By Lou Modestino
Sully Tinio of Bellingham and Bobby Santos, IIII got some additional sponsorship from Curb Records in their effort to be contenders in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for the 2013 season. The Curb Record livery appeared on the #44 car last weekend at the Spring Sizzler held at the Stafford Motor Speedway in CT.
“I’m excited to be racing this car for Tinio Racing. I’m looking forward to this season because we are going to be able to run all of the races on the Tour,” said Santos. Steve LeMay is the crewchief on that Troyer race car and potent power plant by a Bill “The Kid” Motors. Santos last won the WMT championship when he drove for Bob Garbarino owner of the potent Mystic Missle race team.
It appears that things are going well for Bobby Santos. Because he dominated NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour action in winning the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway on Sunday, giving him back-to-back wins at the historic half-mile track.
The 2010 tour champion from Franklin, Mass., led all but three of the 200 laps – holding on in a dash to the finish after a late-race restart.
It marks the ninth career tour win for Santos, who had notched his ninth career Coors Light Pole Award in qualifying on Saturday. He was the Spring Sizzler runner-up during his title campaign and followed that with a win in the 2011 event. Sunday’s victory marks the fifth overall Stafford win for the No. 44 Curb Records/Brendan Kelley Music Chevrolet driver.
Justin Bonsignore finished in the runner-up spot – followed by Ted Christopher, Ryan Preece and Rowan Pennink. Doug Coby, Ron Yuhas Jr., Donny Lia, Jimmy Blewett and Mike Stefanik completed the top 10.
Sunday’s race featured two lead changes among two drivers, with Patrick Emerling leading briefly during the fourth of nine cautions.
The annual Stafford stop was the second event on a 14-race tour schedule. The next stop is Monadnock Speedway on May 11.
Stafford Motor Speedway opened its doors for racing in 2013 with feature events for its SK Light, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock divisions as part of the Saturday CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler Weekend festivities. Stafford’s three NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions were joined by the Northeast Mini Stock Tour for a total of four feature events on the day to kick off the new season. Chase Dowling took the checkered flag in the 20-lap SK Light feature in his first career Stafford start, Josh Wood was the winner of the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature for the second year in a row, Kris Fluckiger won the 15-lap DARE Stock feature, and Emerson Cayer was the winn
er of the 25-lap Northeast Mini Stock Tour feature event.
Seekonk Speedway is ready to kick off the 2013 season on Sunday, May 5, with a six division spectacular. Headlining the day will be the A.R.C. Pro Stocks in a 40 lap main event. The Pro Stocks have been headlining the action at Seekonk for over 30 years, and this season is shaping up to be another exciting chase.
During the opening ceremonies we will announce the first ever inductees of the Seekonk Speedway/630 WPRO Wall of Fame. Almost 1,000 people voted, and everyone is excited about this opportunity to honor those that have shaped the history and the future of the historic speedway.
Dave Darling of Rehoboth is coming off his third championship in the Bristol Toyota Scion, and is prepared to keep his Ron Pond prepared Camry in the thick of the chase. 2013 saw Darling finish no worse than fifth all season long, and with no major changes to the car or the team, pushing Darling off the top of the standings will not be an easy chore.
There are many challengers that will be up for the fight, and leading those will be 6 time Pro Stock Champion Fred Astle. Fred picked up 4 consecutive titles before falling out of the chase last year, but has teamed up with Everett’s Auto Parts and is looking forward to being part of the action once again.
Ryan Vanasse is coming off a breakout season in the Pro Stocks where he picked up a couple of wins on his way to the second place in the championship. Could 2013 be the season that Ryan becomes the first driver to win the LM championship and the Pro Stock championship? Watch out for the Team V 11.
Dick Houlihan returns behind the wheel of Len Ellis’ classic Pro Stock. The two-time champion was comfortable in the open practice session, and coming off a third place championship, his momentum just may carry him to the top of the standings.
