RPW Exclusive: Looking Back: Second Week Of May
Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Seventy five years ago in 1950, Ray Janell won at Seekonk.
Seventy years ago in 1955 Japanese-American drive George Tet was the opening night winner at the Wall Stadium in New Jersey. According to Earl Krause of Area Auto Racing News only nine of the original 20 starters finished the event. Rain was the winner at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. It stayed dry at Seekonk where George Smaldone was the big winner.
Sixty five years ago in 1960 Joe McNulty, driving the Bounty Hunter of Robert “Slim” Ross was the Modified feature winner at the Waterford Speedbowl. Charlie Webster was the Non-Ford winner and Ed Moody won in the Bombers. Bill Slater made it two in a row at the Norwood Arena. Fonda Speedway legend Pete Corey was severely injured in a grinding wreck at the historic track. Corey ended up cutting himself out with a torch. Corey lost his left leg below the knee a few days later. The injury didn’t slow him down as he continued racing well into the 1970s. Tex Barry was the Class A winner at Seekonk.
Sixty years ago in 1965 Jerry Dostie was the Modified winner at Waterford while Bill Scrivner won his third feature in the Bomber ranks. Kenny Shoemaker recorded his second win of the year at Fonda. Don Flynn took the win at Riverside Park and at Utica-Rome Rene Charland took the win over Frank Mathalia and Ken Meahl. At Norwood on Saturday night, Mr Leo Cleary beat out Eddie Flemke for a 30 lap Modified win as 5212 fans looked on. Cleary took the lead on lap 20. Hop Harrington and Mario “Fats” Caruso followed. George Summers took the 30 lap Modified feature at Seekonk. Bob Anderson was the B winner.
Fifty five years ago in 1970, Lou Lazzaro was the top dog at Malta on Friday night. Lazzaro, who ran the same car on asphalt as he did on dirt, beat Eddie Flemke to the stripe. Guy Chartrand finished third with Fred DeSarro, fourth. Lazzaro carried his winning ways over to Saturday as he won the first half of the twin 25-lap program at Fonda. Rene Charland, who finished second to Lazzaro in the opener, won the nitecap. At Airborne Park on Saturday night, Guy Chartrand in the Hemi-Cuda took the top spot over Gene Mangino and Dick Nephew. Racing at Stafford, Thompson and Utica-Rome was rained out. Donnie Bunnell beat the rain and the entire Modified field at Waterford. Ron Cote was the Late Model Daredevil winner. At the Seekonk Speedway, Ed Hoyle was the Class A winner with Stormin Norman Holden taking the B main.
Fifty years ago in 1975, Keilor was the Friday night winner on the flat quarter mile at Freeport. Charlie Jarzombek finished second with Art Tappen, third followed by Jerry Cook. Almost as soon as the checker had dropped, Cook was on the truck and headed for Winston-Salem, NC for a 200 lap extra point event. Cook finished third behind John Bryant and Billy Hensley. Meanwhile, back in the northeast, Geoff Bodine in the Armstrong No.1 took down the feature at Stafford. Ray Miller, Ron Bouchard, Bugsy Stevens and Eddie Flemke rounded out the top five. At Islip, Jim Hendrickson in the Tony Ferrenti x3 beat out Fred Harbach and Charlie J. for the win and at Shangri-La, George Kent took the win. At the Waterford Speedbowl Mike Beebe took the Modified win. Taking top honors in the Grand American Late Models was Don Fowler. At the Seekonk Speedway, Norm Holden carried his winning ways over to the A division where he continued to win. Bob Martell was the Late Model winner.Cook made it back from Winston-Salem in time to race at Fulton where he finished third behind Maynard Troyer and Richie Evans. In open competition small block modified action at Thompson on Sunday night, Fred DeSarro took the win over Eddie Flemke, Moose Hewitt, Dick Caso and Dick Dunn.
