixth, pitted for right side tires on lap 64 and took the lead which resulted in an eventual win on lap 90.Charlie Pasteryak finished second and was followed by Tony Hirschman, Rick Fuller and Chris Kopec. A packed house was on hand at Stafford on Friday night for the running of BGNN 150, which was won by Dennis Demers. Curt Brainard was the SK modified winner. Tucker Reynolds ruled the roost at Waterford despite the efforts of Dennis Gada and at Riverhead; Dan Jivenelli beat back the advances of Howie Brode. It was a good night for Ed Spiers as he took down the win at Riverside. Brad Hietalla finished second
Twenty years ago in 2004, the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour was at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon on Friday. The purse for this event was $151,203. Ted Christopher found himself at the top of the 47 car heap as he took the Busch Pole with a speed of 128.537 mph. John Blewett III was second fastest with a speed of 128.363 mph. Part time tour competitor Jan Leaty was third with rookie Kenny Barry, fourth. Rounding out the top five was Don Lia. Defending race winner Chuck Hossfeld qualified a distant 19th, a little over two miles per hour slower than the pole sitter did. Heavy rain on Friday afternoon forced NASCAR to reschedule the event to Saturday afternoon following the Busch Series and Busch North Series events.
The Saturday weather held and the Modified Siemens 100 was run. Since the advent of Stock Car racing in the late 1940’s there have been fathers and sons, fathers and grandsons and brothers and sisters racing against each other but last Saturday at Loudon identical twin brothers, Ted and Mike Christopher, in almost identical cars finished one-two in what had to be one of the greatest NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series event ever run. The Christopher’s drove Modifieds owned by Jim Galante. The Christopher’s moved into the top spots on lap 65 and outran a determined Mike Stefanik to the finish at lap 108.
The history-making event saw Ted Christopher jump out to take the lead at the start followed by John Blewett III and Jan Leaty. Reggie Ruggiero became the first casualty as he lost an engine on lap 6. The first of nine caution flags was waved on lap 10 when Wade Cole incurred a flat left front tire. Kenny Barry had moved into the third spot as Jan Leaty began to fade the victim of a slipping clutch. The caution period lasted until lap 18 before going back green. Barry took the lead away from Christopher but his time on the point was short lived as he lost control and spun on lap 19, bringing out the second caution. Blewett took the lead on the restart on lap 25 but could only hold off Christopher for one lap as the former New England Regional champion powered his way back into the lead. Christopher along with Blewett and Donnie Lia opened up a 15-car length lead under the green flag period that lasted until lap 35 when Lia got to lead one lap until Christopher took it back. The third caution flew on lap 37. Christopher and a good portion of the field pitted for tires. Lia and Blewett chose to stay on the track and led the restart on lap 42. Two laps later a mass tangle unfolded and collected among others, Richie Gallup, Ed Flemke, Charlie Pasteryak, Ted Christopher and Tom Baldwin. All except Baldwin and Gallup were able to restart on lap 51 with Todd Szegedy taking the lead. Lia took it back on lap 52 with Szegedy, Doug Coby and Tony Hirschman in tow. Gregg Shivers pounded the front stretch wall on lap 55 bringing out the fifth caution. Lia pitted on lap 57, giving the lead back to Szegedy. Szegedy led the restart on lap 62 with Coby running second and Hirschman, third. Mike Christopher, who started 17th in the 42-car field, broke into the top five with his brother Ted on his bumper. The Christopher brothers made a determined bid of high speed bump drafting as they raced their way into the lead on lap 64. The sixth caution flew on lap 65 when Coby came to a halt after losing an engine. Just before the caution the Christopher’s traded spots which put Ted in the lead. On the lap 72 restart Szegedy was third followed by Blewett, Hirschman, Eric Beers and Zack Sylvester. The action slowed on lap 79 when Ronnie Silk lost an engine on the backstretch, bringing out the seventh caution. The field went green on lap 82. By lap 85 Blewett had gotten by Szegedy but had nothing for the high flying Christophers. Debris on the track brought the eighth caution on lap 86. The green came back out on lap 90 with Mike Stefanik mustering a challenge to the leaders. Unsuccessful, Stefanik got shuffled out of the front pack. Blewett and Szegedy got together and wrecked on lap 99, bringing out the ninth and final caution which set the stage for a green-white-checkered finish. The final green flew on lap 106. The Christophers were not to be denied as they streaked one-two under the checkered flag. Stefanik finished third and was followed by Hirschman, Lia, Sylvester, Flemke, Rick Fuller, Ken Barry and Charlie Pasteryak. For their efforts, the Christophers pocketed $18,300 combined. Eddie Flemke continued as the Series point leader with a 42-point edge on Tony Hirschman. Jerry Marquis, Ted Christopher and Rick Fuller rounded out the top five.
The Busch North Series was also at Loudon. Thirty-five cars were on hand with Mike Olsen taking the pole position with a speed of 124.674 mph. Dale Quarterly took the win as 43,000 spectators looked on.
