Archive for the 'ISMA' Category

NEMA Announces July 21 “Showdown Of Champions” At Seekonk Speedway

Brockton, MA — On Wednesday July 21, Seekonk Speedway hosts the Northeastern Midget Association’s “Showdown of Champions” a star-studded 25-lap event featuring some of the most-heralded racing talent ever assembled in New England.

Announced during a NEMA press conference held at the recent Racers Expo Trade Show in Marlborough, MA. the race will be part of Seekonk’s “Open Wheel Wednesday” event which also features a full slate of action for the NEMA full-Midgets.

Organizers drew from a vast talent pool for the “Showdown” coming up with a cast of championship-caliber competitors representing several different segments of the sport.

Competing in equally-prepared NEMA Lites Series entries in a 25-lap dash will be Nokie & Drew Fornoro, Chris Perley, Russ Wood, Ted Christopher, Mike Stefanik, Bentley Warren, Vinny Annarummo, and Fred Astle. The group represents literally hundreds of victories and multiple championships in everything from Indy Cars, Midgets and Sprint Cars, to Modifieds, Super Modifieds, and Pro Stocks. There remains the possibility of more “notable” racers being added to the roster.

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ISMA 2010 is Still a Work in Progress with Changes Made for Toldeo & Sandusky June Dates

Oswego, NY — Many race fans have already noticed and are discussing the deletion of the June 11 and 12 dates at the Toledo and Sandusky Speedways respectively from the 2010 ISMA schedule. Due to several unforeseen circumstances neither event will be be held this season. The original premise of booking the back-to-back races was to give the traveling ISMA group two race venues in a weekend. Unfortunately, the Sandusky event had to be scraped thus leaving the Toledo race a stand-alone. The three parties involved agreed that this was not a wise business decision.

ISMA president Howie Lane said that after speaking with Kevin Jaycox, owner-manager of Sandusky, he realized the quandary. Jaycox, after tentatively committing to the June 12 date, found out that a huge motorcycle event close to his Ohio speedway was already scheduled for that weekend. With fans predicted at numbers of upwards of 100,000 anticipated at the site very near the Sandusky racetrack, it was deemed that the logistics of holding both events were impossible. Jaycox agreed with the motorcycle promoters that it was not good timing and he called off the slated supermodified racing at his track so as not to interfere.

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Familiar Faces from ISMA to Run for Gambler’s Classic Gold at Atlantic City

Leading the way into this weekend’s famed Atlantic City Gambler’s Classic will be none other than ISMA supermodified young lion Mike Lichty. Lichty, after a win at Providence, RI in the Leonard J. Sammon’s Jr. Indoor Winter Series, now leads the points coming into Atlantic City’s TQ event. A point system was set up in honor of the late founder and publisher of Area Auto Racing News who passed away in 1991.

Lichty is about to embark on a new career challenge running in the NASCAR Camping World Truck series.

“I tested at Chicagoland two years ago and put in 350 laps at Motor Mile with Dennis Setzer’s help,” said Lichty about his budding plans. Loudon, Martinsville Iowa and O’Reilly Motorsports Park are definitely on Lichty’s schedule at present with more events, perhaps totaling as many as a dozen, hopefully to follow. The Truck he will compete with is part of Setzer’s organization.

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ISMA Closes Out 35th Year with Awards Banquet

Verona, NY — The resplendent setting of the Turning Stone Casino served as the perfect backdrop for the International Supermodified Association to close out its 35th anniversary season. Founded in 1974 by Jim Shampine, Nolan Swift and Tom Heveron, ISMA ran its first two seasons establishing itself and then began issuing points and naming champions in 1976. Steve Gioia Sr. was crowned the first owner-driver champion. Vic Miller and Chris Perley took home the owner-driver honors this year for their fourth straight title and sixth overall. Perley, with this year’s crown, tied Russ Wood as a six-time ISMA driver champion, while Miller, as a car owner now has two titles less than the late record-holding Paul Dunigan. Dunigan acquired eight owner championships with four different drivers over his career.

ISMA began the evening by honoring its top-20 car owners and drivers with plaques and point fund checks. Then it was on to handing out the top honors to Vic Miller and Chris Perley. Championship jackets, plaques and the winning point fund checks went to the popular winners.

