Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series traveled to the Lancaster Speedway in western New York state near Buffalo on Saturday.
The event drew 19 cars and a full house crowd.
Heavy rain blanketed the speedway for most of the day. No practice or qualifying was permitted. Line up for the event was based on owner points as per the rule book. When the green finally dropped numerous wet spots were observed and competitors were forced to deal with it.
The only two drivers to win a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at the Lancaster Motorplex fittingly placed first and second in Saturday’s Nu-Way Auto Parts 150.
Austin Beers was the one who prevailed, utilizing strategy during a caution-filled race to gain valuable track position and hold off Patrick Emerling to secure the victory. Not only did Beers defend his triumph at Lancaster from 2023, he also secured his first victory of the 2024 season.
Finally returning to Victory Lane required patience from Beers. Cautions plagued the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150, creating opportunities for diverging pit strategies, with Beers choosing to stay out alongside his Mud Lane neighbor Matt Hirschman following a caution on Lap 51. Beers managed to take the lead from Hirschman immediately after the restart, but would have to enter pit road during the next caution flag.
A couple more cautions shifted the strategy back in Beers’ favor after he inherited the top spot when Justin Bonsignore and others came to pit road for tires and adjustments.
A charging Bonsignore was not Beers’ most paramount concern during the closing laps. Emerling, who was on the same strategy, tried vigorously to find a pathway to the lead, which involved fending off Bonsignore after being briefly passed by him. Emerling’s determination did not yield him an overdue first victory driving for team owner Rich Gautreau. Having a Lancaster NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win on his resume gave Emerling confidence, but he commended Beers for driving efficiently enough to keep him in his rearview mirror.
“[Beers] was rotating a little bit better,” Emerling said. “There were a couple of little mistakes we could almost capitalize on, but the whole Fleetworks team did an excellent job today. This was our first time here as a team and we were second-best. We’ve been having opportunities to win week-in and week-out lately.” Beers admitted it was difficult to play defense against Emerling. A line of rain showers that impacted Lancaster earlier in the day left behind several treacherous spots on the track, which forced Beers to stay vigilant while trying to maintain the lead.
“It was really tricky down in turns one and two with the weepers and the water,” Beers said. “I’d get free there and have to gather it in. That’s where Patrick would catch up to me, but he ran me really well. It was a really fun race.” Justin Bonsignore was also very critical of the water on the track.
Justin Bonsignore trimmed the margin between himself and Ron Silk in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour point standings to a single point with a third-place finish. Following him in the top five were Hirschman and Tommy Catalano. Craig Lutz, Andy Jankowiak, Jacob Lutz, Jake Johnson and Silk made up the rest of the top 10 finishers. Silk, who entered the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour points leader, lost track position following a late spin.
There were 12 caution periods for 59 laps which slowed the pace. The first caution was for local runner Andrew Spurback who spun with no damage. The second caution was on lap 8 for another local, Bob Reis who spun. The third caution was for Spurback who spun again.
The fourth caution was for Kyle Rypkema who grazed the wall on lap 39. The fifth caution on lap 51 was for Reis who spun again. The sixth caution flew on lap 80 when Patrick Emerling hit the car of Bob Reis in turn three. The seventh caution flew on lap 88 when Ron Silk hit the car of Bob Reis. The eighth caution flew for Jake Lutz who spun in turn two after being hit by Austin Beers.
The ninth caution flew when Silk and Andy Jankowiac made contact. The tenth caution came on lap117 when Jake Johnson and Kyle Bonsignore tangled. Bonsignore’s car had severe right front end damaged. Bonsignore was quite upset that officials would not allow the 22 crew to make repairs on pit road as the forced them to relocate to the mud in the infield.
The next stop on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour calendar is at the prestigious Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, which will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 8 p.m. ET. FloRacing is set to provide live coverage of all the on-track action.
The Stafford Motor Speedway hosted the biggest and richest SK Modified race of the 2024 season on Friday, August 4th with the 11th Annual NAPA Auto Parts SK 5k.
Keith Rocco, who ended a season long dry spell, was the big winner of the night as he notched his first career victory in the NAPA SK 5K after trying to win the race for 11 years and the $5,000 winner’s prize that goes along with it.
