Forty five years ago in 1963 at the Utica-Rome
Speedway Rene Charland picked up his fourth victory of the year at the
Vernon, New York oval. Cam Gagliardi finished second with Ken Meahl,
third. Forty years ago in 1968, Kenny Shoemaker went two for two as he
won on the asphalt at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway on Friday night and
on the dirt at Fonda on Saturday night. Bernie Miller finished second at
Albany and was followed by Richie Evans, Lou Lazzaro and Dave Lape. At
Fonda, Ray Sitterly finished second with Dave Lape, third. In Friday
night action at Stafford Mr. Leo Cleary put the Joe Brady 41 in victory
lane. Bill Slater finished second with Bugsy Stevens, Tommy Borget and
Ralph “Hop” Harrington rounding out the top five. Saturday night at
Norwood saw Roland LaPierre Sr. take the win. At Thompson on Sunday,
Steady Eddie Flemke in the Bob Judkins 2x took the win and in Sunday
night action at Utica-Rome Dave Kotary took the win over Bill Henry, Ken
Shoemaker, Dave Gaul and Dick Clark.
Thirty five years ago in 1973, twin features were run at the
Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, N.Y. Richie Evans won the opener and
was followed by Bob Santos, Jerry Cook and Lou Lazzaro. Bugsy Stevens
won the nightcap with Denis Giroux and Cook following. At Stafford on
Saturday night, Eddie Fleece took the win with Ronnie Bouchard, second
and Stevens, third. Special events at Islip and at Tioga fell victim to
rain .Lee Raceway ran a double point event on Sunday. The Bugman took
the victory with Dan MacNamara, second and Ernie Gahan, third.
Utica-Rome closed out the weekend with twin events, which were won by
Richie Evans, and Jerry Cook.
Thirty years ago in 1978, Geoff Bodine went three for three
on the weekend including his seventh in a row at Stafford. Bodine, in
the Big Red No.1, also won events at Riverside Park and at Utica-Rome.
At Waterford, Moose Hewitt beat out Dick Dunn and Mike Beebe for the win
and at Seekonk, George Summers was the best of the best with Bugsy
Stevens second and Corky Cookman, third. Westboro saw John Falconi over
Joe Howard. Islip ran a 100 lap Race of Champions qualifier, which was
won by Greg Sacks. Charlie Jarzombek finished second with Fred Harbach,
third. Jarzombek also played second fiddle at Riverhead where he
finished second to Wayne Anderson. At Thompson on Sunday, Ronnie
Bouchard won out over Bugsy Stevens and Ray Miller.
Twenty five years ago in 1983, the week started on Tuesday
at Stafford where a 50 lapper was run with Bugsy Stevens taking the win
over Jamie Tomaino, Kenny Bouchard and Bob Polverari. New Egypt ran on
Wednesday where Bob Park took the checker over John Blewett jr. and Tony
Siscone. Back at Stafford on Friday, Kenny Bouchard won out over Bobby
Eve, Corky Coachman and George Summers. Bo Gunning was the SK modified
winner. Saturday at Waterford, John Hoffman took the win over Larry
Lanphear and Ted Christopher. At Seekonk, Richie Evans made a surprise
visit and took all the marbles. Vinnie Annarummo finished second
followed by Bugsy Stevens and George Murray. In Winston Cup action at
Michigan, Terry Labonte was the pole sitter. Cale Yarborough took the
win. Down on Long Island, George Brunnhoelzl won at Islip with Fred
Harbach, second. At Riverhead, Alan Harbach was the winner with Don
Howe, second.
Twenty years ago in 1988, Stafford rained out on Friday but
it stayed clear up north as Monadnock got in its program with Reggie
Ruggiero taking the win. Jerry Marquis took the Saturday night win at
Riverside Park. Mike Stefanik and Reggie Ruggerio followed. At
Waterford, John Jensen took the win. Dickie Doo Ceravolo finished second
with Ricky Young and Bert Marvin following. Tony Hirschman got his sixth
at Tioga and at Thompson, Tom Tagg took the win. Mike Christopher
finished second. In Winston Cup action at Pocono, Geoff Bodine took the
win but the racing world was stunned when Bobby Allison was critically
injured. Allison eventually recovered but his racing career was over. It
was only the beginning of tragedy for the Allison family as both Davey
and Clifford would lose their lives in future years.
