by Jay | Aug 18, 2009 | New England
Naples ME (8/17/2009) Seekonk Speedway regular Tom Scully Jr. worked his way to the front of the field at the halfway mark of Saturday night’s Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Cirelli Foods 150 and kept two of the touring series best in his mirrors to record an upset victory. At the checker it was Scully Jr. followed by Ben Rowe in second and Johnny Clark third. Derek Ramstrom and Dave Darling came home fourth and fifth in the twenty eight car field.
It was the second race in a row that home track advantage played a part in the victory. Former Unity Raceway regular Randy Turner upset the apple cart with a victory at Unity on August 2nd. Scully joins Turner and Chris Staples as a new winner in the traveling super late model road show, and the eighth different PASS feature winner in the eleven events contested to date.
Kelly Moore and Joey Pole led the field to the initial green but contact between the pair brought out the event’s first caution. Moore soldiered on for a tenth place finish but Pole’s night was over.
The PASS regulars battled it out with Seekonk’s’ home town heroes throughout the race. Early on Dave Hutchins was out front, but Rowe and Clark were working their way to the front and for a time it looked like that pair might have the edge. Rowe lead briefly around the one third mark, but Seekonk speedster Ray Parent took the lead away on a restart. By the half-way point Parent had Scully Jr. on his bumper, all the way up from fifteenth on the grid. But Parent had another problem to deal with – a fourteen gallon fuel cell that wouldn’t allow him to go the full 150 lap distance without a stop for fuel. So Parent peeled off for a can of Sunoco under caution and handed Scully Jr. a lead he would never give up, despite the best efforts of Johnny Clark and Rowe to take the race away from him.
As the laps wound down the green stayed out and Scully managed to pull away from the pack. Rowe took over second from Clark and chipped away at Scully Jr.’s lead but it was too little too late and the Westport Massachusetts racer, who’s scored two wins and nine top tens in the Speedway’s top division this season, had a PASS winner’s trophy to add to his collection.
Fred Astle, Adam Bates, Rick Martin, Dave Hutchins and Kelly Moore earned fifth through tenth place finishes. Thirteen cars completed all 150 green flag laps. Ben Rowe, Kelly Moore and Derek Ramstrom each scored a heat race win.
The Pro All Stars are back in the Granite State on Sunday August 23rd for a 150 lap showdown at Canaan Fair Speedway. Practice gets underway at noon; racing goes green at 2:00 PM. PASS Mods and Sportsman share the bill with the fastest full fender race cars in the east.
Visit Canaan Fair Speedway on line at www.canaanspeedways.com . For the latest PASS news, results and standings, click on www.racewithpass.com or www.proallstarsseries.com .
Official Finish – Pro All Stars Series super late model Cirelli Foods 150 – Seekonk Speedway-Seekonk MA -8/15/2009
1) 2 Tom Scully Jr., Westport MA 2) 4N Ben Rowe, Turner ME 3) 54 Johnny Clark, Hallowell ME 4) 35 Derek Ramstrom, Worcester MA 5) 52 David Darling, E. Providence RI 6) 30 Fred Astle, Warren RI 7) 98 Adam Bates, Warner NH 8) 88 Rick Martin, W. Warwick RI 9) 96 David Hutchins, Somerset MA 10) 47 Kelly Moore Scarborough ME 11) 60 DJ Shaw, Center Conway NH 12) 17P Ray Parent Tiverton RI 13) 17A Scott Alexander, Orrington ME 14) 33 Richie Dearborn Hollis ME 15) 85 Nick Ribbe, Kingston MA 16) 95 Steve O Brien, Scituate MA 17) 20 Steve Legendre, St. Johnsbury VT 18) 6 Steve Desmarais, Westport MA 19) 58 Kevin Casper, Tiverton RI 20) 12 John Dabrowski , W. Bridgewater MA 21)25 Michael Thomas, Lewiston ME 22) 8 Cassius Clark, Farmington ME 23) 4s Chris Ross, Malta NY 24) 7 Donnie Whitten, Biddeford ME 25 90 Craig Weinstein, Walpole MA 26) 97 Joey Pole E. Providence RI .27) 3 Tom Scully Sr., Westport MA 28) 17 Travis Benjamin, Morrill ME
by Jay | Aug 17, 2009 | Canada
(Shediac, N.B.) — Luc Bourgeois (#88) of Memramcook picked up where he left off last Sunday and captured a flag-to-flag win in the Maritime Super Series for Sportsman 75 to celebrate the Acadian Holiday on Saturday evening at the Centre for Speed (CFS), Atlantic Canada’s Super Speedway and “Metro Moncton’s Playground of Power”.
