Seventy years ago in 1940 a brand new race track in opened in
Thompson, CT. The land on which the track was built had been transformed
from a dairy farm into a speedway following the farm’s destruction at the
hands of the infamous 1938 hurricane. Property owner John Hoenig had
constructed the largest race track in the northeast and had bucked
conventional wisdom by making the racing surface out of macadam instead of
the traditional dirt, clay or wood that topped most tracks of the day.
Hoenig had built the first ‘asphalt’ race track in the United States. Racers
of the day could not wait to test the all-new, high banked speedway. None
had ever raced on a surface like the one Hoenig had used, but that did not
keep them or race fans away. A full field of racecars and the huge
grandstands were filled to capacity for this grand opening. Opening day had
brought virtually every big name in the sport. The grandstands, made from
trees that had been blown down in the hurricane, were full and when the time
trial session was complete, it was the D’Amore #10 that had set the fast
time of the day at 26.4 seconds. “Dizzy” Vance then drove the D’Amore #10 to
a win in the very first qualifying race at Thompson.
Once the qualifying heats and the consolation race were completed,
the race teams worked feverishly to improve the performance of their dirt
track racecars. After all, none had ever competed on a hard and fast surface
like they encountered on that day in May of 1940. The feature event cars
were then lined up and the green flag dropped on the field of twelve cars.
Excitement filled the air and the cars roared down the long straight-a-ways
and slid sideways through the turns just as if they were on a dirt track.
The competition was fierce, but when the final flag flew on this historic
opening day, it was the D’Amore #10 that had done it all. Yes, “Dizzy” Vance
had set fast time, won his qualifying heat and then went on to claim victory
in the very first feature race ever run at the Thompson Speedway.
Special thanks to Russ Dowd who provided the info on the Grand
Opening of the Big T.
Fifty years ago, in 1960,
Bill Slater won his fourth feature in a row at the Norwood Arena. Ted Stack
was the Modified feature winner at the Waterford Speedbowl. In other action
at the shoreline oval Tom Sutcliff was the non-Ford winner and Newt Palm
scored his third Bomber win.
Forty five years ago in 1965
Ted Stack was still winning at the Waterford Speedbowl as he took the
Modified feature. Bill Scrivner was the winner in the Bomber ranks. Pete
Corey led the New York State invasion at Stafford as he won the Friday night
event on the dirt. Paul Marshall took the win at Fonda on Saturday night. At
Riverside Park, Dick Dixon recorded the win. Little did anyone know it would
be his last win at the amusement park speedway as he would lose his life
later in the year at the Thompson Speedway when he hit a light pole on the
backstretch. Jerry Cook took the Sunday night win at Utica-Rome. Tom Kotary
and Elton Hill followed.
Forty years ago in 1970,
Fred DeSarro made it two in a row in Friday night action at Malta. Eddie
Pieniezak finished second with Dick Fowler, third. Stafford ran a 100 lapper
on Saturday night. Ray Hendrick, up from Virginia for the weekend was a
surprise winner after DeSarro had a brake lock up while leading. The biased
New England crowd booed Hendrick in victory lane because they thought he had
put out DeSarro. De Sarro got on the mike and told the crowd what really
happened and the entire mood of the crowd changed. This was to be Hendricks'
only career win at Stafford. Eddie Flemke finished second and was followed
by DeSarro, Leo Cleary and Bobby Santos. Eddie Pieniezak and Irv Taylor
shared victory lane in twin 25's at Fonda and at Plattsburg it was Dick
Nephew over Andy Romano. Walt Dombrowski, a sheet metal fabricator at the
Electric Boat shipyard in Groton , CT won his second Modified feature of the
year driving the Majewski L&M. George Allum was the Late Model Daredevil
winner. At Thompson on Sunday, Hendrick won a 100 lapper over DeSarro and
Flemke. A make-up 35 lapper was also run with Flemke taking the win over
Hendrick and Santos. John Kollar was the Sunday night winner at Utica-Rome.
Thirty five years ago in 1975,
rain washed out Friday night action at Stafford, Freeport and Utica-Rome.
Islip ran a 100-lap double point event with Fred Harbach taking the win over
Tom McCann and Gary Winters. At Lancaster it was Maynard Troyer over Roger
Treichler and Dean Hoag. Billy Harman made it two in a row in Modified
action at Waterford. Don Fowler scored his second Late Model Daredevil win
of the season at the shoreline oval. Sunday night at Fulton saw Richie Evans
returned to his winning ways as he beat out George Kent and Jerry Cook. At
Thompson, it rained.
