by Jay | Aug 19, 2009 | Maine, Oxford Plains Speedway
CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW ‘A’ (20 laps): 1. Ryan Robbins, Dixfield; 2. Steve Moon, Gray; 3. Chris Coolidge, Norway; 4. Chris Burgess, Sabattus; 5. Zach Bowie, Lisbon; 6. Dan Brown, Peru; 7. Jim Drake, Hebron; 8. Addison Bowie, Auburn; 9. Jerry Goss, Mechanic Falls; 10. Steve Brill, Bridgton; 11. Doug Degroat, Oxford; 12. Shannon Judd, Jay; 13. Jerry Freve, Buckfield. DQ: Josh Childs, Oxford; David Childs, Oxford.
CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW ‘B’ (20 laps): 1. Guy Childs, Turner; 2. Ron Abbott Jr., Sabattus; 3. John Patria, Turner; 4. Josh Paradis, Sumner; 5. Michael Haynes, Livermore Falls; 6. Tyler Belanger, Sumner; 7. David Brown, Poland; 8. Bubba Collins, New Gloucester; 9. Jonathan Baldwin, Auburn; 10. Bob Ferguson, New Gloucester; 11. Kyle Curtis, Oxford; 12. Scott Hethcoat, Danville Junction; 13. Clint Sherwood, Poland; 14. John Spencer Jr., Farmington; 15. Jay Wilkins, Gray.
CHIMNEY TECH OUTLAW ‘C’ (20 laps): 1. Jim Davis Jr., Sabattus; 2. Dottie Patria, Turner; 3. Carey Robertson, Leeds; 4. Todd Hall, Auburn; 5. Phil Knowlton, Poland; 6. Brian Picard, Gorham; 7. Wayne Estes, Sumner; 8. Nic Stanley, Buckfield; 9. Chad Truman, South Paris; 10. Dennis Morang, South Paris; 11. Don Veinott, Sabattus; 12. Matt Weeks, Greene; 13. Gerry Richard, Leeds; 14. Justin Vining, Peru; 15. Scott Veinott, Greene.
MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN’ REBEL ‘A’ (20 laps): 1. John Childs, Leeds; 2. Brady Romano, Livermore Falls; 3. Zach Audet, Wilton; 4. Ryan Hewins, Leeds; 5. Dustin Salley, Auburn; 6. Mike Ward, Harrison; 7. Gerard Cote, Oxford; 8. Jamie Leavitt, Minot; 9. Corey Beaulieu, Oxford; 10. Bill Sprague, Minot; 11. Craig Farrington, Minot; 12. Troy Jordan, Turner; 13. Roger Beaulieu, Sabattus; 14. Kyle Hewins, Leeds; 15. Jason Berry, Turner; 16. Scott Farrington, Minot; 17. Jamie Heath, Waterford; 18. Matt Dufault, Turner.
MACDONALD MOTORS RUNNIN’ REBEL ‘B’ (20 laps): 1. Jim Hart, Turner; 2. Derek Cook, Livermore Falls; 3. Jeff Hebert, Lewiston; 4. Mark Childs Jr., Mechanic Falls; 5. Brian Nason, Lewiston; 6. Bob Danforth, Stoneham; 7. Craig Bartlett, Denmark; 8. Bill Dunphy, New Gloucester; 9. Charlie Hall, Oxford; 10. Michael Carver, Durham; 11. Carl Conant, Lewiston; 12. Bob Lucas, Peru; 13. Cody Smith, Oxford; 14. Todd Sawyer, Pownal; 15. Chad Wills, Mechanic Falls; 16. Gene White, Lisbon; 17. Ellery Phillips Jr., Turner.
CALL OF THE WILD RV CENTER SPORT TRUCK (20 laps): 1. Ryan Farrar, Oxford; 2. John Lizotte, Mechanic Falls; 3. Jeff Schmidt, Mechanic Falls; 4. Opie Allard, Harpswell; 5. Corey Williams, Sumner; 6. Ross Spurling, New Gloucester; 7. Ryan Varney, South Paris; 8. Herb Farrar, Sumner; 9. Laurette Theriault, South Casco; 10. Eugene Corson, Sumner; 11. Nathan Merrill, Norway; 12. Jerry Stevens, Searsport. DQ: Kevin Oliver, Gray.
