by Jay | Jan 26, 2010 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, New England
All-Star Team For All-Star Showdown
Boucenna And Logano In Fadden Racing Entries
North Haverhill, N.H. (January 24, 2010): Fadden Racing will showcase an All-Star lineup when they arrive in California next week for the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown on January 29-30 at Irwindale Speedway. Joey Logano will be joined by Willy Boucenna in making up the two-car team at the post season event.
Paris, France native Willy Boucenna, the 2009 RACECAR Series Champion, has been slated to be behind the wheel of a Fadden Racing entry. The RACECAR Series is based on stock car racing in the United States, but the cars are re-engineered to meet the demands of European tracks. Similar to NASCAR, the RACECAR Series uses Dodge, Chevrolet, and Ford bodies with a 450 hp V-8 engine.
“This will be my first trip in the USA. I know that it will be very difficult to race against the best drivers in NASCAR but I will live my dream as much as I can and do my best to qualify for the main race,” said 18-year-old Boucenna. “I know that we have a very good team with Fadden Racing and (car-owner) Mike Olsen will help me a lot for this first race on a short-track.”
Boucenna is the first driver from France to ever enter the Showdown, and Olsen is determined to get him into the field.
“Willy doesn’t have a guaranteed starting position, but Fadden Racing is going to do everything they can to make sure he has the car to get into that field. It’s an exciting opportunity for Willy and we’re all very excited to be a part of it,” said Olsen, a two-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series Champion.
Earlier this month, it was also announced that Fadden Racing will field a car for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano, who will display his familiar orange and white color scheme for primary sponsor Home Depot. Logano, a previous winner of the event (2007), will have Fadden Racing’s Harry Norcross joining Logano’s Nationwide Series crew chief, Kevin Kidd, in the effort.
“Joey almost won last year and he has a very good chance of winning the Showdown this year,” said Olsen. “It’s amazing the caliber of drivers that will make up Fadden Racing next weekend. We can’t wait to get to the track and get to work with these guys.”
Logano almost won last year’s Showdown, but got tangled up with Peyton Sellers on the last lap. He’s hoping to regain the Showdown trophy this year with the help of Fadden Racing.
“We are really excited to have The Home Depot on board with us for the weekend,” Logano said. “Mike Olsen from Fadden Racing stepped up and is going to provide us a solid car for the weekend. I had a lot of fun last year and we are going try and get the trophy back this year.”
The seventh running of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, which brings together the top racers from across North America, will be highlighted by the 225-lap K&N Pro Series All-star race. Each race winner during the 2009 K&N Pro Series season is eligible for a protected starting spot, as are the 2009 champions from each of NASCAR’s six regional touring series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion.
In addition to eligible 2009 race winners and series champions, the starting lineup will be determined through time trials, limited provisionals for K&N Pro Series regulars, and the last-chance “Open” race that provides drivers one final chance to make the grid.
Both nights of racing will be televised live on SPEED and will also air live on SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.
For more information on Fadden Racing, visit www.faddenracing.net.
by Jay | Jan 14, 2010 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A California native, and rising star in the Joe Gibbs Racing development program, Matt DiBenedetto will return to The Golden State for the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, Jan. 29-30 at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).
Originally from Grass Valley, Calif., DiBenedetto burst onto the scene in 2009 as a consistent frontrunner in NASCAR Camping World Series East action. Although he competed in just seven of the season’s 11 events, DiBenedetto piloted the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Driven Toyota to a pair of wins, five top 10s and a 14th-place finish in the final standings. The 18-year-old rookie was also impressive in his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut last fall in Memphis when he qualified fifth and finished 14th.
The NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown will be the first time that DiBenedetto turns a lap around Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
“I’m really looking forward to racing at Irwindale for the Showdown. It’s an awesome track and has multiple grooves which will make for some great racing,” said DiBenedetto, who will be behind the wheel of the No. 98 Toyota fielded by car owner Mike Curb. “I’ve never been there, only watched it on TV, so I’m really looking forward to turning some laps. I’m also excited to get to race in my home state, and in front of a bunch of my family members. I want to thank Mike Curb and Joe Gibbs Racing for making this race possible.”
