The Chrome Horn - Champ Trail with Phil Smith

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.
 

Source: Phil Smith / Champ Trail
Posted: October 4, 2016

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