by Jay | Nov 12, 2009 | ACT, Canada, New England
Waterbury VT —- The American Canadian Tour (ACT) has announced the majority of its 2010 US Tour schedule. The confirmed schedule shows a total of 13 events, which will take place at nine (9) different racing facilities. There are two additional events that are expected to be announced within the month, according to Darla Hartt, Vice President and Director of Administration.
“The ACT Tour has enjoyed tremendous support in the Northeast and throughout the provinces of Quebec and Ontario over the past five years. We had many opportunities to book additional events as we continue to enjoy growth with our Late Model business model, but we feel at this time it is in the best interest of our affiliate tracks and race teams to continue to concentrate in helping our weekly affiliate tracks and marketing areas that best serve our various sponsors and team needs. We continue to study the possibility of how we might be able to accommodate an expanded schedule in the future as the popularity of regional Late Model racing continues to develop,” said Tom Curley, President of ACT. “We have reserved two dates for events that we are very hopeful will be a part of the 2010 campaign. We plan to release those dates before the end of this month, but wanted our present and interested race teams to have the benefit of the completed schedule to date,” concluded Curley.
There have been two new tracks added to the 2010 schedule. An April event will be staged at the historic Albany Saratoga Speedway in Malta, NY in the greater Albany region. The popular former paved speedway will undergo improvements and a repaving project. The ACT will be the initial asphalt tour to be a part of the opening event of this major change by the CVRA (Champlain Valley Racing Association) organization.
A return to the 5/8th Riverside Speedway (formerly Autodrome Ste-Croix) will take place in August. The event will be the ‘$40,000 CAN-AM Confrontation by the Seaway’ a $40,000.00 combination event with the Série ACT Castrol division of the American Canadian Tour. Jean Bergeron, owner and manager of the new Riverside complex, has agreed to major renovations in the pits, pit road alterations, and improvements and repaving of the full 5/8th mile track. “This opportunity to race on what will become one of the premiere short track facilities in Canada will be a great opportunity for the competitors in both our series. Speeds of up to 130 mph with the long straight-aways will continue to provide our veteran and younger teams with a different and important kind of racing experience,” continued Curley.
The US Tour season will open at the Lee USA Speedway in mid-April with the annual Governor’s Cup event and will continue through the final event, the 48th annual Milk Bowl at Thunder Road to be held the first weekend of October 2010. Return mid-summer trips to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Maine, and the Twin State Speedway in Claremont, New Hampshire, along with the long supporting tracks Oxford Plains Speedway, White Mountain Motorsport Park, Airborne Speedway in New York and Thunder Road in Barre, Vermont will round out the 13 event 2010 schedule.
There will be additional ‘special events’ available to the teams of the ACT Late Model divisions on both sides of the border. The largest event of the race season, the TD Bank 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway will be held for Late Model teams on the weekend of July 18th. Thunder Road will present the Memorial Day Classic on May 30th and the Vermont Governor’s Cup in June. The third annual $5,000 to win Showdown at Chaudiere, which is contested by the best of the ACT teams in the US and on the Castrol Série, will again take place in August in Valle Junction, Que.
“For 2010 ACT feature events, we have requested that the features be started no later than 8:30 pm. We continue to try and accommodate the fans and teams of ACT racing in our efforts to make the tours friendlier to compete in and to attend. We are anxious to complete the US schedule and expect to have the final two dates in place within a couple of weeks,” concluded Curley.
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2010 Série ACT Castrol SCHEDULE
# DATE DAY TRACK LAPS
1 APR 18 SUN Lee USA 150
2 APR 25 SUN Albany-Saratoga 100
3 MAY 02 SUN Thunder Road 150
4 MAY 08 SAT Airborne 100
5 MAY 16 SUN Oxford 150
6 JUN 19 SAT Oxford 150
7 JUN 26 SAT White Mnt 150
Jul 18 Sun Oxford 250
8 JUL 24 SAT Beech Ridge 150
9 JUL 30 SAT Twin State 100
10 AUG 14 SAT Riverside (COMBO) 200
Aug 28 Sat Chaudiere (SHOWDOWN) 200
11 SEP 05 SUN Thunder Road 200
12 SEP 12 SUN Airborne 300
13 OCT 02/03 SA/SU Thunder Road 150
by Jay | Nov 12, 2009 | New
Lee NH – After a bit of speculation and a season that was below the expectations of the track and the fans, the small block supers have an answer to the question that they all had on their minds. “Would the supers be back at Lee in 2010?”
