Veteran stock car racing driver Bobby Cabral was officially crowned Granite State Pro Stock Series champion during the series’ inaugural banquet held at The Yard Restaurant in Manchester, NH on Friday, January 18.
Cabral, of Kingston, NH, claimed the series’ first championship with one win and five top-five place finishes, while never finishing lower than seventh during the season. The series championship battle went into the final race of the season, where Cabral’s third place finish netted him the series championship.
Cabral and car owner Dave Frahm were celebrated as the driver’s champion and series’ champion, respectively. Cabral received a championship trophy and a championship jacket from American Racer racing tires. Frahm received the championship earnings.
Bobby Baillargeon of East Kingston, NH was celebrated as the championship runner-up. Barry Gray of Belchertown, MA claimed third place prizes, with Rich Eaton and Fran Colson taking home fourth and fifth place prizes, respectively. Carl Eriksson, Mike Parks, Derek Griffith, Keith Caruso, and Phil Meany also claimed driver’s trophies, as well. Eriksson, Parks, John Griffith and Louie Mechalides, Steve Litwin, Mike Notargiacomo, and Josh King claimed additional car owner prizes.
Derek Griffith of Hudson, NH claimed Rookie of the Year honors for his first season in Pro Stock competition. Griffth, racing against a well veteran core of drivers, earned a runner-up finish in the first Granite State Pro Stock Series event, and ended the season an additional two top-ten finishes. Griffith earned a $1,000 gift certificate to ARBodies and a $300 award from Jack’s Competition Engines.
Distance Racing Products of Fairfield, ME awarded a brand new Distance Racing chassis to Bobby Baillargeon after his name was selected during a random draw. ARBodies awarded $500 gift certificates to Josh King and Mike Parks via a random draw. Drivers eligible for both drawing competed in every Granite State Pro Stock Series event in 2012.
Series President Mike Parks and Managing Event Director Josh Vanada thanked the drivers, car owners, officials, fans, media members, and track owners for their involvement in the inaugural season. Both Parks and Vanada gave special thanks to Larry and Dee Cirillo, owners of Monadnock Speedway, and the Webber family, owners of Star Speedway and Hudson Speedway, for their involvement in hosting the Granite State Pro Stock Series during its inaugural season.
The banquet officially brought an end to the 2012 Granite State Pro Stock Series Season. An 11-race season has been scheduled for the second season, with the opener set for the famed Icebreaker weekend at Thompson Speedway in Thompson, CT on Saturday and Sunday, April 13 and 14.
For the past eight years the first Sunday in June at Bezema Motors on US Rt. 1, the AutoMile, has seen the Norwood Arena/New England Dragway South Reunion grow. There’s no doubt about the fact that this annual gathering of the faithful race fans, officials, drivers and race car owners brings back the memory of this great venue that entertained thousands of fans every weekend from the time it opened in 1948 right up through it’s demise in 1972.
This event celebrates all of the historical stockcar, midget, sports car, drag racing and motorcycle events held on the quarter-mile oval and adjacent 1/8 mile drag racing strip in southeastern Massachusetts. Several race drivers earned their reputation for no-hold barred competition on the oval as well as the drag strip.
It will be celebrated for the ninth time on Sunday, June 2, 2013 when the vintage stockcars of NEAR and STAR converge on Bezema Motors that day. In addition, there will be other vintage race cars of all types on display at the event. All types of race cars, both vintage and contemporary, are welcome.
There will be vendors offering memorabilia and such on hand to make this annual show a success. Also Don Thomas, the Norwood Arena Speedway webmaster, will be coming in from California with his display. There will also be a classic car show for muscle cars, hot rods and customs as well as motorcycles.
Trophies will be awarded in three categories and dash plaques will be given out as long they last. This year we have added a DJ who will air music of the the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s as a reminder of that period when the Norwood Arena Speedway and New England Dragway South entertained gear heads every weekend. Attendees are urged to bring photos, programs and memorabilia to share with other fans. Drivers will also sign autographs for those fans who come to the event.
The Bezema family, hosts of the event, will offer a free light lunch to all attendees. The Norwood Arena/New England Dragway South will start at 11 a.m. and run through 4 p.m., rain or shine. For more information, call organizer Lou Modestino at 781.784.7857 or Bezema Motors at 781.769.4700. Bezema Motors is located at 401 Providence Hwy., Rt.1, Norwood, MA just 1 mile south of the Norwood Arena/New England Dragway South site.
The grassroots have been replanted at Devil’s Bowl Speedway for the 2013 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series stock car racing season. The entry-level four-cylinder Mini Stock division has undergone a facelift during the winter and is expecting a wide-open championship chase.
Known in previous seasons as the “Bomber” division, the Mini Stock class is the starting point for many local racecar drivers. Cars that compete include Chevrolet Cavaliers, Honda Civics, Dodge Neons, and other American-made and import compact sedans. Modifications allow only for safety advancements and minor, inexpensive handling and mechanical improvements. Racing in the Mini Stock class is often intense with three-wide and even four-wide action sprinkled with metal-crunching crashes and rollovers.
Josh Masterson, 21, came to the division as a rookie in 2012 and departs for the top-tier Late Models as the champion. In his first season in a stock car, the Bristol, VT racer posted an astonishing seven wins en route to sweeping the track championship and Rookie of the Year title. Third-place finisher Ray Germain, Jr., also of Bristol, VT, will move up to the intermediate Renegade class, leaving 2012 runner-up Bobby LaVair of Gabriels, NY as the leading candidate to sit on the Mini Stock throne. Five victories in his No. 5 Denecker Chevrolet-sponsored Mazda Protégé left LaVair second overall; his father Harold and brother Chris were also feature winners during the season.
“I want to expand my schedule to do some more racing around New England this year, but my main goal is to win the Mini Stock championship at Devil’s Bowl,” Bobby LaVair said. “I know there will be some new cars, so you never really know what to expect, but I know I’m ready.”
Drivers looking to keep LaVair in check include Gerald LaFlam of Hinesburg, VT; Jake Noble of Benson, VT; Rensselaer, NY racers Dan Collins and John McCarron; Colchester, VT’s Matt Monaghan; and Kyle Watrous of Bomoseen, VT. Rulebooks and registration forms have also been mailed to first-time racers from across Vermont and New York.
Like its Modified, Late Model, and Renegade counterparts at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, the Mini Stock division is part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series that encompasses more than 50 weekly tracks in North America. Masterson finished 41st in the national Division IV standings of the NASCAR Finalist program, with LaVair 54th and Germain 83rd; the national top three Finalists are honored each year at a black-tie NASCAR gala in Charlotte, NC.
Masterson will officially accept his championship awards at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway Banquet of Champions at the Holiday Inn Rutland-Killington in Rutland, VT on Saturday, February 2. Ron Proctor will collect his second Bond Auto Parts Modified title, Craig Bushey will be crowned the J&S Steel Late Model champion, and Robert Gordon will take Renegade honors.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s 16-event 2013 race schedule kicks off on Sunday, May 5 with the 39th annual “Spring Green 113” for the American-Canadian Tour Late Models, along with Devil’s Bowl’s weekly NASCAR divisions.
Rockingham Park in Salem, NH will host the New England Motorcycle Expo this weekend,