by Jay | Aug 18, 2009 | ACT, Maine, Wiscasset Raceway
Wiscasset, ME- The Center of Speed 300 this Sunday is a day that is going down in the record books at Wiscasset Raceway. The weather was perfect, the fans where in the stands and the drivers and crews brought their cars. After 140 laps of action packed racing in the Steel’s Real Rod’s and Custom’s Late Model division the last ten laps made the crowd rise to their feet. Harpswell’s T.J. Watson was able to hold of Adam Chadbourne for the $5,000 dollar payday. Not only did the win put money in Watson’s pocket but it also earned him an invitation to the A.CT. race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway next month. Watson already had a deal going with Sally Graves, a late model car owner from New Hampshire that if he did indeed qualified for the race that their team would supply T.J. with a car and that looks like that will be the case. Chadbourne did finish second with Johnny Clark who was pulling double duty coming home third. Fourth went to Steve Reno out of West Bath and fifth went three time LMS champion Chris Thorne from Sidney
The 150 lap Clark’s Car Crushing Pro Stock race was a thriller as well. Johnny Clark showed his dominance through the entire race but in the Scott Chubbuck would get by the three time P.A.S.S. champion on the outside. Chubbuck would take the checkered flag and the $5,000 check. Clark had his hands full but did finish second right in front of defending champion Randy Turner. Scott Moore of North Anson, ME finished fourth and Newcastle’s Charlie Colby finished fifth.
by Jay | Aug 16, 2009 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series
Lakeville, CT (August 16, 2009): Sometimes, no matter how hard you prepare, things just don’t go right.
Matt Kobyluck and the Mohegan Sun race team were keyed up about the Mohegan Sun 200 at Lime Rock Park this weekend. Not only was Mohegan Sun sponsoring the race, but Kobyluck’s record to date at the 1.53-mile course has been stellar. They were expecting nothing less than a podium finish. After setting fast time in both practice sessions, all indications were pointing to just that. But then the car stalled in the esses on his first qualifying lap.
Things just went downhill from there.
Kobyluck’s crew cleaned out the fuel cell, including drying out the foam, flushed out the lines, and changed out the carburetor. They replaced spark plugs and got the car running again. Because the NASCAR Camping World Series East event was an impound race, Kobyluck had no chance to take the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet out for a test drive.
The team was still optimistic despite a 21st starting position, but on the first lap of the 200-mile race, Kobyluck’s No. 40 came to a stop in the esses once again. The tow trucks were summoned and Kobyluck went to the pits.
There, he went 32 laps down while the crew addressed the problem once again. He did return to the track and Kobyluck was fast. He posted the second fastest lap of the day and gained a lap back by passing the leaders.
“We changed the fuel pump twice and changed the carburetor on pit road. When we pulled behind the wall we discovered there was a problem with the fuel pick up line. It had collapsed,” said Kobyluck. “When we did get back out there, we were running a second or so faster than everybody. If everything had gone right we had a shot at winning the race, but it is what it is.”
Kobyluck’s bad luck didn’t end there, however. At lap 70, Kobyluck was thrown into a dangerous situation that ultimately ended his day.
“The back end started coming around a little bit on me after I wheel-hopped it going into the corner on the uphill,” explained Kobyluck. “I got into the tire barrier, and I couldn’t back up so I was sitting there waiting for the local caution. It never came. After the 10 tagged me, it spun me around into the middle of the track. No one slowed down. It was one of the most unsafe positions I could be in. I was very fortunate because I was in the racing groove with my driver side door at traffic.”
Fortunately, Kobyluck was not hurt in the incident, but the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet was done. There was damage to both the front and rear of the car.
“It’s extremely frustrating,” said Kobyluck. “We’re out of the championship hunt now. Mathematically we still have a shot, and we will give it everything we’ve got, but with the way the 00 is running it’s going to be hard.”
For more information on Matt Kobyluck, Mohegan Sun Casino, or Mohegan Sun Racing, visit www.mattkobyluck.com.
by Jay | Aug 15, 2009 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, New England
Rookie extends points lead with win No. 3
Official Release
August 15, 2009 – 8:27pm
LAKEVILLE, Conn. – NASCAR Camping World Series East rookie Ryan Truex completed the road-course sweep in the Mohegan Sun 200 Saturday at Lime Rock Park to move into the driver’s seat for the series title.