Forty five years ago in 1980, Stafford had thirty-five Modifieds in the pit area on Friday night. Richie Evans was the 35-lap feature winner. Bob Polverari finished second and was followed by John Rosati, Ray Miller and Jerry Cook. At Riverside on Saturday night, Evans had rear end gear problems and Rosati lost an engine. This opened the door for Polverari who beat Ray Miller to the stripe. Jerry Cook finished third with Mike Stefanik, fourth. Westboro ran a 100 lap open on Sunday which drew all the big guns. Greg Sacks took the win over Richie Evans, Bugsy Stevens and Jerry Cook who had lapped the field. Charlie Jarzombek, down one lap, finished fifth and was followed by Ron Bouchard, John Rosati and Roland LaPierre Jr. Other weekend winners were Bob Potter over Rick Donnelly at Waterford, George Kent at Shangri-La, Roger Treichler over Billy Colton at Lancaster and Charlie Jarzombek over Fred Harbach at Islip.
Forty years ago in 1985, Stafford continued to showcase the best in the business on Friday nights with 30 modifieds on hand to do battle. Charlie Jarzombek took a hotly contested win over Brian Ross, Bob Fuller, Corky Cookman and Jamie Tomaino. At Waterford on Saturday night it was Bob Gada Jr. over Mark LaJunesse and at Riverside, Dan Avery held off John Rosati for the win and at Riverhead, Fred Harbach won out over Wayne Anderson and Eddie Brunnhoelzl. Rosati was all business at Monadnock on Sunday as he took down the win. Other weekend winners were Randy LaJoie at Thunder Road, John Blewett Jr. at Wall Stadium, George Kent at Shangri-La and Rit Patchen at Thompson.
Thirty five years ago in 1990, Ronnie Rocco went pole to pole at Waterford on Saturday night. George Greco finished second and was followed by Jim Broderick and Bob Potter. Phil Rondeau was the late model winner. Reggie Ruggerio gave his peers a driving lesson at Riverside as he came from a 16th starting spot to win the 50-lap main at Riverside Park. Stan Gregger finished second and was followed by Kenny Bouchard and Bob Polverari. At Riverhead, Chris Young went pole to pole with Dan Jivenelli and Wayne Anderson following. At Wall Stadium, the modified winner was Jamie Tomaino.
Thirty years ago in 1995,Stafford extended their feature distance to 50 laps and started counting cautions because of numerous delays incurred because of rough riding and wrecks. Needless to say the feature went 40 laps before being rained out. The competitors didn’t get the message as 28 of the 40 laps run were under caution. Tony Sylvester was the eventual winner. Ted Christopher finished second and was followed by Steve Park and John Anderson. Jim Broderick beat out Bert Marvin at Waterford. Rick Young finished third with Jeff Pearl, fourth. Todd Ceravolo lost an engine in his family owned modified. His crew went home to get a back up which he qualified through the consi and ended up fifth in the feature. At Riverhead it was Tom McCann over Don Howe. The Winston Cup cars of NASCAR had a week off and the Busch Grandnationals were at Loudon for the Chevy Dealers 250 which was won by Chad Little. The highest finishing BGNN competitor was Tom Bolles who finished ninth.
Twenty five years ago in 2000, the weekend started on a sad note as Adam Petty passed away after hitting the wall at Loudon during a Busch Grandnational practice session. Curt Brainard went pole to pole to win the 50 lap SK modified event at Stafford. Ted Christopher took a provisional as he missed qualifying and made the most of it as he finished second. Jerry Marquis finished third. At Waterford, Ron Yuhas Jr. took the win over Tucker Reynolds and Dennis Gada. Jerry Pearl flipped midway in the event and was able to restart and finished 10th.Frank Vigliorlo won at Riverhead and the recently deceased Lou Lazzaro’s ashes were scattered at the Fonda Speedway.
Twenty years ago in 2005 The Stafford Motor Speedway beat the rain on Friday but the Waterford Speedbowl did not as they suffered their third rain out in a row.
