The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour continues on “Summer Break before heading for the Riverhead Raceway this coming Saturday, August 1. Ted Christopher continues to lead the point standings with a 17-point cushion over Todd Szegedy. Thirty-nine points behind Szegedy is Don Lia. Mike Stefanik and Ryan Preece round out the top five. Sixth through tenth are Rowan Pennink, Ron Silk, Jimmy Blewett, Woody Pitkat and Ed Flemke, Jr.
Time trials for the WMT are set for 4:30 pm, a 25-lap qualifying race will be contested at 6:00 pm and the Riverhead 175 will go green at approx. 8:30 pm.
The Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, NY may be returning to its roots as an asphalt speedway if local officials have their way. The Malta oval was a mecca for NASCAR Modified racing from 1966 to 1974. The best in the business from New York and New England would converge every Friday night for some of the best competition ever seen. Originally built as an asphalt speedway, the speedway became a dirt track in the late 70’s.
The Thompson Speedway management took the bull by the horns last week as they created the position of “Competition Director” and has hired Mike Chapman to fill that position. His job will be that of a cop as he will be making judgment calls during the running of the weekly events at the northeast Connecticut oval. NASCAR Chief Steward Richard Brooks will remain in his position and will focus more on the technical end of the racing programs. In recent weeks Brooks has preached and threatened competitors for weeks, especially to those in the Sunoco (SK type) Modifieds. The deliberate wrecking and rough riding has continued with no action taken. It will be Chapman’s job to step on those who deliberately wreck or spin other competitors.
As rain began to fall Chapman held his first drivers meeting and laid down the law and announced that he wasn’t there to make friends. Chapman stated that he would not tolerate the beating and banging that has become the norm, especially in the Modifieds. One who deliberately takes out the leader goes to the back or to the pits. One who drives like a windshield wiper goes to the back and one who deliberately crashes into another competitor will be dealt with. Chapman talks the talk, hopefully he will walk the walk!
In other news from Thompson, the speedway has become a part of a great new service titled “Rained-Out.com”. Rained-Out.com sends notifications of cancellations or delays to mobile phones, pagers, blackberries or e-mails. The service is free for member tracks or users.
Thursday Night Thunder action at the Thompson Speedway was rained out as over four inches of rain fell on Thursday night into Friday morning. The Town Fair Tire 75 True Value Modified Racing Series race at Thompson International Speedway has been postponed until Thursday, August 27 because of inclement weather. A total of 34 True Value Modified Racing Series teams were on hand and able to practice before the rains came.
The 6th Annual CARQUEST SK 150 was on tap at the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night.
Frank Ruocco came up the big winner, as he led the final 130-laps to score his first SK Modified feature victory of the 2009 season. In other NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action, Dillon Moltz took down his fourth win of the 2009 season in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Brit Andersen took his fourth win of the 2009 season in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Norm Sears took his first career Limited Late Model feature win in 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Albert Saunders became the first repeat DARE Stock feature winner of the 2009 season in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
With a packed house of fans looking on the CARQUEST SK 150 took the green with Matt Gallo going to the outside of Dave Salzarulo to take the lead. Salzarulo settled into second, with Brad Hietala, Frank Ruocco, and Tom Bolles making up the top-5. By lap-20, Ruocco had moved up to second and he went past Gallo to take the race lead on lap-21. As Ruocco held the race lead, the car that was charging through the field was Eric Berndt. By lap-50, Berndt had worked his way from the back of the grid to third place. After a caution, Berndt moved into second on a lap-60 restart and began to put on a great battle with Ruocco for the race lead. Lap after lap, Berndt would try the low and high grooves, but to no avail as Ruocco was too quick to be overtaken.
Just as Berndt had charged up to second, Todd Owen was now the car on the charge. Owen was fifth on the lap-60 restart and by lap-80 he had run down the top-2 cars and sat in third place. The top-3 remained the same until a lap-99 restart that saw Owen move by Berndt for second. And just as Berndt had challenged Ruocco for the lead, Owen was doing the same, but again, Ruocco was too quick to be overtaken. Berndt's great run ended on lap-108 when he spun coming out of turn 2. Over the final 42 laps, Owen kept trying Ruocco for the lead, but he was unsuccessful in making a pass for the lead as Ruocco was able to stay out front all the way to the checkered flag. Owen finished second, with Bolles, Woody Pitkat, and Zach Sylvester rounding out the top-5. Sixth through tenth were Jeff Malave, Richie Pallai, Jr., Curt Brainard, Jimmy Blewett, and Ted Christopher. NASCAR national point leader Keith Rocco finished a distant 24th.
