Bowman/Gray Stadium, Winston/Salem, NC 7/21/2018

Posted by Wayne G.Barber

  With lightening flashing across the nighttime sky Tim Brown {Tobaccovile, NC} streaked to victory in the first of two 25 lap features at the Bowman/Gray Stadium while Randy Butner {Pfafftown, NC} thundered his way to the checkers in the second feature.

   Brown started on the pole by virtue of him setting fast time earlier in the day. When Brown and outside pole sitter Jason Myers {Walnut Cove, NC} brought the 21 car starting field to flagmans Randy Smith's green flag, Brown wasted no time over powering Myers to lead the event. With no cautions and Brown running in clean air the Hayes Jewelers sponsored #83 clicked off mid 13 second lap times dominating the event pulling out a short lead over Myers who had to defend his position over Jonathan Brown {Winston Salem NC}, Burt Myers (Walnut Cove,NC} James Civali (Davidson, NC} and Bobby Measmer Jr.(Concord,NC)

   Those five drivers ran bumper to bumper looking for any advantage to better their position. The only change came on lap 23 when Measner Jr made an inside pass on Civali to take over fifth place.

   At the finish line Brown cruised to his second win of 2018 and his 86th victory at Bowman/Gray.

   Jason Myers, Jonathan Brown, Burt Myers and Measmer Jr. rounded out the top five. Last weeks winner Civali was sixth.

   In victory lane Brown commented, "Car was really good tonight, I got to thank my guys, they busted their tail all week after getting wrecked last week. It was phenomenal the car was really, really good, its fun to drive when they're that good. Its nice to drive away from that Ford in the number 1.

   I'm glad to win in my grandpa's memory. I really wanted to win last week but we got wrecked, we did it tonight , that's all that matters, got a lot of love for him and my family and everybody involved."

   In the second feature with the starting field inverted, Jimmy Wallace {Winston-Salem,NC} and Daniel Yates (Lexington,NC} lead the pack to green and Yates immediately spun entering turn one. A single file restart put Lee Jeffreys  (Wallburg,NC} on Wallace's rear bumper and by the end of lap one , Jeffreys used an outside pass to become the first leader of the event. On lap three Civali and Wallace made contact and Civali's bid for victory ended against the front straightaway wall. Jeffreys again took command while the heavy hitters worked their way to the front.

   Measmer Jr. who started 7th now ran in Jeffreys tire tracks looking for the right opportunity to lead. With the laps winding down Measmer used the bump and run method sending Jeffreys spinning in turn four on lap 18. Measner was now the new leader with Randy Butner second, Chris Fleming (Mount Airy,NC) third and Jonathan Brown 4th.

   It looked like Measner was about to become the winner of the event but Jeffreys had ideas and cruised at partial throttle waiting for Measner. On lap 22 Jeffreys forced Meassner high on the back stretch and Fleming, who was running second saw an opening down low. Going three wide into turn three, they made contact sending Measner hard into the pit gate exit barrier and Jeffreys into the turn three wall.

   This melee gave the lead to Fleming with Butner in the runner up spot. Now it was  Flemings turn to go for a spin and that's just what he did with one lap to go, Butner saw an opening on the bottom and went for it but the two touched and Fleming spun handing the win to Butner. Jonathan Brown was second Burt Myers and Jason Myers raced home 3th and 4th.

   This was Butner's first win in 2018 and his 17th career win at Bowman/Gray.

   Commenting on his pass for the win, Butner said "I would rather finish second than take anybody out but Chris pushed up a little bit and I stuck a nose in there, I guess he didn't know I was there and came down and we got together. I wouldn't have done that for the world. We got to victory lane but I hate it was that way. I want to thank all my sponsors and fans for all the help to  get here."

    In the twin 20 lap features for the sportsman Dylan Ward (Winston-Salem,NC) made a last lap pass to win his 4th victory of 2018.

Zack Clifton (Walkertown,NC) was second and John Holleman (Winston-Salem,NC) was third.

   In the second sportsman feature Justin Taylor (Kernersville,NC) raced to his third win of the year while Andrew Durham (Winston-Salem,NC) and Kevin Neal (Walkertown,NC) rounded out the top three.  

by Jim Snape

Woody, looking to finish the season strong at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Photo by Simply the Best, Crystal Snape

THOMPSON, Conn. – The start to the 2018 season hasn’t gone exactly how Woody Pitkat had planned in the Sunoco Modified division at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

 

In the first three races, Pitkat had one second-place finish, but finished 11^th and 17^th in the other two races, and also left the track with a wrecked modified. Last week, as part of the Throwback 100 for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East night at Thompson, Pitkat was able to rebound and finish third.

 

“I think we’ve found more speed than we ever had with the car, but we’ve had no luck. The first race we got put in the infield, the second race we finished second, and then in the third one we didn’t transfer through the heat race and we got caught in another wreck,” Pitkat said.