At Stafford Jeff Baral went pole to pole to win the 40-lap SK Modified feature. Ted Christopher started 12th and finished second with Eric Berndt, third. Keith Rocco recorded the best finish of his young rookie season with a fourth, and Frank Ruocco rounded out the top-5. Cold temperatures and a threat of rain kept the crowd down. During warm-ups, a stuck throttle caused the #25 SK of Billy Bolton to wreck and cause extensive damage that will not allow them to compete in tonight’s event. Another practice crash involving the #2 SK of New Milford rookie and protégé of Jon Cote Jr., Jess Hilger, apparently forced the #47 of Donny Lia into the turn #1 wall. The rookie left the track unscathed, while the WMT driver Donny Lia’s mount needed assistance to leave the track. Rookie Jess Hilger, although apparently undamaged from the practice wreck with Donny Lia chose not to start the night’s event. In the 30-lap Late Model feature, Rick Lanagan, of Stafford Springs, took the lead on lap-9 and led the rest of the way to capture his first career Late Model feature win. Tom Fearn closed in on Lanagan in the final laps, but was unable to get close enough to make a bid for the lead. Jim Mavlouganes finished third, with Jim Peterson and Ryan Posocco rounding out the top-5. The 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event saw a race long battle between Eric Grant and Michael Bennett, with both drivers taking turns at the front of the pack. In the closing laps, it was all Bennett, as he took the checkered flag ahead of Grant. Bennett’s rims were found to not meet the rules in post race inspection, and he was thus disqualified from his finishing position. Eric Grant was declared the feature winner, with Dan King, Ed Charette, Jr., Michael Nadeau, and Paul Varricchio, Jr. rounding out the top-5. In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature, Joey Ferrigno survived a wild green white checkered flag restart to take his first feature win of the 2005 season. George Nocera, Jr. came up to second behind Ferrigno on the white flag lap, with Stacey Botticello, David Gambacorta, and Neil Provost, Jr. rounding out the top-5
Al Fini, President of the New England Antique Auto Racers since January of 1997 tended his resignation as President effective July 1, 2005. Fini, who had recently turned 66, cited increased pressure of his business and a lack of energy as the main reasons for stepping down.
The once proud Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania, a regular stop for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series and the Busch North Series would soon fade into oblivion as the International Speedway Corporation had sold the property for $19 million to a developer who intended to build a domed hockey rink. Originally a dirt track, the Nazareth Speedway had been in existence for 39 years.
The Star Speedway in Epping, New Hampshire was also in danger of disappearing as the track had been denied the permits to open. The New Hampshire Union Leader reported that the reason for the denial was because of unsafe grandstands On Friday, May 6, The Exeter News Letter in New Hampshire reported that the Star Speedway would not open any time soon because of uncorrected safety issues. Town officials were trying to get to the bottom of conflicting reports by structural engineers hired by the owner to inspect the facility. One of those reports, detailing serious deficiencies, was purposely withheld from the town. The April 18 report, nearly three pages, noted that the six sections of the grandstand were in need of support repairs, and “there were a number of areas where the ground beneath the A-frame feet had settled or washed away, reducing its capacity to support the weight of the occupants.” Seat planks and footrest planks were also a concern, as some showed signs of splitting, cracking, or excessive deflection.
Fifteen years ago in 2010, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series descended upon the Stafford Motor Speedway for the annual Spring Sizzler. The main event, 200 laps/100 miles carried a race purse of $88,142. Thirty six Modifieds took time for the 33 available starting spots. Bobby Santos III continued the momentum from the Thompson Ice Breaker as he set a new track record with the Bob Garbarino Mystic Missile. Santos toured the 1/2 mile oval in 17.965 seconds (100.195 mph) which surpassed Matt Hirschman’s three-year-old record of 18.009 (99.950). Second fastest was Rowan Pennick with a time of 18.009. Third through fifth were Erick Rudolph, George Brunnhoelzl, III and Ron Silk. Rounding out the top ten fastest were Ted Christopher, Jimmy Blewett, Jamie Tomaino, Eric Berndt and Doug Coby. The top ten re-drew for starting spots. It was Santos again as he pulled the pill with the number one on it. Coby pulled the No. 2 pill.
As forecasted, rain moved into the Connecticut area in the wee hours of Sunday morning causing NASCAR and the Stafford management to postpone the Sizzler to Saturday, May 1, with a rain date of Sunday, May 2.
