Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Seventy five years ago in 1949, Bob Cameron won twin features at the Buffalo Civic Center.Jim Holt was the winner at Seekonk.
Seventy years ago in 1954 rain washed out racing on Wednesday and Saturday at the New London Waterford Speedbowl. In order to get a race in, track management opted to run on Sunday. Fred Luchesi was the 25 lap Sportsman winner and Bob Cahoon the winner in the non-Fords.
Sixty five years ago in 1959, the New London-Waterford Speedbowl went on its fall schedule of running just on Saturdays. Melvin “Red” Foote was the 25 lap Sportsman winner and Charlie Webster was the non-Ford winner. Ben Hewitt was the Bomber winner. At Seekonk, it rained.Bill Rafter made it three in a row at the Buffalo Civic Stadium in upstate NY. Rafter also won a 25 lapper at the NYS Fairgrounds in Syracuse. Tom Kotary finished second. Also in the Syracuse field was Leo Cleary who finished 20th. Doug Yochum won at Lancaster.
Sixty years ago in 1964, Pete Corey led the New York invasion to victory on the dirt at the Stafford Springs Speedway on Friday night. George Janoski and Ray Messick chased Corey across the finish line. Jack Malone took the top spot at Norwood on Saturday night. Billy Harman scored his fifth win of the season in the Modifieds at Waterford. Bill Staubley was the Bomber winner. At Seekonk, Don Hall was the 30 lap A division winner Butch Gagnon was the 15 lap Cadet winner.
Fifty five years ago in 1969,the rained out 150 lap Labor Day classic at Stafford was run on Friday night. Nathan “Smokey” Boutwell in the Garuti-Arute No.14 took the win over Bugsy Stevens, Eddie Flemke, Ted Stack, Ollie Silva and Bill Slater. At the Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Marcel Corriveau took the win over Guy Chartrand, Ron Narducci and Lou Lazzaro. At Norwood arena on Saturday, Johnny Thompson in his Ford Cobra powered No.122 outhandled the field and took the win. Bob Melnick finished second with Freddie Schulz, third. At Seekonk, Dan Stanton was the Class A winner. Bobby Sprague was the Class A 199 lap winner. Down on the Connecticut shoreline at the Waterford Speedbowl it was Daring Dick Caso taking the Modified win. Jack Barton was the Daredevil winner. At Airborne Park it was Marcel Goddard over Dick Fowler and Dick Nephew and at Islip and Thompson it rained.
Fifty years ago in 1974, racing at Riverhead on Wednesday and at Freeport on Friday rained out. Islip ran a 200 lapper on Saturday which saw invader Richie Evans come in and clean house. Jim Hendrickson finished second with Ted Wesnoski, third. Shangri-La ran double features; George Kent won the first one and was followed by Sonney Seamon and Don Diffendorf. The nightcap saw Maynard Troyer take the victory over Ed Pieniezak and Seamon. At Waterford Mark LaJunesse was the Modified winner with Mike Daignault taking the top spot in the Grand American Late Models. At Seekonk, George Summers scored his 12th win of the season in the Class A division. Greg Bagness was the Cadet winner. Moving to Fulton on Sunday, Geoff Bodine took the win over Troyer, Richie Evans and Jerry Cook. Thompson and Monadnock also ran on Sunday. Bugsy Stevens won at Monadnock over Kenny Bouchard and Gene Bergin. At Thompson it was Daring Dick Caso scoring an impressive win over Ronnie Bouchard and Fats Caruso. Caso was a true back yard racer and did the most with the least and was extremely popular during the 70’s.
Forty five years ago in 1979, Star Speedway ran a special dual feature modified event on Friday night. Home track favorites Larry Record and Dave Thomas took the wins. Charlie Jarzombek finished second to Record and was followed by Mike Murphy, Ronnie Bouchard, John Falconi Jr., and Leo Cleary. Bouchard finished second to Thomas and was followed by Jarzombek, Murphy and Cleary. Saturday night at Seekonk, Ronnie Bouchard took a hard fought win over Bugsy Stevens and George Summers. At Waterford, Rick Donnelly made it five in a row at the shoreline oval. Moose Hewitt finished second with Dick Ceravolo, third. The Modifieds were active in the southland. At Caraway in North Carolina on Saturday, Jerry Cook took the win and was followed by Billy Hensley, Satch Worley, Chip Lane and Don Miller. Cook traveled all night to get to Islip which ran a 300 lapper on Sunday which ended up being a Richie Evans benefit. Cook managed to finish second with John Blewett Jr., third. Also on Sunday, Ronnie Bouchard beat out John Rosati and George Summers at Thompson. Other weekend winners included Brian Ross at Monadnock, Billy Hensley at North Wilkesboro, Maynard Troyer at Lancaster, George Kent at Shangri-La and Roland Lapierre Jr. at Westboro. In other news of the weekend, upstate New York driver Dave Nichols announced his retirement.
