Hirschman " Mr Money " Banks another Tri Track Victory

Photo credits, Simply the Best, Crystal Snape

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Hirschman Banks Another Tri Track Check

In typical Hirschman fashion, Matt came to Bobby Webbers' Star Speedway and ran a cool, calculated pace until it was time to go, and then he went. While nearly the entire field pitted on lap 73, Hirschman made a tire change and chassis adjustment, and then rejoined the starting field in 4th position, thanks to his crew on pit road.

Hirschman took only 4 laps to power into the lead, and then hold an impressive field of competitors at bay for the next 47 laps. In Victory Lane Hirschman gave all the credit to his entire team. Hirschman said "I owe a big part of this to my guys. I had a better car on lap 100 than I had on lap 1 and it really shouldn't be that way. We were no good at the beginning of this race and we came in and not only did we do our tire change, we made adjustments. We would not have sniffed the top 5 if we didn't come in for the tire and change. We would have been one of the guys getting lapped, that's how bad we were at the start of the race."

Steve Masse and Todd Annarummo led the 27 starters to the initial green, and Masse powered his way into the lead, which he held for the first 73 laps. Masse gave up that lead when he pitted under yellow. Masse led almost every car to pit road for fresh rubber and adjustments, leaving only Matt Galko and Dylan Steuer on the track.

Hirschman continued "The caution came at the time, we needed it. They hit it (the set up) all right, and gave me so many spots. We had to pass 2 or 3 guys there, one of them didn't have fresh tires. My guys put me ahead of all the other guys that could have won this race tonight."

By lap 74 Hirschman picked off Annarummo for 3rd pace, and drew a bead on 2nd place Chris Pasteryak, making an inside pass on lap 77, putting only Galko between himself and win number 7 in a row for the season.

Galko was easy prey, running on older tires and one lap later Hirschman powered by, leading for the next 47 laps. Hirschman kept all the contenders at bay, running out to a comfortable lead.

Behind Hirschman, Rowan Pennink charged through the pack late in the race to finish 2nd.  Josh Cantara, the 2011 Star Speedway Track Champion, turned in a stellar performance for 3rd, while Anthony Nocella put on a late race charge, going from 8th to 4th in the last 20 laps. Woody Pitkat, who collected the Best Looking Mod award, rounded out the top 5.

About his winning streak, Hirschman commented "It's incredible the streak we're on. I'm almost speechless because, I don't care how good a car you have, how well prepared you are, races are not easy to win. Sometimes the best car does win races, but to win this many in a row is incredible. We raced last week and I worked on this car every single night, late hours to finish this car for this week, and that was coming off a win last week. It does take a heck of a lot of effort. I know what it takes, and right now we're on our absolute A plus best game that we've been on, and I'm trying to stay there."

In  the first half of the event, only one yellow flag flew on lap 30, slowing action briefly, but from lap 73 to lap 86 there were 9 cautions before the officials gave the command for single file restarts. That gave Hirschman more of an advantage with no one to challenge him on the restarts.

Finish
60 Matt Hirschman
25 Rowan Pennink
71me Josh Cantara
92 Anthony Nocella...
52x Pitkat A Woody
9 Tommy Barrett
13 Stephen Masse
25x Brian Robie
48 Jon Kievman
16 Max Zachem
06 Les Hinckley
4 Jeff Gallup
15ct Chris Pasteryak
70 Andy Seuss
50x Carl Medeiros Jr.
51 Dylan Steuer
28 Dwight Jarvis
55 Joe Doucette
93 George Sherman
12 Todd Annarummo
76 Geoff Gernhard
27 Matthew Galko
8 Earl Paules
99 Richard Savary
73x Andy Jankowiak
7ma Kurt Vigeant
0 Mike Holdridge

Lap leaders

Masse 1-73

Galko 74-77

Hirschman 78-125

Margin of Victory 0.834

Best Lap Tie: 12:933

Best Speed 69.589

Best lap by Steve Masse

by James Snape

photos by Simply the Best, Crystal Snape

​

Race Chatter Line -Up 7-31-17

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

News, Results, Driver Interviews and Free Seekonk Speedway Tickets too !

Tentatively scheduled for 6:10 pm will be Modified Driver ,
Chase Dowling









   Tentatively Scheduled for 6:40 pm will be Super L/M Driver , Derek Griffith

Ryan Preece earns first career XFINITY win at Iowa

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

Ryan Preece earns first career XFINITY win at Iowa

No one could beat Preece, who ran full-time in 2016, but chose to funnel his 2017 XFINITY Series resources into this two-race stint with JGR.
That high-stakes gamble clearly paid off — as Preece beamed and raised his arms, his season over, but his future visibly brighter.
“I don’t even know what to say,” said Preece, who owns 17 career NASCAR Whelan All-American Modified Tour wins, including two this season. “I’ve got to thank everybody.”
So he did.
Benjamin settled for second, which also is his best career finish. Veteran Brian Scott took third in his first start of the season.
“I was very nervous,” said Benjamin, who also runs part-time for JGR. “I wanted to make it happen right there.”

Chase Dowling wins for a division leading fourth time this season in the SK Modified® feature,

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Chase Dowling for a division leading fourth time this season in the SK Modified® feature,

In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Stephen Kopcik took the lead at the green but the field could only complete one lap before the caution came out for spins on the frontstretch by Brendon Bock and Tommy Membrino, Jr. with Austin Pickens and Eric Berndt also involved.

