08/02/13
August 2, 2013 |
Sixty years ago in
1953, Leo Boudreau was the 25 lap Sportsman winner at the New
London-Waterford Speedbowl. Ted Dean was the non-Ford winner. Johnny
Thompson, who began his racing career at the Kingston Fairgrounds in Rhode
Island, was the Sportsman winner at the shoreline oval on Saturday night.
Thompson, a refrigeration mechanic by trade would enjoy his greatest days
during the 1960s at the Norwood Arena. Lou Tetreault was the Saturday night
non-Ford winner.
Fifty five years ago in 1958,
Ray Moran was the Wednesday night winner in the Modifieds at the New
London-Waterford Speedbowl. Dick Beauregard was the non-Ford winner and Turk
Hewitt was the Bomber winner. Johnny Sandberg was the Saturday night
Modified winner at the Speedbowl. Moran and John Arrigoni won support races.
Fifty years ago in 1963 trade
publication Area Auto Racing News reported that Eddie Flemke led the Eastern
Bandits on a southern swing that took them to the Old Dominion Speedway in
Manassas Virginia for a 200 lap Modified event. Flemke started 28th and by
the time the race was flagged two to go Flemke had taken the lead only to
run out a fuel and was forced to give way to New Jersey driver Bob Rossell
who went on to take the win. Flemke had hoped to redeem himself at Old
Bridge on Sunday but was thwarted by the rain. Rene Charland was the Friday
night winner at the Fort Dix (New Egypt) Speedway. Don Collins was the 50
lap Modified winner at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Ed Gladue was the
Bomber winner. A special Bomber program was run on Sunday, Aug 4,1963. It
was on this date that Bob Potter won his first of almost 100 feature wins at
the Waterford Speedbowl. George Janoski was the Modified winner on the dirt
at Stafford.
Forty five years ago in 1968, Eddie Flemke began the weekend with a win at
Stafford on Friday night. Driving the Bobby Judkins 2x, Flemke beat out Gene
Bergin, Bugsy Stevens, Don MacTavish and Bob Santos. Pete Corey made a rare
appearance at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway and walked away with a win. Andy
Romano finished second with Jerry Cook, Dave Lape and Dave Kotary rounding
out the top five. Lou Lazzaro made it two in a row at Fonda on Saturday
night as he won a 50 lapper at the historic oval over Corey and Ed Pieniezek.
Leo Cleary put the Joe Brady 41 in victory lane at Norwood and at Islip,
John Berkowski took the win. Down on the Connecticut shoreline at the New
London-Waterford Speedbowl it was Daring Dick Caso taking top honors in the
Modifieds. Howard "Jiggs" Beetham who would become a championship car owner
with Bob Potter as his driver, was the Daredevil winner. Bugsy Stevens took
a win at Thompson on Sunday night and at Utica-Rome, Pete Corey got his
second win of the weekend as he took the 30-lap win over Jerry Cook, Bernie
Miller, Sonny Seamon and Lou Lazzaro. In open competition action at Fulton
on Sunday, Jim Shampine took the win.
Forty years ago, in 1973, a 100
lapper scheduled at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway, on Friday night, rained
out. At Stafford on Saturday night, Ronnie Bouchard out-dueled Eddie Flemke
for the win. Dennis Giroux finished third with Freddie Schulz and Dick Caso
rounding out the top five. Islip ran a 200-lap championship event that saw
Richie Evans, Bugsy Stevens and Jerry Cook upstage the locals as they took
the top three spots. Dan MacNamara finished fourth with Jim Hendrickson,
fifth. Shangri-La ran twin features with Grame Bolia and Bryan Osgood taking
the checkers. Dick Dunn made it three in a row in the Al Gaudreau No.3 at
the Waterford Speedbowl. Paul Coutu was the Grand American Late Model
winner. Rounding out the weekend at Utica-Rome on Sunday night, Sonny Seamon
took the win over Maynard Troyer, Richie Evans and Jerry Cook.