The answer was a resounding “ABSOLUTELY!” After a meeting where 14 cars and teams were represented a contract was offered to the winged warriors by the #1 rated area short track, locking the division in for the entire 2010 season.
The season schedule, which has not yet been released, will feature some 18 regular race nights and several non conventional events as well.
“We need to look towards the future at Lee while still honoring the past. The Small Block Supers are a big part of what we do here at Lee USA Speedway. The action is incredible, and we want to see the division back in 2010 and for years to come. They are a perfect fit at this facility. Lee is the proud home of the Small Block Supers.” Said Bob Watson, long time promoter at the track.
“This is fantastic news!” Said Deryl Morley, one of two track announcers along with veteran announcer John Spence Sr. “The action that the Small Block Supers bring to Lee is a huge asset to the track. It’s one of the reasons that Lee is New Hampshire’s Center Of Speed!”
The Small Block Supers will be led into 2010 by defending 2009 champion Dan Bowes, multi-time champion Eddie Witkum Jr., up and coming open wheeler P.J. Stergios, Billy Osbourne, and several others. Osbourne got his first small block win at All Star Speedway at the end of the season, he’ll be looking for his first Lee win in a Small Block Super, as will Tommy Tombarello who was getting closer and closer to that elusive first win in 2009.
The track and the drivers are looking forward to what may be the most competitive season ever for the Small Block Super at Lee USA Speedway.
Lee USA Speedway is located on Route 125 in Lee NH, racing every Friday Night during the racing season. More information is available at the track’s website, www.leeusaspeedway.com
by Jay | Nov 6, 2009 | New England
NORTH CONWAY, NH (Nov. 6, 2009) — After months of restoring old footage, scanning photographs and countless hours in the studio assembling the many components, fans of Vermont racing history are about to enjoy the fruits of an incredible project.
In a first-of-its-kind video/photo documentary of short track stock car racing in Vermont, Covered Bridge Productions (CBP) is proud to announce the Nov. 13 release date of its latest DVD: “Northeastern Speedway 50th Anniversary Celebration.”
This historic DVD is broken down into four main sections, including a video interview with legendary motor sports broadcaster and Vermont native Ken Squier, who announced at Northeastern Speedway in the early years of his career.
Also included is a photo slide show with audio track history; 30 minutes of restored vintage footage where the viewer has a choice of two audio tracks (one features the comments of 1959 track champion Johnny Gammell, Glen Gadapee and Pete Racine; while the other contains comments from 1960 points champion Glenn Andrews); and 72 minutes of footage from the track’s 50-year reunion celebration on July 18, 2009.
This comprehensive effort also includes a Special Features section that allows the viewer to scroll through detailed track history information. Thanks to the research efforts of track owner Paul Bellefeuille, along with veteran motor sports writers Justin St. Louis and Big Bigelow, full lists of track champions, all-time race winners and event winners from 1959 to 1966 are included.
Thanks to the contribution of nearly 100 photos from Vermont racing historian-archivist Cho Lee, the shots from track photographer Norm McIver make the photo slide show a true masterpiece.
“Restoring the grounds of Northeastern Speedway has been very rewarding for me,” Bellefeuille said. “My wife Lise and I, along with Alan Pike and many others, worked hard to prepare the track for our 50-year reunion, and it was a big success. To have that wonderful day and the track’s rich history preserved forever on DVD is incredibly valuable. After watching the DVD, I’m confident that all of the former drivers, officials, spectators and fans of vintage oval racing in general are going to appreciate the quality and depth of this project.”
