2013 Racin’ Preview Photos
NEW ENGLAND MOTORSPORTS SOUTH for February 23 to 25
By Lou Modestino
The last lap provided all the drama for the second consecutive night at the UNOH Battle At The Beach. As a result, NASCAR veteran Steve Park and rising star Cameron Hayley walked off with the winner’s trophies Tuesday in the inaugural non-points event at Daytona International Speedway.
Thanks to a bump from behind from Park, Mike Stefanik of RI looped his car off of Turn 2 on the final circuit of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race. That enabled Park of East Northport, N.Y., to drive off to his first career Daytona win on Tuesday night. It was the two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner’s first Modified victory since 1996. “It was just short-track racing. He probably had a car capable of winning, but we had the luckiest car. I’m just glad we won,” Park said. “It’s huge. You can win races all over this country, but you’re not going to have a Daytona trophy like we have here.” (more…)
NEW ENGLAND MOTORSPORTS NORTH for February 23 to 25
By Lou Modestino
People’s United Bank will usher in the summer stock car racing season at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, VT for the second year in a row. The 171 year-old, New England-based financial institution will present the People’s United Bank Memorial Day Special to begin the 2013 Friday night NASCAR Whelen All-American Series schedule on Friday, May 24 at 7:00pm. The headline Bond Auto Parts Modified division will run twin 25-lap features as part of a full card of racing that also includes a holiday fireworks show.
Veteran New York state drivers Leon Gonyo and Ron Proctor each scored in last year’s People’s United Bank Memorial Day Special twin Modified features. Proctor’s victory was the first of a three-win campaign that led to his second-straight Devil’s Bowl Speedway and NASCAR Vermont State Championships. Proctor will return in search of a three-peat, but is expected to be challenged by the likes of Brandon, VT’s Vince Quenneville, Jr., Hunter Bates of Middlebury, VT, Alex Bell of Cambridge, NY, and 2012 Rookie of the Year Joey Roberts of Georgia, VT. (more…)
BEAR RIDGE SPEEDWAY: More Bang For Your Buck At Bear Ridge Speedway
Affordable family entertainment at New England’s premier dirt track
BRADFORD, VT – Bear Ridge Speedway is offering affordable family fun and entertainment all summer long for the Connecticut River Valley. Conveniently located just minutes from Interstate 91 in Bradford, VT, Bear Ridge Speedway is New England’s premier dirt short track and the weekly home of the region’s top open-wheel and full-fender stock car racers.
The 99ROCK Weekly Racing Series invades the 46 year-old quarter-mile clay oval each Saturday night, May through September, at the famous “6:00-ish” starting time. In the event that track or weather conditions delay the target 6:00pm start time by a few minutes, fans are often treated to trivia contests and rewarded with prizes, or get to know current and former drivers through one-on-one interviews. (more…)
NEW ENGLAND MOTORSPORTS SCHEDULE FOR 2/18-2/24/13
by LOU MODESTINO
2/22-2/23/13
Portland Expo(239 Parker St., ME)-Racin Preview Presented By Moody Collision Centers,
Tracks, Tours And Other Racing Related Displays. Fri. 4-9 p.m., Sat., 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sunday, 2/24/13
VFW(193 Dean St.,Norwood, MA)-Dave Vazgeez Indoor Swap Meet, Part &
Memorabilia, 9 a.m.
NEW ENGLAND MOTORSPORTS SOUTH for Feb 16 to 18
By Lou Modestino
With their own teams not able to make the trip, a pair of champion NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers leaned on relationships developed through the years to secure rides for the inaugural UNOH Battle At The Beach, Feb. 18-19 at Daytona International Speedway.
Reigning NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion Doug Coby and 2010 tour titlist Bobby Santos will head to the “World Center of Racing” thanks to arrangements secured just recently to allow them to compete in the new special event on the .4-mile oval on the backstretch at Daytona.
Those arrangements will also see them team up with another pair of champions, and legends in the Modified ranks. Coby is slated to compete in a team car to Ted Christopher – the 2001 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion and 2008 Whelen Modified Tour titlist – while Santos’ car will come out of the same shop as that of nine-time NASCAR champion Mike Stefanik. (more…)