RPW Exclusive: Looking Back: Third Week Of March

Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Fifty five years ago in 1970, the new look of Late Model Modifieds made their debut at Martinsville for the annual Dogwood 500.  Fifty two cars were in the pit area for time trials.

Pete Keller was the NASCAR official in charge. Many of those in the field had installed abbreviated nerf bars, which extended to the outer edge of tires that stuck out beyond body panels. It was Keller’s command decision to have all nerf bars removed. During the running of the consolation events on Saturday numerous wrecks were caused when competitors ran up over wheels of others.

Keller was eventually told to resign or get fired from NASCAR when he was convicted of Income Tax evasion. Among those in the field was Eddie Flemke in a Mustang owned by Bob Garbarino, Ray Hendrick in a Camaro owned by Jack Tant and Clayton Mitchell, Fred DeSarro in a Mustang owned by Joe Brady, Leo Cleary in a Corvair owned by Sonny Koszela and Bugsy Stevens in a Corvair owned by Len Boehler. Ray Hendrick was the top time trialer with Max Berrier second fastest. Rain washed out the 500-lap event, which was rescheduled for early April.

Fifty years ago in 1975, Metrolina Speedway in North Carolina and Fulton Raceway in New York ran head to head with modifieds. At Metrolina extra points were up for grabs. Ray Hendrick took the win and was followed by Jerry Cook, John Bryant and Paul Radford. At Fulton it was Maynard Troyer over Sonney Seamon, Ed Flemke and Siege Fidenza.

Forty five years ago in 1980, Waterford opened for the season with an open competition event. Marty Radwick took the win with Tom McCann, second. Rounding out the top ten were Stan Gregger, Reggie Ruggiero, Moose Hewitt, Dick Dunn, Jerry Pearl, Roland LaPierre Jr, Gene Bergin and Rick Donnelly. It was also on this date that Joe Brady and Danny Bennett leased the Stafford Speedway for the first annual Racers Flea Market. The event drew thousands and was deemed a rousing success.

Forty years ago in 1985, the season opening event at Martinsville was rained out.

Thirty five years ago in 1990, Riverside Park Speedway opened on Saturday night and a chilled crowd watched Tom Bolles lead all 100 laps of the modified feature. Jerry Marquis finished second and was followed by Reggie Ruggiero and Mike Stefanik.

Thirty years ago in 1995, the Riverside opener was again a cold one. Chris Kopec took the lead on lap 25 of the 75-lap feature to take top honors in the opening night event. Dan Avery finished second and was followed by Reggie Ruggiero, Tom Cravenho and Eric Beers. In Grandnational (Busch Series) action at Darlington, Larry Pearson took the win over Johnny Benson and in Winston (Nextel) Cup action Sterling Marlin took the win over Dale Earnhardt.

Twenty five years ago in 2000, the only action was at Bristol, Tenn. Sterling Marlin was the Grandnational (Busch Series) winner with Jeff Green finishing second. Mike Stefanik finished 20th after getting collected in an early wreck. In Winston (Nextel) Cup action, Rusty Wallace scored his 50th win. Johnny Benson finished second.

Twenty years ago in 2005, competitors and fans were glad to hear that the Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts was installing a new electronic scoreboard which would be in place and would be operational. The Venditti family which has owned and operated the speedway since its inception in 1946 had also embarked on a major construction project which would permit pit access from the third turn of the oval.

Modified racing can be full of surprises at times. One such surprise occurred when Hillbilly Racing, based in Westfield North Carolina, announced that Ted Christopher would be driving the Hill’s Enterprises No.79 in a Southern Modified Tour event at the Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, NC.

The Plainfield Connecticut Planning and Zoning Commission voted 3-2 to defer a decision on a zoning change sought by New England Raceway LLC and Connecticut Yankee Greyhound Racing Inc. to give members time to review a more than 200-page transcript of a public hearing on the matter. The commission would conduct a special meeting to consider the so-called text amendment, which would accommodate plans for a domed auto racetrack, in the Plainfield Town Hall auditorium. Close to 300 people were on hand.

The Waterford Speedbowl held their annual season preview car show at the Crystal Mall in Waterford. Among the cars on display were the Modifieds of Shawn and Diego Monahan, Dennis Cherette and Rob Janovic, Late Models on display were those of Allen Coates, Larry Goss and Brandon Plemmends along with the Sportsman driven by Roger Perry, the Mini Stock driven by Chris Williams, the Legend Car driven by Jeffrey Paul and the X-Car of Vic Williams. The Speedbowl had announced that following week’s Nationals SK-Modified 150 would carry a purse of $20,000 and would pay $5,000 to win.