Thirty years ago in 1980,
the New England Drivers and Owners Club, (NEDOC), voted to notify track
operators of Stafford, Thompson, Westboro and Monadnock that they wanted a
reduction in pit fees for drivers, owners and mechanics. With the exception
of Thompson, all complied with NEDOC's wishes. Stafford ran the Manchester
Oil Heat 100 on Friday night. Richie Evans took the win over Ronnie
Bouchard, Satch Worley, Jerry Cook and Mike Stefanik. Evans carried his
winning ways over to Riverside on Saturday where he took the victory over
Bob Polverari and Ray Miller. At Westboro it was Ronnie Bouchard over Bob
Fuller. Shangri-La, Spencer, Waterford, Islip and Claremont fell victim to
rain. Other weekend action saw John Blewett Jr. take the win at New Egypt on
Wednesday following a tangle by leaders Jerry Cook and Evans. Stash Gregger
took a 100 lap open event at Plainville, also on Wednesday, after Charlie
Jarzombek hit the wall. On Sunday, a strike was called at Thompson and the
Sunday night racing was cancelled after only six cars entered the pit area.
Twenty five years ago in 1985,
Brian Ross made it two in a row in Friday night action at Stafford. Jeff
Fuller finished second with Bugsy Stevens, third. Kerry Malone was the SK
mod winner. New Egypt ran a 100 lapper with Bob Park holding off Jim Spencer
for the win. Saturday night at Waterford, Kenny Bouchard in the Ted Marsh
No.55 took the top spot over Bob Potter. Mike Lovetere was the Superstock
winner. At Shangri-La, Richie Evans was in top form as he beat out Jim
Spencer and Jan Leaty. At Riverside it was Doug Hevron over Bob Polverari
and at Riverhead, Don Howe edged out Bob Park for the win. At Thompson on
Sunday, Charlie Jarzombek closed out the weekend with a convincing win over
Evans and Hevron. In SK type Modified action at Thompson, Kerry Malone took
his second win of the weekend.
In Winston Cup action at Riverside, California, Terry LaBonte mastered the
twisting road course.
Twenty years ago in 1990,
SK modified action at Stafford saw Bob Potter take the win. At Riverhead on
Saturday night, Mike Ewanitsko beat veteran Fred Harbach for the win and at
Riverside, Reggie Ruggerio won a 100 lapper over Bob Polverari and Mike
Stefanik. At Shangri La, Andy Romano ended a 20-year dry spell as he won the
mod feature over Dave Nichols. The mod tour was at Thompson on Sunday for a
100 lapper. NASCAR put in a mandatory pit stop, which made the racing
better, but when the dust had settled, it was Mike Stefanik taking the win
over Mike McLaughlin. Jeff Barry was the SK mod winner. Also on Sunday,
Jerry Marquis in the Bob Judkins 2x won at Monadnock over Bruce Dell and
Kirby Montieth.
Fifteen years ago in 1995,
Steve Chowanski was the Friday night winner at Stafford. Bo Gunning finished
second with Mike Christopher, third. It was a night of intense action and
contact. Jim Broderick and Ted Christopher were ejected for rough riding and
John Anderson was ejected for climbing the starters stand to vent his
feelings. The Featherlite Modified Tour was at Lee Raceway. Tim Connolly in
the Bobby Fuller No.17 took the win over Tony Hirshman, Ed Flemke Jr and Tom
Cravenho. Waterford cancelled at 11:00am on Saturday because of forecasted
rain and by race time the sun was out! At Riverside Park, Steve Park in the
Brady Bunch modified took the win over Doug Meservy and Reggie Ruggerio and
at Riverhead, Tim Cintarino beat out Tom Tillotson for the win. Mike
McLaughlin got his first Busch Grandnational win at Dover Downs on Saturday
at the expense of fellow New Yorker, Doug Hevron who lost an engine while
leading the late stages of the event. Kyle Petty won the Winston Cup event.
Ten years ago in 2000, Eddie
Flemke Jr used an early pit stop to his advantage as he brought the Hill
Enterprises No.79 home in the top spot at the Featherlite Modified Tour 150
at Stafford. Flemke pitted on lap 59 and when the rest of the field stopped
on lap 85 he found himself in the lead, which he never gave up. Tim Connolly
finished second and was followed by Tony Hirshman, LW Miller, Chris Kopec
and Ted Christopher. Christopher overcame being put to the rear during the
early going of the SK modified 50 lapper and took the lead in that event
with one to go. At Waterford on Saturday, Jeff Pearl beat out Ed Reed Jr for
the win and in SK Mod action at Thompson on Sunday; Christopher won out over
Todd Ceravolo and Bert Marvin. In Winston Cup action at Charlotte, Matt
Kenseth took the win. Jeff Burton was the GN winner. Five pit crewmembers
were injured during a pre-race pyro show. In Daytona Beach, a group of
blacks picketed NASCAR headquarters when the sanctioning body refused an
entry of a black driver. In all fairness to NASCAR, the driver in question
was very slow in a practice session at Martinsville and wasn't even close to
being competitive. They made the right decision!
