Forty years ago, in 1968, the Labor Day
weekend started at Stafford on Friday night where Eddie Flemke took the
win over Bugsy Stevens, Fred DeSarro, Gene Bergin and Fred Harbach. With
the Fonda Speedway closed the Albany Saratoga Speedway ran on Saturday
night. Lou Lazzaro won the scheduled 50-lap event. Eddie Flemke finished
second with Pete Corey, Dave Kotary and Don MacTavish rounding out the
top five. Freddie Schulz in the Dave Welch/Greg Mills No.79 won at
Norwood. Bugsy Stevens won at Thompson on Sunday night and at the
Utica-Rome Speedway, twin 200’s made up the New Yorker 400. Lou Lazzaro
won both ends of the 400. In the first 200, Eddie Flemke finished second
and was followed by Bernie Miller, Sonny Seamon and Ron Narducci. Seamon
finished second in the nightcap with Fred Harbach, Narducci and Dick
Fowler rounding out the top five. Fred DeSarro won the Labor Day Bardahal 400 at Norwood.
Thirty five years ago in 1973, Richie Evans started the long
Labor Day weekend off with a win at Malta on Friday night. Jerry Cook
finished second with Bugsy Stevens, third. Saturday night at Stafford,
Brian Ross took the win over Bobby Santos and Leo Cleary. Maynard Troyer
had a good weekend as he won at Tioga on Saturday and the Utica-Rome 400
on Sunday. Leo Cleary was declared the winner of the 200 at Stafford
after a scoring error was found. Bugsy Stevens was first thought to be
the winner but was given second spot. Eddie Flemke finished third with
Denis Giroux, fourth.
Thirty years ago in 1978, New Egypt started the weekend off
on Wednesday with a 100 lapper which was won by Richie Evans with Jerry
Cook finishing second. Geoff Bodine finished second with Fred Harbach,
third. Geoff Bodine was a DNF with a blown engine. At Stafford on
Friday, Bodine beat out Ronnie Bouchard. Riverhead ran a 100 lapper,
which saw
Charlie Jarzombek take the win over Evans and Tom Baldwin.
Moose Hewitt won at Waterford and at Islip, Greg Sacks sat in victory
lane. Utica-Rome ran the New Yorker 400 on Sunday which saw Richie Evans
and Jerry Cook finish one-two and at Thompson, Geoff Bodine took the win
over Joe Howard and George Summers. Bodine, in the Armstrong No.1 made
it three out of four for the weekend as he won the Labor Day 200 at
Stafford. Ronnie Bouchard finished second with Jerry Cook, third. Other
weekend winners were Leo Cleary at Westboro, Punky Caron at Monadnock
and Ronnie Bouchard at Seekonk.
Twenty five years ago in 1983, Kenny Bouchard was the Friday
night winner at Stafford. Corky Cookman finished second with Reggie
Ruggerio, third. Richie Evans and Doug Hewitt won twin features at
Spencer. Waterford ran a 100 lapper on Saturday with Bob Potter taking
the win. S.J.Evonsion won a 200 lapper at Riverside and Gary Iulg won
the 200 at Oswego. Evans and Ruggerio followed. Other weekend winners
were Johnny Tripp at Seekonk; Chris Young at Islip, Jack Ely at Thompson
and Brett Bodine won the 200 at Stafford. In Winston Cup action at
Darlington, Bobby Allison was the winner of the Southern 500.
Twenty years ago in 1988, Reggie Ruggerio got his eighth win
at Monadnock on Friday. George Kent won the Oswego 200 for the third
time on Saturday. Jan Leaty finished second with Jamie Tomaino, third.
Dan Avery won at Riverside and Fred Harbach won at Riverhead.