Carl Edwards scored a one-two punch as he won the Busch Series and Nextel Cup events at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. He was headed toward a Busch win the previous week at Las Vegas before he cut a tire and spun while leading late. He made up for it by going four-wide Saturday in his charge to the front in the final laps. He beat Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson for the Busch Series win. Johnson appeared as if he would hold off Edwards to win the Nextel Cup event. Johnson has almost more career Cup wins (15) than Edwards has series starts (17). Edwards’ chances seemed over when his car slid sideways exiting turn 2 with five laps to go. Instead, Edwards kept going. Edwards nipped Johnson after rubbing wheels as they headed for the finish line.

Fifteen years ago in 2010, The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Series held their season opening event at the Atlanta Motor Speedway ¼ mile flat track on Friday night. Twenty three Modifieds were on hand for what was supposed to be the first of ten taped delayed televised events.

Third generation Corey LaJoie, in a car owned by Roger and Sandra Hill, drove like a veteran in his first career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour start. Using lapped traffic to get by Tim Brown, the 18-year-old driver then held off a furious challenge from Brown over the closing laps to capture the Atlanta 150. The race was the first for the Tour held on the track’s flat, quarter-mile front stretch oval. The setup is similar to Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., where Brown is an eight-time champion in the track’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Modified division.

He battled back from an early mistake that put him in the back of the field. While battling for the fifth-place position on the backstretch of the tight oval, LaJoie wound up driving into the infield. He was able to keep his momentum, cutting through the grass, and re-enter the track in Turn 4. But the miscue put him near the back of the running order. He slowly picked his way back through, moving past Fleming for the No. 2 spot with 30 to go.

LaJoie used lapped traffic to take the lead from Brown on Lap 131. Brown took the top spot back with eight to go with a move inside going into Turn 2, but LaJoie again took advantage of lapped traffic a lap later to reclaim the lead. Over the final five laps, Brown was all over LaJoie’s bumper but was unable to rattle the rookie. Brown bumped Lajoie coming out of turn 4 and dove inside to try to make a pass. He got halfway up Lajoie’s door as they ran wheel to wheel across the line.

Frank Fleming finished third, followed by David Brigati and Brandon Hire. James Civali, Jason Myers, Zach Brewer, John Smith and Buddy Emory rounded out the top 10. Pre-race favorite Burt Myers finished 17th, six laps down. Andy Seuss was the only northerner in the field. He finished 12th, one lap down.

Congratulations were in order to Stafford Motor Speedway Late Model competitor Dillon Moltz who was selected to be part of the Richard Petty developmental driver program. The program will select a total of 12 drivers from across the United States to compete in a combine where the winner will receive a one-off race deal to drive an ARCA car in the ARCA Pocono 200 at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, June 5th.

NASCAR announced that its Modified touring divisions would now award bonus points for its races, starting the previous weekend with the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In order to reward drivers for running up front and to provide a further incentive to race for the lead, NASCAR instituted lap-leader bonus points for the first time to the Whelen Modified and Whelen Southern Modified Tours.

Five bonus points will be awarded to each driver and car owner whose car officially leads a lap during a race and five additional bonus points will be awarded to the driver and car owner leading the most official laps in an event. This will bring the maximum number of points a driver can earn in a race to 190, with 180 awarded for first place.

The Waterford Speedbowl management announced that work on a construction project to upgrade the track’s retaining wall has begun. The Speedbowl was one of ten facilities selected in 2010 to receive funds through NASCAR’s Capital Improvement Grant program. The grant, coupled with a matching investment from the Speedbowl, would allow for installation of concrete walls lining the front and back chutes of the track. It replaces the armco barrier retaining wall currently in place in those areas. This is the first major change to the wall structure since the armco was installed prior to the start of the 1988 season. That replaced an antiquated wooden beam wall system.

In some sad news, it was the announced that the Adirondack International Speedway regrets there would not be competition at the track during the 2010 season. The speedway is located in New Bremen, NY which is near Watertown. The speedway was built in 2000. The closure was based on financial difficulties arising from unresolved property tax issues, operational losses, health department requirements, and other pressures facing the local racing industry.

In other sad news items National Speed-Sport News scribe Gary London sent along word that retired Islip (Long Island) Speedway driver Artie Tappen passed away and Pete Zanardi sent word that Gene Angelillo, a 14-time Northeastern Midget Association owners champion, died after a short illness at l. Angelillo, 74, also had an ARDC championship on a 30-year plus resume that included over 112 victories, 107 of them in NEMA.

