Ronnie Silk Wins NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Stafford Speedway

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Track Photo 

(Stafford Springs, CT)---Stafford Motor Speedway welcomed the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to Stafford Speedway for its lone visit of the 2020 season on Friday, September 26 for the NAPA Auto Parts 150.  Ronnie Silk came into the race as one of the hottest NWMT drivers with 3 consecutive podium finishes and he continued his hot streak by winning the NAPA Auto Parts 150 for his second win of the 2020 season and his 4^th career NWMT win at Stafford. 

Silk enjoyed a dominating day at Stafford that began with his #85 car being the fastest car in practice to claim the number 1 pit stall for the NAPA Auto Parts 150.  Silk qualified second behind polesitter Eric Goodale and he led the first 50 laps of the NAPA 150 before coming to pit road for his first of 2 pit stops during the race. 

After Silk’s second pit stop of the race on lap-102, he restarted in 7^th place and he moved up to second by the time the caution came back out on lap-117 for spins by Eric Goodale and Matt Galko spun on the backstretch. 

Silk powered his way around race leader Chase Dowling on the ensuing lap-124 restart to retake the lead and he slowly pulled away from the field to lead the final 26 laps and take the checkered flag.  Doug Coby finished second with NWMT points leader Justin Bonsignore rounding out the podium finishers.

Max McLaughlin finished fourth in his first career Stafford start with Chase Dowling rounding out the top-6.  Finishing 6^th through 10^th was Jon McKennedy, Ronnie Williams, Chuck Hossfeld, Matt Swanson, and Tyler Rypkema.

“We had a great car,” said Silk.  “I think we all struggled a little bit in practice but I knew speed-wise we had a good car and right from the green flag I knew we had a car that could contend and I knew if I could get out front I could hold them off.  Fantastic effort by all my guys.  It’s been a good week for me, I got engaged on Tuesday so this is a great way to cap off the week.  I knew Chase [Dowling] gets around here really good and he gets around everywhere really well and it’s fun racing with him.  Luckily I was able to get a good run on him coming off turn 2 and finished the pass through 3 and 4.  I could see him in the mirror for a little while, he tried to stay with me but the gap was getting bigger and bigger so I was just kind of cruising at the end in case we had a late caution.”

“I bet you didn’t expect to see us here after the first 80 laps,” said Coby said.  “I kept going, kept plugging away, kept seeing what we wanted and we ended up second. I’m really happy.  We had a fast car at the end and that’s really when you want to be fast.  We’ve got something to build on for the winter and hopefully come back with a little bit better package next year.”

“We had a really good car right from the start but I don’t know if we had as good of a car as the 85 [Silk],” said Bonsignore.  “The car came alive kind of a little too little too late and maybe a late caution could have bunched us up.  We got another top-5 but it wasn’t looking good there with about 30 or 40 to to.  It’s great to be back at Stafford and it’s great to have fans here and we’re looking forward to coming back in the Spring.” Source: Scott Running Stafford Speedway Media Release.

WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR NAPA AUTO PARTS 150 (150)

1) Ronnie Silk, Norwalk

2) Doug Coby, Milford

3) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, NY

4) Max McLaughlin, Mooresville, NC

5) Chase Dowling, Roxbury

6) Jon McKennedy, Chelmsford, MA

7) Ronnie Williams, Ellington

8) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, NY

9) Matt Swanson, Acton, MA

10) Tyler Rypkema, Owego, NY

11) Timmy Solomito, Islip, NY

12) Sam Rameau, Westminster, MA

13) Craig Lutz, Miller Place, NY

14) Joey Mucciacciaro, Jr., Wolcott

15) Calvin Carroll, Newton, NJ

16) Chris Pasteryak, Lisbon

17) Anthony Nocella, Woburn, MA

18) Walt Sutcliffe, Jr., East Haven

19) Woody Pitkat, Bellingham, MA

20) Gary Byington, Unionville

21) Dave Sapienza, Riverhead, NY

22) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, NY

23) Matt Galko, Meriden

24) Rob Summers, Manchester

25) J.B. Fortin, Holtsville, NY

26) Kyle Bonsignore, Bay Shore, NY

27) Melissa Fifield, Wakefield, NH

 

Brian Robie, Clinches Modified Title, Four Crowns Still Up For Grabs

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber  &  Emily Millner Track Photo

WINCHESTER, N.H. – Trevor Bleau (Troy, NH) won the race Saturday night at Monadnock Speedway that had eluded him all season. But, while Bleau won the battle, Brian Robie won the war.

