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PLATTSBURGH, NY — Two weeks ago at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Eight-time American Canadian Tour Stock Car Champion Brian Hoar lost the race by .027 of a second – the closest margin of victory in ACT history. The ACT 100 at Airborne Speedway on Saturday, May 18 was decided by nearly the exact same margin, but this time it was all Hoar, earning the victory with an epic last lap pass of ACT Point Leader Jimmy Hebert, leaving rival Wayne Helliwell, Jr. to round out the podium in third.

In the early going, Hebert muscled by polesitter Eric Chase in the outside lane to gain the lead, bringing Helliwell in tow along with Tiverton, RI’s Ray Parent. The trio split from the field, setting a blistering pace that sent the leaders into lap traffic before lap 30 of the 100-lap event. Meanwhile, Hoar quietly worked his way from his 13th starting position into the top five.

By lap 33, Helliwell was ready to launch his assault on Hebert’s back bumper for the lead, but Hebert held his ground, fighting tooth and nail to keep his position at the point. The first caution of the race came on lap 54, bringing the leaders back into the waiting arms of the field.

Continue reading ‘Another Photo Finish: Hoar Wins’

Pennink And Preece Enter Monadnock As Drivers To Watch

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour heads to Monadnock Speedway this week, a pair of drivers stand as favorites to either continue a historical trend or make their own mark on the record books.

Although the competition is nearly too close to call across the board, Whelen Modified Tour co-point leaders Rowan Pennink and Ryan Preece lead the tour contingent into the Town Fair Tire Whitcomb 200 at the quarter-mile oval on Saturday, May 11 in rural Winchester, N.H.

Pennink will look to continue the historical trend at Monadnock that has seen a different driver win each of the previous eight all-time Whelen Modified Tour events at the track. Conversely, last year’s Monadnock winner Preece will attempt to become the tour’s first two-time victor there.

Continue reading ‘Whelen Mod Tour News & Notes: Monadnock’

Newburyport, Mass. — Racing book publisher Coastal 181 announced today that it has acquired the inventory of Rose Racing Publications of Glendale, Arizona.

Buzz Rose built his publishing company into a highly regarded source f or authoritative books on open-wheel racing in America . He brought vast experience and a huge network to his titles, as he was himself a renowned sprint car road warrior. His successes behind the wheel led to his induction into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville , Iowa .

Rose Racing Publications’ titles include definitive histories on the East Coast’s URC, the California Racing Association (CRA), and IMCA, AAA, USAC, and CSRA. The most recent w or k is the robustly researched but sobering volume, “RACERS AT REST: The Checkered Flag,” profiling the considerable number of drivers who have perished in open-wheel competition.

Continue reading ‘Coastal 181 Acquires Rose Racing Publications’ Open Wheel Racing Book Inventory’

Second All-American Series Crown in Four Years

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Tommy Tombarello Jr. is enjoying a quick rise in one of short track racing’s fastest cars.

Tombarello, 31, of Haverhill, Mass., won his second small block Supermodifed track championship at Lee (N.H.) USA Speedway in 2012. Because his 2010 title came before the division became Lee’s NASCAR Division I, the 2012 championship is his first in the track’s top NASCAR Whelen All-American Series division.

“I’ve been around my brother-in-law Justin Belfiore’s Supermodifieds since I was 13 or 14,” Tombarello said. “His dad (Jim) builds Belfab Supermodified chassis. I learned these cars inside and out before I ever drove one.

Continue reading ‘Tombarello Back On Top At Lee’

OAKS, PA — Motorsports 2013, Fueled By Sunoco and Distributed by Insinger Performance, will be open for business at 2 p.m. on Friday, January 18th. Predictions call for good weather conditions. The show offering just about everything imaginable in motorsports will continue until 4 p.m. Sunday, January 20th.

Two time Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup winner Michael Waltrip will be a big part of opening day activities for the 28th annual edition of the Motorsports Race Car and Trade Show set for the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA.
The veteran racer and Sprint Cup car owner is also a popular TV personality on SPEED and Fox. He will be talking with show attendees and signing autographs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on opening day.