Matt DiBenedetto, who sat on the pole and led a race-high 56 laps, was caught up in an accident on Lap 70 and Truex – second place at the time – assumed the lead for the second time in the race. The 17-year-old from Mayetta, N.J., then held off series veteran Eddie MacDonald on the final two restarts to earn his third victory of the season.
Truex, a Michael Waltrip Racing development driver, earned his first career victory on a road course at Watkins (N.Y.) Glen International in June and took the points lead for the first time after his first oval track win at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway in July. On Saturday at Lime Rock, his win extended his lead in the championship standings to a season-high 50 points over MacDonald.
While MacDonald record his best career effort at the 1.53-mile road course, several other contenders struggled.
Defending race and series champion Matt Kobyluck, who entered the day 60 points behind Truex, had engine trouble from the start. The team worked to get his car back out onto the track and he was able to turn in 38 laps before being involved in the Lap 70 accident that eventually caught up race leader DiBenedetto. Kobyluck had to settle for a 17th place finish and is 133 points behind Truex with just two races remaining in his bid to repeat as NASCAR Camping World Series East champion.
Brett Moffitt (ninth), Steve Park (11th) and Jody Lavender (13th) all entered the event within 100 points of Truex but lost considerable ground.
Jason Holehouse earned his best career NASCAR Camping World Series East finish with a third-place effort on Saturday. He was followed in the top five by Alex Kennedy, with a new career-best finish as well, and Mike Olsen.
Jesus Hernandez, Ryan Duff, Dustin Delaney, Brett Moffitt and Jeff Anton rounded out the top 10.
The next-to-last race of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series season will take place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Heluva Good! Fall 125 is slated for Friday, Sept. 18.
by Jay | Aug 15, 2009 | NASCAR
BROOKLYN, Mich. (Aug. 15, 2009) — Hometown boy Brad Keselowski took advantage of a pitched battle between Kyle Busch and polesitter Brian Vickers — one that continued after Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series’ Carfax 250 race — to win for the third time in 2009.
With Busch and Vickers battling on the bottom of the track, Keselowski took advantage of the outside line to pass both drivers on the final lap at Michigan International Speedway, with Vickers finishing second and Busch third in a race that stretched Busch’s lead in the series standings to 339 points over Carl Edwards.
“I saw ’em bobble in (Turns) 3 and 4 there at the one-to-go, and I had ’em,” said Keselowski, who grew up in Rochester Hills, Mich. “I knew it. I knew I could get to the outside and kill the 32 (Vickers). I wasn’t sure about the 18 (Busch) — I don’t know what happened to him.
“Oh, my God, I won at home! I’m speechless. I can’t believe it. I’m terrible here, and to win here is a major accomplishment. … It’s so cool to win in front of your home fans, and I thank all of them that came out tonight.”
Vickers led Busch into Turn 3 on the next-to-last lap and slipped in the corner. Busch drove to the inside, and Vickers side-drafted the No. 18 Toyota and forced him down onto the apron as the cars roared out of Turn 4. With momentum to the outside, Keselowski made it three-wide as the cars took the white flag for the final lap.
Keselowski crossed the finish line .199 seconds ahead of Vickers, with Busch a close third. David Ragan and Kevin Harvick finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Busch took issue with the way Vickers had raced him on the final two laps and confronted him on pit road after the race.
“Oh, man, I am so sorry — I forgot it was the Kyle Busch show,” Vickers said sarcastically, after climbing from his car. “Hell, I thought we were racing for a win. … I thought it was my job to hold him off. Apparently not. He came over to the car after we came in and knocked the fender in, which was unnecessary, and then started crying like a little baby.
“I asked him if he’d give me a minute to get out, and we could talk about it like men. If he wanted to fight, that was fine with me. When I got out, he ran off. It’s a shame that it went down like that. We were racing hard. I thought it was a good race. Congratulations to the 88 (Keselowski). He snuck around both of us. I didn’t see him coming.”
