June 28, 2013
Sorry For The Slight Format Change, This Week's Edition Was Sent Differently And Not An Easy Task To Format Correctly

Lee Raceway, in New Hampshire, presented an open competition Tour type Modified event on Friday, July 4. That event,
promoted by Ben Dodge, was 100 laps and carried a purse in excess of $30,000.
Thirty-two Modifieds were on hand with Charlie Pasteryak taking the win over
Tom Bolles, David Berghman and Jamie Tomaino.

   It was a hot night at the Waterford Speedbowl
on Saturday night as Dennis Charette garnered his first win. Ed Reed Jr. made a
late race challenge but because of a traction problem in the outside groove,
had to settle for second. Tom Fox finished third with Rob Janovic and Ron Yuhas
Jr., rounding out the top five. Brent Dragon won the 100 lap American-Canadian
Tour event. Harry Reed won at Wall Township. At Riverhead, Ken Heagy took the
win. Conspicuous by his absence was JR Bertuccio who sat out the event because
of family problems.

Those who supported the Race of Champions Series event at the Mountain Speedway in Pennsylvania became quite upset when their purse wasn’t paid at the completion of the event.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. started on the pole for the Daytona Busch Series event and made a
shambles of the race as he led every lap and took the win. Greg Biffle won the
Winston Cup Pepsi 400.

   Five years ago in 2008, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series traveled to Loudon, NH for their first of
two visits for 2008. Rain greeted fans and competitors who were on hand for
qualifying on Thursday. Because of adverse weather NASCAR was forced to set the
starting field of 38 cars based on point standings and the rulebook. There were
42 cars on hand, which meant that four would go home. Sent packing were Doug
Coby, Jon Mckennedy, Kenny Horton and Kenny Bouchard. Among those in the field
was L.W. Miller who would become the first driver to run a Spec engine in
Whelen Modified Tour competition.

   The four Whelen Modified Tour teams that were sent home from New Hampshire Motor
Speedway after qualifying for Saturday's New England 100 was cancelled on
Thursday each received tow money from the track. Track spokeman Fred Neergaard
confirmed that each team was paid $500 by the track.

   Chuck Hossfeld led only one lap but it was the one that counted as won out in a photo
finish with Ted Christopher. Christopher, who had led since lap 69 had a
checker on his mind but Hossfeld had other ideas as he dogged him with no
mercy. Ed Flemke Jr finished third and was followed by Eric Beers and Reggie
Ruggerio. Sixth through tenth were Bobby Santos, Todd Szegedy, Ryan Preece,
Jeff Fuller and Ronnie Silk. Hossfeld pocketed $15,600 for his efforts.

   Hossfeld and Christopher kept the crowd on its feet for the final ten laps as
they traded positions at the front numerous times.It was by far one of the best
finishes ever seen at the New Hampshire oval. Hopefully someone in the O.
Bruton Smith empire will recognize the great potential the division holds. L.W.
Miller, who used the new “Spec Enginefinished 20th.

   The victory was the seventh of Hossfeld’s career, his third at New Hampshire and
his second of the season. The Loudon Modified event had been scheduled to be
televised and was to be shown on the Speed Channel on July 18. Needless to say
the Whelen Modifieds took it on the chin again as the TV coverage was scrapped.
On the positive side Speedway Motorsports upper management was impressed with
the Whelen Modifieds to the point where they indicated the Mods could possibly
get a third date at Loudon if and when the Indy Cars are added to the track’s
schedule.

   The True Value Modifieds went up country to Maine for an event on Saturday at the
Wiscasset Raceway. Rain prevailed
forcing a cancellation.

   The Thompson Speedway’s Thursday Night Thunder program fell victim to rain.
The Stafford Motor Speedway put their Late Model division on center stage Friday
night with the first of two extra distance 100-lap feature events of the 2008
season. Waterford’s Dillon Moltz drove to his third consecutive Late Model
feature victory of the season in the 100-lapper, with Woody Pitkat winning the
40-lap SK Modified feature, Mark Bakaj winning the 20-lap SK Light Modified
feature, Joey Ferrigno winning the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and
Robert Thompson winning the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event.

