RPW Exclusive: Looking Back: Final Week Of June
Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Seventy five years ago in 1950, Mickey Gill was the big winner at Seekonk.
Seventy years ago in 1955, rain-washed out the Saturday night programs at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl and at the Seekonk Speedway. In Wednesday night action at the bowl, Ray DeLisle was the Wednesday night Modified winner at the bowl. Ted Dean was the non-Ford winner.
Sixty five years ago in 1960 rain was the big winner at the Stafford Springs Speedway. The Waterford Speedbowl began their summer schedule which consisted of race dates on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Joe McNulty won the opening night Wednesday Modified feature. Red Foote, who in later years would make a name for himself in Virginia was the non-Ford winner. Dick Dunn was the Bomber feature winner. Don Collins won double features on Saturday night at the Speedbowl. Ed Moody was the Bomber feature winner. At Seekonk, Leo Roy was the A main winner. Johnny Roberts was the 100 lap Modified winner at South Boston in Virginia.
Sixty years ago in 1965 it rained again at Stafford. At the Waterford Speedbowl Dick Watson won the 50 lap June Championship for the Modifieds. Jerry Glaude was the Bomber feature winner. Kenny Shoemaker recorded his fourth feature win of the season at the Fonda Speedway on Saturday night. Holly Wildler won at Riverside Park and at Seekonk, Tex Barry won the Modified 30 lapper and Hank Korlacki won the B division main. On Sunday at Utica-Rome it was Jerry Cook over Eddie Flemke and Don Moon.
Fifty five years ago in 1970, the long holiday weekend started on Wednesday with an All Star League at Lancaster where Maynard Troyer and Roger Treichler finished one-two to beat out the best in the business at the time, Ray Hendrick. The following night, the league moved to Oswego where Troyer made it two for two with Hendrick finishing second. Geoff Bodine finished third with Richie Evans finishing fourth followed by Roger Treichler and Bill Greco. Rain washed out weekend events at Malta, Stafford, Fonda and Plattsburg. The rain at Stafford was the final nail in the coffin as it was announced that the track was almost bankrupt and would be shut down. Bill Slater was the race director at the time and was devastated. Rather than sit idle, Slater contacted Connecticut Construction Company owner Jack Arute and somehow convinced him to lease the track and keep it going. Arute agreed and the rest is history but he was left holding the bag with a few thousand rain checks.
Seabury Tripler was the Modified winner at the Waterford Speedbowl. George Allum was the Late Model Daredevil winner. Eddie Hoyle was the A main winner at Seekonk and Buzz Stiles won the B main. The skies cleared on Sunday for the twin 25’s at Thompson. Ray Hendrick remained in the north and won the opening event over Leo Cleary and Lou Austin. Cleary won the nightcap over Fred DeSarro and Hendrick. At Utica-Rome on Sunday night, Lou Lazzaro beat out Jerry Cook and Robbie Kotary.
Fifty years ago in 1975, Stafford began the Fourth of July weekend on Thursday night with a 150-lap event. Satch Worley in the Clarences’ Steak House No.26 paid a visit and walked off with the top money. Bugsy Stevens finished second with Eddie Flemke Sr, third. Stafford ran again on Saturday night with Ray Miller taking the win over Geoff Bodine and the Bugman. The Stafford management announced that the speedway would be running small block modifieds beginning on Sunday, July 20 in addition to their regular NASCAR modified program on Saturday. At Islip, Fred Harbach took the win over Gary Winters and at Shangri-La, Richie Evans won twin 50’s. Bob Potter made it two in a row at Waterford after winning the 35 lap Modified feature. Big Mike Daignault was the Late Model Daredevil winner. Russ Webber was the Late Model winner at Seekonk.
On Sunday, Maynard Troyer outran George Kent. At Thompson, Don Hoenig on hearing that Stafford was going to be running against him raised the modified purse to pay $600 to win instead of the $500 that had previously been paid. Leo Cleary won the 30-lap feature at Thompson over Freddie Schulz.
Forty five years ago in 1980, the weekend started on Wednesday with events at Westboro and New Egypt. At Westboro, Bugsy Stevens in the Brady Bunch No.00 took the top spot and at New Egypt, John Blewett Jr held off Tony Siscone for the win. Monadnock ran on Thursday with Ronnie Bouchard taking the win over John Rosati and Punky Caron. Holland also ran on Thursday with George Kent taking the win. Stafford ran on Friday night with Richie Evans taking the win over Ronnie Bouchard and Ray Miller. Spencer also ran on Friday with Kent continuing his win streak. Just about everything on Saturday with the exception of Islip rained out. Islip ran a 100 lapper with Tom McCann taking the win over Fred Harbach and Tom Baldwin. A Race of Champions qualifier was run at Trenton on Sunday. New England competitors boycotted the event because of the then considered high pit fee of $15.00 and $25.00 entry fee. Needless to say the event was run without them. The event ran 81 of the 134 laps that had been scheduled when the rains came. Geoff Bodine who was leading when the event was stopped was declared the winner. Richie Evans ended up second and was followed by John Blewett Jr., Bob Riley, George Kent and Charlie Jarzombek. Thompson was also scheduled to run on Sunday but was also rained out.