In Wednesday night Thunder at the Thompson Speedway hundreds of fans stood in line in close to 90-degree heat to get their autographs from Nextel Cup stars Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne. Kahne later took part in a match-exhibition race with Eric Berndt, Bo Gunning, Ted Christopher and Todd Ceravolo. In actual Sunoco-SK type modified competition Kerry Malone scored his second win of the season in a fast paced event that went non-stop from pole to checker. Malone started fourth and took the lead from Richard Savory on lap 2. The racing was intense as Bert Marvin glued himself to Malone’s bumper for almost the entire distance. Marvin tried on numerous occasions to make a pass but Malone had the power to hold him off. With seven laps to go Marvin made a bonsai move which almost cost him the runner-up spot but managed to gather it in so as to maintain his position. Ted Christopher, who started seventh, had nothing for the front runners and finished third. Jeff Malave and Todd Ceravolo rounded out the top five. In Pro Stock competition the old adage that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree came true as all one had to do was watch David Berghman in action. Berghman grew up in the shadow of his famous dad, 3-time NASCAR Modified Champion Carl “Bugsy” Stevens. Now retired, Stevens sits proud as a peacock watching his son perform as he did in years gone by. Berghman came from a tenth starting spot to fourth in four laps and by lap eight was glued to leader Chuck Docherty. Berghman, who operates DB Racecar Fabrication, had his tires fade as Norm Wrenn moved into the second spot. Docherty, who drives for Rollie Linblad, was headed for the win until being accidentally struck and spun by Wrenn as they came off the fourth turn and headed for the checkered flag. Wrenn took the win with Berghman second. Docherty, who eventually hit the infield wall, finished third as he spun out of control. Wrenn apologized in victory lane as he was booed loudly by the near-capacity crowd. In other action, Charles Bailey III reaped the reward of winning the Late Model feature when Larry Barnett had the miss-fortune of having his transmission implode while he was in the lead. Scott Sundeen won the Limited Sportsman feature and Randy Jurcik was victorious in Mini-Stock action. Thompson switches back to Thursday night this week.
Heavy rain at Stafford forced the Arute Family to pull the plug on the nights racing. Ted Christopher with six wins in 12 starts led the point standings with a 54-point edge over defending SK-Modified champion Kerry Malone. Christopher also leads the New England Region of the Dodge Weekly Racing Series. Although winless, Malone has six top five’s in 13 starts and has a four point lead over Willie Hardie. Todd Owen and James Civali round out the top five.
The SK-Modifieds were scheduled for a night off at the Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday. Defending five-time champion Dennis Gada, with one win in 15 starts held a slim two point lead over Ed Reed Jr. Reed, with two wins, leads Chris Pasteryak by 42 points. Tom Fox and Ron Yuhas Jr. rounded out the top five. A scheduled program at the shoreline oval was rained out.
The Nextel Cup and the Busch Racing Series divisions of NASCAR were at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, NH. Kurt Busch outran Jeff Gordon to take the Nextel Cup event and Matt Kenseth cruised to a win in the Saturday Busch Racing Series event.
The New York Times reported that the International Speedway Corporation had offered to pay $100 million for land on Staten Island in New York City where they hoped to build an 80,000 seat-3/4 mile speedway. The land in question was a former oil tank farm owned by GATX. If, in fact, this proposed speedway gets built it will all but put the proposed speedway in Plainfield, Connecticut on the “Never Happened” list.
Fifteen years ago in 2009, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour continued on “Summer Break before heading for the Riverhead Raceway. Ted Christopher continued to lead the point standings with a 17-point cushion over Todd Szegedy. Thirty-nine points behind Szegedy was Don Lia. Mike Stefanik and Ryan Preece who rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Rowan Pennink, Ron Silk, Jimmy Blewett, Woody Pitkat and Ed Flemke, Jr.
It was hinted that The Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, NY could be returning to its roots as an asphalt speedway if local officials have their way. The Malta oval was a mecca for NASCAR Modified racing from 1966 to 1974. The best in the business from New York and New England would converge every Friday night for some of the best competition ever seen. Originally built as an asphalt speedway, the speedway became a dirt track in the late 70’s.
The Thompson Speedway management took the bull by the horns as they created the position of “Competition Director” and hired Mike Chapman to fill that position. His job would be that of a cop as he would be making judgment calls during the running of the weekly events at the northeast Connecticut oval. NASCAR Chief Steward Richard Brooks would remain in his position and would focus more on the technical end of the racing programs. In recent weeks Brooks had preached and threatened competitors for weeks, especially to those in the Sunoco (SK type) Modifieds. The deliberate wrecking and rough riding continued with no action taken. It would be Chapman’s job to step on those who deliberately wreck or spin other competitors.
As rain began to fall Chapman held his first drivers meeting and laid down the law and announced that he wasn’t there to make friends. Chapman stated that he would not tolerate the beating and banging that has become the norm, especially in the Modifieds. One who deliberately takes out the leader goes to the back or to the pits. One who drives like a windshield wiper goes to the back and one who deliberately crashes into another competitor will be dealt with. Chapman talks the talk, hopefully he will walk the walk!