Kurt Busch won the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway for the second year in a row, beating Matt Kenseth to the line by nearly half a second in the Kobalt Tools 500. Juan Pablo Montoya was third, followed by Kasey Kahne and Paul Menard.

Ten years ago in 2015, It looked like Bob Garbarino had put his retirement from racing on hold as Area Auto Racing News announced that he had teamed up with Todd Szegedy for the 2015 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series. Szegedy ran a partial season on the Whelen Modified Tour in 2014 after splitting up with the Mike Smeriglio III owned team after the 2013 season. Szegedy had been driving for Smeriglio from the start of the 2006 season and had 10 of his 18 career series victories with the team. Szegedy brings to the Mystic Ct team a résumé that includes 18 wins, 10 poles and 115 top 10s in 187 career starts. He won the tour title as a second-year driver in 2003 with the No. 50 team owned by Barker, and was twice the runner-up with Mike Smeriglio III Racing before his departure following the 2013 season.

Corey LaJoie is filling the seat left vacant by Todd Szegedy. Rob Fuller Motorsports announced that LaJoie, son of Randy LaJoie, would drive the No. 15 15-40 Connection Chevrolet in seven races in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) in 2015.

The KOMA Unwind Modified Madness Series had their season opener at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina. Burt Myers took the lead with five laps remaining in the 125 lapper, passing Chris Pasteryak for the win. Jason Myers rounded out the top three. Ryan Preece who was the fastest in practice and the pole sitter was never a factor. Zach Brewer finished fourth with Gary Putnam, fifth. Preece ended up in sixth spot. There were twenty cars on hand.

New London-Waterford Speedbowl owner Bruce Bemer and General Manager Shawn Monahan were pleasantly surprised to hear from a structural engineer that the grandstands at the shoreline oval were generally in good shape. Bemer hoped to have the stands painted before opening day and to have new stands in place by the 2016 season. While the stands are acceptable for this season, the bathrooms, especially the ladies facilities, are not. Those will be a major focus once the weather breaks. “I would like to do more than I possibly can do in 45 days,” Bemer said.

But other things have already changed. As was previously announced, the name was changed to differentiate the new ownership and give the facility a fresh start, something that Monahan deemed necessary for a business that “had a cloud over it.” It’s actually the original name of the facility before New London was dropped somewhere in the 1980s, according to Monahan.

Above all, race teams will know that checks will be handed out at the end of the night. “That’s totally done, there will never be a problem with that with Bruce Bemer here,” Monahan said. The previous owner/operator stiffed many competitors of moneys earned while living a high life style. Monahan said he is still owed by the former owners of the track for trophies that he provided last year. He did it, he said, because he did not want the competitors to go without. He also lost money in the foreclosure deal, but money, sometimes, isn’t everything. For Monahan, true satisfaction will come when the lights go on in May.

Word came from Lou Modestino that Francis Venditti, president of Seekonk Speedway, was looking hard at building a one-eighth mile drag strip on the extensive track property. This has been looked at over the 70 years that the track has existed. “I think that we have a good chance of making this expansion happen. I just need to concentrate on it. I’ve been working with some of my neighbors who own the land on other issues. It’s a lot of give-and-take,” said Venditti.

There will be a lot of hearings and permits to obtain before a shovel even turns on this expansion. It will be tricky with some pitfalls. But Venditti indicated he’s pretty committed to the project at this point in time.

On a sad note, Andy Fusco, a longtime attorney and the city of Auburn. NY’s assistant corporation counsel, died unexpectedly Thursday morning. He was 62 years old. Beyond his legal achievements, Fusco was known as a sports fan beyond his auto racing interests, and was also a noted music buff and antique car enthusiast. The Auburn man’s racing interests were expanded through his weekly columns in Syracuse publication Gater Racing News from 1970 through 1976. He also served as an editor for Virginia magazine “Stock Car Racing” and appeared as a racing personality on WIXT-TV Channel 9.

This varied background made him the perfect choice as the counselor for the DIRT organization, said DIRT founder and former president Glenn Donnelly. Despite his other duties with the city and his private practice, Fusco remained a presence as counselor and board member for the DIRT Modified Stock Car Museum for more than 20 years.

