By Lou Modestino
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver Ted Christopher, Plainville, Ct., whose racing exploits in Indoor TQ Midget racing over the years rival his asphalt Modified successes, was the first driver to submit his entry for the NAPA KNOW HOW Atlantic City (NJ) Indoor Race Weekend of January 24-25, 2014. Christopher was also first in line to enter the inaugural Battle Of Trenton Indoor Race set for February 7 & 8 at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, NJ.
TQ Midget racing specialist Matt Roselli of Brodheadsville, Pa.,quickly followed Christopher’s NAPA Know How Atlantic City entry while Paul Lotier, Jr., Lebanon, Pa., was became the second entrant of
record for the first Sun National Bank Center TQ events.
The two events are being promoted by Trenton-based Len Sammons Motorsports Productions and will make up this year’s Fatheadz Eyewear Indoor Racing Series.
Christopher is expected to be among the favorites in both races. Since taking up the challenge of Indoor TQ Midget racing six years ago, ‘TC’ has won main events six times.
Early entries for the NAPA KNOW HOW Atlantic City Indoor Race Weekend have also been received for the Champ Kart and Slingshot divisions. New England kart racing specialist Glen Meisenhelder of Springfield, MA and dirt track Modified racer Danny Bouc are early registrants in the Champ Kart
class, while Mark Sensenig and Steve Yankowski have each signed on for Slingshot action.
Bouc has also entered the Battle Of Trenton Champ Kart events, joined by Jonathan Laureigh of Toms River, N.J., while Karl Bettler is the first Slingshot racer to submit a formal entry for Trenton action. Close to two hundred teams over the three classes are expected for the Atlantic City races; space limitations at the Trenton Arena mean that early entry is essential to guarantee the opportunity to compete.
The two race meets will be promoted at Sammons’ 29th annual Pioneer Pole Buildings Motorsports Show fueled by Sunoco Race Fuels and distributed by Insinger Performance, scheduled for the three-day weekend of January 10-11-12, 2014 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pa.
Unfortunately because of the NCAA hockey schedule at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI, they could not come up with a clean date for the indoor races. Hopefully the TQ’s can return next year.
Stafford Motor Speedway announced today that the CARQUEST Auto Parts era has come to an end. It has been a storied history spanning over 28 years that began as a contingency sponsorship in 1985 and developed into an elite partnership that brought many firsts to Stafford Motor Speedway.
In 1989 CARQUEST brought the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour back to Stafford after a brief hiatus, then went on to sponsor 45 Whelen Modified Tour events at the famed ½ mile including the annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler and the CARQUEST Fall Final. They were instrumental in the return of the NASCAR Busch North Series to the track. In 1996, the auto parts giant played a significant role in the track’s longest event, the CARQUEST 300 that was televised by ESPN.
The partnership produced CARQUEST Extreme Tuesday, The Big One, which saw Bobby Santos take home the largest short track payday in New England history, as well as the now famous CARQUEST Pit Parties and most recently the CARQUEST Champions for Charities events.
In the latter part of 2012 CARQUEST Auto Parts merged with Advance Auto Parts but thanks to Rich Pallai, Vice President of Marketing, Stafford was able to continue the sponsorship through 2013.
Recently, Advance Auto Parts took on another direction and decided to eliminate local Motorsports involvement, thus closing the book on the CARQUEST era at Stafford Motor Speedway.
“The CARQUEST relationship grew far past that of just a sponsorship,” said Mark Arute, C.E.O. of Stafford Motor Speedway. “It became more of a friendship. CARQUEST will no longer have a presence at the Speedway but we will always value the friendships and memories developed through our partnership. They will last a lifetime.”
Arute singled out the contributions of CARQUEST’s Rich Pallai. “Rich has an abiding passion for short track racing and that passion will always be part of Stafford’s legacy and continued success,” said Arute.
On Sunday November 10, the New England Antique Racers (NEAR), presented the 16th annual New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Conducted at Manelley’s Banquet Hall in South Windsor, CT., the HOF celebrates literally hundreds of feature victories, championships, and untold contributions to the sport of auto racing within the New England region.
