The Chrome Horn - Champ Trail with Phil Smith

Champ Trail - April 25, 2016


  The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will return to action this coming weekend on April 29 and 30 for round #3 at Stafford (Connecticut) Motor Speedway. Coming off three consecutive NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships, Doug Coby and the #2 Mayhew Tools / Dunleavy’s Truck and Trailer Repair team enter the 2017 season as favorites to once again be among the championship contenders. After the first two races of the season, Coby and the #2 team find themselves sitting 16th in the points standings, 46 points out of the lead. Fortunately for Coby and the #2 team, the NAPA Spring Sizzler® at Stafford Speedway is next on the schedule and will serve as the perfect opportunity for them to get their season back on track.
  Coby and the #2 team led by crew chief Phil Moran, won 3 of the 4 Stafford races during the 2016 NWMT season and might have gone 4 for 4 at Stafford if not for running out of fuel late in the Stafford 150 last August. After finishing 13th at Myrtle Beach and last at Thompson after a first lap crash, Coby is ready to get back to his winning ways, if not at least running up front once again.
  New England Racing Fuel, Sunoco Brand has been part of the Stafford Speedway contingency program every year since the founding of the program prior to the 1999 season. The 2017 season will mark the 19th consecutive season that New England Racing Fuel owned by John Holland and Mike Joy have helped power drivers through the Contingency Program. Last season New England Racing Fuel distributed over $10,000 in gas certificates to Stafford Speedway drivers, the fuel company is slated to distribute that same amount in 2017.
  Ed Flemke, Jr. and his sister Paula Bouchard will serve as Grand Marshals. The 2017 season marks the 50th season since Stafford Speedway was first paved, ushering in the era of asphalt racing. The winner of the very first feature to be run at Stafford on the new coat of asphalt was Ed Flemke, Sr. on June 1, 1967. The win was also the first of 23 career modified wins at Stafford for Flemke. Flemke also nearly won the very first Spring Sizzler® in 1972 driving the #34 Pinto for owner Fred Vigliarolo but after leading the race from lap 7 to lap 70, a water pump failed on Flemke’s car and he ended up finishing 17th while Fred DeSarro ended up taking the checkered flag in the Len Boehler “Ole Blu” #3 machine. Flemke was one of 7 Pintos in the starting lineup of 33 cars that marked the beginning of the Pinto Revolution at Stafford. Flemke then came back the very next year in 1973 and won the Spring Sizzler® driving Bob Judkins’ #2x.
  Tickets are priced at $40.00 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating is priced at $42.00 for all ages. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.

  While the Stafford Motor Speedway and the Thompson Motorsports Park sit on solid ground things do not look good for the impending season at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. The story has been told over and over. NASCAR is out, many of the employees have quit and competitors are having second thoughts as to where they want to race. Its a shame because the shoreline oval provides some of the beat competition there is. Hopefully this mess will straighten it self out.
  The May 6 Modified Touring Series event and the two Tri-Track events have not been cancelled.

  The all new Modified Touring Series made its debut last Saturday night at the Monadnock Speedway, a high banked quarter mile track located in Winchester, NH. The event drew a full crowd at the New Hampshire oval. Ryan Preece started fifth on the 19-car field and made quick work on his march to the front passing Richard Savory on lap 14 for the lead and eventual win in the 125 lap event. Jon McKennedy finished second with Rowan Pennink, third, and Chris Pasteryak, fourth. Savory faded to fifth. Sixth thru tenth were Woody Pitkat, Les Hinkley, Tommy Barrett,, Eric Goodale and Kirk Alexander.

  “Thrillin’ Dillon” Moltz, a graduate of weekly racing at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl and the Stafford Motor Speedway scored a big win in American-Canadian Late Model Tour competition at the Lee Speedway in Lee, NH. Moltz started off the day strong by winning his 12-lap heat race. After playing it patient for the first 50 laps of the 150-lap event, Moltz went on the attack snatching the lead from Jonathan Bouvrette on lap 56. From there, Moltz could not be touched, with the race’s one yellow flag on Lap 98 not being much of a hindrance.

  Springtime in North Carolina means warmer weather, blooming flowers, and most importantly the start of racing season at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem. The 69th season of NASCAR racing action was supposed to take the green with the Hayes Jewelers 200. Just as the competitors were about to strap in their mounts the skies opened up, forcing officials to re-schedule the event to this coming Saturday night. Burt Myers is the pole sitter.

  On the speedway stock market scene this week two of the three speedway stocks were down. The International Speedway Corporation was down 0.35 to 37.70 and Dover Entertainment was down 0.05 to 2.05 while Speedway Motorsports went up 0.48 to 19.52. NASCAR cup sponsor Monster Beverage went up 0.49 to 45.39 and NASCAR tire supplier Goodyear went up 1.21 to 35.35 while NASCAR fuel supplier Sunoco (Energy Transfer) dropped 0.44 to 35.12. The car manufacturers were all positive for the week. Toyota went up 2.40 to 106.58 while General Motors went up 0.36 to 33.75 and Ford went up 0.23 to 11.34. In the home improvement sector, Home Depot went up 4.09 to 150.00 and Lowes went up 2.41 to 83.47. The big team sponsor's stocks were all positive for the week. McDonalds went up 2.65 to 133.41, Coca-Cola went up 2.72 to 204.90, Target went up 1.39 to 54.78,, Aarons Rentals went up 0.30 to 30.71 and Fedex went up 1.49 to 185.22.

  On the tube this week:

  Thursday, April 27

6:00 PM, NASCAR America, NBC Sports Net
6:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, FOX Sports 1

  Friday, April 28
11:30 AM, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Richmond practice, FS1
1:00 PM, NASCAR Xfinity Series Richmond practice, FS1
2:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub - Weekend Edition, FS1
3:00 PM, NXS Richmond final practice, FS1
4:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub - Weekend Edition, FS1
4:30 PM, MENCS Richmond qualifying, FS1
8:00 PM, MENCS Richmond practice re-air, FOX Sports 2
9:30 PM, MENCS Richmond qualifying re-air, FS2
11:00 PM, Classic NASCAR - 1997 Daytona 500, FS2

  Saturday, April 29
1:00 AM, Tanked - NASCAR and Baseball Champions Tanks!. ANIMAL
4:30 AM, NXS Richmond final practice re-air, FS1
5:30 AM, MENCS Richmond qualifying re-air, FS1
9:00 AM, MENCS Richmond practice, FS1
10:00 AM, NXS Richmond qualifying, FS1
11:00 AM, NASCAR Race Hub - Weekend Edition, FS1
11:30 AM, MENCS Richmond final practice, FS1
12:30 PM, NASCAR RaceDay: XFINITY
1:00 PM, NXS Richmond race, FS1
3:30 PM, NASCAR Xfinity Series Post Show, FS1

  Sunday, April 30

1:00 AM, NXS Richmond race re-air, FS1
3:30 AM, MENCS Richmond practice re-air, FS1
4:30 AM, MENCS Richmond final practice re-air, FS1
11:30 AM, NASCAR RaceDay, FS1
1:30 PM, MENCS Pre Race Show, FOX
2:00 PM, MENCS Richmond race, FOX
8:30 PM, NASCAR Victory Lane, FS1

  Monday, May 1
2:00 AM, NASCAR Victory Lane, FS1
6:30 AM, MENCS Richmond race re-air, FS1
6:00 PM, NASCAR America, NBCSN
6:00 PM, NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7:00 PM, MENCS Richmond race re-air, FS1

   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: April 25, 2017

©2017 GeeLaw Motorsports/RGeePro   Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form without written prior consent