In NASCAR Sprint Cup racing in California, Kevin Harvick chased Kurt Busch down the stretch in a battle of the best cars in the Fontana field, Brad Keselowski was buried in 17th place, until the yellow flags started flying. A caution for debris allowed Keselowski to move up to sixth. When a second flag went up, he took four new tires while Harvick and Busch got only two.

Keselowski roared past Busch on the final lap and held off the streaking Harvick to win at Fontana on Sunday, earning his first NASCAR victory of the season in a wild finish.

Kevin Harvick won his second race of the season, his first at Auto Club Speedway and the 46th of his career, third-most all-time. Incredibly, Harvick scored his 28th consecutive top 10 in the Xfinity Series, dating to 2013. With two victories and two seconds in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this year to go with two wins and a third in the Xfinity Series, Harvick has recorded seven podium finishes in seven starts in both series combined.

In some great news, FansChoice.TV will air ALL 10 NASCAR events at Thompson in 2019, beginning with the 45th annual Icebreaker weekend! This includes all of our NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour & more!

Many are hoping Stafford and Waterford will follow their lead.

With the advent of FansChoice.TV competitors will have the advantage of showcasing their sponsors to the exposure they deserve and speedways will receive unlimited exposure of their facility which will entice new fans to attend their programs. Not to brag but the racing at Thompson and Stafford provides some of the best over-all competition in the country!

The Stafford Motor Speedway announced that Maybury Material Handling of East Longmeadow, MA had renewed their commitment to Stafford’s contingency program for the 2019 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season. For the fourth consecutive year, Maybury Material Handling will supply a first place bonus of $150 to each SK Modified® feature winner and a $125 bonus to each SK Light feature winner. Maybury’s contribution to the contingency program brings the SK Modified® feature winner’s share up to $1,800 and it takes the SK Light feature winner’s share up to $600. Over the past three seasons, Maybury has delivered over $15,000 to SK Modified® and SK Light drivers at Stafford. The first Maybury Material Handling contingency bonuses of the 2019 season will be up for grabs during Stafford Speedway’s 48th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler on April 27-28.

The money kept rolling in as Dunleavy’s Truck and Trailer Repair in Brookfield, CT returns for a 5th consecutive season, presenting first place contingency award of $150 to each SK Modified® feature winner and $125 to each SK Light feature winner. Over the past four seasons, Stafford SK Modified® and SK Light drivers have taken home over $11,000 in contingency awards from Dunleavy’s Truck and Trailer Repair and drivers will have 22 more opportunities to collect bonus money during the 2019 season. The 2018 season saw a total of 86 different drivers take to the track behind the wheel of a modified with 42 different SK Modified® drivers and 44 different SK Light drivers. Each division had a total of 8 different winners in 21 races, with Keith Rocco leading the SK Modified® division with 6 wins and Marcello Rufrano leading the SK Light division with 6 wins.

It won’t be the Mad House but it will be the House that Jack (Arute) built. Tom DiMaggio of Vault Productions has announced a new reality show that will follow four of Stafford Speedway’s SK Modified® weekly competitors on their journey through the 2019 race season. The reality series, dubbed “The Show”, has begun filming and will follow drivers Mike Christopher Jr, Keith Rocco, Ronnie Williams, and Glen Reen through the 2019 SK Modified® season at Stafford. An extended preview episode is airing on Vault Productions’ YouTube channel as well as Stafford Speedway’s and Vault Productions’ Facebook pages now.

The four drivers to be showcased in the series won a combined 16 SK Modified® races during the 2018 season with youngster Ronnie Williams winning his first SK Modified® track championship. The Stafford SK Modified® division, noted as one of the toughest weekly asphalt divisions in the country, had 7 different winners last season and 42 different drivers compete in an event. 2019 is shaping up to be more of the same with nearly all of the drivers finishing in the top-20 in points last season returning to weekly competition.

The web series is supported by local racing partners Waddell Communications, Hoosier Tire East, Sunoco Race Fuels as well as Stafford Speedway. “The Show” will air in January of 2020 and will begin filming at the 48th Annual Spring Sizzler. Hopefully Robert Bagot will continue his fine work of producing weekly events from Stafford as well as those from Waterford and Thompson.

In NASCAR Monster Cup racing, Brad Keselowski gave Team Penske and the new Ford Mustang its third Cup victory through the first six races of the season by routing the field at Martinsville Speedway.

Keselowski led 446 of the 500 laps around the shortest track on the NASCAR schedule and was only challenged a handful of times by Chase Elliott, the only driver to pass Keselowski on the track Sunday.

Although Elliott led 49 laps, a late caution sent the field to pit road and Keselowski beat Elliott back to the track.