Instituted in 1998, the HOF now boasts membership of well-over 100 deserving individuals.
Opening comments by NEAR President Al Feeney along with a stirring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner & God Bless America performed by past NEAR President Bob Seller and his wife began the day. Award-winning sportswriter Matt Buckler served as Master of Ceremonies.
Inducted this year were drivers Ralph Nason, Stan Meserve, Drew Fornoro, Bill Eldridge, Bob Sharp, Brian Ross, the late Bob Stefanik, and longtime car owner Ron Berndt.
Presented honors by Steve Pellerin of the Maine Vintage Race Car Association, three-straight Oxford 250 victories (1998-2000) top the racing resume of Newburgh, Maine driver Ralph Nason. His six decade career includes successes on the ACT, NASCAR North/Busch North, IPSC, PASS and NEPSA circuits. Starting in the early 1960s in Central Maine, he grabbed national attention when he won 23 races in a “Petty Kit Car’’ in 1973. He was a steady winner at Speedway 95, Unity, Wiscasset, and Oxford, including Getty Opens. The key force in the formation of NEPSA, he was the champion in 1996 and ’97. Also a track owner/promoter, Nason has run several raceways including Unity, Spud Speedway (Caribou) and Montamagny Speedway.
A native of Sidney, Maine, Stan Meserve excelled on a number of levels not the least of which is driver/owner. His 1968 effort as an independent on NASCAR’s Grand National circuit is now legendary. Starting at Unity Raceway in 1965, he has a host of victories including a pair of Getty Opens and championships at four different Pine Tree State Ovals – Unity, Speedway 95, Wiscasset and Oxford. He has been an official for NASCAR North and ACT, a successful chassis builder, a team manager/crew chief (Ricky Craven, Andy Santerre, Dale Earnhardt, Inc), even a magazine publisher in his long service to the sport. Fittingly, it was fellow Maine racing personality Bruce Elder handling Meserve’s induction.
Making the journey from his North Carolina home, it was celebrated racing journalist Chris Romano welcoming his friend Drew Forono into the HOF. A Danbury, Connecticut product, Fornoro holds a host of Northeastern Midget Association records including 85 career victories and nine championships, all of the latter with owner Gene Angelillo. A second generation race driver who joins his dad Nick in the Hall of Fame, he was an established ARDC and TQ winner when he teamed up with Angelillo, getting his first NEMA win in 1981 at Hudson Speedway. He went on to win at least one feature in 21 different seasons, including races co-sanctioned by USAC and ARDC, at 19 different tracks. His last six checkers came with the Campanale team.
The pride of Chelmsford, MA, pioneering open wheel star Bill Eldridge was the Northeastern Midget Association’s first champion in 1953. He won four NEMA driving titles, all with car owner Gibby Parmenter, and 32 features, still ranking sixth on the club’s all time win list. A World War II Navy veteran, he became interested in racing in 1949. He attended a driving school at Medford Bowl and had a brief stint with stock cars before he and Parmenter became a dominant team in NEMA’s formative years. He won at 17 different tracks in a 25-year career for owners Parmenter, Bob Bahre, Mike Scrivani, Yacovone and Rollie Lindblad. Dick Monahan, long an important figure within NEMA welcomed Eldridge into the Hall of Fame.
Racer, writer, and publisher, it was Lew Boyd manning the podium to induct Connecticut’s celebrated Bob Sharp. His being one of the most successful stories in American Sports Car Racing, Sharp and his team totaled dozens of victories and 20 national championships. Having begun as a college student, he was running a gas station when his association with Datsun started in 1964. Within a decade he had six national SCCA titles and the 1975 IMSA GTU championship, dominating the latter. Moving to owner status, initially with actor Paul Newman, the successes continued to accumulate. Drivers Elliott Forbes-Robinson, the late Jim Fitzgerald and his son Scott were successful in equipment prepared by what eventually became Newman Sharp Racing.
