Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERL, RI – Seventy five years ago in 1949, Dave Humphrey closed out the season at Seekonk with a win.
Sixty five years ago in 1959 the New London Waterford Speedbowl closed out the season with a 50 lap Sportsman feature that was won by Bill Slater in the Connecticut Valley Rocket V-8. It was Slater’s 15th feature win of the season as he wrapped up the Sportsman division track championship at the shoreline oval. Ted Stack was the non-Ford feature winner and Newt Palm did likewise in the Bombers. Charlie Webster was declared the non-Ford Champion and Newt Palm, the Bomber Champion.
Sixty years ago in 1964 the NASCAR Modifieds ran a 200 lapper on the 4/10 mile dirt speedway at Langley Field in Virginia. Ted Hairfield took the win over Earl Moss, Bobby McGinnis and Dennis Zimmerman. Ralph “Hop” Harrington closed out the season at Seekonk with a 100 lap win.
Fifty five years ago in 1969, triple 25’s closed out the season at Thompson. Taking the wins were Smokey Boutwell, Bill Greco and Eddie Flemke. The overall winner was Boutwell. Flemke ended up second and was followed by Freddie Schulz, Red O’Keef, Greco, Ernie Gahan, George Pendergast and Sal Dee. The Nascar Modifieds were at North Wilkesboro where Max Berrier took the win over Ray Hendrick, Perk Brown, Jimmie Hensley, Billy Hensley and Jerry Cook. Fred DeSarro finished a distant 28th after an early race crash that saw him break a steering box.
Fifty years ago in 1974, Riverhead ran their season finale with Charlie Jarzombek taking the win over Geoff Bodine and Keilor. Thompson ran open competition big and small block events. Ronnie Bouchard won both events, driving the Manchester Sand and Gravel No.10 in the small block event and the Bob Johnson No.17 in the big block event. In the small block event, Tony Russo finished second and was followed by Fats Caruso and Mike Weeden. In the big block event, Bugsy Stevens finished second with Weeden, third.
Forty five years ago in 1979, the Fall Final at Stafford was run on a chilly Friday night after being rained out on its original date. Richie Evans took the win and was followed by Jerry Cook, Bugsy Stevens and Geoff Bodine. On Sunday, Evans and Cook finished one-two at Kingsport; Tenn. Westboro closed out their season on Sunday with Roland LaPierre Jr. taking the win with Joe Howard and Gomer Taylor, third.
Forty years ago in 1984, the only action in the northeast was at Wall Stadium in New Jersey. Tony Siscone took the final Saturday night modified event over Lenny Boyd. At Rockingham, N.C., Geoff Bodine had quite a weekend as he was the Busch Grandnational winner and Winston Cup pole sitter. Bill Elliott won the Winston Cup event.
Thirty five years ago in 1989, all was quiet with the exception of the reconstruction of the grandstand that fell at Thompson.
Thirty years ago in 1994, the Race of Champions was on tap at Flemington but heavy rain wreaked havoc with both the competition and the crowd. The only event run was the triple A-SK type event. Conditions were wet to say the least as 14 cautions slowed the event. Steve Park was the eventual winner and was followed by Ted Christopher, Kevin Collins, Ken Wooley and Richie Gallup. The actual Race of Champions was rained out and rescheduled for Oct.30. Lee Speedway got their Octoberfest in on Sunday and it was David Berghman picking up his first win. At Rockingham, Dale Earnhardt won the Winston Cup event and sewed up his seventh title, which tied Richard Petty’s record. Mark Martin was the Grandnational winner.
Twenty five years ago in 1999, Lee Raceway ran their Octoberfest with Rob Summers taking the Modified win over Charlie Pasteryak. In Winston Cup action at Rockingham, Jeff and Ward Burton finished one-two. Mark Martin was the Grandnational winner. It was also the week that the Seekonk Speedway was awarded a NASCAR sanction for their weekly racing series in 2000.
Twenty years ago in 2004, NASCAR released The NASCAR Featherlite Modified final point standings for 2004. Tony Hirschman, of North Hampton, Pa. was now officially the series champion. Hirschman, who had four wins in 19 starts beat Eddie Flemke JR. by 104 points. Flemke, of Southington, Ct. had two wins in 19 starts. Jerry Marquis, of Broadbrook, Ct finished third, 281 points behind the champion. Marquis also had two wins in 19 starts. Ted Christopher of Plainville, Ct. finished fourth despite being the top money winner with three wins in 19 starts. Christopher earned $55,615 but his lack of consistency kept him 403 points behind the leader at season’s end. Rounding out the top five was Rick Fuller of Auburn, Mass. Fuller, 443 points behind the leader went winless in 19 starts. Sixth through tenth in the final standings were Jamie Tomaino, Chuck Hossfeld, Donnie Lia, Kenny Barry and Zach Sylvester. Barry, of Griswold, Ct. was crowned Rookie of the Year.
The Featherlite Modified Tour Series continued to be one of the strongest NASCAR Touring divisions. During 2004 87 different drivers attempted to qualify for events. Twelve drivers competed in all events. Car counts were high as consistently 40 to 50 cars were at each event. NASCAR Modified Tour Series director Ed Cox said that talks were in progress for races at Martinsville, Va., Jennerstown, Pa and at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. It was also stated that the mods would not be going to the Lake Erie Speedway in Pa. in 2005.
