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September 25, 2015 |
Fifty five years ago in 1960 Ernie Gahan closed out the season at
the Stafford Springs Speedway with a win on the dirt. Don Collins scored a
one – two punch at the Waterford Speedbowl as he scored wins in the
Modifieds and non- Fords. Ed Moody won in the Bombers.
Fifty years ago in 1965, Wild Bill
Slater in the Connecticut Valley Rocket No. V-8 won the first ever-open
wheel Modified race at the Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine. Bob Bahre, who
purchased the speedway in 1964, tore down the original wooden grandstand and
erected a new steel high rise grandstand that would hold 15,000. Following
Slater at the finish was Johnny Thompson and Eddie Flemke. Rene Charland and
Pete Hamilton rounded out the top five. New York driving legend Pete Corey
scored his fourth win on the dirt at Stafford on Friday night. Dick Watson
registered a 50-lap win at the Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday night. Jerry
Glaude was the Bomber winner and Bob Lee was the Late Model Daredevil
winner.
Forty five years ago in 1970, the
Modifieds were at the monster mile, Dover Downs for twin 100s for Late Model
Modifieds and the All Star League Modifieds. Ray Hendrick in the Tant/Mitchell
Camaro cleaned house as he won both events. Bugsy Stevens in the Len Boehler
3 recorded two seconds. Charlie Jarzombek walked away from a mean wreck
during the All Star event. Driving his offset coupe, the popular Long Island
driver got launched into the turn two fence and almost went out of the
high-banked speedway. Also running that day was Thompson where Bob Santos
took the 30-lap win over Hop Harrington, Ed Yerrington and Moose Hewitt.
Waterford was also on the Sunday schedule. Seabury Tripler took the Modified
win.
Forty years ago in 1975, the Thompson
300 and the Martinsville 150 ran on this weekend. With the exception of
Jerry Cook, Bob Park and George Kent who went to Martinsville, just about
everyone else was at Thompson. Satch Worley beat out Cook for the win at
Martinsville. Thompson was open competition and it was Geoff Bodine taking
the win over Bob Santos, Moose Hewitt and Donny Ayer.
Thirty five years ago in 1980,
Richie Evans won the 100-lap final at Riverside Park on Saturday night. Bob
Polverari finished second with Ray Miller, third. Evans made it two for two
as he won the Fall Final at Stafford on Sunday. Brett Bodine finished second
with John Rosati, third.
Thirty years ago in 1985, Charlie
Jarzombek wrapped up the 1985 Stafford Speedway title as he won the Fall
Final 100.George Brunnhoelzl Jr. finished second and was followed by Brian
Ross and George Kent. Jerry Pearl wrapped up the SK modified championship.
Riverside Park closed out their season on Saturday night with Jeff Fuller
taking the win. In Winston Cup action at North Wilkesboro, Harry Gant took
the win with Geoff Bodine, second.
Twenty five years ago in 1990, Ray
Hendrick, known as Mr. Modified passed away from cancer at the age of
61.Hendrick won just about every major event on the East Coast. It was also
on this weekend that young Rob Moroso died from injuries received in an
accident while on his way home from North Wilkesboro. The Fall Final ran 125
laps and it was Mike Stefanik taking the win over Jeff Fuller, Satch Worley
and Jamie Tomaino. Bo Gunning won the SK modified portion.
Twenty years ago in 1995, Eric
Berndt, 16, led from pole to pole at Waterford and became the youngest ever
to win a modified race at the shoreline oval. Reggie Ruggiero won his fifth
of the year at Riverside on Saturday night and at the Fall Final at Stafford
on Sunday, Mike Stefanik won the 150 lap main event. Stefanik passed Steve
Park with five to go on his way to the checkered flag. Jamie Tomaino
finished third with Ed Flemke Jr., fourth. Ted Christopher won the SK 50
lapper. Bob Potter finished seventh and became the track's first 5 time
modified champion. In a non-racing matter, OJ Simpson was acquitted of
murder charges. In Winston Cup action at North Wilkesboro, Mark Martin took
the win over Rusty Wallace. Ernie Irvan returned after suffering severe
injuries. Irvan finished sixth.
