The Chrome Horn - Champ Trail with Phil Smith

Champ Trail - December 29, 2015


  First off, a very Happy and Healthy New Year to one and all.

  With 2015 winding up this coming Thursday it’s time to look ahead to 2016. In six short weeks auto racing action in Florida heats up. The Daytona International Speedway is winding up a $400 million make-over. The number of workers on the construction site has jumped to 700.
  The primary areas of upgrade include seat installation, completing the Midway area (directly behind the grandstand), decorating the fan injectors to the sponsors' liking and finishing work inside the new tower.
  The 150-foot tall stadium will have five primary entrances, which the Speedway calls fan injectors. Four of the five injectors are sponsored. Fans can expect to be pounded with advertising. The tower has a new sign facing toward the speedway. The old tower had "Daytona" as its signature badge. The new sign, in 8-foot high letters created by Jones Sign Company, reads "World Center of Racing," which is the Speedway's tagline.

  The American Canadian Tour (ACT), in conjunction with the Waterford Speedbowl, Seekonk Speedway, and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (TSMP) has scheduled an ambitious schedule of ACT Championship events for the 2016 stock car racing season. The Triple-Header will match up the best of the three tracks weekly racers with the best of the American Canadian Tour.
  There will be three events raced on three totally different tracks. Waterford is a third mile, Seekonk Speedway is a ¼ mile, and Thompson has the super-fast 5/8th mile. The events will include a special $7,500.00 point fund for the local track teams which participate in all three of the events, as well as championship points for the ACT competitors as part of their $30,000.00, $10,000.00 to win, 2016 overall Championship point fund.
  "We had great support from local race teams at the final event at Thompson during the World Series last fall. The three Southern New England tracks, Waterford, Seekonk, and Thompson have become an important addition to our ACT weekly business model over the past decade. This program of three races, tied together with an independent point fund, should be lots of fun to follow for southern New England Late Model fans and teams throughout the 2016 season," said Tom Curley, President of ACT.
  The opening event will be a 100 lap contest on May 21, 2016 at the Waterford Speedbowl. This year’s 150 lap Triple-Header event at Seekonk will take place on Saturday, July 16, 2016. The final event, a 75 lap contest, will take green at the Thompson World Series spectacle weekend which takes place on Saturday, October 15, 2016.

  Looking for a job in racing for 2016? NASCAR is looking to hire a Whelen Southern Modified Tour Series Director. NASCAR is seeking a qualified candidate for their Series Director position with the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour. This position will be based in their Concord, NC R&D Center. This position is responsible for directing and coordinating activities of the Series by performing the following duties personally or through subordinate employees. Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned. The individual selected will be responsible for the administrative aspects of the weekly NASCAR Weekly Racing and Touring Series program, track relations, sponsor relations and competitor issues. The individual will also be responsible for departmental budget and management of staff.
  Among the qualifications are a High school diploma or general education degree (GED) and five (5) years of industry experience directly related to racing and experience with Weekly and Touring Series racing.

  It was learned last week that LFR Chassis will have an outlet in New England. Stafford Motor Speedway racer Bob Charland will open the LFR Chassis Northeast operation in the coming weeks and has already hired longtime local Modified crew chief Jimmy Fuller and longtime local racer Cory Casagrande as part of the operation. LFR Chassis Northeast, which will be located in Stafford Springs, will serve as the Northeast distributor for LFR Chassis Modifieds and also serve as the central location for chassis repair, technical support and parts distribution.

  The Seekonk Speedway has announced the appointment of Cory Boudreau to the position of Race Director for both Fast Fridays and the NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing on Saturday nights at Seekonk. Boudreau replaces Frank Sqambato.
  Boudreau will be charged with all racing decisions and rule enforcement for all eight Seekonk Speedway divisions, and has been involved in auto racing for over four decades in almost every level at Seekonk as well as many tracks in New England.

  On the speedway stock market scene last week just about everything was up after one of the most devastating weeks ever. All three speedway stocks showed gains. Leading the way was the International Speedway Corporation, which went up 1.16 to 34.46. Speedway Motorsports went up 0.82 to 20.08 and Dover Entertainment went up 0.02 to 2.75. NASCAR fuel supplier Sunoco (Energy Transfer) went up 4.76 to 32.96 while NASCAR tire supplier Goodyear went up 0.93 to 32.80 and NASCAR cup sponsor Sprint went up 0.15 to 3.81. The car builders were also up for the week. Toyota went up 1.38 to 125.77 while General Motors went up 0.93 to 34.60 and Ford went up 0.51 to 14.31. In the home improvement sector, Home Depot went up 2.61 to 132.90 and Lowes went up 2.39 to 76,28. In the area of big team sponsors stocks Coca-Cola dropped 4.58 to 178.66 while McDonalds went up 1.91 to 118.57, Target went up 1.80 to 73.19, Aarons Rentals went up 0.85 to 22,93 and Fedex went up 2.50 to 149.65.

  On the tube this coming week:

  Wednesday, December 30

7:00 AM, NASCAR America: Behind the Wheel, NBCSN
7:30 AM, NASCAR America: Legacy of a Legend: Jeff Gordon, NBCSN
6:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub - Best of the Year, FS1
 
  Thursday, December 31
7:00 AM, NASCAR America, NBCSN
7:30 AM, NASCAR America: Ken Squier's 2015 Essays, NBCSN

   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.
 

Source: Phil Smith / Champ Trail
Posted: December 29, 2015

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