Lexington,
“It is important for us to protect the integrity of the North-South Shootout™,” said Promoter Charles Kepley, “and the best way to do that is to have honest, hard working and dedicated people on our staff. It is an honor and a privilege to have Chuck Handley as part of our team.”
Roger Brown dominated the second half of the TD Banknorth 250 Sunday night, but Dale Verrill’s incredible rally on the final lap forced the New Hampshire ACT driver to sweat out the win by less than a half car length in one of the closest finishes in the 34-year history of the summer classic.
Brown is the first Granite State competitor to win the 250 since Dave Dion in 1992. His victory ended Maine’s 11-race winning streak.
Nashville, TN — Like most of his fellow drivers in the NASCAR Busch East Series, Rogelio Lopez hopes to one day run in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. But he knows to get there, he has to have success on the various levels up the ladder.
Already the 2006 NASCAR Mexico champion, Lopez took a monumental step forward in his progress with a victory Sunday night in the Busch East Series’ Music City 150 at the historic Music City Motorplex. He became just the second Mexican-born driver to win in Busch East and the first to do so on an oval.
WEST HAVEN, VT – When the 2007 racing season began, it looked like the 358-modified division at Devil’s Bowl Speedway was going to be wide-open, with five different winners in…
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Oxford, ME — Almost 10 years to the day from when he qualified and competed in the famed Oxford 250 race, Kirk Alexander, W.Swanzey, NH; returned to the historic 3/8 mile speedway Saturday night July 21, and won the inaugural True Value Modified Racing Series “Maine-ly Action Sports 100” before a huge crowd on hand for the special weekend.
The win by Alexander was his third of the season and his 23rd career victory with the traveling series. The race was also a qualifying event for the upcoming Mod Mania 400 weekend at Thompson, CT; Sept 8, 9.
30 modified race teams hauled to Maine for the inaugural event with 26 cars qualifying through 12 lap heat races and a 15 lap last chance race. The prelims were garnered by Jimmy Dolan, Bethel, CT; Les Hinckley, Windsor Locks, CT; and Jarvis, with David Pinkham, Buxton, ME; returning to the series winning the last chance race.
Waterford, CT — It only took 8 races for 19 year old Rookie Steven Intravia, from Saylorsburg, Pa. to win his 1stUSAC Northeast FordFocus featureat the Waterford Speedbowl in Connecticut.
Intravia was driving the S & S Speedways sponsored 2005 Beast chassis Focus Midget that the team purchased from the 2006 USAC Northeast Ford Focus Series champion Ryan Smith.
Waterford, CT — With nine circuits remaining, Shawn Monahan passed brother Diego going on to win his second 35-lap SK Modified feature of the year. “Tonight the car was extra-good, and I was extra-determined to win,” stated Monahan. “I knew on that last restart that if I didn’t get by my brother, I was going backwards, and fast. Tonight we worked as a team, and held-off two of the very best in Zach Sylvester Dennis Gada.”
Defending champion Gada tried on several occasions to slip into the lead using the outside groove, but each time Monahan was able to repel him.
Seekonk, MA — Second generation standout Tom Scully, Jr. of Cranston, RI passed Scott Fournier for the lead on the 15th circuit and held off former Late Model champ Mike Brightman and four-time feature winner David Darling to post his second win of the season in the Francis Farm 50-lap Pro Stock Mid-Season Championship race at the 1/3-mile Seekonk Speedway oval on Saturday, July 21. With extra distance-extra cash events on tap for the four weekly racing divisions, fans were treated to over 240 green flag laps by 91 race cars and trucks in just three and a-half hours.
Waterford, CT — With 9-laps remaining, Shawn Monahan passed brother Diego going on to win his second 35-lap SK Modified feature of the year. “Tonight the car was extra-good, and I was extra-determined to win,” stated Monahan. “I knew on that last restart that if I didn’t get by my brother, I was going backwards and fast. Tonight we worked as a team, and held-off two of the very best in Zach Sylvester Dennis Gada.”
Other feature winners were Ed Reed Jr. (Late Model), Dwayne Dorr (Sportsman), Danny Field (Mini Stocks), and Steven Intravaia (USAC Ford Focus Midgets).
Daytona Beach, FL — The 13th Annual Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America reached its final destination in Hollywood, Fla. Friday, but not before making several very important stops…
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Seekonk, MA — Swansea, MA’s Bill Chouinard, Chris Robinson of West Warwick, RI, and Derryck Anderson, Jr. of Warwick, RI returned to Victory Lane in Seekonk Speedway’s Fast Friday Series of events on July 20.