Forty years ago in 1984, Waterford ran their Matco 100 on Saturday night. Dick Ceravolo took the win but was disqualified when a larger than legal engine was found in a post race teardown. Dale Holdredge was declared the winner with Bob Gada, finishing second. At Shangri-La, Richie Evans took the win over Corky Cookman. The end of an era in Long Island racing became reality as the historic Islip Speedway ran its final event and closed for good. Taking the final checker was Bob Park. Fred Harbach finished second. The big event of the weekend was the annual Thompson 300.A total of 60 modifieds were on hand. Jim Spencer took the win over Richie Evans and Kenny Bouchard. In Winston Cup action at Richmond, Darrell Waltrip was the pole sitter and the winner. Other weekend winners were Bugsy Stevens at Seekonk and Gail Barber at Lancaster.
Thirty five years ago in 1989, Stafford ran their last Friday night of the year and it was Brad Thrall taking the SK Modified feature. Bob Georgiades finished second. Mikey Christopher finished fifth and sewed up the 1989 Track Championship. At Waterford on Saturday, Rick Donnelly took the win over Mike Gada and Mark Lajunesse. Riverside ran twin features with Ray Miller and Jerry Marquis sharing the glory. The Thompson 300 was the big event of the weekend. Mike Stefanik took the big win and was followed by Reggie Ruggiero and Mike McLaughlin.
Thirty years ago in 1994, Waterford almost didn’t get to run as the Connecticut DMV pulled their race permit because of the badly damaged fence. Repairs were made and Moose Hewitt took down the Saturday night win. Jim Broderick finished second with Mike Gada, third. Riverside Park saw Steve Park take the top spot and at Sunday’s Thompsom 300, Jeff Fuller took the lead with 25 laps to go and went on to take the win. Reggie Ruggiero finished second with Satch Worley, third. C.J.Freye won the Late Model 100. In Winston Cup action at Richmond; Terry Labonte took the win after Rusty Wallace had an engine go sour. Kenny Wallace won the Grand National event.
Twenty five years ago, in 1999, Friday night racing at Stafford rained out. At Waterford, Dennis Gada recorded his ninth win of the season and all but iced the track championship. Ron Yuhas Jr. finished second with Don Fowler, third. Chief Steward Bill Roberts got tough with Mike Gada. Fresh off a suspension for rough riding, Gada didn’t learn his lesson as he was first put to the rear, then parked for the night and ultimately suspended for two more weeks as he continued to hit everything but the lottery at the shoreline oval. Riverhead ran their final of the year with Ken Heagy taking the win and Frank Vigliorolo Jr. taking the track championship. Soon to close, Riverside Park ran their last ever-regular Saturday night program. Dave Berube took the historic win over Ted Riggott and Brad Hietella. The Featherlite Modified Tour was at Thompson for a 200 lapper. Tony Hirschman survived 13 cautions for 65 laps to take the win. Hirschman took the lead from Tom Cravenho on lap159. Reggie Ruggerio finished second and was followed by Chris Kopec, Carl Pasteryak, Jamie Tomaino and Tony Ferrente Jr. Bert Marvin was the 30 lap SK modified winner over Scott Quinn, Ted Christopher and Todd Ceravolo. In Winston Cup action at Richmond, Tony Stewart scored his first ever Cup win over Bob Labonte. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the Grandnational winner.
Twenty years ago in 2004, the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour was at the Thompson Speedway. With an all-new format in place qualifying heats were run. Winners of the four 20-lap sprints were Tom Bolles, Eddie Flemke Jr., Jerry Marquis and Todd Szegedy. The Thompson 300 was split into three-100 lap segments. Tom Bolles won the first over Flemke, Marquis, Ricky Fuller and Ted Christopher. Flemke won the second segment over Marquis, Todd Szegedy, Fuller and Mike Stefanik. Tony Hirschman won the nightcap over Bolles, Christopher, Stefanik and Marquis. Flemke, who was currently in a tight point battle with Tony Hirschman, was declared the overall winner and received the points normally awarded the win. Second overall was Jerry Marquis. Third through fifth overall were Ted Christopher, Mike Stefanik and Rick Fuller. Because of his poor finishes in the first two segments Hirschman was placed in 11th spot. In Dodge Weekly Racing Thunder at Thompson on Saturday, Bo Gunning won the first of two 25-lap Sunoco SK-type Modified events. Bert Marvin finished second with Ted Christopher, third. Todd Ceravolo, who was in contention for track championship honors finished fourth with Jeff Malave, fifth. Other Saturday winners were Corey Hutchings in the Late Models and Steve Michalowski in the Mini-Stocks. Sunday’s action saw Ted Christopher take the Sunoco Modified win over Todd Ceravolo, Eric Berndt, Kerry Malone and Adam Norton. Corey Hutchings made it two for two on the weekend as he beat out Marc Palmissano for the Sunday Late Model win. Jeff Zuidema took the Pro Stock win and Glen Boss was the Limited Sportsman winner.