In other news from Thompson, the speedway had become a part of a great new service titled “Rained-Out.com”. Rained-Out.com sends notifications of cancellations or delays to mobile phones, pagers, blackberries or e-mails. The service was free for member tracks or users.
Thursday Night Thunder action at the Thompson Speedway was rained out as over four inches of rain fell on Thursday night into Friday morning.
The 6th Annual CARQUEST SK 150 was on tap at the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night. Frank Ruocco came up the big winner, as he led the final 130-laps to score his first SK Modified feature victory of the 2009 season. In other NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action, Dillon Moltz took down his fourth win of the 2009 season in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Brit Andersen took his fourth win of the 2009 season in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Norm Sears took his first career Limited Late Model feature win in 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Albert Saunders became the first repeat DARE Stock feature winner of the 2009 season in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature. Unofficial SK Modified third place finisher Tom Bolles’ car was found to exceed the maximum left side weight percentage allowed and he was penalized from his finishing position of third place to the last place finishing position of 27th place.
The racing action at Waterford Speedbowl took on a different look as the Saturday divisions were schedule to race on both Wednesday and Saturday. Corey Hutchings grabbed his first open-wheel win at the ‘Bowl, holding off the competition in a fiercely competitive SK Modified event. Bruce Thomas Jr. prevailed late to win the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model event, while it was Walt Hovey Jr taking the Street Stock win. Defending Norwich Bulletin Mini Stock champion Ken Cassidy Jr. returned to Victory Lane, as did Ryan Morgan in Legends Car action.
With the win, Hutchings had now captured victories in three of the Speedbowl’s four NASCAR divisions. He was a past Street Stock and Late Model track champion.
The regular divisions returned on Saturday night and it was high tide at the shoreline oval. The four inches of rain that fell on the Thompson also put the Speedbowl under water. The infield was finally drained and the racing went on as planned. Because of delays qualifying heat events were eliminated.
There two first time winners this season reaching victory lane as Jeff Pearl won the SK Modified race while Adam Cantor took his first NEMA Midget event of the year. Bruce Thomas Jr. returned to victory lane in the Late Models, and Ed Puleo and Kyle James repeated in the Street Stock and Mini Stock races.
Thomas, the two-time defending Late Model division champion, wracked up his ninth victory in 12 events this year. Tim Jordan, who dogged Thomas until the final lap crashed into the turn three wall. A video indicated that Jordan over drove and lost control. After viewing the video Jordan was quoted on the Jeff Pearl.com website as saying “I hit the wall by misjudging. Just wanted to let the racing community know that. I screwed up.”
In Sprint Cup action, Jimmie Johnson cashed in on the most expensive speeding ticket in NASCAR history, grabbing an improbable third victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when a penalty to Juan Pablo Montoya blew the race wide open. In a performance that mirrored his dominating Indianapolis 500 victory nine years ago, Montoya was in cruise control as he led 116 laps and built a 5-second lead over the competition. Then NASCAR flagged him for speeding on a routine pit stop with 35 laps remaining, and the driver became unglued.
The penalty took him out of contention and relegated him to an 11th-place finish. Montoya, who had moved as high as sixth in the Sprint Cup standings as he ran out front, instead lost a spot and is now 10th in the race for the Chase for the championship. The difference in his paycheck was severe: Johnson earned $448,001 for the victory, while Montoya’s share of the purse was knocked down to $224,048. Mark Martin finished second with Tony Stewart, third.
In Nationwide Series racing at the O’Reilley Raceway Park, Carl Edwards started 42nd out of 43 drivers because he spent the day at Brickyard 400 qualifying and got into the Saturday night race on owner points took the win. He moved up 15 spots by the end of the fourth lap, and took the lead for good in lap 179.Kyle Busch, who started 41st and qualified because of owner points, finished second.
Ten years ago in 2014, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series was at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. for the Whelen All-Star Shootout on Friday and the Sunoco 100 on Saturday.
In the Friday All-Star Shootout Ryan Newman took the win over Justin Bonsignore and Mike Stefanik. Ron Silk and Bobby Santos rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Ryan Preece, Chuck Hossfeld, Todd Szegedy, Ted Christopher and JR Bertuccio. In a lame brain move, NASCAR pulled the plug on the event after 37 laps when it reached its 30-minute time limit. Silk held the lead over Patrick Emerling and Ryan Preece into the halfway break at Lap 20. A random draw determined a 10-car invert and put Doug Coby and Bonsignore on the front row, with Newman restarting fifth. The race featured six official lead changes and Newman was credited with leading the final 16 laps.
A nasty crash eliminated Donnie Lia and Patrick Emmerling on Lap 27. Emerling and Lia make contact and spun in turn four. A lot of damage was inflicted to both cars.
Bobby Santos scored his first win at Loudon as he won the Sunoco 100 in fitting style. In a race that featured multiple lead changes on nearly every lap, 35 official lead changes, the Franklin, Mass., driver made just one pass for the lead and led just one lap Saturday. Santos drove his No. 44 Tinio Racing/ImperialCars.com Chevrolet by Ted Christopher in Turn 4 of the last lap en route to taking the win.