Five years ago in 2005
At Stafford on Friday night Ted Christopher collected his 79th career win in
the 40 lap SK Modified feature. Woody Pitkat appeared to be heading for the
win when, on the last lap, he and Frank Ruocco tangled. While Pitkat and
Ruocco were trying to collect themselves, Christopher who was running third,
took advantage of their misfortune as he assumed the lead and eventual win.
Pitkat recovered to finish second with Ruocco, third. Jeff Baral and Todd
Owen rounded out the top five. Jay Stuart took a controversial win in the
Late Models and Michael Bennett scored his fourth win in five starts in the
Limited Sportsman division. Joey Ferrigno was the Dare Stock feature winner.
The Waterford Speedbowl continued to keep fans and competitors
buzzing over the recent announcement that the track’s days were numbered.
Speedbowl operator Terry Eames called a meeting on Wednesday, May 18, to
explain to competitors what was really going on. Speaking in general terms
Eames told those in attendance that the property owner, 1080 Hartford Road,
LLC, had entered into an agreement that could potentially sell the property
on which the Speedbowl is located to a real estate developer. He did specify
that the 2005 season would continue as planned and there was a good chance
that the 2006 season would also go on as planned. Rumor had it that the
asking price was close to $5 million. Property values in southeastern
Connecticut had soared in the last ten years and have created a housing
shortage. It was also announced that the New London Submarine Base was on
the US Government’s Base Closure list. If that became a reality property
values could take a dive and building houses or condos on the Speedbowl
property could be a bad investment. Electric Boat, which builds submarines
for the US Navy had cut their workforce in half over the last ten years. The
regions largest employers are the casinos which, in many cases, have hired
displaced workers at low paying jobs. It’s a good guess that if the base
goes the Speedbowl will stay. There are some who feel that Eames had
betrayed them. When he took over operation of the track a few years back he
stated that he was in it for “The Long Haul”. Evidently he hit a bump in the
road!
Seventeen year old Jeffrey Paul made his open wheel Modified debut
at the shoreline oval in the “Wacky Wednesday” program. A standout
competitor in the Legends Cars, Paul took to the limited X-Modified like a
duck would take to water as he won the event Paul came back to the Speedbowl
on Saturday to win the 20 lap Legends race. In Bud Nationals qualifying at
Waterford on Saturday there were 29 SK Modifieds on hand. Despite the
increased purse only two non-regulars plus Jim Broderick who was pinch
hitting for Mark Pane who had a date at the altar, were on hand. Broderick
who has been semi-retired the last few years hasn’t lost his touch as he set
fast time for the 150-lap event during time trials. Frank Ruocco was second
fastest with Tom Fox, third and Ted Christopher, fourth. Rounding out the
top five qualifiers was Chris Pasteryak. Drizzle and the prediction for more
forced the postponement of the second day of the Budweiser Modified
Nationals
Sunday at Waterford Speedbowl.
In some sad news, Freddy Doolittle of Norwich, CT, a Modified car
owner and sponsor for many years passed away at the age of 77 on Monday, May
16. Fred owned and operated Freddy's TV in Norwich for 52 years. During his
30+ years as a car owner the Freddy’s TV No.23 ran up and down the east
coast with drivers like Bob Potter, Ron Narducci, Ed Yerrington, Moose
Hewitt and Kenny Bouchard at the controls.
Last year, 2009, the
Stafford Motor Speedway returned to racing action with Whelen Event. Taking
down feature victories were Keith Rocco in the SK Modified feature and Ryan
Posocco in the Late Model feature. Tony Santangelo scored his second
consecutive SK Light Modified feature win, while Shawn Thibeault took his
first career Limited Late Model feature victory. With two DARE Stock feature
events on the card, Robert Thompson and Todd LaPorta drove to CARQUEST
Victory Lane.
