by | Jan 2, 2013 | New England Motorsports South
By Lou Modestino
Jon McKennedy, the reigning Valenti Modified Racing Series champion and past ISMA Super-Modified king, is the latest entry for the Indoor TQ Midget races at Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence. R.I. on December 31.
The 25 year old Chelmsford, Mass., competitor will be driving one of the potent cars owned and prepared by Lou Cicconi, Jr. Cicconi
built and maintained cars have won have won three of the seven Indoor races run in Dunkin’ Donuts Center including the last two main events.
Talented McKennedy has won three of the last four VMRS Modified circuit championships, an unprecedented achievement. McKennedy is one of nearly four dozen TQ Midget drivers who will compete for the coveted Dunkin’ Donuts Center ‘Coffee Cup’ trophy and the lion’s share of the payoff. (more…)
by | Dec 27, 2012 | New England Motorsports South
By Lou Modestino
Redemption will be on the mind of top Three Quarter (TQ) Midget driver Erick Rudolph at the New Year’s Eve Indoor races in Providence, R.I.’s Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Rudolph slammed into the concrete barrier at the end of the straightaway on December 8 at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Md.
Fans who missed the crash heard the concussion. That’s how terrifying the crash was that heavily damaged one of the fastest Indoor TQ Midgets. The Ransomville, N.Y, driver was bruised and confused – but not hurt.
The Dunkin’ Donuts Center Coffee Cup race is the second of three events that make up the Fatheadz Eyewear Indoor Racing Series.
The Indoor auto racing events are produced by Len Sammons Motorsports Productions. Rudolph’s car owner and constructor Mike Lafler, also of Ransomville, subsequently diagnosed the problem as a stuck throttle cable. (more…)
by | Dec 19, 2012 | New England, New England Motorsports South
By Lou Modestino
Many of the NEMA Midget members, drivers, car owners and officials were on hand at the recent Toys For Tots promo held at Boch Toyota on the Automile in Norwood. Among them were President Mike Scravani. We had a discussion with Mike about the 2013 season.
“It looks like 15 races for NEMA and 16 for the NEMA Lites. We’ve got some new tracks for 2013 like Airborne Speedway in northern NY and Riverside Speedway in Groveton, NH. We’ve never been to Airborne before and we haven’t been to Riverside in a long time. We’re also working on a date at Oxford and we’ll be going back to Seekonk, Lee, Waterford, Thompson and Oswego. We’re also working to get a date at Star Speedway, ” said Mike. (more…)
by | Dec 14, 2012 | New England, New England Motorsports South, Schedules
By Lou Modestino
We had an opportunity to chat with Tom Barrett, Sr. at his Victory Lane Lounge and Pub in Millis. He fields a Modified Tour type car for his son Tommy Barrett, Jr. Tommy, Jr. is really focused on the Valente Modified Tour as it resulted in that driver taking three wins in 2012. Those came at the VMRS events held at Stafford and Waterford in Connecticut and the finale during the Oktoberfest at Lee USA Speedway in NH. While Tommy Jr. didn’t qualify for the VMRS Rookie of the Year because he wasn’t eligible due to a technicality in the rules. He did, however, finish sixth in points and that’s pretty fantastic when you consider all of that.
According to the guy paying the bills, “We’re going to do the same thing in 2013,” said Tom Sr. On the rumor that Tom Jr. had something going with a superspeedway ride ARCA stockcar circuit, Tom Sr. said, “You have to bring a bunch of money in order for that to happen. Our sponsor is the Victory Lane Bar & Grill and we don’t have that kind cash laying around.” On how it went financially last year and the prognosis for 2013, “It was a struggle last year and it’s going to be the same thing next year,” quipped Tom Barrett, Sr. (more…)
by | Dec 6, 2012 | New England, New England Motorsports South
By Lou Modestino
Plans are in the making for the two NASCAR Whelen North and South Modified Tour races at the Daytona International Speedway’s backstretch. No doubt those dates will be part of the plans, of Modified teams, to also take in the six Open Comp Tour Type Modified races at the nearby New Smyrna Speedway which has experienced sparse entries since the economy take a big bump starting in 2008. Every year since then has seen a significant drop in entries. So bad was was the entry list at NSS that the officials had to combine them with the Sk Modifieds. Two races at Daytona are expected to entice a lot more entries is the feeling of the owners/promoters of the New Smyrna half-mile.
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by Jay | Nov 16, 2012 | New England, New England Motorsports South
By Lou Modestino
The Thompson International Speedway is preparing to honor those who excelled in the racing competition during the 2012 season. The track’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series featured seven different divisions of race cars competing at the historic speedway and the efforts of top finishing race teams will be rewarded on Friday, December 14 and Saturday, December 15 . These events will be held at the Raceway Restaurant and Lounge on the grounds of the Thompson Speedway.
Because of the large number of competitors that typically attend the track’s annual awards banquets, two nights have been set aside to accommodate all of those expected to be part of the gala celebrations. Friday’s banquet will spotlight the efforts of competitors in the track’s Late Model, Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman and Monster Mini Stock divisions. Saturday’s gathering will focus on the Sunoco Modifieds, Super Late Models, Thompson Modifieds and the LKQ/Keystone Lite Modifieds.
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