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RON SILK
SCORES SPEEDBOWL WIN;
HIRSCHMAN NOTCHES CHAMPIONSHIP |
 Sunday
afternoon at New London-Waterford Speedbowl,
modified racing fans were treated to an exciting day
of racing where over forty cars packed the pit area.
When it was all set and done, Ron Silk took the No.
50 machine into Northeast Race Cars and Parts Tri
Track victory lane. It was his first ever win on the
series in the midst of a deal that came together in
the last few weeks.
“I went down to their shop last week and put a seat
in and we got it all ready. It was really a last
minute deal,” Silk mentioned during post-race
celebrations. He found himself just missing out on
the redraw on Sunday, forcing him to begin his quest
to victory outside the top ten.
After originally scheduled to roll off 9th, Ted
Christopher found himself leading the field of
twenty eight modifieds to the green flag following a
redraw on the track just before the motors came to
life.
He jumped out front early on with New
London-Waterford Speedbowl SK Modified regular Keith
Rocco and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour points
contender Woody Pitkat quickly in tow from the
bottom lane. Outside polesitter Eric Berndt, driving
for Cerevalo Motorsports, dropped back on the
initial start with what appeared to be an
ill-handling car.
The first caution flag of the event flew on lap two
when Dennis Perry spun his No. 6 into the wet
infield down the frontstretch, but he was able to
regain traction and continue at the tail end of the
field. On the restart, Christopher went back to the
point with Rocco second, but it was Doug Coby who
made the biggest move. He charged from seventh into
the top five and then charged by Berndt to fourth.
While everyone got single file in the front,
Christopher approached lapped car Rich Parker on lap
eighteen and had to avoid hitting the back bumper in
turn three. Tony Hanbury, who was a guaranteed
starter because of his Race of Champions Tour
victory last month, spun in turn two drawing the
second caution on lap twenty.
Rocco took his No. 68 into the pits under the
caution finding a broken rocker arm that ended his
day. He was joined in the pit area by Steve Masse
and Berndt, who pitted for adjustments on
ill-handling machines.
Even though the green flag flew quickly, Parker and
Rob Summers spun in turn three drawing the caution
for the third time. Christopher continued his quest
for victory by going back to the lead on the lap 22
restart, but a fourth caution came down when Jeff
Gallup, Perry and Kurt Vigeant spun in turn two.
Todd Annarummo, series points leader coming into the
event, elected to take his Luff Industries No. 12
into the pit area under the caution and was followed
by Andy Seuss, Berndt and Zane Zeiner.
A restart saw the field get single file, attempting
to get into a rhythm until another caution flew for
Zeiner, who had a flat tire in turn four. Matt
“Money” Hirschman was forced to pit from sixth spot
with a flat tire on that caution and he was joined
by Masse and Annarummo, who continued to struggle.
Richard Savary made a move into second on the next
restart but Doug Coby was one step quicker. He slid
under Savary and grabbed the second position from
him on lap 36, just before a caution for a single
car incident with Vigeant. Points contenders
Patnode, Pasteryak and Hirschman all elected to come
down the pit lane under the caution and barely made
it back out for the restart that ended up changing
the complexion of the event.
Coby tried the outside of Christopher going into
turn one but contact between the two sent Coby up
the track and to a stop, drawing the caution once
again, the seventh one of the afternoon. Race
control deemed that Coby would be penalized one lap
for an intentional caution, ending his chances.
Once the field got to the halfway point, Les
Hinckley started making his move towards the front.
Hinckley, who missed races this season with a back
surgery, got under Pitkat on lap 43 when the two
ended up making contact. Hinckley pulled off an
impressive save, sliding through turn three and
cutting the wheel back to the right and only losing
a few positions.
The points championship chase took a hit when
Annarummo made contact with Coby on the frontstretch.
His No. 12 machine ended up front first into the
wall and banged the car up, ending his chances of
becoming champion.
Silk, the eventual winner, pitted on the lap 51
caution and set himself up for a charge. He
restarted in the back when the race went green and
Christopher rolled his way back to the lead. A ninth
caution flag flew on lap 69 when Carl Medeiros Jr.
spun in turn two. The next three laps included three
cautions, the most important of which changed the
battle at the front of the field.