Meanwhile, Mike Rayburn (#98) of Hampton made a triumphant return to CFS by capturing the win in the Atlantic Open Wheel (AOW) Modified Series 35-lap feature. A few years ago, Rayburn was a regular driver in the Sportsman division at CFS where victory had always eluded him. On Saturday, he picked up his second career AOW win at the CENTRE crossing the stripe ahead of Shelley Stewart (#43) of Emerald,
PEI and Mark Price (#9) of Rothesay in the main event of the evening.
Stewart had earlier picked up a win in the first heat to go along with a very close second place finish in both the semifinal and feature. Price had als0o visited victory lane after capturing the second semi while Byron Bartlett (#77) of Saint John was victorious in both the second heat and first semi-final before a heartbreaking end to his evening in the feature. Bartlett and Price set the pace in the 35-lap main event and battled hard over the first 28 laps of the event. Coming out of turn #4 on lap #28, Bartlett and Price got together sending
Bartlett’s rear passenger-side wheel flying off into the corner. While he was able to drive the car on three wheels into the pit area, his crew could not make the necessary repairs and his evening was over. Price, who restarted at the tail-end of the lead lap was able to salvage a third place finish after the unfortunate collision.
In the Maritime Super Series 75, Bourgeois, who started on the pole, beat back all
challengers to capture his second consecutive Sportsman feature win at CFS to go along with his earlier win in the 10-lap heat. With the win, Bourgeois vaults from 5th to second position in the Series point chase heading into next weekend’s International 145 at Riverglade Speedway. Veteran Dan Bourque (#15) of Grande-Digue crossed the stripe second followed closely by Ken MacKenzie (#85) of Salisbury and series defending champ, Claude Gaudet (#22) of Grand-Barachois. Gaudet continues to lead the Super Series point standings with 91 points, 6 points up on the surging Bourgeois (85 points). Bourque now finds himself in the third spot with 81 points followed closely by MacKenzie at 79 points and Marc Gautreau
(#99) of Grand-Barachois at 74 points.
In Streetstock action, division points leader Victor Vienneau (#03) of Cocagne took advantage of a late race mishap to capture his third feature win of the season ahead of division rookie Gerald Brun (#33) of Moncton and Doug MacEwen of Charlottetown. Gary Stewart (#43) of Emerald, PEI had the car to beat in this division on
Saturday evening having captured wins in both the heat and semifinal. However, the racing gods had a different plan for him in the 25-lap feature. After once again setting leading the field for 22 laps, Stewart’s night came to a sudden end when he blew a rear tire and limped into the pit area in time to see Vienneau cross the finish line for the win.
Both the Mini Stock and Four Fun drivers had the weekend off.
Next Sunday, August 23rd at 2:00 p.m., the action switches to Riverglade Speedway for the 45th Annual International featuring Sportsman drivers from the Maritime Super Series for Sportsman in a 145-lap main event. Regular points racing in Streetstock, Mini Stock and Four Fun divisions will also be part of the program.
The next event at the Centre for Speed (CFS) will be the Maple Leaf MONSTER TRUCK Spectacular and ‘Eve of Destruction’ Demolition Derby on August 29th at 7 p.m.
Full schedule details are available at www.centreforspeed.com
About CFS
The CENTRE for Speed, built in 1996, is home to the Atlantic region’s largest and fastest paved 3/8 of a mile stock car oval as its centerpiece. The
CENTRE overlooks the Northumberland Strait and is located 5 kilometers east of Shediac’s Parlee Beach on Route #133 in the village of Grand Barachois.
by Jay | Aug 16, 2009 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series
Lakeville, CT (August 16, 2009): Sometimes, no matter how hard you prepare, things just don’t go right.
