by Jay | Oct 22, 2009 | New England, Thompson
NEMA’S Owners Crown Decided At World Series
The owner’s championship is still a question mark as the Northeastern Midget Association brings the 2009 season to a finish at Thompson Speedways rescheduled World Series this weekend. Defending champion Tim Bertrand (47) takes a 26-point edge on Mike Jarret (4) into Sunday’s 25-lap feature.
NEMA has a long relationship with the World Series that was rained out last weekend. Championship battles ending at the traditional season-ending event are hardly unique. It will be NEMAs only visit to Thompson this season.
Bertrand’s driver Randy Cabral already has his second straight championship in hand. Jarret’s driver Nokie Fornoro is assured of second place in the final standings. Both are seasoned-hands on the ultra-quick fifth mile, totaling 11 victories between them.
Cabral, the unofficial record holder with a 17.620 lap turned at last year’s World Series, is the club’s all-time Thompson winner with seven. Fornoro has been winning at Thompson since 1982. Russ and Greg Stoehr have both been involved in classic season ending-races at Thompson in the past as well.
Clearly the fastest place NEMA visits, a victory at Thompson is a perfect ending. Adam Cantor, the winner a couple weeks back at Twin State, makes no secret of his desire to end a strong campaign in Thompson’s Victory Lane.
Other possibilities for the Marvin Rifchin Trophy are Jeff Horn, Erica Santos and Jim Miller. Chris DeRitis, NEMAs top rookie, Abby Martino and John Zych Jr. are among the drivers seeking to protect top-10 spots in the driver and owner standings.
Cabral, who doesn’t like talking about points, had five wins among ten top-fives in 13 starts en route to the driver’s championship. He comes to the World Series in pursuit of his 27th career win, all of them coming in the past 10 campaigns.
In one less start, Fornoro had a couple wins among 10 tops 10s. He’ll be after his 45th NEMA checkered.
by Jay | Oct 22, 2009 | PASS
Brandon Ward to Pilot #62 for New Day Motorsports in PASS South finale at Greenville-Pickens
CHARLOTTE, NC (October 20) – New Day Motorsports owner Jeff Day announced today that veteran driver Brandon Ward will take over the #62 Yarbrough Transfer/Texas Pete Chevrolet in this weekend’s Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South regular season finale. In a one race deal, Ward will pilot the car formerly driven by Mark Gibson in Saturday night’s Howler 125 at the Greenville-Pickens Speedway.
“I’m really excited to have this opportunity to drive the Yarbrough Transfer/Texas Pete Chevy this weekend at Greenville,” said Ward. “Jeff [Day] and I have worked together this year with my Pro Cup car and I’m glad we’ve been able to put this deal together. I’ve driven a lot of different types of cars over the years, but not a Super Late Model. The PASS series is one of the most competitive in the country and I can’t wait to see what I can do with those guys.”
The relationship between Jeff Day and Brandon Ward goes back several years, but stepped up a level when Day began consulting in 2009 on Ward’s Mac Hill Motorsports ride in the USAR Pro Cup Series. Although highlighted by a second place finish in this year’s PASS National Series with Mark Gibson behind the wheel, an otherwise disappointing season led Day to make a change with his team.
“I felt like the chemistry between Mark [Gibson] and I just wasn’t there,” said Day. “We’ve worked hard the last few years and I appreciate Mark and his entire family for the effort we put forth, but I think to grow we both needed to go in a different direction. Brandon’s a heck of a talent and I think he will be a great addition to the PASS family.”
Brandon Ward’s racing career started in Go-Karts in 1989 where he won multiple championships over the next ten years. Ward then moved to the NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series finishing a career high third in points in 2004. Ward won three races in his NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series career at Bristol Motor Speedway, Motordrome Speedway, and Kentucky Speedway. From there, Ward moved on to the UARA-STARS Late Model Stock series where he won the championship in 2006. Ward currently competes in the USAR Pro Cup Series driving the #56 Mac Hill Motorsports Chevrolet. After winning Rookie-Of-The-Year honors in 2007, Ward is a championship contender with two wins so far in 2009.
New Day Motorsports has been an integral part of the PASS South Series since 2006. The team scored it’s best finish with the series last year in the Piedmont Pride 125 at the Caraway Speedway finishing fourth after leading the most laps. New Day Motorsports finished in the top ten in PASS South points in 2007 and 2008 and finished second in this year’s PASS National Series behind champion Ben Rowe.
by Jay | Oct 19, 2009 | PASS
Naples, ME 10/19/09- It couldn’t have been a more fitting way for Ben Rowe to capture the 2009 Pro All Stars Series (PASS) National championship as he continued the north’s dominance by winning the fourth annual Mason Dixon Meltdown at South Boston (VA) Speedway. The podium was a clean sweep of Maine natives as Ben held off his father Mike Rowe who finished second followed by defending Cassius Clark who rounded out the top three.