Thirty five years ago, in 1978,
the Yankee All Star League made a mid-week stop at the Waterford Speedbowl.
Geoff Bodine continued his domination of the series as he took the win from
local favorite Dick Dunn. Ron Bouchard finished third and was followed by
Roland LaPierre Jr. and Bobby Clark. Richie Evans, Fred Harbach and Jerry
Cook took the top three spots at New Egypt. Bodine went two for two at
Stafford on Friday night as he won a left-over100 lapper plus the regularly
scheduled 30 lapper. At Monadnock, Punky Caron ruled the roost.
Riverside was not on Bodine's venue for Saturday as Reggie Ruggiero
took the win at the amusement park oval. Bodine went to Seekonk where the
rain prevailed. Bodine made it four for four on the weekend as he won the
Sunday night event at Thompson. Ron Bouchard finished second with Fred
DeSarro, third. It was also a good weekend for Richie Evans and Maynard
Troyer. In addition to his win at New Egypt on Wednesday, Evans won a 200
lapper at Islip on Saturday and a 30 lapper at Utica-Rome on Sunday night.
Troyer also hit a triple as he won at Spencer on Friday night plus double
features at Lancaster on Saturday night.
Thirty years ago, in 1983, a
scheduled 100 lapper at Stafford had to be stopped after Corky Cookman ran
over John Falconi's wheel in turn four and went through the catch fence and
landed in the fourth turn bleachers. Mike Hornat also went out. Fans in the
area escaped with minor injuries. John Anderson won the preliminary
SK-Modified event. It was also on this night that the dream team of Greg
Sacks and Ernie Wilsburg came to an end. Billy Colton, who would eventually
head up Troyer Engineering, won the Friday night event at the Spencer
Speedway and at New Egypt it was Tom Mauser over John Blewett Jr. Bob Potter
added to his feature win total at Waterford on Saturday night as he beat out
Roland LaPierreJr. Other Saturday night winners were SJ Evonsion at
Riverside, Jim Spencer at Shangri La and Siege Fidenza at Lancaster. Seekonk
rained out, as did Thompson on Sunday. In action on Long Island, Wayne
Anderson won out over Don Howe and Richie Evans at Riverhead on Friday night
and it was Evans over Tom Baldwin at Islip on Saturday night.
Twenty five years ago, in 1988,
Ted Christopher won his second race of the season at Stafford on Friday
night. Point leader Bob Potter finished second with Mike Christopher, third.
Phil Rondeau was the late model winner. At Monadnock, Marty Radwick won out
over Reggie Ruggiero and Dwight Jarvis. John Jensen took the Saturday night
win at Waterford and it was Bruce D'Assssandro over Reggie Ruggiero at
Riverside. In other Saturday night action it was Dan Jivenelli over Wayne
Anderson at Riverhead and Tony Hirschman over Lee Sherwood at Shangri-La.
The Modified Tour was at Thompson on Sunday. Jim Spencer took the win over
Mike Stefanik, Mike Mclaughlin, Brian Ross and Jamie Tomaino. Jeff Fuller
won the SK-Modified feature in a car owned by Brad Lafountaine.
Twenty years ago, in 1993, the
NASCAR Modified Tour visited the Lee Raceway. The biggest crowd in the
history of the track, 7500, was on hand. Reggie Ruggiero, in the Ed Cloce
69, took the lead from Jeff Fuller when he suffered a flat on lap 8 and went
on to take the 100-lap win. Rick Fuller finished second followed by Satch
Worley, Tom Baldwin and Charlie Pasteryak. At Stafford on Friday night, Ted
Christopher recorded his 30th career win at the Nutmeg oval. Mike
Christopher finished second with Mike Paquett, Bo Gunning and Curt Brainard
rounding out the top five. Phil Rondeau took the modified feature at
Waterford after a nine-car wreck triggered by Ted Christopher took out many
of the front runners. At Riverside it was Chris Kopec over Jerry Marquis and
Steve Park and at Riverhead, Mike Ewanitsko won the Charlie Jarzombek
Memorial. Wayne Anderson finished second with Don Howe, third and Eddie
Brunnhoelzl, fourth. In Winston Cup action at Watkins Glen, Mark Martin took
the win after Kyle Petty spun and collected Dale Earnhardt Sr. with six laps
to go. The Busch North Series was at Loudon where Kelly Moore took the win
over Robbie Crouch, Mike Stefanik and Mike Mclaughlin.
