Forty years ago, in 1968, Bugsy Stevens added
another win to his record at Stafford as he beat out Bobby Santos, Billy
Harman, Smokey Boutwell and Tom Sutcliff. At the Albany-Saratoga
Speedway Phil Spiak took a surprise win. Don MacTavish finished second
with Pete Corey; third, Dave Lape and Richie Evans rounded out the top
five. In other Friday night action, Eddie Brunnhoelzl Sr. won at
Riverhead. Norwood Arena had the Bay State 200 scheduled but the event
fell victim to rain. Ron Narducci beat out Jerry Cook and Andy Romano
for a 100 lap win at Fonda. At Thompson, on Sunday, Eddie Flemke took
the win and at Utica-Rome, Dave Kotary won a 50 lapper over Lou Lazzaro,
Ed Pieniezek, Ron Narducci and Richie Evans.
Thirty-five years ago in 1973, Albany-Saratoga ran a 100
lapper. Bugsy Stevens took the win and was followed by Eddie Flemke and
Denis Giroux. At Stafford on Saturday night it was Daring Dick Caso in
the Billy Simons Excavator No.9 taking the win over Leo Cleary and
Ronnie Bouchard. At Utica-Rome on Sunday, Richie Evans took the win over
Bugsy Stevens and Maynard Troyer.
Thirty years ago in 1978, Westboro ran the Yankee All Star
League on Wednesday. Geoff Bodine continued his domination of the series
as he won the 100-lap event. At New Egypt, Richie Evans beat out Wayne
Anderson. Evans repeated the following night at Holland. Friday night at
Stafford Eddie Flemke took the victory. Bobby Vee finished second with
Geoff Bodine, third. Riverhead ran a 100 lap Race of Champions
qualifier. Charlie Jarzombek took the win over Greg Sacks and Wayne
Anderson. At Waterford, Jerry Pearl won a close one over Dick Dunn and
Moose Hewitt. At Spencer Speedway, Maynard Troyer won his 34th feature
of the year. Reggie Ruggerio cleaned house at Riverside while Geoff
Bodine continued his winning ways at Seekonk. Other weekend winners were
Charlie Jarzombek at Islip; Eddie Flemke at Thompson and Richie Evans
beat out Geoff Bodine to win a 100 lapper at Monadnock.
Twenty-five years ago in 1983, Monadnock ran a 100 lapper on
Tuesday. Kenny Bouchard took the win over Marty Radwick and Ray Miller.
Stafford ran a 100 lapper on Friday. Brett Bodine took the win over
Reggie Ruggerio and Bob Polverari. A regular 30 lapper was also run and
Kenny Bouchard took the win. Jeff Fuller finished second. At Spencer,
Richie Evans and Mike McLaughlin finished one-two. Saturday at Wall
Stadium, an unknown by the name of Ray Everham beat out Tony Siscone for
the win. At Waterford, it was Moose Hewitt over Bob Potter and at Islip,
Bill Park took the victory. Don Howe won at Riverhead and Kenny Bouchard
won at Riverside. Seekonk ran a 200 lapper on Sunday. Bugsy Stevens led
all 200 laps to take the win. Brian Ross finished second with Mike
McLaughlin, second. In Winston Cup action at Michigan, Cale Yarborough
took the win over Darrell Waltrip. Ronnie Bouchard qualified fourth and
finished 12th.
Twenty years ago in 1988, Ted Christopher was the Friday
night winner at Stafford and Reggie Ruggiero go his seventh of the
season at Monadnock. Harry Rice held off Larry Lanpher for the win at
Waterford and Jerry Marquis won a 200 lapper at Riverside. Oxford Plains
ran a 100 lapper, which saw Mike McLaughlin, take the win over Brian
Ross. Other weekend winners were Ron Shepherd at Tioga, Bill Park at
Riverhead and Tom Tagg at Thompson.
Fifteen years ago in 1993, Mark Martin cleaned house at Michigan as he
won both the Busch Grand National and Winston Cup events. Thompson ran a
Wednesday special for SK's with Richie Gallup taking the win over Eddie
St Angelo. It rained at Stafford on Friday night. The Modified Tour was
at Riverhead for a 201 lapper. Wayne Anderson took the lead from Jan
Leaty on the last lap and took the win. Leaty finished second with Doug
Hevron, third. It was a typical slam bang affair with 15 cautions for 73
laps. Ted Christopher beat out Ricky Young at Waterford and at
Riverside, Brian Schofield scored his first career win.