Forty years ago in 1985, the modified tour was at New Egypt on Wednesday. Jim Spencer took the win over George Kent and Brian Ross. Rain washed out Stafford on Friday night but at Spencer, Richie Evans took the win over Jan Leaty and George Kent. Rain also washed out Waterford, Riverside and Thompson. Randy Hedger scored a popular win at Shangri La over George Kent and Bill Park won the Race of Champions qualifier at Riverhead. Closing out the weekend was a special event at Oswego where Richie Evans was boss as beat out Mike McLaughlin, Jim Spencer, Brian Ross, and Charlie Jarzombek.
Thirty five years ago in 1990, the Featherlite Modified Tour stopped at Riverhead Raceway on Wednesday night. Mike Ewanitsko and Tom Baldwin scored a Long Island sweep as they finished one-two in the 151-lap event. Reggie Ruggiero finished third with pole sitter Bob Park finishing fourth. Stafford rained out on Friday and Phil Rondeau got his first modified win at Waterford on Saturday night. Stan Gregger won at Riverside where it was announced that Ben Dodge had decided against leaving after tendering his resignation. The mods invaded Oswego where Tony Hirschman beat out Jan Leaty and John Preston.
Thirty years ago in 1995, Steve Chowanski won a 100 lap SK Modified event at Stafford. Steve Park finished second with Lloyd Agor, third. The Featherlite Modifieds were at Beech Ridge in Maine on Saturday. Steve Park in the Banzul No.8 went pole to pole to win the 100-lap event with Mike Stefanik in tow. Satch Worley, Ed Flemke Jr and Jan Leaty rounded out the top five. Ted Christopher borrowed his brother Mikey’s car and won at Waterford with it on Saturday night. Bert Marvin finished second with Jim Broderick, Todd Ceravolo and Jerry Pearl rounding out the top five. It rained at Riverside and at Riverhead it was Don Howe over Ed Brunnhoelzl. In Winston Cup action, Jeff Gordon won the Pepsi 400 at Daytona.
Twenty five years ago in 2000 the weekend started on Thursday night Thompson where Ted Christopher took the SK modified win over Todd Ceravolo and Darrell Tiezzi. Christopher carried his winning ways over to Stafford on Friday night where he won the Busch North Series-150.Christopher started 20th and had broke into the top 10 by lap 30.In taking the win, Christopher went the entire 150 lap distance non-stop. Curt Brainard won the crash fest SK-50.Kerry Malone finished second. Ron Yuhas beat out veteran Mark LaJunesse at Waterford and Howie Brode got the best of Wayne Anderson at Riverhead. Ralph Nason, at the age of 60,won the Oxford Plains 250 for the third time. In Winston Cup action at Daytona, Jeff Burton took the win over Dale Jarrett and Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Twenty years ago in 2005 The Fourth of July weekend got its start at the Thompson Speedway on Thursday night. Ted Christopher, who had been winless in two previous tries, got it all together to take his first win of the year in the Sunoco Modifieds. Christopher dodged an opening lap tangle to take an early lead and the eventual win. For the season which has seen him run in 42 different events the Thompson victory was his 13th win overall for 2005. Bert Marvin turned in a strong showing to finish second with Kerry Malone, third. Bo Gunning finished fourth with Todd Ceravolo, fifth. Other Thursday Night Thunder winners were Ben Seitz in the NEMA Midgets, Woody Pitkat in the Late Models, Chris McGee in the Pro Stocks, Larry Barnett in the Limited Sportsman, Terry Boudreau in the Mini Stocks and Chad Gaudiosi in the TIS Modifieds.
The Stafford Motor Speedway fell victim to rain on Friday night. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series made up their rained out Haynes 150 from Memorial Day weekend on Sunday night. Ted Christopher took the win after taking the lead with three laps to go. Doug Coby in the Curt Chase No.77 dominated almost the entire event only to lose it due to worn tires. Coby ended up third behind Chuck Hossfeld. Jamie Tomaino and Rick Fuller rounded out the top five. Ronnie Silk was the SK Modified winner while Carla Boticello won in the DARE Stocks and Mike Quintiliano won the Late Model feature.