It looked like the Busch North Series would not be returning to the Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts for the 2005 season. NASCAR had doubled the purse requirements for the division for their short track events. Seekonk, which would be celebrating their 60th anniversary season, would host the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series on July 30. The had also booked the NEMA Boston Louie Midget event for August 27 and the True Value Northern New England Modifieds for two visits, May 28 and August 20. Busch North Series Director Lee Roy said that sanctioning agreements being made up for 2005 would address the rainout problems incurred during 2004. An event at the Beech Ridge Speedway in Maine was rained out as well as a scheduled event at the Wall Township Speedway in New Jersey.
When the Thompson Speedway broke the news that they were planning to start up a new division of racecars similar to the Florida/IMSA Modifieds the rumor mill shifted into high gear with stories about the demise of the Pro Stock division. The speedway management put all that to rest as they announced that the Pro Stocks at Thompson were there to stay. In the beginning the Pro Stocks were a slam-bang rolling demolition derby. In the last couple of years the division has evolved into a first class racing program with good competition with the minimum amount of wrecks and spins.
Speaking of rumors, rumor had it that the management of the New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire had expressed interest in buying the near-by-Star Speedway, a ¼ mile oval. If the deal didn’t fly the dragway owners were thinking of building their own oval.
The NASCAR Busch Series was in Nashville Tenn. on Saturday. Martin Truex Jr., a graduate of the weekly ranks at the Wall Township Speedway and the Busch North Series, beat out Gregg Biffle in a green-white-checker finish for his sixth victory of the year. Todd Szegedy, who drove the No.50 Featherlite Modified, finished 15th. In Nextel Cup action at Martinsville, Va. Jimmie Johnson out ran Jamie McMurray for the win. Ryan Newman survived a late race confrontation with teammate Rusty Wallace to finish third. On a sad note, it was announced that a plane carrying members of the Hendrick Racing organization had crashed in the Bull Mountain area of Stuart, Va. Said to be on board were Ricky Hendrick, son of Rick Hendrick, John Hendrick, brother of Rick Hendrick and engine builder Randy Dorton. Virginia State Police dispatched a helicopter to the area and no survivors were observed.
On an additional sad note, Dick Watson, a NEAR Hall of Fame inductee lost a long battle with cancer and passed away. It was also learned that Ricky Miller, the last Riverside Park Track champion had passed away.
Boundless Motorsports Racing Inc announced that they had officially changed their company name to DIRT Motorsports Inc. The company owns various dirt track racing series including the DIRT Modified Series, the World of Outlaws Sprint Series, and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Among the numerous television broadcasts that the company produces is the popular “Rush Hour on Dirt” which features the ground pounding Big Block Modifieds.
Fifteen years ago in 2009, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series finally completed its 2009 season with the running of the 150 lap World Series. The series championship was Donny Lia’s to lose. After a spirited race long battle with Ryan Preece and Ted Christopher Lia settled into the fourth finishing position in the closing laps as he wrapped up the title. Christopher took the lead for the final time after a restart on lap 132 and held off Preece to take the win. Doug Coby moved into third with less than five laps to go. Rowan Pennick rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Chris Pasteryak, Erick Rudolph, Kevin Goodale, Ron Silk and Woody Pitkat. Christopher led twice for 93 laps, while Lia led twice for 57 laps.
There were eight caution periods for 47 laps. The car counts was ample but still down from previous years as only 29 Modifieds were on hand for the event that carried a race purse of $85,971.
The Thompson Speedway did their best in less than ideal racing conditions, thanks to the New England weather. In an effort to be proactive with a less than stellar forecast, Speedway Management decided to run feature events for the ARTS Truck Series, the SK Lights, TIS Modifieds, and Mini Stocks on Friday as the forecast for Saturday was for rain and high winds.
After post race technical inspection, John St. Germain of West Sand Lake, NY, was scored as the winner of the ARTS Trucks. Brit Anderson of Branford, CT, scored the victory in the SK Lights Modifieds. TIS Modified champion Brian Sullivan of S. Windsor, CT, put an exclamation point on his 2009 season with a victory at the World Series. Randy Churchill of Niantic, CT, continued his prowess in the Mini Stocks with a win. Ryan Morgan of Mystic made his driving debut in the TIS Modifieds.
On a sad note, Saturday marked the 24th anniversary of the death of the great Richie Evans.
In the Sunoco (SK type) Modified feature at Thompson Ronnie Silk slugged it out with Ted Christopher to win the caution-marred event. Christopher, who led the early going, managed to finish second, after rebounding from a spin. Bert Marvin, who was waiting for Silk and Christopher to tangle, finished third. Tim Sullivan finished fourth. Among the missing was Keith Rocco who was at Wall Stadium in New Jersey. Rocco’s Thompson ride, the Bannister No. 6 had been sold and the race team has reportedly been dissolved.