Fifteen years ago in 1993, Thompson ran a modified tour
series on Wednesday. Jan Leaty, who was running third on the final lap,
ended up being the surprise winner. Ed Flemke Jr. was leading going into
the fourth turn. Satch Worley, who was running second, made a move on
the bottom side and as Flemke attempted to pinch Worley off, the two
made contact and spun. Mike Ewanitsko ended up second with Steve Park,
third. John Anderson won a rained shortened event at Stafford. Chris
Kopec beat out Dan Avery at Riverside and at Riverhead, Ewanitsko won
a101 lapper. Waterford rained out and at Oswego, Ricky Fuller won the
200.George Kent, who hadn't driven in two years, finished second in the
Art Barry No.21.Tom Baldwin, Steve Park and Jamie Tomaino rounded out
the top five. Mark Martin made a clean sweep at Darlington winning both
the Winston Cup Southern 500 and the companion Grand National events.
Ten years ago in 1998, Bo Gunning won his sixth victory of
the year at Stafford on Friday night. At Waterford on Saturday, Jeff
Pearl survived a delay to fix the fence that was torn up. Dennis Gada
finished second with Mike Christopher, third. Rick Miller won at
Riverside and Frank Vigliarolo won at Riverhead. The Modified Tour
Series was at Thompson on Sunday for the Shaw’s 250.Ricky Fuller took
the lead on lap 203 and was cruising to victory until he crashed with
the lapped car of Jake Marosz. Mike Stefanik assumed the lead and went
on to record his eleventh win of the season. Chris Kopec finished second
and was followed by Jamie Tomaino and Mike Ewanitsko. Tracy Gordon won a
BGNN event at Thunder Road and ageless veteran Bentley Warren won his
sixth Super Modified Classic at Oswego. I n Winston Cup action at
Darlington, Jeff Gordon took the win plus the million dollar No-Bull
bonus. Dick Trickle beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. by inches to win the
Darlington GN event and on a sad note, Adam Petty, who was racing on the
ARCA circuit, had the misfortune of having his crew chief killed when
the car was dropped on him during a pit stop.
Five years ago in 2003, In Thursday night Thunder action at
Thompson, Kerry Malone took his second win of the season in the
Sunoco-SK Type Modifieds. Bob Santos III finished second with Bert
Marvin, third. In Pro Stock action, Chuck Docherty won the held over
PASS qualifier and Norm Wrenn won the regular event. Other winners were
Charles Bailey III in the Late Models, Larry Barnett in the Limited
Sportsman and Joe Godbout in the Mini-Stocks. At the Stafford Speedway
on Friday night, Frank Ruocco became a first time winner as he took the
lead on lap 21 in the held over 150 lapped from July 11 and went on to
take the victory over Chuck Docherty and Doug Coby. In the regularly
scheduled 35 lapper, Ronnie Silk took the win over Willie Hardie and
Doug Coby. Woody Pitkat was the late model winner. The NASCAR Modified
Tour Series was at the Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday night for the Big
Y World Class Market 150. Thirty-eight cars attempted to qualify for the
30 starting spots. Eric Beers, in the Bear Motorsports No.14 set fast
time as he toured the 1/3-mile oval in 13.674 seconds. Second fastest
was Chuck Hossfeld, in the Mystic River Marina Dodge, followed by Todd
Szegedy and Ted Christopher. The start draw was key as Hossfeld picked
the pole starting spot with Szegedy on the outside. Another key factor
was the qualifying draw.
Charlie Pasteryak, who is usually one of the top runners on the
tour, was a DNQ. As he paid the price of being the first one to qualify.
Among those who also did not qualify were Ken Barry, David Berghman, Tom
Cloce, Wade Cole and Jake Marosz. Chuck Hossfeld led from pole to pole
to take the win. Todd Szegedy, who started on the outside pole finished
second. On the start, Hossfeld jumped out in front. Szegedy faded and
Eric Beers moved into second. By the completion of lap two Ted
Christopher had moved into third spot as Szegedy continued to fade. The
first of eleven cautions occurred on lap 15 when Jim Broderick stopped
between turns one and two after developing a flat right front tire.
