Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Seventy five years ago in 1949, Charlie Barry won out over Jack White at the Buffalo Civic Stadium in New York. At Seekonk, Paul Carr won the main event.
Seventy years ago in 1954 the New London Waterford Speedbowl suffered it’s only fatality. Jack Griffin, a close friend of George Summers died from injuries sustained after his car flipped 10 times on the front stretch of the shoreline oval. Griffin was pronounced dead on arrival at the Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London, Ct. Sparky Belmont, who normally raced at the Plainville Stadium, made a surprise visit to Waterford on Wednesday and took the victory in the Sportsman main event. Ted Stack was the non-Ford winner. Harold “Curley” LeMay was the Sportsman winner at the shoreline oval on Saturday night with Big Bob Cahoon taking top honors in the non-Fords. At Seekonk, Dave Humphrey and Red Bolduc were the A division winners. Fred Astle Sr also won an A division feature at the cement palace.
Sixty five years ago in 1959, Don Rounds, racing out of Warwick, RI took the Friday night win on the dirt at the Stafford Springs Speedway. Wild Bill Slater went two for two at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl as he won 25 lap Sportsman features on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Charlie Webster and Ray DeLisle were the non-Ford winners and Newt Palm was a double winner in the Bombers at the Connecticut shoreline oval. Red Marlow won a 50 lap midget event at Seekonk.
Sixty years ago in 1964 New Jersey driver Joe Kelly won the Trenton 200 on the one mile Trenton NJ State Fairgrounds Speedway. Charlie Roberts added that Kelly won the race with one arm in a cast. Ray Hendrick was second with Perk Brown, third. Bobby Allison and Irv Taylor rounded out the top five. Among those in the field was Rene Charland who finished 18th, Mario “Fats” Caruso who finished 26th, Bill Slater who finished 28th and Eddie Flemke who finished 37th. Kelly also won the previous night as he went pole to pole to win the Garden State 100 at the Wall Stadium. Wally Dallenbach finished second with Eddie Flemke, third. Roberts, who spent considerable time at Wall stated “In 1964, the “Garden State Classic” at Wall was 300 laps. It was always billed as a 100-mile race because the track was purported to be a 1/3-mile when in fact is was about the most true 1/4 you’ll ever find.”
He added, “I measured it with a thousandths-reading road rally odometer and it was 0.25 on the inside and 0.29 on the fence.” On a sad note, dirt tracker Jackie McLaughlin lost his life in an accident at the Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania.
Gene Bergin scored his second win of the season on the dirt at Stafford Springs and Al DeAngelo won at Islip. Following Bergin at Stafford was George Janoski and Bill Wimble. Billy Harman won his third Modified feature of the year, a 75 lapper, at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Bill Scrivener was the Bomber winner at the Conn. shoreline oval. At the Seekonk Speedway, Dave Dias was the 30 lap A division winner and Hank Goff was the 15 lap Cadet winner.
Fifty five years ago in 1969, the All Star League visited Islip on Wednesday for a 100-lap event. Taking the win was home track favorite Fred Harbach. Gary Winters finished second and was followed by Richie Evans, Jack Reinhard, Artie Tappen and Will Cagle. Albany Saratoga ran a 100-lap double point event on Friday, which saw Eddie Flemke clean house. Guy Chartrand finished second and was followed by Jerry Cook and Bernie Miller. Stafford was closed. Saturday night at Norwood, Johnny Thompson with his small block Ford took the win over Freddie Schulz, Fred DeSarro and Marty Bezema. Fonda ran their rained out 200 and at the checker it was Lou Lazzaro who prevailed. Kenny Shoemaker finished second and was followed by Ron Narducci and Rene Charland. Airborne Park in Plattsburg ran a 100-lap double point event and it was invader, Bugsy Stevens taking the win. At Islip Charlie Jarzombek and Fred Harbach shared the spotlight as they each won separate events. Hometown favorite Charlie Webster was the Modified feature winner at the Waterford Speedbowl. Big Mike Daignault was the Daredevil winner. Bobby Sprague was the A division winner at Seekonk while Walt Trip won in the B division. At Thompson on Sunday night it was Eddie Flemke over Stevens and Moose Hewitt and at Utica-Rome Jerry Pennock beat out Dave Lape for the win.
Fifty years ago in 1974, Don Howe got the best of Charlie Jarzombek at Riverhead on Wednesday. Frank Curtiss finished third with Junior Ambrose, fourth. On that same night, the master, Eddie Flemke, gave a young driver named Reggie Ruggiero a lesson as he won a 100 lap open event at Plainville Stadium. Jim Cash finished third with Bobby Bard, fourth. Friday night at Freeport, Jarzombek played second fiddle again as he finished second behind Dan MacNamara. Donnie Bunnell was the Modified winner at the Waterford Speedbowl. A 200 lapper scheduled at Islip on Saturday rained out. Bugsy Stevens was king of the hill at Stafford despite the efforts of Eddie Flemke and Ronnie Bouchard. At Seekonk, George Summers recorded his 10th win of the year in the A division. Flash Flannagan was the B division winner. In New York State action, Dick Clark won at Utica-Rome, Merv Treichler won at Lancaster, Geoff Bodine won at Shangri-La and Richie Evans won at Fulton. In Sunday night action at Thompson, Fred DeSarro made it two in a row and at Monadnock, Kenny Bouchard was the victor.