In other feature events run as part of the World Series at Thompson Mike O’Sullivan won the 30-lap Super Late Model feature. Over Norm Wrenn. The 2009 division champion, Derek Ramstrom finished third. Tom O’Sullivan wonthe Late Model feature over Woody Pitkat and Corey Hutchings. Rob Richardi Jr. won the Pro Four Modified feature. Rick Gentes was the Outlaw Late Model feature winner. In an exciting finish, Chris Perley latterly blew away Dave Shullick Jr. on the final lap to win the 50-lap ISMA SuperModified feature. Nokie Fornoro won the 30-lap NEMA Midget feature. Fornoro, a 34 year veteran, implied that it could be his last race as he is seriously contemplating retirement. Beth Adams was the Outlaw Mini Stock feature winner. Last but not least, Larry Barnett won the Limited Sportsman feature.
The True Value Modified Racing Series wound up their 2009 season at the Lee USA Speedway in New Hampshire. Kenny Barry took the win over Dwight Jarvis, Louie Mechalides, Jim Kuhn and Jack Bateman. Jon McKennedy won the series title. Barry took over the lead on lap 66 and was never headed.
Wall Stadium in New Jersey was also running with the Tom Commerford Memorial. Originally set for Saturday, the event featuring twin 66 lap features was run on Sunday. Jimmy Blewett won the opener but was sidelined in the second one after wrecking. Anthony Sessley won the night cap. Keith Rocco recorded two third place finishes. Matt Hirschman recorded two runner-up finishes.
In NASCAR Sprint Cup racing at the Martinsville Speedway, Denny Hamlin passed Jimmie Johnson and led the last 138 laps to take the win. Brad Keselowski was the Nationwide Series winner at Memphis.
Ten years ago in 2014, All eyes were on the Lee USA Speedway as the New Hampshire track hosted Octoberfest 2014. Headlining the program was the Valenti Modified Racing Series which drew 27 cars for a 100 lap feature.
Richard Savory was declared the winner after apparent winner Tommy Barrett was disqualified after ignoring the black flag for over aggressive driving. Race officials were told to stop scoring Barrett on lap 85. Race director John Spence Jr. said Barrett was warned “at least three or four times” for using the bumper before he was finally penalized. The decision did not go over big with the fans as Savory was booed in victory lane. Justin Bonsignore who started dead last as a provisional made a hard and clean charge to the front and came home second. Woody Pitkat recovered from a spin caused by a flat left rear and finished third. A great run was turned in by Dennis Perry who finished fourth. Perry started on the outside pole and took the lead from pole sitter Mike Willis on lap 20. Savory took the lead from Perry following a restart on lap 80. Willis rounded out the top five with Keith Rocco, sixth.
Following the event Spence explained the reason for his ruling. “The decision was made because he was warned. We addressed it in the driver’s meeting that we weren’t going to tolerate any use of the bumper, or driving through anyone. The 9 (Barrett) used the bumper at least three or four times. He almost spun the no. 51 on the backstretch I guess trying to get a caution.” Barrett proclaimed his innocence” “I didn’t dump anybody. I don’t really know,” said Barrett when asked if he knows why he was penalized. “We won’t be back.”
Todd Ceravolo scored a convincing win in the SK Lite feature.
Internet racing news web site RaceDay Ct broke the news that there is a movement on to form a new Northeast based touring Modified series that would bring together NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and Valenti Modified Racing Series. Organizers are looking to start the series in 2015.
There are some competitors who felt that the VMRS lacked consistency in enforcing their rules and race procedures. There were Whelen Modified Tour Series competitors who felt that NASCAR was running the Whelen Modified Tour series into the ground.
In Modified racing in the Southland, Andy Seuss finished off his first NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship last Thursday night, as Burt Myers continued his mastery of the quarter-mile at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Myers pulled away from George Brunnhoelzl III on a green-white-checkered end to the Southern Slam 150. It was the third Charlotte win for the Walnut Cove, North Carolina, driver. Seuss finished fifth to put the final touches on his title run. JR Bertuccio got past Brunnhoelzl on the final lap to take second. Brunnhoelzl, who won the tour championship in four of the last five years, finished third in the race. Kyle Ebersole was fourth.
Earlier in the day, NASCAR Next driver Ryan Preece won the Coors Light Pole Award. He led until Lap 64 when he had to pull off the track with brake issues. That handed the lead to Brunnhoelzl, who was on point until being overtaken by Myers on Lap 83 and the two swapped the lead over the next several laps. M at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. Brad Keselowski drove by teammate Ryan Blaney then held off Kyle yers took the top spot for good on Lap 86 and led a race-high 70 laps. A late caution gave Brunnhoelzl one more shot, but Myers was able to hold on for his 15th career win.
Stewart Friesen shocked leader Matt Sheppard with a flat out, high side dive into turn three late in the Syracuse 200 Sunday and emerged from the corner with his third win in the DIRTcar classic at the New York State Fairgrounds mile.
Kevin Harvick led a race-high 162 laps and held off Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray to win the NASCAR Bank of America 500 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, his first Sprint Cup victory since April 12 Busch to win Friday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Drive for the Cure 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Five years ago in 2019, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series closed out their 2019 season with the running of the Annual (57th) World Series at the Thompson Motorsports Park Speedway. Forty one Modifieds were pre-entered prior to the start of the weekend. The speedway grounds resembled a small city with hundreds of campers and tents in place for the weekend’s racing grand slam.