Fifteen years ago, in 1993, Ted and Mike Christopher
finished one-two at Stafford on Friday night. The Busch Grand National
North division was also at Stafford. Mike McLaughlin took the win with
Jamie Aube, second. Saturday night at Waterford, John Jensen took the
checker but was disqualified after a tech inspection revealed an illegal
crankshaft. Jerry Pearl, who finished second, was awarded the win. Dan
Avery won at Riverside and Eddie Brunnhoelzl, at Riverhead. John Sneade
won at Thompson on Sunday. Mike and Ted Christopher finished second and
third but were disqualified because of illegal cylinder heads. Kerry
Malone was moved from fourth to second.
Ten years ago, in 1998, rain washed out the entire program
that had been scheduled at Stafford. The NASCAR Featherlite Modified
Tour visited the Riverhead Raceway on Saturday night. Mike Ewanitsko was
the fastest qualifier and after starting sixth took the lead from Mike
Stefanik on lap 56 and went on to score the win. Stefanik finished
second and was followed by Jan Leaty, Ed Flemke Jr. and Charlie
Pasteryak. Rain washed out action at Riverside Park and at Thompson on
Sunday; Ted Christopher took the win over Frankie Cardile. The big news
of the week was the announcement that NEXTEL, a provider of wireless
communications in the United States, would become the title sponsor of
what was called the Winston Cup division of NASCAR. NEXTEL is expected
spend between $70 – 90 million a year over the next ten years. Once
rumors broke early in the week, NEXTEL stock took off. Starting the week
at 14.90, NEXTEL closed out the week at 17.78. RJ Reynolds/Winston
finished out the year as the sponsor of NASCAR’s elite division. During
the 2002 season, RJR Winston got $160 million worth of media exposure.
RJ Reynolds has been involved with NASCAR racing for 33 years. In a
somewhat related matter, NASCAR’s versions of Ken and Barbie, (Brooke
and Jeff Gordon) have reached a divorce settlement that gives Brooke
Gordon at least $15 million. She has waived alimony and will get the
proceeds from the sale of two pieces of real estate including the
couple’s ocean front home in Highland Beach, Florida. Round Two of
Thursday night Thunder at Thompson beat the weather on Thursday night.
Jeff Malave went from pole to pole to win his second Sunoco-SK Modified
feature of the year at the 5/8-mile oval. Bert Marvin finished second
with Eric Berndt, third. Heavy drama unfolded on a lap three re-start.
With Malave leading and Bob Drown running second, heavy hitters Ted
Christopher and Bo Gunning were in hot pursuit. As Christopher was about
to make a move, Drown moved up to protect his spot. Christopher
momentarily lifted and was hit accidentally by Gunning. Christopher and
Gunning spun at high speed on to the infield grass and struck a concrete
barrier protecting a light pole. The impact saw Christopher’s car go up
in the air and come down on its roof. With his fuel pump sheared off and
gas leaking out Christopher became trapped and could not unbuckle
himself to exit the car. Gunning was able to exit his car and went to
Christopher’s aid and pulling him out of the car, as flames were about
to erupt into an inferno. In the past there had been a lot of bad
history between the two. Although not what you would consider friends,
Gunning put his feelings aside and went to the aide of a fellow
competitor. Had it not been for Gunning’s quick actions, the former
NASCAR Weekly Racing Champion could have suffered serious burns or even
worse. Chuck Docherty was the Pro Stock winner and Woody Pitkat repeated
in the Late Models. Norm Ashline was the Limited Sportsman winner and
Eric Bourgeois was the Mini Stock winner. Speedway owner and promoter
Don Hoenig is up and about after a bad accident the previous week.
Hoenig was T-Boned in the driver’s side door while on his way to secure
Fireworks permits for the track.
The NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour was at the Seekonk Speedway on
Saturday. Rain forced postponement. NASCAR and the Seekonk management
were working on a new date. For the fifth week in a row rain-washed out
racing at the Waterford Speedbowl. During the 1978 season, when Dick
Williams operated the track it rained seven Saturdays in a row. Williams
finally ran an event on Wednesday, just to get a race in. Waterford is
not alone, Seekonk in Massachusetts lost four out of six events,
Stafford lost three out of 10 and Riverhead, on Long Island, lost five
out of nine.Todd Szegedy was leading John Blewett III by 45 points in
the chase for the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series championship.
Chuck Hossfeld sat in third. Rounding out the top five were Jerry
Marquis and Ted Christopher. At the Stafford Speedway on Friday night;
Bo Gunning passed Jeff Baral on lap 43 of the scheduled 50 lap
SK-Modified feature and went on to secure his first win of the season.
Gunning was the defending modified track champion. Ron Silk, Kerry
Malone and Frank Ruocco rounded out the top five. Ted Christopher, still
very sore from his accident at Thompson, brought out a back-up car and
finished 11th. Woody Pitkat was the late model winner. The Busch North
Series was the main attraction at Stafford on Friday night Tom Carey
took the win over Martin Truex and Kelly Moore. Carey made the pass for
the lead and the eventual win on lap 137 of the 150-lap event. In
Winston Cup action at Sonoma, California, Boris Said took the pole and
it was Robbie Gordon took the win.
Five years ago in 2002, Thompson pulled the plug on its
Thursday night races after 1-1/2 inches of rain fell on the speedway.
Ted Christopher recorded his 60th and 61st career wins at Stafford as he
took the Friday night SK Modified Twin Bill features. The NASCAR
Featherlite Modified Tour Series traveled to Riverhead for a 200 lapper.
Ted Christopher survived to take the win over Jerry Marquis, John
Blewett III, Chuck Hossfeld and David Berghman. It was a wild night to
say the least. JR Bertuccio was running second to Rick Fuller when a
bold move saw Bertuccio hit Fuller and took him out. Bertuccio also
backed up over Jeff Fuller. NASCAR officials parked the Long Island hot
shoe and had him suspended for two weeks with a fine of $1,000. The
suspension effectively cost Bertuccio a shot at the NASCAR Regional and
National Championship titles. At Waterford, Dennis Gada won out over Ron
Yuhas Jr. and at Wall Township, Mike Carpenter took the win. Waterford’s
night didn’t go without incident as officials parked John Brouwer Jr.
after they felt that he intentionally backed over Jeff Pearl. Brouwer
left the Speedbowl in a very hot mood and swore he would never return.
In Winston Cup action at Pocono, Dale Jarrett took the win after Ricky
Rudd suffered a flat tire with four laps to go. Mark Martin finished
second. In other weekend action, Mike Johnson won the Busch North Series
event at Beech Ridge over Matt Kobyluck, Jack Sprague won his first ever
Busch Series event at Nashville, Ken Tremont scored his 99th career win
at Lebanon Valley and dirt tracker Jimmy Horton got his 100th win at
Bridgeport, Pa.
Last year, 2007, The 2007 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour got
back into action on Thursday night at the Thompson Speedway with the
Charter Cable, Internet, Telephone 150. This was the second of five
Whelen Modified tour events. There were 38 Modifieds on hand to qualify
for the 35 starting spots. Second-generation driver Richard Savory,
driving the Art Barry No. 21 was the Busch Pole sitter. Second fastest
was Don Lia in the Bob Garbarino Mystic Missile. The re-draw for
starting spots saw Ryan Preece picking the pole position with James
Civali picking the outside pole. Lia ended up winning the rain-shortened
event after taking the lead on lap 34. Rain began to fall as the field
completed lap 80 of the 150-lap distance. The field circled the 5/8-mile
oval under caution for 20 more laps when the event was finally called.
Among those who were hoping to restart the event was Ted Christopher who
felt that he had something for the leader. Christopher, who was
scheduled to start ninth, started scratch after suffering a flat tire
just prior to the event. Christopher drove a determined race and was in
the process of putting himself into position to challenge the leader
when the skies opened up. Christopher was forced to settle for the
runner-up spot in the final rundown. Bobby Santos III, driving the
Boehler family entry finished third in his best effort to date. Former
champions Tony Hirschman and Todd Szegedy rounded out the top five. Pole
sitter Civali and Eddie Flemke led the early going as they swapped the
lead numerous times in a brilliant exhibition of high speed driving.
