by Jay | Jul 22, 2012 | Massachusetts, New England, Seekonk Speedway
Dylan Estrella gains 1st LM Checkered. Rick Martin wins Truck main. Scott Serydynski nabs Street Stock win.
After taking a week off, a rejuvenated 6 time Pro Stock Champion in Fred Astle picked up his third win of the season. In a race that treated the fans to a throwback type of race, he held off Rick Martin and Dave Darling for the checkered.
Dick Houlihan jumped out to the early lead over Kyle Casper, and set the pace for the nine laps, before Astle used a restart to out power Houly to the corners. Once out front, Astle had to hold off the challenges of points leader Darling and Martin, who was competing in his second race of the season in the Pro Stocks.
For the final 20 laps, Martin used the outside lane to move past Darling and make a run at Astle, but the defending champ was up to the challenge, as he held Martin off at the stripe. Darling finished third, as the three crossed the finish line under a proverbial blanket. Houlihan was fourth across the line with Mike Brightman fifth. After post-race tech, Martin failed, moving Houlihan and Brightman to third and fourth, with Craig Weinstein rounding out the top five.
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by Jay | Jul 22, 2012 | Canada
Pat Sharpe got off to a great start in defense of his Enduro championship at Speedway 660 on Saturday night. Sharpe claimed the first Enduro 200 of the racing season with a dramatic win. The Woodstock driver was leading late in the race when second place Chuck Mercer spun him out and rolled him over with just two laps to go. The red flag came out, Sharpe’s car was rolled back onto its wheels and went into the pits where a windshield was replaced and a flat tire replaced. The defending Enduro champ had a five lap lead on the field at the time and got back on the track in time to claim the first Enduro of the year.
“My pit crew is an amazing group, they never give up and when I went into the pits they flew into action and got me back on the track for the win” said a jubilant Pat Sharpe. “We are going for our fourth Enduro championship in a row and this is a great way to start the season.”
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by Jay | Jul 21, 2012 | Devils Bowl, New England, Vermont
Bates Wins C.J. Richards Memorial in Storybook Fashion at Devil’s Bowl Speedway
Teen drives car purchased by late speedway founder for biggest win of career
Seventeen year-old NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bond Auto Parts Modified stock car driver Hunter Bates authored a Hollywood-style script at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Friday night, earning the biggest victory of his young career in the C.J. Richards Memorial 67 presented by Carrara Masonry & Concrete. The Middlebury, VT racer piloted a car purchased for him by Devil’s Bowl Speedway founder Richards shortly before Richards’ passing in February, winning in dominant fashion.
Bates started seventh on the 16-car field and quickly rocketed to the front, taking the lead from Jamie Proctor after a restart on lap 8. Bates led the balance of the race, stretching out to as much as a half-lap advantage at times. Another 17 year-old, Jessey Mueller of Olmstedville, NY, finished second after an exciting late-race duel with former track champion Todd Stone of Middlebury, VT.
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by Jay | Jul 20, 2012 | ACT, New England, Touring Series News
Sweet Defends Points Lead, Shines at Midseason Championships
Former Champs Fleury, Mullen Take Feature Victories
Hometown sensation Nick Sweet sent a dagger into his competitor’s championship hopes, claiming the victory and extending his point lead at The Times Argus Midseason Championships on Thursday, July 19. Sweet was followed to the line by Jeffersonville’s Joey Becker and Essex Junction’s Dave Whitcomb. Former K&N Pro Series Champion Jamie Aube took home fourth, and 3-time Thunder Road Champion Phil Scott rounded out the top five.
Becker dominated the early part of the 75 lap event, stretching his lead while top three point drivers David Pembroke and Cody Blake were caught in early trouble. After a lap 23 caution, Whitcomb and Becker broke into a tireless duel side by side for the lead, with point leader Nick Sweet waiting in the whims. When Whitcomb finally inched by Becker using the high lane, Sweet took full advantage soaring to the lead with over 30 laps to go in the event, and never looked back. Mad River Valley’s Brooks Clark brought home sixth place and South Burlington’s Trampas Demers was seventh. Pembroke recovered from early damage to salvage eighth place, and Eric Chase and Scott Payea rounded out the top ten.
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by Jay | Jul 20, 2012 | Bear Ridge, Dirt Track, New England, Vermont
Second-Half Push Begins at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday
Title fights heating up after last week’s Mid-Season Championships
Dirt track stock car drivers at Bradford, VT’s Bear Ridge Speedway are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, now that the 21-week season has passed the halfway point. Several drivers from the 99ROCK Weekly Racing Series are beginning to make serious rallies toward the front of their divisions in hopes to play the roles of championship spoilers.