The Friday night NASCAR Dodge Racing Series at Stafford ran its last weekly event of 2004. It was more like “Friday Night at the Fights” as hand to hand combat highlighted the SK Modified feature. Jeff Baral held off Frank Ruocco and Ted Christopher for the win but the real story was the on track antics of Chris Jones. Prior to the running of the SK Modified feature Jones bragged that Ted Christopher was not going to finish the feature. Christopher, who had already sewed up the 2004 SK Modified track championship at the half-mile oval, was hoping to pad his NASCAR Regional lead. Not one to just get out there and ride, Christopher made his charge to the front. Just before the half way mark Christopher made a clean outside pass by Jones. One lap later Jones dove inside Christopher and spun him out. Jones was subsequently black flagged for his actions. Jones was asked to remove himself from the racing surface but refused. Instead he drove up to Christopher’s car, got out and commenced throwing punches at Christopher. Jones was eventually subdued by police and was escorted out of the track. As he was being led away he continually made obscene gestures to the crowd and officials. In other Friday night action, Jim Peterson took the Late Model feature and David Zienka won the DARE Stock feature.
Shawn Monahan was literally out-foxed at the Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday night. Tom Fox, who had only recorded one win at the shoreline oval this year, made numerous attempts to overtake Monahan who was obviously blocking. Fox pulled a sneaky on lap 20 as he faked to the outside, then dove to the inside to take the lead and the eventual win. Jeff Pearl finished second as Monahan faded to fifth in the closing laps. Kurt Lenihan finished third. Dennis Gada’s luck continued to be bad as he fell by the wayside, while running third, with electrical problems. Gada ended up 15th and lost the point lead to Ed Reed Jr. In other action at the Bowl, Eddie Field won the Mini-Stock feature, Allen Coates made it two in a row in Late Model action, Dwayne Dorr was the Sportsman winner and Jeff Paul won the 50-lap Legands Nationals Qualifier.
The Nextel Cup and the Busch Racing Series divisions of NASCAR were at the Richmond International Raceway. Robbie Gordon was the Busch Series winner and Jeremy Mayfield was the Nextel Cup winner after Kurt Busch ran out of gas while leading with eight laps to go.
On a sad note, Lou Cady, Webmaster and founder of Modified Series Scene.com passed away. Cady provided news and chat pertaining to the Featherlite Modifieds.
Fifteen years ago in 2009, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series was making final preparations before heading to the New Hampshire International Speedway. Ted Christopher continued to lead the point standings with 1432. Todd Szegedy with 1398, sat in the second spot. Thirty eight points behind Szegedy was Donny Lia with 1360. Ryan Preece and Rowan Pennink rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Eric Beers, Woody Pitkat, Ed Flemke, Jr., Chris Pasteryak and Mike Stefanik.
NASCAR and Chemung (N.Y.) Speedrome announced that the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at the track, that was rained out on its originally scheduled date of Aug. 29, would not be made up. Not too many tears were shed as the event carried a somewhat “short purse”.
In Thursday night Thunder action at Thompson, Ted Christopher took the Sunoco Modified win in an event that went non-stop without a caution. Keith Rocco, who was hoping to gain some ground in his quest for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series title found himself mired in traffic and could do no better than third. Christopher made it look easy as he earned his fifth Sunoco Modified feature win of the season. Rick Fuller of Auburn scored a much-anticipated victory in the Super Late Model division. Tommy O’Sullivan made it two-in-a-row in Late Model action. Jesse Gleason scored his first win of the season in the Limited Sportsman division. Brian Sullivan scored his sixth TIS Modified feature event win of the season. In the Mini Stocks, Randy Churchill took the victory.
The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series title fight came to an end. Keith Rocco, who raced at Thompson, Waterford and Stafford trailed southerner Philip Morris going into the final weekend of the national contest. Rocco needed to win at least one, with a second and third in the other two tracks to tie Morris provided all three events have the maximum 23-car fields. Points are less if the fields of cars are short. Keith Rocco is employed at Petit Racing Engines. As he looked out the window on Friday he saw his dreams of becoming a NASCAR National Champion get washed down the drain as showers pelted the entire state of Connecticut which forced the Stafford Motor Speedway to rain-out their Friday night racing program The champion would be announced by NASCAR on Sept. 16.