Elliott could never get close enough to challenge Keselowski for the win again. Ryan Preece finished 16th.

Five years ago in 2020, The threat of coronavirus continued to cripple our country. Its amazing things have got so bad. People are hoarding everything from toilet paper to dog food and there appears that current conditions will continue for a while. Try to keep your distance from others, don’t get carried away at the grocery stores and hopefully in a few short weeks things will return to normal. Thanks to the wonders of the internet life will not be boring.

Web site You Tube provides thousands of hours of entertainment from the world of auto racing. Numerous racing events have been recorded and can be accessed without charge. Just about every track and series is there. One of the best programs available are the Pod Casts from the Stafford Speedway which usually last over an hour. Kyle Rickey and Paul Arute do a great job of looking inside our sport as they have interviewed many of the personality’s involved in the sport of auto racing. Sid’s View has documented the History of the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. It will take a couple of weeks to go thru these two programs.

Once we get thru April hopefully we can look back at the coronavirus as a bad memory!

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season opener scheduled for Saturday, March 21 at South Boston Speedway (VA) was postponed. The announcement came as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that is forcing the postponement, suspension or cancelation of many sporting events throughout the United States. A make up date for the event has not been announced at this time.

NASCAR President Steve Phelps held a teleconference with the sport’s media on Tuesday addressing questions and reassuring that the hope is, yes, the full season’s 36 points races will be run, with the safety of the sport’s fans and its participants of utmost importance during the current worldwide COVID-19 virus outbreak.

NASCAR announced on Monday, March 17 that races through at least May 3 will have to be rescheduled.

“The health and safety of our fans, industry and the communities in which we race is our most important priority, so in accordance with recent CDC guidance, NASCAR is currently postponing all race events through May 3rd, with plans to return racing in Martinsville,’’ the NASCAR statement read in part. “We appreciate the patience of our fans and we look forward to returning to the racetrack.’’

The official word from the Stafford Motor Speedway indicates that the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler Weekend has been rescheduled to May 30th & 31st following directive from NASCAR, the CDC, and the State of Connecticut relating to Covid-19 (coronavirus). The 2020 season will kick-off Friday, May 22nd with a full card of NASCAR weekly racing.

The previously scheduled Call Before You Dig Pro Late Model 81 slated for Friday, May 29th will remain on the schedule, setting up a double-header weekend for all 5 of Stafford’s NASCAR weekly racing series divisions.

“We’re making adjustments to the 2020 schedule due to the coronavirus and the executive order implemented by the governor,” explained Stafford Speedway CEO Mark Arute. “We’ve worked with NASCAR to reschedule the Sizzler to the end of May. We will have an exciting weekend for race fans with the inaugural Call Before You Dig Pro Late Model 81 on Friday and the 49th Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler® Saturday and Sunday.”

Open practice has been moved to Saturday, May 9th. All teams competing at Stafford Speedway in 2020 are welcomed to attend. Events scheduled for Friday, May 1st and Friday, May 8th have been canceled. The May 15th Modified Open 80 event has been rescheduled to Friday, September 4th to eliminate conflicts with Thompson Speedway’s opening event. The Late Model 50 scheduled for September 4th has been moved to Friday, September 11th.

“We are in some unprecedented circumstances but we look forward to getting back on track whenever it is safe for drivers, teams, and fans,” continued Arute. “Safety is the number one concern right now but looking at the double header this sets up at the end of May we have a unique opportunity to have a really exciting weekend for fans and teams. 13 races over the course of 3 days is something we’ve never done. We’ve taken a hard look at the schedule and reshuffled dates to make it work. We want to thank all the fans for their patience.”

Stafford Speedway is set to host 13 feature races over three days from May 29th through May 31st. The Inaugural Call Before You Dig Pro Late Model 81 will kick off the weekend Friday, May 29th along with all 5 of Stafford’s weekly divisions. Stafford Speedway will return to action the following day with practice and qualifying for all 5 of Stafford’s weekly divisions, Vintage All-Stars® and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The Street Stock, Limited Late Model, and Vintage All-Stars® will run feature events Saturday, May 30th. The weekend will cap off Sunday with the NAPA Pit Party and feature racing from the SK Modified®, Late Model, SK Light Modified, and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

“All future dates remain tentative, pending any additional guidance from the CDC, state of Connecticut, or NASCAR,” explained Arute. “We will continue to monitor the situation and take additional action if necessary. We look forward to seeing everyone back at the track soon.”