Forty five years ago in 1979, Bill Brown sold Monadnock Speedway to Bill Davis and at Danbury, starter Ted Abbot was struck and killed while flagging a race at the historic oval. Stafford ran twin 25’s on Tuesday and drew 75 modifieds. Geoff Bodine won the first 25 and was followed by Ron Bouchard, Jerry Cook and Bugsy Stevens. Cook won the nightcap with Bodine following and Leo Cleary in third spot. At New Egypt on Wednesday night, John Blewett Jr. took the win over Jerry Cook and Richie Evans. At Stafford on Friday, Ronnie Bouchard scored a popular win over Evans and Kenny Bouchard. Seekonk ran a 50 lapper on Saturday, which saw Geoff Bodine take the win over Leo Cleary and Bugsy Stevens. After two successive rain outs, Waterford got their show in and it was Rick Donnelly taking the win over Moose Hewitt and Dick Ceravolo. At Shangri-La, Richie Evans got his 44th win of the season. Jerry Cook finished second with George Kent, third. At Lancaster it was Maynard Troyer over Roger Treichler and at Thompson on Sunday, Ronnie Bouchard beat John Rosati. Also on Sunday, Brian Ross secured twin wins at Monadnock.
Forty years ago in 1984, Waterford ran a special 82-lap open competition event and it was local favorite Bob Potter beating out Kenny Bouchard for the win. At Stafford on Friday night, Brian Ross took a popular win over Bugsy Stevens and Charlie Jarzombek. New Egypt ran a 200 National Championship event that saw George Kent beat the heat and the competition. Bob Park finished second with Fred Harbach, third. Spencer also ran on Friday and it was now Winston Cup crew chief Doug Hewitt taking the win. In Saturday night action it was Brett Bodine taking a 200 lap win over Reggie Ruggiero and Richie Evans at Riverside. Ruggiero drove a car owned by Mike Grecci who was the crew chief for Andy Santarre. At Waterford it was Bob Gada Jr. over Bob Potter and at Islip it was Al Hansen in victory lane. Tony Hirschman beat out Gil Hearne for a win at Wall Stadium and at Thompson on Sunday, Art Davis was the winner. In Winston Cup action at Nashville, Geoff Bodine took the pole but ended up 22nd with a broken rear. Terry LaBonte took the win.
Thirty five years ago in 1989, Tom Tagg was the Friday night SK modified winner at Stafford. At Monadnock they were still running Modifieds and Reggie Ruggiero took the win. Waterford rained out on Saturday but on Sunday it cleared as Thompson hosted the Modifieds. Mike Stefanik won out over Reggie Ruggiero and Doug Hevron. Ruggiero won the companion SK event.
Thirty years ago in 1994, Thompson’s Wednesday show rained out. In Friday night action at Stafford, Bob Potter held off Mike Paquette. Rick Fuller was the winner of the Pro Stock 100.Saturday night at Waterford, Scott Spaulding got his first ever Modified win as he beat out Mike Gada and Jerry Pearl. Riverhead ran a Race of Champions qualifier, which was won by Tom McCann, and at Riverside, Dan Avery took the win. The Modified Tour Series was at Loudon. The scheduled 100-lap event was called after 23 laps due to rain. Steve Park was awarded the win with Reggie Ruggiero second and Ed Flemke Jr., third. In Winston Cup action at Michigan, Ernie Irvan was severely injured after a cut tire forced him to crash at high speed into the wall. After a long recovery period, Irvan survived to race and win again.
Twenty five years ago, in 1999, Willie Hardie won the postponed NO-Bull 100 at Stafford. Jerry Marquis finished second. Ted Christopher won the regular Friday night SK 50 lapper. Earlier in the day, Christopher qualified on the outside pole for a Grandnational event at Michigan but had his time disallowed because of illegal shocks. Mike Gada went pole to pole at Waterford on Saturday night to win out over Ron Yuhas Jr. Riverside and Riverhead rained out. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the Grandnational and Bob Labonte was the Winston Cup winner at Michigan. Last but not least, Kenny Tremont got his 13th win of the year at Lebanon Valley as he charged from third to first on the last lap.
Twenty years ago in 2004, with heavy hearts the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour headed back to Stafford on Wednesday after Tom Baldwin had been laid to rest. Services were held at the Lucia and Orlando Funeral Home in Patchogue on Long Island. National Speed Sport correspondent Gary London reported that thousands came to the wake and funeral of the popular Long Island driver. After only three days off the tour returned to Thompson on Sunday to continue the event that was halted due to the Tom Baldwin accident. The infield light poles in turns one and three had been moved outside the track. The concrete blocks that protected them were also gone.