Defending race winner Johnny Clark managed a fourth place finish and Heath Hindman represented the south as the highest finishing PASS South regular with a fifth place finish. Mark Gibson and Ryan Blaney who came into the Meltdown second and third in national championship standings were both able to hold those positions and take home some national championship hardware. Gibson managed a season high finish of sixth in the process while young Ryan Blaney fought an uphill battle to finish seventh.
Rowe was able to cruise to victory in the final laps but it was another driver who looked as if he had the car to beat all weekend long. Corey Williams who picked up a win earlier in the year at Orange County scorched the field in qualifying and just as quickly made his way to the top spot during the race. Williams lead 140 of the first 145 laps quickly putting a lap on the field when several competitors battling for position spun a half turn in front of him. One would have thought Williams would have made it through untouched but Williams got caught up in the middle of it ending his night.
The incident brought the front runners to pit road for two fresh tires and handed the lead over to Cassius Clark who pitted the previous caution. Cassius did his best to hold off a pair of Rowe’s in the form of the father and son combo but Ben overtook Cassius for the top spot on lap 208 and never looked back for his fourth PASS South win of 2009. With the win Rowe expanded his PASS South points lead, all but wrapping up the southern championship heading into the final race of the year.
The season ending finale for the PASS South is right around the corner on Saturday night October 24th at the Greenville-Pickens (SC) Speedway. Fans that make plans to see the annual Howler 125 will not only see a race winner take home the hardware, but will also see the PASS South series champion crowned that night. For more information including tickets, contact the track directly at www.greenvillepickens.com or call 864-269-0852.
For more information including schedules, standings, and results for all PASS sanctioned touring series visit their home on the web at www.racewithpass.com. For marketing or media questions contact Norm Desjardins at 603-539-3368 or for technical information contact Scott Reed at 207-625-3230.
Official Results – PASS South super late model Mason-Dixon Meltdown 250 – South Boston Speedway –South Boston Speedway – 10/17/2009
1) 4N Ben Rowe 2) 2 Mike Rowe 3) 8 Cassius Clark 4) 54 Johnny Clark 5) 91 Heath Hindman 6) 26 Preston Peltier 7) 62 Mark Gibson 8) 10 Ryan Blaney 9) 4S Jay Fogleman 10) 60 DJ Shaw 11) 23N Lonnie Sommerville 12) 48 John Batten 13) 98 Justin Wakefield 14) 20N Steven Legendre 15) 74 Ryan Moore 16) 18 Bradley McCaskill 17) 47 Corey Williams 18) 05 Alex Fleming 19) 20X John Stancill 20) 11 Joey Doiron 21) 1 Louie Mechalides 22) 23 Jimmy Weller 23) 02 Tim Nooner 24) 15 Clay Jones
by Jay | Oct 19, 2009 | Canada, New England
Team Bouchard Racing returns to RMR snocross series for 2009-10
Trevor Bouchard to seek Semi-Pro titles on Arctic Cat sleds
DERRY, NH (Oct. 16, 2009) — One of New England’s most talented rising stars in snowmobile racing is overflowing with enthusiasm as the 2009-10 season draws near. Trevor Bouchard, of Derry, New Hampshire, will go after the Semi-Pro division championship on the Rock Maple Racing (RMR) snocross series. After riding Ski-doo sleds the past six years, Bouchard will pilot the newly-refined Arctic Cat Sno Pro 600 race sled for 2009-10.
Bouchard, 20, started his snocross career back in 2001 in the Junior Novice class. He worked his way up through the ranks, earning all four Sport division championships in 2006. For the past two seasons, he has been a part of the powerhouse D&Z operation, owned by Dana White, of
Campton, New Hampshire. While he greatly appreciated that incredible opportunity, he is also anxious to go racing with his family again.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back out on the tour with my Dad again,” Bouchard said. “He put a lot of effort into my career when we first started, and is ready to give it another shot. Sharing the challenge of learning a new sled with him will be great, and we hope to put Arctic Cat back where it belongs on the Rock Maple podium.”
Officials at Arctic Cat know having a presence in snocross racing is crucial to connecting with consumers. Led by factory-backed Pro rider Tucker Hibbert (Monster Energy/Team Arctic No. 68), Cat supports race teams on both the national and regional levels. They view the sport as not only the perfect arena in which to develop technology for future consumer sleds, but to maintain excitement in snowmobiling overall.