ALLEN’S COFFEE FLAVORED BRANDY LADIES (20 laps): 1. Vanna Brackett, Buckfield; 2. Dottie Patria, Turner; 3. Christina Spaulding, Lewiston; 4. Cathy Manchester, Gray; 5. Tori Burgess, Sabattus; 6. Missy Blash, Oxford; 7. Missy Morgan, Lewiston; 8. Kristen Brown, Poland; 9. Lisa Brooks, Auburn; 10. Sue Veinott, Sabattus; 11. Shannon Wheeler, Auburn; 12. Annie Chartier, Mexico.
GOULET HOME INSPECTIONS RENEGADE (10 laps): 1. Bill Grover, Topsham; 2. Jason Hannigan, Greene; 3. Bob Morey, Lisbon; 4. Spencer Morse, Waterford; 5. Gerard Cote, Oxford; 6. Jesse Morey, Lisbon.
by Jay | Aug 19, 2009 | New England
Winchester, NH – August 15, 2009 – In the sweltering heat of a genuine summer day, the Pro Four Modifieds of New England (PFMNE) completed their ninth race of the season at Monadnock Speedway. Sponsored by Bot-L-Gas and RF Logic, the 25-lap main event showcased 16 Pro Fours. The #60 of Andy Major—in his debut event for 2009—won the first qualifying heat while the #1m of Norm Wrenn won the other. But it was the #83 of Franky Perry that drove his machine into victory lane at the end of the night to capture his first win of the 2009 season.
When the green flag unfurled for the feature, Perry started on the pole with the #12 of Rob Richardi, Jr. to his outside. From his fourteenth starting position, Wrenn moved past Major and the #86 of Mark Charette. But Major followed closely on his heels. Wrenn and Major continued making their way to the front when they passed the #16 of Stan Mertz, who was holding steady in the middle of the pack.
But the first caution of the event was flown on lap six when the #34 of Mark Giordano spun coming out of turns three and four. In his first race with the PFMNE, the #26 of Mike Patnaude headed to the pits with mechanical failure before the restart. On the restart, Richardi, Jr. drove by Perry to claim the lead while Major moved under Lausier to capture the fourth position. Wrenn continued his move ahead by passing the #00 of Dave Richardi and the #11 of Keith Caruso, but Wrenn headed to the pits when he spun and cut a tire, necessitating the second caution on lap eleven.
He was able to change his tire and make it back out for the restart, as Major drove his Pro Four under Perry and Richardi, Jr. to become the third leader of the event. The #10 of Brian Vincent, who started fifth, moved his car into the top three, forcing Perry into fourth. Wrenn moved under the #11a of Dan Meservey for fifth. Both Richardi’s were forced to quit racing when they encountered mechanical failure on lap fifteen. One lap later, Joerres spun in turns one and two to bring out the third yellow of the event.
On the restart, Meservey drove under Caruso to make his claim on the sixth position. Within a few laps, Wrenn moved into third and soon stole second away from Vincent in turns three and four. Major spun on lap 20, and Wrenn was called to the rear for the assist as the fourth yellow of the event waved.
Vincent suffered irreparable damage and headed pit-side. Lausier, too, was forced to the pits because his motor broke on the restart. The race would not stay green for long as Joerres went spinning for the second time. Following a brief caution period, Wrenn and Charette spun on the frontstretch; and another caution followed. Both were unable to return to the event. After a red flag for track cleanup, the feature got underway again.
Major started second to last on the restart, but made his way around Giordano on the outside and under Meservey on the backstretch a few laps later. In the end, he came up just short, as Franky Perry picked up his first career Pro Four win.
Major, Meservey, Caruso, and Giordano rounded out the top five. Joerres, Mertz, Wrenn, Vincent, and Lausier crossed the line in positions six through ten. Charette, Richardi, Jr., D. Richardi, Cleary, Mike Patnaude, and Travis McCalister—also in his first event of the season—rounded out the rest of the field. Giordano was the first Limited driver to cross the line, followed by Joerres and Mertz to round out the top three.
Catch the PFMNE at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, NH on Friday night, August 21.
by Jay | Aug 19, 2009 | Canada
August 19, 2006
Fredericton, NB – Saturday night under the lights in the Geary woods will be the Faster Pastor’s + Fredericton Mitsubishi Weekly Points’ Racing + Mascot Night. Points are heating up in all divisions. Local Mascots will be out in full swing strutting their stuff in some crazy events to capture bragging rights for another year!
