by Jay | Nov 22, 2009 | Beech Ridge, Maine
Portland,Maine- Mike Rowe, Russ Morse, Lyman McKeage and Shawn Brackett were the guests of honor at the 61st annual presentation of awards at the Holiday Inn by the bay in Portland Maine Saturday night. The awards ceremony closed out the 2009 NASCAR Whelan All American Series at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in front of a capacity crowd in the banquet room.
Maine racing legend Mike Rowe was honored with the championship awards for the Pro Series division. Rowe received his championship awards from NASCAR and Beech Ridge and addressed the crowd in attendance recalling the NASCAR champions week in Charlotte and spoke some heartfelt words to his RJF Motorsports team. Rowe then recalled an evening this past season where he presented his feature winning trophy to Jordan Emerson, the young Whiz Kid racer injured in a crash 2 years ago and how that brought a big smile to her face. Rowe went one step beyond that on Saturday night as he announced that his championship trophy was going home with Jordan Emerson who was in attendance. Rowe made his way to the table Jordan was sitting at and presented his championship trophy to her much to the delight of the crowd.
Russ Morse stepped to the podium to collect the Sport Series championship awards. Morse capped off a brilliant season by thanking his team and family members who urged him to keep going when at times he didn’t think his heart was in it. This was the first championship for Morse in his 9 year racing career. Lyman McKeage collected his 3rd Beech Ridge championship on Saturday night. The elder statesman of the Wildcat division won the title by a scant 17 points and gave much of the credit to his team and family members who work tirelessly maintaining a fleet of 5 race cars that they use in various racing series’.
Shawn Brackett was the Road Runner champion for the 3rd consecutive year. Despite the fact that the Road Runner division is growing and the competition is getting tougher, Brackett stepped up his game to stay at the head of the class. Brackett thanked his family for the sacrifices they make so he can race as well as thanked his sponsors and team.
Several highly coveted awards were presented lead by the Driver of the decade award. Mike Maietta Sr. was the first winner of this prestigious award and Saturday night the award was presented to Bobby Babb. The annual Driver of the year award was announced and to nobody’s surprise Mike Rowe was the recipient of the award. The award for Outstanding new driver was presented to third generation racer Justin Cusack.
Rookie of the year awards went to Bradley Babb (Pro Series), Justin Cusack (Sport Series), Matt Gain (Wildcat) and Matt Dow (Road Runner). Most Improved drivers were Aaron Ricker (Pro Series), Nate Leavitt (Sport Series), Dan Bean (Wildcat) and David Turner (Road Runner).
The 2010 NASCAR Whelan All American Series at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway will kick off in May. Expect to see return visits from the Pro All Star Series and the American Canadian Tour as well as the True Value Modifieds.
by Jay | Nov 22, 2009 | ACT, Canada, New England, Thunder Road
DRUMMONDVILLE, QC – 2009 Série ACT Castrol Stock Car Champion Donald Theetge of Boischatel, Quebec was honored at the annual Série ACT Castrol Banquet of Champions at the Best Western Hotel Universel in Drummondville, QC on Saturday, November 21. It is Theetge’s second career Série ACT Castrol Championship, with his previous title coming in 2006. The top ACT teams, officials and fans were in attendance to help honor Theege and his team. Theetge beat 2008 ACT Tour Champion Patrick Laperle of St-Denis, Quebec in the closest point battle in Série history to become the first Série ACT Castrol repeat champion. With his two victories during the 2009 season, Theetge also became the all-time Série ACT Castrol wins leader with 14. Theetge’s championship earned him a point fund paycheck of $9,000.
Justin Holtom of Ottawa, Ontario received the 2009 Série ACT Castrol Rookie of the Year Award. Holtom was the only Série regular from outside the province of Quebec. The 19 year old picked up his career best finish (5th) at Autodrome Montmagny in August and contended for the win at several events during the season on his way to 12th place in the Série ACT Castrol Championship Standings.
St-Félicien, Quebec’s Karl Allard earned the votes of his fellow competitors and Série officials to win the Série ACT Castrol Sportsmanship Award for the second time in his career. Allard earned the award based on his competitive but fair nature. Allard finished the season third in the Championship Point Standings and finished an impressive 12th at the Inaugural ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September.