It was Santos’ 13th career win but first in 16 career starts at the 1.058-mile oval. Doug Coby also got by Christopher and finished second by just .065 seconds. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman was fourth and NASCAR Next driver Ryan Preece came home fifth. The top five cars finished within three-tenths of a second of the leader. Justin Bonsignore finished sixth, followed by Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Tommy Barrett Jr., NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour points leader Andy Seuss, Ron Silk and Chuck Hossfeld.
Silk, who won the Coors Light Pole Award in qualifying Saturday morning, led a race-high 36 laps. Preece led 30 laps and Christopher 28. The 36 lead changes broke the Whelen Modified Tour all-time race record of 30, also at Loudon on July 7, 2000. The race went into overtime, to a total of 110 laps, with two green-white-checkered finishes following late race cautions. The race had seven caution periods for 30 total laps. During the first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, Christopher and Newman swapped the front spot three times within the lap on the restart but a wreck by Donny Lia brought out the caution flag before the white flag was show. On the ensuing restart, Christopher initially got away before Santos and Co. chased him down on the final lap.
There were seven caution flags for 30 laps. Fifteen of the original 30 starters finished on the lead lap. Among those who ran into misfortune was Rowan Pennink who wrecked on lap 102, ending his day in 17th spot. Donnie Lia wrecked his second car in two days on lap 101 and ended up 18th. Eric Goodale who also wrecked twice on the weekend had his day end on lap 97 in 19th spot. Patrick Emmerling was also a crash victim as he completed only 94 laps and ended up in 20th. Todd Szegedy was in contention for the win when his engine expired on lap 89 finishing his day in 22nd spot. Glen Reen finished 23rd after being involved in an accident on lap 88. JR Bertuccio was also an accident victim as he was swept up on lap 81 which placed him in 24th spot. Woody Pitkat and Ken Heagy finished 25th and 26th with blown engines while Ron Yuhas Jrfinished 27th with a blown transmission. Melissa Fifield qualified 11.664 mph off the pole speed After she completed 24 laps it was felt in her best interest that she call it a day, finishing 29th. Finishing dead last was Mike Stefanik who dropped out on lap 22 with mechanical problems.
Santos had now closed to within two points of Coby for the championship lead with his third win in six races. Christopher was eight points behind Santos and Bonsignore was two points further back. Silk completes the top five, one point of defending tour champion Preece.
In action at the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night, Ryan Preece, who had made a hasty trip from Loudon, scored his fourth win of the season by the process of elimination and being in the right place at the right time. Preece inherited the lead in the closing laps after Keith Rocco and Ron Williams wrecked as they fought for the lead followed by a wreck between Doug Coby and Dan Avery who also wrecked as they fought for the lead. Ted Christopher finished second with Sean Foster, third. Woody Pitkat, and Tom Bolles rounded out the top five.
Other Friday night winners at Stafford were Adam Gray in the Late Model feature, Jeremy Sorel in the SK Light Modified feature, Albert Saunders in the Limited Late Model feature, Alexandra Fearn in the DARE Stock feature, and Brendon Bock in the Legend Cars feature.
In NASCAR Modified action at the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island Kyle Elwood to his second win of the season as he bested a ten car starting field.
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action at the Waterford Speedbowl took a week off as the track gave way to Sailfest in New London. Racing action at the shoreline oval resumes this coming Saturday.
In Modified racing in the Southland, the effects of the full moon were evident at the Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday night. Dean Ward recorded his first modified win in close to two years as the fireworks went off behind him. Burt Myers, who started in 19th place because of the blind draw to determine the starting order, was making a big run to the front, running fifth on lap 95, when Junior Miller came calling. Perhaps it was the full moon — or, more likely the grudge Burt Myers and Miller have carried over from previous races — but the two drivers soon tangled. After their initial wreck, the two drivers played a game of catch me if you can all over the infield before Miller ducked into the pits; he didn’t return to the race. Myers also went to the pits to get a flat tire fixed and he came back out to finish the race. Jason Myers finished second. A capacity crowd showed its displeasure with Burt Myers as he was greeted with a shower of bottles and cans from the grandstand when he returned to the track from the pit area. Myers ended up 13th .
In NASCAR Sprint Cup action at Loudon, NH, Brad Keselowski led a race-high 137 of 305 laps in the Camping World RV Sales 301, his second victory of the weekend. The Rochester Hills, Mich. native also won Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at NHMS. Ryan Preece finished 14th in the Nationwide Series event driving for Tom Baldwin Racing.
Five years ago in 2019, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series headed for the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The All-Star Shootout was scheduled for Friday, July 19 and the ninth race of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was scheduled for Saturday, July 20. Near record heat in the mid 90s greeted fans and competitors. There were 41, including three duplicates, modifieds on hand. Matt Swanson is itching to visit Victory Lane, and he’s hoping he can do it on the biggest stage the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour offers.
Matt Swanson, driving the Boehler family’s Ole Blu, was fastest in the only practice session of the weekend for Whelen Modified Tour teams on Friday morning. Swanson set his fast time of 28.479 seconds (133.741 mph). Following Swanson on the speed chart was Justin Bonsignore, Patrick Emerling, Chase Dowling and Blake Barney. Making his Whelen Modified debut was Jacob Perry. In his first time out he out qualified Melisa Fifield and Wade Cole by 2 mph.