The speedway came alive on Friday morning. Very limited practice sessions took place before rain wiped out the entire day and night schedule. The Whelen modified tour entry list saw two drop-outs, Chase Dowling in the Tomaino car and Burt Myers.
Andrew Krause, driving the No. 24 Supreme Manufacturing Chevrolet, posted a fast lap of 18.893 seconds (118.527 mph) on Saturday afternoon to score the pole ahead of the Sunoco World Series 150 at the Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. His previous best qualifying effort was a second at his home track, Wall Stadium Speedway, in May. Justin Bonsignore, who trailed Doug Coby by 19 points, was second in qualifying and joined Krause on the front row. Coby, who was looking for a sixth Whelen Modified Tour title, qualified third.
Patrick Emerling and Chris Pasteryak were fourth and fifth, respectively. Ron Silk was sixth, followed by Bobby Santos III, Craig Lutz, Woody Pitkat and Timmy Solomito.
Justin Bonsignore won the season-finale 150 lapper, his sixth victory of the season, which helped him close the gap to just eight in the championship standings. Even though he came up short of his second consecutive Whelen Modified Tour title, Bonsignore scored victories in three of four races at Thompson this season. Ron Silk finished second, while Matt Swanson, Bobby Santos III and Woody Pitkat finished the top five. Eric Goodale was sixth, followed by Coby, Chase Dowling, Rob Summers and Timmy Solomito.
Bonsignore was the dominate driver as he led 138 of the posted 150 laps. Coby started third and never led a lap, but during a red flag for a multiple-car crash on lap 12, received some crucial information over the radio from a fellow competitor. Woody Pitkat told Coby’s team the left-rear tire looked low on air pressure, and he was right. Coby pitted during the caution, changed the tire, and restarted deep in the field. It wasn’t long before he was back up inside the top 15, positioning himself where he needed to be to keep his points lead.
There were six cautions for 31 laps. The first caution flew on lap six for Chris Pasteryak who spun on the front stretch after being nudged by Timmy Solomito. Both continued but Pasteryak was eliminated on lap 56 when he suffered front end damage after getting together with Andrew Krausefor the fifth caution. Pasteryak ended up 32nd and Krause, 33rd. The second caution flew on lap 11 when Kyle Bonsignore triggered a nine car wreck between turns three and four. Bonsignore took a trip off the backstretch on to the infield grass. He shot up on the track between turns three and four, collecting JR Bertuccio, Andy Jankowiac, Mark Bakaj, Gary Putnam and Ken Heagy to name a few. It was during this caution and ensuing red that Coby pitted to change a left rear tire that was going soft and during an interview with Dave Sapienza he indicated that Bobby Santos III would drive for him on limited occasions in 2020. Joey Mucciacciaro spun in turn 1 on lap 38 to bring out caution no.3. The fourth caution came on lap38 when Anthony Nocella lost an engine on the front stretch and hit the wall hard. Nocella escaped unhurt. The next caution came on lap 66 when Kyle Bonsignore and Calvin Carroll collided in turn three. The final caution flew on lap 102 when JR Bertuccio stopped on the track after an accident in turn four.
All tolled there were twenty six of the original 40 starters running at the end, seventeen on the lead lap. Tommy Catalano finished 11th and was followed by Craig Lutz, Kyle Soper, Sam Rameau, Kyle Bonsignore, JB Fortin and Blake Barney on the lead lap. Tom Rogers Jr finished 18th, one lap down. He was followed by Dylan Slepian, Chuck Hossfeld in perhaps his last race before retirement and Andrew Molleur.
It was a great day for racing. The crowd was not packed but ample to say the least. The 65 degree temp was ideal. Mike Stefanik was given a pre-race tribute thanks to his family and the Koszela family.
In some sad news, Timmy Solomito announced on FaceBook that Flamingo Motorsports (No. 16) would be shutting down following the World Series. Solomito stated that car owner Eric Sanderson & his wife Diane Reynolds Sanderson were retiring from racing. During his tenure at Flamingo Solomito recorded 9 wins, 6 poles and 1,300 laps led.
In other Sunday action, the Sunoco (SKtype) Modifieds were first up with a 30 lapper. Todd Owen started on the pole and held off first, Ron Williams and in the end, Woody Pitkat, to take the win. Williams was an early contender but was parked by officials after he ran Owen up the track and triggered a big wreck. Mike Christopher finished a strong third with Troy Talman, fourth. Keith Rocco drove a conservative race to finish fifth and wrapped up the division title, his fourth in a row and eighth overall. It was Rocco’s 17th NASCAR sanctioned SK Modified championship between three tracks in Connecticut, Stafford, Waterford and Thompson.
Shawn Monihan scored his fourth win of the year in the Limited Sportsman division but it was Kyle Gero who won the war and the championship. Gero, a third-generation racer is the son of Mike and Kim Gero and the grandson of George “Moose” and Jayne Hewitt. Gero finished fourth behind Monihan, Ryan Morgan and Cory Fanning. Megan Fuller was also a contender but was eliminated in an early race tangle on the front chute.