Waterford Speedbowl’s Saturday night racing program fell victim to rain. A stubborn low pressure system that sat off Long Island for two days forced Riverhead Raceway promoters Barbara & Jim Cromarty to cancel the final NASCAR Whelen All American Series show of the year. With the rainout John Fortin sewed-up the 2009 NASCAR Modified title, the third of his career.
Carl Edwards grabbed the lead from Kevin Harvick on pit road with 24 laps to go Friday night and won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond. The victory finished off a remarkable race for Edwards, who had to start at the back of the field after his team made adjustments to his Ford after the field was impounded.
In NASCAR Sprint Cup racing, Denny Hamlin scored a victory at his home track, Richmond International Raceway, on Saturday night to take a burst of momentum into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Kyle Busch, his teammate, was shut out of the title hunt because his fifth-place finish wasn’t enough to get him into the 12-driver field.
It looked like the International Speedway Corporation was branching out to include legalized gambling in its holdings. ISC announced that Penn National Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: PENN ) had entered into an agreement with The Cordish Company to acquire Cordish’s 50 percent interest in Kansas Entertainment, LLC (“KJV”) and their role as managing member.
Ten years ago in 2014, The Valenti Modified Racing Series, with 24 cars strong, made its third and final visit of the 2014 season to the Stafford Motor Speedway for the 5th Annual VMRS 80. Taking the checkered flag was Tommy Barrett, Jr., after starting fourth, used a bold three-wide move to take the lead for the first time on a lap-58 restart and led the rest of the way.
At the drop of the green flag, Justin Bonsignore took the lead with Max Zachem in second. Rowan Pennink quickly moved past Zachem for second on lap-2 and Keith Rocco followed Pennink by Zachem to take third. Behind Zachem, Chris Pasteryak got around Tommy Barrett, Jr. to move into fifth place.
Rocco got around Pennink for second and he then took the lead from Bonsignore on lap-6. Pennink was now third, with Zachem fourth and Pasteryak was fifth. Bonsignore went back by Rocco for the lead on lap-8 and then Rocco retook the lead from Bonsignore on lap-9.
Rocco held the lead until lap-22 when Bonsignore went back to the front. Bonsignore’s lead was extremely short lived as Rocco went back by Bonsignore in the next set of corners. Things then began to settle in as the top-9 cars of Rocco, Bonsignore, Pennink, Zachem, Pasteryak, Preece, Barrett, Ted Christopher, and Woody Pitkat were all in close contact with each other. Preece’s run came to an end on lap-36 as his #31 dropped off the pace and he slowly made his way back to pit road. Zachem took a look to the inside of Pennink for third, but he was unable to make the pass stick and he settled back into line in fourth behind Pennink.
Rocco took the lead back under green with Bonsignore in second. One lap after the restart, contact between Barrett and Pennink sent Pennink up the track and into the path of Zachem to bring the caution back out. Rocco took the lead on the restart but behind Rocco, Charlie Pasteryak, Mike Willis, Jr., and Carl Medieros, Jr. came together and spun on the backstretch to bring the caution out.
Rocco again took the lead back under green with Bonsignore in hot pursuit. Christopher was third with Barrett and Pasteryak making up the top-5. Christopher’s car dropped off the pace on lap-54 and he slowly made his way to pit road. Bonsignore was all over the back of Rocco when the caution came back out with 57 laps complete for a spin by Bakaj.
The next restart told the story as Barrett went 3-wide to the inside of both Rocco and Bonsignore to take over the race lead. Rocco and Bonsignore settled into second and third with Pennink back up to fourth after his earlier misfortunes. Woody Pitkat was up to fifth behind Pennink, his first appearance of the night in the top-5 with 20-laps to go in the race. Barrett pulled away from Rocco in the closing laps to pick up his third Stafford VMRS victory. Rocco finished second, with Bonsignore, Pennink, and Pitkat rounding out the top-5.
In other action at Stafford, Rowan Pennink won for the fourth time in the last 6 races in the 40-lap SK Modified® feature, Josh Wood was a first time winner in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Joey Ferrigno won for the fifth time in the 20-lap SK Light feature, Duane Provost won for the fourth time in the 20-lap Ltd. Late Model feature, and Brandon Michael took down his second win in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
Following Pennink, Ted Christopher beat Doug Coby to the line by a nose to take second, with Dan Avery and Ryan Preece rounding out the top-5. Nichole Morgillo continues to keep her racing at Stafford as she finished 15th in the SK feature. Mike Christopher Jr who made his open wheeled debut in a SK Lite finished 7th.