Entering Saturday’s Dennis Preston Builders-sponsored event, the best average finish in the headline Bond Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman Modified division belongs to former three-time champion Gary Siemons of Orford, NH. With a 5.0 average, Siemons is the only full-time driver to have posted a top-ten finish in all of his starts in 2012. He dug a hole for himself on opening night in May by not making the call for the event’s feature race, and trails leaders Adam Pierson, Kevin Chaffee, and Derek Graham as a result, but Siemons won on Jiffy Mart of Bradford Night in June, has three additional podium finishes, and remains the most consistent driver in the Modified division.
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by Jay | Jul 20, 2012 | Connecticut, Thompson
Thompson, Conn: Jason Chicolas added his name to this season’s win column in the Limited Sportsman division during Thompson Thursday Night Thunder. Other winners in NASCAR Whelen All American Series action included Keith Rocco in the Sunoco Modified division, Tommy O’Sullivan in the Late Models, and Mike O’Sullivan in a special 50-lap Super Late Model race. Jay Sundeen won an exciting contest with John Lowinski-Loh, Jr. that resulted in both drivers coming across the finish line sideways in the Thompson Modified feature. Cam McDermott and Dave Trudeau were winners in their divisions.
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by Jay | Jul 20, 2012 | Maine, Oxford Plains Speedway, PASS, Touring Series News
Joey Doiron Racing: PASS North Series
Oxford Plains Speedway Race Preview
Joey Doiron of Berwick, Maine, joins the rest of the PASS North Series when it heads to the TD Bank Oxford 250 weekend for the Dunkin’ Donuts 150 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine, on Saturday, July 21. Doiron posted a pair of Top-10 finishes in the two PASS races held on the flat, .375-mile oval last season and is looking for more of the same to stay in the thick of the PASS North Series championship battle this time around. The No. 73 JBJ Machine/Scarborough Downs Chevrolet is coming off an eighth-place finish last time out at Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, Conn., and sits just 32 points out of the series lead with just seven races remaining – including two at Oxford, where the series returned last season for the first time in five years.
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by Jay | Jul 19, 2012 | New England, Thunder Road, Vermont
Barre, VT – Former Thunder Road Champion Jamie Fisher, and two-time Serie ACT Castrol Champion Donald Theetge were the first to file entries for the 50th Annual People’s United Bank Milk Bowl on Sunday, September 30 at Barre’s Thunder Road.
Fisher filed within 30 minutes of receiving his entry form last Thursday. “This may be the biggest Milk Bowl we ever run for, so I didn’t want to waste any time,” said Fisher. “We’ve finally got the car going great again this year, I think we’ve got a real shot,” he finished.
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by Jay | Jul 19, 2012 | Devils Bowl, New England, Vermont
Jelley, LaDuc, Ryan among showdown entries; RRMC Marrow Donor Program auction on tap
Some of Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s most accomplished stock car racing champions will climb behind the wheel again at Friday’s C.J. Richards Memorial event presented by Carrara Masonry & Concrete. All-star drivers from the West Haven, VT half-mile will strap into cars from the track’s Daredevil class for a special showdown as part of the event that features a 67-lap race for the headline NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bond Auto Parts Modified division.
Among the entrants in the Daredevil event is Butch Jelley of Andover, VT. Jelley raced at Devil’s Bowl Speedway when Richards opened the track in 1967. Jelley’s highlights include six consecutive Modified wins in 1969 and the 1975 track championship. He’ll be joined by past Modified and Late Model standouts Tim LaDuc, Jimmy Ryan, Ray Hoard, Lee Nutting, Fred Little, Charlie Brown, Ralph Bruno, and Don Mattison. Together, the group accounts for over 150 feature victories and 10 track championships. The drivers will compete in track-owned Daredevil cars – virtually street-legal race cars with only safety modifications – which offer fans, sponsors, and members of the community the opportunity to race.
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by | Jul 19, 2012 | Bear Ridge, Vermont
BRADFORD, VT – Dirt track stock cardrivers at Bradford, VT’s Bear Ridge Speedway are beginning to see the light atthe end of the tunnel, now that the 21-week season has passed the halfwaypoint. Several drivers from the 99ROCKWeekly Racing Series are beginning to make serious rallies toward the front oftheir divisions in hopes to play the roles of championship spoilers.
Entering Saturday’s Dennis PrestonBuilders-sponsored event, the best average finish in the headline Bond AutoParts DIRTcar Sportsman Modified division belongs to former three-time championGary Siemons of Orford, NH. With a 5.0average, Siemons is the only full-time driver to have posted a top-ten finishin all of his starts in 2012. He dug ahole for himself on opening night in May by not making the call for the event’sfeature race, and trails leaders Adam Pierson, Kevin Chaffee, and Derek Grahamas a result, but Siemons won on Jiffy Mart of Bradford Night in June, has threeadditional podium finishes, and remains the most consistent driver in theModified division.
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