Kopcik again took the lead back under green but not before Michael Gervias, Jr. nearly made it 3-wide with Kopcik and Cam McDermott.  Tom Abele, Jr. was fourth and Tyler Hines was fifth with Ronnie Williams and Matt Galko side by side for sixth.

McDermott took the lead from Kopcik on lap-5 with Gervais and Abele now side by side for third and Hines and Galko side by side for fifth.  The caution came back out with 6 laps complete for a spin in turn 3.

Back under green, McDermott took the lead but Galko was able to pull alongside and they were side by side with Todd Owen and Kopcik side by side behind them.  Hines and Keith Rocco were also side by side, making the front of the field look like a 3 row deep pace lap at race speed.  Galko emerged with the lead on lap-9 with Owen taking second.  McDermott slotted into third with Hines fourth and Rocco fifth.  Kopcik was sixth with Chase Dowling right on his bumper in seventh. 

Rocco took third from McDermott on lap-21 and Dowling followed him past to drop McDermott back to fifth in the order as Galko continued to lead Owen.  Dowling took third from Rocco on lap-27 while Owen was looking high and low for a way to get around Galko for the race lead.

Dowling continued his charge towards the front as he took second from Owen on lap-33 and was now right behind Galko for the lead.  Dowling took the lead from Galko on lap-35 with a pass in turn 2.  Owen was third with Rocco in fourth and McDermott in fifth with 5 laps to go.

Once he got out front, Dowling began to pull away from Galko and he scored his division leading fourth win of the 2017 season.  Owen finished third with Rocco and McDermott rounding out the top-5.Source: Scott Running Stafford Speedway Press Release and Track Photo

SK MODIFIED® (40)

1) Chase Dowling, Roxbury (4)

2) Matt Galko, Meriden (1)

3) Todd Owen, Somers (1)

4) Keith Rocco, Berlin

5) Cam McDermott, Canterbury

6) Eric Berndt, Cromwell

7) Stephen Kopcik, Newtown

8) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa

9) Ronnie Williams, Tolland (1)

10) Tyler Hines, North Haven

11) Michael Christopher, Jr., Wolcott

12) Tom Bolles, Ellington

13) Josh Wood, Palmer, Ma

14) Tom Abele, Jr., Norwich

15) Tony Membrino, Jr., Berlin

16) Austin Pickens, Orlando, FL

17) Dan Avery, Somers

18) Michael Gervais, Jr., Southbury

19) Ted Christopher, Plainville (3)

20) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Ma

21) John Catania, Agawam, Ma

22) Brendon Bock, Franklin Square, Ny

23) Tommy Membrino, Jr., Prospect

My Drivers in Heaven

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

I'm watching you, Barber !

From racing in the dirt, to the asphalt of today.
Many greats have graced the track before they went away.
Gone but not forgotten, we keep them in our heart
I'm talkin' about the drivers in heaven.

Remember number twenty-eight, carrying on a tradition
Davy always ran like a man on a mission
And I know he's looking down every time an engine starts
Along with all the drivers in heaven. 

They're racing in a better place, where the angels always set the pace
And the good Lord says gentlemen start your engines
You know up there the track is great, the speedways behind those pearly gates
And the stands are always full for the drivers in heaven

From the green flag to the checkered, every driver wins
If Neil Bonnet's in the lead, Dale Earnhardt is closing in
They'll replay Allan's famous victory lap in car number seven
I'm talk'in bout those drivers in heaven

Source: Rolling Thunder Band

Ryan Blaney to pilot third Team Penske car in 2018; Paul Menard joining Wood Brothers

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Ryan Blaney will move to a third Team Penske entry in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, with Paul Menard shifting to the Wood Brothers Racing team next season.
Both organizations made the joint announcement Wednesday, firming up two more partnerships in the annual “Silly Season” shuffle of driver-team pairings. Team Penske and the Wood Brothers share technical information through an alliance.
On a Wednesday afternoon teleconference, Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske, and Eddie Wood, co-owner of Wood Brothers Racing confirmed that crew chief Jeremy Bullins will stay with Blaney and move to the No. 12, while Greg Erwin will crew chief the No. 21 in 2018.

Keith Rocco Leading the Way With Consistency in SK Modified® Division

Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photo Credit, Wayne G. Barber Library

Rowan Pennink photo bombing Rocco

(Stafford Springs, CT)---During the 2017 SK Modified® season at Stafford Motor Speedway, the headlines have been filled up with Ted Christopher and Chase Dowling, who between them have won 6 of the 8 races this year.  One driver who hasn’t made as much noise in the headlines is Keith Rocco, driver of the #88 Wheelers Auto / Dunleavy’s Truck & Trailer Repair car.  Rocco has yet to win a race in 2017, but his quiet consistency has seen him finish in the top-7 in all 8 SK Modified® feature events to date and he is looking to continue his run of good fortune.

“I don’t think we’ve been under the radar,” said Rocco.  “It seems like every time they’ve won this year, we’ve either finished second or third, so we’re right there, we’re just missing that little bit of speed.  The consistency is there, which is half the battle.  Every week we’re trying something different and we’ve been making gains, we just haven’t gotten a win yet.”

Among Rocco’s 8 top-7 finishes this season are five podium efforts with a best finish of second on May 12 when he and Ted Christopher dueled for the lead in the closing laps and Rocco came up just short at the checkered flag.  With those results under his belt, Rocco feels like it’s only a matter of time until he puts his #88 back in NAPA Victory Lane.