We have several pastors registered for the Faster Pastor event. This is a good opportunity to come out and support your Pastor as they will have a chance to get into a Street Stock car and race.
A number of Mascots are ready to compete in the Mascot Challenge including Speedway the Moose from Speedway 660, Sparky from the Office of the Fire Marshall, A&W Root Bear from A&W Prospect St., Georgie Bear from George Street Middle School, Huggy Lion from the Nashwaaksis Lions Club, Curly Top from DQ, and Hugs and Kisses from Jim Gilbert’s Wheels and Deals.
Along with the Mascot Challenge and Faster Pastor race, fans will see weekly points racing in the Coast Tire Street Stocks, Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman, Irving Lubricants Pro Stocks and the AOW division. With just two weeks left of points racing, things are really tight. Who will win? Will there be a first time champ? Will there be a repeat champion? The next couple weeks will tell the tale.
In the Coast Tire Street Stocks, the top three in the points are Brian Fox, Shawn Hyslop and Jason Shannon. They have just 18 points separating them.
In the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman division, this may be the year we see a first time champion. Michael Banks has been so close in past years and this year might be his year. John Rankin, one of the great stories of 2009, has had a lot of success and is definitely a contender for the championship. Wade Harris is also hungry for a championship.
In the Irving Lubricants Pro Stocks, last year’s points’ champion, Greg Fahey, is at the top of the charts once again. Three time points Champion Glenn Rasmussen is just 7 points behind and ready to take another championship after only racing part time last year. Don’t count out Kevin Moore who has also had a good year and is nicely sitting in third in the points.
The points are too close to call. So don’t miss it race fans, the next two weeks will be exciting.
If you want to register a Mascot or if you are a Pastor who wants to race, you can still register. You can do so by contacting the Speedway.
Divisions Racing: Irving Lubricants Pro Stocks, Martins Home Heating Sportsman, Coast Tire Street Stock, AOW
Saturday, August 22nd @ 7:00p.m.
Pit gates open at 3pm
Grandstands open at 5pm
Racing starts at 7pm
Ticket Prices:
Adults (16 and over) $12
Youth (ages 9-15) $9
Children (ages 8 and under) FREE
Family Pass – Family Pass – $35 – Two adults, two youth plus 4 pop and 4 fries
by Jay | Aug 19, 2009 | Hudson, New Hampshire
Hudson NH – The 7th annual Don Hayes Memorial was held this past Sunday evening at Hudson Speedway. Hayes was a pioneer in local racing photography/videography with a career spanning 7 decades at Hudson Speedway from the late 1940s until his death in 2002. This years edition of the Hayes Memorial was expanded from a Roadrunner event to include the Northeast Classic Lite main.
The Roadrunner portion of the Don Hayes Memorial was a two segment event with the lowest combined total determining the winner.
The 1st segment was 20 laps and went green to checker. Louis Maher started last in the 19 car field and steadily moved up, going three wide at times taking over the top spot with five laps to go and drove his Honda over the stripe 1st. Jef James had the early lead in the 15 lap 2nd segment until Maher took command and headed to victory. By winning both segments Maher was clearly the overall winner. Don Mayo finished second overall. Third through tenth overall were James, Gary Stagliola, Eric Pomasko, Patrick D’Alba, Jesse Tellier, Eric Miller, Tom Hamilton and Tim Griffin.
Paul Colson held the lead early in the Classic Lite portion of the Don Hayes Memorial. Lap 4 saw Eric Bacon going backwards off the backstretch into the brush needing help from the wrecker crew to get his mount out and back on its way.
A few restarts later a few cars got crossed up coming off turn 4 ending with Jon Provost doing a double barrel roll in front of the crowd. Provost walked away as his car was towed to the pits.
Billy Ryder had the lead when racing resumed but Bacon had already made his way up to 2nd and Jeremy Wilcox had moved into 3rd. Bacon slipped past Rider taking Wilcox with him. Bacon got a good jump on a late race restart and led the rest of the way. Wilcox had to settle for 2nd and Ryder 3rd. Fourth through tenth were Dennis O’Brien, Jeff Miller, Ralph Cook, Eddie Gilman, Roger Provost, Danny Shields and Tom McGowan.