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Thompson World Series Photo Gallery

[Thompson World Series - Sunday] by Adam Fohlin
[2009 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Review] by Paul Fohlin
[Thompson World Series - Friday] by Nicholas Teto

[Thompson World Series - Sunday] by Nicholas Teto

Christopher Wins World Series 150; Perley & Fornoro Earn Winged Wins at Thompson; Silk, M. O’Sullivan, T. O’Sullivan & Barnett Weekly Series Winners; Gentes, Foster & Adams Sunday Outlaw Winners

Thompson, CT — What a difference a day makes. After a rain soaked Saturday, the skies were crystal clear making the way for eleven feature events for the culmination of the XtraMart World Series of Speedway Racing on Sunday, October 25, 2009. Drivers from all over the northeast competed with winning drivers coming from five different states in New England.

Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, book-ended the season with Thompson Speedway victories in the Whelen Modified Tour. The veteran racer opened the season with a victory in the Icebreaker and capped off the 2009 season with a World Series win. Donny Lia secured the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship with his fourth-place finish.

A last lap pass found Chris Perley of Rowley, MA, in International Supermodified Association (ISMA) victory lane. Nokie Fornoro of Stroudsburg, PA, scored the Northeastern Midget Association 30-lap main event to send his retiring car owner out in grand style.

Ronnie Silk of Norwalk, CT, came out on top of a fierce Sunoco Modified battle to score the World Series win. In racing of the Late Model variety it was Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, scoring the Super Late Models victory; his brother Tommy made it a family affair winning the Late Models. Rick Gentes of Woonsocket, RI, continued his domination of the Outlaw Late Models with a dominating performance.

Other winners included Larry Barnett of Moosup, CT, in the Limited Sportsman; Sean Foster of Middletown, CT, in the Outlaw Strictly Stocks; and Beth Adams of Winchendon, CT, in Outlaw Mini Stocks. Rob Richardi, Jr. of North Easton, MA, was tops in the Pro-Four Modifieds.

Continue reading ‘Christopher Wins World Series 150; Perley & Fornoro Earn Winged Wins at Thompson; Silk, M. O’Sullivan, T. O’Sullivan & Barnett Weekly Series Winners; Gentes, Foster & Adams Sunday Outlaw Winners’

Wild World Series ISMA Finale Finds Chris Perley a Winner After Lady Luck Helps Him to Victory Lane

4054677487 5df9b02fbf m Wild World Series ISMA Finale Finds Chris Perley a Winner After Lady Luck Helps Him to Victory LaneThompson, CT — “I’ll take this one,” Chris Perley shouted as he erupted from his Vic Miller 11 in victory lane at Thompson Speedway Sunday. With ten laps to go in the ISMA portion of the World Series of Racing, Chris Perley, who had won six of the last nine World Series’ events, had not really expected win number seven. He was running fifth late in the race and figured that was where he was going to stay. Ahead of him Mark Sammut, Dave Shullick Jr., Russ Wood and Mike Lichty had been the show. But on lap 43 things began to happen. Leader Sammut broke a hub and crashed out of the race. Dave Shullick Jr. took over the lead on the restart and Perley was able to pass a “loose” Mike Lichty who had used a lot of car battling Sammut, to gain third with five to go. Then with two to go, Perley had moved by Wood when all of a sudden Shullick’s wing broke giving Chris the opportunity to grab the lead and the win.

Said the recently crowned 2009 ISMA champion after a finish that definitely went his way, “ I was kind of settling in on sixth or fifth. I was racing hard, but the car was loose. I couldn’t really get where I wanted to go. As I’ve said before, I’d rather be lucky than good sometimes and this really played into my favor today. But, I didn’t give up on the car because my crew never does. I have awesome motors from R&R and Ed Shea helps out with those motors and everything. I have a great crew. Obviously you can’t beat this crew. You can’t beat this crowd or this track either. It’s my favorite track.”

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44TH Annual All-Star Classic Goes to Chris Perley

Epping, NH – Chris Perley became a four-time winner of the prestigious All-Star Classic on Saturday night, tying him with supermodified legend Ollie Silva who also won four. Only two drivers – Bentley Warren and Russ Wood – have won more in the 44 years of the event’s running. Perley’s run to the front of the ISMA Classic Cigar 100 was an exciting and challenging one, as he had to find a way around some tough competition. Ipswich, Mass.’s Justin Belfiore and Canadian Mike Lichty led the way until Perley swapped the point with Lichty after midway to take the lead on lap 66. Lichty stayed with the Vic Miller 11 until the waning laps of the event when the 84 began to fade and Lou Cicconi and Dave Shullick Jr. powered by. Perley, whose last win came on July 25, has felt the loss of some of his competitive edge, uncharacteristically falling out of the top five on two occasions in the last five race events, although staying on top of the point standings. Perley described what brought him back into victory lane.

