By Lou Modestino
Stafford Motor Speedway has been forced to postpone the May 24 23rd Annual TSI Harley-Davidson 125 Presented by G-Oil due to inclement weather that has been forecast. The 23rd Annual TSI Harley-Davidson 125 Presented by G-Oil will now run on Friday, June 7. The Coors Light SK Modified® 80 that was originally scheduled for June 7th will now move to Friday, July 19th.
Tickets for the TSI 23rd Annual TSI Harley-Davidson 125 Presented by G-Oil are still available and on sale at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $33.00 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, free for children ages 5 & under, and $35.00 for reserved seats.
Stafford Motor Speedway returns to racing action next Friday night, May 31 with Town Fair Tire Military Appreciation Night. Stafford’s five weekly divisions will provide the fireworks on track while Stafford Motor Speedway will light the sky with a fireworks display in honor of our country’s armed forces. As a special discount for this event, anyone showing a valid military i.d. (active or retired) at the gate will receive an adult general admission ticket for only $10.00. Regularly priced tickets are $17.50 for adult general admission, $5.00 for kids 6-14, and reserved seating is $20.00 for all ages. All kids 14 & under who wear a team shirt or uniform to the racetrack will be granted a free general admission ticket when accompanied by an adult for Town Fair Tire Military Appreciation Night.
Modified race car owner Joe Brady of Stoughton, MA, had a long standing relationship with the late NASCAR driver Dick Trickle. Trickle took his own life in a cemetery in Boger City, NC, according to published reports. He had retired from racing and was 71-years old.
Brady elaborated on his friend,”Dick drove my race cars several times at the New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. We really bonded over the years. In fact he’d would even call me on my birthday. During our conversations, we would discuss some personal medical issues like the meds we were taking. I had to have some stents put into my circulatory system and he did too. He had some heart problems which I could relate too.”
“We were friends for life. He was such a talented driver. As a driver, he could always do more with less. One time at New Smyrna he got behind the wheel of one of my new cars. He arrived late missing practice yet he drove that car onto the track setting the fastest time of the night. That was one of the most memorable times.”
“Another time he was racing against Richie Evans and Dick gave him a real tough time on the track. But wouldn’t you know that we got a batch of bad gas (water) and Dick had to back off. To this day, every time I sign into the pits at NSS, the officials want to know when Dick will come back. I also went out to the Minnesota State Fair to watch him race there. He was a very personable guy.”
“We got along very well. Every so often, we would hear from his daughter Vicky who kept us up to date on how Dick was doing. My son Brian called me when he heard about Dick and said, ‘We were fortunate to be around guys like Dick Trickle, Joe Shear, Mark Martin and Gary Ballou. I’m devastated about what happened to him and what made him do this. A lot of other people we both knew are very sad about all this.”
For Granby, MA native Adam Gray, the 2013 Late Model season has picked up right where he left off the 2012 season. In the final 6 races of 2012, Gray recorded two wins and two more top-5 finishes, but also had finishes of 17th and 18th. Gray’s 2013 season got off to a fast start at the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, but a flat tire relegated him to an 18th place finish. But Gray and the #97 Meadows Motor Car team have dug themselves out of the early season hole created by the flat tire with a win and a third place finish in the next two races to elevate themselves to 6th place in the points standings.
Hometown driver Woody Pitkat will welcome the return of TSI Harley-Davidson as a sponsor to his #79 Hillbilly Racing team when the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour comes to Stafford for the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 Presented by G-Oil. Pitkat has had a long association with TSI Harley-Davidson, dating back to his Late Model days at Stafford and Thompson, and he is looking forward to carrying the TSI Harley-Davidson banner once again.
Stafford Motor Speedway has again lined up an impressive field of current and former open wheel champions for its CARQUEST Champions For Charities Event as part of CARQUEST Super Saturday on June 30th. During the coming weeks, SMS will offer a profile on each of its championship winning drivers and the charity they will be racing for. This week’s CARQUEST Champions For Charities spotlight falls on 2011 Wild Thing Kart Senior Outlaw Champion David Arute, who will be racing to help support The Lustgarten Foundation, which is an organization dedicated to the research of pancreatic cancer. For Arute, racing for The Lustgarten Foundation takes on a personal connection as his Uncle Bill passed away in 2010 from pancreatic cancer.
From New England Dragway in Epping, NH comes this item. For the June 20-23 NHRA New England Mello Yello Nationals, due to the increasing need for Reserved Seating we have designated Bleacher 19 to the Reserved Seating Bleachers. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 800-844-NHRA (6472). Tickets are going fast so don’t miss out.
For the second time in three weeks, Waterford Speedbowl cancelled its NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing program scheduled for Saturday evening. Persistent wet weather and chilly
temperatures forecasted through afternoon and evening forced the decision. No decision to make up the event was made Saturday.
Thursday Night Thompson Thunder (TNTT) will rumble back to life this Thursday at the Thompson Speedway. The Thursday night race program is a staple in southern New England racing and fans and competitors are eager to start their weekly trek to the high-banked, 5/8ths mile oval.
To kick off the weekly race programs, Thompson will feature the exciting Sunoco Modifieds, Late Models, Lite Modifieds, Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman and Monster Mini Stocks. Plus, the Open Pro Stocks will be on hand for the opening Thursday night of racing.
Many of the very best drivers in the northeast compete in the five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions that make up the weekly race card at Thompson. In addition, Thursday night racing at Thompson will present a variety of race cars. In addition to two appearances by the Open Pro Stocks, fans will see Antique Outlaw Modifieds, the New England Race Truck Series, the Northeast Mini Stock Tour, Valenti Modified Racing Series and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
Ryan Preece, the defending champion, will lead the Sunoco Modified contingent. Joining him will be other superb Modified drivers like Ted Christopher, Keith Rocco, Kerry Malone, Woody Pitkat, Dennis Perry and Todd Ceravolo. Every race night, these drivers provide edge-of-the-seat excitement for fans of all ages.
Late Model stars like Icebreaker winner Glenn Boss, Rick Gentes, John Falconi, Damon Tinio and many more bring that division to life while 2012 division champ Cam Mc Dermott, Troy Talman, Adam Norton and John Studley provide the Lite Modified excitement.
The Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman and Monster Mini Stock divisions are always crowd pleasers. Drivers like Scott Sundeen, Larry Barnett, Bill McNeil and Steve Kenneway are just a few of the many who provide the thrills in the Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman division. Chad and Joe Baxter, Scott Michalski, Mike Viens and Eric Bourgeois represent just some of the many talented drivers that make up the Monster Mini Stock division. Grandstands open at 4 p.m. with Racing at 6 p.m.
On Thursday night it’s another big Bass Pro Shop cruise night put on by the MA Cruisers at 5 p.m. Sunday’s offerings include the Boston Louie NEMA Midget Memorial race at Seekonk Speedway along with an Sk Modified Open, Pro 4 Modifieds and the New England Mini Stock tour starting at 4 p.m. Earlier in the day at 10 a.m. it’s the 9th Annual Norwood Arena/New England Dragway Reunions at bezema Motors in Norwood on the AutoMile which will go to 3 p.m.