The racing action at Waterford Speedbowl took on a different look as the Saturday divisions were schedule to race on both Wednesday and Saturday. Corey Hutchings grabbed his first open-wheel win at the ‘Bowl, holding off the competition in a fiercely competitive SK Modified event. Bruce Thomas Jr. prevailed late to win the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model event, while it was Walt Hovey Jr taking the Street Stock win. Defending Norwich Bulletin Mini Stock champion Ken Cassidy Jr. returned to Victory Lane, as did Ryan Morgan in Legends Car action.
Frank Mucciacciaro and Wendell Dailey brought the open wheel SK Modifieds to green for a thrilling 35-lap event. Mucciacciaro led the first five laps before caution waved for Joey Gada who spun off turn two. Corey Hutchings took over following the restart. Mucciacciaro lost traction in turn two on lap nine, creating a tense moment for the field behind and sending several cars spinning including Speedbowl and national NASCAR Whelen All American Series points leader Keith Rocco. Rocco, of Wallingford, joined several competitors who pitted for service during caution and resumed from the rear.When the field returned to green flag racing, they clicked off the final 26 laps in exciting fashion. Hutchings resumed at the point with Rob Janovic Jr. looking for an opening to challenge for the lead. Ron Yuhas Jr. advanced to third and immediately joined the lead duo looking for more. While Janovic tested Hutchings, Yuhas was looking to snag the second spot. Meanwhile, Rocco was stuck in traffic further in the pack trying to advance back into the top ten.
Janovic made an impressive move diving outside Hutchings with 12 laps remaining. He was able to pull alongside while Yuhas tucked in close behind waiting for either Hutchings or Janovic to make their move. Janovic fell back into the clutches of Yuhas with ten laps remaining. The pair got crossed up off turn four battling for second, with Yuhas recovering to hang on to the spot while Janovic went spinning in front of the field exiting turn four. He continued on without caution, losing several positions in the process however. Hutchings was able to open up a brief breather up front following the turn of events.
Yuhas closed back in and was on Hutchings bumper with just four laps to go. He immediately looked for a lane on Hutchings, peeking outside. While Hutchings was able to fend off Yuhas momentarily, the two-time winner this year continued to hound Hutchings who was seeking his first Speedbowl SK win. As the leaders took the white flag, Yuhas made another bold outside move. He was able to pull outside Hutchings right rear exiting turn two and get the crowd on their feet for the finish. Hutchings was able to prevail by half a car over Yuhas at the stripe in a classic Speedbowl duel. Tyler Chadwick finished third, Dennis Gada fourth, and Jeff Paul rounded out the top five finishers.
With the win, Hutchings has now captured victories in three of the Speedbowl's four NASCAR divisions. He was a past Street Stock and Late Model track champion. The win gives him 42 over his Speedbowl career dating back to 1997.
The regular divisions returned on Saturday night and it was high tide at the shoreline oval. The four inches of rain that fell on the Thompson also put the Speedbowl under water. The infield was finally drained and the racing went on as planned. Because of delays qualifying heat events were eliminated.
There two first time winners this season reaching victory lane as Jeff Pearl won the SK Modified race while Adam Cantor took his first NEMA Midget event of the year. Bruce Thomas Jr. returned to victory lane in the Late Models, and Ed Puleo and Kyle James repeated in the Street Stock and Mini Stock races. Pearl jumped to the lead in the 35-lap SK race from his pole starting position. The battle for second raged on behind Pearl between Tyler Chadwick, Rob Janovic Jr., Ron Yuhas Jr., and Jeff Paul. The action was hot for several laps while they jockeyed for position. The field raced green sorting out the running order through the first 19 laps before Justin Gaydosh ended up against the turn one aarmco barrier, bringing out the first caution. The lineup behind Pearl for the restart was Yuhas, Janovic, Paul and Keith Rocco. Chadwick surrendered his spot in the top five when he went pitside during the caution.
Pearl got the jump into turn one on the restart and pulled out to a comfortable advantage while the field challenged Janovic for the second spot for several laps. Rocco diced through the pack and asserted himself, making an inside bid on Janovic for second with 11 laps remaining. Once clear of Janovic, the division points leader began to chase down Pearl. Yuhas moved past Janovic for third and opened up distance back to a battle for fourth between Janovic and Paul. With four laps to go Rocco had caught Pearl. He looked both high and low with Pearl covering the spot for the next two laps. Tom Abele Jr. spun out of turn four to interrupt the battle at the front and stage a restart battle for the event win. Pearl again got the advantage on the restart to take the lead into turn one. Yuhas moved past Rocco in the final two laps to take second and was able to pull outside Pearl’s right rear by the checkered flag. Rocco finished third with Paul fourth and Janovic fifth. The win was Pearl’s 31st SK Modified win at the track.