“I think it’s only a matter of time, but it’s tough out there,” said Rocco.  “Everyone has the best of the best equipment and it seems like if your car isn’t perfect, then you’re not going to win.  We’ve been right there and battling with those guys, swapping the lead back and forth.  We just haven’t won a race yet.  It’s tough with the tire program and only getting 2 tires a week.  It seems like everyone is on a different schedule with their tires.  I think it‘s just a matter of having a good night with tires and being on the right schedule.”

In addition to his driving duties behind the wheel of the #88, Rocco has also ventured into the ownership realm  this season, fielding entries for Tom Abele, Jr. in the #32 and Brendon Bock in the #29 car.  Abele has run all the races and with 3 top-10 finishes to his credit, he sits just outside the top-10 in the points standings.  Bock got a late start, but in four starts this season, he has recorded two top-10 finishes.
 Rocco also fields two entries at Thompson Speedway. His #57 and Troy Talman in the #3 who has a win and a top 3 so far. Rocco is in a dog fight with Ryan Preece in the #31 again in 2017 with three races to go.
 I think his record in 2017 at the New London Waterford Speedbowl is 3 wins in six races in the late starting 2017 schedule on Saturday nights.
From a reporters view it's amazing to see the transformation of Rocco as a model husband and father and looking at the long term and seizing the opportunity of his vast knowledge of short track racing in driving and the financial part of it. His twin brother Jeff also is in many different rides in 2017 and can also wheel any form of race car.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Rocco.  “It’s almost like having another job but those guys are running good and we’re hoping we can get them into the top-3 on a consistent basis.  To be honest, it doesn’t really affect anything we do.  The cars are all set up the same and it’s hard to keep all 3 cars up front.”

Rocco is a former 2-time SK Modified® champion at Stafford (2008, 2010) and if his thoughts on the second half can match his performance in the first half of the season, he could well be on his way to a third championship.

“I think we should be able to keep our momentum rolling and have just as good a second half of the year as we have started off in the first half.”

Rocco, Abele, Bock, and the rest of the SK Modified® field will be back in action this Friday night, July 28^th as part of the 5-Star Series program with a special appearance by the Wild Thing Karts Senior Champs division.  Tickets for this Friday night’s program are priced at $17.50 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 seat tickets are $20.00 for all ages.  All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.  Stafford Motor Speedway offers plenty of free parking along with overnight parking available for self contained Recreational Vehicles.

Todd Stone Takes the Checkers at White Mountain!

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Woodstock, NH - Todd Stone of Middlebury, VT. took the checkers at the White Mountain 100 on Saturday night. In practice and the scuff sessions, veteran to the track, DJ Shaw of Center Conway, NH posted the fastest times. Wayne Helliwell Jr. of Dover, NH who has run well in the ACT Series posted some of the fastest times as well. 

The feature saw Helliwell Jr. on the poll, and Luke Hinkley of Claremont, NH started on the outside to start the race. The early part of the race saw Helliwell take an early lead for the first twenty laps of the race. Eventually Shaw would take the lead and hold it until lap 40 when the caution flew. Shaw and Hinkley made contact on the backstretch sending the 31NH car up the pit road in a wild ride with the car ending up on thp of the pit wall, ending his night early.

On the restart Stone took the lead followed by Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA. Shaw managed to fix his car and make his way back up the field, by lap 50 he was back in the top five. Barry Gray of Belchertown, MA the 2016 Granite State Pro Stock Series also managed to stay in the top five.

In the ensuing laps O’Sullivan stayed close to Stone, however Helliwell was close behind, and passed O’Sullivan on lap 81 taking second. Helliwell made several bids to take the lead from Stone unsuccessfully as they crossed the finish line.   

Saturday, August 12th The Granite State Pro Stock Series will be racing at Monadnock Speedway, in Winchester, NH for the Monadnock 100. For more information, follow The Granite State Pro Stock Series on Facebook or at www.gspss.net 

Unofficial Finish

1          1X Todd Stone       

2          08 Mike O’Sullivan

3          60 DJ Shaw

4          29 Barry Gray

5          7 Cory Casagrande

6          39 Nick Lascuola

7          96 Wyatt Alexander

8          01 Sammy Gooden

9          1VT Jeremy Davis

10        7oz Grant Aither

11        40 Mike Mitchell

12        4 Tommy O’Sullivan

13        72 Scott MacMichael

14        10 Jimmy Zullo

15        23 Glenn Martel

16        1NH Luke Hinkley

17        43 Devin O’Connell

18        93 Ryan Green

19        27 Wayne Helliwell *

* Disqualified to Unapproved Changes in a Pit Stop

Contingency Winner

Car #

Name

AR Bodies (Hard Luck)

31NH Luke Hinkley

O'Reilly Auto Parts (3rd Place)

60 DJ Shaw

O'Reilly Auto Parts (Last Car on the Lead Lap) 

39 Nick Lascuola

Five Star Bodies 5th Place

7 Cory Casagrande

Sunoco Heat Winner

29 Barry Gray

Sunoco Heat Winner

60 DJ Shaw

VDL Fuel 4th Place

29 Barry Gray

Race Parts NH Hard Charger

7 Cory Casagrande

Track: White Mountain Motorsports Park .25 mile Woodstock, NH

Race- White Mountain 100

Time of Race- 58:09.9

Best Lap Time- 12.285

Best Lap By- DJ Shaw

Cautions- (11) 21, 38, 40, 43, 45

Margin of Victory- 0.353

Lap Leaders- (3) Wayne Helliwell 20, DJ Shaw 20, Todd Stone 60

Race Chatter Line-Up Tonight

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

 News, Driver Changes, Standings , Gossip and Driver Interviews too !