The weekend at Stafford wasn’t a total loss. Three feature events for Stafford’s support divisions were run on Saturday. Ted Cain went home a first time winner in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Kevin Gambacorta outlasted defending track champion Andrew Durand to take the first Limited Late Model victory of the season, and Tony Membrino, Jr. wired the field to take the checkered flag in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event.
The Waterford Speedbowl beat the weather as the completed their entire racing program on Saturday night. Keith Rocco continues to rule the roost as he now has three out of four victories in the SK Modified division at the shoreline oval. Norm Sears was a first time winner in the Street Stocks and Chris Williams won for the first time in nearly a year in the Mini Stocks. Howard Payne was the victor in the Trucks and it was Anthony Flannery taking the win for the Legends Cars.
The Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem NC had hoped to begin their 62nd season but like Connecticut on Sunday, it rained in North Carolina on Saturday night. Light rain began about an hour before race time in what was shaping up to be a packed house at the 17,000-seat stadium, judging from the number of early-arriving fans and overflowing parking lots. The Madhouse television series, which aired on the History Channel during the off season, created huge interest in the racing at the North Carolina oval. Qualifying for the season opening Tucson 200 was held on Friday night. Defending Track Champion Tim Brown was the top qualifier. Second fastest was Lee Jeffreys with Burt Myers, third.
Rain hampered the NASCAR weekend in Talladega canceling qualifying for both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series and the Saturday Nationwide Series event which was eventually run on Sunday. Kevin Harvick used a last-second pass of Jamie McMurray to snap a 115-race winless streak in the Sprint Cup event and Brad Keselowski was the Nationwide Series winner.
Ten years ago in 2015, The Stafford Motor Speedway continued their Friday night NASCAR Racing Series. The highlight of the evening was the Late Model Xtra Mart Xtra D 50. Xtra Mart Convenience Stores put up a $1,000 bonus that was split evenly among the top-5 finishers in the extra distance Late Model feature event. Michael Bennett recorded his second feature victory of the 2015 season with a thrilling late race pass that saw him beat Adam Gray to the checkered flag by the length of the nose on his car. Among the missing from the Late Model field was Tom Fearn who was under suspension for unsafe conduct, on-track. Unsportsmanlike conduct, on-track and actions detrimental to the sport.
Other feature winners included Keith Rocco holding off spirited challenges from Justin Bonsignore and Rowan Pennink in the 40-lap SK Modified® feature, Tony Membrino, Jr. won the SK Light feature, Austin Bessette won the Limited Late Model feature, Tyler Trott was a first time career winner in the DARE Stock feature, and Dana DiMatteo took his second consecutive win in the Legend Cars feature.
With three laps to go on the SK Modified 40 lapper the crowd was on it’s feet as Rocco and Bonsignore were side by side with Pennink glued to Rocco’s bumper on the restart. As they took the white flag, Rocco was clear in the lead with Pennink side by side with Bonsignore. Rocco kept the lead back to the checkered flag for his first win of the 2015 season. Bonsignore took second by a nose over Pennink, with Glen Reen and Ronnie Williams rounding out the top-5.
Keith Rocco would have to wait one more week for immortality at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Rocco tied the all-time feature win record set by Phil Rondeau when he won the Late Model feature at the shoreline oval on Saturday night. Rocco’s win gave him 106 combined victories there. A win in the SK Modified feature could have broke the tie but it wasn’t meant to be as Tim Jordan scored his first open wheeled Modified win. Rocco had two things against him, first off he started in the rear because of his win on May 2 and was collected in a wreck on the first lap. Trying to make up for lost time, Rocco burned up his right rear tire which ultimately plagued him with handling problems. Rob Janovic was second with Ted Christopher Rocco ended up fourth with Tyler Chadwick, fifth. Sixth through tenth were Craig Lutz, 7. Ed Puleo, Diego Monahan, Joe Gada and John Montesanto.
In other action at the Speedbowl, Ray Christian III won the 25-lap Mini Stock even, Corey Barry made it two in a row winning the 25-lap SK Light Modifieds race and Chris Meyer won the 25-lap Limited Sportsman race.
