Forty years ago in 1968, Freddie Schulz was
the Saturday night winner at the Norwood Arena. At the Albany – Saratoga
Speedway, Sonny Seamon made a rare appearance and walked off with the
win. Pete Corey finished second with Lou Lazzaro, third. Dave Gaul and
Don MacTavish rounded out the top five. No one knew it at the time but
it would be the last time fans would get to see MacTavish in action at
the Malta oval as he would lose his life in a violent accident in
Daytona in February of 1969. Thompson ran a 200-lap event on Sunday with
Bugsy Stevens taking the win.
Thirty-five years ago in 1973, Lancaster Speedway
ran their season ending 200.Maynard Troyer took the win over Bugsy
Stevens. Shangri La ran the same day and held some of the NASCAR drivers
including Richie Evans who took the win over Geoff Bodine and Eddie
Pieniezak. Devils Bowl, in West Haven Vt. was paved at the time and
hosted the NASCAR modifieds on Sunday afternoon. The Bug cleaned house,
as Evans had to settle for second. Leo Cleary finished third and was
followed by Jerry Cook and Ronnie Bouchard.
Thirty years ago in 1978, the modifieds ran at Seekonk on
Saturday night after a fast run from Thompson where many were there for
300 qualifying. Ronnie Bouchard took the win over George Summers, Bob
Santos and Red Barbeau. North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina ran
a modified special, which was won by Ray Hendrick. Geoff Bodine
continued his winning ways as he won the Thompson 300 over Santos and
Bugsy Stevens.
Twenty five years ago in 1983, Waterford ran on Saturday
night with Glynn Shafer taking the win with Ted Christopher, second. The
annual Race of Champions at Pocono drew 98 modifieds. Jim Spencer took
the win over Jamie Tomaino and Carl Pasteryak.
Twenty years ago in 1988, the battle for supremacy at Pocono
came down to a last lap battle between Reggie Ruggerio and Satch Worley.
As the pair roared off turn four, Worley made a move to the outside to
go for the win but Ruggerio blocked and Worley rode the wall and had to
settle for second. Finishing third again was Carl Pasteryak.
Fifteen years ago in 1993, Apple Valley (Spencer) Speedway
ran a special 50 lap event for the modifieds. Jan Leaty took the win
over Jim Rudolph and Lee Sherwood and a 200 lapper scheduled for
Waterford rained out for the second time. At Dover Downs, the Grand
National 200 got a late start because of rain but it was well worth it
as Todd Bodine took the win. In Winston Cup action at Dover, Rusty
Wallace made up two laps to take the win. Numerous wrecks caused by
blown right front tires and broken brake rotors marred the race. The
Busch North Series ran at Lee Raceway and it was veteran Stub Fadden
taking the win over Curtis Markham, Dick McCabe and Tom Bolles.
Ten years ago in 1998, the Race of Champions had been sold
and moved to Oswego but the once prestigious event had lost a lot of its
luster because of financial problems of the events previous Needless to
say the event drew 49 modifieds, the majority from New York and few from
the Modified Tour Series. Ted Christopher took the lead from John
Blewett III on lap 24 of the 200-lap event and led to the 125-lap mark
when his ignition box shorted out. From there on, Siege Fidanza led the
way and went on to take the win. Tim Mangus finished second with Ryan
Holland, third. At Waterford on Saturday night it took 67 minutes to run
35 laps. Mike Gada survived seven wrecks and went on to take the lead
with 11 laps to go and went on to take the win. Ed Dachenhausen finished
second with Bert Marvin, third. Phil Rondeau scored his 97th win at the
shoreline oval as he won the late model event. Mike Stefanik finished
10th in a BGNN event at Beech Ridge and sewed up the1999 title. Tracy
Gordon won the 150-lap event over Dave Dion. In Winston Cup action at
Dover, Mark Martin cleaned house as he led 380 of the scheduled 400
laps. Jeff Gordon finished second. Elton Sawyer won the Dover Grand
National event.