Hey, E-Mail the show at waynewnri@yahoo.com

Tonight, for a third visit will be Big Money ! not Matt Hirschman,  Derek Griffith $10,000 pay day again !

Free Seekonk Speedway Tickets by calling 1-401-766-1380 or 1-401-769-0600

2nd Race, Valenti News !

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Photo by Simply the Best, Crystal Snape

 Reversing the field for the second 50 put Troy Talman of Oxford MA on the pole and clean air was all that he needed to go from green to checkered. Like Meservey Jr. it was his first tour type modified win. It was no easy run for the 22 year old as 6 caution flag periods gave other drivers the chance to knock off the leader.

   Dennis Perry of Pawcatuck CT tried his best to take over the top spot but a lap 15 scramble sent him pit side while it eliminated George Sherman of Framingham MA and Andy Shaw of Center Conway NH.  Second charger for the runner up spot was Matt Mead of Richmond NH with the 88 of Russ Hersey and the 12 in tow. Another caution included several cars, and destroyed the 88. Restart was the 3 and the 77 on the front line and then Rob Richardi Jr. of Taunton, MA took over the 2nd spot. Donnie Lashua also gave it a try by racing to the back bumper of Talman, but wasn't able to pull off the pass. An impressive drive by Geoff Gernhard of Bozrah, CT, who took over the runner up spot from Lashua with 9 laps to go, could only close to within 1.7 seconds of Talman at the finish line.

   Carl Medieros Jr. of Westport,MA. who will celebrate his 21st birthday on Monday 7/24 came from the 21st starting position and nipped Lashua for the third spot. Fifth thru tenth were Jeff Gallup, Anthony Ricci, Matt Mead, Rob Richardi Jr., Dennis Perry and Jeff Rocco.

   Carl Medieros Jr. was the hard charger of the event picking up 20 positions.

   Talman said, "At the beginning I just tried to save my tires, if I got too far ahead my spotter was great with information. It's a good car. This place really chews up the tires and its really all about discipline, you can get on the gas and go fast for a few laps but your car will be junk after that. So you have to have throttle control to keep your tires underneath you, anytime the car gets away from you you're chewing up the right rear. We also didn't have a lot of gear here, I only turned like 6500 RPMs. This is my first race here, it's definitely a cool track. I can't wait to get to Beech Ridge (Speedway, Scarborough, ME) with the M.R.S."

Summary

Second 50 Lap

Margin of Victory--1.723 seconds

Best Lap Time--15.181

Best lap By--#93-George Sherman

Cautions--6--laps-(15-15-15- 35-43-44)

Lap Leader--1--#3-Talman-(1-50)

Unofficial Finish

1---3-Troy Talman

2---11-Geoff Gernhard

3---50-Carl Medieros Jr.

4---17-Donnie Lashua

5---4-Jeff Gallup

6---20-Anthony Ricci

7---77-Matt Mead

8---12MA-Rob Richardi Jr.

9---76-Dennis Perry

10--85-Jeff Rocco

11--55-Joe Doucette

12--47-Dylan Rock

13--83-Mike Willis Jr.

14--16-Colbey Fournier

15--22-Roy Seidell Jr.

16--27-Derek Robbie

17--66NH-Andy Shaw

18--88-Russ Hersey

19--92-Anthony Nocella

20--45-Dan Meservey Jr.

21--6-Sammy Rameau

22--81-Josh Cantara

23--93-George Sherman

Next Event--Aug. 12 2017--New London Waterford Speedbowl. Waterford,CT.

by James Snape

photos by Crystal Snape

Valenti News !

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Photo by Simply the Best, Crystal Snape

Lee USA Speedway, Lee NH

   When twin 50s are on tap at the Lee USA speedway, exciting things can happen and Friday 7/21 was no exception to the rule.

   In the first 50, seventeen year old Dylan Rock of Enfield NH and Modified Racing Series points leader Anthony Nocella of Woburn MA led the 23 starters to the green flag while Dan Meservey Jr of Brewster MA sponsored by 123 Gas, began his run from the third row.

Young Rock driving like a veteran out-dragged Nocella for the lead and made it look like it could be his first tour type modified win.

   Rock's teammate Donnie Lashua of Canaan NH took over second place early in the event and chased Rock for the next 35 laps until eventual race winner Meservey Jr took over second place on lap 37, then set his sights on Rock. A yellow flag on lap 45 set up a 5 lap duel for the victory. Meservey Jr. held on to the outside groove and on lap 47 slipped into the lead while Lashua and Nocella battled for third. With two laps to go Lashua would win that fight and follow teammate Rock across the finish line giving the Jack Bateman owned cars a second and third place finish.

Nocella and Jeff Gallup were 4th and 5th respectively. Rounding out the top ten were Josh Cantara, Russ Hersey, Anthony Ricci, Sam Rameau and Matt Mead.

   Anthony Ricci was the hard charger of the event driving from 20th to 7th.