“We are thrilled with the opportunity to help Matt,” Curb said. “He is a true talent with a very bright future.”
The seventh running of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, which brings together the top racers from across North America for the ”Daytona 500 of short-track racing,” will be highlighted by the 225-lap Camping World Series all-star race. Each race winner during the 2009 Camping World Series season is eligible for a protected starting spot, as are the 2009 champions from each of NASCAR’s six regional touring series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion.
DiBenedetto’s rookie campaign was highlighted by wins at Tri-County Motor Speedway and the June race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The 18-year-old earned poles in his first road-course races at Watkins Glen International and Lime Rock Park, and shattered the series’ qualifying record in the season finale at Dover International Speedway, which earned him the season Coors Light Pole Award. Despite not competing in four races, DiBenedetto also earned the series’ Wix Lap Leader Award.
“2009 was a great season for me. I won a couple races and I was able to get my feet wet with the Joe Gibbs Racing guys,” DiBenedetto said. “It also allowed me to get my first Nationwide race under my belt. I’m really looking forward to the 2010 season in the NASCAR Camping World Series East.”
In addition to eligible 2009 race winners and series champions, the starting lineup will be determined through time trials, limited provisionals for Camping World Series regulars, and the last-chance “Open” race that provides drivers one final chance to make the grid.
The 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown schedule also includes 100-lap Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model and 75-lap Late Model races. Both nights of racing will air live on SPEED.
by Jay | Jan 1, 2010 | NASCAR, New England
(Rangeley, ME) The 11th Annual Busch Sport Scene Snowmobile Ride for Charity will take place on Saturday, February 6th, at the Club House Restaurant in Rangeley, Maine. There will be many New England based race car drivers and team members joining the ride again this year, including PASS, ACT and local track racers. The ride is open to everyone: teams, fans and all, so make your plans to ride with the best racers in the northeast!
The day will start with an optional 10:30AM drivers meeting at the Club House – which was formerly the People’s Choice (for those of you that attended in the past). Ride credentials can be purchased for $20 at the Club House starting at 9AM. You can ride with the 11AM group or ride with your own group at any time during the day. You can even purchase more than one ride credential, allowing better odds of holding the winning hand!
The $20 ride credential also gets you admission into the full night of entertainment at the Club House that evening. There will be dinner specials and drink specials exclusively for those with a ride credential. The proceeds from the ride will all go to several great charities including the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Maine Special Olympics, Travis Roy Foundation, Rangeley Snowmobile Club and Busch Sport Scene Scholarship.
What is a poker run anyway? Once you get a ride credential, you ride to five separate check points, getting your credential stamped at each checkpoint. At the end of the ride, you get one card dealt for each stamp on your card. The person with the best five card poker hand will be the winner! For example, if the five cards you drew were two jacks, two aces and a two of hearts, that would be your hand for the event. The winner will be awarded a full prize package that will include some great snowmobile gear, gift certificates and more. There will be prizes for second and third best hand as well.
The ride by snowmachine can be as quick as less than two hours or as long as you like if you take longer trail routes. Poker Run stops will be announced soon. Participants will meet back at the Club House at 6 PM. The cards will be dealt to see who has the best hand, which is announced at 7 PM.
“The event is held rain or shine, snow or not. Many of the participants at the event don’t even ride snowmachines,” event organizer and Busch Sport Scene Publisher George Campbell said. “If anyone is concerned about the weather, or does not ride snowmobiles, each check point is accessible by car as well as snowmachine, making it possible for those that do not ride snowmobiles to participate equally.”
Much of the fun takes place inside the Club House during the evening festivities, which are capped of by a comedy show featuring nationally known comedians Eddie Hurst and Freddie Stone.
There will be 100’s of raffle prizes and great auction items at the event. Some of the auction items will include great sports items including race tickets and signed memorabilia. Some of the items in past auctions include an NFL football signed by Teddy Bruschi as well as several Red Sox signed items Jason Varitek, Dustin Pedroia and Jonathan Papelbon. Signed NASCAR items have included Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex items.