Matt Kobyluck and the Mohegan Sun race team were keyed up about the Mohegan Sun 200 at Lime Rock Park this weekend. Not only was Mohegan Sun sponsoring the race, but Kobyluck’s record to date at the 1.53-mile course has been stellar. They were expecting nothing less than a podium finish. After setting fast time in both practice sessions, all indications were pointing to just that. But then the car stalled in the esses on his first qualifying lap.
Things just went downhill from there.
Kobyluck’s crew cleaned out the fuel cell, including drying out the foam, flushed out the lines, and changed out the carburetor. They replaced spark plugs and got the car running again. Because the NASCAR Camping World Series East event was an impound race, Kobyluck had no chance to take the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet out for a test drive.
The team was still optimistic despite a 21st starting position, but on the first lap of the 200-mile race, Kobyluck’s No. 40 came to a stop in the esses once again. The tow trucks were summoned and Kobyluck went to the pits.
There, he went 32 laps down while the crew addressed the problem once again. He did return to the track and Kobyluck was fast. He posted the second fastest lap of the day and gained a lap back by passing the leaders.
“We changed the fuel pump twice and changed the carburetor on pit road. When we pulled behind the wall we discovered there was a problem with the fuel pick up line. It had collapsed,” said Kobyluck. “When we did get back out there, we were running a second or so faster than everybody. If everything had gone right we had a shot at winning the race, but it is what it is.”
Kobyluck’s bad luck didn’t end there, however. At lap 70, Kobyluck was thrown into a dangerous situation that ultimately ended his day.
“The back end started coming around a little bit on me after I wheel-hopped it going into the corner on the uphill,” explained Kobyluck. “I got into the tire barrier, and I couldn’t back up so I was sitting there waiting for the local caution. It never came. After the 10 tagged me, it spun me around into the middle of the track. No one slowed down. It was one of the most unsafe positions I could be in. I was very fortunate because I was in the racing groove with my driver side door at traffic.”
Fortunately, Kobyluck was not hurt in the incident, but the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet was done. There was damage to both the front and rear of the car.
“It’s extremely frustrating,” said Kobyluck. “We’re out of the championship hunt now. Mathematically we still have a shot, and we will give it everything we’ve got, but with the way the 00 is running it’s going to be hard.”
For more information on Matt Kobyluck, Mohegan Sun Casino, or Mohegan Sun Racing, visit www.mattkobyluck.com.
by Jay | Aug 16, 2009 | All-Star Speedway, New Hampshire
Epping, NH – Joe Lemay was a man on a mission in the All-Star Modifieds on Saturday night, outrunning the field to collect his division-leading fourth checkered flag of the 2009 season.
Kenny White, Jr. quickly moved past early-race leader Dana Smith to take over the lead, and he ran off to a several car lengths lead over the first half of the race. Further back, Smith had his hands full with Eric Hudson and Lemay trying to hang on to second.
Lemay was the first to get by Smith, and he immediately started reeling in White, catching the leader at the halfway point. Five laps later, White brushed the frontstretch wall coming off turn four, which opened up the inside for Lemay.
Lemay made it stick, leading the final 15 circuits to add another feature win to his already-impressive 2009 total. White held on to collect runner-up honors, with J.R. Baril, Eric Hudson, and Smith rounding out the top five.
In the Super Streets, a race-long battle with former champion Ron Bolduc resulted in a popular win by Rosebud Shea, who picked up her first feature win of the 2009 campaign in the 30-lap main event.
Bolduc was right on her bumper waiting for a mistake over the second half of the race, but that mistake never came, and Shea proudly carried the checkers around the high banks after her win.
Bolduc’s effort netted him his best finish of the year in the runner-up slot, with Rob DeAlmeida, Tim Casey, Jr., and John Bourdelais closing out the top five finishers.