   Meservey Jr. commented, "I haven't raced here in a long time, probably 20 years, and everybody kept saying take it easy on the car. For the first half of the race I just stayed in sight of the leaders and not slide the car what-so-ever and we kept getting better and better and everybody kept falling off more and more. The car was really good on restarts on cold tires and I knew we had a chance. The kid in the 47 (Rock) was good, but I knew if I could get on the outside of him I could hold him down, cause he needed that whole track. Once you get pinched down you really chew those tires up. It was really good for us to get my first ever modified win, I'm happy." Source: Jim Snape

Summary

Track-Lee USA Speedway 0.375 Miles

Time of Race-18:19.900

Margin of Victory-0.314

Best Lap Time-15.133

Best Lap by-#88-Russ Hersey

Cautions-2-laps 33-45

Lap Leaders-2- #47,Rock-(1-46)--#45,Meservey Jr.-(47-50)

Unofficial Finish

1---45-Dan Meservey Jr.

2---47-Dylan Rock

3---17-Donnie Lashua

4---92-Anthony Nocella

5---4-Jeff Gallup

6---81-Josh Cantata

7---88-Russ Hersey

8---20-Anthony Ricci

9---6-Sammy Rameau

10--77-Matt Mead

11--93-George Sherman

12--16-Colbey Fournier

13--12MA-Rob Richardi Jr.

14--85-Jeff Rocco

15--83-Mike Willis Jr.

16--76-Dennis Perry

17--66NH-Andy Shaw

18--27-Derek Robbie

19--55-Joe Doucette

20--3-Troy Talman

21--50-Carl Medieros Jr.

22--11-Geoff Gernhard

23--22-Roy Seidell Jr.

Ted Christopher makes it three wins in 8 starts at Stafford Speedway in 2017

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Michael Gervais, Jr. took the lead at the green with Dan Avery in second.  Glen Reen was third with Cam McDermott and Stephen Kopcik side by side for fourth place.  Reen nearly got sideways on lap-6 but he gathered his car up and nearly made a 3-wide move for third.  He settled back into line in fifth behind McDermott and Kopcik as Gervais and Avery continued to set the pace out front.  Rowan Pennink took a hard hit into the turn 3 wall to bring the caution and red flags out with 8 laps complete. Over aggressive driving put Christopher to the rear.

Gervais took the lead back under green with McDermott moving into second.  Avery settled into third after a duel with Mike Christopher, Jr. with Kopcik in fifth.  McDermott was applying heavy pressure to Gervais for the lead and nearly made a pass in turn 4 on lap-13 but Gervais was able to hold him off.  Christopher, Jr. was also working Avery over for third and he went to the outside groove to try to make the pass.  Gervais and McDermott touched in turns 1+2 with Gervais spinning in turn 2 to bring the caution out.  One lap earlier, Chase Dowling’s car dropped off the pace and he limped to pit road.  McDermott was black flagged for overaggressive driving, which put Christopher, Jr. out front for the restart.

Christopher led on the restart, but he was quickly overtaken by Todd Owen.  Owen’s move opened the door for Keith Rocco and Ted Christopher to also get past Christopher, Jr. to drop him from the lead back to fourth.  Avery was running fifth with 22 laps complete.  Gervais spun in turn 4 to bring the caution out with 24 laps complete.

Owen took the lead on the restart with Ted Christopher getting around Rocco to move into second.  Avery was fourth with Mike Christopher, Jr. on his outside in fifth.  Christopher took the lead from Owen on lap-28 and then the caution came out for spin in turn 1 by Reen.

Owen ran side by side with Christopher for a lap before he settled back into second.  Rocco was third with Mike Christopher, Jr. fourth and Josh Wood and Avery were side by side for fifth place.  Owen was looking high and low for a way to get back around Christopher for the lead, but Christopher was able to fend off his challenges.  Wood and Brendon Bock touched and spun in turn 2 to bring the caution back out with 33 laps complete.

Christopher took the lead on the restart with Owen immediately slotting into second behind him.  Rocco was third with Avery and Christopher, Jr. side by side for fourth place.  Owen again was looking high and low on Christopher for the lead but John Catania and Tommy Membrino, Jr. got into the turn 3 wall to bring the caution back out with 35 laps complete.

On the restart, Tom Abele, Jr. and Tony Membrino, Jr. came together and spun on the front stretch to bring the caution right back out.  Catania also got into the front stretch wall and Kopcik got into the turn 2 wall.
Christopher again took the lead back under green with Owen all over his back bumper.  Rocco was third with Avery and Christopher, Jr. side by side for fourth with Ronnie Williams in sixth.  Owen and Christopher touched wheels going into turn 1 on lap-38 with Christopher maintaining the lead.  Owen made one last ditch effort on the outside coming to the checkered flag but Christopher was able to beat him to the checkered flag in a wild finish.  Rocco finished third with Avery and Christopher, Jr. rounding out the top-5.
For Christopher at Stafford Speedway in his Hall Of Fame career so far, 106 SK Mod victories and 128 total victories and counting.