One of Modified racings legends, Eddie Flemke SR, would have been 84 on this week had he lived. A great driver, innovator and one not afraid to express his opinions, Flemke mentored and touched many and is sorely missed.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action at the Waterford Speedbowl the shoreline oval hosted Thunder on the Sound, a seven division motorsports program highlighted by the 18th annual Budweiser Modified Nationals SK Modified® 150. The biggest race of the year for the track’s headline NASCAR Whelen All-American Series division was won by Tyler Chadwick. Other winners on the night included Keith Rocco in the Valenti Auto Mall Late Models, while a pair of drivers picked up their third victories of the year, Ryan Waterman in the Street Stocks Ray Christian III in the Mini Stocks. Paul Buzel was a first time winner in SK Light Modified action, Mike Christopher Jr. won in the INEX Legend Cars and Paul LaPlante won the Vintage Outlaw Modified race.
Chadwick’s biggest ally in the 18th annual Budweiser Modified Nationals may have been his patience. The 2012 division champion started the race tenth and slowly moved into contention just before the halfway point of the 150-lap grind. Ted Christopher was out front, showing the way after he passed early leader Ed Puleo on lap-11. Christopher led comfortably until a caution flag came on lap-96.
Chadwick was in second on lap-70, and trailed Christopher until the lap-96 restart. He tried to unseat Christopher on multiple occasions, finally tucking in behind Christopher in second position. The intensity was definitely on the rise among the lead pack as the race moved to its final stages. Keith Rocco, who spent most of the first hundred laps outside the top-five exhibiting patience of his own, asserted himself in the final fifty circuits. Rocco pressed Chadwick until he gave up the outside, allowing Rocco to move to second on lap-117. Rocco stalked Christopher for the lead until he made a diving maneuver to the inside on lap-130 down the back chute. The two cars came together between turns three and four, spinning both and bringing out a caution.
Chadwick’s patience paid off as he inherited the lead while Rocco and Christopher resumed from the tail of the field. Chadwick took off from Rob Janovic Jr. on the restart, distancing himself from the competition over the final dash to the finish as Rocco fired his way back through the field. Rocco’s furious rally landed him in second, but he could not catch Chadwick and finished in the runner-up spot. Puleo finished third, Janovic fourth and Matt Galko was fifth. Sixth through tenth were Craig Lutz, Ted Christopher, Dennis Perry, Joe Gada and Diego Monahan,
Just one caution flag slowed Rocco’s roll in the 30-lap Valenti Auto Mall Late Model race, Rocco is now tied with Don Collins with 101 overall wins at the shoreline oval.
In Modified racing in the Southland, Burt Myers got his first NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour win of 2014 Saturday night and not without controversy. The 38-year-old Walnut Cove, North Carolina, driver drove to Victory Lane at Langley Speedway after a wild final lap of the Bayport Credit Union 150. Myers was running second to George Brunnhoelzl III on the final lap when the two made contact coming out of Turn 4. Myers gave him a “Bowman Gray Tap” and crossed the line first as Brunnhoelzl bounced off the outside wall and spun across the track. After a video review of the incident, NASCAR officials upheld Myers win and Brunnholzl was scored in second. Andy Seuss finished third, followed by J.R. Bertuccio and Jason Myers. Kyle Ebersole, Danny Bohn, Gary Putnam, Ryan Preece and Luke Fleming rounded out the top 10 at Langley. Earlier in the day, Preece won the Coors Light Pole Award in qualifying, but a late race pit stop cost the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour regular a shot at the win.
Preece led a race-high 64 laps, while Brunnhoelzl led 55. The race featured seven lead changes among four drivers. It was the first race in which, in lieu of a mid-race break, teams were allowed to pit and change one tire at any point in the race.
In NASCAR Sprint Cup action, Kasey Kahne drove his way from third to first during a green-white-checkered restart to win Sunday’s Oral-B USA 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick led the last 159 laps and held off Joey Logano to score his second consecutive Nationwide Series win at Atlanta and the third of his career at AMS. It’s also his third win of the season and his third with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports operation.
At the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island John Fortin scored his third Modified feature win of the season.
Five years ago in 2019, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series headed into the home stretch. “The Men that live by the Grace of God and 600 horsepower headed for the track that is considered the Super Modified capitol of the World, the Oswego Speedway located overlooking the beautiful Lake Ontario in New York State.