Rob Janovic Jr. was removed from his second place finish in the 35-lap SK Modified feature for use of an unapproved tire in competition. Janovic was penalized one lap from the event, dropping him from a second place finish to a 13th place finish in the event.
Jordan Hadley, who finished third in the 25-lap Mini Stock feature, was disqualified by the track for use of an illegally altered exhaust manifold.
Limited Sportsman division driver Brandon Fisher was penalized for blocking during Saturday’s event and will be required to start at the rear of the field of his next event at the track.
A special awaited fans this coming week. Grandstand admission is $5 this coming Saturday for residents in towns starting I-Q with proof of residency. On Thursday, the second edition of Thursday Night Thunder will hit the track with eight dollar adult general grandstands admission and free grandstands admission for all youth ages 14 and under.
The Riverhead Raceway on Long Island ran twin 30 lap Modified events. Shawn Solomito won both of them. Tom Rogers Jr. was second in both events.
Down in the southland, Burt Myers made it two for two at Bowman Gray Stadium, following up on his season-opening victory with another one in the rain-shortened Kevin Powell Motorsports 100 on Saturday night. Myers, who started third, took the lead from Dean Ward in the 37th lap and hung on from there.
The race officially went 74 laps, being called after rain began soaking the track and led to a final caution period with 31 laps left. Ward finished second, and Randy Butner was third.
Jimmie Johnson stayed on the track during a late caution to take over the lead, then held off hard-charging Kevin Harvick to win the rain-delayed NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway. Johnson was chased across the line by Harvick and Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon as the clock ticked past midnight into Sunday.
Bugs Stevens completed his 81st lap.
Five years ago in 2020, Stafford Speedway announced an additional 4 iRacing events over the next month. All Phases Renovations will continue to partner with Stafford Speedway to present the weekly iRacing broadcast frome Stafford Speedway each Friday night. All Phases Renovations will also host this Friday’s Modified Invitational event which will feature Modified competitors battling it out in an 80 lap Tour-Type Modified iRace.
On Thursday, May 14, NASCAR announced the next slate of races in its return to racing, featuring events at Bristol Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Series and the ARCA Menards Series will all see action in the newly released schedule.
NASCAR had previously announced that Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway would host the first two weeks of racing following a two-month stoppage of action due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Like those two weekends of races, the newly announced dates will also be run without fans in attendance.
Bristol Motor Speedway will be the next track on the schedule following Charlotte, hosting an Xfinity Series race on May 30 followed by the NASCAR Cup Series on May 30. Atlanta Motor Speedway (June 6 and 7) will feature a race by each of the three national series, including a double-header on Saturday with the Xfinity Series and Gander Trucks.
Martinsville Speedway will then host a mid-week NASCAR Cup Series race under the lights on Wednesday, June 10, three days after racing at Atlanta. The NASCAR Whelen Modified tour originally scheduled with the Martinsville event has been cancelled.
Homestead-Miami Speedway will be next on the list, hosting a NASCAR Cup Series night race on Sunday, June 14, that will be preceded by an Xfinity Series race earlier in the day. That will be the second of two Xfinity Series races at Miami, which will also be part of a double-header with the Gander Trucks on Saturday, June 13.
The announced slate will wrap up at Talladega Superspeedway, starting with an ARCA Menards Series and Xfinity Series double-header on Saturday, June 20, and the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday, June 21.
In addition, NASCAR today announced the postponement of events at Kansas Speedway (May 30-31); Michigan International Speedway (June 5-7), the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio (May 30) and the Gander Trucks Series race at Texas Motor Speedway previously scheduled for June 5, as well as the cancelation of all NASCAR national series races and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Iowa Speedway for the 2020 season. The NASCAR Xfinity race at Iowa Speedway scheduled for June 13 has been realigned to Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, June 14. Further Iowa Speedway realignment dates will be announced in the future.