SK MODIFIED® (40)

1) Ted Christopher, Plainville (3)

2) Todd Owen, Somers (1)

3) Keith Rocco, Berlin

4) Dan Avery, Somers

5) Michael Christopher, Jr., Wolcott

6) Ronnie Williams, Tolland (1)

7) Tyler Hines, North Haven

8) Matt Galko, Meriden (1)

9) Stephen Kopcik, Newtown

10) Cam McDermott, Canterbury

11) Michael Gervais, Jr., Southbury

12) Josh Wood, Palmer, Ma

13) Tom Abele, Jr., Norwich

14) Tony Membrino, Jr., Berlin

15) John Catania, Agawam, Ma

16) Tommy Membrino, Jr., Prospect

17) Brendon Bock, Franklin Square, Ny

18) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Ma

19) Tom Bolles, Ellington

20) Chase Dowling, Roxbury (2)

21) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa

Eldora Dirt Provides Cody Coughlin With Career Best NASCAR Finish

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

 Cody Coughlin hit the dirt at Eldora Speedway in his home state of Ohio on Wednesday night for the second race on dirt in his career. He walked out of the legendary half-mile oval with a career-best finish. After starting 27th, Coughlin finished in the 11th position, one better than his previous career-best finish of 12th at Texas Motor Speedway in June 2016 and at Daytona International Speedway earlier this year.

 

"I don't know what we found for the 150-lap feature, but it worked," said Coughlin. "I never would have thought that my career best finish would come at a dirt race, but I'm very happy about that. These two days were tough, but running through the field like that was a lot of fun."

"Plus this is Tony Stewart's track; I've always admired him and what he has done.  We had a chance to catch up and I told him how cool it was to race on the dirt at his place."

 

The Delaware, Ohio native's time at Eldora Speedway got off to a rough start during practice on Tuesday night. Coughlin spun around and hit the wall in turn three. His ThorSport Racing crew worked hard to fix the JEGS.com/RIDE TV Toyota Tundra for final practice.

 

The No. 13 machine looked good as new for Wednesday's race. Coughlin finished second in Wednesday's Last Chance Qualifier race to secure the 27th starting position.

 

When the green flag waved on the 150-lap feature Coughlin went right to the bottom of the track and started to head to the front of the field. Coughlin was up to 11th by the end of the first stage of 40 laps.

 

At the end of the night, Coughlin found himself in the 11th position, the best finishing position of his young NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career.

 

"I am so thankful for the hard work that all of my guys put in to get this truck fixed yesterday night in practice, and for everything they did today to help me out. We're closing in on our first top 10 finish and once we get that one I think a lot more will come.  I'm so thankful that Duke and Rhonda Thorson let me race their trucks. I have a lot of fun working with this whole group."

 

Coughlin will be back in action on Saturday, July 29 at Pocono Raceway (PA) for the Overton's 150

Sportsman Open Results Seekonk Speedway 7-19-17 $1,000 to win

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

Green to Checkers, no cautions.30 Laps $1,000 to win, no points.

1	10	Chad Baxter	30	08:02.414		00:15.098	8	0.000
2	76	John Hanafin	30	08:03.598	00:01.184	00:15.342	16	0.000
3	70	Paul Lallier	30	08:05.250	00:02.836	00:15.378	12	0.000
4	98	Ryan Flood	30	08:06.461	00:04.047	00:15.404	5	0.000
5	53	Vinny Pangelinan	30	08:06.680	00:04.266	00:15.395	10	0.000
6	11	Corey Fanning	30	08:07.072	00:04.658	00:15.411	12	0.000
7	47	Dick Benoit	30	08:07.626	00:05.212	00:15.392	14	0.000
8	32	Jesse Melberg	30	08:10.153	00:07.739	00:15.527	16	0.000
9	56	Thomas Adams	30	08:10.851	00:08.437	00:15.488	24	0.000
10	96	Sparky Arsenault	30	08:11.474	00:09.060	00:15.447	10	0.000
11	45	Justin Travis	30	08:12.884	00:10.470	00:15.595	6	0.000
12	51	Brenden Nutter	30	08:16.956	00:14.542	00:15.628	9	0.000
13	19	Ryan Lineham	30	08:17.382	00:14.968	00:15.730	29	0.000
14	7	Ray Negley	29	08:04.921	00:02.652	00:15.678	10	0.000
15	77	Gill Bradstreet	29	08:05.262	00:02.993	00:15.664	5	0.000
16	9	Dane Saritelli	29	08:13.947	00:11.678	00:15.932	22	0.000
17	3	Joe Kohler	29	08:02.269	1 Lap	00:15.714	12	0.000
18	13	Paul Williams	21	06:03.993	9 Laps	00:15.648	9	0.000

US PRO/SLM Nationals, Seekonk Speedway 7-19-17

Facebook Share Dolly Mechalides

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Pos	No.	Name	Laps	Total time	Diff	Best time	In lap	Best speed
1	12G	Derek Griffith	200	57:39.607		00:12.743	5	0.000
2	94	Garrett Hall	200	57:41.294	00:01.687	00:12.665	106	0.000
3	35	Derek Ramstrom	200	57:42.124	00:02.517	00:12.806	10	0.000
4	17ma	Eddie MacDonald	200	57:42.554	00:02.947	00:12.684	2	0.000
5	52	David Darling	200	57:42.774	00:03.167	00:12.736	2	0.000
6	14	Travis Benjamin	200	57:43.261	00:03.654	00:12.737	5	0.000
7	27	Mike Brightman	200	57:44.926	00:05.319	00:12.844	105	0.000
8	97	Joey Pole	200	57:45.426	00:05.819	00:12.621	10	0.000
9	59	Reid Lanpher	200	57:49.692	00:10.085	00:12.714	7	0.000
10	7	Kyle Casper	199	57:45.957	1 Lap	00:12.821	8	0.000
11	12	Bobby Pelland III	198	57:46.474	2 Laps	00:12.789	7	0.000
12	42	Woody Pitkat	196	57:47.754	4 Laps	00:13.012	105	0.000
13	12L	Cole Littlewood	181	41:06.030	19 Laps	00:13.270	4	0.000
14	11	Ryan Vanesse	171	46:20.859	29 Laps	00:12.733	7	0.000
15	12J	Joseph Graf	141	37:26.633	59 Laps	00:12.960	102	0.000
16	99	Raphael Lessard	112	29:22.424	88 Laps	00:12.938	4	0.000
17	2	Tom Scully Jr.	72	19:22.205	128 Laps	00:12.903	12	0.000
18	17	Kevin Folan	66	21:25.587	134 Laps	00:13.072	13	0.000
19	66	Steve Pailler	14	06:35.162	186 Laps	00:13.229	6	0.000
20	43	Devin O'Connell	12	06:03.271	188 Laps	00:13.044	6	0.000
21	45	Joey Mooch	2	00:33.863	198 Laps	00:13.301	2	0.000