Fifteen years ago in 2000, John
Brouwer Jr. got his first ever-modified win as he put the Whittle No.49 in
victory lane at Waterford. Dennis Gada finished second with Ed Reed Jr.,
third. Stafford hosted the Fall Final 300, which carried a purse of $94,211
and drew 51 modifieds. Jerry Marquis took the lead from Mike Ewanitsko on
lap 245 and led the final 55 laps for the win. John Blewett III finished
second and was followed by Ted Christopher and Rick Fuller. Eric Berndt won
the 50 lap SK Modified event and Chris Wenzel won the Mod Tour
non-qualifiers event. On and off rain all weekend kept the Stafford crowd
down. In Winston Cup action at Dover Downs, Tony Stewart took the win. Matt
Kenseth was the Busch Grandnational winner.
Ten years ago in 2005 the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour series made its final stop of the year at Stafford for
the annual Fall Final. There were 43 Modifieds on hand for the 150 lapper
that carried a purse of $80,328. Taking the top spot in time trials was
Donny Lia who turned the half-mile oval in 18.469 seconds. Second fastest
was Tony Hirschman who was a tick slower at 18.524 seconds. The top six
redrew for starting positions. Carl Pasteryak, who was sixth fastest, drew
the pole. Jimmy Blewett, who was fourth fastest, drew the outside pole.
Hirschman drew third, Jamie Tomaino, fourth, Lia, fifth and Ted Christopher,
sixth. Among those who didn’t qualify were Tom Bolles and Mike Ewanitsko.
Tony Hirschman got a little closer to Ted Christopher’s point lead as he
won the Fall Final 150. Hirschman passed outside pole sitter and early race
leader Jimmy Blewett on lap 17 and went non-stop to record the win. Blewett
ended up 13th. Busch Pole sitter Donny Lia provided some late race
excitement when his left front spindle broke on the final lap. Lia
maintained control and finished second on three wheels. Chuck Hossfeld
finished third with Jerry Marquis and Ted Christopher rounding out the top
five. Pole sitter Carl Pasteryak finished 15th, one lap down. Sixth through
tenth were Charlie Pasteryak, Eric Beers, Jamie Tomaino, John Blewett III
and Reggie Ruggiero.
The Thompson Speedway closed out their regular season on a wet note as
showers put a damper on the final Thursday night Thunder program. Jeff
Malave, with 18 top tens including three wins was the 2005 Sunoco Modified
Champion. Malave survived a season long battle with Bert Marvin as he won
the title by 90 points. Marvin had 17 top tens including two wins. Defending
champion Todd Ceravolo rebounded after a slow start to finish third, 78
points behind Marvin. Ceravolo had 15 top tens including three wins. Kerry
Malone had an absolute horrible season but somehow managed to finish fourth
in the final standings. Malone also scored three wins but had only 14 top
tens. Rounding out the top five was Tom Cravenho with 11 top fives including
1 feature win.
The Waterford Speedbowl ran one of their quickest programs ever as the
final checkered flag dropped around 9:00p.m. on Saturday night. Kurt Lenahan
went pole to pole to record his first win in two years. Dennis Gada ended up
in second spot after Jay Miller faded in the latter stages of the event. Tom
Fox finished third. Jeffrey Paul, who is rumored to be moving up in 2006,
recorded his seventh victory in the Legends Cars. Other winners were Wayne
Coury in the Late Models, Bill Gertsch in the Sportsman and Joe Godbout in
the Mini Stocks.
The Stafford Motor Speedway also wrapped up its regular season with the
Fall Final. Jimmy Blewett won the SK Modified portion.
In some sad news, Rick "Sleepy" Knapp, 53, of North Windham, Ct died
Saturday Sept. 24, 2005 at Windham Hospital. He was an auto body technician
by trade having worked in several places in the Windham/Chaplin area. At the
time of his death, he was employed at Chris's Automotive in Chaplin. Rick
began his racing career at the Waterford Speed Bowl at the age of 15. He
drove is car, Sweet 16, in the Late Model division at the Waterford Speed
Bowl, Stafford Speedway and Thompson Speedway until the early 1980’s when he
began driving in the modified division. Rick held 3 track championships at
Thompson.
Dale Jarrett used a three-wide pass to challenge Tony Stewart for the
lead on the final lap of a three-lap overtime shootout, then passed Stewart
on the backstretch in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talledega for his first victory
since 2003 at the now-defunct North Carolina Speedway. Stewart finished
second, Matt Kenseth was third and Ryan Newman fourth.