Jon McKennedy didn’t have a Mod tour ride but more than made up for it when he won the ISMA SuperModified 50 lapper. McKennedy dedicated his win to his dad who passed away recently. Randy Cabral was the NEMA Light winner.
Because of the fact that rain washed out all of the scheduled features for Friday night racing went way into the evening hours on Saturday as the final checkered flag fell at midnight, ending an extremely long day.
Bryan Narducci put the icing on the cake as he won the 20 lap SK Lite feature in the closing moments. Albert Ouellette did his best to block Narducci but to no avail as the division champion went to the outside as they came off the fourth turn on the final lap. Ouellette attempted to dump him into the wall but Narducci kept control and sprinted to the checker. Ouellette finished second with Alexander Pearl, third.
Narducci’s year included a NASCAR National Championship, Track Championship at Thompson and winning 15 out of 30 races entered.
The Valenti Modified Racing Series 50 lapper provided some great competition as Ronnie Williams took the win over Chase Dowling, Craig Lutz, Todd Owen and Joey Cipriano.
Other Saturday night winners were Derek Gluchacki in the Late Models, Rob Riccardi in the Pro 4 Modifieds, Eddie MacDonald in the Granite State Pro Stocks, Jonathan Bouvrette in the ACT Late Models and Ben Seitz in the NEMA Midgets.
Among those on hand Sunday was former NASCAR National Modified Champion Carl Bugs Stevens who was signing autographs and greeting his many friends and fans.
Congratulations to Dr Dick Berggren who will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Jan 31 As a distinguished broadcaster. Berggren, is one of the three originators of the Spring Sizzler at Stafford. He began his broadcasting career at the Star Speedway in New Hampshire and at the New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. He is best known as a pit reporter for NASCAR Cup racing on national television. He was also the editor of Stock Car Racing and the Speedway Illustrated Magazines. He has also been a prime mover of the Northeast Motorsports Museum in Loudon, NH.
In some follow-up news, internet racing site RaceDayCt reported the pilot of the plane that crashed in 2017 taking the life of local short track racing legend Ted Christopher was not certified to fly at the time of the crash because of medical conditions dating back more than a decade.
Pilot Patrick Dundas had his flight certification denied by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2007 according to a report released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. Dundas, who was 81 years old at the time of the crash, had a history heart issues that first put restrictions on his flying in 2002 and ultimately were the cause for his medical certificate to fly to be declined in 2007 by the FAA.
Christopher was killed on Sept. 16, 2017 when the single engine 1964 Mooney M20C he was a passenger in crashed in North Branford. Christopher was 59 years old at the time of the crash.
The NTSB released its Aviation Accident Factual Report publicly on the crash on Tuesday, Oct 9. A further extended conclusive report is expected at a later date. The NTSB investigation reports “Loss of engine power” as the defining cause of the crash.
The closing laps of Sunday’s Billy Whittaker Cars 200 capped a drama-filled NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week at Oswego Speedway, where Mat Williamson had enough fuel to charge to the checkers while the car that was closing fast did not.
A late caution set up a shootout to the checkered flag. Williamson, a 29-year-old from St. Catherines, Ontario, was in front with an even younger Anthony Perrego and the sport’s winningest driver, Brett Hearn, closing hard. Then, on the last lap and hoping to pounce on Williamson, former winner Tim Fuller swung around Hearn in turn two, then Perrego’s machine suddenly ran out of fuel and slowed as Williamson raced under the checkers with Fuller in second and Hearn third. In a breakout season for Williamson, winning his first $50,000 Billy Whittaker Cars 200, joining Stewart Friesen as the only Canadians to win the race.
In NASCAR Cup racing, Ryan Blaney beat Ryan Newman in a door-to-door race to the finish line to win Monday at Talladega Superspeedway and advance to the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs. Blaney’s first win of the season came as he was desperately trying to remain in title contention.
Last Year, 2023, The New England weather finally relented, at least on Friday, as mother nature allowed the Stafford Motor Speedway to get their Friday night season in the books and declare its division champions. Taking down feature wins on the night were Michael Christopher in the SK Modified® feature, Keith Rocco in the TC 13 Shootout SK Modified® feature, Chris Meyer in the Late Model feature, Tyler Chapman in the SK Light feature, Jeremy Lavoie in the Limited Late Model feature, and Travis Hydar in the Street Stock feature. With NAPA Championship Night serving as the final Friday night race of the 2023 season, track championships were clinched by Todd Owen in the SK Modified® division, George Bessette, Jr. in the SK Light division, Jeremy Lavoie in the Limited Late Model feature, and Ryan Waterman in the Street Stock feature. Kevin Gambacorta had already clinched the Late Model track championship back on Sept. 22nd. As part of the Ted Christopher Safety Initiative undertaken by Christopher’s widow Quinn, 5 drivers were awarded new Leaf Racewear firesuits with each feature winner drawing a chip in NAPA Victory Lane to determine the winners. The 5 lucky winners were Michael Christopher, Jr. in the SK Modified® division, Chris Meyer in the Late Model division, Meghan Fuller in the SK Light division, Jeremy Lavoie in the Limited Late Model division, and Travis Hydar in the Street Stock division.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature, Mikey Flynn, who started on the pole, took the early lead at the drop of the green flag with Troy Talman in second. Dylan Kopec was third with Michael Christopher, Jr. taking fourth. The first caution came out with 2 laps complete as Tyler Barry hit the backstretch wall after an accidental bump from Todd Owen and came to a stop just before the entrance to turn 3. Owen took responsibility and apologized for the incident during s post-race interview.