The NASCAR Cup Series returned to racing at Darlington Raceway this past Sunday, May 17. NASCAR’s return to real-time action Sunday afternoon was a resumption of the close-quarter, high-action brand of racing that fans have long expected at historic Darlington Raceway, culminating with Kevin Harvick claiming his first trophy of the season in front of a robust television and radio audience eager to welcome sports back.
The Real Heroes 400 was the first on-track activity in nearly two months after NASCAR suspended competition because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The return to track included specific guidelines unique to this unprecedented situation – no fans in the grandstands, temperature checks at track, a limit on number of team members and of course, social distancing.
Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin followed Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to the finish line. Ryan Preece finished 20th.
It looked like another speedway will bite the dust following the 2020 season. On Tuesday afternoon, May 12, Myrtle Beach Speedway unveiled an updated event schedule for the 2020 racing season. That schedule is condensed to six remaining events for the South Carolina facility, with an August 18 event being advertised as “the last race at Myrtle Beach Speedway.” The property has been sold for re-development. NASCAR has announced that the Whelen Modified Tour will open its 2020 season with a new event added to the schedule on May 30 at Myrtle Beach Speedway in Myrtle Beach, S.C. NASCAR also announced to team owners that their June 6 event at Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway and their June 20 event at Riverhead Raceway have been officially postponed with a plan to reschedule them at a later date.
LFR and Troyer chassis owner Rob Fuller is leading a group to put on a Tour Type Modified event May 30 at the Hickory Speedway in Newton, N.C.
The event is expected to be run without fans but be available for pay-per-view viewing. It’s unclear at this time what the pay-per-view pricing structure plan is for the event.
Hickory Motor Speedway will kick off its 2020 season on Saturday with a five-division six-feature card that will be run with no fans on site. Hickory will offer a pay-per-view of their Saturday show with an advertised promotional price of $19.99 if purchased before Saturday and $24.99 on the day of the event through the website Speed51.
The one-third mile Hickory Motor Speedway is one of NASCAR’s most storied short track venues. The former NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour competed twice at Hickory with Junior Miller winning an event there in 2006 and George Brunnhoelzl III winning at the facility in 2011.
On a sad note, Raymond Garuti Sr., 95, of Southington, passed away on Sunday, May 10, 2020, at Autumn Lake Health Care in Cromwell. He was the husband of the late Irene (Cap) Garuti. Ray, with his brother Rich, owned and operated Ray’s Garage in Kensington for 39 years.
Out of that small garage, the brothers built some of the fastest modified race cars on the East Coast, winning around 150 feature events with such drivers as Eddie Flemke, Smokey Boutwell, Jocko Maggiacomo and Moe Gherzi. The Garuti Brothers were inducted into the New England Race Car Hall of Fame on January 30, 2011. Ray was a U.S. Army Veteran.
Last year, 2024, The Stafford Motor Speedway hosted the rescheduled 2024 NAPA Spring Sizzler®, “The Greatest Race in the History of Spring,” on Friday, May 10th with Open Modified cars. Ron Silk came up the big winner for the second consecutive year, taking home a grand total of $34,750 for his efforts. Silk won his NAPA Qualifying Duel on Saturday, April 27 for $3,500 and combined with his $20,000 winner’s purse plus $11,250 in lap money from May 10th, his grand total comes to $34,750. Silk’s last three Stafford feature victories, the 2022 NAPA Fall Final plus the 2023 and 2024 NAPA Spring Sizzlers®, has seen him and the #16 Haydt-Yannone team take home nearly $100,000 in prize money.
The race took the green flag with Teddy Hodgdon taking the early lead ahead of Matt Swanson, Jon McKennedy and Ronnie Silk as temps dropped to the high 40s.. Michael Christopher, Jr. moved from 8th up to 5th on the opening lap and he had Marcello Rufrano, Doug Coby, Max Zachem, Justin Bonsignore, and Ronnie Williams behind him. Swanson took the lead from Hodgdon on lap-4 and Silk took second from Hodgdon on lap-6. Hodgdon slotted into third with McKennedy fourth and Christopher fifth.