While attempts have been made to document the history of other tracks in New England, this may be the most thorough effort made for a DVD. Everyone involved with this special project shares a passion for short track racing history in New England.
“I never thought Northeastern would be cleared away and look as good as it did at the 50-year reunion,” Andrews said after he contributed his comments. “I had a great day at the reunion, and I sure enjoyed the days when I raced there. Seeing the reunion and track history recorded on DVD means a lot to me. I’m thankful to Paul and Lise for what they did at the speedway, and to Covered Bridge Productions for preserving part of my career and an important chapter in Vermont racing history.”
The Northeastern Speedway 50th Anniversary Celebration/Track History DVD will be available initially at www.coveredbridgeproductions.com. Look for more details on other distribution channels in the coming weeks.
by Jay | Nov 4, 2009 | Thompson
THOMPSON, CT. One of the largest and most diversified events of its kind will be held this Saturday and Sunday at the Thompson International Speedway. Don Hoenig’s Original Automotive Swap Meet and Flea Market, in its 38th year, will open to buyers at 7 A. M. on both Saturday and Sunday mornings and will be held rain or shine.
The Thompson “Flea Market” is, in a word, huge. Well over 1500 sellers fill the grounds of the large speedway complex and that’s enough to attract tens of thousands of automotive enthusiasts, buyers who come prepared, and those looking for great buys or very specific parts. There is also the element of the curious who spend hours enjoying the tremendous quantity and quality of items for sale. The vast majority of those that fall into the curious category end up walking away with a treasured something that they spotted along the way.
The display area exceeds 100 acres and haulers are available to assist buyers with their purchases. Visitors can expect to see everything from well equipped display trailers offering new automotive items of every possible description to an old pick up truck filled with items that have been taking up space in a person’s garage. The variety of items is amazing; from brand new to classic antiques, race cars, parts and accessories, lawn and garden equipment and everything in between is what brings the buying crowd. Part of the fun, excitement and charm of the Flea Market is the “wheeling and dealing” that goes on. It is a proud New England tradition that is alive and well each year at this one-of-a-kind event.
Those wishing to sell items may purchase a space (15’ X30’) for the weekend and then showcase their items before thousands of potential buyers. Gates open at 5 A.M. for sellers on both Saturday and Sunday and at 7 A.M. for buyers and browsers on both days. Admission for this incredible event is only $10.00 and affords the buyer nine hours of fun before the sun sets and the gates close at 5 P.M.
The Speedway is located only minutes from exit 99 of Interstate 395 in northeast Connecticut. Directions from the Interstate exit are well marked to lead people to the East Thompson Road location. Another way to know exactly how to get to the Flea Market is to simply follow the line of traffic that is heading to this annual event.
by Jay | Nov 4, 2009 | ACT, Canada, New England
Waterbury, VT—- The American Canadian Tour (ACT) announced an aggressive schedule for the 2010 season on the ACT Castrol Series. Fans of the popular series will see an increase to 12 events, or three additional events from the past couple of seasons.
“We continue to have increased interest from the promoters in Quebec, Ontario, and even Maine for our ACT Castrol Series. For 2010 we have added Autodrome Ste-Felicien in the Lac St. Jean region, and third events are scheduled for both Autodrome Ste-Eustache and Riverside Speedway (formerly Autodrome St-Croix),” said Tom Curley the President of the ACT.
A July date will be added to the Ste-Eustache schedule and the new Riverside Speedway will host the “$40,000 CAN-AM Confrontation by the Seaway” in August. The 200-lap event on the 5/8th mile speedway will join both the ACT from the US and the ACT Castrol competitors in dual point divisional races.
Curley reported that the management of Riverside agreed to a major renovation program with the scenic racetrack located along the St. Lawrence River if ACT would sanction the dual division event. “ A complete re-paving of the racetrack, with major improvements to the pits and pit road, convinced us that this was good for ACT racing and racers on both sides of the border, as well as Riverside Speedway, but most of all for the great fans of the Quebec City area,” said Curley.
