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08/22/2011 |
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LES HINCKLEY DEFENDS VMRS POINT LEAD
AT SEEKONK SPEEDWAY
by
Denise DuPont |
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 The Modified Racing Series (MRS) went to Seekonk Speedway Saturday, August
19th for the first time this year. Seekonk Speedway is a semi-banked 1/3
mile paved oval. As time moves on, the track still currently holds the
distinction of being the longest continually operated race track in the
United States opening in 1946. When the fans start filling in the grandstand
and the engines start to roar, you know why the local track has been around
so long.
When the Valenti Modified Racing Series (VMRS) come on the track, their
engine noise echoes off of the cement grandstands and meaning of why the
modifieds are called ground pounders is well understood. With the track
being both small and fast, if you blink you certainly can miss a lead change
or two.
The VMRS drivers stepped up to the tracks challenge and they drove two wide
when they could to get to the front. Les Hinckley is one of the veteran
drivers that made the right moves to pass where he could and survive to take
the win. Hinckley started the race fifteen out of a field of nineteen cars
and did not stay there long. “The race was good from my seat,” said Hinckley
reflecting on the race. “I imagine that the fans enjoyed it. We started
pretty deep in the field. We then took our time getting to the front.”
Hinckley passed Dwight Jarvis for the lead on lap 79 and then he held off
Jarvis to capture the win. “We had a pretty good time racing Dwight there at
the end. It was pretty exciting. It is fun passing a lot of race cars when
the end result is always good.”
Hinckley made getting to the front look easy as he mastered the groove while
managing to avoid accidents that happened all around him. “It is tough on
the way to the front. You try to keep a balance on what is going on in front
of you and what is going on further in front of you. In other words, what
you are immediately racing and what is going on in front of you. I tried to
keep one eye up ahead of me and one eye on what was going on around me and I
tried to stay out of trouble.”
Dwight Jarvis was ninth in points coming into the Seekonk race and still
looking for a 2011 VMRS win. Jarvis drove in the top five from the beginning
of the race waiting for the right time to go for the lead. He was patient
and after a tap from Todd Annarummo he managed to pass Ananrummo for the
lead. “The car was real good out there and I knew that it was going to be a
battle going around the #12 car (Todd Annarummo). I got to a point where I
said I have to go for it and he got me sideways. I managed to get it
straightened back out.”
When he passed for the lead on lap 72, it looked like his first 2011 win was
within his reach. Then before he knew what happened, Les Hinckley managed to
pass him with little warning that he was coming. “I did not know Les was
that close. I do not have a lot of chatter on my radio. I stayed in first
gear running around the track for a while. They told me I had to start going
forward and I knew that I had the car to do it. He just got by me.”
“I thought that I might have a shot passing Les at the end.” Said Jarvis as
officials inspected his car. “I had no idea that he was so close and I was
out there riding around where the tires were good and would last. When he
got underneath me I knew then that I should have protected the bottom more.
But that is racing. He went by me and never hit me. It was a clean racing.
That is what I like. It was fun and I finished second. But I would like to
win one though.”
Chris Pasteryak passed for the lead on lap 25 and thought that he was on his
way for the win But Pasteryak used up his car when he and Todd Annrummo were
dueling for second spot at the beginning of the race. “We were just a little
too tight and it (the car) really went away again. The outside does not seem
to be as good as it use to be. I do not know if it is just the night or if
it is the way that the track has been all year. It could be completely
different when we come back in October.”
 Pasteryak settled for a podium finish in the end and was all smiles and
happy with where he finished. “My finish was not bad. I was kind of throwing
the anchor at the end. But that is all right. I got really tight at the end.
Les had a really good car tonight. That was the most fun that I have had it
a long time. That was a fun race and it was fun putting on a good show for
the fans.”
Young Joey Jarvis quietly moved up through the field and was there at the
end to capture a fourth place finish. He was in the wings waiting if the
right opportunity came but if it did not happen he knew he would be
satisfied with what he had. “I am happy with a fourth place finish. I am
happy for our team. Everything went pretty smoothly. We are bringing the car
home in one piece. We are always looking to finish better, but we will take
it (fourth place finish). “
Coming into the race the #04 team set their sties and put together a plan
that they hoped would get them into the top five. Are goal was to stay out
of it (banging and spinning) and save the tires. That was about it. I think
that we had a second or third place car tonight. But with the point racing
going on, I did not want to make a hole where there wasn’t one.” So the
quiet
 driver made his way up through the field and found himself where he
wanted to be at the end of the race.
Norm Wrenn rounded up the top five finishers at Seekonk. He started the race
about mid pack and like Joey Jarvis quietly made his way up through the
field and was in the top five at the end. “It was a good finish,” said Wrenn
in the pits after the race. “We just hung around all night. They were racing
hard in front of us and I was just taking spots when I could take them. We
lost the power steering during the last caution so at the end of the race I
did not think that we were going to finish. But we held on. I will take a
fifth place finish in this series any day.”