At Stafford, a fitting tribute was presented in honor of Tom Baldwin. Video clips of his highlights in Stafford events were shown and on the parade laps of the main event seventh place starting spot was left open in his honor. Forty-six modifieds were on hand for the Dodge Dealers 150. Donnie Lia was the Busch pole sitter. Nevin George drew the pole starting position and John Blewett III drew the outside pole. Lia drew seventh. Nevin George took the lead at the start and led through lap 54. John Blewett III took the lead on a re-start but his position at the point lasted only one lap as George took it back on lap 56. Todd Szegedy, who didn’t pit for tires, took the lead on lap 81 when George developed problems and ended up dropping out with a bad clutch. Szegedy led the remaining laps and crossed the finish line 1.14 seconds ahead of current series point leader Tony Hirschman. Eric Beers, Mike Stefanik and Jamie Tomaino rounded out the top five. Tom Bolles, who lives in nearby Ellington, finished a respectable sixth, just ahead of leading Rookie candidate Ken Barry. Barry’s teammate Sean Caisse resigned his ride prior to the event and is looking to pursue a racing career elsewhere. Rounding out the top ten were Donnie Lia, Chuck Hossfeld and Doug Coby. Hossfelds car owner, Bob Garbarino, stated that he was extremely hurt by recent action taken by Stafford owner Jack Arute. When Hossfeld quit his Friday night SK Modified ride Arute became enraged as he felt that Garbarino had cost him one of his top weekly drivers. Arute instructed his announcing team not to mention Garbarino’s name or his business, The Mystic River Marina. Garbarino had supported the speedway since it was initially paved in 1967. Ted Christopher and Reggie Ruggiero, two of the pre-race favorites, failed to finish. Ruggiero, who started 18th, dropped out with suspension problems after completing 45 laps. Christopher, who started 22nd, lasted until lap 52 when he broke an axle. Tony Hirschman stretched his point lead to 55 over Ed Flemke Jr. Flemke finished on the lead lap in 13th spot. Flemke was running in third spot on the final lap when he spun as a result of a tire going flat. Jerry Marquis, who finished a distant 23rd after completing only 91 laps because of an early tangle with Ruggiero and Christopher, lost a little ground but still maintained third spot. Christopher and Lia rounded out the top five.
The NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour returned to Thompson on Sunday to complete the Bud Racing 150 that had been halted when Tom Baldwin had his unfortunate accident. Not returning to re-start the event were Bobby Santos III, Sean Caisse, Ronnie Silk and Ken Wooley. Caisse, who was the Busch Pole sitter, had announced that he had quit the Art Barry No.21. Prior to the start of the event speedway announcer Russ Dowd paid an emotional tribute to the fallen Baldwin, one that left more than one with damp eyes. Ted Christopher, who was leading when the event was stopped on August 19 when the field took the green on lap 14. Shortly after Donnie Lia took the lead on lap 41, John Blewett III developed overheating problems with his Sheba No.8 and parked it on lap 44. Blewett, by the way, had won the Garden State Classic at the Wall Township Speedway on Saturday night. At just about the same time Tom Cravenho parked the Eddie Partridge No. 12 when it developed an oil leak. Lia led the field until he pitted on lap 81and handed the lead to Kenny Bouchard as the field completed the fourth of six caution periods. Bouchard’s lead lasted one lap as a determined Tony Hirschman bolted into the lead on lap 83. Doug Coby posed a potential threat but couldn’t compete with the former series champion who went on to take the eventual win. Coby and Eddie Flemke Jr. slugged it out for second spot until five laps remained and he ran out of gas, stopped and brought out the sixth and final caution. With a green-white-checkered finish Hirschman out powered Flemke for the win. Jimmy Kuhn finished a career best third with Ted Christopher fourth and Rick Fuller, fifth. Rounding out the top twelve on the lead lap were Dave Etheridge, Jerry Marquis, Eric Beers, Jeff Malave, Jamie Tomaino, Charlie Pasteryak and Renee Dupuis. Hirschman now leads Flemke by 65 points. Roy Smith won the Pro Stock event that had also been postponed from August 19.
In Thursday night Thunder at the Thompson Speedway Kerry Malone won one for the Tiger. Malone, who was a close friend of Tom Baldwin, won the 75 lap Sunoco Modified event and in victory lane dedicated his win to the fallen competitor. Jeff Malave ended up in second spot with Todd Ceravolo, third. Bo Gunning and Kelly McDougal rounded out the top five. Ted Christopher was a late contender until being spun out by Adam Norton. Norton was put to the rear for his actions. Christopher recovered to finish seventh while Norton played it cool to finish ninth. Jeff Zuidema was the Pro Stock winner. Point leader David Berghman was collected in a wreck while running third and finished out of the top 10. Other Thursday night winners were Dennis Botticello in the Late Models, Glenn Boss in the Limited Sportsman and Todd Henshaw in the Mini Stocks.
Twin 40 lap SK Modified features were on the racing card at Stafford Friday night. Steve Chowanski went pole to pole to win the opening feature while Chris Jones won the nightcap after finishing second to Chowanski in the first event. Chuck Docherty finished second in the opening event and was followed by Ted Christopher and Todd Owen. Christopher finished second to Jones who withstood some horrendous pressure. Woody Pitkat finished third with Frank Ruocco and Todd Owen rounding out the top five. Ryan Posocco, who had won the Late Model event at Stafford on Wednesday, came back to make it two for two in Late Model Competition. Vince Gambacorta finished second in the DARE Stock event and was awarded the win after apparent winner Scott Hitchcock was disqualified.
Jeff Pearl won his third SK Modified feature at the Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday night. Pearl had to hold of an overheating Dennis Gada. Tom Fox finished third. Carl Errickson won the Late Model feature and Richard Brooks; son of Thompson Speedway Chief Steward Dick Brooks, won the Mini-Stock feature. Other winners were John Mainetti in the X-modifieds and James Trenary in the Legends Cars.
John Blewett III won the 100 lap Garden State Classic at the Wall Township Speedway.
The Nextel Cup Cars and the Busch Racing Series were in Bristol; Tenn. Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored a clean sweep as he won both events at the ultra-fast half-mile speedway.