The 12-event schedule will also include return visits to Autodrome Montmagny, Capital City Speedway in Ottawa, and the very popular Autodrome Chaudiere. Chaudiere will also present the third annual Showdown for the best of the Castrol and US teams with a hefty $5,000 to win and minimum $1,000 for all 22 teams that represent the two ACT divisions.
ACT Castrol teams will also run full ACT rules, which will enable them to compete on many special events in the US throughout the 2010 season, including the prestigious Oxford 250 in Maine, along with major events held at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY and the famous Thunder Road in Barre, VT. In addition, it is highly anticipated that ACT will announce a return to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which will include invitations to various Castrol Série teams.
The 2010 Série ACT Castrol campaign will open at the Autodrome Ste-Eustache on Saturday, May 22, 2010.
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2010 Série ACT Castrol SCHEDULE
# DATE DAY TRACK LAPS
1 MAY 22 SAT Ste-Eustache 100
2 MAY 29 SAT Montmagny 100
3 JUN 05 SAT Chaudiere 150
4 JUN 12 SAT Capital City 100
5 JUN 19 SAT Riverside 100
6 JUL 03 SAT Montmagny 250
7 JUL 10 SAT Ste-Felicien 135
Jul 18 Sun Oxford 250
8 JUL 26 MON Riverside 100
9 JUL 31 SAT Ste-Eustache 100
10 AUG 07 SAT Chaudiere 150
11 AUG 14 SAT Riverside (COMBO) 200
Aug 28 Sat Chaudiere (SHOWDOWN) 200
12 SEP 26 SUN Ste-Eustache 300
by Jay | Nov 3, 2009 | Maine
The Maine Vintage Race Car Assn. is holding its annual meeting Sunday November 8th at the Fireside Inn in Auburn. The meeting is an opportunity for members & anyone interested in racing history to get together & sort out last years events & plan for the upcoming shows & seasons, which will be here shortly.
Agenda will include show events, changes in the club, election of officers as well as announcement of the Maine Motorsports Hall Of Fame Class of 2010. The Hall of Fame event is scheduled for April 10th at the Augusta Civic Center.
Additionally the club will be discussing plans to shows its new Mobile Museum at shows around the state. We are also looking for volunteers to help us man & display the museum at shows, events & races etc. If you have a love of auto racing & or its history and would like to help out somehow here is an avenue where one can make a difference.
There will be memorabilia, photo & scrap book displays, & vintage race car models on display for folks to enjoy beforehand. A social hour takes place form 1 to 2 PM with the meeting to follow. The Fireside Inn is located on Rte. 202 in Auburn right near Exit 75 of the Maine Turnpike.
by Jay | Nov 1, 2009 | PASS
NAPLES ME (October 28 2009) Pro All Stars Series (PASS) President Tom Mayberry announced today that the touring short track sanctioning body will not promote a non-points Thanksgiving weekend event at Southern National in Kenly, North Carolina.
“It was a difficult decision for us,” according to Mayberry, “As a series, we don’t like to cancel previously announced events. But we felt that the current economic climate and the impending auction of the property shortly before the scheduled race date would make it difficult for us to promote a successful Thanksgiving Classic at this time. I want to thank Kirk Leone, Mike Bushee, Becky Boone and the Wake County Speedway staff for working with us this season, and I hope that we may bring the Pro All Stars back to Southern National in the future.”
The Pro All Stars Series will announce its 2010 PASS North and South schedules in the very near future. Please visit PASS on the web at www.racewithpass.com or www.proallstarsseries.com . for the latest news and schedule updates.
by Jay | Oct 28, 2009 | New England, Thompson
Thompson, CT – October 25, 2009 – In their final race of the 2009 season, the Pro Four Modifieds of New England (PFMNE) put on a spectacular show at the Thompson Int’l Speedway Sunday evening. Qualifying for the weekend long event was completed on Friday with Norm Wrenn and Dan Meservey, Jr. picking up heat race wins. Due to extensive rain on Saturday, the Harry Kourafas, Jr. Memorial race was postponed to Sunday. Rob Richardi, Jr. held off the advances of Norm Wrenn to pick up his first win of the season, snapping Wrenn’s World Series win streak.
