The Chrome Horn - Champ Trail with Phil Smith

   11/11/14

November 11, 2014

  The Riverhead Raceway on Long Island joins Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (CT) and the Stafford Motor Speedway as the three tracks to confirm NWMT dates for 2015. In addition to the two dates at Riverhead announced, Thompson announced four dates including the annual Icebreaker, Budweiser 150, World Series and an additional event in June. Stafford has announced one date so far, the Spring Sizzler for April 26. Stafford also announced that there will be a Fall Final to close the season out but there has been no mention of the other two events that Stafford has run in the past.

  In the southland, the Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina has announced that they have secured October 3 as a date for the Whelen Southern Modified Tour. Hickory will also run the KOMA Modifieds on March 21 and July 3. Langley Speedway in Virginia will host the Southern Modified Tour on April 11 and September 5.

  Word comes from Lou Modestino of the Brocton Mass Enterprise that a joint announcement between Robert Hart, owner and promoter of the New Smyrna Speedway (NSS) and Tom Curley, President of the American Canadian Tour (ACT), the popular ACT Late Models from throughout New England, New York, and Quebec will return to the annual World Series of Asphalt Racing in New Smyrna Beach, Florida on February 16-17, 2015.

  The teams of ACT will compete in the American Racer Cup, a two feature event, over two nights of racing.

  The never ending soap opera at the Waterford Speedbowl continues. In a report published in the New London Day, one of Speedbowl racetrack owner Terry Eames' creditors is asking New London Superior Court not to approve the sale of the foreclosed auto racing track after an auction last month. Creditor Edward DeMuzzio claims that collusion led to a winning bid that was artificially low, as the track is valued at about $3 million.

  Bruce Bemer, owner of Bemer Petroleum in Glastonbury, won ownership of the track with a bid of $1.75 million at the Oct. 18 auction.

  "If this sale were to be approved, the effect would be clear. Bemer gets a windfall as the successful bidder on a piece of property that he is receiving for barely over half of the value and DeMuzzio, as part owner of the equity of the fee-holder and as double mortgagee on the property, is wiped out entirely," reads the objection filed Friday by DeMuzzio.

  DeMuzzio claims that Rocco Arbitell, one of those who initiated the foreclosure, told him the conditions under which creditors Theodore and Shawn Parker would not bid on the property at the sale that would take place Oct. 18. The complaint states that on the day of the auction DeMuzzio "had been under the impression that the Parker's [sic] were going to make a bid on the property in order to protect their debt and position as mortgagees in second position." The Parkers did not bid.

  The judge has given all parties in the case until Friday to file affidavits opposing or supporting the sale. Shawn Parker, Arbitell and Borelli's wife, Lorette, filed affidavits in support of the sale.

  The affidavits say that no collusion occurred. Parker's affidavit states that he and other creditors offered to make contributions to DeMuzzio to mitigate his losses.

  Eames said he did not plan to file an affidavit himself. The day of the sale, he commented that the sale was "not a home run." "At this point in time, I don't feel we'll be coming down either for or against the objection," Eames said. Eames said the prospective new owner had expressed that he was eager for the sale to move forward. "We're kind of in a state of frozen animation until this court thing is adjudicated," Eames said.

  Arbitell and Borelli's attorney Bill McCoy said Wednesday that the judge will decide based on the objection and affidavits submitted whether hearings on the objection are necessary. Should the judge ultimately oppose the sale, a new auction date will be set, according to McCoy. McCoy said he and his clients do not believe a second auction will produce different or better results.

  And so it goes, along with allegations that some competitors are still owed money from last season.

  In some sad news, celebrated New England racer & car owner Lee Allard passed-away on Sunday, November 8th at age 76 following a battle with cancer. A top-notch racer as well as a master craftsman in the art of car construction, after hanging-up his helmet he went on to field cutting-edge rides for some of the best drivers in the business including most-notably, New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame member Geoff Bodine and Satch Worley.

  On the speedway stock market scene last week two of the three speedway stocks had favorable results. Speedway Motorsports went up 0.20 to 19.77 and the International Speedway corporation went up 1.07 to 32.40 while Dover Entertainment stayed stable at 2.41 all week. NASCAR cup sponsor Sprint dropped 1.21 to 4.72 while NASCAR fuel supplier Sunoco (Energy Transfer) went up 1.58 to 66.01 and NASCAR tire supplier Goodyear went up 0.92 to 25.15. The auto makers were not all positive for the week. Ford went up 0.08 to 14.17, General Motors went up 0.19 to 31.59 while Toyota dropped 2.68 to 118.67. In the home improvement sector, Lowes went up 0.49 to 57.69 and Home Depot went up 0.13 to 97.65. Overall, the big teams sponsors stocks were positive except for Coca-Cola which dropped 0.44 to 90.00. Dupont went up 0.96 to 70.41, Target Department Stores went up 2.35 to 69.17, Aarons Rentals went up 0.94 to 25.70 and FedEx went up 3.82 to 171.22.

On the tube this week:

Tuesday, November 11

7:00 AM, NASCAR America, NBC Sports Net
8:00 AM, NASCAR America, NBCSN
4:00 PM, American Restoration - NASCAR History 300 - Dales of Thunder, HISTORY
5:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
6:30 PM, The 10- NASCAR's Greatest Finishes, FOX Sports 2
7:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, FS2

Wednesday, November 12
7:00 AM, NASCAR America, NBCSN
7:30 AM, NASCAR America, NBCSN
8:00 AM, NASCAR America, NBCSN
8:30 AM, NASCAR America, NBCSN
11:00 AM, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Phoenix race re-air, FS1
4:30 PM, NASCAR America - Celebrate the States, NBCSN
5:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub - Chase Championship Special, FS1
6:00 PM, NASCAR America, NBCSN
7:30 PM, The 10 - Greatest Comebacks in NASCAR History, FS2
8:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub - Chase Championship Special, FS2

Thursday, November 13
5:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6:30 PM, The 10 - Biggest Bonehead Moves, FS2
7:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, FS2
8:30 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Friday, November 14
11:30 AM, NASCAR Nationwide Series Homestead practice, FS1
12:30 PM, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Homestead practice, FS1
2:00 PM, NASCAR Live, FS1
2:30 PM, NCWTS Homestead qualifying, FS1
4:00 PM, NNS Homestead final practice, FS1
6:00 PM, NSCS Homestead qualifying, ESPN2
7:30 PM, NCWTS SetUp, FS1
8:00 PM, NCWTS Homestead race, FS1

Saturday, November 15
4:00 AM, NCWTS Homestead race re-air, FS1
6:30 AM, The 10 - Greatest Truck Series Moments, FS2
7:00 AM, NCWTS Homestead race re-air, FS2
10:30 AM, NSCS Homestead practice re-air, FS1
12:00 PM, NSCS Homestead practice, FS1
1:00 PM, NNS Homestead qualifying, FS1
2:30 PM, NASCAR Live, FS1
3:00 PM, NSCS Homestead final practice, FS2
4:00 PM, NASCAR Countdown, ESPN2
4:30 PM, NNS Homestead race, ESPN2

Sunday, November 16
4:00 AM, NNS Homestead race re-air, ESPND
5:00 AM, NSCS Homestead practice re-air, FS1
12:00 PM, NASCAR Race Day, FS1
1:00 PM, NASCAR Countdown, ESPN
3:00 PM, NSCS Homestead race, ESPN
7:30 PM, NASCAR Victory Lane, FS1

Monday, November 17
1:00 AM, NSCS Homestead race re-air, ESPN2

   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.


SourcePhil Smith / Champ Trail
Posted: November 11, 2014

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