Flynn took the lead on the restart with Christopher taking second from Talman on lap-5. Christopher went around Flynn to take the lead on lap-8 but Flynn came right back to the inside of Christopher and the two cars were racing wheel to wheel for the lead with Christopher holding the lead by a nose at the line.
Flynn led lap-12 but Christopher put his car in front of Flynn on lap-13 to retake the lead. Talman was third in line with Gervais in fourth and Flannery in fifth. Flynn wasn’t going away quietly as he was all over Christopher’s back bumper looking to retake the lead. With 25 laps complete, the order was Christopher, Flynn, Gervais, Rocco, Flannery, Korner, Arute, Rufrano, Cory DiMatteo, and Todd Owen.
Christopher led the field to the checkered flag with Gervais, Rocco, Flannery, and Flynn rounding out the top-5. Owen’s 10th place finish was good enough to make him the 2023 SK Modified® champion. Owen’s championship is his third consecutive at Stafford, which makes him the first SK Modified® driver to win the championship in three consecutive years.
In the TC 13 Shootout Keith Rocco took the lead from pole position after the top-3 from the top-13 finishers of the 40-lap SK Modified® feature finish were inverted. Gervais was second in line behind Rocco with Christopher third, Flynn fourth, and RJ Marcotte fifth. Gervais made a move to the inside of Rocco on lap-6 to take the lead by a nose at the line. Gervais cleared Rocco on lap-7 but Rocco came right back to the inside of Gervais in turn 3 to retake the lead before lap-7 was completed. Christopher was third in line with Flynn fourth and Marcotte fifth. With 2 laps to go, Rocco was in command with Christopher now in second. Marcotte and Flynn touched dueling for fourth with Flynn spinning into the turn 3 wall to bring the caution out and set up a green-white checkered finish. Rocco took the lead with Gervais right behind him and Christopher in third. Gervais tried to make a last lap pass but came up just short as Rocco won the TC 13 Shootout and the $1,313 purse that goes along with it. Christopher finished third with Marcotte and Owen rounding out the top-5.
Rocco dedicated his win to Ted Christopher as well as Jean Guy Poulin. Christopher took Rocco into his crew and gave him an education that would make him a championship racer and Poulin was the owner who took a chance and gave Rocco his first SK Modified ride.
Going into the night’s SK Light 20 lapper George Bessette and Brian Sullivan were tied for the point lead. Sullivan started seventh and Bessette started 11th. In a determined run, Bessette ended up second as Sullivan, who was in second at the time faded to fourth at the finish while Tyler Chapman took the win and Meg Fuller finished a strong third.
Stafford will now be quiet, race wise, until October 28 when the Tri-Track Series Fall Final will round out the season. Next Sunday, Oct 15 Stafford will host the 49th Annual Ty-Rods Fall Auto Swap Meet and on Sunday, Oct 22, the track will host a Motorcycle Swap Meet.
In a surprise announcement internet racing news site RaceDayCt announced that The most successful pairing of team owner and driver over the last decade in the Late Model division at Stafford Speedway is no more. Stu Fearn, owner of the Fearn Motorsports team, has released driver Tom Fearn.
“Tom Fearn has been released for off-track actions unrelated to any on-track activity at all,” Stu Fearn told RaceDayCT. “I sold the car. All his stuff is cleaned out of the shop.” Stu Fearn and Tom Fearn are cousins. Stu Fearn will continue to field a Late Model at Stafford for his daughter, Alexandra Fearn. Stu Fearn began fielding a Late Model for Tom Fearn for the 2012 season at Stafford. The team won Late Model championships at Stafford in 2016, 2018 and 2019. Tom Fearn is the winningest Late Model driver in Stafford history with 65 victories in the division, with 57 of those victories coming while driving a Stu Fearn owned car.
The Thompson Speedway began its three day World Series on Friday night. The Modified Racing Series’ 50-lap feature saw a dramatic finish and a championship battle that went down to the wire. The battle for the win went to Ronnie Williams, who took the lead on lap 32 after contact with Jake Johnson and held off Teddy Hodgdon in a late-race shootout for the victory. Williams got the Bronx Cheer in victory lane took blame for the incident with Johnson in victory lane while some fans in attendance shared their displeasure, but added the win was a big one to start the weekend with two more Tour Modified races on the docket. said Williams. “100 percent my fault on Jake Johnson, I know they’re going to have some words for me, but 100 percent my fault. No excuse for it, just made a mistake. It happens.”
