RPW Exclusive: SMART Mods Return At South Boston, Ryan Preece Strong At LVMS & More…
Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – The Southern Modified Auto Racing Tour (SMART) tour took a week off before heading to the South Boston Speedway in Virginia for the MARCH 21-22: KING OF THE MODIFIEDS AT SOBO.
After two events Jake Crum with 81 points leads Luke Baldwin by one point. Third with 70 points is Slate Myers. Tied for third spot are Paulie Hartwig and Carter McMurray. Rounding out the top five is Burt Myers.
With SMART taking a week off the southern modified action switched to the Caraway for a 75 lap event that drew only13 cars. Jeremy Gertsner took the win over Burt Myers, Brandon Ward, Gary Putman and Brice Bailey in front of a slim crowd.
Congratulations to Ryan who scored a third place finish in the NASCAR Cup event at Las Vegas. On the down side Preece was ignored by the Fox Sports post race interviewers. On the up side, RaceChoice.com is thrilled to announce its sponsorship of Preece for two highly anticipated Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series events: Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Wednesday, May 14, and Stafford Motor Speedway on Wednesday, July 16. Preece will pilot a RaceChoice.com Modified as he competes in the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series, bringing together top-tier talent in the world of short-track racing. This partnership underscores RaceChoice.com’s commitment to supporting racers at all levels, from grassroots competitors to professional drivers.
The 53rd Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler® is set for April 26-27. The NAPA Spring Sizzler® kicks off on Saturday, April 26, with feature events for the Late Model, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions, along with SK Light qualifying duel races that will set the field for an extra-distance 30-lap feature event on Sunday, April 27.
Sunday, April 27, will play host to the 53rd Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®. Filling out Sunday’s racing card will be qualifying and feature racing for the SK Modified® division, the 30-lap SK Light Modified feature, plus the NAPA Pit Party.
No driver is more eager to return to Stafford than Berlin, MA native Anthony Nocella. Nocella looked like he and his #92 Nocella Paving team had the car to beat last September at Stafford in the NAPA Fall Final. Nocella started the race from second, took the lead in the opening laps, and then led the race until a spin.
Woody Pitkat, a four-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour winner, will return to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour series to compete part-time with Danny Watts Racing in 2025. Driving the No. 82, Pitkat will run select events, including all three races at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, beginning with the Icebreaker on March 30.Pitkat is also scheduled to compete in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races at Monadnock Speedway on May 3 and July 19, along with the Tour event at White Mountain Motorsports Park on June 28. He will also return to Oswego Speedway on August 30 to run the 150-lap event in upstate New York, and plans to compete at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20.
As of now, eight races of the 16-race schedule are planned. Adjustments may be made as the season moves along. Announced earlier this week, Pitkat will also run full-time on the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series with Jett Motorsports, and will compete in all Open Modified races at Stafford Motor Speedway and additional Open Modified events with the Holmes Motorsports No. 8.
With very little fanfare The Race of Champions has moved to the Thompson Speedway and will be run on October 11. At one time the ROC was considered the most prestigious to run and to win. The ROC, originally the brain child of Irv Fried and Al Gerber was an annual event held on Columbus Day weekend on the one mile circular track in Langhorne, PA. The first winner was Hully Bunn who drove a modified Ford coupe with an engine built by Bob Duffy, a New England and a Ford Parts Manager at a Rhode Island Ford dealership. Dutch Hoag won at the track many times on both dirt and asphalt. The track was coated with asphalt in 1965 and its first winner was Wild Bill Slater in the Connecticut Valley Rocket V-8. Many of the best in the business including Ray Hendrick, Roger and Merv Treichler, Richie Evans and Fred DeSarro have won the event. Following the closure of Langhorne Gerber moved the ROC to the 1-1/2 mile Trenton Speedway. Following the closure of Trenton the ROC fell on hard times and ended up in Flemington, NJ where Gerber sold the rights to the event to Joe Skotnicki. In recent years the ROC has been run at the Lake Erie Speedway in northeast Pennsylvania.
When the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour visits Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in 2025, race fans will have the opportunity to see a special tribute scheme hit the track. Patrick Emerling, driver of the No. 1 Fleetworks Inc. Modified, will carry a special tribute scheme, throwing back to Geoffrey Bodine’s No. 1 Big Red Machine owned by Dick Armstrong. The scheme will be on the track for all three NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races. The Whelen Modified Tour will visit Thompson on March 30, August 6 and October 12. All events will air live on FloRacing.TV.
“It’s an honor to be able to carry this scheme,” Emerling said. “Geoffrey was a true, hard-nosed Modified racer, who raced in a time where they ran multiple races per week. To be able to have his colors on the Fleetworks No. 1 is special to our team and we hope the fans will enjoy it. We’re looking forward to getting to Thompson and hoping to keep our momentum rolling.”
Bodine, who had 18 career NASCAR Cup Series wins, may be most well-known for taking the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 to Victory Lane at Martinsville Speedway in 1984. Driving for Rick Hendrick, Bodine captured victory during a time where Hendrick was considering shutting down the team. The win helped propel Hendrick into the future, now with 14 Cup Series championships and over 200 wins.
Outside of the NASCAR Cup Series, though – Bodine cut his teeth racing Modifieds at the short-tracks. Bodine competed in arguably the toughest era of Modified racing – racing against names like Richie Evans, Jimmy Spencer, Fred DeSarro and more. Part of Bodine’s success came with Dick Armstrong as his car owner, specifically in the No. 1 Big Red Machine. Their Pinto won 55 races in one year in 1978. Bodine won countless marquee Modified events and championships, including three titles at Stafford Speedway and four of the first five runnings of the Thompson 300.
Ralph “Hop” Harrington designed and built the original No.1 with the help of Skip Rogers, Rick and Bob Armstrong. Billy Taylor was also a vital part of the team.
Coastal 181, Reading For Racers has released their 2024-2025 Catalog of great books. Among the newer titles is “Lazzaro, the man and his machine”. Lou Lazzaro became one of the Northeast’ most revered drivers of all time. He was equally as good on dirt as he was on asphalt. For many years he raced and won, sometimes three to five times a week at his home tracks, the Albany Saratoga Speedway in Malta, NY, Fonda Speedway in Fonda, NY and at the Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, New York. Lazzaro was a regular track representative for the All Star League that raced on dirt and asphalt tracks during the late 60’s. The most remarkable thing was that he did it all with the same car. One of his biggest fans believe it or not was Richie Evans. Other great reading in the Coastal 181 catalog include “Ray Everham-Trophies and Scars”, “Bugsy”, “Richie”, “Eddie Flemke” and “The Soul of a Modified” Lenny Boehlers Ole Blue. Call Coastal181 at 877-907-8181.
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.