Patrick Emerling edged two other NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour veterans in a three-wide finish to win the sixth annual All-Star Shootout on Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Emerling became the sixth different winner of the non-points event in its six-year history and scored his first win at the ‘Magic Mile’.
The 26-year-old had come close to winning in the Granite State before, but nothing compares to holding the checkered flag at NHMS. His margin of victory was a mere .022 seconds. Going into turn three on the final lap, Emerling shot to the bottom of Bobby Santos III and pulled ahead, but Santos wasn’t about to give up. He crossed under Emerling, and ran wheel to wheel down the front stretch, while defending series champion Justin Bonsignore cut to the bottom of both of them and made it three-wide coming down the frontstretch. Santos, making his first start in the Whelen Midifieds in 2019, was pinch hitting for injured Dave Sapienza.
Emerling led just four of the 35 laps. Bonsignore ended up third, just .067 seconds back, while Jon McKennedy and Ron Silk rounded out the top five. Craig Lutz, who started from the pole and led 15 laps, finished sixth. Ryan Newman, Timmy Solomito, Jimmy Blewett and Tommy Catalano completed the top 10.
Sixteen of the 20 starters finished on the lead lap. The All-Star Shootout will air on NBC Sports Net on Thursday, July 25, at 6 p.m.
Ron Silk picked up his third career victory at the ‘Magic Mile’ in the Eastern Propane & Oil 100 on Saturday, outlasting a field of 38 drivers on the biggest stage of modified racing. It was the third career victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for Silk, and his first at the 1.058-mile since 2011. He beat Doug Coby on what turned out to be the final restart. On an overtime restart, a hard crash in turn one involving Tyler Rypkema caused severe damage to the SAFER Barrier. With the repair time estimated at around 25 minutes and the Xfinity Series race broadcast window approaching, NASCAR made the decision to call the race and give Ron Silk, the leader, the victory. It was the second win of the season for the former series champion and his 12th career.
Silk didn’t lead a lap until the final stages. Following a caution with just 20 laps remaining, Silk chased the back bumper of Eric Goodale, before taking the lead from him on lap 85. From there, he never relinquished the top spot, while drivers jostled for position in the draft behind him.
The field lined up for a green-white-checkered finish on lap 101, but a quick crash in turn one slowed the field again. While safety crews went to work on the wall, the race was deemed complete in overtime. Silk took the checkered flag uder caution, seven laps after the scheduled distance.
“We raced really hard the whole day,” Silk said. “There was certainly no guarantee that I would have won. But we were leading at the right time today. Bummer circumstances that we didn’t get to finish (under green).”
Coby crossed the line second, while Chase Dowling finished third. Jon McKennedy, who earned his first Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award in qualifying, led 19 laps and finished fourth. Matt Swanson was fifth. Eric Goodale was sixth, followed by Justin Bonsignore, Rob Summers, Tommy Catalano and Craig Lutz.
There were ten cautions for 45 of the 107 laps run. Because of the intense heat less than 1000 fans were in the grandstand. Those who were there were irate because the race didn’t finish under green. In a statement from NASCAR, “Due to extensive wall repair required after an incident in turn 1 during the closing laps, and the requirements associated with preparing the track for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race ended under caution in NASCAR Overtime.”
Twenty two of the original thirty eight starters were running at the finish. Among those who failed to finish were Jacob Perry who crashed on lap 2, Walter Sutcliff who crashed on lap 3, Calvin Carroll who crashed after completing 19 laps, Todd Cooper who dropped out after completing 20 laps with mechanical issues, Woody Pitkat dropped out after completing 26 laps because of a crash, Andrew Molleur made it 27 laps before crashing, Timmy Catalano went 41 laps before crashing out, Joey Mucciacciaro lost an engine after completing 50 laps, Anthony Nocella and JB Fortin crashed in turn 3 on lap 60, Patrick Emerling crashed on the front stretch on lap 70, Bryan Dauzat crashed in turn three on lap 80, Melissa Fifield completed 85 laps before giving up, Max Zachem and Bobby Santos III were eliminated after Santos was punted by Justin Bonsignore on lap 96 and Tyler Rypkema brought out the final caution on lap 101 after hitting the wall in turn 1.
The Eastern Propane & Oil 100 will air on NBCSN on Wednesday, July 31, at 6 p.m. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to the track after a week off on Friday, August 2 at Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut.
On the east end of Long Island, Tom Rogers Jr. of Riverhead ended a two month absence from NASCAR Modified victory lane at Riverhead Raceway Saturday night when he won the 50-lap feature event for his 54th career win on a hot sultry night that saw temperatures hover in the low to mid 90’s all afternoon and evening. It was Tom’s second win of the 2019 season. John Baker once again found himself the runner-up at the finish, “this is our 4th second place this year, we are getting there and soon we’ll be over there” Baker said glancing over at victory lane after exiting his Staria Automotive Chevy. Kyle Soper was third in the Eastport Feeds Chevy while John Beatty ck and Dylan Slepian rounded out the top five.