There are others that will be ready for the challenge, including Tom Scully Jr and Sr, Mike Brightman, Kevin Casper, Ken Spencer, and others. 2013 is shaping up for an exciting season.
Gerry DeGasparre picked up his sixth Late Model championship, but will once again have his hands full for number seven. Bobby Pelland III led the standings late in the season before falling from the top in the final laps, and believed he left something on the table. He is ready to fight to be the man at the top come September.
Jeramee Lillie, Bill Bernard, Dylan Estrella and Darryl Stampfl are ready as well, putting more pressure on DeGasparre for the championship chase.
Paul Lallier will be up for the challenge of his first Street Stock title defense. Paul had three wins on the way to the championship. With three of his hardest challengers off the roster for the season, you would think that it might be a cake walk for the Attleboro native, but there are several who are ready to jump up for the challenge. Scott Bruneau will debut a new car early this season, and is ready to make that move to the top. Charles Beal picked up a win on his way to a top five finish, and is ready to show that he can be the guy to beat, Rey Lovelace, Bob Bettencourt, Craig Pianka, Chris DeMoura and more will show why the Street Stocks continue to be one of the most exciting divisions.
The Sport Trucks will once again be a challenge to see if anyone can knock Mike Cavallaro off the top of the heap. Mike has picked up the title five times over the past eight years, and seems poised once again to continue that dominance. Just don’t tell Rick Martin. Rick has been Mike’s biggest nemesis over many of those chases, and has gone through his truck to make sure he doesn’t fall short again. Scott Dion, John Paiva, Nick Uhrig, Lenny Guy, and a host of youngsters will make things more challenging for the truck championship.
Filling out the card for opening day will be the Nick’s Pit Stop Legends and the Pure Stocks, the lead divisions of the Fast Friday schedule. Shawn Buffington is coming off the 2012 title, and had already let his presence be felt in New England, picked up a win earlier this season with NELCAR. His teammate Tom Gray, along with Nick Lascoula will be pushing for the championship.
The 2012 Pure Stock Champion Jesse Melberg has his machine prepared and ready for the fight. His teammate Chris Lima will ride the momentum he picked up late last year to challenge. John Robidoux, Jamie Salley, Earl Curtin III, Ed Flanagan Jr, and many more will be pushing to unsea
t Melberg.
Action starts on the season opener at 2 p.m.
Ideal weather conditions blessed Waterford Speedbowl for another round of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing on Saturday. Fans were treated to a show that placed third-generatio
racer Joe Gada of Salem in the winner’s circle, claiming the night’s 35-lap SK Modified® main event in dominating fashion.
Defending division champion Dillon Moltz of Waterford won the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model race, Josh Galvin of Franklin won a thrilling Street Stock feature and Ian Brew of Wood River Junction, RI took his first Mini Stock feature win of the year. Corey Coates of Ledyard won the visiting New England Truck Series feature. The Legend Cars feature results ran past deadline.
Here’s what else is happening in southern New England. Wacky Wednesday stockcar action goes at 7 p.m. at the Waterford Speedbowl in CT. On Thursday at 5 p.m. the Bass Pro Shop in Patriot Place in Foxborough has another big cruise night. At the same time the Moose Family Center in Chicopee offers a flea market and car show. From May 3-5 Thompson Speedway in CT. will host a Test Your Driving Skills course at 9 a.m. each day.
Saturday’s offerings include the annual Lake Compunce car show in flea market in Bristol, CT starting at 9 a.m. Later in the day Monte Tech in Fitchburg will host a cruise-in and auction. Waterford Speedbowl comes back with a NASCAR program at 6 p.m. Downtown Westborough will conduct a car and military vehicle show in the afternoon. Silver City Speedway in Meriden, CT offers mineature motorsports events all day.
On Sunday the Berlin Fairgrounds in CT has kart racing on the dirt starting at 9 a.m. At the same time Pomfret Speedway in CT will host kart racing event at day long.