Fifteen years ago in 2009, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series was at the Bristol, TN for a Wednesday night event. The posted race purse of $91,575 drew 42 Whelen Modifieds including 27 from the North. Late afternoon rain forced NASCAR to cancel time trials forcing the field to go to post based on points. Ted Christopher led the field to the starting green with Southern Modified point leader George Brunnhoelzl, III on the outside. Christopher led the first 107 laps as Brunnhoelzl faded. Donny Lia started seventh and by lap 100 had placed the Bob Garbarino Mystic Missile firmly in second spot. Seven laps later Christopher faltered and Lia scooted into the lead. Lia lost the lead to Christopher when he jumped a restart on lap 138 and was told by NASCAR to let Christopher by. Three laps later Lia was back in the lead and preceded to open up a fairly good lead which he maintained to the 150 lap mark and the checkered flag. Christopher held on for second and was followed by Ryan Preece who brought the mighty No. 3, Ole Blu, of the Boehler family home in third spot. That particular version of the legendary Modified was actually built by the late Len Boehler in 1996! George Brunnhoelzl III and Woody Pitkat rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Todd Szegedy, Rowan Pennink, Ed Flemke Jr., Burt Myers and Erick Rudolph.
The racing was nothing short of being fantastic. A big plus was the fact that Mike Joy and Dick Berggren called the race for the Speed Channel.
In Thursday night Thunder action at Thompson the aggressive driving in the Sunoco Modifieds continued. Ted Christopher and Keith Rocco slugged it out to the end. Lots of leaning along with bump and run. Neither hit the wall so there was no foul. Christopher used retaliatory moves to score his fourth win of the season. Derek Ramstrom won a wild one in the Super Late Models while Rick Gentes scored the victory in the Late Models. Larry Barnett padded his point lead with his fifth Limited Sportman victory of the season. Another point leader, Brian Sullivan was victorious in the TIS Modifieds. Rick Blanchard was declared the Mini Stock winner.
Tim Sullivan led the field to green but he would not lead the opening lap. Rowan Pennink took over the top spot and began to motor out to an advantage over Danny Cates. A bobble by Sullivan nearly collected Keith Rocco, who was forced out of the groove. Woody Pitkat had worked his way into the third position. The outside groove was the fast way around as Christopher had moved into the third spot with Rocco in tow. On lap 9, Christopher was able to dive inside Cates for second. Rocco, once again, followed TC through and into third. Christopher caught Pennink while Rocco caught the bumper of Christopher. The top three ran nose-to-tail.
At halfway, Rocco was able to slide below Christopher when he bobbled exiting turn four on lap 15. The caution flew on lap 16 for an incident on the backstretch involving Andy Gaspar and Wayne Arute. Leader Pennink opted to use the outside groove on the restart but it was Rocco in the low groove gaining the advantage. Christopher was able to get around Pennink as well. The action was slowed for a spin by Harry Rheaume. Rocco was up to the challenge on the restart but an incident further back in the pack brought out the caution once again. A spin by Bert Marvin collected Tim Sullivan and Todd Ceravolo. Sullivan’s car sustained significant damage. On the restart, Rocco was up to the challenge once again. After a short battle with Pennink, Christopher remained in the second position. Christopher dove beneath Rocco in turn one. They went wheel to wheel through turn two. Christopher got the edge on the backstretch but Rocco did the slingshot move exiting four. They crossed the stripe even. In turn one, Rocco was the leader once again. Pennink ran in the third spot with heavy pressure from Pitkat. Cates ran alone in the fifth position.
With two laps to go, Christopher got along side Rocco. The duo streaked under the white flag with Rocco ahead by inches. Rtocco maintained a slight advantage on the back stretch. Coming out of four Rocco tried holding Christopher low. Christopher retaliated riding high out of four. Rocco drifted up in the marbles making way for Christopher to take the checkers. Pennink came through for second. Pitkat was able to grab third spot at the checkers. Rocco had to settle for fourth ahead of Cates. There were 16 Sunoco Modifieds on hand.
Heavy rain plus warnings of possible tornados forced the Stafford Motor Spedway event to cancel Friday nights racing.
The Waterford Speedbowl completed a fast paced NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing program on a hot Saturday bolstered by two green-to-checkered flag races. Threats of storms generated by Hurricane Bill failed to put a damper on the night’s racing. Corey Hutchings captured an exciting SK Modified race in down to the wire fashion, Vin Esposito returned to the winner’s circle in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models, points leaders Ronnie Oldham Jr. and Jason Palmer won the Street Stock and Legends Car events and Nick Pappacoda was a first time feature event winner in the Norwich Bulletin Mini Stocks.
The SK Modifieds rebounded from the previous week’s caution-marred feature to put on a classic 35-lap shootout. Corey Hutchings prevailed in a close contest over last week’s winner Tyler Chadwick. The pair raced the final several laps side-by-side. Joe Perry on the pole with Hutchings on the outside pole brought the field to green and the pair ran the initial laps alongside one another before Hutchings edged ahead into sole possession of the lead on lap four.
The action up front was singling out with Hutchings moving out over Perry. Justin Gaydosh was in third holding back the challenges of Jeff Pearl and Chadwick as the event stayed green through halfway. The top points contenders were mired back outside the top ten having difficulty moving through the competitive field.
Gaydosh got loose in turn two on lap 19, allowing Chadwick to duck under Pearl and take over the fourth spot after the two had battled for several laps. Pearl and Rob Janovic Jr. moved past Gaydosh on lap 23 when his #94 car began to lose some handling. Ron Yuhas Jr. and Keith Rocco had finally made some progress, moving into sixth and eighth respectively when the first caution finally waved on lap 24 for Joe Gada and Tom Abele who suffered separate incidents on different parts of the track.
Chadwick edged Perry on the restart, moving in to pressure Hutchings. He pulled outside looking for a repeat trip to victory lane. Janovic also moved past Perry into third. Yuhas finally emerged in the top five, moving past Pearl as the field raced to lap 30. Caution waved on that circuit for Jeffrey Gallup.
