Stafford Springs, CT — As part of Stafford Motor Speedway’s 40th Anniversary celebration, former track promoter and current Television broadcaster Jack Arute Jr. has been selected as this year’s Grand Marshal for the Tech Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST.
“Jackie played an integral role in Stafford’s early year,” said current Track CEO and Jackie’s brother, Mark Arute. “Many of his innovations are now common practice not only at Stafford, buit at short tracks around the country.”
Some of those innovations include multiple announcers, pit road PA reports, a dedicated Victory Lane area and special pre-race shows. Arute left his Stafford promoter duties in 1973 to pursue a broadcasting career first with NASCAR’s MRN Radio and then with ABC Television where he covered a variety of sports including NASCAR, the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, Olympic Soccer, Cycling, and Luge. For more than 25 years he was a cornerstone to ABC’s coverage of NCAA College Football as well as the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500.
Continue reading ‘Stafford Speedway President Jack Arute, Jr., to Serve as Grand Marshal of 39th Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler’
Brockton, MA — Northeastern Midget Association driver John Zych Jr. is not the kind of guy to turn away from a challenge. Right now, it’s getting that elusive first victory.
Although he “hopes to get some practice time” before NEMA returns to action at Monadnock Speedway on May 29, he is “very optimistic” about the coming season. “We have learned a lot and our equipment (a Mazda/Hawk) is as good as ever,” he says.
He is part of NEMA’s Mazda group, joining Russ Stoehr and rookie Jesse State.
Continue reading ‘Ex-Hoopster John Zych Jr. Seeks First NEMA Victory’
The American Canadian Tour (ACT) teams are looking forward to opening the season at the newly paved Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, NY on Sunday, April 25. Many are a little bit anxious, having never seen the new track before. There was plenty of excitement when the announcement came last fall about the track going back to asphalt after over 30 years as a dirt CVRA (Champlain Valley Racing Association) track under the Richards family.
“This is not how we expected to make the first trip to the Malta track,” said Joey (Pole) Polewarczyk, Jr., the young racing star from Hudson, NH. “We would have liked to have gotten the Governor’s Cup race in at Lee USA Speedway, but Mother Nature was against us. Lee is definitely where I think I have some kind of advantage, (Pole won the race in 2008 and finished runner-up in 2009), but really, Albany-Saratoga is a place where nobody is going to have an advantage, and that is kind of cool,” concluded Pole.
The reports are that only the Burlington, VT-based SD Ireland team of Jamie Fisher, and Twin State regular Aaron Fellows from Claremont, NH have been able to get to the New York track this spring to test and tune. Most race teams like going to a new race facility, and a strong field of traveling teams from Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts are expected to start the season at the 4/10th mile speedway. There will also be teams from Ontario, Quebec, and New York.
Continue reading ‘ACT Teams Scramble to Get Ready for Opener’