“We’re very excited about having Trevor Bouchard pilot the new Sno Pro 600 this season on the Rock Maple circuit,” said Mike Kloety, Race Program Manager at Arctic Cat. “We know he has the skills to run up front, and we also know that Rock Maple is quite popular in the northeast. We’d
love to win races in Semi-Pro with Team Bouchard, and hope Trevor turns some heads as he goes after the class championships.”
Rock Maple Racing will kick off its 2009-10 campaign on Dec. 12-13 at the beautiful Hickory Ski Center in Warrensburg, New York. This is a new venue for RMR, yet Bouchard has always been quick to adapt to any new layout.
“We plan to do some testing during November so I can get a good feel for the new sleds,” adds Bouchard. “I’m not a really fussy rider when it comes to setups. As long as I can get off the line well and the sled runs smooth, I’m happy. As we learn more about them, I’m sure we’ll be fine-tuning the new Sno Pro sleds to gain speed. With all this cold weather and early snow in the mountains, I’m anxious to hit the snow and prepare for
racing.”
To join the list of valued sponsors or to follow Trevor’s progress throughout the season, visit the team online at www.trevorbouchardracing.com. Team Bouchard Racing would like to thank Dan Callahan for his assistance and the following sponsors for their support;
Arctic Cat, Stud Boy Traction Products, 139designs.com and Harvey Tool.
by Jay | Oct 18, 2009 | New England, New Hampshire, PASS, Riverside Speedway
Naples ME (10/18/09 Championships aren’t easy to come by in sports, and auto racing is no exception. To win the deciding race to claim a championship is the dream of many a racer. Carey Martin lived out that dream Saturday when he won the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Sportsman finale at Groveton New Hampshire’s Riverside Speedway. Martin claimed the feature over his nearest championship rival Mike Landry, securing the 2009 PASS Sportsman title by a two point margin. Clyde Hennessey finish third, Lyman McKeage fourth and Grant Arthur came home fifth.
After the qualifying heats were completed the two were deadlocked in the standings, with Dan McKeage just two points behind. Clyde Hennessey captured heat one to sit on the pole, with heat two winner McKeage to his outside.
Hennessey took the lead from the first green but Martin quickly moved up to second with Landry right on his bumper in third. The pair chased Hennessey until lap twenty nine when Martin took command. Dan McKeage was charging, up to second from fourth ahead of Hennessey and Landry, Arthur and Lyman McKeage.
When the crossed flags were displayed it was Martin, Dan McKeage, Landry up to third and Hennessey fourth. The front three were evenly matched ran nose to tail for thirty laps until Dan McKeages’ challenge for a second PASS Sportsman title went up in smoke with driveline problems. McKeage was done for the day at lap 59.
The final caution set up a sixteen lap showdown between the top two title contenders, with Martin on the inside and Landry outside. Martin got the jump on Landry at the green and try as he might, Landry could not find his way past the veteran Sportsman racer. Landry ran Martin clean, putting on a great battle for the win but Martin wasn’t to be denied, taking the victory and the title of 2009 PASS Sportsman Championship in the process. It was Martins’ third win of 2009 and firth top five in seven starts.
Just three cautions slowed the seventy five lap feature event. Seven cars completed all the laps; heat race wins went to Hennessey and Dan McKeage.
Carey Martin and his fellow PASS competitors will gather November 7th at Verillo’s Convention Center in Westbrook Maine for the 2009 Pro All Stars Series Banquet of Champions.
The Pro All Stars Series is on line at www.racewithpass.com and www.proallstarsseries.com .
Unofficial Results- PASS Sportsman 75 lap feature–Riverside Speedway, Groveton NH -10/17/09
1) 18 Carey Martin, Denmark ME 2) 40 Mike Landry, Oakland ME 3) 8 Clyde Hennessey, Windham ME 4) 58 Lyman McKeage, Gorham ME 5) 7oz Grant Arthur, Exeter NH 6) 34 Richie Morse, Waterford ME 7) 51 Dan Sidney, St. Johnsbury VT 8) 1 Kerry Marten, Littleton NH 9) 02F David Fowler, Barnstead NH 10) 67 Jourdain Davis, Whitefield NH 11) 7x Shawna Randall, Stark NH 12) Dan McKeage, Gorham ME 13) 35 Bobby Nadeau, Hollis ME 14) 73 David Ofswyk, Newport Center VT