Richardi, Jr. and Dan Meservey led the 21-car field to post. The #00 of Dave Richardi stole the second and third positions away from Meservey Jr. and Sr. in hot pursuit of his brother. By the time the cars were coming off of turn two, Wrenn had already passed the #16 of Stan Mertz, the #86 of Mark Charette, and #4 of Cory Cleary to claim tenth. Within the next two laps, the #83 of Franky Perry began to catch the #10 of Brian Vincent, and by lap four, he had completed the pass for a top five position. Vincent would also be passed by Wrenn on lap five, but the pass was nullified when the first caution flag of the event was displayed for the #60 of Andy Majors and the #11a of Dan Meservey, who both made contact with the wall in turn three. Both drivers were unable to continue.
On the restart, the top five included the two Richardi brothers followed by Meservey, Jr., Vincent and the #07 of Phil Lausier, who inherited a position in the top five after Sagar retired from the race during the caution period. At the drop of the green, Meservey, Jr. fell off the pace, while Wrenn began his charge to the front. By lap seven he passed Vincent and Perry, and was stalking the Richardis for the first two positions. They would continue to run this way until Lausier went spinning in turn two, necessitating a lap-fourteen caution.
On the restart, the Richardis continued to show the way with Wrenn right on their heels in the third position. Perry and Vincent rounded out the top five. On lap seventeen, Wrenn was able to complete the pass of Dave Richardi with Vincent in tow. While Richardi was battling for the fourth position with Tyler Anderson, who had come all the way from the back, contact was made and the result was a lap nineteen caution flag. Richardi would be able to continue, but Anderson had terminal damage to his #25 mount.
On the restart, Richardi caught Wrenn sleeping and jumped out to a four car length advantage. Eventually, Wrenn would get back to Richardis back bumper, and would hound the race leader all the way to checkers. All of his efforts, however, were not enough as Richardi ended up leading every lap of the 25-lap main. Wrenn finished second, with Perry, Vincent, and George Sherman rounding out the top five. Positions six through ten went to Dave Richardi, Robin Berghman, Lausier, Dick Dubois, and Tim D’Amico. Mark Giordano, Cory Cleary, Jim Darlington, Mark Charette, and Anderson took positions eleven through fifteen. And rounding out the field was Meservey, Jr., Joe Lemay, 2009 Limited Pro Four Modifieds of New England Champion Stan Mertz, Meservey, Sr., Sagar, and Majors.
The first three Limiteds across the line were Mark Giordano, Mark Charette, and Joe Lemay.
Thompson was the final scheduled event of the 2009 season. Next up on the docket is the Four-Cylinder Flea Market at Dennis’ Auto in Spencer, MA. For all of the details on this event and all other off-season events, please stay tuned to www.pro4mods.com.
by Jay | Oct 27, 2009 | Hudson, New Hampshire
Hudson NH – It was a fabulous fall afternoon for Pumpkinfest ’09 at Hudson Speedway this past Sunday. With five championships to be decided, the stands and pits were at capacity.
Eric Bacon and Billy Ryder were the top pointmen in the Classic Lights. Bacon held a slim nineteen point advantage over Ryder at the start of their feature so Ryder would have to finish in front of Bacon with at least one car between them to notch his second title in as many years. With both men starting in the last row of the twenty-two car main, all eyes were on those two. Bacon and Ryder both sliced through the field after the drop of the green, never more than a position or two apart. At the halfway point Ryder was running in front of Bacon but got crossed up trying to pass Ralph Cook and got all four wheels off the ground while driving over Cooks hood. Although Ryder drove off after the incident he made numerous pit stops and ended his day early giving the championship to Bacon.
After Ryders incident, Bacon battled side by side for a few laps with Jimmy Ryder Jr. for the lead before pulling away to victory. Finishing second through tenth were Jimmy Ryder Jr., Eddie Gilman, Dennis O’Brien, Matt Seavy, Jon Provost, Jeff Gilman, Paul Colson, Shane Reinhold and Danny Shields.
