Champ Trail -
October 4, 2016 |
The Stafford Motor Speedway was forced to rain-date the 44th Annual NAPA
Auto Parts Fall Final that was scheduled for last weekend. Heavy rain
blanketed the New England area forcing NASCAR and the speedway management to
pull the plug. The entire program will be run this coming weekend on
Saturday and Sunday, Oct 8 and 9.
The New London Waterford Speedbowl will also be in action this coming
weekend with the INEX Legends Asphalt Nationals. Also in competition will be
Bandoleros, Super X Cars, Young Lion A-Main Semi Pro, A-Main X-Cars Master
and A-Main Pro A-Main.
With this past weekend devoid of racing in southern New England its time
to reflect on what we have. In southern New England we have what many
consider some of the best four tracks to race on and spectate at. Seekonk
Speedway, just east of Providence RI is located on what is called the
Gateway to Cape Cod. Seekonk is a 1/3 mile speedway that has been in
operation since 1946 and has Pro Stocks as its headline division. Seekonk
also features special events for the Whelen Modifieds, Tri-Track Modifieds
and Valenti Modifieds. The Stafford Motor Speedway is a half mile paved
speedway, located in central Connecticut northeast of Hartford and
Manchester. Stafford has been in operation since the early 1900s, first as a
dirt track and paved in 1967. Stafford is the home of the SK Modified and
also hosts special events for just about every racing division there is. The
New London-Waterford Speedbowl, a 1/3 mile speedway, is located in the
shoreline community of Waterford, Connecticut. In operation since 1951 the
speedway has been reborn thanks to the efforts of Bruce Bemer. The Speedbowl
hosts the SK Modifieds as their lead division. Last, but not least, is the
5/8 mile Thompson Motorsports Park Speedway in northeast Connecticut, just
south of Worcester Ma. Thompson runs a limited schedule and hosts the Sunoco
Modifieds (SK type) The high banks of the speedway support the highest speed
of racing in New England, not counting the one mile speedway in Loudon, NH.
In operation since 1940, the track has hosted NASCAR Sprint Cup racing as
well as SuperModifieds and Whelen Modifieds.
On has to go a long way before finding anything better than what we have
in Southern New England!
On a sad note it was learned that the drugged up individual that ran over
Modified car owner Joe Brady and killed him was found Not Guilty by the
Massachusetts Court System. Brady was a NEAR Hall of Fame inductee who owned
and built winning Modifieds that carried Leo Cleary, Bobby Santos Sr. and
Bugsy Stevens to many victories.
On the speedway stock market scene last week two of the three speedway
stocks were down for the week. Dover Entertainment dropped 0.03 to 2.47 and
the International Speedway Corporation dropped 0.07 to 33.42 while Speedway
Motorsports showed a no change for the week staying at 17.86. NASCAR cup
sponsor Sprint dropped 0.01 to 6.63and NASCAR fuel supplier Sunoco (Energy
Transfer) dropped 0.80 to 37.00. NASCAR tire supplier Goodyear recorded a no
change for the week at 32.30. The car manufacturers were all down for the
week. Taking the biggest dip was Toyota which dropped 1.60 to 116.06.
General Motors dropped 0.35 to 31.77 and Ford dropped 0.10 to 12.07. In the
home improvement sector, Home Depot went up 0.89 to 128.68 while Lowes
dropped 0.14 to 72.21. In big teams sponsor's stocks, McDonalds went up 3.19
to 115.36 and Fedex went up 0.29 to 124.68 while Coca-Cola dropped 0.36 to
148.16, Target Department Stores dropped 0.09 to 68.68 and Aarons Rentals
dropped 0.24 to 25.42.
On the tube this week:
Thursday, October 6
12:00 PM, NASCAR The List - Memorable Moments, NBC Sports Net
1:30 PM, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Charlotte practice, NBCSN
3:00 PM, NASCAR Xfinity Series Charlotte practice, NBCSN
5:00 PM, NASCAR America, NBCSN
5:30 PM, NXS Charlotte final practice, NBCSN
6:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7:00 PM, NSCS Charlotte qualifying, NBCSN
Friday, October 7
3:30 PM, NSCS Charlotte practice, NBCSN
4:30 PM, NXS Charlotte qualifying, NBCSN
6:00 PM, NASCAR America, NBCSN
6:30 PM, NSCS Charlotte final practice, NBCSN
7:30 PM, NXS Countdown, NBCSN
8:00 PM, NXS Charlotte race, NBCSN
10:30 PM, NXS Post Race Show, NBCSN
Saturday, October 8
3:30 PM, NSCS Charlotte qualifying re-air, NBCSN
5:00 PM, NASCAR America Saturday, NBCSN
6:00 PM, NSCS Countdown, NBCSN
7:00 PM, NSCS Charlotte race, NBC
11:00 PM, NSCS Post Race Show, NBCSN
Sunday, October 9
9:30 AM, How It's Made - NASCAR Car Bodies; Hurley Sticks; Tube Power
Amplifiers; Thermal Coffee Pot, SCI
Monday, October 10
2:00 PM, NASCAR the List - Iconic Cars, NBCSN
2:30 PM, NASCAR the List - Greatest Finishes, NBCSN
3:00 PM, NASCAR 120: NSCS Charlotte race re-air, NBCSN
6:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1
6:00 PM, NASCAR America, 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.
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Source: Phil
Smith / Champ Trail
Posted: October
4,
2016 |
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