Christopher threw it in hard under Masse in the
battle for the lead, got loose and spun down to the
infield in turn four. That gave Masse the lead, who
took it right down to the wire with Silk. A restart
with nineteen laps to go saw Silk drive deeper then
Masse into one and slide by. He drove into the
sunset and scored his first win on the Northeast
Race Cars and Parts Tri Track Open Modified Series.
“My car was great on restarts all day, both top and
bottom,” Silk said. “I knew if I could stay even
with him and pin him down going into the corner we
had a shot. This is a great series and there is a
lot of money that has been raised for the racers. I
am kind of speechless. I didn’t think we would have
a shot to win; it feels great.”
Behind Silk and Masse was Matt Hirschman in third.
With the third place finish, Hirschman found himself
carrying the 2015 Northeast Race Cars and Parts Tri
Track Series championship. His best two finishes
included a win at Monadnock Speedway in June and the
third on Sunday afternoon.
“I did this in two cars, it’s a nice accomplishment
for everyone here,” Hirschman said. “This year
hasn’t been getting me any breaks or going my way
and this is a nice token. I’ve always liked the open
shows where you bring guys from all over the place.
We do a lot more traveling up in New York state but
it is nice to make a few trips to this area and I
look forward to it.”
Unofficially, Hirschman won the championship by five
points of Annarummo, with Woody Pitkat in third
spot.
The series now has a month off, before concluding
the season with a non-points event at the Speedbowl
on October 25. For more information, visit
www.tritrackopenmodifiedseries.com.
Race Results; Tri Track Open Modified Series; New
London-Waterford Speedbowl September 13:
Ron Silk
Steve Masse
Matt Hirschman
Ryan Preece
Les Hinckley
Andy Jankowiak
Norman Wrenn
Ted Christopher
Chris Pasteryak
Woody Pitkat
Mike Holdridge
Richard Savary
Eric Berndt
Carl Medeiros Jr.
Andy Seuss
Johnny Kay
Jeff Gallup
Zane Zeiner
Rich Parker
Kurt Vigeant
Anthony Nocella
Todd Annarummo
Doug Coby
Todd Patnode
Rob Summers
Dennis Perry
Keith Rocco
Tony Hanbury
QUALIFYING RESULTS REPORT;
New London-Waterford Speedbowl Sunday September 13:
Heat One: Hometown Boy Notches Victory
Keith Rocco took his No. 68 modified to victory in
the first qualifying heat on Sunday afternoon. The
New London-Waterford Speedbowl regular started from
the pole position and lead all twelve laps in route
to victory.
Steve Masse finished second, with Ron Silk and Mike
Holdridge completing the qualified cars through the
first heat. Just missing out from making the big
show through the heats were Carl Medeiros Jr., Andy
Jankowiak, George Sherman and Brian Chapin.
Heat Two: NASCAR Whelen Tour Star Coby
Qualifies
Rich Parker and Zane Zeiner started heat two with a
spin in turn one. Once the qualifier went back under
green, Anthony Nocella smashed the first turn wall
and drew the second yellow without a lap going up on
the board. He ended up with extensive damage to the
right front of his Nocella Paving No. 92.
The green flag flew for the third time and this time
the field got one lap clicked up on the board before
Zeiner spun in turn one and Norman Wrenn spun to
avoid, ending up with a flat left front tire.
Doug Coby, driver of the Dunleavy Truck and Trailer
Repair took the lead on the restart, but another
caution slowed the field when Zeiner ended up riding
the side of Brian McCarthy on the backstretch.
The final ten laps of the heat event saw Coby drive
away with the victory, giving himself a guaranteed
starting spot in the feature event. Todd Patnode,
Jeff Gallup and Rich Parker were on the only cars
trailing him to the checkers due to the carnage
early on. All four drivers locked a position in the
100 lap event.
Heat Three: Berndt Impresses In No. 16
Kurt Vigeant and Eddie Leclerc brought heat three to
the emerald flag and Leclerc backed up on the top
all the way to the tail end of the field by lap
three. A debris caution slowed the field on lap
three, but the track quickly squared the issue away
and the field went green.