Chadwick was alongside Hutchings for the final restart. The two stayed glued together over the final five laps to the finish, with Hutchings able to prevail by .031 seconds over Chadwick. Janovic finished third, Yuhas got up to fourth, and Perry put in his best effort in the open-wheel SK’s running with the leaders all night for fifth. Jeff Pearl finished sixth and was followed by Rocco, Dennis Gada, Josh Sylvester and Jef Paul.
In a sad note, former track Modified champion Dick Ceravolo, a longtime competitor and car owner at the Speedbowl, suffered serious injuries in an accident at his home on Friday afternoon. Known to many as Dickie Doo, Ceravolo was attempting to jumpstart a farm tractor that had accidentally been left in gear. The tractor bolted and pinned him between his truck and the tractor while his wife Joyce watched in horror. Ceravolo was transported to the Yale-New Haven Hospital where he was put on life support. Among his injuries was a crushed chest plus back and head injuries. At 70 years of age, the former driver is in excellent physical shape, which will work to his advantage in what could be a long recovery.
Ceravolo won eight career Modified features from 1976-1987 at the Waterford Speedbowl. He was the 1988 SK Modified division champion at track despite not winning a feature during the season. Ceravolo surprised many when he announced his retirement at the season ending banquet after his championship year. He was the car owner champion the following year after hiring Bob Potter as his driver. In recent years he has been a fixture at the Thompson Speedway where he fields a Sunoco Modified that is driven by his youngest son, Todd. His oldest son, Rick, is the crew chief of the Ceravolo family effort.
In True Value Modified Series racing at the Seekonk Speedway Chris Pasteryak took the 100 lap win over Les Hinkley, Rowan Pennick, Mike Holdredge and Steve Masse. On the third turn of the final lap Pennink made a move to pass Hinckley and got him sideways. Hinckley did a fantastic save the car and made it across the finish line in second. Pennink settled in for third as he backed off the gas to avoid causing a wreck.
In NASCAR Sprint Cup racing there were no last-lap fireworks Saturday night as Kyle Busch and Mark Martin staged a side-by-side charge to the checkered flag. Busch emerged the winner. It snapped his 13-race Sprint Cup Series winless streak while Martin settled for second. David Ragan held off teammate Carl Edwards on a two-lap sprint to the finish Friday night to win the Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Edwards settled for second.
The World Racing Group, Inc. announced on August 14 that it has completed its previously announced going private transaction. World Racing sanctions and promotes dirt track auto racing. Based in Concord, N.C. they own and operate the three highest profile national touring series for dirt track racing in the United States which include The World of Outlaws® Sprint Car Series, The World of Outlaws Late Model Series(SM) and The Super DIRTcar Series™. Under the terms of the transaction, the Company conducted a 1-for-101 reverse stock split whereby each 101 shares of the Company’s common stock was converted into one share of common stock. Holders of less than 101 shares of common stock prior to the reverse stock split will receive a cash out price of $0.10 per share. The result of the reverse stock split was a reduction in the number of the Company’s stockholders of record to fewer than 300. As a result, the Company would immediately cease to be a public reporting company.
Ten years ago in 2014, The big news of the weekend was that NASCAR driver Tony Stewart struck and killed a sprint car driver who was walking on a dirt track during a race in upstate New York on Saturday night. A video of the crash at Canandaigua Motorsports Park showed driver Kevin Ward Jr. walking toward Stewart’s car before being hit and hurtled 50 feet. The 42-year-old Stewart, a three-time NASCAR champion and frequent competitor at local sprint car events, was questioned by local police and released.
The Stafford Motor Speedway played host to the Whelen Modified Tour Series last Friday night. Woody Pitkat, who had a combined total of 71 wins at Stafford added a Whelen Modified Tour win to his résumé. His win was also the first for car owner Buzz Chew of Long Island.
Pitkat dominated the Call Before You Dig 811 150 and beat Ron Silk to the line by over four seconds to pick up his first career win in his 86th tour start. Donny Lia followed Silk in third with points leader Doug Coby and Eric Goodale completing the top five. Rowan Pennink finished sixth and Ted Christopher seventh. Justin Bonsignore, Ryan Preece and Matt Hirschman rounded out the top 10.
Pitkat started second to pole sitter Bobby Santos and quickly drove his No. 88 Buzz Chew Chevrolet/Elbow East Chevrolet to the lead on Lap 3 stayed out front for the bulk of the first half of the race until a caution on Lap 76 for Patrick Emerling stalling on the track brought the leaders to the pits. Pitkat came out of the pit stop in eighth place with Donny Lia in the lead, Ryan Preece second and Ron Silk third.
Pitkat quickly moved up through the field and was up to fourth by Lap 92 and was second to then leader Ron Silk by Lap 102. Pitkat closed in and passed Silk on Lap 115 for the lead where he remained the rest of the night.
The race was slowed just two times by caution with the first yellow flag given to the field on Lap 7 after Tommy Barrett Jr. stopped on the track with a flat tire. There were 23 Modifieds on hand for the event.