Five years ago in 2003, Matty Adante went pole to pole in
Thursday night Thunder Sunoco Modified competition at Thompson. It was
his first win. The action was hot and heavy behind him. Todd Ceravolo,
who had been on a hot streak was eliminated while running second in the
closing stages of the event when he was hit by Ron Yuhas Jr. while
trying to weave his way through lapped traffic. Ceravolo’s night ended
against the front stretch wall. Yuhas, who had previously tangled with
Bert Marvin, went on to finish second. Eric Berndt finished third and
was followed by Ted Christopher and Bob Santos III. Other Thursday night
winners were Chuck Docherty in the Pro Stocks, Scott Bronczyk in the
Late Models, Shawn Monahan in the Limited Sportsman and Roger Larsen in
the Mini Stocks. The NASCAR Modified Tour Series was at Loudon on Friday
for a 100-lap event that was run in conjunction with the Winston Cup
weekend. Thirty-nine Modifieds took time for the event that carried a
purse of$148,275, a $9450 increase over the 2002 September race. Tony
Hirshman took the pole position with a speed of 127.649 mph. Second
fastest was John Blewett III with a speed of 127.474 mph. Rounding out
the top five were Nevin George, Chuck Hossfeld and Mike Stefanik. John
Blewett III all but dominated the event as he cleaned house. After
starting on the outside pole, Blewett made a determined run as he led on
five different occasions. Driving for Curt Chase, Blewett took the lead
for the final time on lap 69 when he passed Ted Christopher for the
lead. Christopher was a factor but lacked that little extra to nail down
the win. Christopher settled for second and was followed at the finish
by Ken Wooley, Mike Stefanik and Chuck Hossfeld. Pole sitter Tony
Hirshman led the first four laps. Mike Stefanik, who started fifth, made
a determined charge as he took the lead on lap four. Stefanik led until
lap eight when he gave way to Blewett. By lap ten the leaders were in
lapped traffic and Stefanik was able to sneak by and retake the lead.
Blewett glued himself to Stefanik’s bumper and re-took the lead on lap
16. The first of four cautions flew on lap 23 when Mike Molleur spun in
turn four. On the re-start it was Blewett in command. Hirshman made a
run at the high flying No. 77 and moved into the lead on lap 28 but lost
it as fast as he got it as one lap later Blewett was on the point again.
The second caution of the event flew on lap 41 when Dave Berube spun in
turn two. The field went back to green on lap 46 for one lap as caution
No. 3 flew for Nevin George who came to a stop in turn two after a spin.
The field re-started on lap fifty. Hirschman made another stab at the
lead and was able to head the pack on lap 53. His lead was short lived
as Blewett powered by one lap later. The fourth and final caution came
on lap 59 when Renee Dupuis came to a halt in turn four. The final
restart came on lap 63 with Blewett leading. Ted Christopher was doing
some bump drafting and got by Blewett to lead lap 68 but from then on it
was Blewett on cruise control to take the win by 1.42 seconds. Blewett
went non-stop and was having second thoughts about the amount of fuel he
had but cautions made the difference and a pit stop was avoided. At
Stafford on Friday night, Chris Jones took his second SK Modified
feature of the year. Eric Berndt made several attempts to lead the event
but in the end it was Jones taking the win. Rounding out the top five
were Ronnie Silk, Emil Downie and Willie Hardie. At Waterford on
Saturday night John Brouwer Jr. and Pete Pavone each won twin 25 lap
events. It was the first win for Pavone who has been racing since 1985.
Dennis Gada was hoping to solidify his lead in the NASCAR Regional point
chase but wrecks in both features all but put him out of contention.
Diego Monahan made it two in a row in Late Model action. Saturday night
racing at Wall Township and at Riverhead was rained out. Brad Leighton
was the Busch North Series winner at Loudon and in Winston Cup action at
the New Hampshire mile Jimmie Johnson took the win. The big news of the
weekend came from NASCAR when it was announced that Brian France had
replaced his father, Bill Jr. as Chairman of the Board and Chief
Executive Officer of NASCAR.
Last year 2007, the 2007 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was at
the New Hampshire International Speedway for their second of two visits
for 2007. Forty NASCAR Modifieds were on hand for the 100-mile event
that carried a $164,095 purse. Former series champion Todd Szegedy took
the Busch pole as he toured the semi-banked oval in 29.725 seconds to
the tune of 128.135 MPH. Second fastest and taking the outside pole
position was Ron Yuhas JR. Yuhas’ speed was 128.018 MPH. Series point
leader Don Lia was third with Tony Hirschman, fourth. Rounding out the
top five was JJ Yeley who drove a car that was assembled at Dale
Earnhardt Inc in North Carolina and painted up to resemble the Modified
driven by the late Tom Baldwin. As usual the NASCAR Whelen Modifieds got
shuffled to the back of the bus as their event was rescheduled for late
Saturday as well as being shortened 25 laps from the original 100. Pole
sitter Todd Szegedy took the win in a somewhat clouded situation. NASCAR
has some issues with Szegedy’s engine and has sent it to NASCAR’s R&D
center in Concord, NC. In the meantime, the finish was pending. .Ronnie
Silk finished second with series point leader Donny Lia, third. Bobby
Santos III and Jimmy Blewett rounded out the top five. Sixth through
tenth were James Civali, Tony Hirschman, Andy Seuss, Mike Stefanik and
Bob Grigas III. The event, which was originally scheduled to go off in
the early afternoon didn’t get the green flag until 5:30pm. After a
couple of early wrecks that thinned the field a bit the balance of the
event was classic Loudon with numerous lead swapping and bump drafting
the norm. During the final laps the top four were litterly under a
blanket. It was announced that 31,000 fans were on hand to witness the
event. Fifteen of the original 39 starters finished on the lead lap. The
event, which took just under 45 minutes to run, produced four caution
periods for 32 laps. Among those who failed to finish were Ted
Christopher and Eddie Flemke who had major power plant malfunctions.
