By Lou Modestino
Area Auto Racing News of New Jersey reports that construction on Thompson Speedway’s Motorsports Park has begun. It’s all about an addition of a new road course which according to Don Hoenig, patriarch of the Hoenig clan, will be 1.7 miles in length. it will be utilized by the sports car clubs. Don also told AARN that following the conclusion of the stockcar racing season in October that more construction will be taking place.
There’s also plans to sell memberships to drivers which will be limited to 200, according to the AARN piece. The members will get exclusive use of the track, VIP access to all racing events, the adjacent golf club membership, special Raceway Restaurant discount rates, locker rooms and lounge along with other incentives and amenities.
Back in the 50’s and 60’s we can remember the old road course where SCCA held both regional and national events on a 1.6 mile track that didn’t include the any part of the 5/8 mile oval. There was also a F-5000 Pro race held at that track that was promoted by the late Walt Faulkner and Jimmy Costello who leased the the facility from Don Hoenig and his late father John Hoeing who built the 5/8 mile oval track which opened on Memorial Day weekend in 1940. At the time it was the only purposely paved track oval in the nation.
Trying to quell all of the rumors Don Hoenig told AARN that disruption of other events held at the motorsports complex will be kept at a minimum. Plus the oval track will benefit from some of the improvements.
No cost associated with the expansion and upgrades were discussed. But, my sources in the area estimate that the cost could be between $5-$8 million dollars.
The race program for August 8th, at the Thompson Speedway has been cancelled. The weather, for the third consecutive week, forced Thompson management to pull the plug on the scheduled race event that was to have featured the Valenti Modified Racing Series and Thompson’s five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions in an evening filled with high speed, exciting competition. The track will announce an updated race schedule in the future.
This week, Thompson plays host to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The event, the Budweiser 150, is always the biggest race event of the summer at Thompson and everyone is keeping their fingers crossed that the 7-day weather cycle of rain on Thursdays will be broken by August 15th.
This event will feature the WMT, Thompson’s five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions along with a guest appearance from world famous Drifter Vaughn Gittin, Jr. Gittin will be on hand to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, perform drifting demonstrations. A lucky fan will win a ride with Gittin at the Thompson Speedway.
Connecticut’s Waterford Speedbowl was back on track with another round of its Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday series. Picking up wins included Giovanni Giarratana of Newington in the INEX Legend Cars, Ray Reed of Norwich won his first ever race in Super X-Car action and Zach Thomas of New London was awarded the X-Car victory. Sharing the honors in twin INEX Bandolero division races were Ken Morin Jr. of Old Saybrook and
Corey Comeroski of Lebanon. The night’s Wacky Race was won by Christopher
Lee of Uncasville.
Due to inclement weather, Stafford Motor Speedway has postponed its August 9th CBYD 811 Night program to this Friday night, August 16th. The Late Model cars will run their double distance 60-lap feature next Friday night and the CBYD 811 Challenge winners will be determined. The top-5 drivers in the CBYD 811 Challenge standings after the completion of next Friday night’s feature events will each receive an $811 bonus from Call Before You Dig.
The Budweiser 150 at the Thompson Speedway this Thursday will prove to be an extremely important race for both current series point leader Ryan Preece and Whelen Modified Tour defending champion Doug Coby. A mere 25 points separate the two in their battle for the 2013 championship crown.
Preece has been the dominant force on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this year with three consecutive wins and not a single finish outside the top 5 except for the “Tour’s” last outing at Stafford. In the closing laps of there, Preece spun and wound up finishing 16th.
Coby, on the other hand, has won two of the last three events and has closed the point gap considerably. Rowan Pennink sits 39 points away from the leader with Mike Stefanik down by 56 and Ted Christopher off the pace by 58 points. With the Tour now into the second half of its season, each race gains more and more importance.
The Bud 150 is the most popular event of the summer at Thompson and the track’s faithful have been waiting since April’s Icebreaker for the another Tour thriller. The Icebreaker was won by Mike Stefanik.
Thompson’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions will join the WMT for this mid-week racing spectacle. The Sunoco Modifieds, Late Models, Lite Modifieds, Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman and Monster Mini Stocks will add superb competition and excitement to the night’s racing program.