Fifteen years ago, in 1998, Bo
Gunning won the No-Bull 100 at Stafford. Mike Christopher finished second
with Bob Potter, third. The event was a re-scheduled rainout. Lloyd Agor won
the regular event. The NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series visited the
Riverhead Raceway on Long Island. Hometown favorite Mike Ewanitsko took the
201-lap win. Howie Brode finished second with Tom Cravenho, third. Jamie
Tomaino and Tony Ferrente rounded out the top five. Frank Vigliarolo led the
first 17 laps until being passed by Ewanitsko. There were 13 cautions for 60
laps. At Waterford, Mike Holdredge recorded his second career win and at
Riverside, Ricky Miller took the checker. In Sunday night action at
Thompson, Bert Marvin held off Mike Christopher and Jim Broderick to take
the win. Watkins Glen hosted the Winston Cup division and Busch North
Series. Kim Baker outran John Preston and Joe Piezza in the Busch North
Series portion and Jeff Gordon won the Winston Cup event. Mark Martin
finished second. Ted Christopher drove in relief for Dick Trickle and had
worked his way to second spot before he pitted. A sour engine robbed him of
a high finish. It was also on this weekend that Bob Bahre announced that the
IRL would be dropped from the Loudon schedule because of poor crowd draw and
poor attendance of cars. Paul Sawyer canceled the modified race at Richmond
because of a conflict with the powers in Daytona Beach and on a sad note,
midget driver Len Duncan died at 87.
Ten years ago in 2003, in
Thursday night Thunder action at Thompson, rain threatened and in the end
prevailed but not before most of the evening racing was completed. Eric
Berndt inherited the lead just past the half way mark of the 30 lap Sunoco
SK-type modified event when Bo Gunning made contact with early leader Bob
Santos III. Santos was done for the night and Gunning restarted in the rear.
Berndt led the rest of the way with a spirited battle with Todd Ceravolo and
Bert Marvin. Ceravolo got a run on Berndt on the last lap and as the pair
exited turn four heading for the checkered flag they were side by side. At
the line it was Berndt by inches. Ceravolo settled for second and was
followed by Marvin, Kerry Malone, Ted Christopher and Gunning. Scott
Bronczyk won the Late Model feature, Jess Gleason, the Limited Sportsman and
Mike Veins, the Mini-Stocks. The final event on the evening’s schedule was a
75 lap Pro Stock event that went 25 laps before the skies opened up. Just
before the rain began David Berghman and Jeff Connors were battling for the
lead when they tangled and ultimately collected the next ten cars behind
them. At the Stafford Speedway on Friday night, the NASCAR Featherlite
Modified Tour Series was in town for the ASB American Classic 150. There
were 44 modifieds on hand. Chuck Hossfeld, driving the Bob Garbarino Mystic
River Marina Dodge was the Busch Pole sitter. Eddie Flemke Jr. led from the
opening green and appeared to have his season turned around until rain
interrupted his quest for victory. The event went to caution on lap 44 and
never went back to green as rain intensified. Flemke led the field under
caution until lap 61 when the race was finally halted. The event was resumed
the following week on Tuesday evening. Prior to the Featherlite Modified
Tour event Ted Christopher annexed his 69th career win at Stafford as he
survived numerous wrecks to win the 50 lap SK-Modified event. Christopher
had spent most of Friday in Watkins Glen, N.Y. where he qualified 17th for
Saturday’s Busch North Series event that was run at the historic road
course. The Stafford Speedway announced that double features would be the
rule for the remaining events in August. Early season and mid-season rain
were the cause of numerous cancellations. Six SK Modified feature events and
four late model features would be run in a three week span. The NASCAR Busch
North Series event at Watkins Glen, N.Y. also fell victim to rain but the
event was called after the half way mark and Ted Christopher was declared
the winner after 41 of the scheduled 62 laps were run. While the leaders
pitted, Christopher gambled that it would rain before he ran out of gas. His
gamble paid off as one by one, those ahead of him pitted for fuel and he
ultimately inherited the lead and eventual win.