Steve Perry, host of the popular Mainely Motorsports television show, will be at the annual event with his crew riding & taping for a future episode. Mainely Motorsports airs on Time Warner Cable channels weekly through out northern New England.
“This is the eleventh year I have been involved in this event,” Campbell said. “We should top $100,000 raised over those years. We have some great plans for this year’s event, including several specials guests and many terrific auction items. If you are a race fan or a sports fan, you do not want to miss this year’s event. Even if your not, it will be a great time for everyone and all the proceeds go directly to some great charities.”
Credentials for the event can be purchased for $10 in advance either at the Club House, the Rangeley Chamber or from Busch Sport Scene, after January 15th. The tickets will be $15 the day of the event. Busch Sport Scene is a New England based sports magazine. Current Busch Sport Scene subscribers will receive a $5 discount on the day of the event, as will NASCAR, PASS & ACT team members that present their licenses.
For room availability or directions, you can call the Rangeley Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-MT-LAKES. For more details, or to become a part of the event or make a donation, please email at [email protected] or call Busch Sport Scene at 1-207-224-2060. There will also be news on the www.neracing.com website.
by Jay | Dec 5, 2009 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Following a season that saw him reach Victory Lane and finish fifth in the final standings, NASCAR Camping World Series East driver Steve Park is headed to the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, Jan. 29-30, in Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).
Park, who returned to the Camping World Series East full-time in 2008 after competing for a decade in NASCAR’s national series, recorded seven top 10s in 11 outings in this past season to register his first top-five points effort. Park raced his way to Victory Lane in 2009 with his triumph at Adirondack International Speedway on Aug. 1 in Lowville, N.Y., which secured him a starting position in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.
“It was great to get that win, get those seconds, finish fifth in the points and be competitive week-in and week-out,” Park said. “We really thought coming out of the box last year that we would be closer to where we were this year, and we weren’t, so we stepped up the program a little bit.”
The seventh running of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, which brings together the top racers from across North America for the ”Daytona 500 of short-track racing,” will be highlighted by the 225-lap Camping World Series all-star race. Each race winner during the 2009 Camping World Series East and Camping World Series West seasons is eligible for a protected starting spot, as are the 2009 champions from each of NASCAR’s six regional touring series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion.
Park joins NASCAR Camping World Series champions Ryan Truex (East) and Jason Bowles (West), as well as two-time Showdown winner Matt Kobyluck, and NASCAR Camping World Series West driver Greg Pursley as early confirmed participants in the all-star race.
Park, originally from East Northport, N.Y., made his first appearance in Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in this past January’s Showdown, and came away impressed.
“I thought the track was awesome,” Park said. “It’s a great facility, and the race track itself is real racy. I think that’s why you hear a lot of guys talk about how great it is to race out there.”
Despite being relegated to a 23rd place finish in his inaugural event there, Park eagerly anticipates a return to Irwindale to compete against the elite competition.
“It’s a melting pot that brings the best of the East and the best of the West together, and shows the fans on SPEED just how competitive NASCAR racing is nationwide,” Park said.
In addition to eligible 2009 race winners and series champions, the starting lineup will be determined through time trials, limited provisionals for Camping World Series regulars, and the last-chance “Open” race that provides drivers one final chance to make the grid.
The 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown schedule also includes 100-lap Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model and 75-lap Late Model races. Both nights of racing will air live on SPEED.
by Jay | Nov 30, 2009 | Maine, NASCAR, New England
Modified Champion Gahan Passes
Maine Resident Was The 1966 National Champion
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ernie Gahan, the 1966 NASCAR Modified national champion, passed away Thursday night at his home in Cranberry Isles, Maine at the age of 83.
Gahan, originally from Dover, N.H., got his start in auto racing at his hometown track – Dover Speedway – in 1948 after serving more than two years as an Army military policeman in Germany following Word War II. After getting his start at Dover, Gahan competed in the NASCAR Sportsman division until 1965, when he moved over to Modifieds.