All-Star ISMA Classic Cigar 100 Photo Page
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All-Star Classic and Thompson World Series will Wind Down 2009 ISMA Season in Next Two Weeks

Two of the most famous and prestigious New England Supermodified races are coming up in these next two weekends of October. First the 44th annual ISMA Classic 100 at All-Star Speedway is up on the slate. The Classic, this year sponsored by the C.A.N.H. and called the Cigar 100, will take to the track early on Saturday afternoon, October 10. And the next weekend, the granddaddy of racing events, takes place October 16-18 at the Thompson Speedway in Connecticut. ISMA wraps up the season with a 50-lapper on Sunday.

Last season Chris Perley took home his third All-Star Classic of his career. The 43rd Classic marked the first all green flag 100-lap Classic to be held at the New Hampshire bullring. This new format resulted in one of the most exciting races in recent times at the event. After a shaky start, the century grind developed into an awesome –almost indescribable battle between Chris Perley and Jon McKennedy for the win. For almost 60 laps they fought tooth and nail out front. In the end Perley took home the trophy but it was the road to fruition that led to the prize that brought the most gratification.
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Berlin Raceway September 25-26 ISMA Show is Cancelled

Oswego, NY — Word has been received from Berlin Raceway management that the upcoming ISMA doubleheader will not take place on the 25th and 26th of September as printed on the 2009 schedule. Citing excessive rainouts and the rescheduling of events because of that weather, plus financial constraints, ISMA was contacted as to the possibility of putting off the 2009 weekend until 2010. According to ISMA president Howie Lane, a 2010 date has already been confirmed.

The following explanation appears on the Berlin Raceway website: “Attention Berlin Drivers, Crews, and Fans: Due to the excessive number of rain-outs this season, the schedule has been changed. There will be a driver mailer sent out to the drivers with these details and more in the next couple days and it will also be posted on the website after it has been mailed.
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Next Up: Oswego Classic Weekend

All-Star Classic is Rescheduled for October

Oswego, NY – Coming up next on the ISMA slate is the Bud Light Super Nationals 50 at Oswego as part of the 53rd annual Budweiser Classic weekend. A rainstorm shut out the Sat., August 29th festivities at the Oswego Speedway, which included at Super Cruise and a party in the Pits. These activities have now been moved to Thursday, Sept. 3 with the Oswego Kartway Dirt Oval Classic going on out back at the same time.

Please note, while speaking of schedules. The All-Star Classic 100 has been moved from Sept. 19 to Saturday, October 10. According to the September ISMA newsletter, “The previously scheduled All-Star Classic date of September 19, 2009 has been cancelled. Provided all goes well, the race has been rescheduled for October 10, 2009 with a rain date of Sunday, October 11. The Best Western – Seabrook has been booked as the ISMA hotel. Rooms are available at $86.40 a night for the 9th and 10th. Please call 603-474-3078 and ask for the ISMA group when making reservations.
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Dr. Mom Selling Laps for Oct. 10th All-Star Classic 100

Dr. Marsha Gadzera, better known as “Dr. Mom” is again selling laps for the upcoming All-Star Classic on October 10.

Marsha, former ISMA secretary and wife of Lane Racing crewman, Tony the Tuner, has agreed once again to help out by bringing lap money back to the drivers in this prestigious supermodified event. Laps are $50 a piece, paying $25, $15 and $10 to the top three runners in each lap of the annual extra-distance winged event. This year’s Oct. 10 Classic will again be 100 green flag laps as it was last year.

Any purchasers’ name or message will be listed on the All-Star Classic Lap Board under the grandstand and will be announced during the evening. If there are any unforeseen circumstances, all checks or money will be returned.
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ISMA Supermodfieds Headline Silva Classic Friday 8/14 at Lee

3817824066 30da2e891f m ISMA Supermodfieds Headline Silva Classic Friday 8/14 at LeeLee, NH — The fastest short track race cars in America make their way to Lee USA Speedway Friday night. August 14, when the International Supermodified Association (ISMA) makes its annual trek to New Hampshire for the running of the “9th annual Ollie Silva Memorial Classic 75″ for the winged, methanol burning, 900 horse powered race cars.

The race is run annually at Lee in honor of legendary racer Ollie Silva, the first inductee into the New England Racing Hall of Fame. Silva, considered by many to be one of the greatest short track drivers in American motorsports history, was best known for his success in supermodifieds. Silva captured over 500 feature races in 12 states throughout his legendary career.