At the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night Ronnie Williams continued his winning ways taking the SK Modified® feature after a thrilling last lap pass on the previous week’s winner Stephen Kopcik, Tom Fearn continued his dominance in the Late Model division with his 3rd consecutive win, Bryan Narducci won for the third consecutive week in the SK Light feature, Alexandra Fearn was a winner for the 2nd consecutive week in the Limited Late Model feature, and Jason Lafayette scored his second win of the season in the Street Stock feature.
In the 40 lapper for the SK Modifieds. Cory DiMatteo and Mike Christopher Jr were out front in the closing laps with Troy Talman and David Arute behind them. Mike Christopher was slowly starting to reel DiMatteo in and with 9 laps to go the margin between the two leaders was one second. Joey Cipriano’s car appeared to lose an engine to bring the caution out with 36 laps complete and set up a four lap sprint to the finish.
DiMatteo took the lead on the restart with Christopher behind him in second. As the cars hit turn 3, the two leaders touched and spun, collecting multiple cars behind them to bring the caution back out with 36 laps complete. This put Williams into the lead for the restart with Michael Gervais in second. The second row would be Stephen Kopcik and Keith Rocco with Marcello Rufrano and Dan Wesson in the third row.
Williams took the lead on the restart with Kopcik behind him in second. Gervais was third with Rocco fourth and Wesson fifth. Williams and Kopcik touched wheels on lap-38 but kept going while Wesson made a strong move to the inside of Rocco to move up to fourth. Kopcik took the lead coming to the white flag lap but Williams made a power move going into turn 3 to retake the lead and he led Kopcik to the finish line in a thrilling finish. Gervais finished third with Wesson and Rocco rounding out the top-5.
In the SK Lite 20 lapper, Narducci started 16th.
Down in the southland at the Bowman Gray Stadium Burt Myers continued his winning ways. Myers, who started slowly this season, picked up his third victory of the season Saturday in the first 25-lap Modified race. He started on the pole and was able to hold off Jonathan Brown for the win. Myers had a comfortable lead, but there was a caution on lap 18, which forced a seven-lap shootout.
In NASCAR Cup series racing at Loudon, NH, Kevin Harvick crossed the finish line 0.210 seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin on Sunday. Harvick gave Hamlin a late opening when he had trouble navigating a group of cars that were off the lead lap. After nearly catching him on the back stretch, Hamlin made another run through the final two turns but couldn’t regain the lead. Erik Jones was third, and Ryan Blaney fourth.
Christopher Bell moved into a tie for the NASCAR Xfinity Series victory lead with five, dominating Saturday in hot conditions at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Bell led 186 of the 200 laps in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota — losing the lead only when he pitted on Lap 33 — and finished more than four seconds ahead of Cole Custer.
Last year, 2023,
The long awaited 2023 SRX Series season opened on Thursday, July 13 at the Stafford Speedway. It marked the third consecutive year the series ran at Stafford and had sold out. The series will run for six consecutive Thursday nights at 9:00pm, with all events broadcast on ESPN. The division was supposed to make its first appearance at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, VT this coming Thursday July 20 but had to be scrubbed as the state of Vermont had severe water damage from floods. Other venues include Motor Mile Speedway in Fairlawn, Va (July 27), Berlin Raceway in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Aug. 3), Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Oh. (Aug. 10) and Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. (Aug. 17).
Ken Schrader joins a full-time lineup that already includes Marco Andretti, Hallie Deegan, Brad Keselowski, Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart and Paul Tracy.
All dressed up with newly painted walls and track lines Stafford played host to the SRX series with an absolute full house, over 10,000 fans. On a somewhat threatening night as thunderstorms were closing in. Denny Hamlin scored a dominating victory with rain and lightning in the area cutting the race short from the 75 scheduled laps to 58 laps. Hamlin took the lead on the lap-45 restart with Clint Bowyer in second. Ryan Newman moved into third with Paul Tracy fourth and Marco Andretti in fifth. Hallie Deegan took over fifth place from Andretti on lap-48 while Neman took second from Bowyer on lap-51 as Hamlin continued to lead the race. Just as Newman had caught Hamlin, the caution came out with 56 laps complete as rain began to fall with lightning off in the distance. The cars were shown the white flag on lap-57 and Hamlin took the checkered flag under caution on lap-58 at 10:42pm to score the victory in the opening round of the 2023 SRX Series. Newman finished second with Bowyer, Tracy, and Deegan rounding out the top-5. In a somewhat surprise move The SRX series will return to Stafford Speedway this coming Thursday, July 20th, 2023. The event has been moved from Thunder Road Speedbowl in Vermont due to flooding throughout the region. It has been announced that RYAN PREECE will take on the Superstars. The SK Lights will serve as the preliminary event..
Stafford Speedway also hosted the 9th race of the season for its SK Modified® division as part of the Superstar Racing Experience. Keith Rocco took control of the race just after the halfway point and then drove away from the field to make it two in a row at Stafford. The win also took Rocco over the top to a career overall total of 300 wins which also include 80 wins at Stafford, 154 victories at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl, and 71 at the Thompson Speedway. Starting 14th, Rocco moved into the lead on lap 21. Once in the lead he inched away and at the checker had a little over 2 second lead.at the finish. Jimmy Blewett was an early contender for the win as he passed Anthony Bello for the lead on lap 18. One lap later Bello took it back.