Track and NASCAR points for these drivers are equally important to their final standings for the season. The Sunoco Modifieds have displayed tremendous competition on the speedway and on the point charts. The top five drivers are in an amazing tussle for the point lead which is currently held by Keith Rocco. Rick Gentes hold a slim lead over Glenn Boss in the Late Models with Cam McDermott on top in the Lite Modifieds. Larry Barnett sits atop the point charts in the Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman division with Eric Bourgeios leading the Monster Mini Stocks.
The night will also feature world famous Drifter Vaughn Gittin, Jr. He will be on hand to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and do some of his spectacular drifting on the speedway during the evening. His RTR drift team, sponsored by Monster Energy Drink, will be a huge addition to this already star-studded night and a lucky fan will be given the chance to take a Drifting ride with Gittin, JR.
Tickets for the Bud 150 are available from the Thompson track office. Call 860-923-2280. All major credit cards are accepted. Grandstands will open at 2:30 p.m. with qualifying set for 5:30 p.m. The first feature event of the evening is slated for an approximate 6:15 start. Full schedule details and much more are available on the Thompson web site.
Todd Bertrand made it three straight Angelillo Memorials Saturday night, winning the 25-lap Northeastern Midget Association feature at Waterford Speedbowl’s Wings & Wheels. Grabbing the lead seven laps in, Bertrand went on to a convincing victory, his second of the season.
Most of the drama came before the feature and included a bad heat experience and Todd’s dad Gil traveling back to Enfield to get a replacement part after an oil line fitting went bad.
Turning a sizzling 12.794 lap en route to victory, Bertrand (Bertrand 39) came from the eighth starting spot, grabbed the lead from early leader Paul Scally (Scally 30) through turns three and four and took the checkered 4.75 seconds ahead of Randy Cabral. It was the third straight Angelillo runner-up finish for Cabral.
A couple of battles ranged behind Cabral. Russ Stoehr (Dumo’s Desire 45) finished third less than a tenth of a second ahead of Anthony Marvuglio (Bertrand 74). Scally held on for fifth just ahead of point leader John Zych Jr. (Zych 9).
“I showed Paul my nose through one and two and he gave me all the room I needed in three and four,” Bertrand explained the winning pass. He immediately pulled away and enjoyed a big lead when caution showed with 13 left.
Bertrand got away from Scally on the restart, leaving behind a five car battle. Cabral cleared Stoehr and Scally to settle in second with eight remaining. “I really didn’t know who was behind me but I could see the 47 on the scoreboard and that worried me,” said Bertrand.
A week earlier, Bertrand had “driven off the track” at Airborne Speedway, a “driver error” that was not easy to forget.”I stayed mentally tough all week,” said the former schoolboy soccer standout. The challenges continued.
First there as the oil line problem in the first practice. “We were lucky we had so much time,” said Bertrand, acknowledging the many divisions at the event. Missing the second practice, repairs were completed in time for the second heat.
“We chose a right rear tire that Doug Coby ran in a heat race back in May that had just two heat cycles,” Bertrand said. “I was just being cheap. I almost hit the wall I got so loose.” An angry Gil was among the frustrations as Bertrand “just kept my head in it.”
Come feature time, he kept his foot in it as well. Both the margin of victory and fast lap surprised him. “I don’t think anybody has turned that in a feature for a long time,” he said of the latter.
Marvuglio and Cumens were the heat winners.
RESULTS: 1. Todd Bertrand, 2. Randy Cabral, 3. Russ Stoehr, 4. Anthony Marvuglio, 5. Paul Scally, 6.John Zych, 7. Jim Santamaria, 8. Ian Cumens, 9. Jim Chambers, 10. Phil DiMario, 11. Bethany Stoehr, 12. Avery Stoehr, 13. Danny Cugini, 14. Doug Cleveland, 15. Pete Pernesiglio, 16. Joey Payne, 17. Seth Carlson.
Scott Bigelow withstood a strong restart challenge from Ian Cumens and went on to win the 25-lap Northeastern Midget Association Lites feature Saturday night at Waterford Speedbowl’s Wings & Wheels. The race was added to the program following rain at the scheduled race at Lee USA Speedway Friday night.