The 2009 Série ACT Castrol Most Improved Driver Award was also awarded based on driver and official votes. Earning the most votes was 19 year old Jonathan Desbiens of Levis, Quebec. Desbiens finished 10th in the Championship Point Standings in just his third season with the Série. He also improved his best career finish in 2009 with a 6th at Autodrome Chaudiere in August.
Drivers in attendance from the top 15 in the 2009 Championship Point Standings also received personalized award plaques as well as point fund earnings of over $35,000. Also awarded were certificates for product from Bassett Racing Wheels and Five Star Race Car Bodies.
The 2010 Série ACT Castrol schedule has been announced with 12 events throughout the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The season will begin on Saturday, May 22 at Autodrome Ste-Eustache. For more information visit www.acttour.com or www.laserieactcastrol.com.
2010 Série ACT Castrol SCHEDULE
# DATE DAY TRACK LAPS
1. May 22 Sat. Ste-Eustache 100
2. May 29 Sat. Montmagny 100
3. June 05 Sat. Chaudiere 150
4. June 12 Sat. Capital City 100
5. June 19 Sat. Riverside 100
6. June 03 Sat. Montmagny 250
7. July 10 Sat. Ste-Felicien 135
*** July 18 Sun. Oxford 250
8. July 26 Mon. Riverside 100
9. July 31 Sat. Ste-Eustache 100
10. Aug. 07 Sat. Chaudiere 150
11. Aug. 14 Sat. Riverside (Combo*) 200
*** Aug. 28 Sat Chaudiere (Showdown) 200
12. Sept. 26 Sun. Ste-Eustache 300
***non-championship point counting event
*Combination race with Série ACT Castrol and U.S. ACT Tour
by Jay | Nov 20, 2009 | New England, PASS
Naples ME (11/17/2009) Johnny Clark’s 2009 Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Championship is remarkable unto itself, given the level of competition in the New England super late model ranks. But two in a row and four titles in the nine years that PASS has been sanctioning super late model racing is a feat that only one other driver has managed to accomplish. Clark tied Ben Rowe for the most series titles by beating Rowe for the thirteen race crown in 2009, and it’s fitting that the two drivers that top the all time PASS standings are now tied in the titles won column.
Clark’s 2008 championship was a come from behind effort that saw the Farmingdale Mainer come on strong in the second half of the season. His 2009 title drive started out just the opposite, winning two out of the first three races (Speedway 95 and Unity) and scoring a seventh at the Beech Ridge PASS opener. Clark’s consistency was challenged throughout the campaign by perennial title contender Ben Rowe and upstart Adam Bates.Derek Ramstrom, Richie Dearborn and Kelly Moore were all ready to pounce should Clark falter.
But Clark and his veteran crew kept their train on the tracks, posting another win in the series’ return to Lee USA Speedway and never finishing outside the top ten after that. The final tally was Clark 2799 -Rowe 2767, a 32 point bulge.
Clark’s 2009 stats are remarkable: thirteen starts, three wins, eight top fives and twelve top tens in the North, plus another top ten in The PASS South opener at Hickory Motor Speedway, a fourth place in the Mason-Dixon Meltdown at South Boston and capped his year of with a win in the season closer at Greenville-Pickens Clark’s only hiccup of the season came at New Brunswick Canada’s Speedway 660 where a wheel departed the Clark’s Car Crushing /Port City Race Cars 54, resulting in a fourteenth place run.
That’s the kind of consistency that championships are made of, and a big chunk of the credit goes to the team that keeps Clark on the speedway lap after lap. From crew chief Robert Green to brother Bobby Clark on the spotters stand, John Marshall taking care of the tires and Heidi Marshall keeping track of the stats. Dad John Clark, Tim Clark, Terri Davies, Craig Smiley and Herb Geraux, each played key roles in the 2009 PASS title for Johnny Clark Motorsports. In fact,many of the team’s members have played a role in all four championships.
The right equipment, team work, consistency, and most of all, the talent and will to win. Those are the key elements to any championship. Johnny Clark and his race team have once again proven that they have them all in spades.
The Pro All Stars Series will return to action in ten weeks, kicking off their 10th season with the non points PASS Florida Speedfest at New Smyrna Speedway on January 29-30, 2010. Keep up with all the off season news at www.proallstarsseries.com and www.racewithpass.com .
by Jay | Nov 19, 2009 | New England
Photographers Howie and Mary Hodge, mainstays on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series, are the winners of the New England Antique Racers Jack Ratta Memorial Media Award.