In Saturday night action at the Waterford Speedbowl Ron Yuhas survived an early race accident and came back to record his second SK Modified victory of the 2005 season. In what turned into a marathon session of close to 90 minutes for the 35 lap feature, Yuhas’ crew did some thrashing and was able to make the necessary repairs to get him back in action. Yuhas made a bold outside move with two laps to go to take the lead from Ted Christopher. It was Christopher’s race to lose and had it not been for a right rear tire going flat the outcome would have been different. Dennis Gada ended up in second spot with Chris Pasteryak, third. Jay Miller originally finished third but was disqualified when his car failed to meet ride height requirements. Diego Monahan ended up fourth with Christopher, fifth. Allen Coates made it two in a row in the Late Models and Vinnie Esposito was declared the winner of the Legends feature after Len Beebe was disqualified. Al Stone was the Sportsman winner and Bill Leonard won in the Mini Stocks.
While rumors of doom and gloom continued to circulate concerning the demise of the Waterford Speedbowl and the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island word came of an impending project that could have resulted in increased racing activity on Long Island. Top Gun Sports and Entertainment was proposing multi-venue motorsport and entertainment facility in Yaphank which is in Suffolk County. The complex which would include a ¾ mile oval with a 3/8 or ¼ mile oval inside would also include a drag strip is adjacent to the Grucci fireworks plant, the Firematic training facility and the County prison farm. In a somewhat related announcement one of the Waterford Speedbowl owners, Terry Eames told the New London Day that there had been no decision made by a proposed developer on an option to buy the Speedbowl property.
Tony Stewart made it two in a row in Nextel Cup competition as he won the rain delayed Pepsi 400 at Daytona.
Fifteen years ago in 2010, The Thompson International Speedway Thursday night Thunder Series was cancelled because of rain and tornado warnings in the northeastern Connecticut area.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was idle as teams made preparations for the first of two trips to Loudon, NH. Bobby Santos who had won an a record setting three out of four races led Mike Stefanik by 89 points. Although winless, Stefanik had been the model of consistency with four top fives. Todd Szegedy sits third, six points behind Stefanik. Ted Christopher the only other winner on the tour is 49 points out of third spot and 95 points in arrears of Santos. Rounding out the top five was Ryan Preece. Rookie Justin Bonsignore along with Jimmy Blewett, rookie Richie Pallai, Jr., Erick Rudolph and Ron Silk made up the top ten. Forty six different drivers had entered into tour competition so far.
The Modified Racing Series was scheduled to appear at the Seekonk Speedway on Saturday June, 12. Rain forced cancellation with no rain date.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series division racing at the Stafford Motor Speedway the 37th Annual Coors Light SK Modified® 100 was on tap. Keith Rocco defended his 100-lap victory from one year ago and scored his fourth win of the 2010 season, Ryan Posocco picked up his first win of the 2010 season and the 40th win of his Late Model career at Stafford in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Frank Cardile scored his second victory of 2010 in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Dan Flannery scored his third win of 2010 in the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Cory Casagrande picked up his second win of 2010 in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
The Waterford Speedbowl fell victim to rain
The Bowman-Gray Stadium, in Winston-Salem, NC avoided the rain that played havoc in the northeast. Lee Jeffreys started the first of twin 25’s race in second place behind pole-sitter Terry Gaither, but quickly took the lead to pick up his second win of the season and 16th of his career. Jeffreys survived two late cautions and a hard-charging Gaither, and then drew No. 10 for the inverted-start second race. He was able to battle his way to the runner-up spot but couldn’t muster a charge to pass leader and eventual winner Jonathan Brown. Burt Myers qualified 19th out of 20 cars in the first race and finished 14th. Myers finished fourth in the second 25 lapper.
At the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island it remained dry as four-time Modified champion Bill Park out dueled three-time and defending Modified champion John Fortin for the Modified feature win. Park took home his 31st career victory landing him in a five way tie for third on the track’s all-time win list. Park is now tied with Wayne Anderson, Chris Young, Jack Reinhard and Tommy Washburn in career wins.
Denny Hamlin, his No. 11 Toyota becoming a distant spec on the horizon to the rest of the field late in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Michigan International Speedway, heard the caution call come over the radio and tried not to roll his eyes. He knows nobody wants to watch a driver lead by 10 seconds, as he was doing at the time. It makes for bad TV. And even though Hamlin didn’t see any debris on the track when the yellow flag flew, he didn’t exactly panic when his massive advantage was wiped out.
“I understand this is show business,” Hamlin said. Hamlin easily pulled away from Kasey Kahne on the restart with 14 laps remaining and rolled to his fifth victory of the season, dominating the 400-mile race.
Joey Logano became the first Nationwide Series driver to win three consecutive races at the same track when starting from the pole as he held off Carl Edwards to win the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night.
Les Richter, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection for the Los Angeles Rams who became a top NASCAR executive after retiring from the NFL, died. He was 79.
His second career started as president of Riverside International Raceway in 1961. He joined NASCAR in 1983 and grew into an adviser to then-chairman Bill France Jr. Richter was named NASCAR’s executive vice president of competition in 1986, and the senior vice president of operations in 1992.