The previously scheduled Call Before You Dig Pro Late Model 81 slated for Friday, May 29th will remain on the schedule, setting up a double-header weekend for all 5 of Stafford’s NASCAR weekly racing series divisions.

Word comes from North Carolina that the MadHouse, Bowman Gray Stadium will also have a delayed schedule. Their season Opener Hayes Jewelers 200 has been Postponed Until May 9.

On a sad note, NASCAR Whelen Modified tour competitor Wade Cole was killed while working on his race car late Sunday, March 15. Hartland Connecticut’s longtime first selectman, Wade Cole, died following an accident at his home, the town’s second selectman and Cole’s longtime friend said Monday.

Cole was found Monday morning, Magi Winslow said. He was apparently injured while working on his race car.

Noted writer Mark “Bones” Bourcier reports the passing of Ray Stonkus, who laid his wrenches on more winning race cars than an average mechanic ever even touches. Ray worked on everything from Saturday-night coupes to All Pro Late Models to NASCAR Trucks, and made fast racers like Pete Hamilton and Gary Balough even faster. Pete always called Ray’s “Flyin’ 9” coupe “my first really good race car,” and in my home region, New England, the Stonkus and Hamilton names will be forever linked.

Last year,2024, The SMART Modified Series invaded the South Boston Speedway last weekend with a strong 33 car field for the inaugural King of the Modifieds event with $20,000 on the line for the winner. The annual Spring Sizzler at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway is considered by many to be one of the biggest Crown Jewels in Modified racing. Last year’s edition saw Ron Silk take home over 30-thousand dollars by winning the preliminary night feature, the Saturday Spring Sizzler main coupled with bonus lap money. The Monaco Tri-Track Series’ created a great annual tradition in 2005 with the Open Wheel Wednesday event at Massachusetts’ Seekonk Speedway. In 2022, Matt Hirschman banked the annual 10-thousand-dollar winners check and another eight-thousand in bonus money. The 125-lap race at South Boston Speedway paid 20-thousand dollars to the winner, 10-thousand dollars to second place and $1200 to the last place finisher.

Originally scheduled for Saturday, March 23, the South Boston event was washed out and was rescheduled for Sunday. Mother Nature cooperated with a perfect day for racing. During the early Sunday afternoon practice Jimmy Blewett had lady luck take a powder as his engine went sour causing him to withdraw from the event. Luke Baldwin led the SMART Modifieds in qualifying as he turned the 4/10 mile oval in 13.610 seconds. Carson Lofton was second fastest with Matt Hirschman, third. Jake Crumb and Will Lombrose rounded out the top five. Luke Baldwin re-drew the top four which placed Matt Hirschman on the pole and Crumb on the outside pole. Baldwin drew himself a fourth starting spot and Lofton, third.

Among those in the field was Stephen Kopcik who was recently suspended by NASCAR for his part in a physical confrontation at a hockey game in Connecticut. Evidently SMART does not recognize NASCAR’s ruling as those who are in charge feel that a person is considered innocent until convicted in a court of law. Kopcik qualified seventh.

Luke Baldwin, who was only in his third tour type Modified event beat the best there is, Matt Hirschman, in the 125 lap King of the Modifieds. Baldwin, the son of Tom Baldwin Jr and grandson of Tom Baldwin Sr. was in the hunt all day, took the lead following a restart on lap 107 and held off Hirschman and Doug Coby for the win.

Hirschman led the charge to the initial green with Carson Loftin in hot pursuit. Hirschman’s misfortunes begam on lap 39 when Doug Coby spun just before he was about to be lapped. Coby clipped Hirschman’s left front tire as he was backing up to get restarted. Hirschman continued on as Coby pitted for a right rear adjustment. Jake Crumb, who has a reputation of riding rough at times took the lead on lap 70 with Baldwin running second and Hirschman, third. A mandatory yellow for fuel was displayed on lap 73. The entire field pitted except for Brandon Ward and Andrew Krause.

Ward and Krause led the restart with Baldwin, third, Hirschman, fourth and Burt Myers, fifth. Within a lap Hirschman had moved into second and one lap later was in the lead with Ward second and Crumb, third with Baldwin, fourth. On lap 85 Crumb moved into the second spot and Baldwin, third. Baldwin made a move on Crumb on lap 87 for the second spot, setting up a run to the finish.