The Hodges will accept the award at the 14th annual New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame induction banquet Sunday, Jan. 31 at LaRenaissance Banquet Hall in East Windsor, CT.
The Hodges, who have been recording New England racing history for 30 years, will share the limelight with 12 new members of the Hall of Fame. Howie started snapping pictures “seriously” in 1979. Mary joined him three years later.
The Hall of Fame “Class of 2010” includes drivers Geoff Bodine, the late Mike Murphy, George Savary, Pete Fiandaca and the late Chuck Arnold, car owner/builders Billy Simons, Bob Garbarino, Vic Miller and Marty Harty and contributors extraordinaire Frank Ferrara and the late Archie Blackadar.
Ticket forms will be on the NEAR website (www.near1.com) in the near future.
Hodge calculates he and his wife of 46 years have visited 130 racetracks and traveled almost a quarter-million miles as photographers. They have been part of the Modified Tour since 1991, “taking to the road” after almost a decade as the track photographer at Stafford Motor Speedway and, briefly, at Waterford Speedbowl.
The Hodges, who spent a number of years photographing the Busch North Series as well, have captured classic images up and down racing’s hierarchy.
Previous Ratta Award winners include Lou Modestino, Charlie Mitchell, Val LeSieur, Sam Weisberg and Chris Economaki.
by Jay | Nov 17, 2009 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, New England
The 2009 season for the NASCAR Camping World Series East featured arguably the best rookie class in history as four first-year drivers finished in the top 10 in the standings and nearly two-thirds of the checkered flags were captured by cars with a yellow stripe.
Heading the class was Ryan Truex, who not only earned Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors, but captured the 2009 Camping World Series East championship as well. Only current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rising star Joey Logano had accomplished that feat prior to Truex.
Truex, from Mayetta, N.J., won three races in his first season as a development driver for Michael Waltrip Racing. For the son of Martin Truex Sr. and younger brother of Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. – both former competitors in the Camping World Series East – the season didn’t get off to a roaring start. A stellar mid-season run and strong finish, however, was enough to edge veteran Eddie MacDonald by 34 points for the title.
Three races into the season, Truex had recorded an average finish of 21st, but the turnaround was dramatic. In the fourth race of the season, Truex captured his first 21 Means 21 Pole Award presented by Coors Light at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and finished third in the race for his first career top five. That effort began a streak of seven straight podium finishes – highlighted by wins at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway and Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. – that moved him from 12th in the standings to just one race away from the title.
Heading to the season finale at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Truex maintained a slim 30-point margin on MacDonald, but when the checkered flag flew, the former crossed the line one position ahead of the latter and the trophy was in hand.
In the season finale at Dover, Truex wasn’t the only standout rookie celebrating. Brett Moffitt of Grimes, Iowa, dominated at the “Monster Mile” for the second win of his rookie campaign. Driving for Camping World Series East veteran Andy Santerre, Moffitt won the pole in his series debut and went on to register six top fives and nine top 10s, good enough for third place in the season standings.
Joe Gibbs Racing development driver Matt DiBenedetto made a big splash as well in 2009. The Grass Valley, Calif., native had an average finish of 6.7 in just seven starts with a win at Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson, N.C., and a last-lap battle with Truex in June at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., that resulted in another victory. DiBenedetto earned a series-high three 21 Means 21 Pole Awards presented by Coors Light and led more laps than any driver despite participating in just two-thirds of the races.
While Truex, Moffitt and DiBenedetto were perhaps the most prominent, the 2009 rookie class also had depth. Alan Tardiff registered eight top 10s – including a season-best third place at Tri-County – and finished seventh in points despite not competing in one race. Alex Kennedy’s respectable season resulted in a 10th-place finish in the standings with three top 10s, highlighted by a career-best finish of fourth at Lime Rock.
Matt Kurzejewski made nine starts and was 15th in the standings while Jarit Johnson, the younger brother of three-time defending Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson, finished 17th in points with seven starts.
A host of other up-and-coming racing talents also had impressive efforts in spot starts in 2009. Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Gifford had an average finish of 6.3 in four starts while Childress’ grandson, Ty Dillon, had a pair of top 10s in three outings. Max Gresham, who split time in the JGR No. 18 with DiBenedetto, also recorded two top 10s in three events. Noted road racer Patrick Long had an average finish of ninth in four outings and nearly won at Watkins Glen while dirt racers Kevin Swindell and Josh Richards showed plenty of asphalt talent in their six combined starts.