Rowan Pennink Current Whelen Points Leader

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

(Stafford Springs, CT)---When the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour rolls into Stafford Speedway on August 4^th for the Stafford 150, Stafford SK Modified® regular Rowan Pennink finds himself at the top of the NWMT points standings.  Pennink’s ninth place finish this past weekend at New Hampshire was good enough to move him to the top of the standings as Timmy Solomito got caught up in a wreck and finished 29^th.  Pennink has occupied the top spot of the NWMT standings once before at the midway point of the 2011 season and his points position has both himself and the #3 Cape Cod Copper / Boehler Racing Enterprises team excited.

“It’s definitely good to have the points lead halfway through the season and we want to end up with the points lead after the last races at Stafford and Thompson,” said Pennink.  “Hopefully we’ll be bringing another solid car to Stafford and we’ll be trying to win and if we can’t win then get a solid top-5 finish.  You’ve always got your eyes on the points but we just want to worry about putting together solid finishes and keep on chugging along here midway through the season.  It’s definitely awesome to be part of the 3 team and to be leading the points with them.  They’ve been leading the points and won plenty of championships before but I don’t think they’ve been in this position in a long time so everyone on the team is excited and I’m excited as well.  Hopefully we can keep on having a strong season like we’ve had in the first half.”

During Pennink’s short time as the driver of the #3 Cape Cod Copper machine, in 5 starts at Stafford he has recorded 4 top-6 finishes, with the only blemish a 25^th place finish last August when an engine issue forced an early retirement.  With his past success in both the Whelen Modified Tour and the SK Modified® division at Stafford, Pennink is looking forward to another top-6 finish and a victory would not only be a career first at Stafford for Pennink, but would serve as a launching point for their pursuit of the championship in the second half of the NWMT season.

“I think we should have a pretty good car,” said Pennink.  “We’re bringing a different car than we ran in the Sizzler and we’ve been working on some different stuff with the setups, so hopefully we have some room for improvement and we can have a good run.  We try every week to get better and better and if we didn’t think the newer car was better we’d bring the older car back.  A win would mean a ton.  I’ve never won a Tour race at Stafford and we’ve been close a lot of times.  The 3 team has been putting some really solid cars under me and one of these days a Stafford win is going to come to us and if we could win this race, it would be great for our points situation and it would be awesome for the whole team.”

In order to be the first car to take the checkered flag and win the Stafford 150, Pennink and the NWMT teams will have to devise a strategy much different than what they’ve been used to in the past for Stafford events.  A new rule for the Stafford 150 will be that teams will only be allowed to change one tire per pit stop.  Another new wrinkle for the Tour teams will be a group qualifying session.  The qualifying order for the group qualifying session will be set from the first practice that runs from 4-4:30pm and each group will have 5 minutes to lay down qualifying laps with the starting lineup determined by the fastest lap set by each car.

“The race is a little shorter than the Sizzler and they’re doing some different stuff with pitting and changing tires,” said Pennink.  “You’re only going to be allowed to change one tire each time you come down pit road so there’s going to be some different strategies for sure and we’ll have to figure out what we’re going to do.”

Pennink’s ninth place finish at New Hampshire extended his streak of finishing each 2017 NWMT race in the top-10 and he is the only driver that has finished each race in the top-10 thus far.  With two consecutive SK Modified® championships to his name, Pennink is hoping to take the lessons learned during those championship chases and apply it to his pursuit of the 2017 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship.

“We’ve been putting a bunch of solid runs together so we have some good momentum,” said Pennink.  “We just want to stay out of trouble and see if we can’t win the race at Stafford.  The way we won the 2 SK championships was to go out and try to win every race and if we can’t win then take what we can get.  If we have a top-5 car, then take the top-5 and if it’s a top-10 car, then take the top-10 finish.  As long as we stay out of trouble, that’s what won those 2 championships for us and if we can use the same theory on the tour, hopefully that will give us a chance to win the championship at the end of the year.”

In addition to the Stafford 150, Pennink is also in search of his first SK Modified® victory of the 2017 season.  After a slow start for the 2-time defending SK Modified® track champion #99 Independent Wheel team, Pennink has reeled off five consecutive top-7 finishes, including a season best finish of third in the NAPA SK 5k on July 7^th.