Taking down NASCAR Whelen All-American Series weekly feature wins on the night were Ryan Preece, who won his fourth SK Modified® feature of the 2014 season, Michael Bennett scored his first feature win in almost 4 years to the exact date in the Late Model feature, Stephen Kopcik was a first time winner in the SK Light Modified feature, Andrew Hayes picked up his second victory of 2014 in the Limited Late Model feature, and David Comeau won his second DARE Stock feature of 2014.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action at the Waterford Speedbowl the Connecticut shoreline oval hosted the seventh annual Wings & Wheels event on Saturday night in front of a jam packed grandstand. Fans were treated to some of the fastest and most sophisticated short track racecars in the country as the International Supermodified Association made their only visit of the season and was joined by the popular Valenti Modified Racing Series, Northeastern Midget Association and NEMA Lites, plus the home track NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® and SK Light Modifieds. Ted Christopher ended a long dry spell dating back to 2004 with his win in the Valenti Modified Racing Series feature. Mark Sammut checkered the 50-lap ISMA Supermodified race. A first time winner visited Victory Lane in the SK Modified® feature in surprise fashion after an exciting conclusion, with Agawam, MA driver Jeff Gallup recording the win. Randy Churchill took his third SK Light Modified win of the year. In NEMA action, John Zych Jr. won the Midget feature and Dan Cugini won the companion NEMA Lite race.
Christopher scored his third career Valenti Modified Racing Series victory in the night’s 100-lap feature. He started the race in the outside pole position and tucked behind early leader Stephen Masse. Masse led through a lap-42 caution flag following a quick opening sprint. Christopher had a great restart and powered ahead of Masse on the top of the track through turns one and two and led every lap until the finish. He led comfortably over the middle of the race which stayed clean until the final laps. Christopher’s biggest test was a red flag with three laps remaining for a huge wreck that collected no less than ten cars. He restarted cleanly over series point leader Justin Bonsignore and closed out the win, his first at the track since July of 2004 when he took his last SK Modified® victory at the track. Bonsignore was second and Masse ended up third. Chris Pasteryak and Tom Abele Jr rounded out the top five.
Gallup’s first career SK Modified® victory came following a wild finish through the final corners coming to the checkered flag. Gallup battled Waterford’s Shawn Monahan for most of the 35-lap feature, riding the outside of the track to stay in contention for the win. Monahan seemed to have control throughout, with heavy hitters Ted Christopher and Keith Rocco trailing behind in third and fourth position. Rocco got by Christopher with four laps remaining and sat behind the Monahan-Gallup duel. Monahan finally cleared Gallup on the final lap, and Rocco followed suit by diving inside Gallup. As the lead pack entered turn three coming to the checkered flag, Rocco made contact with Monahan’s rear bumper, sending his car up the track. Monahan feverishly tried to keep his car from spinning but could not, dropping through the field as he spun off turn four to the infield. Rocco crossed the finish line first, but was quickly penalized for overaggressive driving dropping him to 16th in the final rundown, giving Gallup the win. Woody Pitkat steered through the wild conclusion and finished second while Christopher wound up third. Gallup is a second generation racer. Tim Jordan and Joe Gada rounded out the top five.
In Modified racing in the Southland, Saturday night’s races scheduled for the Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina were cancelled because of rain.
Riverhead Raceway on Long Island hosted twin 50’s for the Modifieds with Tom Rogers Jr. recording both wins. Ryan Preece finished second in both events.
AJ Allmendinger beat Marcos Ambrose on a two-lap dash to the finish to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International on a somber Sunday. The victory made his one-car team for JTG Daugherty Racing eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup title. Allmendinger held off Ambrose through the first two turns and opened a lead after both cars bumped and won going away.
Five years ago in 2019, In regular weekly action at the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night Ronnie Williams was the winner of the SK Modified® feature, Adam Gray won the Late Model feature, Mark Bakaj won the SK Light feature, Jeremy Lavoie won the Limited Late Model feature, and Meghan Fuller won the Street Stock feature, her third of the year.
In the SK Modified 40 lapper, Williams got a good run to the inside of Marcello Rufrano on lap-31 and he took second with a pass going into turn 3. Williams was right on Mike Christopher’s back bumper as they completed lap-33 with Rufrano, David Arute, Keith Rocco, Glen Reen, and Michael Gervais lined up behind them. Williams was looking high and low and he made a move to the inside of Christopher in the middle of turns 3+4 to take the lead on lap-35. Christopher came right back with a crossover move to retake the lead on lap-36.
The two leaders took the white flag with Christopher leading Williams into turn 1. Williams got a good run through the first two corners and as the cars headed into turn 3 Williams sent it in deep to the inside of Christopher and the two cars touched with Williams coming off turn 4 to take the checkered flag by a nose in front of Christopher with Rufrano nearly making it a 3-wide finish. Arute finished fourth with Reen rounding out the top-5. Rocco finished sixth. Point leader Todd Owen was eliminated on lap 2 when he got into the turn 3 wall and came to pit road with heavy damage to his right front suspension.
In the SK Lite 20 lapper, Mark Bakaj was able to beat Puleo to the checkered flag by a half car length to pick up his second win of the 2019 season. Bakaj received a gift from Bryan Narducci who had a transmission go sour on a restart while leading. Steven Chapman finished third with Mikey Flynn and Robert Bloxsom rounding out the top-5. Chapman’s car was found to be 2 pounds underweight in post race inspection and he was penalized two positions back to fifth, promoting Flynn to third and Bloxsom to fourth.
After 100 laps of ground-pounder action, it was Anthony Nocella taking down the win in the Thunder in the Mountains 100 at White Mountain Motorsports Park, along with the $3,500 going to the victor in the inaugural Bullring Bash Quarter Mile Challenge presented by RaceChoice. Nocella, who started on the pole, got around Woody Pitkat with 32 laps to go and didn’t look back. Behind Nocella was Mike Willis in second. Andy Jankowiak was third, followed by Richard Savary and Kirk Alexander. The event drew a light field of 11 cars.