            With Robie’s strong third-place outing in Saturday’s NHSTRA Modified main event, the Sunapee star clinched the 2020 track title. The speedway’s other four divisional crowns, however, will all wait to be decided on the final day of the season.

            Bleau, the runner-up a week earlier, was one of three first-of-the-season feature winners Saturday. On the fourteenth event of the summer, Emerson Cayer (Contoocook, NH) and C.J. Johnson (Keene, NH) also earned their first victory laps of the year.

            While Cayer made easy work of scoring Saturday’s 50-lap NHSTRA Battle for The Belt Mini Stock feature, Gordon Farnum – a six-time 2020 feature winner – cruised quietly to a fifth-place finish and, with it, the championship of the multi-track Belt series.

            Cameron Houle and Bleau raced under a blanket for the first ten laps of the Modified go-round, with Bleau then using the low groove to take command and never look back. Ben Byrne, needing desperately to make up big ground on Robie, got up for second on lap 25 but had nothing more for Bleau.

            Robie, charging from row five, swiped third from Houle on the final corner of the 40-lapper; more than enough to clinch the 2020 Modified crown. He is currently fourth nationally in NASCAR Division 1 points.

NHSTRA Modifieds - Trevor Bleau, Ben Byrne, Brian Robie, Cameron Houle, Brian Chapin, Russ Hersey, Todd Patnode, Matt Kimball, Kim Rivet, Scott MacMichael, Solomon Brow, Andy Major, Eric Leclair, Kevin Pittsinger, Jason Houle, Brad Zahensky, Cory Plummer

Woody Pitkat Wins Lincoln Tech Open Modified 80 At Stafford Speedway

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber  & Track Photo

Woody Pitkat Wins Lincoln Tech Open Modified 80 At Stafford Speedway

(Stafford Springs, CT)---Open Modified cars returned to Stafford Motor Speedway for the fourth and final time during the 2020 season on Friday, September 18th for the Twisted Tea Open Mod 80.  Woody Pitkat survived a host of late restarts to hold off all challengers and win the Twisted Tea Open Modified 80.

Chase Dowling took the lead at the green with Keith Rocco in second.  Woody Pitkat was third in the early laps with Mike Willis, Jr. coming up to fourth and Ronnie Williams fifth.  Rocco went by Dowling to take over the lead on lap-5 while Craig Lutz went by both Williams and Willis to move into fourth.  Williams got back by Willis to retake fourth place on lap-12 as Rocco continued to set the pace with Dowling and Pitkat behind him.

Pitkat took to the outside lane on lap-17 and he went by Dowling to move into second.  The top-6 cars were lined up in a nose to tail train with Todd Owen in sixth behind Rocco, Pitkat, Dowling, Williams, and Lutz.  Owen was starting to charge to the front as he took fifth from Williams and fourth from Lutz on lap-22.  Williams was starting to fade backwards as Willis, Stephen Kopcik, and Matt Swanson all went by to drop Williams back to ninth in line.  Dylan Kopec brought the caution out with 29 laps complete with a spin in turn 4.

Jeff Gallup spun in turn 1 and Dana DiMatteo spun in the middle of turns 1+2 on the restart to bring the caution right back out.  Rocco chose to restart in the outside lane and Pitkat took the lead on the restart.  Rocco came right back the next lap with a crossover move going into turn 3 and he retook the lead with Pitkat slotting back into second.  Lutz was third followed by Swanson, Dowling, and Kopcik.  Lutz got around Pitkat to take second on lap-34 as Rocco  continued to hold the lead.  Lutz and Rocco touched in turn 3 on lap-37 with Rocco spinning to bring the caution out.  Lutz was sent to the rear of the field for the contact with Rocco. 

Under the caution, the majority of the lead lap cars all came to pit road for 2 fresh tires.  Joey Cipriano won the race off pit road and he restarted in 9^th as it was Kopcik and Owen on the front row with Matt Galko and Richard Savary lined up behind them for the restart.

Kopcik took the lead on the restart but Galko powered his way to the lead by the time the leaders hit the start/finish line.  Owen was third behind Kopcik with Willis in fourth and Savary in fifth.  Owen quickly took second and on lap-42 he took the lead from Galko.  Willis was third in line behind Owen and Galko with Cipriano in fourth and Cam McDermott in fifth.  Pitkat was back up to sixth, the first car in line that stopped for 2 fresh tires under the last caution period. 

