03/08/2007

    The first annual SpeedwayEXPO presented by Town Fair Tire is now history. After a weekend heaving with activity dedicated to auto racing, exhibitors and visitors alike were left hoping that history will repeat itself.
    “We were delighted to hear from so many people who said they had a good time at SpeedwayEXPO,” said Dick Berggren, executive editor of Speedway Illustrated Magazine, which hosted EXPO. “The celebrities who came to sign autographs, the pedal car races, motorized beer cooler races, seminars and car displays were all hits. Every vendor I talked to said they want to come back next year. So, we’re looking forward to the 2008 SpeedwayEXPO and are planning an even bigger event.”
    Those walking through the doors of the three-day event were greeted with a large and varied assortment of exhibits. The center aisle fairly vibrated with authentic race cars from the likes of New Hampshire International Speedway, Thompson International Speedway, Bear Ridge Motor Speedway and Lebanon Valley Dragway & Speedway, as well as groups such as the Quaboag Riders, the WKA Northeast Pavement Series, the Killington Sports Car Club and a host of others, including the Northeast’s top touring series, the ACT Tour and the growing True Value Modified Racing Series.
    Exhibitors ranged from chassis builders to high-performance parts retailers to vendors of fanware. For the hard-core racer there were displays from Seals-It, Impact Racing Products, Jones Racing Products, Sherwood Racing Wheels, Safety FX, RH2Way Communications, Seymour Enterprises, Spraker Racing and many others. Presenting sponsor Town Fair Tire had an impressive lineup of street tires, wheels and accessories. And C&C Racing Souvenirs, Dave’s Racing Collectibles and Pit Road Racing Collectibles were a few of the vendors who offered a huge selection of fan memorabilia.
    “We wanted to offer something for everyone involved in auto racing, at every level,” said Cal Green, head of exhibit sales. “Whether you’re a competitor, a die-hard enthusiast or a more casual fan, you could find your niche at SpeedwayEXPO.”
    SpeedwayEXPO honored outstanding exhibits with show awards in several categories. The weekend’s big winner on was STAR, the Senior Tour Auto Racers, whose 1950s theme infused their display of vintage race cars and took “Best of Show” honors. The WKA Northeast Pavement Series was honored with “Junior Best of Show” for a landscape design that showed off their immaculate go-karts. A large gear was the backdrop of Jones Racing Products’ “Best Commercial Display” winner, and Thompson grabbed “Best Track/Racing Organization” honors. Thanks to a tremendous effort, the Boivin Racing family earned the trophy for “Best Independent/Individual Car Display.”
    In the vehicle categories, 12 teams were honored for their beautifully prepared racers. Winners included Les Hinckley and Chuck Montville for the “Best Open-Wheel”; Mike O’Sullivan for “Best Full-Bodied Car”; Gerry DeGasparre, Jr. for “Best Late Model/Pro Stock”; Bobby Melvin for “Best Street/Strictly Stock” and Tommy McVay for “Best Mini Stock.” “Best Drag Racer” went to Ronny Deedy while the “Best Touring Division Racer” was Matt Kobyluck’s Mohegan Sun Busch East Series entry. Jaime Martel, daughter of Supermodified competitor Scotty Martel, scored “Best Go-Kart/Quarter Midget” honors and Jim Lowrey, Jr.’s nostalgic car won “Best Vintage Racer.” Kenny Barry of SPAFCO Race Chassis received the “Fabricating Marvel” Award and Jimmy Phelps and H&H Motorsports were honored with the “Best Presentation of Paint & Design” award.
    “The show was packed with cars and vendors,” wrote attendee John Sirko of Enfield, CT, in an email after EXPO. “I hope you will have the 2nd annual SpeedwayEXPO next year. I look forward to coming back year after year! Congratulations on a great show.”

    For a complete look at the weekend’s events, log on to www.speedwayexpo.com.