Chouinard, a second-year Pure Stock competitor, inched closer to point leader Scott Cestodio at the top of the standings after besting a 13 others to claim his second 25-lap feature of the year. Chouinard started ninth in the Highland Real Estate Group-sponsored #8 Chevrolet and immediately headed for the front, going three-wide to work his way into the top six by lap 2. John Frias led the opening circuits before Chouinard’s step-brother, John Robidoux, took over the top spot in the Sanford & Son #93.
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Motor Speedway returned to Friday night racing action with the SK Modified® division taking center stage for the 34th Coors Light SK Modified® 100. Woody…
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Last December, James Civali stood before the entire Whelen Modified Tour community as he accepted his Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year award. Standing there at the podium at Mohegan Sun, Civali knew his rookie campaign was a success. Many veteran drivers would be content with a seventh place finish in points, including a victory at one of the most prestigious tracks in modified history, Stafford. But when the Meriden, CT-native left the stage that night, he knew there was more to gain.
All winter Civali remained focused on the next chapter in his career, his sophomore season on the Whelen Modified Tour. For the first time the 23-year-old knew what to expect entering a Tour season. Again teaming with Don King and King Racing, Civali knew he had the equipment to take him to the next level, a Whelen Modified Tour Championship.
Lexington
“We always get a good response from the North-South Shootout event,” said General Manager Joe Pelham. “More and more of the teams are using our stuff, which is good for us. But what is even more significant is that the drivers are paying attention to safety.” (more…)
Stafford Motor Speedway returns to racing this Friday night, July 20th with the 34th Annual Coors Light SK Modified® 100, Stafford‘s premier SK Modified® race of the season. Ted Christopher…
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Have we ever had a doubt? I can say with confidence that we have. One of the most challenging things we need to overcome in our lives is our doubt. It comes in many forms; hesitation, uncertainty, reservation, misgiving, distrust, disbelief, and suspicion. Many of these terms we are familiar with without a doubt. How do we remove the doubt from our minds? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
One of the prerequisites to being a championship race driver is guts, being able to drive the car closer to the edge, faster, than anyone else. To do that requires that you have complete trust in the car, the team that assembled it and the team that is working on it in the pits. Without that trust you cannot go fast. It also requires that you focus on what you need to do as a driver; hit your marks, feel the car, and pay attention to the changing conditions as the race develops. What happens when the driver doubts his car can go as fast as it needs to? What happens when a driver doubts he can drive the car as fast as it needs to?
Thompson, CT — Heavy rains over the entire northeast forced the cancellation of the July 19th Thursday Night Thompson Thunder (TNTT) race program. Rains moved into the area just prior to the time racecars were scheduled to take to the track for practice sessions. A look at local weather radar showed a huge area of rain headed towards the speedway and that was enough to force the hands of track officials to cancel the evening’s races.
Fans will be glad to know that the 50-lap Pro Stock race scheduled for July 19th will be run as part of the full NASCAR Whelen All American Series race program next Thursday, July 26th.
Seekonk, MA — With over $31,000 in purse money and the bulk of the northeast’s heaviest hitters in Modified racing circles ready to converge upon the Seekonk Speedway, the 1/3-mile oval was forced to postpone Wednesday’s $10,000 to win Viveiros Insurance Modified Madness race due to rain. With competitors coming from as far away as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maine, and even North Carolina to attempt to qualify for the 100 green flag lap event, speedway management opted to reschedule the event after consulting with various local weather sources.
“It’s unfortunate that we had to postpone this race as over the past three years it’s gotten bigger and better and had generated a tremendous amount of interest,” assistant manager David Alburn stated. “However, we could see that the weather was not going to cooperate and felt it was important to make this decision before our competitors drove literally hundreds of miles to get here to end up sitting in the rain.” The Modified Madness portion of the program has been rescheduled for Saturday night, September 22, in conjunction with the speedway’s regular Saturday night lineup of Pro Stocks, Late Models, Sport Trucks, and Street Stocks.
Waterford, CT — Continuing rains have forced Speedbowl management to cancel this week’s Wild n’ Wacky Wednesday program. Mid-week racing continues with next Wednesday’s unique ‘Guys ‘n Dolls’ version of the Geico Women on Wheels event along with the regular four Wednesday divisions. The July 18th program, which included the rained out X-Car feature from July 4, will be run on Aug. 1.