In addition to Waltrip, who will be trying for a spot in the 2013 Daytona 500, show attendees will have the opportunity to meet 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones as he makes appearances at the show throughout the day on Saturday, January 19th. He will be talking about his highly acclaimed new book that will be available at the Coastal 181 display.

Continue reading ‘Motorsports 2013 Race Car & Trade Show Opens for Business on Friday, January 18th, Good Weather Predicted’

Stafford Springs, CT — For Palmer, MA native David Comeau, the urge to race in stock car competition has been a lifelong dream. Comeau was unable to fulfill that dream due to his travel commitments for work. But that has all changed for the 2013 season and Comeau will finally be able to realize his dream as he will join the DARE Stock ranks at Stafford Motor Speedway for the 2013 season.

“I work in water treatment and I travel a lot for my job,” said Comeau. “2013 will be the first time in 11 years that I’m local for work and Stafford is close to home for me. I have a couple of friends that race at Stafford and I’ve raced with Ernie from Josh Wood’s crew and I first got the itch to go racing from going to the track with Ernie. I’ve been saving my money and doing a lot of research on cars that were available. I wanted to race in an entry level division so that’s why I chose the DARE Stock division at Stafford.”

When Comeau takes to the track for the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler this coming April, he will be a rookie in almost every sense of the word.

Continue reading ‘David Comeau Ready to Fulfill Racing Dream By Joining DARE Stock Class at Stafford Speedway in 2013′

Texas Roadhouse North East Mini Stock Tour - 10/6/2012

The NEMST rolled into Waterford Speedbowl for the second time this season and the final event of 2012. This year has been full of ups and downs including the early season soar of Shawn Swallow, the rocketship of Mike Mason, the dominance of Emerson Cayer, the improvement of Cris King, and the perseverance of Danny Field.

Coming into the final event of the season the points were the tightest they have been all season. The leaders were separated by just 6 points and the following 4 cars separated by a mere 34. All of the drivers in the top 10 were fighting for the bigger trophy at the season end banquet in November.

Jett Fabrication sponsored the event at Waterford and presented the winner with a cool AMSOIL prize pack and other goodies along with bonus cash. Waterford Speedbowl presents a fierce challenge for the Tour regulars as the weekly mini-stock competitors are allowed to join in on tour events. Waterford as held the highest car counts the NEMST has ever seen and there was no changing that this weekend. 34 cars signed in for the event Saturday night and we begin a fight for only 30 starting spots. As the challenge began so did the drama. Emerson Cayer rolled his car out of the trailer and found that it would not start as the other teams began practice. Point leader Danny Field was also experiencing fuel and ignition issues.

Continue reading ‘Jett Fabrication Presents Thrilling 2012 Season Finale’

Stafford Springs, CT — When the Valenti Modified Racing Series returns to Stafford Motor Speedway for the Shark Cycle 80 on August 31 and the Lincoln Tech 80 on Sept. 14, one driver who will be looking for a breakout performance is Mark Bakaj. The former SK Modified® and SK Light weekly competitor at Stafford made the transition into the VMRS for the 2012 season and he has four top-10 finishes in the first 8 races and currently sits 8th in the points standings. While Bakaj has yet to notch a top-5 finish this season, he is hoping that his track experience at Stafford will pay dividends and yield a top-5 finish for him and his #7 crew.

“I think we can get our first top-5 at Stafford,” said Bakaj. “I thought Waterford would be a good shot for us, but that race got rained out. I think Stafford is right up there with Waterford and Thompson as tracks where we can really have a good showing. I feel pretty confident we’ll have a good showing at Stafford and we’ll run up front with the top guys.”

The 2012 season got off to a slow start for Bakaj with 15th and 21st place finishes in the first two races, but he has finished in the top-10 in four of the last 6 races with a best finish thusfar of 9th. Bakaj and his team are still learning the intricacies of their MRS machine, but their recent form indicates that they are headed in the right direction with their car.