During the winter of 2002, Lee USA Speedway announcer John Spence approached then track manager Peter Watson about recognizing Silva by naming the “Summer Classic” ISMA race in his honor. Watson liked the idea, track owners Red and Judy MacDonald liked it, and the decision was “let’s do it.” “I wanted Ollie to be long remembered. I knew the day would come when he’d leave us, I wanted to make sure his legacy would always live on.” Spence said.

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Dave Shullick Jr. Wins Hot One at Delaware Speedway

Delaware, Ont. – Sunday, for the second day in a row, the ISMA supers had to fight with Mother Nature. She won on Saturday, washing out the entire scheduled show. Sunday, a hot, humid day produced a slight rain delay, but in the end the racing and Dave Shullick Jr. won out. What looked to be a career-first for Vern Romanoski gave way to Shullick’s second win of the season with just two to go. Shullick stole the lead from Vern in the second turn when Romanoski slipped high. Vern’s second then slipped away when he slid around the next lap to bring out the caution. Shoe II was able to withstand a quick surge from now second place runner Mark Sammut to take the checkered.

Delaware Sunday, August 9th Photo Page

Said the Ridgeville, OH driver after the race, “It was just a good race. Sammut and Romanoski ran real good races. They were up there. I think everybody lost tires about halfway in the race. I was just hoping that our tires went away less than everyone else’s. It kind of looked like that because they were backing up pretty good in the last ten laps. We just capitalized on it. It was another good win. I’d like to thank Clyde and Susan Booth. We had some rough luck Friday night and we fought back. We worked on the car a lot this weekend trying to make it better and we had a really good car today.”

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Rookie Jeff Locke Takes First Win in Friday ISMA 30 at Delaware

Delaware, Ontario – Raymond, New Hampshire’s Jeff Locke grew up watching some of New England’s best supermodified drivers compete. At 16 he was working on the #27 Shea super driven by Russ Wood. He never dreamed then that he’d be racing against them someday. He certainly never believed that he’d beat some of them in his first full season of ISMA supermodified racing. On Friday night at Canada’s Delaware Speedway he did just that. Starting on the outside of the front row, Locke led every lap of the 30-lap sprint holding back Russ Wood for half of the race. After a stint with NASCAR as a tire changer and then crew chief for Greg Biffle, Locke returned home to pursue his own racing career.

After several years in the small block supermodified ranks, Jeff moved on to the ISMA big blocks. It took him only eight races into 2009 to accomplish what some seasoned veterans never have. He had garnered his first career ISMA victory. Locke didn’t really know what to say after his dominant win.

NOTE: ISMA race winner Jeff Locke and fellow rookie Dan Lane will  be on air LIVE Monday 7pm on Wailing With Wing Side Up.

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Two-Days of Super MOdified Action Coming Up at Delaware Speedway; Corr/Pak Adds “Tammy-10″ Modified Bonus to Super Purse

The arrival of the ISMA Supermodified at Delaware Speedway is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year. This year promises to be twice as exciting as the ISMA cars invade Delaware Speedway for two days of speed, action, and great racing memories presented by Sloan Insulation of Windsor and Patco Transportation and an added $4,000 on the line for the ISMA drivers put up by Corr / Pak Merchandising. 2009 marks the fourth year in a row the coveted series has graced the Delaware half-mile after a previous twenty-year absence.

The cars in the American-based ISMA (International Supermodified Association) are the most powerful cars to visit Delaware Speedway each year. The majority of the vehicles are home built by the race teams themselves. The light weight of the cars combined with the over 850-horse power the cars generate create a recipe for quick times around the speedways the series visits. The cars also have large wings mounted on top of the car mounted on air shocks, which change the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle to create extra down force in the turns and reduce drag on the straights. The cars are also directly driven off the engine, which means the cars require a push start and have no starter and no battery with the aim of further reducing the weight of the cars.
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Chris Perley Etches his Name into Sandusky Hy-Miler Record Books with Fourth Straight Win

Sandusky Oh – No supermodified driver had ever won four-straight Sandusky Hy-Miler 100s going into the 32nd running of the prestigious event Saturday night. Chris Perley now had the chance but also had his doubts. A sixth place finish in Friday night’s Fast 40, made him more uncertain that he could be the first 4-time consecutive winner. He wasn’t the fastest in time trials Saturday. He finished second in his heat. The Vic Miller crew set to work to make the car right. It was about halfway into the race that Perley knew he had a chance. Later that night he stood in victory lane with his fourth Hy-Miler trophy, the doubts erased. The Rowley, Mass. driver had received a call on Friday that his maternal grandmother had passed away in Florida after a bout with cancer. He chose to dedicate his record-breaking win to his “Nana.”