It was also on this weekend that Matt Kobyluck won the Busch North Series
event at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut. NASCAR announced that the No. 74
NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch North Series team, including the
driver, car owner and crew chief, had been assessed multiple penalties,
following several incidents which took place after the Oct. 1 race at Lime
Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. Driver Ryan Moore was fined $1,000 and
penalized 25 driver championship points. Moore violated section 12-4-A of
the 2005 NASCAR Rule Book, actions detrimental to stock car racing; failure
to follow the directive of a NASCAR official; hitting another competitor’s
car after the completion of the race – twice. Moore was suspended from the
next Busch North Series event and suspended from NASCAR until Oct. 31, 2005.
Moore was also placed on probation until Dec. 31, 2005. Car owner Richard
Moore was penalized 25 car owner championship points, for the violations by
his team’s driver. Crew chief James Lorfano was fined $250 and placed on
probation until Dec. 31, 2005. Lorfano was penalized under section 12-4-A of
the 2005 NASCAR Rule Book, actions detrimental to stock car racing; use of
inappropriate language. Driver Kelly Moore was also fined $500 and placed on
probation until Dec. 31, 2005. Kelly Moore was penalized under section
12-4-A of the 2005 NASCAR Rule Book, actions detrimental to stock car
racing; failure to follow the directive of a NASCAR official; use of
inappropriate language.
The International Speedway Corporation announced on Friday, Sept.30,that
Rocky Mountain Speedway Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of ISC, had
entered into an agreement to purchase the assets of Pikes Peak International
Raceway ("Pikes Peak"). Financial terms of the transaction were not
disclosed. ISC planned to petition NASCAR to realign the facility's NASCAR
Busch Series event to Martinsville Speedway for 2006. The transaction was
expected to close within a week, and was expected to have minimal impact on
the Company's future earnings. The purchase price was fully supported by the
appraised value of Pikes Peak's tangible assets, including land and certain
fixed assets ISC intends to relocate to other facilities in its portfolio.
These assets include grandstand seating and other structures that can be
utilized for future speedway expansion projects. ISC will honor all of Pikes
Peak's currently scheduled community uses and rentals through October 31,
2005. After that date, ISC expects to close the facility and begin to market
the approximate 1,200-acre parcel for sale, with the requirement that the
property not be used for motor sports-related events. Pikes Peak
International, which includes a 1 mile oval, was completed in 1997 at a cost
of $35 million. The facility, which also includes a 1.315 mile road course,
had permanent seating for 42,787.
Forbes Magazine released its list of the 400 richest people in the USA.
Among those on the list were Jim France and Bill France JR. who are tied in
198th spot with assets of $1.6 billion each. Also on the list is O. Bruton
Smith, owner of Speedway Motorsports who is 207th on the list with $1.5
billion. At the top of the list is Microsoft’s Bill Gates with $51 billion.
Five years ago in 2010, The NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour Series traveled to Loudon, NH for the F.W. Webb 100
which carried a race purse of $166,513. Thirty five Modifieds were on hand
for practice and qualifying. NASCAR Sprint Cup competitor Ryan Newman won
the Coors Light Pole Award with a speed of 129.300 mph. Second fastest and
taking the outside pole was Todd Szegedy who went 127.816mph. Third through
fifth were Ryan Preece, Bobby Santos JR and Ed Flemke Jr. Rounding out the
top ten were Mike Stefanik, Chuck Hossfeld, Eric Goodale, Erick Rudolph and
defending race winner Ron Silk.
Ryan Newman didn't do the Whelen Modified Tour Series any favors as he
won the FW Webb 100 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. For the most part
Newman had the field covered as it looked they regular tour runners were
racing for second place. Jimmy Blewett, who triggered a big wreck on lap 37
that eliminated Ted Christopher, Ed Flemke Jr and Jamie Tomaino, provided
some last lap drama as he made an unsuccessful run at Newman. Blewett ended
up second. It was a big day point wise for Mike Stefanik. Stefanik finished
third and closed to within two points of series leader Bobby Santos III.
Stefanik was in the hunt all day but had nothing for Newman. Doug Coby made
a remarkable run as he came from starting dead last to finish fourth. Coby
also had a shot at Newman on the final restart but fell short. Rounding out
the top five was Ron Silk. Sixth through tenth were Dale Quarterly, Chuck
Hossfeld, Eric Goodale, Joe Hartmann and Rookie sensation Richie Pallai Jr.
There were 16 changes involving 6 drivers which made for much excitement
on the track they call the magic mile. There were seven cautions for 28
laps. The first yellow was displayed on lap seven when Glen Reen and Rowan
Pennink spun and crashed in turn two. Pennink was all done for the day after
the incident. The second caution flew on lap 28 when James Civali spun the
Roger Hill No. 79 in turn four. Civali had handling issues all day as he
finished in 17th spot. The third caution was for Rob Summers and Andy Seuss
who wrecked on the front stretch. The fourth caution was one of the biggest
wrecks of the day which was triggered when Jimmy Blewett got into Ed Flemke
Jr in turn four. Blewett drove away while Mike and Ted Christopher along
with Kevin Goodale , Richard Savory and Justin Bonsignore were eliminated.