Broderick would re-join the field only to drop out on lap 35 with
suspension problems. The field went back to green on lap 20 but the
action was short lived as the caution flew again on lap 23 when Doug
Coby spun between turns one and two. The field went green on lap 30 with
Christopher moving into second behind Hossfeld. The caution flew again
on lap 48 when Tom Baldwin took a vicious hit when he contacted the wall
in turn one. It took twelve laps for the track crew to remove the badly
damaged car and do a clean up before the field went green again on lap
60. Meanwhile, Donnie Lia, who started eighth, had moved into fourth
spot. Szegedy moved by Christopher and the race was on. Beers, who had
been running in fifth spot, brought out the caution on lap 62 when he
spun after getting a flat and losing a spring. After numerous stops,
Beers’
car was repaired and he rejoined the field. The field went back to green
on lap 69 with Hossfeld leading followed by Szegedy, Christopher and
Lia. Christopher moved back into second on lap 70 and two laps later the
field went under caution when Jerry Marquis spun after being hit. Among
those who were caught up in the ensuing wreck were Tom Cravenho, Jim
Long and Howie Brode who were done for the night. An excessive amount of
oil was spilled on the racing surface, which caused officials to display
the red flag while the mess was cleaned up. The field went green on lap
89, single file with Hossfeld in command over Christopher, Szegedy, Lia,
Rick Fuller and Ed Flemke Jr. Four laps later the yellow was displayed
again as Kevin Goodale spun in turn four Back to racing on lap 97 only
to go yellow again on lap 102 when Jamie Tomaino slowed on the front
stretch. The field went back to speed on lap 105 only to be slowed again
for a wreck in turn one. The action
heated up when the field went green on lap 112 as Christopher began
honking the chrome horn on Hossfeld’s bumper. One lap later Christopher
miss-calculated as he hit Hossfeld with his right front tire and
promptly popped his tire and came within inches of smashing into the
wall in turn four. Christopher was able to pit for a new tire and
re-joined the field when they went back to green on lap 117. Szegedy
moved into second spot and was followed by Lia, Rick Fuller, Ed Flemke
Jr. and Bo Gunning. The final caution of the night came on lap 121 when
Bob Polverari tangled with Ron Silk and Kevin Goodale in turn four. With
20 laps to go, the green flew again. With ten to go Flemke began backing
up as his alternator had malfunctioned and was causing his motor to
miss-fire. At the finish it was Hossfeld followed by Szegedy, Lia,
Fuller, Gunning, Tony Hirschman, John Blewett III, Jimmy Kuhn, Doug Coby
and Nevin George. Flemke ended up 14th. For Hossfeld’s car owner, Bob
Garbarino, the win was especially sweet, as Waterford is where he got
his start as a car owner in the early 1960’s.
In regular Dodge Series racing action Jeff Pearl made a bold move
on a restart with 11 laps to go as he outdrove Ed Reed Jr. into turn one
to take the lead and eventual win. Dennis Gada, who was mired in heavy
traffic for most of the event, ended up third with Jeff Kraals, fourth.
Second-generation driver Keith Rocco, son of modified great Ronnie Rocco
won his first ever sportsman division event. Danny Field was the
Mini-Stock winner.
Racing at Riverhead and Wall Township fell victim to rain.
The Busch North Series was at Thunder Road Speedway in Barre,
Vermont. Brian Hoar took the win over Andy Santerre, Dave Dion and Matt
Kobyluck.
In Winston Cup action, Terry Labonte won the last Southern 500 that
would be run at Darlington Raceway. Kevin Harvick finished second.
Last year, the 2007 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour traveled to
Martinsville, VA. Donny Lia got the victory of a lifetime in the Made In
American Whelen 300 at Martinsville Speedway. Lia held off Ted
Christopher for the win in the race, which is the annual combination
event between the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the NASCAR Whelen
Southern Modified Tour. Not only did the victory further solidify Lia’s
Whelen Modified Tour points lead, it came two weeks after his friend and
fellow driver John Blewett III passed away following a racing accident.
John’s brother Jimmy won the Made In American Whelen 300 in 2006. After
sitting out a week, Jimmy Blewett returned Saturday. He finished 43rd
after engine problems. It was Lia’s sixth win of the Whelen Modified
Tour season and he improved his points lead to 193 over Todd Szegedy
with four races remaining.