Said Perley in victory lane, “This is amazing. We were a little off yesterday. We worked on it today and made some changes. The crew is pretty sharp. I didn’t think we had the car tonight. I didn’t want to get down and disappoint the crew. By halfway I knew we had a pretty good car to win. It’s just unbelievable. It shows how good this crew is. I was happy to put on a show for the fans. It was kind of drawn out with the reds but it was a blast. It was fun partying. This place is great. This place is my favorite track. I would never have believed yesterday that I would have been here today.”
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Friday Hy-Miler ISMA Fast 40 Goes to Another New Winner, Randy Burch

Sandusky, OH – History repeated itself Friday night at Sandusky Speedway when Randy Burch took home his first-ever ISMA feature win repeating what Charlie Schultz had done in 2008. Burch, who started 4th in the 27-car stellar field of supermodifieds, grabbed the lead on lap 9 and took the Steve Stout 49 home to victory 31 laps later. Burch pulled away from the field but his nearest challenger, Dave Shullick Jr., slowly reeled in the leader toward race end with lap traffic playing a critical role. Schultz got into the mix to make things very interesting. At the end the top 3 hailed from the “Buckeye” State much to the delight of the record-breaking crowd on hand who stayed despite the past-midnight start.

Said Burch, surrounded by the large Stout crew in victory lane, “I figured Shullick would be coming. I didn’t know how close he was. I figured there were a couple other guys out there when I ran into lap traffic. And, then I realized they weren’t there. Tomorrow’s the big one. And, tonight I thought I might take it easy, but with 40 laps you just have to go. With the guys out there tonight, it was a real honor to win. These guys out here tonight are real great. It’s great that the fans stayed. It was a long night. Hopefully, we get some good weather tomorrow and get the race in. This is a great night for our team.
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Mark Sammut Picks Canada to Earn First ISMA Win

Nelles Corners, ON – After approximately 11 years of trying, London, Ontario’s Mark Sammut was finally able to notch his first-ever career win in ISMA and he did it in front of a Canadian crowd of well-wishers. It was perfect end to what might have been a less than perfect day at the Cayuga Int’l Speedway that saw a rather sparse turnout of cars for what was for some of the competitors, a third race in six days. Sammut started tenth in the short but strong fifteen car field and worked his way up to second by lap 31. He then had to figure out his way around a strong-running Ben Seitz in the Budnick 88 with less than 20 laps to go.

Sammut commented on his trip to the front. “Seitz was running a great line. He was going in deeper than I was so I couldn’t get beside him going in. He was a little bit slower in the center. That’s the only place I had anything for him. I watched him for quite a few laps trying to find a hole. I didn’t see anything that was going to work out very good. I knew I had to wait my turn and when he went up high enough I’d try and get in there. I did and it worked out and luckily I made it through.
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Rain Can’t Stop Perley from Taking Fourth Stafford ISMA Victory

Stafford Springs, CT – Looking at the weather forecasts, one might have thought that Stafford Speedway would never finish their Carquest Xtreme races Tuesday. Prolific rain threatened to put a stop to the night’s racing. But, you would have been wrong. If you thought, however, that Chris Perley would win another Stafford victory, you would have been dead on. While rain delayed the show for a while, it did not postpone it. Perley, having won this race on three previous occasions (2004, 06, 08), started alongside his teammate Bentley Warren and finished just one spot ahead of him at the checkered. Perley’s run to the front was an exciting one to say the least. He took the lead from Dave McKnight on lap 18, and was seriously challenged by first McKnight and then Mike Lichty, who both drop by the wayside with engine woes. At the end, the man dogging Perley was none other than teammate Bentley Warren. The race was checkered on lap 46 due to a yellow, pending weather and fuel constraints. 

Perley said in victory lane, “Thanks to Carquest and Stafford for putting this race on again and for sticking it out. I just love this track. It’s a lot of fun out there. I figured we had a pretty good car but you never know what you’re going to get until you start. And once I started I knew I had a better car than I thought. I was just hoping to stay out of trouble and pick my way up through. It was awesome to see Bentley there but honestly I was giving it all I had at the end because I’m not going to leave anything on the table when the old man is behind me. You never know when he’s going to take it from me. I couldn’t do this without the sponsors, my crew and the fans.”

STAFFORD 7-7 PHOTO PAGE HERE

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