Jerry Lepage led his usual 5 laps at the beginning of the Rookie Stock Main until Scotty Duval took over the point. Dean Wendell moved up to challenge Duval and got by after a few laps in the outside lane leaving Duval to battle with John Morin and Corrie Merritt for 2nd and 3rd. Duval and Meritt made contact a few times in the closing laps ending with Merritt spinning out of 3rd place in the last corner of the last lap. Wendell picked up his 2nd win of the season. Morin finished 2nd with Duval being penalized for rough driving and Lepage finished 3rd. Fourth through tenth were Brian Harron, Heath Tulrtelotte, Mark Nevers, Ryan Destephan, Larry Fortin, Andy Nichols and Corrie Merritt.
Dylan Bilodeau made it two wins in a row in the Thunder Lite feature followed by Bobby Stirk lll, Derek Griffith, Sam Gilman and Jen Lord.
Derrick Poutre won the Spectator Drags. Keith Cabral won the Spectator Race and Buddy Wilkins won the Flagpole Race.
“Awesome August” continues next Sunday August 23rd with the Outlaw Sportsman, Rookies, Roadrunners, Thunder Lites, Spectator Race, Spectator Drags, Flagpole Race and Enduros. Gates open at 4pm and the first race begins at 6pm. For more info please visit www.hudsonspeedway.info.
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 18, 2009 | Maine, Wiscasset Raceway
Wiscasset, ME- Tasha Dyer is not your everyday 15 year old girl. She’s not into painting nails or make up parties. She is into trying to win races in the Aable Auto Parts Mini Stock division at Wiscasset Raceway on Saturday nights. This past Saturday night she did just that. Tasha held off point leader Ryan Ripley of Waldoboro to get her first career win the division. Ripley would hold on for second with Bob Grady bringing home third. Thomas True would get fourth and fifth would go to Pete McCollett.
The U.S. Cellular Mini Truck division saw new comer Tony Field pick up the victory. Tony held off a late race challenge from Opie Allard and Ryan Hayes for the win. Allard and Hayes would get second and third. Fourth would go to Roger Allard and fifth to Josh Harjula.
Mike Moody picked up win number five on the season in the New England Transmission Strictly Street division. Nate Yeaton would get his second career top three finish in second and Jamie Henderson would bring home third. Fourth and fifth went to Ian Bresnehan and Josh Bailey.
The Verizon Wireless Super Street’s put on a great show over 25 laps. In the end it was Appleton’s Jeremy Glasier picking up the win. Adam Chadbourne jumped down into his super for the night and finished second. Third would go to Josh St. Clair. Bryan Robbins finished fourth and Allan Moeller Jr. fifth.
Tomorrow Aug. 16th The Center of Speed 300. Start time 2pm. BE THERE!!!
by Jay | Aug 18, 2009 | New England
Naples ME (8/17/2009) Seekonk Speedway regular Tom Scully Jr. worked his way to the front of the field at the halfway mark of Saturday night’s Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Cirelli Foods 150 and kept two of the touring series best in his mirrors to record an upset victory. At the checker it was Scully Jr. followed by Ben Rowe in second and Johnny Clark third. Derek Ramstrom and Dave Darling came home fourth and fifth in the twenty eight car field.
It was the second race in a row that home track advantage played a part in the victory. Former Unity Raceway regular Randy Turner upset the apple cart with a victory at Unity on August 2nd. Scully joins Turner and Chris Staples as a new winner in the traveling super late model road show, and the eighth different PASS feature winner in the eleven events contested to date.
Kelly Moore and Joey Pole led the field to the initial green but contact between the pair brought out the event’s first caution. Moore soldiered on for a tenth place finish but Pole’s night was over.
The PASS regulars battled it out with Seekonk’s’ home town heroes throughout the race. Early on Dave Hutchins was out front, but Rowe and Clark were working their way to the front and for a time it looked like that pair might have the edge. Rowe lead briefly around the one third mark, but Seekonk speedster Ray Parent took the lead away on a restart. By the half-way point Parent had Scully Jr. on his bumper, all the way up from fifteenth on the grid. But Parent had another problem to deal with – a fourteen gallon fuel cell that wouldn’t allow him to go the full 150 lap distance without a stop for fuel. So Parent peeled off for a can of Sunoco under caution and handed Scully Jr. a lead he would never give up, despite the best efforts of Johnny Clark and Rowe to take the race away from him.
