After a heat race in which he finished first by only leading the final 15 feet, defending USAC DMA champion “Flatfoot Joe” Krawiec of Bristol, CT turned in a dominating performance to win the 25 lap feature at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday night.
Starting sixth, Krawiec took the lead on lap six from David Rose, Jr. of Keene, NH, who had also won a heat, but suffered a mechanical failure in the feature.
Krawiec’s teammate and season opener winner Kevin Chaffee of Fairlee, VT raced his way from 13th to finish second, but was unable to mount a serious assault for the lead. Young Tim Gallant of Wales, MA showed both speed and car control to come from eighth and finish third, while former Sprint Car chauffer Scott Holcomb of Granby, CT charged from 14th to earn the fourth place finish. In only his second start in a Midget, Chase Dowling of Roxbury finished an impressive fifth after starting 12th. (more…)
PITKAT, ST. HILAIRE, HINES, & WOOD ALSO SCORE MAY 18th FEATURE WINS
(Stafford Springs, CT)— Stafford Speedway was back on track with the Xtra
Mart DARE Stock Xtra D program on Friday night, May 18th. Albert Saunders
drove to victory in the extra distance 20-lap DARE Stock feature to score
his second consecutive feature victory. Woody Pitkat was the winner of a
wild and thrilling 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Mark St. Hilaire was
the a first time winner in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Tyler Hines was a
first time winner in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, and Josh Wood
scored his third consecutive Limited Late Model feature victory of the 2012
season in the 20-lap feature. (more…)
As the month of May winds down, the race teams of Barre’s Thunder Road prepare for the Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic, the first race of the Vermont State Late Model Championship Series. After a three-week break, the event is the second point-counting race for the Bond Auto Tigers and Allen Lumber Street Stocks, but for the Late Model Sportsmen it serves as their first. It represents the beginning of a grueling summer-long battle for track championships, but in 2012 the Mekkelsen RV Memorial Day Classic has a special number attached.
This year marks the 50th Annual Memorial Day Classic at Thunder Road. The legendary Roy “Pappy” Forsythe, who now is forever commemorated by Thunder Road’s “Forsythe Hill” in turn three, won the first event in 1961. The race has been won by, and created, legends of Northeast Late Model racing with names like Jean-Paul Cabana, Bobby Dragon, Robbie Crouch, and Dave Dion, who have all notched victories in the prestigious race. The Memorial Day Classic continues to be legendary today. (more…)
Vermont Foodbank benefit at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday
USAC Midgets, Granite State Mini Sprints highlight R&M Automotive event
It’s more than just stock car racing at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday night. R&M Automotive hosts the Bradford race track’s annual benefit drive for the Vermont Foodbank, and with an incentive: Race fans who donate three or more non-perishable food items will save $2.00 on their general admission tickets at the event.
There is a healthy dose of action on track as well, though. All six divisions from the 99ROCK Weekly Racing Series will try to tame the Bear Ridge quarter-mile including the Bond Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds, the Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupes, the USAC Dirt Midget Association, the Weglarz Property Service Fast Fours, and the KDD NAPA Auto Parts of Bradford Hornets. The Granite State Mini Sprint club will also be on hand for its first appearance of the season, as will the Hornet Stinger youth division. (more…)
Drivers Hit Track At Oxford Plains Speedway
Teams Ready Themselves For ACT Armed Forces Day 150
The ACT Late Model Tour championship wars are settled among established race teams with the resources to lock horns against the northeast’s best for six grueling months each year. But the battles on the road to that championship are fought by the Saturday night short-trackers defending their home turf whenever the Tour rolls into their town.
Oxford Plains Speedway offers one of the most compelling stops on the ACT Late Model Tour each season, with a full field of weekly Late Model competitors racing against the Tour’s full-time teams on a track notoriously known as one of New England’s most difficult to master. Some of those weekly competitors at Oxford got a jumpstart on the season last weekend during a pre-season practice day at the track. (more…)