With 22 laps to go, Owen was still in command of the race with Galko holding back a hard charging Pitkat for second.  Pitkat was finally able to make a pass stick and he took over second place on lap-60.  Galko now had Williams all over his back bumper in the fight for third place with McDermott still running in fifth.  The caution came back out with 63 laps complete for a spin through the backstretch grass by Dylan Kopec.

Pitkat took the lead from Owen on the restart but Swanson got into the turn 4 wall to bring the caution back out before a lap could be completed, which put Owen back in the lead for the next restart.  Pitkat again took the lead from Owen on the restart with Williams also getting by Owen to take second.  Owen slotted into third with Cipriano in fourth and Galko in fifth.  A spin by Rocco in turn 2 brought the caution back out with 65 laps complete.

Williams powered his way by Pitkat on the restart to take over the race lead.  Owen and Cipriano were side by side for third with McDermott in fifth.  Owen cleared Cipriano on lap-68 for third while Williams was starting to stretch out his advantage over Pitkat at the front of the pack.

Pitkat came back and charged his way back into the lead on lap-72 with Owen third, Cipriano fourth, and Lutz fifth.  The caution came back out with 73 laps complete for a spin by Savary in turn 2.

Pitkat charged into the lead on the restart but behind him the cars of Anthony Flannery, Kopec, and Gervais all spun in turn 1 to bring the caution back out and eliminate Pitkat’s pass for the lead.

Pitkat again took the lead back under green with Cipriano working his way into second.  Galko was third but he lost third to Swanson on lap-75 and Owen was fifth.  Williams had fallen back to sixth but he spun in turn 2 to bring the caution back out with 75 laps complete.

Pitkat took the lead and Galko shot into second on the restart, with Lutz taking third.  Swanson took fourth and Owen got around Cipriano on lap-77 to move into fifth.  Swanson spun in turn 2 to bring the caution back out with 77 laps complete.

Galko got loose on the restart and fell back to fourth as Pitkat took the lead and Eric Goodale and Cipriano were side by side for second.  Goodale got clear as the cars came to the white flag.  Goodale made one last charge on the final lap but Pitkat was just strong enough to hold him off to win the Twisted Tea Open 80.  Cipriano finished third with Galko and Rocco rounding out the top-5. Source: Scott Running Stafford Speedway Media Press Release and Track Photo

1) Woody Pitkat, Bellingham, MA

2) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, NY

3) Joey Cipriano, Waterbury

4) Matt Galko, Meriden

5) Keith Rocco, Berlin

6) Craig Lutz, Miller Place, NY

7) Timmy Solomito, Islip, NY

8) Dana DiMatteo, Farmington

9) Austin Kochenash, Danielsville, PA

10) Richard Savary, Holbrook, MA

11) Cam McDermott, Canterbury

12) Mike Willis, Jr., Grantham, NH

13) Stephen Kopcik, Newtown

14) Matt Swanson, Acton, MA

15) Marcello Rufrano, North Haven

16) Dylan Kopec, Palmer, MA

17) Dave Etheridge, Portland

18) Todd Owen, Somers

19) Anthony Flannery, East Hampton

20) Chase Dowling, Roxbury

21) Ronnie Williams, Ellington

22) Michael Gervais, Jr., Wolcott

23) Jeff Gallup, Feeding Hills, MA

24) Scott Wylie, Blasdell, NY

Schedule Announced for 58th World Series at Thompson Speedway

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photo by Wayne G. Barber 

Thompson, CT — Track and series officials have announced the schedule of events for the 58^th World Series of Speedway Racing at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. The annual auto racing festival once again has three days of racing from Friday, October 9 to Sunday, October 11 with 18 divisions on the program.

 

The action kicks off Friday, October 9 with rotating practice beginning 11:00am. All World Series divisions except the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour are allowed to participate. A five-division Friday night card goes green at 5:00pm that includes the Thompson Mini Stocks, an 8-cylinder Street Stock Open, the Senior Tour Auto Racers Modifeds and Late Models, and an Open Vintage Modified feature.

 

Saturday, October 10 will be the busiest day of racing at the World Series. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has practice and qualifying for their annual World Series 150. Twelve other divisions have heat races that afternoon beginning at approximately 2:00pm. Following NASCAR Modified time trials are main events for the Tour-type Modified Open, ACT-type Late Model Open, 350 Supermodifieds, EXIT Realty Pro Truck Series, North East Mini Stock Tour, NEMA Midgets, and Pro 4 Modifieds.