Ten years ago in 2015, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series visited the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island in what turned into a two day affair. Moments before the 28 car field was about to take the green a large rain storm moved in forcing officials to re-schedule to Sunday afternoon. Topping the charts of the 35 cars on hand was local runner Tom Rogers, Jr who toured the 1/4 mile oval to the tune of 74.888mph. Second fastest was Timmy Solomito at 74.788mph. Vinnie Boindolillo, Justin Bonsignore and Doug Coby. Rogers made an unapproved impound adjustment after time trials, however, and will fall to the rear of the 28-car field prior to the start of the race on Sunday.
Justin Bonsignore passed Timmy Solomito in Turn 3 on Lap 9 and waited out a rain delay and a late charge by Todd Szegedy to score his seventh career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win and second at his home track. Bonsignore piloted his No. 51 M3 Technology Chevrolet around some late race traffic to hold off Szegedy and continue of his streak of scoring at least one tour win every year since 2011. Doug Coby followed Szegedy in third to score his best career finish at Riverhead with Eric Goodale fourth and Woody Pitkat fifth. Timmy Solomito, who led the first eight laps of the race, followed in sixth while pole-sitter Tom Rogers, Jr. rebounded from having to start the race at the rear of the 28-car field to finish seventh. Current points leader Ryan Preece was eigth with Vincent Biondolillo and David Sapienza rounding out the top 10.
There were six cautions for 74 laps. Among those who failed to finish was Ken Heagy who dropped out on lap 149with handling problems, Rowan Pennink parked it as a result of a black flag, Frank Vigliarolo parked it after being rear ended by Heagy, Ron Silk lost a rear end and James Civali driving the Hillbilly 79 wrecked on lap 18. Sixteen of the original 28 starters finished on the lead lap.
Thankfully NASCAR did not elect to start all that showed up. Not making the starting grid was Wade Cole, Gary McDonald, Anthony Nocella, Paul Hartwig, Danny Watts and Melissa Fifield.
This event was showed taped delayed, according to TVGuide.com on Thursday, July 2 at 6:00pm. on NBC Sports Net. NASCAR says it will air at 6:30pm.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series would now go on a three week vacation before heading to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for All-Star Shootout (non-points) event on Friday, July 17 and the New England 100 on Saturday, July 18.
At the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night the Valenti Modified Racing Series made its second of three visits during the 2015 season to Stafford Motor Speedway for the 5th Annual VMRS 80. Woody Pitkat took the checkered flag to make himself 2 for 2 in 2015 at Stafford in VMRS feature action.
Pitkat used lapped traffic to his advantage as he went by Steve Masse for the lead on lap-43 as they were navigating their way through a pack of lapped cars. Todd Szegedy was third, with Rowan Pennink fourth and Mike Willis still running in fifth. Dylan Kopec brought out the race’s first caution flag with 56 laps complete as he spun in turn 3.
Pitkat took the lead back under green with Szegedy and Masse side by side for second. Chris Pasteryak was fourth and Willis was fifth, just in front of Keith Rocco. The caution came back out with 58 laps complete as George Sherman and David Schneider spun in turn 3.On the restart, Schneider got turned around and into the turn 1 wall to bring the caution right back out. Pitkat took the lead back under green with Pasteryak moving under Szegedy to take second. Szegedy was side by side with Rocco for third with Masse right behind them. Rocco got the better of the duel with Szegedy to take third but the action was slowed again by the caution flag for a spin by Dan Meservey in turn 2 with 61 laps complete.
Pasteryak got a great restart and powered to the lead, but Pitkat came back strong in turns 3+4 and they were side by side at the line. Pitkat moved to the front on lap-63 and Szegedy was also able to get by Pasteryak as Rocco and Masse were fourth and fifth. Pennink’s car dropped off the pace on the backstretch on lap-65 and he limped back to pit road. Rocco’s bid for a top finish came to an end on lap 73 as he began to lose power which ultimately put him out. Pitkat was stretching out his lead over Szegedy, Pasteryak, and Masse. Pitkat cruised to the checkered flag to pick up his second consecutive Valenti Modified Racing Series victory at Stafford. Szeged finished second, with Pasteryak, Masse, and Richard Savary rounding out the top-5. Sixth thru tenth were Carl Medieros, Jr, Mike Willis, Jr, Todd Patnode, Dennis Perry and Dan Meservey, Jr.
In regular NASCAR Weekly action at Stafford, taking down weekly feature wins on the night were Keith Rocco in the 40-lap SK Modified® feature, Tom Fearn scored in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Joey Ferrigno in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Andrew Hayes in the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, Tyler Trott in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature, and Devin O’Connell was the winner of the 20-lap Legend Cars feature.
Rocco’s win also brought him closer to a career overall total of 200 wins which now total 199 which also include victories at Thompson and The New London-Waterford Speedbowl.