On the east end of Long Island, A near capacity crowd turned out for the I Love America Night program at Riverhead Raceway Saturday night. When the 50-lap NASCAR Modified feature event was checkered former three time champion John Fortin Sr. earned his 33rd career victory tying him with Chris Young for 4th on the all time win list. In a twist of irony the driver Fortin had to ward off for his first win of 2019 would be Chris’s son Christopher Young. Second generation driver Chris Young would again settle for runner-up money in his Riverhead Building Supply Chevy and noted afterwards looking over at Fortin in victory lane, “that’s it, he’s cut off. He tied my Dad but no more” the youngster said with a laugh. Enjoying a solid season John Baker was third in his Elite Towing entry while championship leader Kyle Soper and Tom Rogers Jr. completed the top five. Rogers trimmed 19 points off Soper’s championship lead between the heat race and feature points on the night and now trails the defending champion by 60 markers.
Down in the southland at the Bowman Gray Stadium twin 50s were run for the Modifieds. Brandon Ward won the first 50-lap Modified race after regaining the lead with seven laps remaining. Ward picked up his third win of the season after defeating Tim Brown, Jonathan Brown and Jason Myers.
John Holleman IV, who was making his Modified debut after being a fixture in the Sportsman Series, qualified fourth and drew the pole. Holleman trailed Ward with 12 laps left, but he slipped past Ward for the lead. The lead was short-lived after Ward went past Holleman just five laps later. Jonathan Brown won the second 50 lapper. Danny Bohn finished second in the nitecap.
Austin Cindric raced to his second straight NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday, holding off Christopher Bell at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The 20-year-old Cindric won the previous week on the road course at Watkins Glen.
Kevin Harvick raced to the 47th NASCAR Cup victory of his career and his second in less than a month Sunday, pulling away from the pack to win at Michigan International Speedway for the second straight year. Late in the race, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver created a cushion between his Ford and the competition and finished more than a second ahead of Denny Hamlin. Kyle Larson was third, more than 16 seconds behind Harvick. He was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Daniel Suarez and points-leader Kyle Busch. Ryan Preece finished a strong seventh.
Last year, 2023, Friday night saw the 10th running of the NAPA Auto Parts SK 5K which was an 80 lap race with the winner taking home $5,000. The biggest race of the year for the SK Modified® division carried total prize money over $30,000 after all bonuses. In its 10th year at the Stafford Speedway, the NAPA SK 5K has been a midsummer classic that has seen plenty of on track drama. Believe it or not most of the drama was in the air as the National Weather Forecast predicted heavy rain for the Stafford area for Friday night. Needless to say it never rained but the forecast hurt the crowd.
Todd Owen came up the big winner of the night by taking the lead from Noah Korner on lap-75 of 80 and leading the rest of the way to take home the $5,000 winner’s check which will balloon to over $7,300 with contingency bonuses from the Gambler’s Challenge and track contingency partners added in.
Owen started seventh and used a lot of patience which payed off when he took the lead from Korner with a pass in turn 4 on lap-75 while Jimmy Blewett moved into fifth.. Owen led Korner to the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the 2023 season in the biggest SK Modified® race of the year. Bessette finished third with Blewett and Rufrano rounding out the top-5.
Other feature winners on the night were Michael Wray in the Late Model feature, George Bessette, Jr. in the SK Light feature, Kevin Cormier in the Limited Late Model feature, and Ryan Waterman in the Street Stock feature.
Among those missing from the Friday night line-up at Stafford were SK Light Drivers Nick Anglace and Zach Aszklar who were both suspended for the next four events for their part in a brawl in the pit area following the conclusion of the Friday’s July 28th weekly racing card. Both drivers were cited for Unsportsmanlike conduct, safety violation and actions detrimental to the sport of auto racing.
In addition to the four event suspension, each driver will be forced to start last in the first two events they run following their suspensions.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series visited the Lancaster Motorspoets Park in western New York last Saturday night. A full house crowd plus 20 cars were on hand for the event. Austin Beers pulled off an upset as he beat out Matt Hirschman for the win. Beers took advantage of an extra long pit stop by Hirschman who appeared to have the field covered up to that point. Hirschman soldiered on and closed the gap near the end but couldn’t master the extra power to make a passing move.
Ron Silk maintained control of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour points lead with a third-place run over Bonsignore in fourth. Chuck Hossfeld completed the top-five finishers. Tommy Catalano, Doug Coby, Bryan Narducci, Kyle Bonsignore and Kyle Ebersole rounded out the top 10.
Justin Bonsignore and Matt Hirschman were on the front row for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Nu-Way Auto Parts 150, with Bonsignore showing the way ahead of Hirschman, Austin Beers, Chuck Hossfeld, and Doug Coby. Hirschman challenged and would pass Bonsignore for the lead on lap 20. Austin Beers would take over second from Bonsignore on lap 29 and would start to go after Hirschman. Doug Coby would take fourth away from Hossfeld on lap 45. Tommy Catalano would take over fifth from Hossfeld on lap 47. Hirschman and Beers would check out on the field as the race reached its halfway point. Bryan Narducci spun in turn three to bring out the race’s first caution just past the halfway mark. While on pit road, Austin Beers was able to take the lead away from Hirschman. Ron Silk would battle with Bonsignore for second position and would complete the pass on lap 95. While the leaders encountered lap traffic, Silk, Coby, and Hirschman all battled for the runner-up position. Hirschman would take over third on lap 125, just as Catalano reentered the top five after passing Justin Bonsignore. The caution would come out on lap 130, as Anthony Sesely and Tim Connolly got together on the front straightaway. The restart on lap 138 would see Beers in the lead ahead of Hirschman. Beers would hold off Hirschman over the final 12 laps to score his second Whelen Modified Tour win of the season, and first career win at Lancaster. Ron Silk would finish the race in third place and was followed to the line by Justin Bonsignore, and Chuck Hossfeld.