Vigeant went back to the lead and Eric Berndt found
himself on his tail. The No. 16, driven by Berndt
found himself leading on lap seven and never looked
back. He scored the victory in heat three, with
Vigeant second, point leader Todd Annarummo third
and Dennis Perry fourth, the final qualified car.
Chris Pasteryak, Rob Richardi, Andy Seuss and
Leclerc failed to qualify through the third heat
event.
Heat Four: Seekonk Winner Savary Locks His
Spot In Feature
Johnny Kay and Richard Savary brought the fourth
heat to green and Kay was quick off the start,
clearing Savary. Ryan Preece quickly made his
presence known grabbing third and chasing down the
top two while Jimmy Dolan was hanging on for dear
life in fourth.
That ended quickly for Dolan, who ended up spinning
in turn two drawing the first caution. Once the race
went back green, Savary took the lead from Kay and
was followed by Ted Christopher, who moved into
second spot.
Savary held on for victory, with Christopher second,
Preece third and Kay finishing the qualified cars.
Rob Summers, Dan Meservey, Mike Benevides and Dolan
completed the eight car field in round four.
Heat Five: Monadnock Winner Hirschman Wins
Final Heat Race
Mike Douglas Jr. spun to draw the first caution in
heat five on lap one with Matt “Money” Hirschman
leading the charge. Tony Hanbury spun in turn two to
draw the second caution, this time on lap two.
Once the race got going, Hirschman was committed to
scoring the victory. He was followed by Woody Pitkat
in second at the end of the heat and Hanbury grabbed
the final qualified position.
Consi One: Zeiner Rebounds From Heat
Misfortune To Qualify With Win
Carl Medeiros Jr. lead the first of two consi events
to the green at the Speedbowl on Sunday afternoon.
Even though Medeiros Jr. was able to jump out and
lead lap one, Zane Zeiner quickly grabbed the lead
from him on lap three and pulled the No. 50ma by
four car-lengths before long.
With only three cars making the move up into the big
show, the battle for that position at halfway was
undoubtedly the place to keep an eye. Just as Dan
Meservey Jr. looked to make a charge to the inside
of Joe Doucette, the caution flew for a spin by Andy
Jankowiak in turn three. Even though it appeared the
caution would be quick, it was found that Jankowiak
No. 27 hit fluid all through the first and second
turn down the backstretch, making it a long caution.
Even though the consi went green, it was quickly
brought back to yellow when Dan Meservey spun in
turn four on the restart. The ensuing green flag saw
Zeiner go back to the point and eventually hold on
to score the victory in the first consi event. Andy
Seuss and Carl Medeiros Jr. closely followed,
locking down the qualified positions. Jankowiak,
Doucette and multiple others were forced to head to
the B-main feature to attempt to qualify.
Consi Two: Pasteryak Qualifies With Victory
Chris Pasteryak, the winner at Lee USA Speedway
earlier this season, found himself leading the consi
to the green flag. At lap five, the first caution
flew when Jimmy Dolan and Brian McCarthy ended up
together in turn one.
At the halfway point of the second consi event
Norman Wrenn found himself sliding by Rob Richardi
and into a qualified position. When the final laps
clicked off, Pasteryak advanced with his victory
followed by Rob Summers and Norman Wrenn.
Ballard Trucks 25 B-Main:
Recent Southern modified standout Andy Jankowiak
lead the Ballard Trucks 25 lap B-main feature to the
green flag with Rob Richardi and Joe Doucette
quickly fighting for second.
The race quickly moved to the halfway point without
incident on the track, with lots of single file
battling. The final laps saw Jankowiak drive away
even more from his challengers, scoring the win and
electing to advance to the feature event. Even
though Jankowiak began the afternoon with a broken
rocker arm, he rebounded and scored a huge win to
advance.
Doucette, Richardi, Mike Douglas Jr. and Mike
Benevides completed the top five, all failing to
qualify.
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Source:
Kyle Souza /
Tri-Track Open
Modified Series
Posted:
September 14, 2015 |
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