Hodgdon tried one more last-gasp effort on the final lap, driving hard into turn three, but could not get close enough to challenge Williams for the win. While that battle raged on, Kirk Alexander’s last-lap pass of Anthony Bello for the 11th position was enough to edge out Matt Swanson in the fight for the Modified Racing Series title. Woody Pitkat, Austin Beers and Eric Goodale rounded out the top five.
In other Friday night action at Thompson Jon Pule0 won a six car Sunoco Modified SK type 30 lapper over Troy Talman. Talman had raced at Stafford and following the conclusion of the Stafford event made a hasty retreat to Thompson. Jake Johnson won a 14-car Late Model event and Cody Leblanc won a 14-car Mini Stock event.
Saturday was a complete wash-out.
Sunday was an extremely long day. Early Sunday morning word spread through the pit area that the oval at Thompson would live to race another year. Chris Michaud and Tom Maybury who have leased the oval in recent years will re-up for 2024. Details will be released in the not to distant future. It is hoped that the Hoenig family will spruce up the facility a bit as the facility is taking on a shabby appearance.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series was the highlight of the Sunday events. The 25 cars that entered were lined up according to points because qualifying was rained out. Justin Bonsignore and Ron Silk led the field to the green. Silk faded a bit allowing Austin Beers to move along side of Bonsignore. Beers took the lead on lap 2 as the field settled in on what was to be a long run. On lap 35, Jake Johnson who was at the controls of the mighty No. 3 Ole Blu passed Silk, moving into the runner-up spot. On lap 44 Bonsignore passed Silk for third spot. At the 50 lap mark Beers continued to lead and was followed by Johnson, Bonsignore, Silk, Craig Lutz, Kyle Bonsignore and Eric Berndt who had come all the way from a scratch starting position. At this point Melissa Fifield had been lapped 14 times.
By lap 52 Johnson had closed in on Beers and was applying pressure. As the pair were closing in on lapped cars on lap 66 Beers was blocked by a lapped car and Johnson had shot into the lead. There were 12 cars on the lead lap at that time. On lap 74 Bonsignore slipped by Beers for the second spot. At the half way mark, lap 75, Johnson continued to lead followed by Beers, Lutz, Eric Goodale, Kyle Bonsignore, Eric Berndt and Ron Silk who had faded to eighth, close to a half lap behind. The first caution flew on lap83 for Anthony Sesley who spun on the front chute. All the front runners pitted for tires and adjustments. The field went back to green on lap 91with Bonsignore in the lead followed by Goodale, Silk, Beers and Lutz. Johnson had a slow stop and rejoined the field in the 11th spot. On lap 93 Silk went by Goodale for second spot.
The second caution flew on lap 95 when Beers and Berndt spun in turn four. Berndt ended up in the wall with his right front tire sheared off. The field went back to green on lap 100 with Bonsignore leading over Silk, Goodale, Lutz, Johnson and Kyle Bonsignore. Between laps 107 and 109 Bonsignore swapped the lead. The third caution flew on lap 120 when Kyle Bonsignore spun. Melissa Fifield had been lapped 20 times at that point. The field went back to green on lap 125 with Silk in the lead followed by Bonsignore, Johnson, Lutz and Eric Goodale. By lap 126 Lutz had gotten by Johnson and Bonsignore for the second spot. Bonsignore took it back one lap later. The fourth caution flew on lap 128 when Matt Swanson and Sam Rameau tangled on the front chute. Also collected was Andrew Krause. The green was displayed on lap 136. As the field entered turn one Tyler Rypkems found himself in the wall bringing out the yellow again. Rypkema was able to drive away.
The field went back to green onlap 138. Kyle Bonsignore who was running second mis-handled his shifter and missed a gear, slowing greatly. Finally getting it in gear, the damage was done! Silk ran the remaining laps with Johnson and Goodale on his tail. Bonsignore was able to salvage a 13th place finish. Kyle Bonsignore finished fourth with Bobby Santos, fifth. Sixth thru tenth included Anthony Noscella, Andrew Krause, Lutz, Woody Pitkat and Austin Beers.
Other Sunday winners included Kieth Rocco who won the Open Modified event for a $10,000 pay off and the Sunday Sunoco Modified 30 lapper. The win also took Rocco to a career overall total of 303 wins which include 154 victories at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl, 73 at Thompson and 81 at Stafford Speedway.
Keith Rocco and Mike and Mark Payne owned team weren’t planning on racing in the Thompson Outlaw Modified event scheduled for Saturday at the World Series. When rain forced the event to be postponed to Sunday they decided to jump in. Despite having a multitude of problems during the feature, somehow Rocco ended up in victory lane. Rocco held off the charges of Kyle Bonsignore over the closing laps to win the 100-lap Thompson Outlaw Modified feature For his efforts Rocco earned a $10,000 payday. Bonsignore was second and Austin Beers third.
The event was marred by an ugly brawl that took place in the infield. Sam Rameau went by Jake Johnson for the lead on lap one. Johnson stayed with Rameau and on lap seven it was Johnson moving back to the top spot. On lap eight Austin Beers got by Rameau to take over second. The first caution of the event flew on lap 12 for the spinning car of Charlie Pasteryak.