Action resumes this Saturday evening with a full program of NASCAR Whelen All American Series SK Modified, Late Model, Sportsman, and Mini Stock racing. Also making an appearance for the second time in 2007 will be the USAC Ford Focus Midgets presented by Mohegan Sun.
Waterford Speedbowl is facing a foreclosure auction July 29, but the track’s owners are optimistic they will have finances in place to avoid the sale.
Terry Eames, who heads 1080 Hartford Road LLC, said an agreement to sell a portion of the property to Harvey Industries is in the final stages and plans for refinancing the Speedbowl are in place to avoid foreclosure by Washington Mutual Inc. (more…)
It’s been 16 years since a full blown 600 horse powered open wheel modified race car has turned a lap at the famed Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, ME; but that long stretch of absence will come to an end this Saturday night July 21. “I know, I was there,” said Kalle Oakes, the speedway’s director of communications, “and Jeff Fuller won it.” reflecting on that season. When asked about the last modified race at a track synonymous with full bodied stock cars Oakes continued, “It was 1991, Beech Ridge had phased out modifieds, a few came from there but it was not enough to sustain itself and that was the last one, the last tour type modified race at Oxford Plains.”
The night before the “TD Bank North 250,” one of the nations great motor sports events, the famed 3/8 mile oval plays host to the True Value Modified Racing Series for the first time. The ground pounding modifieds will do battle in the “Maine-ly Action Sports Night 100,” a 100 lap green flag race, the third event in a six race qualifying series for the Sunoco sponsored “Modified Mania 400” program at the Thompson, CT, Speedway, Sept 8,9. The winner of this Saturday’s race will be an automatic qualifier.
WEST HAVEN, VT – Ken Tremont Jr. reached another milestone in his racing career Sunday night when he drove to his 50th career victory in the 30-lap 358-modified feature at…
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The qualifying format for the first ever NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour “Flash” event at Riverhead Raceway was announced today by WMT director Ed Cox in conjunction with Barbara and Jim Cromarty of Riverhead Raceway. As they have since 1985, Miller Lite will serve as title sponsor for this unique race that is sure to be a hit with the fans in attendance.
The Riverhead stop is the third and final “Flash” event of the 2007 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Qualifying will find 20% of the cars entered to qualify through time trials, for example if 40 cars enter then 8 would transfer through time. The cars that make the show through time would then later redraw for their staring positions in the main event. Two 25-lap qualifying races will then be run, with odd number cars from time trials in one qualifying race, while the those who qualify in an even number going to the second qualifying race. How many cars make the feature from the heats will be announced when the prior to the qualifying races.
The remainder of the 28-car field would be filled out by provisional starting positions as noted on the WMT entry blank.
After all the qualifying has been completed it will then be time for the Miller Lite 140-lap feature event for the cars and stars of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the Riverhead Raceway drivers who make the 28-car starting grid.
It’s a great format with something for everyone, so make your plans now to head to Riverhead Raceway Saturday August 4th for this historical race. Joining the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be the Charger and Blunderbust divisions, who will run 30-lap feature events with double points. One-On-Spectator Drags will complete the program.
Time Trials for the “Flash” event will start at 5:15 pm with the twin 25 lap qualifying races at 6:30pm. For further information please call the Riverhead Raceway office at 631-842-RACE or log onto www.riverheadraceway.com.
Sources: Bob Finan/Riverhead Raceway PR
Claremont, NH — James Civali became the second multiple winner this year on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with a victory in the Allstate 100 at Twin State Speedway Sunday night. Civali and Matt Hirschman waged a torrid battle over the final thirty laps before Civali took the lead for good from Hirschman on lap 93 of the 117-lap event.
It was the second victory for the Meriden, Conn. driver this season. He also won the season opener at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway in April and it was the third win of his career. Civali, who drives the Don King owned Ramar Hall Chevrolet also earned the Featherlite Most Improved Driver award. Civali took the lead on lap 27 from Ronnie Silk and led all but one of the next 90 laps
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WEST HAVEN, VT – Ken Tremont Jr. took a major step toward his third straight 358-modified point championship at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Sunday night by winning the double-point Midseason…
Read moreWEST HAVEN, VT – Ronnie Johnson returned to his old stomping grounds Tuesday night and put on a whale of a show for the packed house celebrating the 4th of July holiday at…
Read moreWEST HAVEN, VT – Dan Eastman picked a perfect time to get his first career pro-street stock victory at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. Performing in front of one of the biggest…
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