   At the Waterford Speedbowl second generation driver Jay Miller ended a long dry
spell as he captured his first ever feature win at the shoreline oval. Miller
is the son of NEAR Hall of Fame driver Ray Miller. Miller took the lead on the
fourth lap of the 35 lap SK Modified feature from Wendell Dailey but in the end
had to contend with Dennis Gada and Keith Rocco for the win. Miller held on as
Gada and Rocco followed across the finish line. Rob Janovic and Jeff Paul
rounded out the top five.

   Other feature winners were Tim
Jordan (Late Model), Walt Hovey (Sportsman), Raymond Christian III (Mini
Stock), and Shaun Buffington (Legends).

   In Sprint Cup racing at Loudon, Kurt Busch had strategy and luck on his side. Tony
Stewart had neither. Busch wound up ending his 29-race winless string in the
rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301, while the frustrated Stewart simply
added another disheartening loss to his own winless string that has reached 31
races. It is the first victory for the Penske Racing driver since September at
California Speedway, and it came on a day when two-time Cup champion Stewart
dominated, leading 132 of 284 laps, only to see the hard luck that has dogged him
all season continue.

   Runner-up Michael Waltrip, who had not finished better than 23rd, used the same strategy
as Busch. The two-time Daytona 500 winner said he was hoping the race would go
to the end because he believed he had a faster car than Busch. But Busch
believed he could hold the top spot. Stewart, who dominated the second half of
the race on the 1.058-mile oval, held off a challenge from two-time reigning
Cup champion Jimmie Johnson late in the race and appeared on the way to his
first victory since August at Watkins Glen, N.Y. But Stewart and most of the
other drivers who had been racing at the front of the pack did not have enough
gas to get to the end. On lap 271, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had been in the top
10 all day, started toward pit road and was hit from behind by Jamie McMurray,
who then spun into David Ragan, bringing out a caution. Stewart and the rest of
the front-runners pitted under the ensuing yellow flag, while Busch and seven
other drivers who had pitted more recently than the leaders, stayed on track.

   The race restarted on lap 279, but there was another caution on lap 280, with
Clint Bowyer and rookie Sam Hornish Jr. crashing, then Juan Pablo Montoya
slamming into series points leader Kyle Busch, Kurt's younger brother, moments
later. Montoya was later assessed a two-lap penalty by NASCAR for rough driving
and finished 32nd.

   The rain that had been threatening for much of the afternoon began falling during
that caution and, moments after the cars were red-flagged onto pit lane just before
completing lap 285, NASCAR called the race, leaving Busch on top, ahead of
Waltrip, J.J. Yeley, Martin Truex Jr., Elliott Sadler, Reed Sorenson and Casey
Mears, all of whom had stayed on track during the previous caution.
In Nationwide action at Loudon

   Tony Stewart got track position, restarting third after taking just two tires
during his final pit stop on lap 129 of the 200-lap event at New Hampshire
Motor Speedway. He took the lead on lap 136 from fellow Cup star Carl Edwards
on lap 136 and led the rest of the way. Teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch
finished second and third.

   Last year, 2012 The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series continued on a three week
break before heading to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Town Fair Tire
100 on July 14. Doug Coby, with his victory at Waterford, had stretched his
point lead to 20 points over defending series champion Ron Silk. Silk held a
slim three point edge over Ryan Preece. Justin Bonsignore and Jimmy Blewett
rounded out the top five. Keith Rocco and Donnie Lia, tied for sixth, were only
five points away from being in the top five. Rounding out the top ten were Ted
Christopher, Ron Yuhas Jr and Todd Szegedy.

   Its amazing that some self proclaimed experts continued to believe that all is well with the
Whelen Modified Tour Series.
If it were not for wealthy car owners or wealthy drivers who buy their rides
the division would be hurting. Lack of television and lack of daily media
coverage does little to help attract sponsorship money. For the most part the
supporting tracks were paying as much as they can.

   Thompson Speedway owner Don Hoenig felt that the more rules that NASCAR mandates, the
more it costs the car owner. Instead of talking to those who currently compete
on the tour NASCAR needs to talk to those who were formerly on the tour and ask
what are their reasons for dropping out. Hoenig has his own problems on
Thursday nights. Dwindling fields of cars for various reasons have taken their
toll on the popularity of the Thursday night programs. The economy is to blame
for some of it, inconsistent rules enforcement for some of it and inconsistent
general officiating for some of it. The facility is great, the purses are fair
and the contingency money is great.