It was a strong run for Bigelow (Bigelow 320) who ran consistent low 14 second laps en route to his first win of the season.
The yellow flew at the halfway point when Carl Mederios Jr. and Avery Stoehr came together. Bigelow, who had led most of the race, lined up with Cumens beside him. They went through one and two side-by-side, Cumens backing a bid on the outside heading down the back chute.
“I kind of pinched him off a little bit,” admitted Bigelow, one of three brothers in the race.
“I was up in the marbles ,” acknowledged Cumens, pointing out losing momentum “something you want to avoid” in the Lites. Danny Cugini, in fact, got by him and the leaders were half a straightaway ahead when Cumens began the final bid.
He passed Cugini for second with 13 left and at the finish was .341 of a second behind Bigelow. He had a race-best 14.199 (95.077 mph) lap.
Cugini (Cugini 51) was third followed by Kenny Johnson (Johnson 46) and Logan Rayvals (Rayvals 94). Lites rookie Anthony Payne turned in his best effort of the season, finishing sixth in the Scrivani 21.
The race did not pay points. The point battle resumes Saturday night at Riverside Speedway in Groveton, NH.
RESULTS: 1. Scott Bigelow, 2. Ian Cumens, 3. Danny Cugini, 4. Kenny Johnson, 5. Logan Rayvals, 6. Anthony Payne, 7. DJ Moniz, 8. Meg Cugini, 9. Richie Morocco, 10. Ryan Bigelow, 11. Kevin Park, 12. Avery Stoehr, 13. Carl Mederios, 14. Paul Bigelow.
Last Sunday’s Wheels of Time annual car show which moved from it’s usual haunt the Brockton Fairgrounds to the Raynham-Taunton Park in MA was a big success. We talked with Joe Ducher of W. Bridgewater. “We had 100 more cars than last years show at the fairgrounds. I think that’s an indication that we made the right move. Joe was a big backer of the Raynham-Taunton Park move going way back.
The Wheels of Time were forced to move their bi-weekly Thursday night cruise event from Southeastern Regional Votec High in Easton this year due to some major construction and upgrading. On that issue, Ducher went on, ” The move the old dog track gave us a lot more space on the cruise event and on one good night this summer we pulled in over 600 classic vehicles. That’s double the capacity of Southeastern Regional.”
It remains to be seen if the WOT will return back to SE Regional. To be fair on all points of view, half of the WOT club members are very concerned that if Raynham-Taunton Park gets the nod for slot machines from the state, that they may be sent packing. Because the park will need to have the entire parking lot available to the slot machine crowd.
Meriden, CT’s, Keith Rocco drove to victory Saturday night, August 10, winning the 100-lap Valenti Modified Racing Series feature at Waterford Speedbowl, Waterford. CT.
The win was Rocco’s second VMRS victory in 10 starts. His first was two years ago at Stafford Motor Speedway.
Rocco started fifth in a 26-car field, took the lead on lap eight from Chris Pasteryak, of Lisbon, CT., and was never headed. Rocco twice developed full straightaway leads only to be slowed by caution flags for minor spins or crashes.
Rowan Pennink, of Huntingdon Valley, PA., made another late race charge from his 17th starting spot to finish runner-up.
Pasteryak enjoyed another strong third place finish. The two-time series champion never ran outside the top five.
Tommy Barrett, of Millis, MA, and 40-year veteran Dwight Jarvis, of Ascutney, VT, rounded out the top five finish. Barrett started sixth, and Jarvis came from 20th.
Sixth through tenth were, Steve Masse, Woody Pitkat, Richard Savary, Rob Goodenough, and Louie Mechalides.
Eight caution flags slowed the race including an opening lap crash knocking Ted Christopher from the event. Christopher suffered a minor thumb injury. “It is my left thumb, but its not too bad. Just like my right thumb I injured last Friday. Now they match,” Christopher said Sunday afternoon.
Heat winners; Annarummo, Pasteryak, K. Rocco, Wrenn won the 15-lap consolation race.
The 10th anniversary seasons continues next Saturday night with a stop at Seekonk (MA) Speedway.
The recently rained out race at Thompson (CT) Speedway has been rescheduled for Thursday, Aug 22.