Five years ago in 2008, the
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour ended their mid-summer break as they moved to
the Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway for the Miller Lite 140 on Saturday. 2. As part
of a season-long celebration of 60 years of Modified champions, 1994 NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour titlist Wayne Anderson was honored. Jimmy Blewett
registered his third career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour when he took the
checkered flag. Blewett was strong throughout the evening as he led three
times for 80 laps, including the final 46. After qualifying fourth fastest,
Blewett took the win in the second of two 25-lap heat races that preceded
the 140-lap main. He was then able to parlay his qualifying success into
running up front in the feature. After staring on the outside pole, Blewett
led the first 10 circuits and swapped the lead with pole-sitter Bill Park
twice in the early going. He would take his third and final lead of the
night on a restart on lap 102. For the second race in a row, Ronnie Silk
finished as the runner-up. With four top-10s in a row, including a win, Silk
has moved up to seventh in the season points standings after a slow start.
Making his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour start of the year after he
captured the series title a year ago, Donny Lia finished third and was
followed in the top five by Ted Christopher and Ryan Preece. The fifth place
finish was the best of Preece’s young career. Ken Heagy, Mike Stefanik, Dan
Jivanelli, Glenn Tyler and Eric Beers filled out the top 10. Chuck Hossfeld
came home 18th in the race and suffered his first finish outside the top
five this year, but will retain a 44-point lead over Christopher in the
season standings.
As usual, the Riverhead event was slam-bang with lots of wrecks and extended
caution periods. Of the 147 actually run, 95 were under caution. James
Civali was fired on the spot during the event after he spun Rowan Pennick
while under caution. NASCAR also felt it was intentional. Civali was found
to be in violation of Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car
racing; hitting another competitor’s car during a caution period) of the
2008 NASCAR rulebook. The violation occurred during the Aug. 2 race. As a
result, Civali was suspended from the next two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
events, suspended from NASCAR until Aug. 15, 2008, and placed on NASCAR
probation until Dec. 31, 2008. It was announced that Woody Pitkat and Doug
Coby would share the driving chores of the vacated King Modified.
The Thompson Speedway’s Thursday Night Thunder program got held up almost
two hours because of showers but the track management and competitors
persevered, getting the program in. Woody Pitkat made it two in a row in the
Sunoco Modified division. Danny Fields scored the victory in an
ultra-competitive 50 lap event for the Mini Stocks. Jeff Zuidema and Marc
Palmisano shared Late Model victory lane in the division’s doubleheader.
Mike O’Sullivan in the Pro Stocks; Larry Barnett in the Limited Sportsman;
and Glenn Boss in the TIS Modifieds; turned their luck around with victories
in their respective divisions.
The Whelen All-American Series NASCAR race event at Stafford Motor
Speedway saw Ted Christopher, who last won on June 13, score his 101st
career win at the Connecticut oval. Christopher won the 40 lap SK Modified
feature. Ryan Posocco picked up his fifth feature win of 2008 in the 30-lap
Late Model feature, Earl Pelletier was a first time career winner in the
20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Rob Dow scored his second feature win of
2008 in the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Kyle Casagrande came up a
first time career winner in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event.