Dean Wendell held a fifty seven point lead over John Morin heading into the Rookie Stock main and needed almost all of them as he couldn’t get his car hooked up on the outside lane and struggled to finish eighth. Morin finished second in the feature but fell just three points shy of a championship behind Wendell. It was the second championship for the Wendell family at Hudson this year as Dean’s father Mitch won the Outlaw Sportsman championship a few weeks ago.
With his hood acting as rudder, Keith “Slika” Ennis kept his car going straight the entire race and led every lap of the Rookie main except the all important last lap. John Cianciulli passed Ennis in turn one of the last lap to get his third win of the year. Morin also slipped passed Ennis to finish second while Ennis had to settle for third. Fourth through tenth were Corrie Merritt, Larry Fortin, Brian Harron, John Swain, Wendell, Dan Murphy and Scotty Duval.
Dylan Bilodeau started the Thunder Lite feature needing to finish fourth or better to clinch the title and did so finishing second. Derek Griffith was second in points going into the race and did all he could by winning the feature but it wasn’t enough and finished second in points. Third through fifth in the race were Sammy Gilman, Jen Lord and Dan Fortin.
Louie Maher needed to finish fourth or better to clinch the Roadrunner championship and after second place pointsman Jef James slammed the front stretch wall while passing Erik Miller for the race lead and couldn’t race on, the championship was all Maher’s. With Miller sent to the pits for rough driving, Maher took over the race lead and cruised to the win. Second through fifth in the race were Patrick D’Alba, Don Soucy, Johnny Walker and Dean Santzer Jr.
Allan Reiser led the V-6 Modifieds from green to checker for his second win of the year. Keith Caruso finished second in the race and won the V-6 title. Third through fifth in the race were Dick Dubois, Chris Kuebler and Eric Vilandre.
Derek Beaudry won the Spectator Drags and Scotty Duval won both the Flagpole race and the Figure 8 race. Patrick D’Alba won the 4 Cyl. Enduro and Dave McCarthy won the Grand Enduro.
Hudson Speedway’s 62nd annual banquet is Sunday November 8th at King’s Court Banquet Hall in Hudson N.H. Tickets are available until Oct.31st. Please visit www.hudsonspeedway.info for more information.
by Jay | Oct 27, 2009 | Maine, Wiscasset Raceway
Mike Landry Tops Super Street National Event
Wiscasset, ME- One year ago at the Ray Haskell Ford fall brawl in the Verizon Wireless Super Street division Mike Landry did it all. He lead 78 laps, he set super fast times and had the field covered. Well that was until lap 98 when after a caution Landry’s car developed a mechanical problem and he was forced to call it a day just 2 laps shy of a $10,000 pay check. This year Landry and his crew double checked everything and then went back and checked it again. Mike Landry held off Jeremy Glasier and Adam Chadbourne over the last three cautions to pick up a win in a race that owed the Oakland, ME. driver one. Glasier would hold off Chadbourne for second with Adam finishing third. Fourth went to Dan MaKeage and fifth to Scott Dorr.
In the Aable Auto Parts Mini Stock National event Thomas True from Wiscasset lead all 50 laps to pick up his fifth win of the season at the track. True held off Ryan Ripley over the closing laps to get the win. Ripley would finish second with Tasha Dyer third. Fourth would go to Jeff Hebert and fifth to Mike Dulany.
The New England Transmission’s Strictly Streets saw Mike Short go wire to wire to get his first National win. Larry Emerson held off Wiscasset Champion Mike Moody for second. Moody would have to fight to get third. Fourth went to Ceaser Morgan and fifth went to Steve Pierpont.
The Outlaw 350’s were also on tap for the finale. Josh Childs led a good part of that race and held off David Childs for the win. David would get second with Chris Burgess third. Fourth place was Zach Emerson and fifth went to Addison Bowie. In the lady Outlaws Tasha Dyer was the victor with Chelsea Young in second and Torrie Burgess.