The New London-Waterford Speedbowl held a somewhat abbreviated program because of rain. Craig Lutz, who hails from Long Island, scored his second career SK Modified win at the speedbowl in an event that was red-checkered at the 20 lap mark. John Montesanto was running second at the time with Matt Gallo, third. Among the missing was Keith Rocco who was at Riverhead for a Whelen Modified Tour Series event. Rocco’s car was on hand in the event that Riverhead had postponed early. Other winners at the shoreline oval on Saturday night were Jack Aqualina in the Limited Sportsman, Anthony Flannery in the Late Models and Dana DiMatteo won the 25-lap Legends feature.
Down in the southland at the Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem NC racing was cancelled due to thunder storms. Racing resumes on July 11.
Kyle Busch’s hopes of making the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup improved significantly on Sunday at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Busch used a late-race caution to pit for four fresh tires, then he drove past leader Jimmie Johnson with five laps to go to score his first win of the season in the Save Mart 350. He needed it to have any shot of making the Chase, since Busch will have to be in the top 30 in points after the 26-race cutoff in September.
Five years ago in 2020, In what was set to begin a three day weekend of racing got spoiled by a late afternoon-early evening storm that threatened the Stafford Motor Speedway causing the speedway management to postpone the Friday night event at the Connecticut oval. The Mid State Firecracker Street Stock 30 will be run this coming Friday, July 10.
The skies cleared by Saturday morning for a beautiful July 4th holiday. Thirty one Modifieds were on hand for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series event at the White Mountain Motorsports Park track.
Was it a bump and run by Justin Bonsignore or was it a brake job by Matt Hirschman? In the end, Justin Bonsignore was 2-for-2 on the 2020 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season. The Long Island driver driver hit Hirschman and got him out of shape enough to take the lead with seven laps to go and then withstood a challenge from Hirschman and Doug Coby on a green-white-checkered finish to win the Independence Day 200 in the tour’s inaugural visit to White Mountain Motorsports Park.
A late caution pushed the race to 205 laps and Bonsignore edged Hirschman by .127 seconds at the line. Hirschman, who won the Mayhew Tools Pole Award earlier in the day, crossed the finish side-by-side with Coby. Tommy Catalano finished fourth and Woody Pitkat made a late run to finish fifth. Dave Sapienza was sixth, followed by Chris Pasteryak, Craig Lutz, Jon McKennedy and Chase Dowling.
In a post race interview Hirschman said “He punted me, he moved me”
Two months delayed due to COVID-19, the Tri Track Open Modified Series season hit full speed on Sunday at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, New Hampshire. Thirty six modifieds were on hand. Four qualifying heats and two consolations were run to fill the field. Heat winners were Brian Robie, Chase Dowling, Ben Byrne and Dave Sapienza.Consi winners were Matt Swanson and Craig Lutz.
The 100 lap main had a carbon copy finish from the White Mountain event. The leader on the last lap, Les Hinkley, got punted out of the lead on the last lap by second place runner Craig Lutz. Like Bonsignore, Lutz is from Long Island. Hinkley, not a happy camper to say the least, voiced his displeasure with Lutz. But while Lutz was calm and collected in Victory Lane, Hinckley was furious. “[Lutz] just drove through me on the last lap,” Hinckley said. “Had no other choice, just flat out drove through me. What can you do? He can have the second-place trophy too.” Hinckley appeared to be covering his spot and admitted that he knew a bump might have been coming, but he was not prepared for what he ended up receiving.
That’s their (Long Island) type of racing. That’s what’s commonplace now. When I grew up, you didn’t do stuff like that, and when you did do it, it came back to you. It won’t happen again to me.” Stated Hinkley. During his Victory Lane interview, Hinckley overheard Lutz telling the raucous fans, “It is what it is”. “I come here to win races. I came through the consi, started 22nd. It’s not the right way to win, but I’m still standing here in Victory Lane. We’re here to win races, not make friends, so that’s what we did today.” Hinkley responded with, “It ain’t what it ain’t, pal, you’re gonna pay.”
Hinckley lead the race until turn three on the final lap and appeared to be on the way to his first Tri-Track victory. Lutz, who worked his way up from a 22nd starting position, made a last-ditch effort in the final turn, making hard contact with the rear of Hinckley No. 06. Both cars got loose, but Lutz got back to the gas first and beat Hinckley to the line by 0.085 seconds. It was Lutz’s first career Tri-Track Modified win.
Monadnock weekly racer Ben Byrne, who almost won this race last year, brought his bright green No. 6 home to a third-place finish after leading 31 of the 100 laps. Ron Silk, driving the Bob Horn Racing No. 50S, gained four spots in the last 10 laps to finish fourth. Chase Dowling, after fighting with Hinckley for the lead for more than 20 laps, completed the top five. Sixth thru tenth were Matt Kimball, Matt Hirschman, Woody Pitkat, Ronnie Williams and Matt Swanson. Rookie Jacob Perry finished 17th, on the lead lap.
