by Jay | Jul 24, 2010 | Connecticut, NASCAR, New England, Stafford
ERIC BERNDT SEEKS FIRST CAREER WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR VICTORY IN TOWN FAIR TIRE 150 AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY
(Stafford Springs, CT)—With the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returning to
Stafford Motor Speedway on August 6 for the 20th Annual Town Fair Tire 150,
the race presents another opportunity for Eric Berndt and the #54 North End
Auto Parts team to collect their first Whelen Modified Tour victory.
Berndt nearly won the Whelen Modified Tour’s previous visit to Stafford, the
TSI Harley-Davidson 125 in May. Berndt started the race in fourth and he
took the lead from Bobby Santos on lap-11. Berndt had built up a large lead
over the rest of the field, but a caution with 22 laps to go erased Berndt’s
large lead and he lost the lead to Santos one lap after the restart and
faded back to 6th place at the checkered flag. Berndt led 101 of the race’s
137 laps and he is looking forward to returning to Stafford and taking
another shot at capturing his first career Whelen Modified Tour victory.
“We were real happy with how we ran the last time out at Stafford, but
disappointed at how we finished the race,” said Berndt. “I think I beat the
car up a little too much early on and I didn’t have anything left. We weren
’t happy to see that caution flag for sure. I feel like we’re right on the
doorstep to that first win and hopefully we can knock that door down when we
come back to Stafford.”
While racing in selected Whelen Modified Tour events since the 2004 season,
Stafford would seem to be the best bet for Berndt to record his first
victory on Tour. In 38 career Whelen Modified Tour starts, two of Berndt’s
4 career top-10 finishes have come at Stafford and Berndt recorded his first
career Coors Light Pole Position in last year’s Town Fair Tire 150 at
Stafford. Berndt comes to Stafford fresh off of his first career Whelen
Modified Tour top-5 finish, giving him and his team a big shot of momentum.
“Our program has gotten better every year and we’re coming off a fourth
place finish at Monadnock, which gives us some big momentum going forward to
Stafford,” said Berndt. “Last week was the first time I had ever raced at
Monadnock and we qualified well and we ran in the top-5 all race long, so we
’re looking forward to coming back to race at Stafford. With my crew chief
Ricky Rotundo and Bob Horn, who helps me with the SK car as well as the Tour
car, we have a lot of knowledge for Stafford. It would mean a lot to be
able to get our first win at Stafford with running there weekly and to join
the list of winners at Stafford.”
Berndt also says that the race strategy for the Town Fair Tire 150 will be
different from the Whelen Modified Tour’s previous visit to the Connecticut
half-mile.
“I think we’ll probably have to pit, where we didn’t pit the last race at
Stafford,” said Berndt. “The pit stop can be a big factor for us in the
race. Teddy and Santos are going to be good, you can never count out Mike
Stefanik at Stafford, Ryan Preece has been fast at Stafford for three years,
and Szegedy is good at Stafford. You just never know who is going to hit it
just right, there’s probably about 8 cars that you have to look at as
potential winners.”
With a crew familiar with Stafford on his side, and his great run the last
time out at Stafford, you can count Eric Berndt as a contender for the Town
Fair Tire 150 checkered flag.
Tickets for the 20th Annual Town Fair Tire 150 are on sale now at the
Speedway Box Office and are price at $30.00 for adult general admission
tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are
admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating is
priced at $32.00 for all ages. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers
free parking with overnight parking available.
For more information, or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor
Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com .
by Jay | Jul 24, 2010 | Connecticut, Stafford
OVER $25,000 UP FOR GRABS IN STAFFORD’S 7TH ANNUAL CARQUEST SK 150
(Stafford Springs, CT)— The 7th annual CARQUEST SK 150, scheduled for
Friday, July 23 at Stafford Motor Speedway, will feature total posted awards
of over $25,000, making the event one of the most lucrative races anywhere
in the northeast for the 2010 season.