Ten years ago, in 1998, the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series was
at the Stafford Speedway for a Friday night 150-lap event. Rick Fuller
took the win but it was Mike Ewanitsko who stole the show, despite the
fact that he finished second. Ewanitsko had taken the lead from Chris
Kopec on lap 80 and had his car on cruise control when he suffered a
flat left front tire. Fuller assumed the lead when Ewanitsko pitted
during a timely caution on lap 93. Restarting in the rear, Ewanitsko
charged to the front. At the 145-lap mark, Ewanitsko had moved into
third spot and passed second place runner Mike Stefanik with one lap to
go. Time ran out as Fuller took the win with Ewanitsko glued to his
bumper. Stefanik hung on for third and was followed by Charlie Pasteryak
and Dan Avery. Numerous spins caused the field to run under caution on
12 occasions for 52 laps; Bob Georgides won the companion 50 lapper for
the SK-Modifieds. Todd Szegedy finished second with Bo Gunning, third.
Todd Ceravolo passed Mike Gada with two laps to go to win the 35-lap
feature at Waterford on Saturday night. Gada finished second with his
brother Dennis third. Mark Lajunesse and Jerry Pearl rounded out the top
five. Dan Avery and Bob Polverari won twin features at Riverside Park.
Joe Hartmann beat out Chris Young and John Fortin at Riverhead. The
Busch North Series visited the Star Speedway where Kelly Moore took the
win over Brad Leighton and Tracy Gordon. In Winston Cup action at
Michigan, Jeff Gordon made it five in a row. Mark Martin finished
second. The Saturday Busch Grandnational event went non-stop with Jeff
Burton taking the win.
Five years ago in 2003, the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series was
at the Thompson Speedway on Thursday night for a 105-lap event. There
were 42 cars on hand for time trials. John Blewett III took the pole.
Bob Polverari was second fastest. Jimmie Kuhn drew the pole starting
position and took the lead at the start. The first caution flew before
the first lap was completed as Jim Broderick, Kevin Kanopka and Renee
Dupuis tangled in turn four. The re-start came on lap six with Todd
Szegedy taking the lead as the field entered turn one. Defending
Champion Mike Stefanik was on the move. After starting ninth, Stefanik
was fourth by lap 9, third by lap 1 and second by lap 34. The second
caution occurred on lap 36 when Tom Bolles spun in turn four. It was
then that most of the field pitted for fresh tires with the exception of
Szegedy and Stefanik. The field went back to green and from then on went
non-stop. Stefanik took the lead on the re-start and went on to record
his 65th career win in Mod Tour competition. Szegedy finished second and
was followed by Ed Flemke Jr., Chuck Hossfeld and Jerry Marquis. Eric
Berndt took the win in the 30 lap Sunoco SK type modified event. Berndt
took the lead on a lap 19 re-start when early leader Jeff Malave missed
a shift on the re-start. Todd Ceravolo ended up second and was followed
by Bert Marvin, Kerry Malone and Ted Christopher. A near capacity crowd
was on hand. On Friday at Stafford, track owner Jack Arute spoke to
competitors at the drivers meeting and told them he wasn't happy with
their performance as the SK Modified events had become rolling
demolition derbies. Jeff Baral took the 50-lap win over Lloyd Agor and
Frank Ruocco. Dennis Gada was the Saturday night winner at the Waterford
Speedbowl. In victory lane he announced that 2003 would be his last in
the SK Modifieds as he felt it was time to move on. Ron Yuhas Jr.
finished second with Jeff Karns, third. Mike Andrews took the win at
Riverhead and Kevin Flockart shared victory lane with Mike Carpenter
after they won the twin 35’s at Wall Township.
The Busch North Series
was at the Adirondack
Speedway where Dale Quarterly took the win over
Martin Truex and Andy Santerre. In Winston Cup action at Michigan, Ryan
Newman took the win over Kevin Harvick. During the post race cool down
lap Jimmy Spencer spun Kurt Busch around on pit road. After exiting his
car Spencer attacked Busch, punching him several times. NASCAR suspended
Spencer for one event and fined him $25,000. Kevin Harvick won the rain
shortened Busch Series event, also at Michigan. It was also on this
weekend that Sunoco and NASCAR announced a 10-year agreement and on a
sad note, Steve Danish, a former DIRT star at Fonda, had passed away.