Todd Owen carried his winning ways over from Stafford as he won the inaugural Billy Greco/Terry Baribeault Memorial 43 at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Owen, who collected $7600 in payouts for his win, pocketed another $2,500 for the Speedbowl victory. It was the 18th career SK Modified win at the Speedbowl for Owen. Anthony Flannery was second and Rob Janovic Jr. was third. Ryan Morgan and Troy Talman rounded out the top five.
Jason Palmer of Berlin took his third victory of the season in the 30-lap Late Model feature. PJ Evans was second in the Late Model feature and Brody Monahan. Third generation driver Kyle Gero won the 25-lap Truck feature. Gero is the grandson of the late George “Moose: HewittI” John Bavolacco won the 25-lap Mini Stock feature.
The Tri-Track Racing Series heads to the New London Waterford Speedbowl this coming Saturday night, Aug 12.
The Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park oval will be back in action on Wednesday, August 16th with the return of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour! The nationally-renowned NASCAR Modifieds bring the thunder back to the hills of Eastern Connecticut along with the SK Light Modifieds, ACT-type Late Models, Limited Sportsman, and Mini Stocks for the third Wednesday night showdown of the 2023 season!
Danny Bohn won a 100 lap Modified event at the Bowman Gary Stadium. Brandon Ward finished second with Tim Brown, third. Pre race favorite Burt Myers had an off night after a mid race tangle. Myers then took a “Hissy Fit” and dumped a barrell of speedy dry all over a competitors car. Bowman Gray wraps up their season on August 26.
At the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island Justin Brown was the NASCAR Modified winner.
In NASCAR cup racing, Chris Buescher sped to his second consecutive victory in Monday’s rain-delayed NASCAR Cup Series race, fending off top challenger Martin Truex Jr. at Michigan International Speedway. Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing Ford led a race-high 52 of the 200 laps in the FireKeepers Casino 400, which began Sunday and was pushed to a Monday finish because of inclement weather. Buescher’s second win of the season was his first at the 2-mile Michigan track and the fourth of his Cup Series career.
Ryan Preece finished 22nd.
The New England Auto Racers (NEAR) President April May Preston-Elms is honored and pleased to announce the 2023 NEAR Hall of Fame Class. The landmark 25th class for the region’s most highly regarded motorsports shrine will be formally inducted into the NEAR Hall of Fame on Sunday, November 5, at the Log Cabin-Delaney House in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
A wide-ranging group of drivers and car owners will join the NEAR Hall of Fame, raising the total to over 275 members enshrined. The latest class includes Brad Leighton, Ted Marsh, Mike Ordway Sr., Andy Santerre, John Stygar and Mike Weeden will be joined in the Hall of Fame, along with Veterans Committee inductees Al Hammond and Joe Howard.
On a sad note, former Modified driver Don Moon, age 79, of Plainville, Connecticut passed away on Thursday, August 3, 2023. Moon was a competitor at the Plainville Stadium for many years.
The all new book, The Modified Years At Stafford, by the Grace of God and 600 hp, is gaining interest and has become a must have in race fans and competitors library. Race by Race, Year by Year, it’s all there. Read all about it! Books are now available on Amazon.com and Coastal 181 (877-907-8181 toll free) and are available thru Stafford’s web site in their store. Order yours now. Makes a great gift!
With the cooperation of the Arute family another book has been published with pictures and biographies of the 50 Greatest Drivers at Stafford.
The Stafford Motor Speedway had become the epicenter of NASCAR Modified racing in the northeast by the late 1980’s. From its dirt beginnings to its lightning-fast asphalt, Stafford had become the toughest and most gratifying track to score a victory. The Arute family which has owned and guided the destiny of the facility commissioned their thousands of loyal fans to name their favorite drivers. In alphabetical order so as not to offend anyone:
Tom Baldwin, Gene Bergin, Brett Bodine, Geoff Bodine, Ken Bouchard, Ron Bouchard, Mario “Fats” Caruso, Rene Charland, Ted Christopher, Leo Cleary, Tim Connolly, Jerry Cook, Corky Cookman, Pete Corey, Fred DeSarro, Richie Evans, Mike Ewanitsko, Ed Flemke, Sr., Jeff Fuller, Rick Fuller, Ernie Gahan, Bill Greco, Bo Gunning, Ray Hendrick, George “Moose” Hewitt, Tony Hirschman, George Janoski, Charlie Jarzombek, George Kent, Buddy Krebs, Randy LaJoie, Jan Leaty, Jerry Marquis, Mike McLaughlin, Ray Miller, Steve Park, Bob Polverari, Bob Potter, Brian Ross, John “Reggie” Ruggiero, Greg Sacks, Ollie Silva, “Wild” Bill Slater, Jimmy Spencer, Mike Stefanik, Carl “Bugsy” Stevens, George Summers, Jamie “The Jet” Tomaino, Maynard Troyer and Satch Worley.
Books are priced at $17.95 each and be purchased at the track at the Novelty Booth or at the Stafford Motor Speedway on line store. Books are also available at Amazon.com and at Coastal181 (877-907-8181).