Leading up to the trip to upstate New York was somewhat of a major change in the roster of entrants. Internet racing web site RaceDayCT reported on August 27 reported that Woody Pitkat and Danny Watts have parted ways on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. In 11 races driving for Watts in 2019, Pitkat had one victory, at Wall Stadium Speedway in May. He also finished inside the top 10 three other times, and was 10th in the series championship standings. Pitkat replaced the late Ted Christopher who lost his life in a plane crash. As reported by RaceDayCT, Chase Dowling filled the seat for this past weekend’s Toyota Mod Classic 150 at Oswego. Pitkat didn’t sit idle for long as NASCAR announced that he will team with Eddie Harvey Racing for the longest race of the season, the Musket 250 at Loudon and will also drive the No. 1 for the final two races of the year at Stafford Motor Speedway and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. This leaves Burt Myers without a Tour modified ride. Myers has hinted that he will take his own car to Loudon for the big one. It was also announced that Chuck Hossfeld would be pinch hitting for Jimmy Blewett who suffered a broken ankle at Wall Stadium.
Twenty seven Modifieds made up the field at Oswego with Rob Summers taking the pole position, 17.550 seconds. Five-time Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby was second (17.555 seconds), while Bobby Santos III posted the third fastest lap in qualifying. Justin Bonsignore, and Eric Goodale, driving a brand new Fury entry, completed the top five.
Justin Bonsignore scored his fourth victory of the season in the Toyota Mod Classic 150 presented by McDonald’s at Oswego Speedway, earning the victory as part of the track’s annual Classic Weekend.
It was the 24th career win in Whelen Modified Tour competition for Bonsignore and his first at the ‘Steel Palace’ of Oswego. For the first 64 laps, he chased the back bumper of Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole winner Rob Summers in the race for the lead. He passed Summers at lap 65, and led through until a caution at lap 99, when Tyler Rypkema spun. During the caution period Bonsignore pitted for fresh tires. His crew got him out at the front of the cars that also pitted and took fresh tires, but, he had to restart third, behind Patrick Emerling and Tommy Catalano. Within one lap he was back in the lead.
In the end, Bonsignore had to hold off defending race winner Matt Hirschman on a final dash to the finish, but was able to accomplish the task. He beat Matt Hirschman to the line by .146 seconds. Following Hirschman, former Whelen Modified Tour champion Ron Silk was third, with Craig Lutz and Bobby Santos III completing the top five. Doug Coby was sixth, followed by Eric Goodale, Timmy Solomito, Chase Dowling and Tommy Catalano. Fifteen of the original 27 starters were on the lead lap at the finish.
Summers, who crashed at the finish, finished 11th. Chris Pasteryak, Chuck Hossfeld, Patrick Emerling and Sam Rameau made up the top fifteen. Amy Catalano, making her first Whelen Modified Tour start finished 17th, one lap down at the finish. All things considered; it was a pretty good run on her maiden voyage.
Absolutely fantastic race announcing was provided by the Oswego Speedway staff for the FansChoice.tv live stream. NASCAR needs to hire that guy as he didn’t miss a trick during the entire event.
On the downside was the usual poor performance by Melissa Fifield and Wade Cole who were continually in the way with their slow speeds. Cole went the distance and finished eight laps down. After being lapped numerous times, Fifield finally gave up after completing 59 laps
Coby leads Bonsignore by 37 points, with Ron Silk 44 back with four races remaining in the championship points schedule. The Toyota Mod Classic 150 presented by McDonald’s will air on NBCSN on Thursday, September 5, at 6 p.m.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to the track for the second appearance at New York’s Riverhead Raceway on Saturday, September 7.
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In weekly racing at the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night plus with the Valenti Modified Racing Series in the house for the Lincoln Tech VMRS 80, Keith Rocco was a winner for the second consecutive week in the SK Modified® feature, Tyler Leary won for the first time in nearly 2 years in the Late Model feature, Bryan Narducci scored his second consecutive and eighth overall feature win of the 2019 season in the SK Light feature, Duane Provost secured his second win of 2019 in the Limited Late Model feature, and George Bessette, Jr. took down his second consecutive and fourth overall win of 2019 in the Street Stock feature. In the Lincoln Tech VMRS 80, Chase Dowling took the lead on lap-24 of the 80-lap event and he led the rest of the way, holding off Keith Rocco on several late restarts to win the event.
In the SK Modified 40 lapper, with 10 laps to go, Cory DiMatteo had closed the gap to leader Troy Talman and was right on his back bumper. Rocco and Glen Reen weren’t far behind in third and fourth. DiMatteo took the lead from Talman on lap-32 with a pass coming out of turn 2. DiMatteo’s pass for the lead allowed Rocco and Reen to close right up to the back bumper of Talman and Rocco took second on lap-33 with Reen taking third as Talman fell back to fourth.