Last year, 2007. The 2007 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was at the Thompson
Speedway on Thursday night for the running of the annual BUDWEISER 150
presented by the New England Dodge Dealers. In what was to be a festive
night of good hard racing the night turned to be one of sadness as John
Blewett III lost his life while battling for the lead with his brother
Jimmy. As close to 8,000 fans looked on the Blewett brothers tangled
following a restart on lap 107 of the 150-lap race. Jimmy’s car, owned
by Eddie Partridge, came to rest on top of John’s family owned mount. It
appeared that John lost his life when a bumper came through the window
opening and struck his helmet. Was it a case of sibling rivalry getting
out of hand? Who knows! Earlier in the evening during the Sunoco
Modified feature Jimmy Blewett hit the front stretch hard as he dueled
with brother John for the start. Jimmy's car was towed off the track. In
no way did Jimmy Blewett want to harm his brother but for a split second
his will to win at all cost, cost him dearly.
Car owners Eddie and Connie Partridge are extremely close with the
Blewetts. John Blewett III was the key set-up man for Partridge’s SK
Modified team as well as his Tour Car team. Jimmy Blewett idolized and
loved his brother. Jimmy convinced Eddie and Connie to field a second
Sunoco Modified for John to race at Thompson so they could be teammates
this season. Jimmy had grown tremendously from John’s mentorship as a
result of that decision.
Blewett was 33 years old. The New Jersey native was a throw-back to the
glory days of racing, an answer to fans who complained that drivers who
become too buttoned-down, too politically correct and too willing to
second-place in recent times. Blewett’s list of accomplishments in
Modified racing was extensive. He had 10 career victories, 42 top five
finishes and 76 top 10 finishes on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
Blewett won two North-South Shootout races at Concord Motorsport Park
(NC). He was the 2003 and 2006 New Hampshire International Speedway
Modified division track champion. He was the 1996 NASCAR Regional Racing
Northeast champion.
During a fitting tribute at his home track, the Wall Township Speedway,
an emotional mix of cheers and tears filled the stands Saturday as the
late John Blewett III's No. 76 car led the ceremonial final lap at the
Wall Township Speedway. No. 76, driven by Jamie Tomaino, was then parked
in the grandstand area for fans to leave cards, letters and flowers. The
ceremonial lap was followed by a memorial service lead by the Rev. Don
Rivers of the Racing With Jesus Ministries.
Automobile racing can be one of the most enjoyable sports but can be one
of the most dangerous sports. Many great drivers have lost their lives
including Dick Dixon, Fred DeSarro, Charlie Jarzombek Tom Baldwin and
Richie Evans.
The race was stopped and Todd Szegedy was the leader at the time of the
red flag. Tony Hirschman was second with Ron Yuhas Jr, third. Donnie Lia
was fourth. NASCAR deemed the race officially completed on Monday and
awarded Szegedy his first win of the year.
In True Value Modified Series action at the Seekonk Speedway on Saturday
night all drivers on hand gathered on the track in turn four and had a
few moments of silence in memory John Blewett III.
Les Hinckley won the Seekonk event and was followed by Vinnie Annarummo,
Tony Ricci, Dwight Jarvis and Kirk Alexander.
In regular Thursday Night Thunder action at the Thompson Speedway Tom
Cravenho won the wreckfest that was called the Sunoco Modified 30.
Cravenho of Raynham, MA, withstood a number of cautions to score his
first victory of the season. Fred Astle, Jr. of N. Westport, MA,
continues to run strong in the Pro Stock division winning his second
feature event in three weeks. Rick Gentes of Woonsocket, RI streaked to
consecutive wins in the Late Model division. Ed Puleo of Branford was
another first time winner on the season after taking down the victory in
the Limited Sportsman Division. Roger Larson, Jr. of Milford, MA, and
Rick Blanchard of Pascoag, RI, added to their win tallies in the TIS
Modified and Mini Stock divisions respectively.