Rocco followed Blewett by Bello to move into second and he then took the lead from Blewett on lap-22. This move brought Mikey Flynn up to second and Todd Owen third with Blewett falling back to fourth place. Blewett then went back by Owen to take over third place on lap-25 while Rocco was starting to stretch out his lead over Flynn. Mike Christopher Jr tagged Blewett in turn 4 on lap-26 with Blewett getting sideways and falling back to sixteenth place. With 10 laps to go, Rocco continued to lead with Flynn, Owen, Christopher, Cory DiMatteo, Bello, Michael Gervais, Anthony Flannery, Noah Korner, and Dylan Kopec making up the top-10. With 2 laps to go, Christopher had worked his way to the inside of Owen for third while Rocco was still comfortably in the lead with Flynn in second. Rocco led the field to the checkered flag to pick up his second consecutive SK Modified® win of the 2023 season. Flynn finished second while Christopher cleared Owen on the last lap of the race to take third and DiMatteo came home in fifth place. Blewett was able to recover somewhat as he ended up 13th.
Friday night’s entire event at Stafford was cancelled due to impending bad weather in the area.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour traveled to Loudon, NH for the premier event of the WMT season. Thirty cars were entered. After a slow pit stop with 25 laps to go sent the three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion and pole sitter Justin Bonsignore back to 10th, he battled his way through the field and found himself slugging it out with Doug Coby and Ron Silk in the closing laps for the race win. On the final corner, Bonsignore dove low to block Silk and drifted back high to cover Coby, who attempted a cross-over move. Holding firm on the outside of Coby, Bonsignore beat his rival to the finish line in a near-photo finish.
It was just past 6pm when the field took the green as weather was closing in. Bonsignore who led from the start had a healthy on Tyler Rypkema lead when rain moved in and halted the event at lap 69. After a one hour delay the race was restarted. Prior to the green being displayed just about all the lead lap cars pitted for fuel and or tires. Bonsignore’s crew appeared to have bungled the pit stop as he rejoined the race in tenth spot.
The green was displayed on lap 78. Silk and Coby swapped the lead while Bonsignore was on the move. The second caution was displayed on lap 82 when Bobby Santos hit the turn one wall. The field went back to green on lap 85 with Silk taking the lead in turn 2 and Coby taking the lead in turn 3. By lap 95 Bonsignore had worked his way into the second spot and after swapping the lead with Coby took the lead. Coming off the fourth turn on the final lap saw a side by side drag race to the finish with Bonsignore winning by inches. Coby finished second and was followed by Silk, Austin Beers and Patrick Emmerling. Sixth thru tenth included Anthony Sesely, Corey LaJoie, Matt Swanson, Andy Seuss and Jake Johnson.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour takes a couple weeks off before returning to action Saturday, July 29 for the Clash at Claremont 150 at New Hampshire’s Claremont Motorsports Park. The race will start at 8:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on FloRacing.
Down on the Connecticut shoreline at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl Cory DiMatteo was the SK Modified winner. Andrew Molleur, Eric Berndt and Todd Owen followed.
The Modifieds had the week off at Riverhead
The Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina ran twin 25’s for their Modifieds. Jason Myers won the opener while his brother Burt was not as fortunate as he was collected on the opening lap and missed the restart while his crew repaired his leaking radiator. Chris Fleming won the second 25 lapper.
In NASCAR cup action at Loudon Martin Truex Jr. had led more than 900 laps without claiming any victory hardware in 29 previous starts at the 1.058-mile oval. However, the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota left little doubt about securing that career-first win in Monday’s rain-delayed Crayon 301 at the track, leading a dominating 254 of the 301 laps.The impressive work was the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion’s third victory of the season – and second this year in a rain-delayed Monday race (also Dover, Delaware). He survived three restarts in the final 24 laps and ultimately held off one of the local favorites, Connecticut driver Joey Logano, across the finish line by a slight 0.394 seconds.Ryan Preece finished 28th.
Following the June 8th NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Wall Stadium Speedway NASCAR got tough on the action of two drivers, the following penalties were issued:
Driver JB Fortin of the No. 34 JB Fortin Racing team entry was fined $5,000; must attend and complete Anger Management Training as determined by NASCAR; and is indefinitely suspended from NASCAR and any NASCAR-sanctioned events until the fine is paid and successful completion of Anger Management Training has occurred. Upon reinstatement, the member will be placed under probation for one year. The rule infraction is as follows: 12-8.1 Member Conduct Guidelines B. 1. Disparaging the sport and/or NASCAR’s leadership; 2. Verbal abuse of a NASCAR Official, media members, fans, etc.; C. 1. Physical confrontation with a NASCAR Official, media members, fans, etc.; 2. Member-to-Member confrontation(s) with physical violence and other violent manifestations such as significant threat(s) and/or abuse and/or endangerment; E.1. Actions by a NASCAR Member that NASCAR finds to be detrimental to stock car racing or NASCAR.