 

Pitkat, the rest of his competitors, and the fans that watched Keith Rocco win the first three Sunoco Modified races of the season know that Rocco has been at the top of his game. Ryan Preece was the first one to knock Rocco off the top this past Saturday, and Pitkat will be hoping to add his name to the list of winners next.

 

“I kind of thought maybe that night I finished second to him I had something for him, but he’s definitely on his game right now, for sure,” Pitkat said of Rocco. “I think we are getting closer, but right now, he has definitely set the bar pretty high.”

 

Even though the Sunoco Modified hadn’t gone exactly as planned, the Late Model division was going better for Pitkat. He put together some solid finishes in the first three races, and finished ninth last Saturday night. He currently sits fifth in the championship standings, 24 points from the top, in striking distance.

 

“We’ve a little bit more luck with the Late Model, we really might be leading if we didn’t get spun out (earlier in the season), but you can’t look at what has happened behind me, we have to look forward,” Pitkat said.

 

The opportunity to compete in the Late Model ranks gives Pikat a chance to relax a little bit. Although that may sound strange that Pitkat could relax in a race car on the high-banks at the speeds he is going, compared to what he does in the Sunoco Modifieds and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, it provides him with a breath of fresh air.

 

“That’s what I always liked, when I was running Late Models over at Stafford, it reminded me of running my four wheeler was I younger,” Pitkat said. “It’s a little bit less stressful, and I have a really good team behind me that gives me what I need. I have no pressure doing it, I can just go out there and have fun.”

With just seven races on the schedule this season, Pitkat has enjoyed the chance to spend some time at home with his family during the summer.

 

“Right now, with my life, my wife, and with the kids, it works good for me,” he said.

 

Pitkat, the Sunoco Modifieds and the Late Models, will all return to action on Wednesday, August 8, when the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to town for the 29^th annual Bud “King of Beers” 150.

 

For more information on Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, visit www.thompsonspeedway.com, and follow the track via social media.

Source Kyle Souza for Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park Media Press Release

Jim Chambers & Avery Stoehr Notch Rifchin Memorial Star NEMA Victories

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

Jim Chambers & Avery Stoehr Notch
 Rifchin Memorial Star NEMA Victories

New Hampshire native Jim Chambers made a thrilling pass on Mike Horn to take down his first NEMA victory of 2018. In the Lites division, Avery Stoehr took down an equally thrilling win, making a last lap pass on Richie Coy to win the event.

In the NEMA feature, Doug Cleveland and Mike Horn brought the field to the green. After a false start, the field was called back into formation. On the second attempt, Cleveland jumped out into the lead. Over the first four circuits, Cleveland would lead the field, hotly pursued by Mike Horn in the Bertrand 47 and John Zych.

On lap five, Horn ducked to the bottom of Cleveland, and took the lead down the back stretch. Over the next five laps, Horn would begin to stretch out his lead, as Zych maintained second, and Jim Chambers & Randy Cabral had come from deep in the field for third and fourth.

By lap fifteen, Chambers had made his way into second and was hotly pursuing Horn as the duo approached heavy lapped traffic. With eight to go, Chambers dove to the bottom of Horn in lapped traffic and took away the top spot. Chambers would go on to take down the win over Horn, who was fighting handling issues.
John Zych would finish third followed by Randy Cabral. Alan Chambers, Avery Stoehr, Todd Bertrand, Alby Ovitt and Paul Scally.

"We hit the setup pretty good this time around, the car was just a little free in the corners but it was rotating well. With about 10 to go I knew my only chance of winning was to push it as hard as i could and not worry about saving my tires, everything else and lap traffic just worked in my favor and we were able to take down the win," said Chambers.

In the NEMA Lites race, pole starter Kevin Iannarelli would jump out into the lead from the get go. Iannarelli would dominate the first half of the feature event, as Richie Coy, Kyle Valeri, Jake Trainor, Jim Chambers and Danny Cugini were all vying for a top five run.

As the field approached the halfway point, Iannarelli's car began to develop a leak, and track officials, along with series officials made a call to black flag the #27.

A caution with only two laps to go, when contact between Cugini and Chambers occurred, saw Iannarelli go to the pit, and on the restart, Richie Coy would inherit the lead. Behind him, Avery Stoehr lined up in second, followed by Cugini.

On the restart, Stoehr would blast by Coy on the outside in turn one, and Cugini was in tow in second. Stoehr would go on to take down his second win of the season in the Scrivani 21, followed by Cugini, Coy, Kyle Valeri, Ryan Locke, Jake Trainor, Randy Cabral, Dylan Duhaime, Ben Mikitarian, and Jim Chambers.