Cravenho withstood a number of restarts in a caution-marred Sunoco
Modified event to score his first feature win of the season. After
taking the lead from pole sitter Buddy Charette, Harry Rheaume took his
spot at the head of the pack. Rheaume had plenty of company as John
Blewett III dogged the leader from the opening lap. A handful of laps
later, John Blewett was the new leader. It was a three-wide battle for
the second position with Rheaume, Kerry Malone, and Jimmy Blewett. The
trio entered turn one stacked up. Jimmy Blewett shot out of the pack in
second. He immediately ran down his brother John. The team cars went
wheel-to-wheel for an entire lap before Jimmy claimed the top spot on
lap eight. While Kerry Malone slowed on the speedway, Rheaume, who was
running third, was punted by Rocco and made hard contact with the
outside wall. Rocco was sent to the tail of the field for his
involvement in the incident. The Blewett Brothers were vying for the
same piece of real estate on the restart when contact sent Jimmy into
the outside wall to bring out the yellow. Under caution, Rocco headed to
pit road with a broken rear axle. John Blewett headed down pit road as
well handing the lead over to Cravenho.
There was mayhem on the ensuing attempt at a restart when Ceravolo went
spinning at the start/finish line. Danny Cates ended up against the turn
one wall with heavy damage. Under the caution, the point leader, Woody
Pitkat, headed down pit road for service. The third attempt on the
restart was a charm with Cravenho jumping out to the lead. Cravenho
immediately stretched his lead while Bert Marvin and Buddy Charette
battled for second. Marvin was able to gain the position on a lap 12.
Geoff Gernhard was also able to advance his position into third.
Gernhard made a power move on Marvin exiting turn two to take over the
second spot on lap 15. Cravenho continued to stretch his lead. By the
time the caution flew on lap 22, John Blewett had already made his way
back into the top five. The incident that caused the caution involved
Eric LeClair and Dave Salzarulo. Pitkat and Ceravolo took advantage of
the yellow to come down pit road. On the restart, it was all Cravenho
leaving Gernhard to hold off Marvin. At that point, Rocco had rejoined
the field. The problems for the field continued when James Harrison came
to rest on the front stretch. After only a few laps of green flag
racing, an incident on the backstretch necessitated the caution. The #16
of Ceravolo came to rest atop the #09 of Brad VanHouten. The final four
laps were uneventful with Cravenho stretching his lead. The closing laps
also featured one of the best races of the night. The battle for the
runner-up position heated up with Gernhard holding second over Marvin
and John Blewett. Cravenho went unchallenged over the final laps to earn
his first victory of the season. Gernhard had a career day holding on
for second over Bert Marvin. John Blewett and Pitkat rebounded from
early race incidents to complete the top five.
Rain washed out the Friday night action at the Stafford Motor Speedway.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action at the Waterford Speedbowl
Dennis Gada passed Diego Monahan on lap 12 of the 35 lap SK Modified
feature and went on to score his 54th career win at the shoreline oval.
Monahan ended up second and was followed by Don Fowler, Zach Sylvester
and Bo Gunning. In other races, Bill Leonard edged Seth Duval to win the
25-lap AllStar Race Truck feature, Dennis Botticello won the 30-lap Late
Model feature, Jim Procaccini captured the 20-lap Sportsman feature and
Danny Field won the Mini Stock 20-lapper.
Denny Hamlin fought off a mid-race challenge from Matt Kenseth, then
drove away for a dominating victory Saturday in the Carfax 250 NASCAR
Busch Series race at Michigan International Speedway. Hamlin picked up
his second Busch win of the season and the fourth of his career. His
victory gave Nextel Cup regulars 22 victories in 25 tries on the Busch
circuit for the season. There were three caution flags, all during the
first 36 laps, and Hamlin took advantage of the green flag racing the
rest of the way. He steadily pulled away, beating Kenseth to the finish
by 6.988 seconds - the length of the front straightaway. Matt Kobyluck
won the Busch East Mohegan Sun 200 at Lime Rock Park.
Kurt Busch won for the second time in three races, prevailing in a rare
Tuesday NASCAR event after two days of rain postponements at Michigan
International Speedway. Busch, who didn't take his first lead until lap
101 and wound up leading four times for 92 laps, beat Martin Truex to
the finish by 0.495 seconds, about eight car lengths on the high-banked,
2-mile oval.
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
Courtesy of
VintageModifieds.com
From the collection of Danny Pardi
George Summers
Dick Dunn Ed
Pieniezek
Dick Traynor
Ken Canestrari
Gene Bergin
The Chrome Horn
'Looking Back with Phil Smith' Archive
THE END