The 40-lap SK Modified feature took the green flag with the action
at the front of the pack fast and furious. Keith Rocco moved to the lead on
lap-2 after riding side by side with Curt Brainard for the first lap. Frank
Ruocco made a bid for the lead on lap-3, taking the lead from Rocco in turn
3 only to have Rocco pull the crossover move and retake the lead coming out
of the fourth turn. Rocco held the lead until lap-12 when Ted Christopher
made a move to the inside of Rocco in turn 4. Christopher and Rocco ran nose
to tail until lap-23 when Rocco made a bottom shot move on Christopher in
turn 1 to retake the lead. Rocco began to stretch his lead out over
Christopher, but his lead was erased when the caution came out with 37 laps
complete for a spin by Nichole Morgillo. On the restart, Christopher was
judged to have jumped the restart and was penalized one lap. That put Woody
Pitkat alongside Rocco for the restart. After several more caution periods,
it was down to a green white checkered finish. Pitkat hung tough on the
outside of Rocco, but he came up a half car length short at the checkered
flag. Rounding out the top-5 behind Rocco and Pitkat was Ruocco, Jeff
Malave, and Curt Brainard. Christopher, who parked his car after being
penalized, ended up 15th. The defending Whelen Modified Tour Series Champion
felt that the call by race director Frank Sgambato was unfair. Christopher
told the Hartford Current that he will not be back at Stafford except for
Whelen Modified Tour Series events.
The Waterford Speedbowl was forced to cancel their NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series racing program and Little League Night festivities due
to inclement weather. A persistent fog, mist, and drizzle intensified as the
practice rounds were underway and continued into the evening.
Howard Hodge who, along with his wife Mary have done so much to
promote the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series with their cameras, report
while at Loudon for the recent Vintage Celebration they got a chance to see
some of the construction going on at the Whelen Modifieds arrive for their
June event they will see that the infield between the tunnel and the garages
will be totally changed. The brook will be in a culvert and the access road
will be changed. (One road near the backstretch fence). They are moving the
entrance gate to the south garage. The plan is to make more room for the
series (WMT, CWSE and ACT) that have to use the infield for a pit area. The
idea is to have no one pitted on the access road. The Hodges also reported
that the front stretch fencing was also gone as work to install a new
stronger fence had started.
Congratulations went out to nationally recognized public relations,
motorsports marketing and promotions specialist Ernie Saxton who had been
named recipient of the 2009 Leonard J. Sammons Jr. Memorial Award which
recognizes outstanding contributions to auto racing. Saxton would be honored
when the 18th annual Northeast Modified Hall of Fame driver inductions and
special award ceremonies take place Sunday, May 24 on the Cayuga County
Fairgrounds in New York State.
General Motors and Chrysler announced that they were eliminating
close to 2,000 dealerships.
Tony Stewart passed Matt Kenseth with two laps to go in a thrilling
final 10-lap shootout to win for the first time in 11 All-Star event starts
at the Lowes Motor Speedway. It was the first victory since he left Joe
Gibbs Racing after two championships and 10 successful seasons, to become
co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. Matt Kenseth was second, followed by Kurt
Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards. After a follow-the-leader parade for
most of the first three segments, the action picked up at the drop of the
flag of the final shootout. Kyle Busch used a three-wide pass to dart from
fourth to first, aggressive driving that slowed the cars behind him. Denny
Hamlin ran into the back of Jimmie Johnson, sending Johnson into a spin that
he masterfully saved from a race-ending accident. A caution period set up
another restart, and this time Jeff Gordon raced to the front. Newman
decided to enter the action with a three-wide move to the outside, and
Gordon and Kyle Busch touched at least once before all three cars collided.
It sent Gordon into a spin through the grass then back up across
the track, where he crashed into the outside wall to end his race. Kenseth
eventually moved to the front, but he and Busch knew Stewart was coming
quickly. Stewart was third on the final restart with five laps to go, and
made several charges for the lead before finally getting past Kenseth with
two laps remaining. The late-race action moved the attention back to the
track after a week spent discussing Jeremy Mayfield's indefinite suspension
for failing a random drug test. Despite his ban from the track, Mayfield was
on track property early Saturday night, complete with camera crew in tow, as
he watched J.J. Yeley drive the Mayfield Motorsports entry to a 22nd-place
finish in the preliminary race. Mayfield spoke with reporters who found him
in the infield, insisting his positive test was not because of illegal drug
use. Instead, he said it was the combination of a prescription drug, which
he would not identify, and Claritin-D, which he said he used to combat
allergies at Richmond that were "really, really bad." Mayfield said he has
hired legal representation and has undergone drug tests since his
suspension. He declined to reveal those results.
That’s about it for this week from 11 Gardner Drive, Westerly,
R.I.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
SpeedwayLineReport.com &
VintageModifieds.com.
Jap Membrino
Billy Greco
Ronnie Wyckoff
Bugs Stevens
Smokey Boutwell
Gene Bergin
All photos courtesy of Tom Ormsby and
VintageModifieds.com
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