Flemke continued on for 20 more laps before calling it a day in 26th spot.
The fifth caution was displayed on lap 66 when Jake Marosz spun in turn two.
George Brunnhoelzl III and Rene' Dupuis spin on lap 92 brought out the sixth
caution and the seventh and final caution was brought out when Ryan Preece
and Bobby Santos made contact between turns three and four which resulted in
both taking a hard shot into the wall which eliminated them as well as Glen
Reen. Santos was credited with 19th spot in the final rundown. Preece ended
up 20th and Reen, 21st.
Thursday night Thunder Racing at the Thompson Speedway was cancelled due
to a forecast of heavy rain and high winds for northeast Connecticut. Mother
Nature handed NASCAR Whelen All-American division championships to Sunoco
Modified driver, Ted Christopher and Mini Stock driver, Chuck Rogers. Both
Christopher and Rogers had built up enough track points to clinch their
crowns before the final points race on September 26th.
The Stafford Speedway was back in action with its final Friday night
program. Ryan Preece outdueled Woody Pitkat to score his first career SK
Modified® feature victory in the 40-lap SK Modified® feature, Ryan Posocco
scored his fourth win of 2010 in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Tommy
Barrett, Jr. scored his 10th win of 2010 in the 20-lap SK Light Modified
feature, George Nocera, Jr., won his second consecutive feature of 2010 in
spectacular fashion by crossing the start/finish line sideways in the 20-lap
Limited Late Model feature, and Jeff Jolly scored his third win of the 2010
season in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
In action on the Connecticut shoreline at the Waterford Speedbowl
defending division champion Ron Yuhas Jr. took the lead on the 18th lap and
was able to keep it on four separate restarts to take the checkered flag in
Saturday's 35-lap SK-Modified feature. Yuhas was pressured by some of the
division's top drivers, including national champion and current division
leader Keith Rocco, Rob Janovic Jr., Todd Ceravolo and Tyler Chadwick, but
was able to pull out the win, holding off a late charge by Rocco, who
finished second. Tucker Reynolds Jr. was third, followed by Joe Perry and
Jeff Pearl.
Other winners on Saturday were Bill Leonard (Mini Stocks), Anthony
Flannery (Legends) and Corey Coates (A.B. CDL Trucks).
Clint Boyer won the Sprint Cup race at Loudon. His car failed a follow-up
inspection and he was penalized 150 points. Bowyer led a race-high 177 laps,
lost the lead to Tony Stewart, but stretched his final tank of gas 92 laps
to win the race when Stewart ran out of fuel right before the final lap. The
victory snapped an 88-race winless streak for Bowyer.
Last year, The NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour Series traveled to Loudon, NH for the FW Webb 100. Woody Pitkat held
off Todd Szegedy on a green-white-checkered finish to earn his second NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour victory. It was Pitkat’s first trip to Victory Lane in
16 starts at the Loudon, New Hampshire oval. Szegedy crossed the line second
and championship points leader Doug Coby finished third. Ted Christopher and
Rowan Pennink completed the top five. Patrick Emerling, Donny Lia, Bobby
Santos, Tommy Barrett Jr. and Mike Stefanik rounded out the top 10.
Coby’s third place finish, combined with a mid-race engine failure for
Justin Bonsignore, resulted in a big points swing. Coby entered New
Hampshire four points up on Bonsignore, but leaves with a 448-422 edge.
The action started as soon as the green flag dropped with the lead up for
grabs throughout the first half of the race. There were a total of 15 lead
changes among four drivers throughout the event. Pitkat and his Buzz Chew
entry proved to be the class of the field, however. The Stafford,
Connecticut, native posted his fifth top-five finish in 11 races this year
after grabbing the checkered flag ahead of 18-time race winner Szegedy.
The F.W. Webb 100 ran relatively clean in the first half of the race, but
the final half was not without incident with eight cautions and one red flag
lasting 20 minutes. The red flag was caused by a six-car accident coming out
of turn two on Lap 99.