L.W. Miller was the top finishing Southern Modified Tour driver in
third. Fellow Southern Modified Tour drivers Tim Brown and Brian King
were fifth and sixth respectively. James Civali was fourth. Lia, who won
the Budweiser Pole Award, led twice for 234 laps. He pitted for tires on
lap 157 on the first caution following the mid-race break. And he took
over the lead when Christopher pitted for tires on lap 184. Christopher
moved from 15th to second by lap 225 but was unable to get by Lia in the
closing laps. It took a little over three hours to complete the event.
There were 15 caution periods for 88 laps.
The Labor Day weekend venue of racing got started on Wednesday
night at the Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts with an event they called
Modified Madness. The historic 1/3-mile Speedway oval hosted the third
annual Open Wheel Wednesday program, featuring the Viveiros
Insurance-sponsored 100 green flag lap Modified Madness event, an open
competition race paying $10,000 to the winner. Local favorite Vinnie
Annarummo of Swansea, MA scored the biggest victory of his storied
35-year career at the 1/3-mile Seekonk Speedway oval on Wednesday night,
August 29, winning the 3rd annual Viveiros Insurance Modified Madness
100, worth $10,000. Thirty-three competitors from seven different states
attempted to qualify for the 100 green flag lap open competition event
which carried a total purse in excess of $31,000. Three qualifying heats
and a consolation round set the 24-car starting field, with heavy
hitters Mike Stefanik, Andy Seuss, and Tony Ricci among those who failed
to qualify. Jon McKennedy led the initial go-around of the main event
before Chuck Hossfield took over, bringing Chris Pasteryak with him into
second. Pasteryak worked the outside groove to get around Hossfeld on
lap 13, five circuits before a Woody Pitkat spin brought out the first
of four cautions. Ted Christopher took third from McKennedy on the
restart and was soon joined inside the top five by Richard Savary and
Annarummo, who started tenth. Further back, second generation ace Matt
Hirschman was on the move, coming from the 23rd starting spot to 10th in
the first 27 laps. Annarummo took third from Christopher on lap 35 while
Hirschman closed to eighth. Pasteryak navigated his way through heavy
lapped traffic at the midway portion of the race while Annarummo,
turning the fastest laps of the night, began to pressure Hossfeld for
second. Christopher ran fourth, ahead of McKennedy, Savary, Hirschman,
Dick Houlihan, Louie Mechalides, and Bobby Grigas III.Local entry Mike
Brightman spun to bring out the second caution on lap 54. Two circuits
later, Mechalides’ car came to a halt with a flat left front tire,
necessitating the third stoppage. After a false start, Pasteryak and
Hossfeld dueled side-by-side for the lead for several laps before Chris
powered past. McKennedy roared back to life during this next green flag
run, passing Annarummo and going to the outside of Hossfeld for second.
After a torrid battle for position, Hossfeld and McKennedy made contact
coming dsown the backstretch on lap 68, sending McKennedy into the
concrete and Hossfeld into the pit area via the black flag. Hirschman,
who had just nipped Annarummo for second, got loose in the outside lane
on the restart, allowing Annarummo to slide back around on lap 70. Bobby
Santos III spun after apparently locking up the brakes, bringing out the
final caution on lap 77. Pasteryak, whose car tightened up in the inside
lane, was unable to hold off Annarummo when the green was unfurled
again, and surrendered the top spot to the six-time Seekonk champion on
lap 79. In the final laps, Annarummo pulled away from Pasteryak and
sailed under the checkers 0.682 seconds ahead to post his 44th career
Seekonk win in the Francis Farm #12. “Ten thousand dollars- can you
believe it?” the 58 year-old veteran asked from Victory Lane. “This is
one hell of a division to drive in. All of the guys raced me clean. We
struggled in warm ups this afternoon, but we took a spring rubber out
and tonight the car was good.” “I got beaten by Vinnie Annarummo at
Seekonk Speedway,” Pasteryak good-naturedly shrugged after posting a
solid second place finish, worth $3,500. “We were tight on the bottom,
too, and that hurt us at the end.” Matt Hirschman walked away with
$2,500 for third, while Richard Savary pocketed $2,000 for finishing
fourth. Ted Christopher finished fifth, followed by Bobby Santos III,
Eric Beers, Dale Evonsion, who came on strong in the latter stages of
the event, Louie Mechalides, and Dick Houlihan.