At the Waterford Speedbowl Ryan Morgan survived a host of restarts
and finished with Jon Porter on his bumper en route to his first-ever
Legends Car victory at the Wacky Wednesday racing program at the shoreline
oval.
Keith Rocco continued to make a name for himself as he won his
fifth race of the season on Saturday night at the shoreline oval as he took
the checkered flag in the 35-lap SK Modified featurel. Other feature winners
were Joe Curioso III (Late Model), Walt Hovey Jr. (Sportsman), Phil Evans
(Mini Stock) and Greg Stoehr (Northeastern Midget Association). Rocco passed
defending champion Rob Janovic Jr. with 18 laps remaining. Janovic jumped
out to an early lead and was trailed by Dennis Gada before a third-turn
pileup involving Gada and several other frontrunners scattered the field.
Rocco pressured Janovic for several laps before getting the advantage with
an outside move during the feature's final restart. Jeff Pearl, Doug Coby
and Gada rounded out the top five.
Gary Danko, who had a highly regarded radio show with racing news
had Waterford Speedbowl mortgage holder Rocky Arbitell on his program.
Arbitell stated that the current foreclosure problems at the shoreline oval
were precipitated by the fact that Terry Eames had violated the financial
contract that he had with Arbitell. Arbitell further stated that he has no
connection with current track operator Jerry Robinson. Like Eames, Robinson
did not deserve to be called a promoter as he was rapidly gaining a
reputation as being not friendly with competitors, media or fans. Robinson
had, however, improved the concessions at the shoreline oval.
In NASCAR Nationwide Series racing at rainy Circuit Gilles
Villeneuve in Canada, Ron Fellows splashed his way to victory in the event
that ended 26 laps early because of heavy rain and poor visibility. It was
the first NASCAR points race run on grooved rain tires. Fellows, driving the
No. 5 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports, led the final seven
laps. Marcos Ambrose finished third after leading a race-high 27 laps.
In Sprint Cup action, Carl Edwards won the Pennsylvania 500 at
Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., gambling with a pit strategy he thought
would cost him the race. Edwards pitted from the lead just before rain
caused a 41-minute red flag and had the driver arguing with crew chief Bob
Osborne over the decision. But the plan worked as the race wound up going to
completion. Edwards stretched his last tank of fuel to earn his fourth
victory of the season. The race started in sunshine and it appeared Mark
Martin, who took the lead from pole-winner Jimmie Johnson at the start and
took control would be the one to beat. But Martin had problems on two pit
stops that put him back into the pack and then dark clouds began moving in,
changing some strategies. Rain began falling on lap 127 of the 200-lap event
and, moments later, Edwards and several other leaders ducked onto pit road.
Nineteen other drivers, led by June Pocono winner Kasey Kahne and Martin,
who led a race-high 55 laps, stayed out to gain track position, waiting to
see if the rain might end the race prematurely. But the racing continued and
Edwards found himself back on top for good when Martin, the last of the
drivers on the alternate strategy, had to finally pit on lap 187. Tony
Stewart was second, almost 4 seconds behind. Johnson was third. Kevin
Harvick, who crashed with Joe Nemechek on the first lap, came back to finish
fourth, just ahead of David Ragan.
Last year, 2012 the Whelen
Modified Tour Series visited the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night.
Doug Coby, was not deterred by the 90 degree heat as he made it
three-for-three in Whelen Modified Tour events at the historic half mile so
far this year as he turned in another dominant performance for his fourth
overall triumph of the 2012 season.
Coby inherited the lead when leader Eric Beers came to pit road
along with the majority of the front-runners on Lap 48. He more than held
his own down the stretch, however, as the lead was never relinquished, or
really in question. It was his fourth career victory at Stafford. Jimmy
Blewett finished second with Todd Szegedy third. Beers and Ted Christopher
rounded out the top five. Pole winner Ryan Preece, Jon McKennedy, Woody
Pitkat, Eric Goodale and Justin Bonsignore completed the top 10. There were
27 cars on hand.