"The car was really hooked up tonight and the team did a great job. We caught a good break there at the end, but you need those sometime to get the win, so tonight we had it go our way," said Stoehr.

NEMA picks up with the Jim O'Brien Memorial at Waterford next, followed by the NEMA cars at Thompson on August 8th. Source: NEMA Media Press Release

NASCAR Whelen 2018 Eastern Propane & Oil 100

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

1 14 44   Bobby Santos III Sully Tinio / Olivas Market   (Sully Tinio) Chevrolet 100 running 3 47 2 4 15   Chase Dowling 15-40 Connection / S&S Paving   (Rob Fuller) Chevrolet 100 running 21 43 3 1 77   Ryan Newman Curb Records   (Mike Curb) Chevrolet 100 running 16 42 4 3 51   Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc.   (Kenneth Massa) Chevrolet 100 running 46 42 5 5 58   Eric Goodale GAF Roofing   (Edgar Goodale) Chevrolet 100 running 0 39 6 13 3   Rowan Pennink Cape Cod Copper / Mosquito Free / USNE   (Jan Boehler) Chevrolet 100 running 0 38 7 19 85   Ron Silk Stuarts Automotiive / J&R Pre-Cast   (Kevin Stuart) Chevrolet 100 running 0 37 8 7 89   Matt Swanson Starrett Racing   (John Swanson) Ford 100 running 0 36 9 9 07   Patrick Emerling Buffalo Auto Auction   (Jennifer Emerling) Chevrolet 100 running 0 35 10 11 21   Ronnie Williams Gershow Recycling / Empower Financial   (Joseph Bertuccio) Chevrolet 100 running 0 34 11 6 7   Jon McKennedy Accell Construction, Inc.   (Tommy Baldwin) Chevrolet 100 running 1 34 12 12 64   Rob Summers Hoosier Tire East / Fast Track Electrical   (Mike Murphy) Chevrolet 100 running 0 32 13 24 36   Dave Sapienza Sapienza Enterprise   (Judy Thilberg) Chevrolet 100 running 0 31 14 25 82   Woody Pitkat Horton Avenue Materials   (Danny Watts Jr.) Chevrolet 100 running 2 31 15 17 92   Anthony Nocella Nocella Paving / Airgas / A&D Associates   (Anthony Nocella) Chevrolet 100 running 0 29 16 21 24   Andrew Krause Supreme Manufacturing Co. Inc.   (Diane Krause) Toyota 100 running 0 28 17 23 16   Timmy Solomito Starrett Racing   (Eric Sanderson) Ford 100 running 0 27 18 20 54   Tommy Catalano * Catalano Motorsports   (Amy Catalano) Chevrolet 100 running 0 26 19 15 46   Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply   (Russell Goodale) Chevrolet 99 running 0 25 20 26 97   Bryan Dauzat O.B. Builders   (Byran Dauzat) Chevrolet 99 running 0 24 21 31 26   Gary McDonald Lakeland Landscape / TRC Electric   (Sean McDonald) Chevrolet 99 running 0 23 22 32 33   Wade Cole Performance Engines / Kendal Oil   (Wade Cole) Chevrolet 98 running 0 22 23 33 23   Joe DeGracia * PJ DeGracia Contracting   (Paul Degracia) Chevrolet 96 running 1 22 24 27 18   Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood   (Robert Pollifrone) Ford 91 crash 0 20 25 30 99   Jamie Tomaino Atlantic Sprinkler   (Cheryl Tomaino) Chevrolet 91 running 0 19 26 2 2   Doug Coby Mayhew / Dunleavy's / AJ Roman's Const.   (Mike Smeriglio III) Chevrolet 89 running 10 19 27 18 57   Andy Seuss O.B. Builders   (Bryan Dauzat) Chevrolet 84 engine 0 17 28 16 6   Ryan Preece T.S. Haulers / Louisiana Hot Sauce   (Ed Partridge) Chevrolet 71 crash 0 16 29 22 20   Max Zachem MPZ Motorsports / Lu-Macs   (Ken Zachem) Chevrolet 58 engine 0 15 30 34 01   Melissa Fifield Truck Stop Northeast   (Kenneth Fifield) Chevrolet 41 engine 0 14 31 8 14   Blake Barney * Atlantic Sprinkler   (Richard Barney) Chevrolet 35 clutch 0 13 32 29 38   Dave Salzarulo Perf Engines / Kendall Oil / Ryan's   (Linda Rodebaugh) Chevrolet 25 overheating 0 12 33 28 78   Walter Sutcliffe, Jr. Last Minute Racing   (Steven Sutcliffe) Chevrolet 14 power steering 0 11 34 10 25   Calvin Carroll Power with Prestige / Cruising w / Betty   (Joe Carroll) Chevrolet 10 crash 0 10 Rookie drivers are denoted with an asterisk.