Silk powered his way by Swanson and into the lead on lap-8 while the rest of the top-5 remained Swanson, Hodgdon, McKennedy, and Christopher. Coby was now sixth followed by Bonsignore, Woody Pitkat, who was on the charge, Matt Hirschman, and Ronnie Williams. With 15 laps complete it was still Silk in command followed by Swanson, Hodgdon, McKennedy, and Christopher. Noah Korner spun coming out of turn 4 to bring the first yellow flag of the event out with 16 laps complete.
Silk took the lead with Swanson in second back under green but the caution came right back with 17 laps complete as Tommy Barrett, Buddy Charette, and Joey Mucciacciaro got into the turn 3 wall. On the restart, Nick Halkowicz came to a stop in turn 2 with a flat tire that brought the caution back out before a lap could be completed. The next restart saw Silk again take the lead with McKennedy moving into second. Coby pulled alongside Swanson for third but Swanson was able to hold Coby off. Bonsignore was now fifth behind Coby with Hirschman, Christopher, Pitkat, Hodgdon, and Todd Owen making up the top-10. Halkowicz spun in turn 3 to bring the caution out with 23 laps complete.
Silk powered back into the lead on the restart with McKennedy and Swanson still behind him. Coby was now in fourth with Hirschman in fifth. Bonsignore was sixth but he would lose that position to Pitkat on lap-27. Christopher followed Pitkat by Bonsignore on the following lap but before the lap could be completed the caution flew for a spin in turn 2 by George Bessette, Jr. Silk took the lead back under green with Swanson getting around McKennedy for second after several laps of wheel to wheel racing. Coby was fourth with Pitkat up to fifth. Hirschman was sixth in line followed by Bonsignore, Christopher, Williams, and Keith Rocco. Chris Pasteryak and Bessette both spun in the middle of turns 3+4 to bring the caution flag back out with 34 laps complete.
Korner spun in turn 1 to bring the caution back out one lap after the restart with Silk still in command and Swanson behind him in second. Silk completed two more laps before the caution came back out for Bessette, who spun in turn 3 and then Coby and Swanson came together in turn 2 with Coby going around. The restart saw McKennedy going around in turn 2, which collected several other cars including Hodgdon, before a lap could be completed. Silk took the lead on the next restart with Pitkat working his way around Swanson to move into second. Christopher was fourth with Bonsignore in fifth. Todd Owen was on the move as he took over fifth place on lap-42 and he had Rocco following in his tire tracks as Rocco moved into sixth on lap-44 to drop Bonsignore back to seventh place. Jacob Perry was up to eighth with Stephen Kopcik in ninth and Matt Galko in tenth. Bonsignore’s car dropped off the pace on lap-47 and he limped back to pit road. Galko and Cory DiMatteo took a hard hit into the turn 1 wall to bring the yellow and red flags out with 49 laps complete. Under the caution period, the leaders came to pit road for tires and adjustments with Silk winning the race off pit road followed by Pitkat, Rocco, Coby, Swanson, Williams, Hirschman, Korner, Goodale, Owen, Christopher, Pasteryak, and David Arute.
McKennedy and Perry were the new leaders and they occupied the top-2 spots on the restart while Tommy Barrett, Jr. began to slide backwards as Pitkat took third, Coby fourth, and Williams fifth. Korner was sixth but he would lose that spot to Silk on lap-53 with Owen, Rocco, and Pasteryak rounding out the top-10. McKennedy was back in command on the restart but Silk was slicing his way through traffic and he retook the lead on lap-60. Pitkat was third behind Silk and McKennedy with Williams and Coby making up the top-5. Swanson was sixth with Rocco, Goodale, Hirschman, and Perry making up the top-10.
With 30 laps to go, it was still Silk out front with McKennedy, Pitkat, Williams, and Swanson giving chase. Rocco was sixth followed by Hirschman, Goodale, Coby, and Pasteryak. Halkowicz brought the caution back out with 81 laps complete with a spin in turn 2. Silk resumed his place at the front of the pack on the restart with McKenendy holding second and Pitkat third. Swanson was fourth in line with Hirschman, Coby Williams, Rocco, Owen, Kopcik, and Pasteryak lined up behind him. Coby moved into sixth on lap-85 and began to hound Williams for fifth place. Coby’s car dropped off the pace on lap-90 and he slowly brought the car back to pit road.