Busch thought Vickers should have given him room and let the two strongest cars battle for the win.
“It’s so frustrating that you can’t have a guy race you clean,” Busch said. “He was on our right rear quarter panel all the way down the front straightaway and gave the win to the 88 car. He slowed us down so much — he had no idea the 88 car was coming, and the 88 just drove right by both of us on the outside, because Brian Vickers was trying to slow both of us down. Just stupid.
“If he would have ran his own line up at the top of the track, and I had run my own line down at the bottom of the track, it could have been us two. But, unfortunately, you race with idiots, and I guess you’ll have that sometimes.”
An accident on Lap 3 put a damper on Edwards’ 30th birthday celebration. Edwards was three-wide on the outside in Turn 2 with Trevor Bayne in the middle and Brad Coleman on the bottom when contact between Edwards’ Ford and Bayne’s Toyota sent Edwards into the marbles at the top of the track.
Edwards fought to regain control, but the cars touched again and Edwards slammed nose-first into the outside wall. The impact eliminated the No. 60 Ford from the race — the first time Edwards has failed to finish a NASCAR Nationwide Series event since May 2008 at Darlington.
“I saw the replay, and it definitely looks like I didn’t give Trevor enough room,” said Edwards, who held second place in the standings but lost touch with Busch, the leader. “I drove in and kind of pinched him down.”
Notes: When Busch passed Vickers for the lead off Turn 4 on Lap 14, Busch extended his streak of NASCAR Nationwide Series races led to 20, advancing the record 19 he had shared with Sam Ard. … Busch’s record streak of finishing either first or second in Nationwide Series races ended at 10.
by Jay | Aug 15, 2009 | Beech Ridge, Maine, PASS
Naples ME (8/15/2009) The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) National Championship trail winds north to Scarborough Maine’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on Saturday and Sunday September 12th and 13th, and Hollis Maine PASS North standout Richie Dearborn has filed the first PASS 300 entry.
Dearborn and his family-focused race team have supported the PASS North super late model series from day one. When PASS made its debut at Lee USA Speedway in 2001 Dearborn raced home third. Prior to 2009 he has recorded 3 wins (6th all time) 22 top five (7th all time) and 55 top ten (4th all time) finishes. His 2009 season has had its ups and down, but the team has persevered to record five top five and nine top ten finishes in the first ten PASS North events. That consistency has Dearborn in fourth place in the season long standings, seventy five points behind series point leader Johnny Clark. The PASS 300 will award both PASS North and National Championship points.
Dearborn and his Chadwick-BaRoss sponsored team will be seeking their first Beech Ridge PASS victory and the $10,000.00 winners’ share of the purse when the speedway hosts round two of the PASS National Championship Series. The big weekend is still a month away, but already there are confirmed entries from Wisconsin (Tom Schuette) North Carolina (Jay Fogleman, Ryan Blaney, Mark Gibson) and a host of PASS North regulars from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont.
Ben Rowe leads the PASS National Standings by a scant two points over Jeff Fultz. Ryan Blaney, Trey Mitchell and Hal Goodson sit third through fifth.
The weekend will feature two days of non-stop racing. All series and divisions will qualify on Saturday and the Wildcats, Road Runners and Legends will have feature events. Sunday kicks off with the PASS 300 “B” main for the super late models. Then, its 100 laps for the PASS Sportsman division, a 50 lap showdown for the PASS Mods and the grand finale, the PASS Super Late Model 300.
by Jay | Aug 14, 2009 | ACT, Canada, NASCAR, New England
Waterbury, VT – The American Canadian Tour (ACT) announced today that over a 30-day period from August 29th through September 27th there would be purses posted of over a quarter million dollars for Late Model race teams in the Northeast and Canada.