By lap 93 Baldwin had closed in on Hirschman’s bumper. Baldwin turned up the heat and on lap 98 took the lead after giving him a Ted Christopher bump in turn two. Anthony Bello spun in turn three on lap 100 bringing out yet another caution. Baldwin led the restart as Crumb chose the outside with Hirschman in the third spot. The caution flew again on lap 105. Ryan Newman was attempting to pass Woody Pitkat and found himself planted in the backstretch wall. Newman was extremely upset and displayed his displeasure in Pitkat’s direction. Following the event Pitkat was observed wearing one of Newman’s Shitti Cooler Sweatshirts!

Baldwin led the restart with Crumb, second, Hirschman, third and Pitkat, fourth. As the leaders thundered down the back stretch on lap 107 Hirschman and Crumb came together to trigger “A Big One” that collected 11 cars. Following the event Crumb claimed that Hirschman didn’t turn when they came together.

Baldwin led the final restart and ran the remaining 18 laps without incident. Hirschman finished second with Coby, third. Jonathan Cash and Anthony Bello rounded out the top five. Sixth thru tenth included

Burt Myers, Brandon Ward, Jimmy Wallace, Jason Tutterow and Jayden Harman. Rounding out the top 20 were Tyler Barry, Joey Coulter, Carson Loftin, Jason Myers, Jake Crum, Woody Pitkat, Will Lambos, Tom Buzze, Danny Bohn and Caleb Heady.

In somewhat of a surprise move NASCAR announced that it has acquired Winston-Salem Speedway, Inc., the lessee of the historic Bowman Gray Stadium. NASCAR will manage racing operations under the lease with the City of Winston-Salem that runs through Dec. 2050.

“As NASCAR’s first weekly racetrack, Bowman Gray Stadium holds a special place in the history of our sport,” said Ben Kennedy, Senior Vice President, Racing Development and Strategy, NASCAR. “We are grateful to the Hawkins family’s multi-generational legacy of leadership at this historic track and we’re thrilled to oversee racing at one of the crown jewels in NASCAR Regional. We look forward to leading the racing operations of the facility in partnership with the City of Winston-Salem to preserve the history and legacy of the racetrack for the next generation of fans and racers.”

“Bowman Gray Racing has been a part of the fabric of Winston Salem for many years. In fact, some attribute NASCAR’s beginning to the races held at Bowman Gray Stadium,” said City of Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines. “It is for that and other reasons that the City of Winston Salem is delighted that NASCAR is acquiring Winston-Salem Speedway Inc. I am doubly happy that NASCAR has committed to the continuance of the weekly races at the stadium, that are so popular with our citizens and visitors.”

Austin Shuford has been named the new general manager of racing operations for Bowman Gray Stadium. Shuford has worked with Track Enterprises’ Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, where he annually promoted and managed 25 events a year at more than 15 racetracks throughout the south and Midwest since 2020. He is a graduate of Western Carolina University.

Built in 1937, Bowman Gray Stadium, a quarter-mile short track, holds a special place in NASCAR history as the longest-running weekly racetrack. In 1949, Bill France Sr. and Alvin Hawkins, two founding fathers of NASCAR, brought motorsports to the facility as the first weekly racetrack and first paved racetrack that NASCAR competed on.

The racetrack hosted 29 NASCAR Grand National, now NASCAR Cup Series, races from 1958 to 1971. Bowman Gray Stadium has hosted many NASCAR’s legends including Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Glen Wood, David Pearson, Ned Jarrett, Richie Evans, Ed Flemke, Jerry Cook, and others. Petty won his 100th NASCAR Grand National race in the 1969 Myers Brothers 250 at the racetrack.

The 2024 Bowman Gray Stadium race season begins on Saturday, April 20. In the past, racing at the stadium has been a rockem-sockem affair that draws at or near 10,000 spectators on a Saturday night who pay $12,000. It will be interesting to see if the new management will handle the temper tantrums that some of the competitors display from time to time.

In another big surprise, Skip Barber Racing School has acquired the Superstar Racing Experience, it announced March 22. As part of the purchase, the school revealed it has plans to revive the series this year. Skip Barber, a logistics partner for SRX responsible for the care and transportation of cars, said in a press release that plans for a 2024 season are being formed. More information is expected “in the coming weeks,” per the release.

“This is an exciting time for the entire SBRS team,” Skip Barber CMO Dan DeMonte said in a release. “We take great pride in providing valuable and exciting events to the motorsports community and now have the opportunity to continue that with the SRX series.” Former SRX CEO Don Hawk joined Skip Barber on March 21 as the company’s new chief strategy officer. SRX was founded in 2021 by Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham, Sandy Montag and George Pyne as a summer all-star series. It was announced on Jan. 11 that the 2024 season would be postponed due to “market factors” and poor TV ratings in their first season with new broadcast partner ESPN.