Race No. 9 of 17- Waterford Speedbowl
Entrants: 32 (26 starters) Distance: 100 laps
Time of Race: 1:08:37.507
Best Lap Time: 14:164 (K.Rocco)
Lead Changes: 2 (among 2 drivers)
Lap Leaders: Owen (1), Pasteryak (2-8), K.Rocco (9-100)
Cautions: 8 (Lap 0, 8, 43, 89, 91, 91, 95, 96)
Unofficial Order of Finish; (1) K. Rocco, (2) Pennink, (3) Pasteryak, (4) Barrett, (5) Jarvis, (6) Masse, (7) Pitkat, (8) Savary, (9) Goodenough, (10) Mechalides, (11) Kopec, (12) Smith, (13) Schneider, (14) Pearl, (15) Wrenn, (16) Zachem (17), Holdridge, (18) J.Rocco, (19) Nocella. (20) Annarummo, (21) Mead, (22) Owen, (23) Boniface, (24) Cates, (25) Bakaj, (26) Christopher.
Waterford Speedbowl hosted the sixth annual Wings & Wheels event on Saturday evening in front of a large crowd. Fans were treated to some of the fastest and most sophisticated short track racecars in the country as the International Supermodified
Association made their only visit of the season and was joined by the popular Valenti Modified Racing Series, Northeastern Midget Association and NEMA Lites, plus the home track NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® and SK Light Modifieds.
Keith Rocco of Meriden was the bigger winner of the night, taking both the Valenti Modified Racing Series event and the night’s SK Modified feature, recording two more milestone wins in his racing career.
Jon McKennedy of Chelmsford, MA was dominant in the 50-lap Supermodified race while Todd Bertrand of Suffield, CT impressive with a big victory in the NEMA Midgets. Scott Bigelow of East Hampton won the NEMA Lite feature and Plainfield’s Corey Barry won his second consecutive SK Light Modified event to round out the night’s winners.
Rocco picked up his sixth NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified®
win of the season but perhaps more significant, the victory was the 50th of his career in the division. He marched steadily to the front of the field using the outside lane to his advantage.
A rookie season can be a daunting task for any racing driver. Such has been the case for Stafford Late Model driver Michael Scorzelli and his #18 Syracuse Utilities Chevrolet. He not only had a new division to learn but he had a new track to learn after coming to Stafford from Thompson Speedway.
Scorzelli had a bit of a rough beginning to his rookie campaign, posting a best finish of 13th over the first six races of the season. Over the next 6 races he has enjoyed an uptick in his performances by posting four top-10 finishes. Scorzelli nearly won the Late Model race last Friday night and he heads into the Aug. 9 CBYD 811 Challenge Night with two consecutive top-5 finishes.
The 2013 Late Model season began right where it left off in 2012 with Woody Pitkat the dominant force on the track. Since that dominant opening stretch to the year, Adam Gray and Tom Fearn have not only inserted themselves into the championship picture, but they have overtaken Pitkat in the Late Model standings as the second half of the season is now underway.
At Seekonk Speedway Dave Darling took over from Tom Scully Jr with one lap remaining in the 75 lap Pro Stock Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Championship, and held on for the final 1/3 mile to pick up his fifth win of the season.
Bob Hussey and Mike Brightman battled for the lead early on before Brightman took over at the top of the leader board. Brightman held on to the top spot through the one-third mark, with Tom Scully Jr and Ryan Vanasse second and third. They ran that way until Brightman spun. On the restart with 40 laps remaining, Scully, Vanasse, Darling and Craig Weinstein set up for a 40 lap battle for the win. Darling moved past Vanasse on the restart, and started to put pressure on Scully. Darling darted from the inside and the outside trying to find a way by.
With about 20 laps remaining, Darling went to the outside and pressured Scully hard, trying to get the youngster to make a mistake. But there were no mistakes to capitalize on this time. Scully continued to keep Darling on the outside as Vanasse ran under Darling, the three cars under a blanket. With less than five laps remaining, the defending champion reached deep with his Bristol Toyota Scion Camry, and found something more that he needed. As they came across the stripe under the white flag, Darling had nosed ahead, and followed through turns one and two to hang on for the exciting win by .003 seconds over Scully Jr. Ryan Vanasse was third, with Craig Weinstein and Dick Houlihan fourth and fifth.