On the restart it was Johnson holding the top spot with Rocco going from fourth to third past Rameau. Caution flew again on a lap 19 for an issue with the car of Carl Medeiros Jr. Under caution Keith Rocco went to pit road from third place because of a loose air cleaner. On the lap 19 restart it was Beers getting by Johnson for the lead. Five laps later Johnson used a move off of turn four to move back by Beers for the lead. On lap 26 Eric Goodale was able to overtake Beers to go to second. Caution flew for the third time on lap 32 for the spinning car of Glen Steger on the frontstretch. Johnson was up to the task once again on the restart. Caution flew for the fourth time on lap 37 for the stopped car of Medeiros in the turn four wall. On the ensuing restart it was Goodale going side-by-side with Johnson out front for nearly a lap and a half before Johnson cleared Goodale off of turn two on lap 38.With Johnson leading Anthony Bello and Goodale in third, caution flew for the fourth time for the stopped car of Steger. The first attempt at a restart was negated for an issue deep in the field. On the second attempt at the lap 50 restart it was Bello flying past Johnson into the lead, with Ronnie Williams going to second.
Not long after Williams got by Bello leading to an extended stretch of green flag laps until caution flew on lap 80. With Williams and Bello pitting under caution it moved Rameau to the lead with Rocco in second and George Bessette Jr. in third. On the restart Rocco got the run under Rameau to come off turn two with the lead. In turns three and four Rameau drove Rocco up the track to move back to the lead, allowing Craig Lutz to move to second. On lap 84 Bessette got by Lutz for second and quickly found the bumper of Rameau in the lead. On lap 85 Bessette made a move under Rameau in turn three that ended with both cars spinning toward the wall and Rameau’s car wrecked. It put Lutz out front with Rocco in second and Beers in third. On the lap 85 restart Rocco was able to get by Lutz to make it back into the lead. Just after the restart the brawl began near the turn one end of pit road. Videos showed Bessette being attacked by Rameau and crew members from his team while Bessette was still sitting in his car behind the pit wall. Witnesses said after Bessette was forcefully pulled from his he was struck in the head by someone swinging a helmet at him. A track official said Bessette was taken from the track by ambulance.
On lap 90 Kyle Bonsignore got by Lutz to take over second, but by then Rocco had checked out on the field. Caution flew on lap 96 to bunch up Rocco and Bonsignore with Beers in third and Williams in fourth. Bonsignore stalked Rocco over the closing laps but couldn’t find a lane to get by him.
The operators of the American-Canadian Tour and the Pro All-Stars Series announced in conjunction Wednesday that Modified driver Sam Rameau, his father Randy Rameau and their race team have been banned from participating in any events sanctioned by ACT or PASS or at any tracks sanctioned by ACT or Pass, including Thompson Speedway.
The statement from ACT and PASS read:
October 11, 2023
To: Sam Rameau, Randy Rameau and Rameau Race Team
Due to the violent actions by you and your team on Sunday, October 8, 2023, you and your entire team have been permanently suspended from any events by ACT and all connected or sanctioned tracks, PASS Racing and all connected or sanctioned tracks, and Thompson Speedway. This type of behavior is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.
Cris Michaud, ACT
Tom Mayberry, PASS
Management of the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series also announced an indefinite suspension of Sam Rameau, Randy Rameau and the Rameau owned racing. Team.
Meghan Fuller was the SK Light winner, Dan Bowes won in the SuperModifieds, Randy Cabral won in the NEMA Lites, Chris Buffone won in the Street Stocks, Craig Fanning in the Limited Sportsman and Jared Roy in the Mini Stocks.
It was announced that the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series will make its Thompson Speedway debut on April 6, 2024 as part of the April 6-7 Icebreaker weekend at Thompson.
The SMART Modified Tour was at the Tri-County Speedway in North Carolina for the Cardinal 99 on Saturday night. Bobby Labonte in a borrowed car won the hard fought event over Bobby Measmer. Jason Myers had been the pole sitter but missed the set-up snd quickly faded after the start. Brian Loftin finished third with Jake Crum and Burt Myers rounding out the top five. Jason Myers ended up eighth. The New London Waterford Speedbowl rained out..
In NASCAR Cup racing, AJ Allmendinger stole some thunder from the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers with a convincing victory in Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course. Driving the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, Allmendinger led twice for a race-high 46 laps, including the last 33, and beat runner-up William Byron to the finish line by 0.666 seconds to win his first Cup race of the season, his first at the Charlotte road course and the third of his Cup Series career, all on road courses. Ryan Preece finished 11th.
In Super Dirt action at the Oswego Speedway in New York, Mat Williamson became the fourth driver in history to sweep Big Block Modified, Small Block Modified titles in the same year. Williamson drove his way into Victory Lane for the second time in a day at Oswego Speedway after taking the checkers in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 Monday afternoon. His third victory of the prestigious race followed his first ever DIRTcar 358 Modified Salute to the Troops 150 win, making him only the fourth driver in history to sweep both titles in the same year. And now the first to do it on the same day. Max McLaughlin’s second-place finish is McLaughlin’s second podium performance in a row in the ‘200’.
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).