Starting with the Coors Light Showdown of Champions event at the 1/3-mile banked Autodrome Chaudiere in the Beauce region outside Quebec City, the top eleven (11) US ACT Tour teams will go head to head with the top (11) ACT Castrol Serie teams. The winner of the event gets the grand prize of $5,000 from the $35,000 in posted purse. Everyone is guaranteed $1,000 minimum, but this year, promoter Michel Lessard has posted a ‘kicker’. The winning ‘team’, be it the US or Castrol team, will share equal portions of an added $5,500.00. The $500 bonus per member will go to the team whose 11 total finishes outpoint the other team. The biggest names in ACT racing from both sides of the border will be attending the second edition of the Showdown. Patrick Laperle barely beat defending ACT Castrol Champion, Alexandre Gingras, in the inaugural 200-lap event in 2008.
The Americans won the overall title as a team last year. Ironically, former Castrol Champions Patrick Laperle of Montreal and Donald Theetge from Quebec City both helped the US team win as they raced on the ACT US Tour in 2008. This year they are locked in a tight battle for the ACT Castrol Serie championship in Quebec and Ontario and will be representing the Canadian team during the classic.
Next up in the marathon ‘ACT Money Month’ will be a return to Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, Vermont for the 47th annual running of the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic. A record purse and prize posting of $45,000 has been offered. Renowned car builder and car owner Pete Duto entered Brad Leighton from Center Harbor, NH in last year’s Classic. In one of the most memorable come-back races in the long history of Thunder Road, Leighton crashed twice in the event but came back to win $10,000 and the first place trophy. He will be back to defend the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic in 2009.
One of the most anticipated events of the year is up next for the Late Model teams. The long awaited return of the Fall Foliage 300 is back on the ACT schedule in 2009. The newly renovated and redesigned Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY will again host the historic ‘300’ weekend with a posted purse of $40,000. This fall classic event was held in many forms and different numbers of laps. The inaugural event was held in 1972 and was won by Bobby Dragon of Milton, VT. Catamount continued the tradition of a big fall event until it closed in 1987. After the closing of Catamount, the race moved to Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, ME for a three-year stop. Buzzie Bezanson of Plaistow, NH surprised all present with a no pit stop ‘300’ win in 1989. Two of the greatest Late Model drivers in New England racing history won the other two Beech Ridge events, Robbie Crouch from Tampa, FL in 1988, and “Dynamite” Dave Dion from Hudson, NH won in 1990. The race moved to Airborne Raceway for the next ten years. A one and only stop for the ‘300’ took place at Thunder Road in 2003, where Ryan Moore, in his only year racing the ACT Tour, was the surprise winner. The Fall Foliage 300 returned to Airborne the following year and has found its home there since 2004. The most recent ACT winners included Airborne and ACT Champions Brent Dragon and Jean-Paul Cyr of Milton, VT, and Quebec’s great Patrick Laperle. Under the leadership of present owner Steve Fuller and promoter Mike Perotte, the outstanding DIRT driver Kenny Tremont, Jr.has won all three Fall Foliage extra distance events in a Modified on the ½-mile asphalt speedway. The ACT Tour returns in 2009 after a three-year absence.
The championship month will continue with what has become the most talked-about event in Northeastern Late Model racing of any kind this season. The inaugural ACT INVITATIONAL at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway will take place on Saturday, September 19. No championship title points, no pressure, just an historic day for Late Model racers throughout the region, as they race for $65,000 and a name in the NHMS record books. This year-long promotion will be the racing career highlight for many of the lucky 36 invitees. It is sure to be a highlight for the many short track fans that take in the atmosphere of the first NASCAR Chase event weekend held each September at NHMS.
Finally, the $250,000 month will fittingly come to a close with the ‘grand-daddy’ event of them all, the 47th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl. Thunder Road will bring the curtain down on its 50th season with a $10,000-to-win, $70,000 Milk Bowl. The gloves are sure to come off at this year’s Milk Bowl. For the first time in recent memory this event will be strictly for the money, the glory, the right to kiss the cow — with no points for either Thunder Road teams or ACT Tour teams. The three-segment format of the Milk Bowl provides the ultimate equal playing field for the ACT competitors. You don’t have to win all three segments, you just need to race every lap like it is the white flag lap, and have a whole bunch of luck.
The ACT Late Models have reached the top of the Northeastern-racing scene. Promoters have recognized them as the best in the business, and tracks from throughout the Northeast and Quebec are rewarding them with the ACT $250,000 Money Month of racing. The real winners will be the fans.