Thomas, the two-time defending Late Model division champion, wracked up his ninth victory in 12 events this year. Tim Jordan, who dogged Thomas until the final lap crashed into the turn three wall. A video indicated that Jordan over drove and lost control. After viewing the video Jordan was quoted on the Jeff Pearl.com website as saying “I hit the wall by misjudging. Just wanted to let the racing community know that. I screwed up.”
In TV land this week, NASCAR Now on espn2 will be seen at 5:00pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday at 6:00pm and at 7:00pm on Friday. On Wednesday at noon the Speed Channel will replay last Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Allstate 400 at the Brickyard that was run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On Thursday at noon Speed will show the 2008 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono, PA. The July 19 NASCAR Camping World Touring Series West event that was run at the Portland Intl. Raceway in Portland, OR follows at 3:00pm. Friday’s viewing begins at noon when Speed goes live for 90 minutes of NASCAR Sprint Cup practice at the Pocono Raceway. NASCAR Live follows at 1:30pm. At 3:30pm the action switches to espn2 for Sprint Cup qualifying at Pocono. Nationwide Series practice at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, IA follows on espn2 at 6:00pm. Trackside at Pocono on Speed rounds out the day at 7:00pm. Saturday’s viewing begins at midnight on Speed with “The Grid” which shows highlights of motorsports action worldwide in a fast-paced magazine format. At 10:00am espn2 goes live for three hours at Pocono with Sprint Cup practice. At 1:00 the action switches to the Iowa Speedway for Nationwide Series qualifying. Also at 1:00pm, the Speed Channel provides live coverage of the ARCA RE/MAX Series Pennsylvania 200 at the Pocono Raceway. NASCAR New England, which highlights the weekly racing at the Stafford Motor Speedway is on the New England Sports Network (NESN) at 4:00pm. At 4:00 ESPN has their pre-race show that will lead to a 4:45 start of the NASCAR Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250 at the Iowa Speedway. At 7:30pm the action moves to the Speed Channel for the 8:15pm start of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota Tundra 200 at the Nashville Superspeedway. NASCAR Now on espn2 starts Sunday off at 10:00am. A two hour session of NASCAR Raceday on the Speed Channel follows at 11:00am. At 1:00pm the action moves to ESPN for the pre-race show that will lead to the 2:15 start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway. The Speed Channel wraps up the weekend with The Speed Report from 7:00pm to 8:00, NASCAR Victory Lane at 8:00pm and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain at 9:00pm. ESPN2 also has an edition of NASCAR Now at 10:00pm.
On the Speedway Stock Market Scene last week all three-speedway stocks ended the week in the green. Leading the way was Speedway Motorsports, which went up 1.03 to 15.47. Dover Downs went up 0.11 to 1.55 and the International Speedway Corporation went up 0.03 to 25.06. NASCAR Cup sponsor Sprint dropped 0.07 to 4.52 while fuel supplier Sun Oil went up 1.14 to 24.54. Tire supplier Goodyear went up 1.55 to 14.47. Toyota jumped 2.76 to 80.06 while Ford went up 0.64 to 6.78 and General Motors showed a no-change at 0.45. The team sponsors had a mixed bag. Dupony went up 2.47 to 30.04 and Target Department Stores went up 3.15 to 42.71. On the negative side, Aarons Rentals dropped 4.54 to 26.75 and Coca-Cola dropped 0.63 to 55.18. In the home improvement sector, Lowes went up 1.58 to 22.00 and Home Depot went up 0.65 to 25.32.
That’s it for this week from 11 Gardner Drive, Westerly RI 02891. Ring my chimes at 401-596-5467. E-Mail is smithpe_97_97@yahoo.com.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Champ Trail for 7-21-09
By Phil Smith
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour continues on “Summer Break before heading for the Riverhead Raceway on August 1. While the Whelen Modifieds continue to race for paltry purses at some tracks, teams that compete in the DIRTCar series recently raced in a 100 lap event at the Cayuga County Fair Speedway in New York for a $100,000 purse that paid the winner $20,000.
NASCAR rants and raves about the Modifieds and the great shows they put on yet they continue to throw crumbs their way. The recent Modified tour event was clearly the best show of the weekend. Their racing purse was the least of those in competition. A recent edition of Area Auto Racing News, a highly respected trade paper based in New Jersey, stated that the total purse payout at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway was $7,005,549. The Sprint Cup purse consumed the lion’s share at $5,423,189. The Nationwide Series collected $1,197,559. The Camping World Series East purse was $217,884 and at the bottom of the barrel were the Modifieds whose purse totaled $166,917. In comparison to other Modified Tour events the New Hampshire purse was a good one. Based on the level of competition and the quality of the racing something is definitely wrong here. Hopefully those in charge at New Hampshire will correct this!