The Tri-Track Open Modifieds will hit the track again later this month, taking on the annual SBM 125 at Star Speedway (NH) on Saturday, July 25.
Based on the fact that opening night at Stafford was a rousing success along with the Pay Per View participation, the Arute family has opted to add two Saturday nights to their schedule. The added events will be on July 18 and August 1st.and will feature Open Modified 80 events along with non-points SK Light Modified and Street Stock events. All events will continue to be capped at 25% capacity with tickets going on sale the Saturday prior to the event at 8am. Race fans will also be able to tune in live on StaffordSpeedway.tv, a new pay-per-view streaming service with 25% of each sale going directly to the drivers. Visit StaffordSpeedway.tv for more information. Stafford Speedway season passes are good for all events. The schedule for the remainder of the 2020 season will be posted in early to mid-July.
Stafford is the only oval track speedway in Connecticut that was currently running on a weekly basis and running on Saturdays will fill a void that has been left. Currently it is a foregone conclusion that the New London-Waterford Speedbowl will not open in 2020. The Thompson Speedway ownership has shown a general lack of interest in oval track racing and has apparently canceled their initial schedule of weekly cut-race purse events.
The Hoenig family that owns the Thompson Motorsports Park has leased their oval to Terry Eames, the guy who still owes competitors who raced for him at the Speedbowl before he lost it to foreclosure and auction. Eames plans on running the Bud 150 on Wednesday, Aug 19 and the World Series on Oct 9-11. Both events will feature the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series.
Chase Briscoe put on four new tires during a late pit-stop Saturday, then held off AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric over the final five laps to win the first NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course.
Kevin Harvick turned up the pressure on Denny Hamlin late in the Brickyard 400. And on a cooling track, Hamlin’s worn tires simply gave out.As the sun set Sunday over Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Hamlin seven laps from one of the few victories that has eluded him, he went careening into the first-turn wall with a flat right-front tire, and Harvick beat Matt Kenseth off the final restart to win his second straight Brickyard 400.
In some sad news, Frank P. Sgambato, 83, passed away Monday, June 29, 2020 at home surrounded by his loving family. He was the husband of the late Barbara B. (Fusco) Sgambato for 57 years before her passing in 2016. Born in Providence, he was a son of the late Stephen and Mildred (Alburn) Sgambato. Mr. Sgambato was the owner of the former F. Sgambato & Sons Construction Co. for over 40 years before retiring in 2000.
He was a starter/flag man for NASCAR auto racing tracks throughout the Northeast. His career as a tremendously talented starter started at the Seekonk Speedway in the 50’s when there were no starter stands. When Jack Arute bought the Stafford Speedway in1970 he wanted the best in the business on the flagstand and Frank was it. For close to 20 years Sgambato and his assistant Eddie LaRue waved the flags as the best in NASCAR Modified racing raced under him. He was also the Chief Starter at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl for a short time. He loved Hawaii and traveling with his wife Barbara. He enjoyed Sunday’s with his family who relied upon him for words of wisdom. He was a member of Roger Williams Masonic Lodge and his dog; Cilla will miss him immensely.
Frank. Sgambato was the father of Deborah M. D’Alessio of Lincoln, John L. Sgambato of N. Providence, Frank S. Sgambato of North Providence, Stacy S. DeMedeiros of North Providence, and the late Frank P. Sgambato, Jr. He was the brother of Elizabeth DiDonato, David Sgambato and the late Stephen, John and Walter Sgambato. Mr. Sgambato is also survived by his grandchildren Dyana LeBlanc, Jessica D’Alessio, John and Christopher Sgambato, Anthony and Sydney DeMedeiros; and also 4 great-grandchildren. His funeral and burial will be private.
Dr. Rose Mattioli, who co-founded Pocono Raceway with her husband and served as the Pennsylvania track’s matriarch for more than five decades, died Monday. She was 92. Dr. Rose and Dr. Joseph “Doc” Mattioli established the 2.5-mile speedway in 1968 on land they developed in Long Pond in the Pocono Mountains. Their track’s first major event for IndyCars came in 1971. Pocono became an annual stop for the NASCAR Cup Series in 1974 and moved to two races per year in 1982.
Last Year, 2024 Years ago the comedy team of Abbot and Costello had a routine called “Who’s on first, what’s on secons and I don’t know is on third” That sounds like what is going on at Thompson these days. They call it re-branding but some of call it confusion and indecision, management by crisis!
Following several discussions, American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Pro All Stars Series (PASS) officials have made the decision to drop the Outlaw Open Modifieds from the Thompson Speedway schedule for the foreseeable future and have moved to elevate (rebrand) the Thompson Sunoco Modified division (previously rebranded from 604 Modifieds) and Thompson track championship divisions.
