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.
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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.
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
Stafford Springs, CT — After coming so close so many times to a Modified Series victory at Stafford, only to be denied, Ted Christopher now has two consecutive Modified Series…
Read moreStafford Springs, CT — Two-time SK Modified champion Bo Gunning made his return to the SK Modified ranks at Stafford Motor Speedway a triumphant one, as he claimed his first…
Read moreby John “Pipe Smoke”
Welcome to this, the first edition of Pipe Smoke to appear on the YankeeRacer.com website. In October 2000, I started this column as an independent site and now it is time to move to the big time. There are three things that I hope to do here, carry the message of recovery from alcoholism, highlight some of the best drivers and teams coming from Western Ma., and just have some fun. If you like racing, welcome. If you are in recovery, welcome. If you, like yours truly happen to be sober and involved in auto racing, welcome, you have found a home.
Who the heck is, “The Pipe”. My name is John and I am a recovering alcoholic and a member of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. In keeping with the A.A. tradition of anonymity, I have adopted “The Pipe”as my screen name, so that I can write about my experiences during mydrinking years and in recovery.
Stafford Springs, CT — Friday night NASCAR racing scheduled for May 3rd, 2002 has been cancelled
Read moreStafford Springs, CT — Doug Coby. a former champion in the Stafford Motor Speedway Late Model and Pro Stock divisions, captured his first career SK Modified feature victory in dramatic…
Read moreStafford Springs, CT — Jeff Fuller, the 1992 Featherlite Modified Series champion, and 1991 winner of the Spring Sizzler, will return to Stafford Motor Speedway behind the wheel of Ed…
Read moreEVENT INFORMATION BULLETIN 31st ANNUAL CARQUEST TECH-NET SPRING SIZZLER SATURDAY & SUNDAY, APRIL 27 & 28, 2002 2002 CARQUEST TECH-NET SPRING SIZZLER NASCAR FEATHERLITE MODIFIED SERIES EVENT NOTEBOOK • The…
Read moreThompson, CT — Following several weeks of negotiations, Thompson International Speedway and NASCAR have agreed on the dates for the major events to be run at the historic Connecticut oval for the 2001 racing season.
The season will open with the traditional two-day ICEBREAKER event on the weekend of March 31st and April 1st. The featured division will be theNASCAR Featherlite Modified Series. A full card of support divisions that make the ICEBREAKER the premier spring event in the northeast will join them.
Thompson, CT — Donald Hoenig, owner of the Thompson International Speedway, announced today that veteran NASCAR official Richard Brooks has been appointed Chief Steward for the speedway’s 2000 racing season. Brooks will operate under the direction of Operations Consultant Ben Dodge, Jr., assisted by Russ Dowd. Brooks’ first race will be the BUDWEISER KICK-OFF 2000 for the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series and six other NASCAR weekly divisions. This event is scheduled for the weekend of May 20th and 21st.
Brooks, of Waterford, CT, is the owner of Connecticut Auto Radiator. He started his racing career as a racecar owner in the 1960s. By the mid seventies, “Brooksie” had become involved in officiating races and served as a flagman at Thompson and many other speedways throughout the northeast. He remained in his position as Chief Starter at Thompson until 1997. In 1982, Ben Dodge, Jr., brought Brooks to Riverside Park Speedway as the Chief Starter. He was soon promoted to the post of Chief Steward during Riverside’s most successful years under the direction of Dodge. Brooks also serves as Director of Racing at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida during Speed Weeks each February. He also serves as an official for the NASCAR Featherlite Modified and Busch North series. “Brooksie is well liked by the competitors and has an understanding of the NASCAR program, stated Dodge. Besides this, he understands Thompson and how we need things done. I have always enjoyed working with him,” Dodge concluded.