As the laps wound down the green stayed out and Scully managed to pull away from the pack. Rowe took over second from Clark and chipped away at Scully Jr.’s lead but it was too little too late and the Westport Massachusetts racer, who’s scored two wins and nine top tens in the Speedway’s top division this season, had a PASS winner’s trophy to add to his collection.
Fred Astle, Adam Bates, Rick Martin, Dave Hutchins and Kelly Moore earned fifth through tenth place finishes. Thirteen cars completed all 150 green flag laps. Ben Rowe, Kelly Moore and Derek Ramstrom each scored a heat race win.
The Pro All Stars are back in the Granite State on Sunday August 23rd for a 150 lap showdown at Canaan Fair Speedway. Practice gets underway at noon; racing goes green at 2:00 PM. PASS Mods and Sportsman share the bill with the fastest full fender race cars in the east.
Visit Canaan Fair Speedway on line at www.canaanspeedways.com . For the latest PASS news, results and standings, click on www.racewithpass.com or www.proallstarsseries.com .
Official Finish – Pro All Stars Series super late model Cirelli Foods 150 – Seekonk Speedway-Seekonk MA -8/15/2009
1) 2 Tom Scully Jr., Westport MA 2) 4N Ben Rowe, Turner ME 3) 54 Johnny Clark, Hallowell ME 4) 35 Derek Ramstrom, Worcester MA 5) 52 David Darling, E. Providence RI 6) 30 Fred Astle, Warren RI 7) 98 Adam Bates, Warner NH 8) 88 Rick Martin, W. Warwick RI 9) 96 David Hutchins, Somerset MA 10) 47 Kelly Moore Scarborough ME 11) 60 DJ Shaw, Center Conway NH 12) 17P Ray Parent Tiverton RI 13) 17A Scott Alexander, Orrington ME 14) 33 Richie Dearborn Hollis ME 15) 85 Nick Ribbe, Kingston MA 16) 95 Steve O Brien, Scituate MA 17) 20 Steve Legendre, St. Johnsbury VT 18) 6 Steve Desmarais, Westport MA 19) 58 Kevin Casper, Tiverton RI 20) 12 John Dabrowski , W. Bridgewater MA 21)25 Michael Thomas, Lewiston ME 22) 8 Cassius Clark, Farmington ME 23) 4s Chris Ross, Malta NY 24) 7 Donnie Whitten, Biddeford ME 25 90 Craig Weinstein, Walpole MA 26) 97 Joey Pole E. Providence RI .27) 3 Tom Scully Sr., Westport MA 28) 17 Travis Benjamin, Morrill ME
by Jay | Aug 17, 2009 | Canada
(Shediac, N.B.) — Luc Bourgeois (#88) of Memramcook picked up where he left off last Sunday and captured a flag-to-flag win in the Maritime Super Series for Sportsman 75 to celebrate the Acadian Holiday on Saturday evening at the Centre for Speed (CFS), Atlantic Canada’s Super Speedway and “Metro Moncton’s Playground of Power”.
Meanwhile, Mike Rayburn (#98) of Hampton made a triumphant return to CFS by capturing the win in the Atlantic Open Wheel (AOW) Modified Series 35-lap feature. A few years ago, Rayburn was a regular driver in the Sportsman division at CFS where victory had always eluded him. On Saturday, he picked up his second career AOW win at the CENTRE crossing the stripe ahead of Shelley Stewart (#43) of Emerald,
PEI and Mark Price (#9) of Rothesay in the main event of the evening.
Stewart had earlier picked up a win in the first heat to go along with a very close second place finish in both the semifinal and feature. Price had als0o visited victory lane after capturing the second semi while Byron Bartlett (#77) of Saint John was victorious in both the second heat and first semi-final before a heartbreaking end to his evening in the feature. Bartlett and Price set the pace in the 35-lap main event and battled hard over the first 28 laps of the event. Coming out of turn #4 on lap #28, Bartlett and Price got together sending
Bartlett’s rear passenger-side wheel flying off into the corner. While he was able to drive the car on three wheels into the pit area, his crew could not make the necessary repairs and his evening was over. Price, who restarted at the tail-end of the lead lap was able to salvage a third place finish after the unfortunate collision.