In Thursday Night Thunder action at the Thompson Speedway the Sunoco Modifieds seem to want to self destruct as numerous wrecks continue to plague the division. A lot of it is attributed to rough driving that continues to go unchecked by officials in charge of the racing program. Bump and run, bonsai the leader, knock him out of the way is the norm. If its ok for the NASCAR Cup drivers to do it I guess its ok for the local guys to do it. Hopefully Richard Brooks and Ben Dodge will read the riot act to the competitors and take action if necessary.
Thompson International Speedway implemented the new NASCAR rule where the leader decides if they want to restart on the inside or the outside. With weather moving in the action was hot and heavy. The rains came within minutes of the final checker flag of the evening. The TIS Modifieds did double duty as they ran two features, the Super Late Models had their 50 lap extra distance race. Ted Christopher took down a highly contested win in Sunoco Modified action. Larry Barnett continued his domination in the Limited Sportsman division. Tommy O’Sullivan took down his first Late Model victory of the season as did Scott Michalski in the Mini Stocks.
Kerry Malone led the field to the green flag in Sunoco Modified action. Jimmy Blewett grabbed the lead on lap 1. Malone had heavy pressure from Woody Pitkat who went low and took the spot on lap 3. Pitkat then glued himself to Blewetts’s back bumper. A lap later he went low and took the lead; however, Blewett wasn’t giving up easily. Ted Christopher now joined the fray in fourth and brought Keith Rocco with him. Rocco dove low under Christopher and took over the fourth spot and on the backstretch took over third. The action was slowed by a spin by John Catania.
On the restart Blewett jumped out to the lead but Josh Sylvester made heavy contact with the wall in between turns 1 and 2. When they went back to green, Blewett went back to the lead but Pitkat went high and took over the top spot bringing Rocco with him. Christopher went high on Blewett and took over third. Rocco took over the top spot after making slight contact with Pitkat. Christopher followed Rocco and grabbed second. Tim Sullivan had made his way up to the fifth spot. Just past halfway Christopher went low and took over the lead for a split second over Rocco who then took the spot back. Christopher inherited the lead when contact between Pitkat and Rocco sent Rocco hard into the wall in turns 1 & 2.
With the green back in the air, Christopher came across the line first. In almost the same spot where Rocco just hit, Harry Rheaume made hard contact with the wall. TC and Pitkat restarted their battle with the green flag back in the air. Sullivan went low and took the third spot from Rowan Pennink. On lap 21 Pitkat went low and took over the top spot. A spin by Rick D’Abate slowed the field again his machine onto pit road for some attention. Pitkat took the inside for the restart. It was a smart move as he took off with Christopher falling back. Christopher went low and retook the spot. Pitkat wasn’t giving up and battled back. He was looking high and low lap after lap. Pennink made contact with the backstretch wall slowing the field again. At lap 26 it was a single file restart. Christopher again took the lead but again Pitkat wasn’t going to lie down and give up. He looked high in turn 4, low in turn 1 and applied the pressure. Bert Marvin had moved his way up to fourth. After taking the white flag, Pitkat took the lead but he and Christopher made contact between 3 and 4 and TC took down the win. Tim O’Sullivan ended up in second spot and was followed by Bert Marvin, Woody Pitkat, Rick Shawn, Kerry Malone, Jimmy Blewett, Todd Ceravolo, Danny Cates and Wayne Arute.
In addition to their regular program The True Value Modified Racing Series will top the bill this Thursday, July23rd, at the Thompson International Speedway. The True Value Modified Series, know as New England’s Modified Racing Series, will be the featured division on Charter Communications night in 75-lap main event sponsored by Town Fair Tire.
Keith Rocco recovered from his wreck at Thompson to record his fourth win of the season at the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night. Tom Butler took down his first feature win at Stafford since 2006 in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Earl Pelletier was a first time 2009 winner in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Andrew Durand took home his fourth victory of the 2009 season in the in the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Jeff Jolly became the 9th different winner in as many features this season in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
The 40-lap SK Modified® feature took the green with Wade Mattesen powering to the outside of Joe Allegro, Jr. to take the lead. Allegro settled into second with Matt Gallo, Zach Sylvester, and Richie Pallai, Jr. making up the top-5. Sylvester quickly moved to third, with Tom Bolles taking fourth and Curt Brainard moving into fifth place. Mattesen had things well in hand out front, but the action was slowed for the first time with 18 laps complete for a spin by Willie Hardie on the frontstretch. Ted Christopher and Brad Hietala spun on the restart to bring the caution back out. The lap-19 restart saw Rocco power past Mattesen to take over the race lead. The field completed one lap before Christopher and Allegro went around in turn 2 to bring the yellow back out. Rocco charged to the lead on the restart with Mark Bakaj second, Jeff Malave third, Doug Coby fourth and Frank Ruocco fifth. The field ran in line until lap-26 when Bakaj got loose in turn 4 and touched wheels with Coby, which sent both cars spinning and brought the caution back out.