Rocco took to the outside lane and ran side by side with DiMatteo for lap-36 before falling back into line. Rocco again went to the outside of DiMatteo on lap-38 and the two were wheel to wheel at the line. The three leaders touched going down the backstretch with DiMatteo spinning and Reen hitting the wall to bring the caution out with 38 laps complete. Rocco brushed against the wall as he had white stripes all around his right side tires but he stayed on track in the lead for the restart. Ron Williams was now second for the restart with Michael Gervais and Talman in the second row.
Rocco took the lead with Williams right behind him in second. Williams couldn’t get close enough to Rocco on the final lap to make a move as Rocco took down his second consecutive win and fifth overall of the 2019 season. Gervais finished third with Todd Owen and Talman rounding out the top-5.
In the SK Light 20 lapper, Bryan Narducci, who started 15th, made a move to the inside of Teddy Hodgdon on lap-15 to take over the lead. Hodgdon spun on lap-16 going down the backstretch and rejoined at the rear of the field as the race stayed green. Chris Matthews was now second with Alexander Pearl third, Bob Charland fourth and Wesley Prucker fifth as Narducci started to stretch out his lead. Narducci led the field to the checkered flag to pick up his eighth win of the 2019 season. Matthews finished second with Pearl, Charland, and Prucker rounding out the top-5.
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On the east end of Long Island, Third generation driver CJ Lehmann lived out his racing dreams Saturday night at Riverhead Raceway as he scored a hard fought first career NASCAR Modified victory in the Ken Heagy Motorsports Chevrolet. For the fifth time this year John Baker was runner-up in the Staria Automotive Chevy which was actually a back-up car the team dusted off after a August 24th crash hurt their primary car. Defending champion and current championship leader Kyle Soper made a late race pass of Tom Rogers Jr. to bring his Eastport Feeds Chevy home third. Rogers and John Beatty Jr. completed the top five.
The Thompson Motorsports Park returned to racing last Sunday. Prior to the event SK light competitor Bryan Narducci and SK Modified competitor Todd Owen received some good news. After an extensive appeal process, a decision regarding penalties, fines and disqualifications stemming a recent Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park penalty report has been overturned.
Originally, Sunoco Modified driver Todd Owen and SK Light Modified driver Bryan Narducci had been penalized following results of a laboratory test regarding tire samples taken on Sunday, August 4. However, after the appeal, through Thompson Speedway’s determination, no evidence was found that the drivers intentionally treated the tires as prohibited in Thompson rules. Therefore, Narducci has been credited with the victory in the Sunday, August 4 SK Light Modified feature, and Owen has been credited with his third-place finish in the Sunoco Modified feature.
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park officials will reconsider this section of the rulebook — which will allow officials to further define the process in the future.
In on track action at Thompson Woody Pitkat scored a one-two punch as he won the Sunoco (Sk type) Modified 30 lapper and the Late Model feature. Pitkat took the lead from Todd Owen on lap six and had checked out from second place Keith Rocco when the caution waved on lap 29. On the restart it was Ron Williams that helped Pitkat get away from Rocco, but it was also Williams that then went on the aggressive and went after Pitkat and actually got under Pitkat as the pair came to the white flag side-by-side. Pitkat was able to clear Williams as they exited turn two on the final lap. Williams settled for the runner-up spot while Rocco was third. Todd Owen and Troy Talman rounded out the top five.
Bryan Narducci continues to dominate the SK Lights as he completed his weekend by making it two for two. Since the division began at Thompson 12 events were run and Narducci has won 10. He has all but wrapped up the division title at the track..
Other Sunday winners at Thompson were Ryan Waterman who scored his second Limited Sportsman win of 2019 in a brand new car and Scott Canfield earned his second victory of the season in the Mini Stocks.
At Darlington, Cole Custer, who finished second to Hamlin on the track in the Xfinity race was declared the winner.NASCAR announced that Hamlin’s car failed heights after the race. The car was found to be too low on the left front and too high on the right rear
Erik Jones won the rain delayed Darlington 500 Monster Cup event
Last year, 2023, The NASCAR Whelen Modified tour series traveled south to the Langley Speedway on Saturday night. On a hot and sticky night with temps near 90 deg Kyle Bonsignore scored his first series win since 2018. Starting fourth in the 15 car field, Bonsignore was running second by lap 45 and played his cards in a smooth fashion until the opportunity presented itself on lap 145 when he made the winning move to pass Austin Beers for the lead and eventual win. Beers, who recorded the best lap in practice and earned the Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award in qualifying, led the first 145 circuits of the 150-lap race. But Bonsignore’s speed was evident, too, as he spent most of the event lurking behind Beers in second.