Team member Amber Fortin of the No. 34 JB Fortin Racing team entry was fined $2,500; must attend and complete Anger Management Training as determined by NASCAR; and is indefinitely suspended from NASCAR and any NASCAR-sanctioned events until the fine is paid and successful completion of Anger Management Training has occurred. Upon reinstatement, the member will be placed under probation for one year. Team members Nicole Fortin and John Fortin of the No. 34 JB Fortin Racing team entry were each fined $1,000 and are indefinitely suspended from NASCAR and any NASCAR-sanctioned events until the fine is paid. Upon reinstatement, each member will be placed under probation until December 31, 2023. They violated 12-8.1 Member Conduct Guidelines: 1. Disparaging the sport and/or NASCAR’s leadership; 2. Verbal abuse of a NASCAR Official, media members, fans, etc.;
Driver Max Zachem of the No. 26 Lakeland Avenue Landscape Supply team entry has been fined $1,000 for intentionally damaging the No. 34 entry while under caution on Lap 139. 3. Intentionally damaging another vehicle under yellow or red flag conditions or on pit road with no one around. Additionally, a post-race time/lap penalty was assessed to the No. 26 per the rule listed below, reverting his finish to Lap 139. The No. 26 was placed behind the No. 34 in the finishing order and is now scored as finishing 20th.
Fortin told RaceDayCt that he is not going to anger management and does not plan on paying any fines. In other words, he and his race team are stepping back from the sport.
Congratulations on the 20th year anniversary of the Pronyne Motorsports Museum! This is a remarkable milestone that deserves to be celebrated. Over the past two decades, the museum has undoubtedly become a hub for racing enthusiasts, showcasing the rich history and thrilling experiences of auto racing.
Visitors have had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of racing, exploring the evolution of race cars, the achievements of legendary drivers, and the adrenaline-pumping moments that have defined the sport. The museum has not only preserved the heritage of auto racing but also educated and inspired countless individuals, fostering a deep appreciation for this exhilarating sport.
In some sad news, Area Auto Racing News, the nations No.1 Auto Racing Trade Paper announced that Daytona’s Living Legends of Auto Racing museum will be closing at the end of October. The museum is located in the Sunshine Mall in South Daytona. A severe lack of interest is the main reason for the closure.
In 1967 the Stafford Motor Speedway was paved. The NASCAR Modifieds were the headline division. For 20 years thru 1986 Stafford would host and provide competition from the best in the busines from throughout New England, New York State, Long Island and from the south. Names like Eddie Flemke, Bugsy Stevens, Fred DeSarro, Reggie Ruggerio, Ray Miller, Richie Evans, Maynard Troyer, Geoff Bodine, Charlie Jarzobeck, Greg Sacks, Wayne Anderson, Jamie Tomaino, Satch Worley and Ray Hendrick would be in the line-up and would record victories.
The all new book, The Modified Years At Stafford, by the Grace of God and 600 hp, is gaining interest and has become a must have in race fans and competitors library. Race by Race, Year by Year, it’s all there. Read all about it! Books are now available on Amazon.com and Coastal 181 (877-907-8181 toll free) and are available thru Stafford’s web site in their store. Order yours now. Makes a great gift!
With the cooperation of the Arute family another book has been published with pictures and biographies of the 50 Greatest Drivers at Stafford.
The Stafford Motor Speedway had become the epicenter of NASCAR Modified racing in the northeast by the late 1980’s. From its dirt beginnings to its lightning-fast asphalt, Stafford had become the toughest and most gratifying track to score a victory. The Arute family which has owned and guided the destiny of the facility commissioned their thousands of loyal fans to name their favorite drivers. In alphabetical order so as not to offend anyone:
Tom Baldwin, Gene Bergin, Brett Bodine, Geoff Bodine, Ken Bouchard, Ron Bouchard, Mario “Fats” Caruso, Rene Charland, Ted Christopher, Leo Cleary, Tim Connolly, Jerry Cook, Corky Cookman, Pete Corey, Fred DeSarro, Richie Evans, Mike Ewanitsko, Ed Flemke, Sr., Jeff Fuller, Rick Fuller, Ernie Gahan, Bill Greco, Bo Gunning, Ray Hendrick, George “Moose” Hewitt, Tony Hirschman, George Janoski, Charlie Jarzombek, George Kent, Buddy Krebs, Randy LaJoie, Jan Leaty, Jerry Marquis, Mike McLaughlin, Ray Miller, Steve Park, Bob Polverari, Bob Potter, Brian Ross, John “Reggie” Ruggiero, Greg Sacks, Ollie Silva, “Wild” Bill Slater, Jimmy Spencer, Mike Stefanik, Carl “Bugsy” Stevens, George Summers, Jamie “The Jet” Tomaino, Maynard Troyer and Satch Worley.
Books are priced at $17.95 each and be purchased at the track at the Novelty Booth or at the Stafford Motor Speedway on line store. Books are also available at Amazon.com and at Coastal181 (877-907-8181).