After several more caution periods from lap-27 to lap-29, Rocco was still out front, with Malave, Donny Travaglin, Woody Pitkat, and Christopher behind him. The leaders ran in single file until lap-26 when Travaglin made a move to the inside of Malave for second, which allowed Christopher to follow Travaglin past Malave. Christopher and Malave would both get back by Travaglin in the last couple laps, but it was all Rocco at the front as he scored his fourth feature victory of the 2009 season. Christopher finished second, with Malave, Travaglin, and Pitkat rounding out the top-5.
True Value Modified Racing Series point leader Jon McKennedy roared to his third win of the season and his sixth career victory Saturday night, July 18, as he captured the “Maine-ly Sports 100” at the Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, ME. McKennedy, fast in earlier practice sessions, won his qualifying heat, and started on the pole in the 100 lap event. McKennedy jumped into the lead from his pole starting position and held it until passed by Rob Goodenough on lap 17. Andy Seuss took over the top spot on the 43rd lap and held off the constant challenges of Goodenough, and then McKennedy, until lap 77. McKennedy, using lapped traffic to his advantage, grabbed the top spot from Seuss. McKennedy then set a torrid pace to go on and score the win.
Dwight Jarvis who started 16th in the field, finished in a respectable runner-up spot, with David, Pinkham, last years race winner, finishing third. Pinkham started last in a 22 car field. Seuss finished fourth, with Eddie Dachenhasuen, making a late race charge finishing fifth.
The race, slowed by only two caution flags on laps 16 and 98, was run off in just 28 minutes.
The racing action at Waterford Speedbowl took on a different look as the regular Saturday night divisions had the night off. The first ever Saturday Wild ‘n Wacky racing event took place at Waterford Speedbowl under sunny and warm conditions. The Legends Car series was in the spotlight, competing in a national qualifier event with the winner earning a guaranteed berth in the Raceceiver Legends Nationals at Georgia’s Lanier Speedway in October. Berlin, CT competitor Jason Palmer continued his domination in the division this year, bouncing back from early race trouble to secure the win. Ledyard’s Charles Beal won his second consecutive Super X-Car race, Willington’s John Bowes dominated the X-Car event, and David Flammia Jr. of Waterbury was the late benefactor in winning the X-Modified race. Tyler Chalue won the Bandolero race.
The Seekonk Speedway ran their annual Open Modified 100 on Wednesday, July 15. Chris Pasteryak started 8th and after dogging Mike Stefanik for many laps, passed him for the lead and eventual win on lap 85. For his efforts Pasteryak collected $10,000. Jon McKennedy finished second and was followed by Jimmy Kuhn, Stefanik and Matt Hirschman.
In TV land this week, NASCAR Now on espn2 will be seen at 5:00pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and at 6:30pm on Friday. This weeks viewing begins on Tuesday with the re-showing by ESPN Classic of the 1995 Brickyard 400 that was run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On Wednesday at noon the Speed Channel will show last Saturday’s ARCA RE/MAX Series Drive Smart Buckle-Up 150 that was run at the Kentucky Speedway. At 6:00pm ESPN Classic shows the 2000 Brickyard 400. On Thursday at noon the action switches to the Speed Channel for the 2005 Allstate 400 from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. At 3:00pm Speed moves to the Thompson Speedway to show the July 11 NASCAR Camping World Touring Series East Pepsi Full Fender Frenzy 100. At 6:30 its back to ESPN Classic for the 2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. ESPN2 goes live on Friday at 2:00pm with NASCAR Sprint Cup practice from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Speed Channel picks up when ESPN2 backs off at 3:00pm. At 5:00pm Speed moves to the O’Reilly Raceway Park for NASCAR Truck series qualifying. At 6:30 Speed heads back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a 60-minute segment of Trackside. At 7:30 Speed returns to the O’Reilly Raceway Park for the pre-race show that will lead in to an 8:15 start of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series AAA Insurance 200. Saturday’s viewing starts at 10:00am on espn2 with Sprint Cup qualifying from Indy. At 12:30 espn2 moves to the O'Reilly Raceway Park for Nationwide Series practice. At 3:00 Speed goes live at Indy followed at 3:30 by the June 27 World of Outlaws, late models from the Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, PA. On Saturday,NASCAR New England, which highlights the weekly racing at the Stafford Motor Speedway is on the New England Sports Network (NESN) at 4:00pm. The Nationwide Series qualifies at O’Reilly at 4:30 on espn2. At 7:30, the action shifts to ESPN for the pre-race show that will lead to an 8:15 start of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Kroger 200 at the O'Reilly Raceway Park. Sunday’s viewing begins at 10:00am with NASCAR Now on espn2. At 11:00 the action shifts to the Speed Channel for a two hour RaceDay. ESPN has their pre-race show for the Brickyard race at 12:30. The green flag is scheduled to be dropped on the Sprint Cup Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at 2:15. The Speed Channel wraps up the weekend with The Speed Report from 7:00pm to 8:00, NASCAR Victory Lane at 8:00pm and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain at 9:00pm.