With 10 laps to go, Silk was starting to stretch out his lead over McKennedy with Pitkat, Swanson, and Williams still making up the top-5. With one lap to go, Williams dropped off the pace and brought his car to pit road. Silk cruised to the checkered flag to win the NAPA Spring Sizzler® and the $20,000 purse that goes along with it for the second consecutive season. McKenendy finished second with Pitkat, Swanson, and Hirschman rounding out the top-5.
Sixth thru tenth included Chris Pasteryak, Keith Rocco, Stephen Kopcik, Todd Owen and Eric Goodale,
In other Friday night action, the Stafford Speedway hosted its five weekly divisions. Cory DiMatteo notched his first SK Modified® feature win of the 2024 season after a thrilling duel with Michael Christopher, Jr., defending Late Model champion Kevin Gambacorta notched his first Late Model win of the season, Tyler Chapman was victorious in the SK Light feature, Devon Jencik scored a dominating win in the Limited Late Model feature, and Travis Downey was the beneficiary of Ryan Waterman and Travis Hydar tangling in the final corner to pick up his first Street Stock win of the 2024 season.
The Stafford competitors and fans were a hearty bunch as they withstood temperatures that dipped into the mid 40s once the sun went down.
In Saturday night action at the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island, after having missed the 2024 Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Riverhead Raceway opening Tour Type Modified event a week earlier, Timmy Solomito of Islip made up for lost time as he led wire to wire to secure his 25th career victory during a non-stop 50-lap feature event. With week two in the books, the NASCAR Tour Type Modifieds have started the season off with 100-laps of green flag racing at the demanding bullring without a single caution flag.
It was Military Night at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Too bad that nobody knew about it because the present track owner doesn’t believe in advertising his events. Timmy Jordon was the winner of the 35 lap SK Modified feature Andrew Molleur finished second with Anthony Flannery, third. Todd Owen and Adam Gada rounded out the top five. The New London Submarine Base is located less than ten miles from the Speedbowl, Close to 10,000 Naval personnel are stationed there. Had the race been promoted properly the track should have been packed.
Burt Myers added another victory to his credit at the Bowman-Gray Stadium where he won a 100 lap Modified event.
In NASCAR Cup racing, Brad Keselowski’s thrilling victory at Darlington Raceway on Sunday did more than provide the 2012 Cup champ with his first win as driver/co-owner of RFK Racing. It also marked the end of a 110-race stretch without collecting a Cup win. Ryan Preece finished seventeenth on the lead lap.
The car count at Monadnock was somewhat disappointing with only 24 on hand and a less than full grandstand witnessed the event. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to action this coming Saturday, May 18 when the series heads to Riverhead Raceway on Long Island for the Miller Lite Salutes Wayne Anderson 200. Quite a few of the local runners are expected to enter the event. FloRacing will have live coverage of all the on-track action starting at 8 p.m. ET.
After four events Ron Silk continues to lead the point standings with a six point edge over Justin Bonsignore. Sitting in third spot, only 13 points back is Jake Johnson. Craig Lutz and Patrick Emerling round out the top five.
NASCAR announced this past week that the Whelen Modified Tour would be putting several rules and procedural changes to “improve efficiencies” for teams for the remainder of the 2024 season. The new rules and procedures will go into effect for the May 18 Miller Lite Salutes Wayne Anderson 200 at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway on May 18.
A release from NASCAR announcing the changes read: Over the course of the remaining 12 races on the 2024 Modified Tour schedule, the overall tire allotment will be reduced, providing financial savings for teams through the rest of the season. In alignment with the tire reduction, at tracks that require a tire change (with the exception of New Hampshire Motor Speedway), teams will now only be permitted to change a maximum of two tires per caution period (previously, they may change all four tires during a caution period).
In addition, practice time will be reduced by approximately 15 – 30 minutes per event, excluding the Martinsville Speedway championship weekend. This will allow race-day schedules to be condensed and permit teams to arrive at tracks later in the day.
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).