   In Valenti Modified Racing Series action at the Lee USA Speedway in New Hampshire
Les Hinckley III, visited the winner’s circle for the first time this season
after surviving the final 10-laps of Friday night’s Valenti Modified Racing
Series event. The 100-lap race was marred by several crashes including a 10-car
pileup at lap 90 that eliminated race leader Jon McKennedy from the event. In
the final 10-laps race leaders Rowan Pennink, and Jeff Malave were also knocked
from the lead. Series officials blamed aggressive driving for the incidents.

   Todd Owen finished second for his best finish to date. Louie Mechalides finished
third. Chris  Pasteryak and Max Zachem rounded
out the top five. Sixth through tenth were, Jimmy Dolan, Joe Doucette, Norm
Wrenn, Rowan Pennink and Mark Bakaj.  Polesitter
McKennedy led the first five circuits. Defending series champion Chris
Pasteryak led the field through lap 17 when Pennink took command until lap 82.
A hard charging McKennedy then regained the lead. Tommy Barrett who started
24th in the field, battling for the lead on lap 90, made contact with
McKennedy, triggering a massive pileup. After Pennink and then Malave were
eliminated from the lead, Hinckley led the final two laps to secure the win.
Hinckley’s win was his 16th VMRS victory, his third at Lee tying Kirk Alexander
for total wins (Lee). Seventeen of the 24 cars that started the race finished
on the lead lap. Five yellow flags and one red flag on lap 90 slowed the event
completed in 1 hour 15 minutes.

   Valenti Modified Racing Series competitor Tommy Barrett was given a two-race suspension
and was put on probation for the rest of the 2012 season, the result of
aggressive driving at Lee USA Speedway, Lee, NH., Friday night, June 29. Series
Race Director Pete Newsham made the announcement following the notification.
Barrett was fined and placed on probation by the series for the same infraction
after last the June race at Seekonk, MA.

   Thursday night Thunder at Thompson saw repeat winners dominate victory lane in NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series action. Cam McDermott, John Lowinski-Loh, and Tommy
O’Sullivan all added to their win totals while Mike Veins became the first
repeat winner in the Mini Stock division. Woody Pitkat earned his first win of
the season in the Sunoco Modified division. The North East Mini Stock Tour
entertained with a victory by Emerson Cayer in their stand-alone event and a
Showdown victory for Thompson favorite Danny Field.

   In the Sunoco Modified event Woody Pitkat earned his first Sunoco Modified victory
of the season after Keith Rocco was disqualified in post-race technical
inspection. Repeat winners dominated victory lane in NASCAR Whelen All-American
Series action on Thompson’s Thursday Night Thunder program. Cam McDermott, John
Lowinski-Loh, and Tommy O’Sullivan all added to their win totals while Mike
Veins became the first repeat winner in the Mini Stock division. Woody Pitkat
earned his first win of the season in the Sunoco Modified division. The North
East Mini Stock Tour entertained with a victory by Emerson Cayer in their stand-alone
event and a Showdown victory for Thompson favorite Danny Field.
Pitkat's win came after Keith Rocco was disqualified in post-race technical inspection.
Inspectors found that Rocco's engine had heat shields that were on the bottom
of the intake manifold.

   John Catania drove out front on lap one of the Sunoco Modified feature, but heading
into turn four, went high, and collected Shawn Thibeault as the two came flying
across the front stretch and hit the inside pit road retaining wall. Catania’s
No. 52 machine hit the wall hard and his night was over. Keith Rocco took the
lead when the race resumed with Ryan Preece, Ted Christopher, and Woody Pitkat
rounding out the top four. Preece was glued to Rocco’s bumper, occasionally
moving out of line to look for a way around. Rocco never game him the chance to
make a formal challenge for the lead, but Pitkat, was able to muscle his way
around Christopher for the third spot at lap seven. Preece tried again to get
by Rocco on lap 10 using the bottom, but Rocco closed the door. Rocco got some
breathing room on lap 13 when Preece got loose coming off of turn four. Pitkat
used the opportunity to his advantage and challenged Preece on lap 14, but
Preece fought back and held on to the spot. On the following circuit, Pitkat
darted to the outside and easily drove by Preece for the second position. Rocco
drove straight to the checkered flag, but was later disqualified in tech
handing the win to Pitkat.