On the Speedway Stock Market Scene it was a generally good week all around. All three speedway stocks ended the week on the plus side. Leading the way was Speedway Motorsports which went up 1.41 to 14.44. The International Speedway Corporation went up 0.94 to 25.03 and Dover Downs went up 0.22 to 1.44. NASCAR Cup sponsor Sprint went up 0.23 to 4.59 while fuel supplier Sun Oil went up 1.31 to 23.40. Tire supplier Goodyear followed suit as they went up 1.94 to 12.92. With the exception of General Motors which dropped 0.70 to 0.45, the auto makers had a good week. Ford went up 0.42 to 6.14 and Toyota went up 1.54 to 75.30. Team sponsors were also in the green at weeks end. Dupont went up 2.96 to 27.57, Coca-Cola went up 0.59 to 55.81, Target Department Stores went up 1.76 to 39.56 and Aarons Rentals went up 2.48 to 31.29. In the home improvement sector, Home Depot went up 1.15 to 24.67 and Lowes went up 1.57 to 20.42.
That’s it for this week from 11 Gardner Drive, Westerly RI 02891. Ring my chimes at 401-596-5467. E-Mail is smithpe_97_97@yahoo.com
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour continues on “Summer Break before heading for the Riverhead Raceway on August 1. While the Whelen Modifieds continue to race for paltry purses at some tracks, teams that compete in the DIRTCar series recently raced in a 100 lap event at the Cayuga County Fair Speedway in New York for a $100,000 purse that paid the winner $20,000.
NASCAR rants and raves about the Modifieds and the great shows they put on yet they continue to throw crumbs their way. The recent Modified tour event was clearly the best show of the weekend. Their racing purse was the least of those in competition. A recent edition of Area Auto Racing News, a highly respected trade paper based in New Jersey, stated that the total purse payout at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway was $7,005,549. The Sprint Cup purse consumed the lion’s share at $5,423,189. The Nationwide Series collected $1,197,559. The Camping World Series East purse was $217,884 and at the bottom of the barrel were the Modifieds whose purse totaled $166,917. In comparison to other Modified Tour events the New Hampshire purse was a good one. Based on the level of competition and the quality of the racing something is definitely wrong here. Hopefully those in charge at New Hampshire will correct this!
In Thursday Night Thunder action at the Thompson Speedway the Sunoco Modifieds seem to want to self destruct as numerous wrecks continue to plague the division. A lot of it is attributed to rough driving that continues to go unchecked by officials in charge of the racing program. Bump and run, bonsai the leader, knock him out of the way is the norm. If its ok for the NASCAR Cup drivers to do it I guess its ok for the local guys to do it. Hopefully Richard Brooks and Ben Dodge will read the riot act to the competitors and take action if necessary.
Thompson International Speedway implemented the new NASCAR rule where the leader decides if they want to restart on the inside or the outside. With weather moving in the action was hot and heavy. The rains came within minutes of the final checker flag of the evening. The TIS Modifieds did double duty as they ran two features, the Super Late Models had their 50 lap extra distance race. Ted Christopher took down a highly contested win in Sunoco Modified action. Larry Barnett continued his domination in the Limited Sportsman division. Tommy O’Sullivan took down his first Late Model victory of the season as did Scott Michalski in the Mini Stocks.
Kerry Malone led the field to the green flag in Sunoco Modified action. Jimmy Blewett grabbed the lead on lap 1. Malone had heavy pressure from Woody Pitkat who went low and took the spot on lap 3. Pitkat then glued himself to Blewetts’s back bumper. A lap later he went low and took the lead; however, Blewett wasn’t giving up easily. Ted Christopher now joined the fray in fourth and brought Keith Rocco with him. Rocco dove low under Christopher and took over the fourth spot and on the backstretch took over third. The action was slowed by a spin by John Catania.