With that decision, the Outlaw Open Modifieds are effectively cancelled for the remainder of the 2024 season. Moving forward, PASS and ACT officials have increased the purse structure for the Thompson Sunoco Modifieds (rebranded 604 Modifieds) to a $3,000-to-win, $400 to start model, a $16,000 weekly purse to 25 starters, and increased their feature events to 50 laps. The Tour-type Modifieds will return to Thompson with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events on Wednesday, August 14 and Sunday of the Sunoco World Series and with the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series Constantine Paving & Sealing 75 on Friday of World Series weekend.
Thursday Night Thunder is back at Thompson Speedway, on Thursday, June 27, the day following the Tri Track Series-Open Wheel Wednesday at Seekonk, headlined by the $3,000-to-win, 50-lap trophy dash for the Thompson Sunoco Modifieds(rebranded 604 Modifieds)! Along with the Thompson Sunoco Modified (rebranded 604 Modifieds) 50-lapper, the Late Models, AZ Roofing SK Light Modifieds, Street Stocks and Mini Stocks are back in action on Thursday, June 27 with a 6:00pm Post Time!
For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was at it’s most prestigious venue, the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, for the running of the Mohegan Sun 100 on Saturday. The weather was not kind to those in Loudon on Friday. Rain washed out qualifying for the modified event. Per the NASCAR rule book line ups were determined by the current point standings of those on hand.
Justin Bonsignore had a busy Saturday which turned into a career day at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. His career day was one that ended with his 42nd career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory and a strong performance in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut with Joe Gibbs Racing. Bonsignore started Saturday early as the Whelen Modified Tour hit the track for the Mohegan Sun 100 at 10 a.m. Bonsignore ran inside the top-three for the duration of the race after rolling off on the front row for the 100-lap event. In the final laps, he battled with his cousin, Kyle Bonsignore, for the win. Justin kept control of the race for the final restart, then drove away from Kyle on the backstretch and back to the start-finish line to rocket to Victory Lane. The Whelen Modified Tour win was Justin’s second of the season through seven events, and tied Ted Christopher for third all-time on the series wins list. Bonsignore now sits behind Reggie Ruggerio (44) and Mike Stefanik (74) on the wins list. Bonsignore pulled within two points of leader Ron Silk in the championship standings as the series heads for the halfway point of the season in the next race, set for July 20 at Monadnock Speedway.
Nineteen of the original starters were on the lead lap at the finish. Eight caution periods slowed the pace. The first caution flew on lap 14 when Mike Marshall hit the wall on the back chute. Justin Bonsignore was leading Ron Silk and Austin Beers. Doug Coby parked it with a smoking engine. The second caution flew on lap 41 when Eddie McDonald was slow on the back stretch. It was at this time that the rear end in Ryan Preeces’ car expired, forcing him to drop out. The third caution flew on lap 50 when Jon McKennedy hit the turn one wall a ton. Jake Johnson had entered the tur too high and accidently clipped McKennedy as he was attempting to regain control. The fourth caution came on lap 55 when Ron Silk and Craig Lutz tangled between turns three and four. Silk, who was on the inside, got loose and collided with Lutz. Lutz went in hard and rode the fence before coming to rest on the track.
The fifth caution of the day was displayed on lap 66 after Andy Seuss crashed into the first tur wall. Seuss felt that Austin Beers had taken him out as he expressed his displeasure as he gave him a single fingered salute when he drove by. The sixth caution flew on lap 77. Eric Goodale got into Chace Dowling who in turn got into Luke Baldwin. The seventh caution came on lap 85 when when the Catalano brothers kept it in the family and spun together in turn one. The eighth and final caution was for Anthony Nocella who hit the wall in turn three after Tyler Rypkema got into him.
The three-time Modified Tour champion backed up his Saturday-morning win with a 22nd-place Xfinity finish that was not indicative of the race he ran at the Magic Mile. Such a result left the 36-year-old disappointed on a day that represented a celebration of Modified racers and short-track competitors as a whole. Bonsignore, who entered Saturday with minimal simulation time and virtually no on-track experience in the Xfinity car, started 25th and carefully advanced a few positions before a strategy call during an early caution catapulted him to the front row. He proceeded to lead three laps before settling for competitive spots inside the top five. His lap times were consistent with those of his JGR teammates, including NASCAR Cup Series driver and eventual race winner Christopher Bell.
Bonsignore said he learned more about the car with each lap, though uninformed observers might have assumed a teacher and not a student was driving. Including Saturday morning’s race, Bonsignore has three wins in 26 Modified Tour starts at New Hampshire. Beyond his familiarity with the track’s 1.058-mile layout, that experience did little to prepare him for Saturday afternoon’s challenges. He explained the difference in the Xfinity car’s handling compared to his Modified as tire wear becomes a factor; the Xfinity cars rapidly burn up right-front tires, and Mods take a toll on right rears. Inexperience did not cost Bonsignore what might have been a top-10 finish in his debut. Chaos was the culprit.