In victory lane Rocco spun the Gambler’s Challenge wheel and it landed on sixth through tenth, meaning Jon Puleo, Anthony Flannery, Andrew Molleur, Michael Christopher, Jr., and Teddy Hodgdon will split the Gambler’s Challenge prize of $6,200 between them, giving each a $1,240 as a bonus. The race came to a halt on lap 69 because of rain.
With 82 career feature wins, Keith Rocco is one of the winningest drivers in Stafford Speedway history, trailing only Ted Christopher with 131 wins, Woody Pitkat with 83 wins, and Tom Fearn with 82 wins. Among his 82 career wins, Rocco has won just about everything there is to win at Stafford with the exception of the NAPA Spring Sizzler. Rocco’s career overall total of 305 wins include 154 victories at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl, 74 at Thompson and 82 at Stafford Speedway.
Rocco, who has not had the best of seasons, started third and took the lead on lap 45. In the end when the rains came Rocco led a parade of cars he prepared to the podium. Dan Avery owns the winning car with Rocco the owner of the second and third place cars. Todd Owen finished fourth and Troy Talman rounded out the top five.
Five cautions slowed the event. The first caution came on lap 45 when Glen Reen spun in turn two. There must have been something about turn two that pulled Reen’s chain as he spun two more times in almost the same spot. Also bringing out the yellow was Dylan Kopec who spun on lap 47 and Wesley Prucker who spun on lap 55.
Other feature winners on the night were Gary Patnode in the Limited Late Model feature, and Travis Hydar in the Street Stock feature. The Late Model and SK Light features that were scheduled to run will be made up as double features at a future date to be determined.
Alexander Pearl, who was making his SK debut, started 27th & finished 12th.
Weekly racing at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl saw Jason Palmer score his 51st career Late Model victory. He also has 53 Legends division victories at the Speedbowl. Palmer, who has Late Model championships at the Speedbowl in 2015, 2020, 2021 and 2023, currently leads the division standings. Ray Christian was second in Saturday’s Late Model feature and Doug Curry third. The second Late Model feature scheduled for Saturday was postponed due to rain.
Other Saturday night winners included Eddie Gomarlo recorded victory in the 50-lap SK Light Modified feature. Tyler Barry was second and John O’Sullivan, third. The SK Modifieds had the night off.
Due to an unsafe heat index during the day and potential heavy thunderstorms in the evening, Riverhead Raceway Management canceled Saturday night events.
Rain held off in the southland as Bowman Gray ran a 100 lap Modified event sponsored by TV station FOX 8. John Holleman took the win and was followed by Chris Fleming, Burt Myers, Danny Bohn, Brandon Ward and Jason Myers.
Get well wishes to fellow scribe Lou Modestino who is at home caring for his wife and recovering from a broken hip. For over 60 years Modestino has written race reports and driver profiles dating back to the early 60’s at the Norwood Arena, Seekonk Speedway and the Thompson Speedway to name a few.
On a sad note it was learned that Roy Hendrick, son of the late Ray Hendrick has passed away. Roy left his mark no matter where he raced, but his presence was felt especially at the South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Va.
Hendrick, won South Boston Speedway’s first NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division race in 1983 and won South Boston Speedway’s first NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division championship that same year. He won 14 NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division races at South Boston Speedway during his career with his last win at the speedway coming in 1991.
Hendrick started his racing career in the Limited Sportsman Division at South Boston Speedway in May of 1969 and won his first race at the track the following season. Three years later he won his first track championship at Southside Speedway in Richmond, Virginia. .Hendrick moved up to the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Division, now known as the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Driving a car owned by “Blue” Burton, he won 12 races in 1982. He won a 150-lap NASCAR Late Model Sportsman National Championship race at South Boston Speedway on July 14, 1979.
In 1982, Hendrick moved to the NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division, and in 1983 he won the NASCAR track championship at Southside Speedway, South Boston Speedway and Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina. Driving a car owned by friend and former Halifax, Virginia business owner Jim Irby, Hendrick won the NASCAR track championship at Southside Speedway in 1989, 1990 and 1991. In 1991, Hendrick won 24 out of 27 races at the Richmond, Virginia oval. He was 71 years old at his passing.
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).