The pot of purse money at the Stafford Motor Speedway continues to grow. For the 9th consecutive season, Maybury Material Handling of East Longmeadow, MA, will be a first place contingency program partner at the nutmeg oval. Maybury will present a weekly bonus of $150 to each SK Modified® winner and a $150 bonus to each SK Light feature winner. With 22 SK Modified® and 23 SK Light races on the schedule, Maybury will contribute a total of $3,300 to SK Modified® feature winners and $3,450 to SK Light feature winners. Maybury Material Handling will also serve as the title sponsor of the August 30 Back to SKool Night.

The 2023 season was one of the most competitive seasons in the division’s history in the SK Modified® division with 10 different drivers reaching NAPA Victory Lane over 17 races. Todd Owen, who won his third consecutive championship in 2023, led all drivers with 3 wins. Scoring two wins each were Michael Christopher, Jr., Cory DiMatteo, Stephen Kopcik, Keith Rocco, and Marcello Rufrano. Single event feature winners included David Arute, Jimmy Blewett, Michael Gervais, Jr., and RJ Marcotte.

The SK Lights saw 6 different feature winners over 15 races. George Bessette, Jr., Tyler Chapman, and Brian Sullivan were the big winners of last season with each driver notching 4 wins. With those 3 drivers accounting for 12 of the division’s 15 feature wins, the season was rounded out with single feature wins going to Tyler Barry, Meghan Fuller, and Chris Matthews. Matthews’ feature victory was the 20th SK Light win of his career, which is the all-time record thus far at Stafford with Joey Ferrigno in second place sitting on 17 career wins.

Stafford begins their season with the Annual Spring Sizzler on April 27 and 28.

Congratulations to Bob Cuneo, the founder of Chassis Dynamics in Oxford, Ct who will be recognized by the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance (CSMA) for his contributions to the country’s sporting landscape. Cuneo will receive the President’s Award at the 82nd Gold Key Dinner, slated for Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington, Ct. In 1992, NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine learned the Americans were using second-hand bobsleds purchased from its rivals in Europe. He contacted Cuneo, and the task of designing and building a better vehicle resulted in the formation of the Bo-Dyn Project (Bo for Bodine, Dyn for Chassis Dynamics). The new sleds debuted at the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

That set the stage for the 2002 competition in Salt Lake City, where the U.S. won the gold medal in the inaugural two-woman event, and four-man teams took home silver and bronze medals.

Cuneo, 77, a native of Trumbull Ct who graduated from Fairfield Prep and Northeastern University, began his lengthy career with Bob Sharp Racing in Wilton Ct as a car designer in 1972, and accumulated more than 30 championships in road racing competition with the International Motorsports Association and the Sports Car Club of America. He was involved with cars that won four Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona; a Whelen Modified Tour division title in 2002 with Ridgefield driver Todd Szagedy; and modified track titles in Lancaster, N.Y., at the Danbury Fairgrounds Racearena and Stafford Motor Speedway. He was inducted into the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame in 2021.

In NASCAR Cup action, Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron turned in a steady and inspired drive to earn the NASCAR Cup Series victory from pole position in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas road course Sunday, holding off the field by less than a second but dominating the field when he needed to. Following up on his season-opening Daytona 500 win, the 26-year-old Charlotte native became the first driver to win multiple races this season. This was his 12th career NASCAR Cup Series victory and gave his Hendrick team a series all-time best 28th win on NASCAR road courses.

While at times Byron made it look easy, holding a nearly three-second advantage on the field with 10 laps remaining, his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet did have to fend off a hard-charging Christopher Bell, who made up four positions in the closing laps and kept Byron honest in what was ultimately a 0.692-second margin of victory around the 20-turn, 3.41-mile circuit. Ryan Preece finished 23rd on the lead lap.

In 1967 the Stafford Motor Speedway was paved. The NASCAR Modifieds were the headline division. For 20 years thru 1986 Stafford would host and provide competition from the best in the busines from throughout New England, New York State, Long Island and from the south. Names like Eddie Flemke, Bugsy Stevens, Fred DeSarro, Reggie Ruggerio, Ray Miller, Richie Evans, Maynard Troyer, Geoff Bodine, Charlie Jarzobeck, Greg Sacks, Wayne Anderson, Jamie Tomaino, Satch Worley and Ray Hendrick would be in the line-up and would record victories.

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).