In True Value Modified Series action at the Waterford Speedbowl
Kirk Alexander took the win over Les Hinkley, Mike Holdredge and Todd
Patnoad. Alexander came to the shoreline oval needing a win on the
one-third mile speedway to complete a sweep with victories on every
track that the series has competed on in its four-year existence.
In regular Thursday Night Thunder action at the Thompson Keith
Rocco hit everything but the lottery on his way to victory in the Sunoco
Modified 50 lapper. Rocco, who was the triggerman of a mid-race caution
all but rode Todd Ceravolo into the turn two wall following a restart on
lap 48. Ceravolo kept his wits about him and managed to recover and
finished fifth. Woody Pitkat finished second with Bert Marvin, third and
Tom Cravenho, fourth.
Steve Masse jumped out from his front row starting spot to lead the
opening lap of the event but it did not take long for Todd Ceravolo to
take over command. Woody Pitkat gave up the third spot to a charging
Kerry Malone while Tommy Cravenho had his hands full with Rocco. Things
settled down in the early stages of the event with Ceravolo leading a
freight train that included Masse, Malone and Pitkat. Current point
leader Pitkat was the first to step out of line, motoring to the inside
of Malone. Rocco, too, was making his run to the front. Rocco passed
Cravenho then Malone before lap 15. The battle for the third position
between Pitkat and Rocco really started to heat up as Masse had tucked
in on the back bumper of Ceravolo. The first caution of the event flew
on lap 23 when David Lacroix made hard contact with the pit gate on the
backstretch. Kerry Malone headed down pit road for service under the
caution flag. Ceravolo headed to the green flag two laps shy of halfway.
Early leader Masse crashed into the back of Ceravolo after being drilled
by Rocco. Both Masse and Rocco dropped to the back of the pack. As the
Sunoco Modifieds struggled to get to the halfway marker, Cates lost the
handle on the restart collecting Josh Steeves to bring out the caution
yet again. When the halfway marker finally waved under green flag
conditions, Ceravolo was the leader. Pitkat ran in second followed by
Cravenho, Bert Marvin and Rocco. The caution flag waved again when Harry
Rheaume spun on lap 30. After a failed attempt at a restart, Ceravolo
resumed his place at the head of the field. Cravenho faltered on the
restart losing positions to Marvin and Rocco. Pitkat made a run at
Ceravolo on lap 33 but lost his momentum in the low groove, ultimately
falling back and losing positions to Marvin and Rocco. Rocco looked to
continue his charge to the front as he hounded Marvin in second. Rocco
went low in turn two and drifted up the racetrack toward Marvin. Marvin
was forced to check up giving way to both Rocco and Pitkat. Over the
final ten laps, Ceravolo continued to show the way. Rocco took chase in
second followed by Pitkat. With five circuits remaining Rocco really
started to show his hand. On successive laps, Rocco would dive low in
the turns but could not retain enough speed to make the pass stick. A
spin by Masse on lap 47 set up a final chase to the checkers; giving
Rocco the opening he needed. Rocco made a bonsai to the inside of
Ceravolo, again drifting up the track. Ceravolo slid out of the groove
relinquishing several positions in the process. Rocco went on to take
down the victory over Woody Pitkat and Bert Marvin. Cravenho and
Ceravolo rounded out the top five.
In other Thursday night racing, Jeff Zuidema of N. Brookfield, MA
made a long-anticipated return to Pro Stock victory lane while Tommy
O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, scored his second Late Model feature win
of the season. Scott Sundeen of Douglas, MA edged Larry Barnett for the
Limited Sportsman victory. Roger Larson, Jr. won the TIS Modified
feature in tech while Brad Caddick of New London won a barnburner in the
Mini Stocks.