Racing out of North End Auto Parts in Meriden, CT, Ron Berndt’s cars have won in six different decades including the present one. He has won a number of championships including the 1964 Plainville Stadium title with Sparky Belmont, the 1992 Waterford Speedway crown with Teddy Christopher and a Thompson trophy with grandson Eric Berndt. Shying from the spotlight, his cars, usually numbered 54 or 64, have been driven to victory at Plainville, Waterford, Thompson and Riverside Park by a number of top drivers including Jap Membrino, Stan Gregor, Danny Galullo, Ron Wyckoff, Dave Alkas and sons Timmy and Tommy. Formally of Connecticut where his lifelong interest in the sport began at the former Plainville Stadium, it was award-winning auto racing journalist Mark “Bones” Bourcier introducing Berndt into the Hall of Fame.
Handling induction duties for his brother Bobby was Mike Stefanik, a nine-time champion on the NASCAR Modified Tour. Truly a family-affair, it was Bobby’s son Rob accepting for his late father. A three-time Riverside Park champion (1970-71, 1973), Bobby still ranks among the top winners there with a combined 31 checkers in the Novice, Sportsman and Modified divisions. Starting in 1961 at Riverside and Stafford, he was a three-time Sportsman champ (1966-68) at “The Park” before moving to the Modifieds, quickly establishing himself in the Czarnecki #20. Three Riverside 500s (one with Billy Greco, two with Geoff Bodine) and several extra-distance events are included among his 21 Riverside Modified wins. Also a strong competitor at Stafford, Thompson and Westboro Speedways, he passed-away in October of 1984.
Motorsports Peter VanderVeer made opening comments for induction of veteran Modified star Brian Ross. The 1984 Race of Champions and the 1986 Spring Sizzler, one of seven NASCAR Modified Tour wins, head up the list of individual victories for Ross, a Ballston Spa, NY driver. Starting in 1961, he played a key role on the NASCAR Modified scene in the 1970s and 80s before a five year run with the Busch North Series. He won with owners Bob Garbarino, Ed Cloce, Wayne Miller and Jerry Rose as well as in his own equipment. He followed up the 1984 Stafford Speedway championship with four crowns at Oswego. Later he headed up son Chris’ racing efforts.
In addition to his introduction of Ross to the HOF, VanderVeer was the recipient of this year’s Jack Ratta Memorial Media Award which honors an individual displaying excellence within auto racing journalism. Presented by Hall of Fame member & fellow journalist Pete Zanardi, VanderVeer traces his auto racing experience back to the former West Haven Speedway. He has written for a number of daily newspapers over the past four decades including the Bridgeport Post, New Haven Register and the Norwich Bulletin as well as Trackside Magazine. A Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance McGinley Award winner, Zanardi is quoted as stating that “VanderVeer brings pure journalistic skills to his auto racing coverage.”
Recipient of the Danny Pardi Memorial Award was Dave Dykes. Pardi was an avid supporter of NEAR working tirelessly in support of the origination and was one of the prime-movers in making the formation of the Hall of Fame a reality. Opening comments were made by Hall of Famer Pete Zanardi (himself a past Pardi Award recipient). Presenting the award in honor of her late husband was Marie Pardi. A life-long fan, Dykes has served the sport in several capacities over the years, including residency as a Speedway Scene columnist. His interest in the sport began at Connecticut’s Waterford Speedbowl, where he later became the tracks PR Director under Zanardi’s tutelage. Currently serving on the NEAR Board of Directors and HOF Selection Committee, his photo-oriented “Racing Through Time” website remains a favorite with New England auto racing history buffs.
Its a ways off, but the National Hot Rod Association / NHRA Wally Parks Motorsports Museum has posted the date for the Second Annual NHRA New England Hot Rod Reunion at New England Dragway in Epping, NH. Thought you might like to get it in your newsletters and calendars.
The big change is that the event will be run Friday, Saturday, Sunday like the California Hot Rod Reunion.
The big weekend is September 12, 13, 14, 2014. Nostalgia race cars (dragsters, funny cars, wheelstanders, altereds, gassers, superstocks, etc), hot rods, street rods, muscle cars. former heros and stars, and Cacklefest.