1) Dave Darling 2) Tom Scully Jr 3) Ryan Vanasse 4) Craig Weinstein 5) Dick Houlihan 6) Dave Hutchins Sr 7) Kevin Casper 8) Bob Hussey9) Fred Astle Jr 10) Ken Spencer 11) Dave Silvia 12) Kevin Folan 13) Dick Benoit 14) Elmer Wing III 15) George Kourafas 16) Cory Cleary 17) Tom Scully Sr 18) Manny Dias 19) Billy Joerres 20) Mike Mitchell 21) Mike Brightman 22) Kyle Casper
Gerry DeGasparre used a late race restart to move past leader Bill Bernard to pick up his third win of the 2013 season. Bill Bernard jumped out front on the opening lap and set the pace with Mark Hudson right behind. Dylan Estrella moved past Hudson for second on the tenth circuit. Gerry had moved into third, and started looking to the outside of the leaders. On the eighteenth circuit, Bernard got loose off the fourth corner, and that allowed the current points leader to move past the pair into the lead, just before a caution came out.
On the restart, Bernard was able to find some extra grip on the outside lane, and moved past Gerry for the lead. He set the pace until the final caution came out on lap 21. Gerry used that same outside groove to make the same move and find himself back into the lead. Once out front, he was not pressured for the final several circuits. Bernard held on for second, with Jeramee Lillie, Dylan Estrella and Dillon Moltz third through fifth.
1) Gerry DeGasparre Jr 2) Bill Bernard 3) Jeramee Lillie 4) Dylan Estrella 5) Dillon Moltz 6) Ryan Lineham 7) Charlie Rose 8) Dave Hutchins Jr 9) Mark Hudson 10) Branden Dion 11) Chad LaBassite 12) Greg Cotter 13) Ron Barboza 14) Mike Marfeo 15) Bobby Pelland III
Gerard Berthelette picked up his first win of the season in the 25 lap Street Stock feature Saturday night. Austin Blais and Vinny Pangelinan both took turns leading the 19 car field for the first few laps before Berthelette took over on the sixth lap. Chris DeMoura followed through to second, and the pair ran that way through the checkered.
While Berthelette and DeMoura opened up some distance between them and the rest of the pack, the battle for third was hot and heavy. Pangelinan held on for third through the half-way point, with Crystal Serydynski and Paul Lallier fourth and fifth. As the laps wore down, Serydynski was able to move past into third. Pangelinan fell out of the top five by the time the checkered flew. Steve Axon was the Simpson’s Lucky Draw winner of $100.00.
1) Gerard Berthelette 2) Chris DeMoura 3) Crystal Serydynski 4) Scott Bruneau 5) Paul Lallier 6) Vinny Pangelinan 7) Steve Potter 8) Craig Pianka9) Austin Blais 10) Ray Lovelace 11) Ray Negley 12) Steve Axon 13) Bob Bettencourt Jr 14) Corey Fanning 15) Daryl Perry 16) AJ Solomon 17) Bill McNeil 18) Mike Palin19) Scott Serydynski
John Paiva picked up his fifth win of the season, padding his championship lead just a little more with a handful of races remaining. Nick Uhrig jumped out front over Darryl Church at the drop of the green, and held off the Brockton native for the first couple of laps. By that time, Paiva moved into second, and started putting pressure on the sophomore.
By the ninth lap, Paiva took control, keeping Uhrig behind. As his lead opened up, the leaders started to get into lapped traffic, and Uhrig started to close in on the leader. But time ran out, and the points leader picked up his fifth win of the season. Uhrig held on for a career best second, with Church, Mike Cavallaro and Rick Martin rounding out the top five.
1) John Paiva 2) Nick Uhrig 3) Darryl Church 4) Mike Cavallaro 5) Rick Martin 6) Scott Dion 7) Branden Dion 8) Rob Murphy 9) Joey Wakefield 10) Bill Schoeler 11) Anna Gregoire 12) Chase Belcher 13) Lenny Guy 14) Mike Duarte 15) Rob Rainville 16) Dan Leach 17) Dave Smith 18) Jim Hawkins 19) Taylor Therrien 20) Dave Haywood.