   There was also a nasty incident involving Glen Boss in the Thompson Modifieds who was
involved with a confrontation with another driver and refused to acknowledge
the black flag. Rather than stop the race officials allowed Boss to continue in
the race, unscored. Speedway head tech inspector, chief steward Mike Kun resigned
his position at the track. Kun’s son Andrew Kun also quit along with fellow
official John Andrade. Andrew Kun and Andrade are both listed as “assistant
inspectorson the staff list posted on the track’s website. The speedway named
Josh Vanada as its new director of competition at the track. The new position
replaces the old position of “chief steward. Vanada previously held the
position of assistant starter at the track. Another former NASCAR Chief
Steward, Richard Brooks, is now listed as Infield Coordinator.

   Keith Rocco got redemption from his Thursday night disqualification at Thompson at
the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night as he won the annual running of the
Coors Light SK Modified100. Rocco took the checkered flag in the extra
distance classic for his first Stafford win of the 2012 season, Corey Hutchings
was a first time 2012 winner in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Tony Membrino,
Jr. was a career first time winner in the 20-lap SK Light feature, Josh Wood
picked up his 5th win of the 2012 season in the extra distance Limited Late
Model feature, and Kyle Casagrande took home his fourth win of the season in
the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.

   In the Coors Litght 100 Frank Ruocco finished second, with Berndt, Foster, and Christopher
rounding out the top-5.

   On Saturday night was the 9th annual CARQUEST Super Saturday program at
Stafford. Mike Lichtyp won the 50-lap ISMA Supermodified feature, Mike Horn won the 30-lap NEMA Midget feature event,
and Dan Meservey, Jr. won the 25-lap Pro-4 Modified feature event. In the CARQUEST Champions For Charities
event, Ron Midford, Jr. took the checkered flag but the real winner was charity
as the 13 champion drivers raised over $51,000 for their selected charities.

   In regular weekly racing at the Waterford Speedbowl the mid-season Speedbowl.com
300 was run which put six divisions in
action for a total of 300 laps of racing. The special event provided the
track’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions with extra-distance races
including the annual 100-lap SK Modifiedthriller. Tyler Chadwick was the
night’s big winner, picking up the victory in the SK 100 for his fourth win of
the year. Jason Palmer recorded his first win of the year in the Bob Valenti
Auto Mall Late Models while Walt Hovey Jr. took down his second Street Stock
race of the season. Bill Leonard scored his first Mini Stock division win and
Matt Pappa won his eighth Legends Cars race of the year at the shoreline oval.

   In Modified action at Bowman-Gray in North Carolina twin 50 lap Modified events were run. Jonathan
Brown won the opener over Danny Bohn, Tim Brown and Burt Myers. Randy Butner
won the night cap over Jason Myers, Lee Jeffreys, Bohn and Burt Myers.

   In NASCAR Modified action at the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island Tom Rogers made
it two in a row after starting from outside pole.

   In NASCAR Sprint Cup action Brad Keselowski did it again at Kentucky Speedway.
NASCAR’s master of saving fuel, made his gasoline last during the final laps of
the Quaker State 400 and he grabbed his series-leading third victory of the
season, virtually clinching at least a wild card spot for the Chase to the
Sprint Cup.

   Driving the No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge, Keselowski led the final 58 laps of the 1.5-mile
superspeedway and won despite driving a back up car after crashing during the
first practice session on Friday.

   Austin Dillon absolutely dominated the Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway to
notch his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. Dillon started from the pole
and was the class of the field, leading 192 of the 200 laps and beating Kurt
Busch to the finish line by 9.828 seconds at the 1.5-mile asphalt oval.

   That’s about it for this week from 11 Gardner Drive, Westerly, and 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.

Looking Back Archive

Source: Phil Smith / Looking Back A Bit
Posted: June 28, 2013