Continue reading ‘Mark Bakaj Hoping Track Experience will Help Him Land First Top-5 Finish in Shark Cycle 80 at Stafford’

Stafford Springs, CT — After winning the Whelen Modified Tour championship in 2010 and finishing 8th in the 2011 points standings, Bobby Santos, III was left without a full-time ride for the 2012 season. But Santos has hooked up with Sully Tinio for a partial 2012 schedule, and he is looking forward to returning to Stafford Motor Speedway for the TSI Harley-Davidson 125. Santos has won three of the last 7 Whelen Modified Tour events at Stafford, and he also has 2 NEMA Midget feature wins to go along with his sweep of the PRA Big Car and Wingless Midget feature events that netted him a $50,000 bonus in 2006 at Stafford.

“I’m very excited about coming back to Stafford,” said Santos. “We’ve had a lot of success the last couple of years at Stafford and I hope we can continue that success with Sully Tinio and the #44 team. It’s a little disappointing to not be running the full schedule this year, but I have a great deal with Sully to run a part-time schedule this year. We tried to make it to the Sizzler, but we couldn’t get the car ready in time after Thompson. Sully’s team is local to Thompson and the original plan was to just run those races, but everyone was real happy with how we ran, so we got the car ready to come race at Stafford.”

After qualifying third and leading two laps in the season opening event at Thompson, Santos was relegated to a 17th place finish after being caught up in an accident. But with three career victories at Stafford, including a win in the 2010 TSI Harley-Davidson 125, Santos is confident that he and his team have the right strategy and equipment to once again reach victory lane.

Continue reading ‘Bobby Santos, III Hoping for Successful Return to Stafford In TSI Harley-Davidson 125′

Slot car racing’s popularity has dwindled since the 1960’s and 70’s and has evolved more into a hobbyists sport. However some racers and slot car enthusiasts from Long Island and the New England area have come up with a cool new concept that could very well bring slot car racing back to the hobby forefront.

Pete Pernesiglio, a NEMA Midget driver from Long Island and Ray Brown former Late Model driver from Attleboro, Massachusetts collaborated with friends who share their passion for this hobby and have formed the Reality Modified Tour.

“Slot car racing has kind of died out over the years, there aren't many stores or tracks to race at anymore.” says Pernesiglio. “Now, more and more people are building tracks in their home and inviting friends over once a week to race and have fun.”

Ray Brown from Reality Raceway.net started building a spec 1/24th scale asphalt Modified to resemble an actual NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour car. Unless you are a model guru, you won’t be able to find a more actual looking NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour car.

Continue reading ‘New Modified Tour Starts in New England’

According to BodynBobsled.com, the “2011 Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge in Lake Placid has been canceled. More details will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.”

Vernon, CT — On Saturday and Sunday, January 16 & 17, 2010, Start/Finish Productions presents the Auto Parts Swap ‘n Sell at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA. This annual automotive swap meet and flea market has been a mainstay for the racing community for nearly 30 years. With preparations for the upcoming season in full-swing, the large array of vendors provides competitors with virtual one-stop shopping to provide the season’s essentials and the best bargains. Auto Parts Swap ‘n Sell is the only Motorsports show of its kind in New England offering racers access to hard core automotive vendors.

The event is not only the definitive swap meet for buyers; it also provides a tremendous opportunity for sellers as well. During the struggling economy sellers have the opportunity to generate revenue by liquidating quality new and used parts while buyers can stay on track with their off-season projects without breaking the budget.

Buyers and sellers alike enjoy the comfort of a heated venue and the additional benefit of showcase lighting. Auto Parts Swap ‘n Sell offers prices competitive with any online auction website without the cost of shipping, without the wait, and without the risk of buying sight unseen; helping to ensure mutually beneficial transactions.
Continue reading ‘Start/Finish to Offer Racer’s Discount at Swap ‘n Sell’