On the restart Blewett jumped out to the lead but Josh Sylvester made heavy contact with the wall in between turns 1 and 2. When they went back to green, Blewett went back to the lead but Pitkat went high and took over the top spot bringing Rocco with him. Christopher went high on Blewett and took over third. Rocco took over the top spot after making slight contact with Pitkat. Christopher followed Rocco and grabbed second. Tim Sullivan had made his way up to the fifth spot. Just past halfway Christopher went low and took over the lead for a split second over Rocco who then took the spot back. Christopher inherited the lead when contact between Pitkat and Rocco sent Rocco hard into the wall in turns 1 & 2.
With the green back in the air, Christopher came across the line first. In almost the same spot where Rocco just hit, Harry Rheaume made hard contact with the wall. TC and Pitkat restarted their battle with the green flag back in the air. Sullivan went low and took the third spot from Rowan Pennink. On lap 21 Pitkat went low and took over the top spot. A spin by Rick D’Abate slowed the field again his machine onto pit road for some attention. Pitkat took the inside for the restart. It was a smart move as he took off with Christopher falling back. Christopher went low and retook the spot. Pitkat wasn’t giving up and battled back. He was looking high and low lap after lap. Pennink made contact with the backstretch wall slowing the field again. At lap 26 it was a single file restart. Christopher again took the lead but again Pitkat wasn’t going to lie down and give up. He looked high in turn 4, low in turn 1 and applied the pressure. Bert Marvin had moved his way up to fourth. After taking the white flag, Pitkat took the lead but he and Christopher made contact between 3 and 4 and TC took down the win. Tim O’Sullivan ended up in second spot and was followed by Bert Marvin, Woody Pitkat, Rick Shawn, Kerry Malone, Jimmy Blewett, Todd Ceravolo, Danny Cates and Wayne Arute.
In addition to their regular program The True Value Modified Racing Series will top the bill this Thursday, July23rd, at the Thompson International Speedway. The True Value Modified Series, know as New England’s Modified Racing Series, will be the featured division on Charter Communications night in 75-lap main event sponsored by Town Fair Tire.
Keith Rocco recovered from his wreck at Thompson to record his fourth win of the season at the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night. Tom Butler took down his first feature win at Stafford since 2006 in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Earl Pelletier was a first time 2009 winner in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Andrew Durand took home his fourth victory of the 2009 season in the in the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Jeff Jolly became the 9th different winner in as many features this season in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
The 40-lap SK Modified® feature took the green with Wade Mattesen powering to the outside of Joe Allegro, Jr. to take the lead. Allegro settled into second with Matt Gallo, Zach Sylvester, and Richie Pallai, Jr. making up the top-5. Sylvester quickly moved to third, with Tom Bolles taking fourth and Curt Brainard moving into fifth place. Mattesen had things well in hand out front, but the action was slowed for the first time with 18 laps complete for a spin by Willie Hardie on the frontstretch. Ted Christopher and Brad Hietala spun on the restart to bring the caution back out. The lap-19 restart saw Rocco power past Mattesen to take over the race lead. The field completed one lap before Christopher and Allegro went around in turn 2 to bring the yellow back out. Rocco charged to the lead on the restart with Mark Bakaj second, Jeff Malave third, Doug Coby fourth and Frank Ruocco fifth. The field ran in line until lap-26 when Bakaj got loose in turn 4 and touched wheels with Coby, which sent both cars spinning and brought the caution back out.
After several more caution periods from lap-27 to lap-29, Rocco was still out front, with Malave, Donny Travaglin, Woody Pitkat, and Christopher behind him. The leaders ran in single file until lap-26 when Travaglin made a move to the inside of Malave for second, which allowed Christopher to follow Travaglin past Malave. Christopher and Malave would both get back by Travaglin in the last couple laps, but it was all Rocco at the front as he scored his fourth feature victory of the 2009 season. Christopher finished second, with Malave, Travaglin, and Pitkat rounding out the top-5.
True Value Modified Racing Series point leader Jon McKennedy roared to his third win of the season and his sixth career victory Saturday night, July 18, as he captured the “Maine-ly Sports 100” at the Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, ME. McKennedy, fast in earlier practice sessions, won his qualifying heat, and started on the pole in the 100 lap event. McKennedy jumped into the lead from his pole starting position and held it until passed by Rob Goodenough on lap 17. Andy Seuss took over the top spot on the 43rd lap and held off the constant challenges of Goodenough, and then McKennedy, until lap 77. McKennedy, using lapped traffic to his advantage, grabbed the top spot from Seuss. McKennedy then set a torrid pace to go on and score the win.
Dwight Jarvis who started 16th in the field, finished in a respectable runner-up spot, with David, Pinkham, last years race winner, finishing third. Pinkham started last in a 22 car field. Seuss finished fourth, with Eddie Dachenhasuen, making a late race charge finishing fifth.
The race, slowed by only two caution flags on laps 16 and 98, was run off in just 28 minutes.