Outside pole sitter Ron Yuhas Jr along with Matt Hirschman, Richard
Savory, Kenny Bouchard and Reggie Ruggiero were eliminated in a wreck
after James Civali dumped Yuhas out of second spot. There were actually
8 lead changes between two drivers, Szegedy and Silk. Szegedy took the
lead for the final time on lap 68.
In NASCAR Busch East action at Loudon on Friday Joey Logano took
the win in the 125-lap feature and unofficially clinched the
championship at New Hampshire. Mark McFarland saw his excellent run go
up in smoke after contact with Sean Caisse which landed McFarland in the
wall. Matt Kobyluck, who had made it up to 6th after an early spin, got
collected in an accident that also involved Kelly Moore and Scott Lynch.
Kobyluck alluded to the fact that Moore intentionally wrecked him.
Following Logano and Caisse were Rogelio Lopez, Peyton Sellers, Jamie
Hayes, Jerry Marquis, Brad Leighton, Ryan Moore, James Buescher, and
Eddie McDonald.
In regular NASCAR Whelen Weekly Racing action at the Thompson
Speedway Kerry Malone won the Sunoco Modified main event. Mike
O’Sullivan padded his point lead with a Pro Stock feature victory while
Keith DeSanctis by virtue of his Limited Sportsman victory, moved into
the point lead in the division. Tommy O’Sullivan added to the
celebration by winning in the Late Model division. Unofficially
O’Sullivan teammate Tim Sullivan bested the TIS Modified field helping
his championship hopes. Scott Michalski earned his first win of the 2007
season in the Mini Stocks.
Malone saw it all en route to his third Sunoco Modified win of the
season. He nearly spun, took the lead, and his car was suspected of
leaking fluid. But in the end, Malone was dry all the way to the
checkered flag. For the second week in a row the points were shaken up
atop the Sunoco Modified point standings. With his runner-up finish,
Keith Rocco took over the points lead by 14 points over a tie for second
between Tommy Cravenho and Woody Pitkat. After a pair of attempts at a
start, pole sitter Steve Masse showed the way through lap two before
relinquishing the top spot to Woody Pitkat. The first caution flew
almost immediately for a spin by Eric Goodale. Back under green, it was
a three-car breakaway at the head of the pack with Pitkat holding the
top spot over Malone and Rocco
The Stafford Motor Speedway continued their Friday night Fall
Series which leads up to the season ending Fall Final . Chris Matthews
secured the 2007 SK Light championship in grand style by winning the SK
Light feature for his fifth feature win of the 2007 season. Frank Ruocco
took the SK Modified feature win for his third feature win of the
season, Michael Bennett was a first time winner in the Late Model
feature, Joey Ferrigno was a first-time winner in the Limited Late Model
feature, and Don Wood was a first-time winner in the DARE Stock feature.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action at the Waterford
Speedbowl on Saturday night a 20 plus year friendship between Rob
Janovic and Dennis Gada became strained to say the least. From the mid
point of the SK Modified feature to the finish Gada and Janovic ran
wheel to wheel when they were not nose to tail. Gada worked harder than
he has ever had to do as Janovic’s driving pattern resembled that of a
windshield wiper. Gada, who is gunning for a record seven SK Modified
championships, never gave up as finally took the lead with four laps
remaining. The Speedbowl wraps up their season this coming weekend with
the Town Fair Tire finale. Janovic will go into the event with a
14-point lead over Gada. Todd Ceravolo, Mike Finkeldey and. Matt Gallo
rounded out the top five. Tim Jordan, the 2006 Late Model champion won
his first race since May and fifth overall, holding off Bruce Thomas
Jr., who clinched the division title last week. Jordan has not run a
full schedule at Waterford this year, racing instead a few times in
Seekonk and Oxford on the ACT tour. Phil Evans won his sixth Mini Stock
feature of the year, making him the all-time winningest active driver in
the division. Jack Aquilina won the Sportsman feature while Dwayne Dorr
wrapped up his second straight title with his seventh-place finish.
In Nextel Cup action at Loudon, Clint Boyer raced to the first
victory of his Cup career by embarrassing the field at New Hampshire
Motor Speedway, where he started from the pole and led 222 of 300 laps
while beating Jeff Gordon to the finish line by more than 6 seconds.
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.
Phil Smith has been a
columnist for Speedway Scene and various other publications for over 3
decades.
This week are
several vintage racing photos courtesy of
VintageModifieds.com
Tony Dadio
Jimmy Broderick
John Anderson
Joe Bubbico
Billy Knight
Reggie Ruggiero
The Chrome Horn
'Looking Back with Phil Smith' Archive
THE END