Gahan compiled 6,560 points during his 1966 run to the title to distance himself from runner-up Bugs Stevens and third place Ray Hendrick. Driving a 1936 Chevrolet coupe, Gahan won 15 of the 71 races he entered that season, but led Hendrick by just 48 points heading into the season finale in Atlanta, Ga. Hendrick was caught up in an early race accident and Gahan crossed the line 10th to earn the crown.
Gahan made 11 starts in what is now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series from 1960-66. He was bestowed the Buddy Shuman Award for outstanding contributions to NASCAR following an incident in which he helped Tiny Lund rescue Marvin Panch from a fiery crash prior to the 1963 Daytona 500.
Winner of an estimated 300-plus races during his nearly three decades as a racer, Gahan was a member of the inaugural New England Antique Racers Hall of Fame in 1998 and was a 1990 New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame inductee. Additionally, he is a member of the Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame and Beach Ridge Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.
Gahan was in attendance at the 2007 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Awards Banquet as many of the NASCAR Modified champions gathered to kick-off the celebration of 60 Years of Modified Champions. He was honored for his 1966 title at the 2008 Spring Sizzler at Stafford.
“Ernie was part of the Modified legacy that has helped make NASCAR what it is today. He was a great racer and true New England legend,” said Jim Hunter, NASCAR vice president for corporate communications. “On behalf of NASCAR and the France family, our thoughts and prayers go out to Gahan’s family and friends.”
Services for Gahan will be held Wednesday at Purdy Memorial Chapel, 2 Concord Rd., Durham, N.H. The wake will be from 12-2 p.m., followed by the funeral service.
by Jay | Nov 26, 2009 | ACT, NASCAR, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
Waterbury, VT – The American Canadian Tour (ACT) and New Hampshire Motor Speedway have reached an agreement for the Second Annual ACT Invitational to take place at the only superspeedway in the Northeast on Saturday, September 18, 2010.
“The overwhelming success of the inaugural ACT Invitational this past September made it an easy decision to have the short track stars of our region return again next September,” said Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Thirty-six teams from all six New England states, Quebec, and Ontario took part in the inaugural ACT Invitational during the SYLVANIA 300 weekend this past September. One of the largest Saturday crowds in the 19-year history of the speedway was treated to an action packed tripleheader of racing featuring the American Canadian Tour Late Models, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
“We really thought things went great at New Hampshire Motor Speedway during the first ACT Invitational last season,” said Tom Curley, President of ACT. “I would expect things to be even more fun for our teams and fans in 2010. We will add some laps to the event, and are discussing the possibility of allowing a tire change during the event. We will also add some positions to the starting field.”
Teams were qualified for the first Invitational by winning ACT and ACT Castrol Series events in the United States, Quebec, and Ontario. Additional teams qualified through special events such as the Oxford Plains Speedway TD BANK 250 in Oxford, Maine, and the Vermont Governor’s Cup at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, Vt. Individual track champions from ACT affiliated tracks were also invited to attend the inaugural Invitational.
“We plan to change some of the qualifying procedures as we continue to make this one of the most unique and exciting short track events in the country,” said Curley.
2009 ACT Champion, Brian Hoar from Williston, Vt. said, “It is no secret that New Hampshire Motor Speedway is my very favorite track of all time. I can’t tell you how happy I am that we are going back. They tell me Goodyear is making a tire for us just for New Hampshire, and that will be a good thing. I really think I could have been in the battle to the great finish that Eddie (MacDonald), Nick Sweet, and the kid from Ontario (16 year-old Brandon Watson) had going on at the end of the race. But I just ran out of tire. I now know what one of my goals for the RPM Motorsports team is going to be in 2010– I can’t wait.”
Race fans from throughout the short tracks of the Northeast will now need to circle the weekend of September 17-19, 2010. The first of the qualifying events for the 2010 ACT Invitational will be held just down the road from New Hampshire Motor Speedway at the Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H. Over 50 teams are expected to try and capture the first invitation at the opening 150-lap event on Sunday, April 18, 2010.