The Strictly Stocks were nothing short of wild in their 25-lap feature event, racing three and sometimes four wide in the early going. Mark Parenteau was a contender early, but he got collected by a lapped car late in the race and clobbered the wall to end his night.
Jimmy Silvia made his first visit of the year a good one, holding off the tough Mike Williams to score his first career All-Star win. Williams, Steve Dubois, Chris Augevich, and Johnny Gervais were the rest of the top five.
In Fast-4 action, Greg Cummings led the first lap, but it was all Tyler Mailhot after that. Mailhot ran off to score his third win of the season, with Cindy Sevigny, Ken Mailhot, Jason Hodgdon, and Cory Sullivan second through fifth.
by Jay | Aug 16, 2009 | Canada
August 15, 2009
Fredericton-It was a beautiful night for racing in the Geary woods. Fans not only got to enjoy the racing but they also got to enjoy the nice summer weather that was a little late coming.
It was definitely an action packed evening with racing regular racing in the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman, Irving Lubricant’s Pro Stocks, the debut of the 4-cylinders and last but not least the Dent Daddy Street Stock 75.
First off, in the Martin’s Home Heating division, Dave Biggar took his yellow # 70 to the Auto Pride victory lane in the 30-lap feature. Bigger didnt waste any time moving up in the feature and passing Steve Halpin who started on the pole. Halpin quickly sprinted into the lead and led for quite a few laps until Dave Biggar challenged him. Once Biggar took the lead there was no looking back. The championship contenders were boxed in mid field for most of the race. Points leader Mike Banks did make it to a fifth place finish which will really help in the points. Steve Halpin had a good run finishing second and a strong run by Brent Roy who finished in third. This was a good night for the young guys.
In the Irving Lubricant’s Pro Stock division, the Nackawic Night Train Brian Gillespie took the early lead and was soon challenged by the Big Black Dodge of Glenn Rasmussen. The two battled back and forth for many laps until Rasmussen took the lead. Greg Fahey came into the picture and that is when the excitement started. The two, Rasmussen and Fahey battled back and forth for many laps and then Gillespie decide he wanted in on the action. The three spent the last 10 laps rubbing, making it three wide in a heavy exciting battle until the very end. Greg Fahey came across the finish line just inches in front of Rasmussen who finished in second and The Night Train in third. It was a very exciting race. After all rubbing is racing and these guys did just that and kept it clean at the same time.
In the Dent Daddy Street Stock 75 there was also a lot of action. It is a good thing for some of the drivers that this was not a point’s event. Some of the point contenders had some mechanical problems tonight. Point leader Brian Fox had to retire from the race early as he had mechanical problems on lap 1. Rick Cashol sprinted out to the early lead passing Charles Gaddess. Gaddess started on the pole and has been strong in the past couple of weeks. Gaddess was not willing to give up first position without a fight. Matt Matheson also wanted to lead the race. Matheson and Cashol battled for most of the race. Cashol took his # 54 to the Auto Pride Victory Lane, Matt Matheson finished a close second after a long battle with Cashol and rounding out the top three was Charles Gaddess. Gaddess posted his first win last weekend and continues to be on a roll. Shawn Hyslop came back from having to go in the pits due to mechanical problems and finished fourth.
It was the first night for the 4 cylinder cars at Speedway 660 and it was a big hit. We are hoping the division will grow and more people will get into driving 4 cylinders. The 4 cylinders can be seen again at Speedway 660 on August 29 for Fan Appreciation Day. Ira Farnell took the early lead in the 15-lap feature and went on to win. Finishing in second was the # 16 o of Kyle Dunster and rounding out the top three was Robert Flowers in his #2. This division is a pretty inexpensive way to get into racing. Hopefully this division will grow and people will build more cars for the next race.
All in all it was a very exciting evening of racing. There were a couple of lucky ladies who got a chance to ride in the speedway car with Pro Stock driver Glen Rasmussen as a special bonus for Ladies Night. The ladies seemed to really enjoy it.
Next weekend there will be more exciting racing coming up. So don’t miss it.