Civali ended up 7th and Flemke, 19th.
Woody Pitkat’s debut in the series started with a bang as he hit
the wall in final practice. The Roger Hill crew was able to make repairs
and Pitkat was afforded a starting spot because of an owner’s
provisional. In spite of all his pre-race trouble Pitkat drove to a
solid 10th place finish.
Among those on hand to take in the event and mingle with old
friends were NEAR Hall of Fame driving legends Leo Cleary, Billy Harman,
Ronnie Bouchard and George Summers. The True Value Modified Series
continued to attract competitors from the Whelen Modified Tour Series
including former series champion Mike Stefanik.
The True Value Series ran a 100 lap event at the ¼ mile Seekonk
Speedway on Saturday night. Taking the win was local favorite Vinnie
Annarummo. Louie Mechalides started 24th on the field and finished
second. Stefanik got as high as seventh until spinning out shortly after
the halfway mark. Also in the field but finishing out of the top ten was
Ted Christopher.
In regular Thursday Night Thunder action at the Thompson Speedway
Jimmy “Showtime” Blewett jumped out at the start of the 30 lap Sunoco
Modified 30 lapper and proceeded to go pole to pole to win the event.
Tom Cravenho finished second with Keith Rocco, third. Kerry Malone and
John Blewett rounded out the top five. In other Whelen All-American
Series competition George Bessette was victorious in the Pro Stock
division while Larry Barnett took top honors in the Limited Sportsman
division. It was a night for repeats as three of the NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series divisions featured back-to-back winners. Marc
Jenison won the the Late Models, Mike Romano, the Mini Stocks and Tim
Sullivan, TIS Modifieds.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action at the Stafford Motor
Speedway, rain prevailed.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action at the Waterford
Speedbowl defending SK Modified champion Dennis Gada used the outside
groove to pass early leader Jay Miller with four laps remaining in
capturing his second feature race of the season. The event marked the
52nd SK Modified victory of the 6-time champions career. Zach Sylvester,
driving a car owned by Dick Ceravolo and Miller completed the top-three.
Other feature winners were Bruce Thomas Jr. (Late Model), Dwayne
Dorr (Sportsman), Danny Field (Mini Stock), Randy Cabral (Northeastern
Midget Association).
Other weekend winners were Chris Young at Riverhead, after it was
determined that apparent winner Ken Heagy had altered his tires. Ken
Woolley won the Sunoco Race of Champions Dart Asphalt Modified Tour race
Saturday night at the Wall Township Speedway.
In Nextel Cup racing Juan Pablo Montoya used his well-honed
road-racing skill to save his tires, stretch his fuel to the limit, and
win the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Infinion Raceway for his first
NASCAR Nextel Cup victory. In Busch Series action at the Milwaukee Mile
Denny Hamlin proved you don't necessarily have to be around for the
green flag to take the checkered flag. And Aric Almirola sulked away
from what will go down in the record books as his first career NASCAR
Busch Series victory. After missing the start of the race because his
helicopter couldn't find a place to land, Hamlin rallied to take the
checkered flag in a wacky AT&T 250 at the Milwaukee Mile. But because
Almirola, a substitute driver, started the race in Hamlin's car, NASCAR
officially will credit Almirola with the victory, points and prize
money. In Victory Lane, Hamlin said it wasn't his decision to kick
Almirola out of the car. According to NASCAR officials, it was the first
time a relief driver had won a race a Busch series race since Jack
Ingram turned his car over to Harry Gant at Darlington Raceway on April
13, 1985.
That’s it for this week from 40 Clark
Street, Westerly RI 02891.
Ring my chimes at 401-596-5467. E-mail:
smithpe_97_97@yahoo.com
This week are
several vintage racing photos of Hall Of Famer Leo "The Lion" Cleary,
Courtesy of
vintagemodifieds.com
The Chrome Horn
'Looking Back with Phil Smith' Archive
THE END