Victories Everywhere at SpeedwayEXPO

    While the Better Living Center at the Eastern States Exposition bustled with traffic on March 2-4 during SpeedwayEXPO, the Stroh Building was alive with activity all weekend as well. A full line-up of events provided non-stop entertainment for vendors and attendees alike. Whether the goal was education through seminars or entertainment with activities like the pit stop contest, SpeedwayEXPO delivered.
    The action kicked off on Friday night with the autograph session featuring NHRA standouts Melanie Troxel and Tommy Johnson, Jr. An impromptu motorized cooler race (electric coolers provided courtesy of Cruzin’ Coolers) found Karl Fredrickson and Dick Berggren of Speedway Illustrated caught up in a short-track showdown with Troxel and Johnson. Despite some heroic and acrobatic efforts by Fredrickson, the drag racing family made a clean sweep of the event.
    SpeedwayEXPO also hosted the first annual Pedal Car Nationals, presented by Martel Motorsports. Five heat races were held on Saturday afternoon for 26 children, ages 3 to 7, with the winners going into the main event. C&C Racing Promotion provided the nostalgic pedal cars, replicas of famous Modifieds from the Northern and Southern Tours. Taking the top prize was lightning-fast Kaycee Travis, age 6. The second- through fourth-place finishers were following in the footsteps of their fathers: Three-year old Austin Beers, son of Whelen Modified Tour driver Eric Beers, came home second, followed by Karen Fredrickson, the seven-year-old daughter of Speedway Illustrated Editor and Modified Racing Series competitor Karl Fredrickson. Fourth was Timothy Dorr, five-year-old son of reigning Waterford Speedbowl Sportsman champion Dwayne Dorr. Lucas Ingellis, age 4, rounded out the top five.
    Each child earned a participant medal and the top five finishers each received trophies courtesy of Martel Motorsports. The top five also got copies of the children’s book Martin & T.J.’s Race Car Repair, by Susan Kelly Hearn, from Coastal 181.
    On Saturday night the action heated up when eight teams competed in the Pit Stop Challenge presented by Racingjunk.com. Each four-member team had to complete a two-tire change with one air gun. Regular members of Zach Sylvester’s Whelen Modified Tour team Tom Pokorny, Josh Sylvester, Tim Albee and Bill Michael (calling themselves Team DMF), captured top honors with a time of 34.987 seconds. Team HRE, Howie Deitz, Kerry Hall, Bill Barnett, and Russ Hersey, recorded a time of 35.493 seconds to finish second. Rounding out the top three was Team SCR—Steve Barrett, Jr., Steve Barrett, Sr., Andrew Keeney and Greg Moran—with an elapsed time of 39.298 seconds. A complete rundown of the contest standings can be found on www.speedwayexpo.com.
    As close as the action was in the pedal car races and the pit stop challenge, the Pet of SpeedwayEXPO contest was a landslide victory for Buddy, a Schnoodle owned by Mike Gorgievski and Amy Seeley of Auburn, MA. Mike is a regular competitor at the Thompson International Speedway. Buddy, Mike & Amy will share a prize doggie-bag package with goodies for both dog and owners courtesy of SpeedwayEXPO and Stellar Apparel. (Buddy will also appear in an upcoming issue of Speedway Illustrated.)
    The Racing Against Cancer Team TM was also a big winner at SpeedwayEXPO. The “Anger Management” charity event—aka the dunk tank—raised nearly $300 was raised for this non-profit group. Corey Boudreau of Seekonk Speedway, Andy Christmas from Monadnock Speedway, Mike Parks of Twin State Speedway and Mike Scrivani of the Northeastern Midget Association each took a turn, offering their friends and competitors the chance to dunk these track/series officials.
    From the drop of SpeedwayEXPO’s green flag on Friday night to the waving of the checkers on Sunday evening, the action was busy, colorful and great fun.

    For a look at the weekend’s events log on to www.speedwayexpo.com.
 

Source  Dale Wolbrink/racinpr
Posted:  March 8, 2007