The VMRS will return to Thompson Speedway next Thursday night (8/24) for 75
laps of big track racing. Going from one of the smallest tracks on their
series to the largest will certainly be a challenge for teams as they
prepare to go racing.
What are your thoughts on the Seekonk Speedway
race track itself?
Les Hinckley
“I love coming to Seekonk. It is a nice fun short track. A good handling
race car always runs good here. It is an interesting place because of the
seats all around. The fans surround the race track. You feel like they
(fans) are right on top of you. I love coming here. The track people are
very gracious to us and I enjoy coming here.”
Dwight Jarvis
“I love this place. It is fast little place. You are always Turing here. You
have to be on the wheel. This car is awesome. I love coming down here and
putting a good show on here. The people at the track are wicked nice here.
Everything about this place other than being so far away from home is
excellent. It is an excellent little track to run.”
Norm Wrenn
“I love the race track here. With a Pro Four Modified I won a lot of races
here. It is a perfect track for the Pro Four Modified. It was a lot tighter
with these cars. But I like racing these cars. I am getting better at racing
these cars and I like the track so I like racing these cars at this track.
It is a competitive track, so anybody can win here. It is a fast track and
you stop fast here too!”
Joey Jarvis
“The track is alright. It (track) is too small for me really. But it is a
fun little track and it is pretty quick. “
So what was Hinckley’s strategy to make it
through the pack, keep the car clean and win if he can?
Les Hinckley
“There is only so much of that you can control when the guys start beating
and banging like that and checking up. You just have to keep your car square
to the one in front of you so that you can keep the wheels on it. That is
just some basic habits that you get into to try to protect the race car
through out the race. Sometimes luck is on your side and sometimes it isn’t.
When Louie spun in front of us that was kind of nerve wracking. Coming up
through the field you have to be on your toes. Thankfully we came out of
everything clean tonight.”
As the VMRS drivers made there way to the front
of the field or tried to maintain their spots, there appeared to be rougher
riding then normal. Was it really rough riding or just hard racing?
Chris Pasteryak
“Rough Racing, I do not know if it was that bad. I thought that the race was
a lot of fun. It was kind of like the Wednesday night show here when we hade
a lot of Whelen Tour drivers in the race. The outside here is not as good as
it use to be. I think that the track overall does not have as much overall
grip as it use to. I did not think that anyone was being rough on purpose. I
just think that the on the moves that you use to be able to make here for
whatever reason the track just lost a little bit of that grip there and now
you cannot make those same moves any more. If you just miss it a little bit
you just end up sliding up on the guy on the outside of you. Where you get
loose on the outside of somebody and pinch the guy down it does not take
much. You are not going fast here so you just bounce off of somebody and
just keep going. It was a lot of fun!”
Dwight Jarvis
“I do not like to race like that. And I do not like to get raced like that.
I know that it is his home track (Todd Annarummo) and he was trying to put a
show on for the people that know him down here. But I knew that I had a
faster car than he did and I just said to myself to keep on going no matter
what the consequences were. Eventually I just took it out there (on the
outside groove) and went. Racing should not bee like that. When somebody
gets aside of you, you should have the courtesy to give them the room that
they need.”
“The car was awesome and I love this track. If I lived here I would race
here ever week.”
Norm Wrenn
“It was a survival race. These guys were racing seriously, not giving any
spots at all. They were racing tight. I made my mind when I went out there
just to survive the race and to save the tires until the end. And it worked
out for me.”
Todd Annarummo
“It was just racing. I did not go out there to intentionally hit him. I
tried to get him low. He came down and we got together. That was just
racing! I did not spin him out or try to spin him out. I let him make the
move. That is just racing in my mind. If I had just kept my foot in it and
put him in the infield then I am a dirty driver. But it was an accident and
that is just racing in my mind. Then they pull my card for rough riding.
“But this all started when we got here tonight with the starter at the tire
corral. He said that he was going to black flag us and of course he did. We
got into a little argument. I guess that he shut his radio off so he did not
have race communications. So that gave him the authority to do that because
nobody could tell him otherwise. He is gone now so I guess we are going to
have a better series going forward!”
Driving is any race series takes a lot of your
time and some drivers are away from their families more often then they want
to be. Seekonk winner, Les Hinckley, has two small boys and they follow him
on the web when they cannot be at the race.
Les Hinckley
“My boys get pretty excited. They were both at Stafford last week and they
do not take their eyes off of this yellow race car. They love it. They
wanted to know where we were going today and how long of a drive that it
was. So they are into it and like it. I wish that they could come more often
but it is tough with them being young.” |
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Source: Denise DuPont
/ TheChromeHorn.com
Posted: August
22, 2011 |
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