The winner of the 7th Annual CARQUEST SK 150 has the potential of walking
away with $4,000. The winner’s share of the purse is $3,500 with $500 in
first place contingency money available from CARQUEST Auto Parts, The
Davidson Company in memory of Dave Rowe, and Valvoline. Additional
contingency bonuses of $125 for second place will be paid by Call Before You
Dig, and New England Race Fuel will supply a $50 product bonus to the third
place finisher and a $25 product bonus to the top-3 finishing cars using the
Stafford Speedway SK Modified® Spec Engine, bringing the total posted awards
for the 7th Annual CARQUEST SK 150 up to $25,500. Drivers must have
contingency decals from each contingency sponsor on their cars to receive
the contingency bonus and drivers must use Sunoco Race Fuel in order to
receive the New England Race Fuel product bonuses. (more…)
by Jay | Jul 24, 2010 | Connecticut, Thompson
Ben Rowe Surges for PASS Victory at Thompson;
Pitkat Earns First of Year in Thompson Sunoco Mods
Gelinas Three-Peats; Douton, Marcotte, Churchill Score Victories
Thompson, CT (July 22, 2010): Ben Rowe of Turner, ME, made a late race surge to take down the victory in the Pro All Star Series annual visit to the 5/8-mile of Thompson International Speedway. Woody Pitkat of Stafford Springs, CT, ended his winless streak at Thompson with a convincing Sunoco Modified win on Thursday night. Larry Gelinas of Buxton, ME, posted a three-peat in the Whelen All-American Series Super Late Models while Rick Gentes of Woonsocket, RI, was tops in the Late Models. R.J. Marcotte of Millville, MA, wired the field to score his second TIS Modified win of the season. Chris “Moose” Douton streaked to his second straight victory in Limited Sportsman action. Randy Churchill, Jr., of Oakdale, MA, returned to victory lane in the Mini Stocks.
(more…)
by Jay | Jul 23, 2010 | Connecticut, New England, PASS, Thompson
Ben Rowe: PASS North Series
Thompson International Speedway Race Report
Ben Rowe of Turner, Maine, won the PASS North Series PASS 75 at Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, Conn., on Thursday, July 22. Rowe passed Preston Peltier with five laps remaining to take his third career PASS victory at Thompson, the largest track on the series’ schedule. The win marked the second win in the last four races for Rowe, a four-time series champion. A combination PASS North/PASS National Championship event, Rowe gained ground on both Peltier and Jay Fogleman in the PASS National standings as he tries to defend his 2009 championship in the PASS National ranks.
WHO: Ben Rowe, Turner, Maine
TEAM: No. 48 Community Pharmacies Chevrolet
WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 75
WHERE: Thompson International Speedway, Thompson, Conn. (.625-mile oval)
STARTED: 11th
FINISHED: 1st
LED: 1 time for 5 laps
NEXT RACE: Saturday, July 31st, Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H.
(more…)
by Jay | Jul 23, 2010 | Connecticut, New England, PASS, Thompson
Johnny Clark: PASS North Series
Thompson International Speedway Race Report
Johnny Clark of Farmingdale, Maine, finished third in the combination PASS North Series/PASS National Championship Series PASS 75 at Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, Conn., on Thursday, July 22. at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H., on Tuesday, July 13. The finish markes the seventh top-five finish in eight races for Clark, the PASS North points leader. He started 12th and quickly moved into the top-four, where he raced nose-to-tail with the leaders for most of the event.
WHO: Johnny Clark, Farmingdale, Maine
TEAM: No. 54 Clark’s Car Crushing/Port City Chevrolet
WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 75
WHERE: Thompson International Speedway, Thompson, Conn. (.625-mile oval)
STARTED: 12th
FINISHED: 3rd
LED: 0 times for 0 laps
NEXT RACE: Saturday, July 31st, Riverside Speedway, Groveton, N.H.
(more…)
by Jay | Jul 21, 2010 | Connecticut, New England, PASS, Thompson
Joey Doiron: PASS North Series
Thompson International Speedway Race Preview
Joey Doiron of Berwick, Maine, makes his big-track debut on the PASS North Series with the PASS 75 at Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, Conn., on Thursday, July 22. The event is a combination PASS North/PASS National Championship Series race on the oldest asphalt track in the nation and — at .625-miles — is the largest facility the series visits. Doiron, who leads the Rookie of the Year battle and is eighth in the overall PASS North standings, will debut a new car at Thompson. The 18-year-old driver hopes to rebound from a disappointing 18th-place finish at his home track — Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine — last weekend.
WHO: Joey Doiron, Berwick, Maine
TEAM: JBJ Machine/Rescue Welding/Dale Shaw Race Cars No. 73 Chevrolet
BEST CAREER THOMPSON SPEEDWAY FINISH: N/A
LAST RACE AT THOMPSON SPEEDWAY: N/A
WHAT: PASS North Series PASS 75
WHERE: Thompson International Speedway, Thompson, Conn. (.625-mile oval)
WHEN: 6 p.m., Thursday, July 22
(more…)