Justin Bonsignore finished third ahead of Ron Silk in fourth and Kyle Ebersole in fifth. Tyler Rypkema, Jake Johnson, Max McLaughlin, Craig Lutz and Anthony Nocella finished sixth through 10th
Although it was announced that 15 modifieds were on hand only ten of them were competitive. Tim Connolly, competitive years ago is just out there riding around and was two laps down at the finish. John Michael Shenette was driving his first modified type race. He may turn into a more competitive driver in the future. Ken Heagy is sponsored by a seafood market is a fish out of water as is Gary McDonald. The biggest joke is Melissa Fifield. Watching her drive is about as exciting as watching paint dry as she was 14 laps down at the finish.
Last Friday night at Stafford was a quiet one as the heavy rains blanketed the entire Connecticut area just about all day. Five events remain to complete the season on Friday night, Sept. 29. Two-time defending SK Modified® champion Todd Owen has placed his #81 Cooker Construction machine in a perfect position to make some Stafford history. Since the inception of the SK Modified® division in 1982, no driver has ever managed to win three consecutive track championships. Owen has already joined Jerry Pearl, Mike Christopher, Bob Potter, Ted Christopher, Rowan Pennink, and Ronnie Williams as back-to-back champions and he sits in a prime position to become the first to win three in a row.
The SK Light division has seen 2020 track champion Brian Sullivan in control of the standings since the beginning of the year thanks to 3 wins over the first 4 races of the season. As good as Sullivan and the #46 Monaco Ford team have been with a division leading 4 wins, 8 top-5, and 11 top-10 finishes this season, George Bessette, Jr. and the #39 Lasco Roofing and Sheet Metal team have been just as good with 3 wins, 9 top-10, and 10 top-10 finishes. A win by Bessette combined with a 21st place finish for Sullivan, his first finish outside the top-10 this season, on August 18, has tightened the championship race down to 8 points, or 4 positions on the track between Sullivan and Bessette. Tyler Chapman, who dueled with Tyler Barry for the SK Light crown last season, sits third in the standings, 48 points behind Sullivan with Alexander Pearl fourth, 62 points behind.
Just as Todd Owen is looking to make Stafford history in the SK Modified® division, current Late Model points leader Kevin Gambacorta and the #23 Lavigne Law team are looking to etch their names into a special place in the Stafford record books. Gambacorta has won championships in the Street Stock and Limited Late Model divisions to join Ron Narducci, George Janoski, Tom Rosai, Mike Stefanik, Chuck Docherty, Doug Coby, Woody Pitkat, Michael Bennett, and Tom Fearn as drivers who have won track titles in two different divisions and he is seeking to become the first driver to win a title in three different divisions.
The Street Stock division in 2023 has been a story of two teams exerting domination over the rest of the field. Travis Hydar and the #11 Hydar Construction and Ryan Waterman and the #31 Fairway Mortgage team have won 10 of the 12 Street Stock races held this season with Waterman leading Hydar in wins by a 6 to 4 margin. Waterman also holds the point lead over Hydar by 14 point margin
Down in the southland at the Ace Speedway in North Carolina the SMART tour was back in action with a 99 lapper. Ace Speedway is a 4/10 mile oval, similar to the Albany-Saratoga Speedway when it was paved. Burt Myers took the win over Ryan Newman and Bobby Measmer.
In action at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl Anthony Flannery made it two in a row in the 35-lap SK Modified feature Saturday at the Connecticut shoreline oval. Flannery started ninth. Todd Owen finished second with Ryan Morgan, third. Cory DiMatteo and Eric Berndt rounded out the top five.
In action at the Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine, Richard Savary dominated the MRS feature race on the eve of the Oxford 250, leading 72 of the race’s 75 laps to take the checkered flag ahead of Joey Jarvis and Jacob Perry.
In NASCAR cup action at the Daytona International Speedway as the race went into NASCAR Overtime, Chris Buescher received a substantial push from teammate and RFK Racing co-owner Brad Keselowski, which saw the two cars remain hooked up for the majority of the two-lap run. That level of commitment to each other made the duo unstoppable coming to the checkered flag, allowing both the No. 17 and No. 6 to cross the start-finish line while occupying the top-two positions.
Following a nasty crash in the closing laps of Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Daytona International Speedway, Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 RaceChoice.com Ford Mustang was transported to a local area hospital. The crash, which happened with five laps to go, saw the Stewart-Haas Racing driver get tipped out of the pack before brutally barrel-rolling down the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway.
As of Sunday at 2:20 AM, SHR said that Preece was awake, alert, and mobile, but will remain overnight at Halifax Health Medical Center for continued observation. He will undergo further observation by medical personnel. Preece was released from the hospital on Sunday morning and headed to his home in North Carolina.
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.
That’s about it for this week from 11 Gardner Drive, Westerly, RI 02891. Ring my chimes at 401-248-1307).