“These tires are a different from what we had last season and there’s a real tough field of drivers at Stafford,” said Pennink.  “We’ve been gaining on it, we’re trying different things each week, and that seems to be getting us closer and closer.  Hopefully in the coming weeks we can get our first win of the season with the 99 team.  It’s tough.  There’s a whole bunch of cars that are capable of winning each week and when a team gets hot and on a roll, it’s tough to beat them.  We’ve been there with the 99 team before and now we’re trying to catch up a little bit.  Things can change at any time for any one in racing and Stafford starts to change during the summer and there’s a whole bunch of things that can happen to change momentum.  We’re looking to finish up the season strong.”

Tickets for the August 4 Stafford 150 are available and on sale now at the Stafford Speedway Box Office.  Tickets are priced at $35.00 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 seat tickets are $37.00 for all ages.  All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.  Stafford Motor Speedway offers plenty of free parking along with overnight parking available for self contained Recreational Vehicles.  Stafford’s five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions will join the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour cars in feature action.

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STANDINGS

2017 Driver Standings: New Hampshire

Race: 

NWMT New Hampshire 7/15/17

Print Version (PDF) |  Owner Standings  |  Rookie & Contingency Award Standings

Pos	Driver Name	Points	Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10
1	Rowan Pennink	276	7	1	2	7
2	Timmy Solomito	269	7	3	4	5
3	Eric Goodale	254	7	0	4	5
4	Max Zachem	247	7	0	3	6
5	Justin Bonsignore	243	7	0	2	5
6	Ryan Preece	237	6	2	5	5
7	Doug Coby	234	7	0	3	3
8	Dave Sapienza	224	7	0	2	3
9	Woody Pitkat	223	7	0	0	2
10	Matt Swanson	213	7	0	0	2
11	Rob Summers	211	7	0	1	2
12	Calvin Carroll *	168	7	0	0	0
13	Craig Lutz	163	6	0	0	1
14	Wade Cole	163	7	0	0	0
15	Melissa Fifield	148	7	0	0	0
16	Ted Christopher	146	4	0	1	3
17	Shawn Solomito	146	6	0	0	1
18	Andy Seuss	145	5	0	1	2
19	Brendon Bock	145	5	0	1	1
20	Bobby Santos	129	3	1	3	3

Historic win at Seekonk for Scott Payea

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Photo by Travis Ingerson

SEEKONK, MA – It’s come down to who can beat Scott Payea on the American Canadian Tour and Saturday at Seekonk Speedway – for a record-breaking fourth consecutive race – the answer was nobody.

Payea started ninth in the Harrison Redi-Mix/RPM Motorsports No. 37. He led for the first time on lap 27 when he went around Seekonk regular Ryan Lineham who had been dicing hard with Jimmy Hebert.

At the halfway mark, Hebert drove underneath Payea hard enough to move him

up half a groove, but clean enough to leave him moving forward.

Hebert held the point for eleven laps as Jason Corliss got past Lineham and joined the fray at the front. Corliss started 10th on the grid.

Payea regained the lead for keeps on lap 61, but he had to survive two restarts in the final ten circuits with Corliss, the eventual runner-up, perched outside him on the front row.

Rich Dubeau of Lebanon, NH nosed past of Ray Parent of Tiverton, RI on the last lap to finish third. Rowland Robinson Jr. of Steuben, Me completed the top five. Dillon Moltz and Hebert were next in line.

Vinny Arrenegado Jr. of Warren, R.I. rallied after being turned around on the second lap to place eighth ahead of Ryan Vanasse and Gerry DeGasparre Jr.

Payea, smooth as always and patient while opportunistic, praised his team for giving him a car that never seems to drop off as long-distance races unfold.

His four straight wins breaks a mark held by Gary Caron, Ben Rowe and most recently Joey Polewarczyk Jr.

“We got up front earlier than we have in the past and we just wanted to hold onto it,” he said. “All of those yellows had me sweating a little bit. I knew Jason was right up there. It’s so awesome to win four in a row.”

“I made some passes on the outside,” Corliss said of his rookie career-best finish. “But the outside really wasn’t the place to be on those restarts. I really enjoyed racing here. It’s a neat little mix of everywhere I’ve raced – Thunder Road, White Mountain, Groveton (Speedway 51).”

Dubeau, third in points behind Payea and Moltz going into the race, was pleased with his third-place result in the Upper Valley Equipment Rental No. 30 after a lot of close-quarters racing with Parent and Robinson.

“We’ve still got some work to do, but this is good,” Dubeau said. “My brother David does an awesome job of spotting for me. This one is for my crew guy Nick Jillson who couldn’t be here tonight because of surgery.”

The American Canadian Tour’s next appearance is at Beech Ridge Saturday, August 5.

Seekonk Speedway 100 Finish – starting position in (*)

1. Scott Payea (8) 2. Jason Corliss (10) 3. Rich Dubeau (9) 4. Ray Parent (7) 5. Rowland Robinson Jr. (4) 6. Dillon Moltz (15) 7. Jimmy Hebert (6) 8. Vincent Arrenegado Jr. (21) 9. Ryan Vanasse (20) 10. Gerry DeGasparre Jr. (16) 11. Ryan Kuhn (14) 12. Ryan Lineham (2) 13. Mark Jennison (11) 14. Walter Sutcliffe (27) 15. Miles Chipman (18) 16. Mark Hudson (17) 17. Josh Masterson (12) 18. TJ Moreshead (22) 19. Bobby Pelland (1) 20. Kyle Welch (5) 21. Nicholas Uhrig (24) 22. Mike Mitchell (26) 23. Ron Barboza (19) 24. James Linardy (25) 25. Mike Ziter (23) 26. Charlie Rose (13) 27. Nick Johnson (3)