Stafford Speedway had all good intensions of running the Casella Open 80 on June 7 until heavy rain stepped in postponing the event after lap 5. The event was rescheduled to be completed on Friday, June 15 until a forecast of severe weather forced cancellation again.
The Casella Waste Open 80 took the initial green flag with Woody Pitkat taking the lead with Anthony Bello right behind him in second. Teddy Hodgdon and Michael Christopher, Jr. were wheel to wheel for third place with Chris Pasteryak in fifth. Hodgdon moved into second on lap-4 and lap-5 Christopher took third with Bello fourth and Pasteryak fifth. The caution flew with 5 laps complete as Pasteryak went around coming out of turn 2, which collected the cars of Keith Rocco, Anthony Flannery, Nick Salva, George Bessette, Jr., and Eric Goodale. Under the caution flag, rain again started to fall and postponed the completion of the event.
The forecast was not good for last Friday but the Stafford management toughed it out and completed the left over event and the regularly scheduled program, the Call before you dig 100.
Michael Christopher Jr had one of his best days at Stafford as he scored a two-fer winning both events. With 30 laps complete in the Casella event, Christopher had worked his way into the lead overtaking early leader Woody Pitkat. Christopher endured numerous restarts, the last coming on lap 75. Christopher shot out into the lead as he had done all race long on the restart with George Bessette working his way into second. Teddy Hodgdon was third with Ronnie Williams fourth and Pitkat wheel to wheel for fifth. Christopher led Bessette to the checkered flag to win the Casella Waste Open 80. Bessette finished second with Williams, Hodgdon, and Pitkat rounding out the top-5. Sixth thru tenth included Nick Salva, Marcello Rufrano, Dana DiMatteo, Keith Rocco and Dylan Izzo,
Christopher and Austin Beers slugged it out for most of the second half of the CBYD event. With three to go Christopher powered his way into the lead back under green with Austin Beers moving into second. Michael Gervais was third with Andrew Molleur fourth and Todd Owen’s car got sideways and he lost several spots on lap-47 after running in fifth. Christopher got clear of Austin Beers on the final lap and he led Beers to the checkered flag to pick up his first SK Modified® win of the 2024 season and double up as he won the Casella 80 earlier in the evening. Gervais nipped Beers at the line for second with Molleur and Cory DiMatteo rounding out the top-5. Sixth thru tenth included Mikey Flynn, Teddy Hodgdon, Troy Talman, Wesley Prucker and Tyler Hines.
Other weekly feature winners on the night were Al Saunders in the Late Model division, Nickolas Hovey in the SK Light division, Adrien Paradis, III in the Limited Late Model division, and Travis Hydar in the Street Stock division.
A big shout-out to the management at Stafford for waiting out the rain.
Down in North Carolina at the Bowman Gray Stadium Brandon Ward held off Danny Bohn for a 100 lap win. Burt Myers had an unlucky night. After qualifying 2nd, drew the pole, led 70+ laps until he lost a transmission on the restart.
In NASCAR Modified action at the Riverhead Raceway a 90-minute rain delay couldn’t cool the hot Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series on track Schools Out Extravaganza excitement. When the dust settled at the conclusion of the 50-lap NASCAR Modified event, defending champion John Beatty Jr. scored his third win over the past five races. While skill and speed earned Beatty his first two triumphs of 2024, this win came with a sprinkling of some good racing fortune.
In NASCAR cup racing, Christopher Bell continued his dominance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, claiming a sweep of the NASCAR race weekend, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver really had to earn that broom in Sunday’s weather-challenged USA Today 301. The 29-year-old Oklahoman beat Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe to the finish line by 1.104 seconds in overtime in a race that lasted six hours — including a two-hour-plus rain delay — and ultimately ended with the field on wet-weather tires, marking only the second time in NASCAR history a points-paying race used the newly developed tires for damp conditions.
Bell’s No. 20 JGR Toyota led a race-best 149 of the 305 laps Sunday, a day after he won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the 1.058-mile New England oval. He is now one of four drivers to have three NASCAR Cup Series wins on the season. It was his ninth career series win.
Ryan Preece finished 11th on the lead lap.
NASCAR announced on Friday before the cup race in New Hampshire that it suspended Bubba Wallace for his actions in the previous Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Wallace was suspended for one race after he crashed Kyle Larson at Lap 94 of the South Point 400 and proceeded to shove Larson, both violations of Sections 4.3.A and 4.4.C & E
On a sad note, Over a thousand dollars of damage was done in the bathrooms behind grandstands during or following Monday night’s Kart races. . The big TV was smashed and graffiti carved into the small screens in mens room.. We have to identify who is doing this . This threatens the series long time relationship with Stafford motor Speedway and has to be dealt with ASAP
With the cooperation of the Arute family a 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.