Loudon Notes:
The NASCAR Modifieds, 27 of them, rolled into Loudon for registration and
inspection on Thursday. Included in the field were eight competitors running
the NASCAR Spec engine. Tommy Barrett, Justin Bonsignore, Ted Christopher,
Ryan Newman, Rowan Pennink, Woody Pitkat, Timmy Solomito, and Danny Watts.
Friday dawned bright and chilly as temperatures were in the 40's before
the sun came up. The first practice was slated for 8:30am. Prior to the
start of the practice the teams of Ryan Newman and Gary McDonald's team were
told that they would be held for five minutes at the beginning of this
practice session due to the fact that their spotters were late to the
driver/spotters meeting. Twenty four of the 27 cars entered took part in the
practice session. Fastest of the fast was Timmy Solomito in the Wayne
Anderson No. 75. Ron Silk was second fastest with Todd Szegedy, third. Among
those who did not take part was Ryan Newman who arrived at Loudon during the
wee hours and chose to get some sleep. Ken Heagy and Gary McDonald also
missed the practice.
Just about everyone took part in the second and final practice with many
testing their drafting skills. When the session closed shortly after noon
Bobby Santos was on top of the speed charts. His soon to be brother in law,
Woody Pitkat was second fastest with Donny Lia, third.
Shortly before 5:00pm as the sun was fading fast in the west NASCAR
Sprint Cup top gun Brad Keselowski set a new track record with a speed of
139.614. Despite the fact that the track was cold it was lightning fast. The
Modifieds finally got on the track for qualifying at 5:45pm.
Ryan Newman, from South Bend, Indiana, posted a fast lap of 29.067
seconds (131.035 mph) to capture the F.W. Webb 100 pole for the second year
in a row. Ron Silk joined Newman on the front row after his fast lap of
29.136 (130.725) qualified second. July NHMS winner Bobby Santos was
third-fastest at 29.193 (130.470). Five-time Loudon victor Ted Christopher
qualified fourth and defending F.W. Webb 100 winner Todd Szegedy was fifth.
Woody Pitkat, points leader Doug Coby, Donny Lia, Rowan Pennink and Justin
Bonsignore rounded out the top 10 qualifiers.
Once qualifying ended another race began as competitors headed to the
Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut. Ryan Preece, who was 10 points
behind Ted Christopher for track championship honors opted for a helicopter
ride for the tune of $3500. Christopher said that by the time he ran his lap
and got to the helipad, he estimated that it would be close to 7:00 p.m.
before he would take off. He said the trip from Loudon to Stafford is 50
minutes in a helicopter without a headwind. He felt that those factors plus
the heavy price tag for the helicopter ride were not cost effective and made
driving a much better option. Woody Pitkat who also planned to fly, sided
with Christopher as the two drove to Connecticut together. All three made it
in time for their main event. Pitkat faired the best as he ended up in
second spot. Preece ran in the top five, survived a flat tire and a wreck
and finished seventh. Christopher recovered from a spin to finish ninth.
It was Jamie Tomaino's 600th NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour start. The
grandstand population was extremely good.
The first caution of the day came on lap 3 when Mike Stefanik and Ryan
Preece rubbed nerf bars causing both cars spin.
The second caution came on lap 17 when Tommy Barrett spun on his own in
turn two. No damage as Barrett restarted and pulled away.
Caution No. 3 was for Matt Hirschman on lap 25 when he took a head on hit
into the Safe barrier in between turn three and four. It appeared that his
car had a broken brake rotor causing him to make a sharp left turn into the
wall. Hirschman removed himself from the wrecked vehicle.
Doug Coby was the cause of caution No.4. On lap 55 Coby and Patrick
Emerling make contact. One lap later Coby hit the outside wall in turn two.
Glen Reen's day came to an end on lap 79 when he hit the front stretch wall
and his right front wheel came off causing caution No. 5.
Things got interesting with five laps to go. Ryan Newman was trying to
get under Doug Coby to make the pass when he hit Coby's rear and spun on the
apron in turn 4, bringing out caution No. 6. At that point Newman had enough
for the day and parked it.
With the end in sight, the field took the green on lap 99 and a wreck
again slowed the progress of the event. Four cars were involved in a massive
pile up in turn two. Mike Stefanik spun coming out of turn two, came across
the track and hit Danny Watts as Timmy Solomito was hit from behind by Ron
Yuhas JR. Yuhas went up and over, landing on his roof for caution No. 7
which turned into a 20 minute red flag condition. Yuhas emerged unhurt.
