Forty years ago in 1968, A Sunday afternoon
modified event scheduled by the Lee Raceway in New Hampshire was rained
out.
Thirty five years ago in 1973, the Northeast racing season
had ended and race teams were getting ready for their annual trip to
Martinsville.
Thirty years ago in 1978, the modifieds ran a special event
at Kingsport, Tenn. Ronnie Bouchard, driving the Bobby Judkins No.2x
took the win over Richie Evans, Jerry Cook and Harry Gant. Gant drove
the famous William Mason No.45. The only action in New England was at
Waterford where Bugsy Stevens in the Brady Bunch No.41 won a 100 lap
open competition event which drew 60 modifieds. Dick Dunn in the Albert
Gaudreau No.3 finished second and was followed by Eddie Flemke and Bruce
"Gomer" Taylor.
Twenty five years ago in 1983 was another off weekend.
Twenty years ago in 1988, the modified tour was at
Rougemont, N.C. Ricky Fuller took the win over Tom Baldwin, Jamie
Tomaino, Jeff Fuller, Mike Stefanik, Brian Ross and Mike Ewanitsko. It
was at this event that Rod Spaulding was involved in an accident that
saw him receive severe head injuries. It was also announced that the
Arute Family had sold the Stafford Speedway to Dan Avery for
$2.5million. Avery withdrew the offer a week later.
Fifteen years ago in 1993, the Race of Champions was held at
Flemington, N.J. Billy Pauch, driving the Mario Fiore No.44 started 43rd
and avoided numerous wrecks and took the win in the 200 lap event. Jeff
Fuller finished second and was followed by Tony Siscone, Mike Ewanitsko,
Reggie Ruggerio and Steve Park. In the Triple A, sk type feature, Ted
Christopher came back after being involved in a 20 car wreck, then took
the lead from Tom Tagg with10 laps to go and went on to score the win.
Tagg's distributor broke. Eric Beers finished second. In the National
Parts Peddler Street Stock event, Tom Fox, who crossed the finish line
second was awarded the win after apparent winner Shannon Connor was
disqualified. At Rockingham, N.C., Mark Martin won the Grand National
event. Jim Spencer and a crew member were suspended for the rest of the
year for fighting with Joe Bessey's crew. In Winston Cup action, Rusty
Wallace took the win.
Ten years ago, in 1998, Flemington ran a mod tour 250 which
was won by Ed Flemke Jr. who took the lead from Mike Stefanik with three
laps to go. Stefanik hung on for second and was followed by Mike
Ewanitsko, Reggie Ruggiero, Tony Hirschman, Jamie Tomaino and Tim
Connolly.
Five years ago in 2003 The NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour
Series was at the Thompson Speedway with a field of 49 modifieds on
hand. Because of steady rain, the previous week that showed no sign of
letting up, the event was postponed to this Saturday afternoon. All
qualifying took place a week ago with Tony Hirshman taking the pole with
a run around the 5/8 mile oval to the tune of 120.501 mph. Doug Coby was
second fastest with series point leader Todd Szegedy, third. Hirshman
was also the lucky guy on the draw for starting positions as he pulled
the pole starting spot. Jimmy Kuhn pulled second spot with John Blewett
III pulling third. Chuck Hossfeld and Szegedy rounded out the first five
starting positions. Sixth through tenth starters are Doug Coby, Eddie
Flemke Jr., Jerry Marquis, Carl Pasteryak and Tony Ferrante Jr. Once the
World Series was postponed it was a mass charge to leave the speedway
grounds. A major traffic jam developed when the hitch on Jamie Tomaino’s
tow rig broke and it was nothing but gridlock until the road was opened
up.
A huge field of 64 SK Modifieds were on hand. Because of the large
field, a “B” feature was run for non-qualifiers, which was won by Tom
Cravenho. Other Saturday winners were Richard Savory in the Pro Four
Modifieds, Chuck Docherty in the Pro Stocks, Rick Gentes in the Outlaw
Late Models, Shawn Monahan won his seventh Limited Sportsman feature,
Jim Silvia in the Outlaw Strictly Stocks, Joe Godbout in the Mini Stock
feature and Mike Veins in the Outlaw Mini Stocks.
In Winston Cup action at Martinsville, Jeff Gordon started on the
pole and led 311 of 500 laps to take the win. It was Gordon’s 63rd win.
Jimmie Johnson finished second. Bobby Hamilton Jr. won the Busch Series
Sam’s Town 300 at the Memphis Speedway.
Last year, 2007 when NEAR announced their choices for
induction into the Hall of Fame, class of 2008, two unique individuals
appeared on the list. Pete Zanardi and Dr. Dick Berggren are two New
England natives who have dedicated their lives and careers to auto
racing. Zanardi, a retired sports writer was one of the first to cover
weekly racing and give recognition to competitors in the print media. He
wrote about many in national publications and he mentored many including
yours truly. He was responsible for setting up the original public
relations department when Jack Arute bought the Stafford Speedway. His
biggest accomplishment could very well be the effort he put in to save
the Waterford Speedbowl from extinction. Berggren began his career as a
race driver at Stafford. He also took a lot of pictures and after a
short driving career the camera won out. During his early years his
photos were published in the now defunct Cavalcade of Auto Racing that
was owned by Jim Moffat. The photos led to printed stories. He received
a doctorates degree which should have led to a teaching career but auto
racing won out as Berggren expanded his racing and eventually became the
editor of the now defunct Stock Car Racing Magazine. Along the way he
teamed up with racing buddies Bruce Cohen and Lew Boyd and conceived the
original Spring Sizzler at Stafford. He also became a broadcaster as a
pit reporter of televised NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup Racing, a
labor of love he continues to do. He also fulfilled a life long dream of
owning his own magazine, Dick Berggren’s Speedway Illustrated which is
distributed nationally each month. Most of all, despite all the fame and
notoriety both Zanardi and Berggren have been loyal to their roots in
auto racing in New England.