In the Maritime Super Series 75, Bourgeois, who started on the pole, beat back all
challengers to capture his second consecutive Sportsman feature win at CFS to go along with his earlier win in the 10-lap heat. With the win, Bourgeois vaults from 5th to second position in the Series point chase heading into next weekend’s International 145 at Riverglade Speedway. Veteran Dan Bourque (#15) of Grande-Digue crossed the stripe second followed closely by Ken MacKenzie (#85) of Salisbury and series defending champ, Claude Gaudet (#22) of Grand-Barachois. Gaudet continues to lead the Super Series point standings with 91 points, 6 points up on the surging Bourgeois (85 points). Bourque now finds himself in the third spot with 81 points followed closely by MacKenzie at 79 points and Marc Gautreau
(#99) of Grand-Barachois at 74 points.
In Streetstock action, division points leader Victor Vienneau (#03) of Cocagne took advantage of a late race mishap to capture his third feature win of the season ahead of division rookie Gerald Brun (#33) of Moncton and Doug MacEwen of Charlottetown. Gary Stewart (#43) of Emerald, PEI had the car to beat in this division on
Saturday evening having captured wins in both the heat and semifinal. However, the racing gods had a different plan for him in the 25-lap feature. After once again setting leading the field for 22 laps, Stewart’s night came to a sudden end when he blew a rear tire and limped into the pit area in time to see Vienneau cross the finish line for the win.
Both the Mini Stock and Four Fun drivers had the weekend off.
Next Sunday, August 23rd at 2:00 p.m., the action switches to Riverglade Speedway for the 45th Annual International featuring Sportsman drivers from the Maritime Super Series for Sportsman in a 145-lap main event. Regular points racing in Streetstock, Mini Stock and Four Fun divisions will also be part of the program.
The next event at the Centre for Speed (CFS) will be the Maple Leaf MONSTER TRUCK Spectacular and ‘Eve of Destruction’ Demolition Derby on August 29th at 7 p.m.
Full schedule details are available at www.centreforspeed.com
About CFS
The CENTRE for Speed, built in 1996, is home to the Atlantic region’s largest and fastest paved 3/8 of a mile stock car oval as its centerpiece. The
CENTRE overlooks the Northumberland Strait and is located 5 kilometers east of Shediac’s Parlee Beach on Route #133 in the village of Grand Barachois.
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 16, 2009 | All-Star Speedway, New Hampshire
Epping, NH – Joe Lemay was a man on a mission in the All-Star Modifieds on Saturday night, outrunning the field to collect his division-leading fourth checkered flag of the 2009 season.
Kenny White, Jr. quickly moved past early-race leader Dana Smith to take over the lead, and he ran off to a several car lengths lead over the first half of the race. Further back, Smith had his hands full with Eric Hudson and Lemay trying to hang on to second.
Lemay was the first to get by Smith, and he immediately started reeling in White, catching the leader at the halfway point. Five laps later, White brushed the frontstretch wall coming off turn four, which opened up the inside for Lemay.
Lemay made it stick, leading the final 15 circuits to add another feature win to his already-impressive 2009 total. White held on to collect runner-up honors, with J.R. Baril, Eric Hudson, and Smith rounding out the top five.
In the Super Streets, a race-long battle with former champion Ron Bolduc resulted in a popular win by Rosebud Shea, who picked up her first feature win of the 2009 campaign in the 30-lap main event.
Bolduc was right on her bumper waiting for a mistake over the second half of the race, but that mistake never came, and Shea proudly carried the checkers around the high banks after her win.
Bolduc’s effort netted him his best finish of the year in the runner-up slot, with Rob DeAlmeida, Tim Casey, Jr., and John Bourdelais closing out the top five finishers.
The Strictly Stocks were nothing short of wild in their 25-lap feature event, racing three and sometimes four wide in the early going. Mark Parenteau was a contender early, but he got collected by a lapped car late in the race and clobbered the wall to end his night.
Jimmy Silvia made his first visit of the year a good one, holding off the tough Mike Williams to score his first career All-Star win. Williams, Steve Dubois, Chris Augevich, and Johnny Gervais were the rest of the top five.
In Fast-4 action, Greg Cummings led the first lap, but it was all Tyler Mailhot after that. Mailhot ran off to score his third win of the season, with Cindy Sevigny, Ken Mailhot, Jason Hodgdon, and Cory Sullivan second through fifth.