The final restart came on lap 103. Bobby Santos put the bumper to Pitkat
setting up a bump draft which put Pitkat out in front and in the lead. Todd
Szegedy tried every trick to upset the leader but Pitkat never wavered as he
streaked under the checkered flag for his first New Hampshire win. Pitkat's
margin of victory was 0.298 seconds. Officially there were 15 lead changes
among four drivers.
The Riverhead Raceway on Long Island closed out their season this past
Saturday night. Howie Brode won the Modified 50 Lap main event over John
Fortin.
The Stafford Motor Speedway closed out their Friday night series last
week. Taking down NASCAR Whelen All-American Series weekly feature wins on
the night were Michael Gervais, Jr. in the SK Modified® feature, Michael
Scorzelli was a first time career winner in the Late Model feature as was
Stephen Kopcik in the SK Light feature, Glenn Bartkowski in the Limited Late
Model feature, and Jordan LaMothe in the Legends Car feature, and Frank
L’Etoile, Jr. won the DARE Stock feature.
Gervais and Woody Pitkat were locked in a side by side duel for the lead
for the final 2 laps and coming to the checkered flag, Gervais held off
Chase Dowling on his inside and Pitkat on his outside to take his first win
of the 2014 season. Pitkat barely beat Dowling to the line for second with
Rowan Pennink and Frank Ruocco rounding out the top-5.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action at the Waterford Speedbowl
Diego Monahan, Anthony Ryan Jr. and Pete Zaikarite were first-time winners
at the Waterford Speedbowl this season Monahan was a dramatic winner of the
SK-Modified feature, Ryan won the Late Model race and Zaikarite captured the
Mini Stock feature. Al Stone III (Street Stocks), Paul Buzel (SK Light
Modifieds) and Mike Christopher Jr. (Legend Cars) also earned trips to
Victory Lane.
Monahan came out on top of a wild 35-lap SK Modified race where more than
three cars each had a shot to win over two green-white-checkered flag
attempts to finish the race. Monahan battled with his brother Shawn and
three-time track champion Keith Rocco over a thrilling final nine laps that
began with a lap 26 restart. Diego Monahan held the lead through lap 33, but
Rocco made a charge coming to the white flag only to have a spin behind the
leaders return the race to the yellow caution flag.
On the restart Diego Monahan fended off an outside bid by his brother
over the final lap to earn the win with Rocco getting past Shawn Monahan to
finish second.
Christopher won a special 50-lap Legends Car feature for his 24th overall
win of the year.
In Modified racing in the Southland, Burt Myers led every lap to win the
Southern National 150 at Southern National Motorsports Park in North
Carolina, after holding off a hard charge from George Brunnhoelzl III, to
pick up his third victory in the past four races. Kyle Ebersole, who won one
week previous at South Boston Speedway, followed in third with David
Calabrese and rookie Joe Ryan Osborne completing the top five.
In NASCAR Sprint Cup racing, Joey Logano helped Team Penske strengthen
its grip as the organization to beat for the championship, pulling away on
an overtime restart to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and
advance to the second round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.
Logano raced to his fourth victory of the season, leading 73 laps and
surviving a NASCAR season-high 15 cautions that wrecked results for several
Chase drivers. He took the lead from Kevin Harvick with 27 laps left and
went on to his seventh career Cup victory.
Brendan Gaughan surged past rookies Chase Elliott and Ty Dillon in a wild
three-wide run after a final restart for a hard-earned victory in Saturday
night's 300-mile Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway. Elliott and
Dillon initially battled for the lead on Lap 192 before Gaughan's No. 62
Chevrolet rocketed forward on the outside to make it three abreast, getting
past both drivers a couple of laps later with Brian Scott in tow. Gaughan
went on to his second career victory by .878 seconds over Scott, followed by
Dillon, Elliott and Regan Smith in a top-five sweep by Chevys.
The Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina had taken another step towards
being a part of racing history as attorneys for track co-owners Andy
Hillenburg, of Harrsburg, N.C., and Bill Silas, of Stuart, Fla., were due in
Richmond County Superior Court.
Attorneys David M. Schilli and Brian L. Church, represent the Salisbury
bank Farmers and Merchants. The bank owns the note on the loan.
According to court records, Hillenburg and Silas owed $4,532,796.23 as of
Aug. 8. The parties are due in court at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25. Both
Hillenburg and Silas, who together own Rockingham Racing Park LLC, were
served on Aug. 28.
That’s about it for this week from 11 Gardner Drive, Westerly, 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. |
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Looking Back Archive
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Source: Phil
Smith / Looking Back A Bit
Posted: September
25, 2015 |
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