The racing action at Waterford Speedbowl took on a different look as the regular Saturday night divisions had the night off. The first ever Saturday Wild ‘n Wacky racing event took place at Waterford Speedbowl under sunny and warm conditions. The Legends Car series was in the spotlight, competing in a national qualifier event with the winner earning a guaranteed berth in the Raceceiver Legends Nationals at Georgia’s Lanier Speedway in October. Berlin, CT competitor Jason Palmer continued his domination in the division this year, bouncing back from early race trouble to secure the win. Ledyard’s Charles Beal won his second consecutive Super X-Car race, Willington’s John Bowes dominated the X-Car event, and David Flammia Jr. of Waterbury was the late benefactor in winning the X-Modified race. Tyler Chalue won the Bandolero race.
The Seekonk Speedway ran their annual Open Modified 100 on Wednesday, July 15. Chris Pasteryak started 8th and after dogging Mike Stefanik for many laps, passed him for the lead and eventual win on lap 85. For his efforts Pasteryak collected $10,000. Jon McKennedy finished second and was followed by Jimmy Kuhn, Stefanik and Matt Hirschman.
In TV land this week, NASCAR Now on espn2 will be seen at 5:00pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and at 6:30pm on Friday. This weeks viewing begins on Tuesday with the re-showing by ESPN Classic of the 1995 Brickyard 400 that was run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On Wednesday at noon the Speed Channel will show last Saturday’s ARCA RE/MAX Series Drive Smart Buckle-Up 150 that was run at the Kentucky Speedway. At 6:00pm ESPN Classic shows the 2000 Brickyard 400. On Thursday at noon the action switches to the Speed Channel for the 2005 Allstate 400 from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. At 3:00pm Speed moves to the Thompson Speedway to show the July 11 NASCAR Camping World Touring Series East Pepsi Full Fender Frenzy 100. At 6:30 its back to ESPN Classic for the 2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. ESPN2 goes live on Friday at 2:00pm with NASCAR Sprint Cup practice from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Speed Channel picks up when ESPN2 backs off at 3:00pm. At 5:00pm Speed moves to the O’Reilly Raceway Park for NASCAR Truck series qualifying. At 6:30 Speed heads back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a 60-minute segment of Trackside. At 7:30 Speed returns to the O’Reilly Raceway Park for the pre-race show that will lead in to an 8:15 start of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series AAA Insurance 200. Saturday’s viewing starts at 10:00am on espn2 with Sprint Cup qualifying from Indy. At 12:30 espn2 moves to the O'Reilly Raceway Park for Nationwide Series practice. At 3:00 Speed goes live at Indy followed at 3:30 by the June 27 World of Outlaws, late models from the Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, PA. On Saturday,NASCAR New England, which highlights the weekly racing at the Stafford Motor Speedway is on the New England Sports Network (NESN) at 4:00pm. The Nationwide Series qualifies at O’Reilly at 4:30 on espn2. At 7:30, the action shifts to ESPN for the pre-race show that will lead to an 8:15 start of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Kroger 200 at the O'Reilly Raceway Park. Sunday’s viewing begins at 10:00am with NASCAR Now on espn2. At 11:00 the action shifts to the Speed Channel for a two hour RaceDay. ESPN has their pre-race show for the Brickyard race at 12:30. The green flag is scheduled to be dropped on the Sprint Cup Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at 2:15. The Speed Channel wraps up the weekend with The Speed Report from 7:00pm to 8:00, NASCAR Victory Lane at 8:00pm and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain at 9:00pm.
On the Speedway Stock Market Scene it was a generally good week all around. All three speedway stocks ended the week on the plus side. Leading the way was Speedway Motorsports which went up 1.41 to 14.44. The International Speedway Corporation went up 0.94 to 25.03 and Dover Downs went up 0.22 to 1.44. NASCAR Cup sponsor Sprint went up 0.23 to 4.59 while fuel supplier Sun Oil went up 1.31 to 23.40. Tire supplier Goodyear followed suit as they went up 1.94 to 12.92. With the exception of General Motors which dropped 0.70 to 0.45, the auto makers had a good week. Ford went up 0.42 to 6.14 and Toyota went up 1.54 to 75.30. Team sponsors were also in the green at weeks end. Dupont went up 2.96 to 27.57, Coca-Cola went up 0.59 to 55.81, Target Department Stores went up 1.76 to 39.56 and Aarons Rentals went up 2.48 to 31.29. In the home improvement sector, Home Depot went up 1.15 to 24.67 and Lowes went up 1.57 to 20.42.
That’s it for this week from 11 Gardner Drive, Westerly RI 02891. Ring my chimes at 401-596-5467. E-Mail is smithpe_97_97@yahoo.com
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