With the victory, Coby extended his lead in the season standings on
Preece to 309-268. There were 12 cars on the lead lap at the finish. Six
cautions slowed the field for 30 laps. The most serious involved Steve Masse
who was pinch hitting for Keith Rocco in the Boehler No. 3 and Frank Pallai
who clobbered the wall in turn 3 on lap 44. Officials were forced to throw
the red in order to repair the fence.
NASCAR announced that leading NWMT Sunoco Rookie of the Year
contender Keith Rocco, who had 42 career NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
wins at Stafford, was recently injured in a practice accident at the
Thompson Speedway and would not compete in the Stafford 150. Rocco underwent
surgery in Farmington for left wrist injuries and expects to be on the
sidelines at least two weeks. Rocco is also slated to be married to Cassie
Ceravolo on Labor Day weekend.
In what had to be considered one of the most exciting and
competitive Modified events of the year Matt Hirschman picked up the win in
the Seekonk Speedway Wednesday night Modified Madness event and the $10,000
first prize payoff. Starting sixth, Hirschman ran in the front pack until
lap 40 when he tangled with Chris Pasteryak when they were slugging it out
for the lead. Hirschman rallied from the rear. With three laps to go Ryan
Preece was leading but got snookered when Hirschman made a cross-over move
to steal the lead and go on for the eventual win. Preece held on for second,
with Steve Masse third, Todd Annarummo and Pasteryak rounded out the top
five. David Berghman, Eric Berndt, Wentz, Doug Coby oby and Louie Mechalidas
rounded out the top ten.
Hirschman's record for 2012 is noting short of fantastic. In
addition to the $10,000 won at Seekonk Hirschman won $15,000 at Oswego, NY
and $9,000 at the Star Speedway in Epping, NH, all in different cars.
Thursday night Thunder at Thompson saw Ryan Preece romp to his
sixth win of the season after driving out to almost a half a lap lead over
the rest of the field. Dennis Perry took the top spot at the start with
Kerry Malone attached to his bumper and Ryan Preece in third. On lap four,
Todd Ceravolo challenged Preece by diving to the bottom. Preece retaliated
by going high and drove around Malone for the second spot. Preece’s charge
wasn’t finished, however, and on lap five, he drove by Perry for the lead.
Perry held on to second while Ceravolo took over third. On lap seven,
Ceravolo went by Perry for second, but caution flew just moments later
slowing their pace. On the restart, Preece drove right back out front
followed by Ceravolo and Malone. Coming up through the field, however, was
Bobby Santos running in the sixth place. Preece stretched out his lead over
Ceravolo as Santos charged by Malone on lap 16 to take over the third spot.
Preece was on fire and, despite lapped traffic, continued to hold a
dominating advantage over the rest of the field and went on to the checkers
unchallenged. Ceravolo finished second with Bobby Santos, third. . Richie
Gallup and Dennis Perry rounded out the top five.
Other winners included Duane Noll who dominated the 20-lap New
England Truck Series race, Cam McDermott in the Lite Modifieds, John Falconi
in the Late Model division, Steve Kenneway in the Limited Sportsman
division, and Scott Michalski in the Monster Mini Stocks. Paul LaPlante won
the Antique Racers feature event.
At the Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night in NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series feature action, Woody Pitkat was the big winner of the
evening by doubling up and taking the checkered flag in both the SK
Modified® and Late Model feature events. The SK Modified® victory was
Pitkat’s second of the season and the Late Model win was his third of the
season. Also scoring feature wins were Frank Cardile in the 20-lap SK Light
feature, David Arute in the 20-lap Ltd. Late Model feature, and Cliff
Saunders in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature. Cardile’s win was his first of
the season, Arute’s win was the first win of his career, and Saunders’ win
was his second of the season. Arute is the grandson of Jack Arute Sr.