It took Ted Christopher to end Woody Pitkat's five-race winning
streak at the Stafford Motor Speedway as he won his second SK Modified
feature of the 2007 season, Corey Hutchings won the Late Model feature,
Josh Sylvester won his second consecutive SK Light feature, Sean Foster
won the Limited Late Model feature, and Jim Brice won the DARE Stock
feature.
The 40-lap SK Modified® feature took the green flag with Willie Hardie
charging from third to the lead on the opening lap. Ted Christopher
quickly moved his way by both Lloyd Agor and Keith Rocco to move into
second. A caution with 7 laps complete slowed the field and gave
Christopher the opportunity to move by Hardie for the lead on the
restart. The top-5 ran in line until lap-19 when Hardie fell back
several spots from second as Rocco, Woody Pitkat, Jeff Malave, Kerry
Malone, and Brad Hietala all moved by. Hietala was on the move in the
middle stages of the race, working his way up to second behind
Christopher. Several late caution periods set up a five-lap dash to the
finish. Christopher was not to be headed as he led the final five laps
to pick up the feature win. Hietala came home second, with Pitkat, Owen,
and Hardie rounding out the top-5.
In some sad news,
Ed Yerrington who led the Stafford Motor Speedway
out of financial despair in the early 1970’s passed away after suffering
from liver cancer. Yerrington, Sr., 78, of 31 Trading Cove Circle,
passed away Thursday, August 30, 2007, at his home. He was the President
and General Manager for the Stafford Motor Speedway where he was the Co
creator of the SK Modified Division. He also was an Operator and
Promoter at the Waterford Speedbowl and was directly responsible for
getting NASCAR and Don Hoenig together in order to secure a NASCAR
Sanction at the Thompson Speedway. He was an avid racecar driver, racing
along the East Coast for over 25 years, retiring in 1990. He was the
1970 Track Champion at the Stafford Motor Speedway when he drove the
Freddy’s TV No.23. He was also a Technical Inspector for NASCAR at
Daytona International Speedway. He was an avid antique car collector and
especially enjoyed showing his cars within CT and MA.
It’s a shame and a disappointment that there was no mention of
Yerrington’s passing on the web site of the Stafford Speedway.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action at the Waterford
Speedbowl Jeff Pearl came from deep in the pack to win the first 25-lap
SK segment of the “Double Down Shootout” at the shoreline oval.
Following Janovic was Jay Miller, Don Fowler, and, Dennis Gada. In the
nightcap SK event, it was Todd Ceravolo followed by Dennis Gada, Keith
Rocco, Tyler Chadwick, and, Jeff Paul. For the second consecutive year,
Gada was the overall “Double Down” winner.
Other feature winners were Ed Reed Jr. and Larry Goss (Late Model),
Walt Hovey and Josh Galvin (Sportsman), Ken Cassidy Jr. and Phil Evans
(Mini Stock).
In some sad news, Loren A. Card, 82, of Punta Gorda, Fla., the
original starter at the Waterford Speedbowl, died Aug. 27, 2007. He was
a colorfull starter from day one at the Speedbowl as he would start the
races while standing on the inside of the track. He started races at the
Speedbowl for over 20 years.
After going four months without a victory, Jimmie Johnson picked a
great time to get back to victory circle. The reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup
champion came on strong at the end of Sunday night's 250-lap race,
grabbing his series-leading fifth victory of the season, clinching a
spot in the Chase for the Championship and guaranteeing he will be no
worse than a tie for the top seed in the 10-race playoff. Johnson, who
took the lead for good after a series of green flag pit stops 22 laps,
led 65 of the last 82 laps on the 2-mile oval and easily held off
runner-up Carl Edwards. Kyle Busch finished third. Jeff Burton passed
Kyle Busch late and pulled away for his third Busch win of the season in
the Camping World 300 at California Speedway. Busch held on for second
place, Denny Hamlin was third, Jimmie Johnson fourth, and Clint Bowyer
fifth.
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
Harry Bliss
Lou Carangelo
Mario "Fats" Caruso
Danny Galullo
Johnny Lobo
Jocko Maggiacomo
The Chrome Horn
'Looking Back with Phil Smith' Archive
THE END