The wheels were still turning at some tracks. Matt Hirschman won a
special event staged at the All Star Speedway in Epping, NH. It was also
the weekend for the annual Octoberfest at the Lee USA Speedway in Lee,
NH. Andy Seuss won the True Value Modified Series event there after Kirk
Alexander suffered a flat tire while leading with three laps to go. Mike
Douglas ended up in second spot with Chris Pasteryak, third. Down in the
south land Bad Boy James Civali drove the Hills Enterprises No.79 to a
convincing win at the Franklin County Speedway in Callaway, VA
It was announced that Modified stock cars would return to Vermont in
2008, as the True Value Modified Racing Series would make its debut at
Barre’s Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl during the 46th Annual Mekkelsen RV
Memorial Day Classic, Sunday, May 25. TVMRS founder and competitor Jack
Bateman of Canaan, NH tested his car at the high-banked ¼-mile oval and
made the agreement with Thunder Road Promoter Tom Curley to bring the
touring series to “The Nation’s Site of Excitement” for a 100-lap event
as part of a doubleheader with the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Thunder
Road Late Models. The last official Modified race at Thunder Road was in
June 1965, won by former National Champion Dick Nephew of Mooers Forks,
NY. Canadian legend Jean-Paul Cabana won the Memorial Day Classic in
1965 at the wheel of a Modified car, as well.
With the 2007 Stafford Motor Speedway season concluded, the speedway
announced it would honor its 2007 track champions at its 38th annual
Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony on Friday, November
16, 2007 at the La Renaissance Banquet Facility in East Windsor.
Headlining the night's festivities, Ted Christopher will be recognized
as the 2007 SK Modified® Champion, which is his sixth overall Stafford
Motor Speedway SK Modified® track championship. Corey Hutchings will be
honored as the 2007 Late Model Champion, which he achieved in his rookie
campaign at Stafford. Chris Matthews, who missed out on racing for the
inaugural SK Light championship last season because he was on his
honeymoon, drove to the 2007 SK Light Championship in dominating fashion
this season, clinching the championship with two races remaining. Sean
Foster drove to four feature victories and eight top-4 finishes in the
final 9 races this season and will be recognized as the 2007 Limited
Late Model Champion, and Norm Sears put together an amazing stretch
during the second half of the 2007 season with seven podium finishes in
the final eight races to win his second consecutive DARE Stock
Championship. Stafford Motor Speedway Most Popular Driver candidates
include Woody Pitkat, Ted Christohper, and Frank Ruocco from the SK
Modified® division, Woody Pitkat, Scott Foster, Jr., and Scott Cook from
the Late Model division, Chris Matthews, Glen Reen, and Heather
DesRochers from the SK Light division, Andrew Durand, Sean Foster, and
Joey Ferrigno from the Limited Late Model division, and Dan Flannery,
Bill Dunn, and Matt Chiarizio from the DARE Stock division. The Most
Popular Driver winners were voted upon by the fans, who submitted Most
Popular Driver Ballots from the PitStopper Magazine to the Speedway
Office throughout the 2007 season. Reliable Welding and Speed Rookie of
the Year honors will go to Wade Mattesen from the SK Modified® division,
Corey Hutchings from the Late Model division, Josh Sylvester from the SK
Light division, and David Capriati from the Limited Late Model division.
Tickets for the 38th annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions
Awards Ceremony were priced at $45.00.
The France family, which owns the International Speedway
Corporation and Pennsylvania International Raceway, Inc. (PIR), an
indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, terminated its agreement with NZSW,
LLC for the sale of 158 acres on which Nazareth Speedway is located. The
land was to be sold to NZSW, LLC for approximately $19 million. PIR
intends to retain the approximately $2 million in non-refundable
deposits as the agreement was terminated in accordance with its terms as
a result of a default by NZSW, LLC. Nazareth Speedway suspended major
motorsports event operations after the completion of the track's 2004
events and its results of operations are presented as discontinued
operations in the Registrant's consolidated financial statements. The
property continues to be marketed and a sale is expected to occur in
fiscal 2008.
In Nextel Cup action Jimmie Johnson made the pass he didn't allow
Jeff Gordon to make in the spring, sneaking inside Jeff Gordon with 44
laps to go and held on to win at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia for
his series-high seventh victory of the year. The Hendrick Motorsports
teammates who have dominated the Nextel Cup series all season did it
again in the Subway 500 at the tricky track where their superiority is
most apparent, and Johnson got some unexpected late help from Ryan
Newman to tighten the Chase. Newman challenged Gordon for second with
nine laps to go, getting increasingly more physical, and finally passed
him on the inside on the 494th circuit as Johnson opened a lead of
nearly 2 seconds. He then had to withstand a two-lap overtime sprint to
the finish, with Gordon lurking third and ready to take advantage if the
leaders faltered. They didn't, and Johnson held on through one lap
before the race-record 21st caution came out. Johnson gained
in the Chase with four races left, cutting Gordon's lead to 53 points.
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
of Hully Bunn, the winner of the first
Race Of Champions at
Langhorne Speedway in 1951.
The Chrome Horn
'Looking Back with Phil Smith' Archive
THE END