In Saturday night action at the Waterford Speedbowl it was a case
of now you see it, now you don't. Keith Rocco who severely injured his wrist
got some help from Doug Coby to win the SK Modified feature at the shoreline
oval. After an opening caution after the drop of the green Rocco, who
started the race, pitted and was replaced by Coby. Coby did a masterful job
as he came from the rear to score the apparent win. The win was later dis-allowed
when track officials stated that Rocco and Coby did not follow the rule
book. The Waterford Speedbowl rulebook states: “Driver changes are permitted
after the completion of the initial green flag lap only. Points and money
will be awarded to the driver that completes the initial green flag lap.”
After reviewing a video it was determined that Rocco did not complete the
opening lap and went directly to the pit area for the driver change. The win
was awarded to Coby. It is what it is! The responsibility lies with Rocco,
Coby and the car owner as they failed to read and understand the rules of
making a driver change. It would have made for a great story which perhaps
would have put Rocco back in the lead of the NASCAR national standings.
In NASCAR Southern Modified action at the Bowman Gray Stadium in
Winston-Salem NC the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour made their annual
stop at the historic oval. George Brunnhoelzl III led most of the way, hung
on through a bumpy ending that altered the finish order of several cars
trailing him and won the Strutmasters.com 199. Brunnhoelzl, a two-time and
defending tour champion, won for the fourth time in six races this season.
It was his third straight victory, matching Brian Loftin's record string for
consecutive wins.
Burt Myers, a five-time Bowman Gray champion, was the top qualifier
for a tour-leading 24th time. He held the lead until Brunnhoelzl, who
started from the outside pole, took charge in the 24th lap with a pass on
the outside. Brunnhoelzl lost the lead temporarily with 17 laps left when
Ryan nudged ahead. But Brunnhoelzl regained the lead for good after a tap
that loosened Preece.
Myers, who was driving with a severely sprained right wrist
suffered in a wreck Friday night, battled Preece for the second spot until
Preece sent Myers spinning. Myers finished ninth. Preece finished 11th,
after getting collected in collision with Andy Seuss on the final lap. Tim
Brown finished second. Canadian Cole Powell, who started at the rear of the
25-car field, finished third. Jason Myers was fourth and Andy Seuss fifth.
L.W. Miller, who had won the previous two tour races at Bowman Gray,
struggled in qualifying, started 17th and finished 13th in a race that had a
tour-record 13 cautions.
Tom Rogers Jr was the NASCAR Modified feature winner at the
Riverhead Raceway on Long Island. Ted Christopher finished second.
Penske Racing announced that A.J. Allmendinger has been released as driver
of the No. 22 Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Allmendinger
was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR for a positive drug test.
Jeff Gordon drove into the lead during a restart as leaders Jimmie
Johnson and Matt Kenseth made contact, causing mayhem at the front of the
pack. Moments later, the impending rain clouds opened up above the track and
drenched the two-mile triangle, forcing NASCAR to call the race and give
Gordon the surprise triumph in the Pennsylvania 400. It was Gordon’s first
victory of the year, the 86th of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career and his record
sixth at Pocono.
Kasey Kahne managed to sneak through the mayhem, but not without
cutting his right-rear tire. Thanks to the caution period slowing the cars
down he was able to stay on track and finished the race in second.Martin
Truex, Jr. was scored third, followed by Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart.
Elliott Sadler rebounded from the disappointment of his
jumped-restart penalty last week in Indianapolis to win the NASCAR
Nationwide race at Iowa.
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.
This week are several vintage racing photos of Charles "Chick" Stockwell who
passed away July 29th of cancer,
Courtesy of
SpeedwayLineReport.com & Dave Dyke's
RacingThroughTime.com
Click on Photo for Full Sized
Mannion Photo
Mannion Photo
Mannion Photo
John Grady Photo
Mannion Photo
Looking Back Archive
|
Source: Phil
Smith / Looking Back A Bit
Posted: August
2, 2013 |
|
|