 

The festival wraps up Sunday, October 11. The first green flag flies at 12:30pm when the Sunoco Modified feature rolls onto the track. Main events for the Pro All Stars Series Super Late Models, Limited Sportsmen, NEMA Lites, and SK Light Modifieds are also on Sunday. The World Series concludes with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour 150-lap event.

 

Advance tickets for the 58^th World Series of Speedway Racing go on sale Tuesday, September 15 at https://happsnow.com/event/Thompson-Speedway-Motorsports-Park-YHPQ. A three-day general admission pass is $55 for adults and $15 for kids ages 12 and under. Grandstand attendance is limited to 25% of capacity per state requirements. Pit admission is $75 per person for a three-day pass.

 

Division rules, purses, and entry forms that have not yet been released will be announced soon. Visit www.thompsonspeedway.com or www.acttour.com/thompson-speedway for regular updates and to review the track’s health and safety guidelines.

 

For more information about the World Series of Speedway Racing schedule, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com/thompson-speedway or www.thompsonspeedway.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.

 

For camping information and general Thompson Speedway inquires, call (860) 923-2280 or email oval@thompsonspeedway.com. You can follow Thompson Speedway on Facebook and Instagram at @ThompsonSpeedway or on Twitter at @ThompsonSpdwy.

 

For technical information concerning all PASS divisions, and for media or marketing questions, please contact passracing@roadrunner.com or visit www.proallstarsseries.com. Don't forget to "Like" the Pro All Stars Series on Facebook or follow on Twitter @PASSSLM14 to keep up with breaking news as it happens.

Hottest Driver in New England ?

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Aaron Fellows went low under lappers on the ninth circuit of the Late Model Sportsman feature and then checked out on the 13-car field to win for the tenth time in eleven outings.

At 41, Fellows has been winning races for a quarter century. Saturday’s runner-up, teen Camdyn Curtis, doesn’t even have a driver’s license yet. Still, though, the Baltimore, VT. young gun had everyone but Fellows covered, outrunning cagey veteran Robert Hagar to earn the second-place trophy. 

Late Model Sportsman: Aaron Fellows, Camdyn Curtis, Robert Hagar, Cole Littlewood, Justin Littlewood, Will Kuhn, Dan Comeau, Ronald Laperche, Scott Beck, Nancy Muni-Ruot, Chris Ballas, Matt Winter, Chris Jackson

Source: Monadnock Speedway Media Press Release and Track Photo

Keith Rocco spanks the field at Thompson Speedway 9-3-20

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber &  Photos by Wayne G. Barber 

1st race at Thompson Speedway in 2020 go's to Keith Rocco in the Sunoco Sk Mod Series over Oxford Mass. native Troy Talman tonight. Rocco now becomes the only Sk Mod driver to have a victory at all 3 Connecticut race tracks in 2020

Thompson 150 Postponed to Thursday Sept. 3,

 Posted by Wayne G Barber & Photo from Wayne G. Barber Library

Thompson, CT — Officials have postponed the Thompson 150 that scheduled for Wednesday at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park due a rapidly worsening weather forecast. The event will now be held Thursday, September 3.

 

As recently as early Tuesday morning, the weather looked favorable for the original Thompson 150 race date. However, the outlook deteriorated throughout the day and into the night, leaving track and series officials with no choice but to put the event on hold for one more day.

 

The event program will remain exactly the same with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour plus all five local Thompson Speedway divisions. Qualifying starts at 5:00pm on Thursday, September 3 with the first feature rolling to the grid at 6:00pm.

 

“Only 24 hours ago, we fully expected to race on Wednesday,” event co-promoter Cris Michaud said. “Unfortunately, the weather situation can change fast in the Northeast. We look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday and finally getting the Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park racing season underway.”

 

Advance tickets are still available at https://happsnow.com/event/Thompson-Speedway-Motorsports-Park-YHPQ. Admission is $44 for adults and $25 for kids ages 12 and under. All tickets already purchased will be honored on Thursday.

 

For more information about the Thompson 150, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com/thompson-speedway or www.thompsonspeedway.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour. For general Thompson Speedway inquires, call (860) 923-2280 or email oval@thompsonspeedway.com.

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