2015 Waterford SK Light Champion to Run the NAPA Auto Parts SK 5K at Stafford Speedway

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

(Stafford Springs, CT) --- After 3 years running at the 1/3 of a mile Waterford Speedbowl, 2015 SK Light Champion Paul Buzel has decided to make his way North to Stafford Speedway for the 3^rd Annual NAPA Auto Parts SK 5K.  With limited experience in the Bill Gaston owned modified Buzel is excited to make his debut on the famous Stafford half-mile.

“This will be my first race at Stafford and I’m both nervous and excited,” explained Buzel.  “I think for this race we’re going to bring back Bill Gaston’s old number 6 on our car and maybe that will help bring us a little bit of luck.”

Buzel has cut his teeth running in the SK Light modified division at the Waterford Speedbowl notching his first career track championship over Corey Barry in 2015.  Buzel made the jump to SK Modified® competition for the 2016 season and has been lured to Stafford by the prestige of the NAPA SK 5K and the incredible competition at the half-mile in 2016.  Though impressed with the stacked field of SK Modifieds, Buzel is still confident he can score a top-10 finish.

“I think as long as we can get some good data during the practice sessions and get a good read on how the car is going to be we will have a good showing in the race,” continued Buzel.  “It’s no doubt going to be difficult because Stafford is one of the hardest places to race in the entire country, but hopefully we can get things figured out pretty quickly and have a good finish.  I think a top-10 finish would be a major accomplishment for us as new arrivals to Stafford.”

The 6 team will have their hands running against the tough SK Modified® competition with drivers such as Rowan Pennink, Eric Berndt, Ted Christopher, and Woody Pitkat already notching wins in 2016.  Buzel will have some Stafford experience behind him in crew chief and car owner Bill Gaston. Gaston has been linked with multiple teams at Stafford over the years most recently with drivers Wade Matteson and Chris Ocella.

“We ran the open practice to shake down an experimental car owned by Bill Gaston.  We wanted to see how it would react at Stafford and if there was anything we could learn to use at Waterford,” explained Buzel.  “I’m pretty confident.  We still have to decide what car we want to bring to Stafford, we have our old SK Light car that we’ve converted to an SK car so we might bring that and keep the other car as a Waterford car.  I still have a lot of learning to do like how to get around Stafford but I think we’ll figure it out and hopefully we can have a good time.”

The 6 team will join the rest of arguably the deepest field of race teams in the country for the NAPA Auto Parts SK 5K on Friday July 8^th.  The SK Modifieds® will have the featuer laps set by the NAPA SK 5K fan vote, fans can log on to staffordspeedway.com to cast their vote on laps, invert, and qualifying procedure.  In addition to the strong purse, the NAPA SK 5K Gambler’s Challenge presented by Duneleavy Truck and Trailer Repair is back for the 2016 edition of the race.  Last year’s winner and current NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, Ryan Preece, took home over $12,500.  Buzel and the Gaston racing team are looking forward to racing for the big payday.

“The purse is definitely a big weight on the team especially me.  But it’s one of the biggest races of the year so it’ll be great to see everyone that comes out, fans, media and it’s definitely good for the sport,” said Buzel. “We’ll talk things over with the team and see if we’re going to get into the Gambler’s Challenge.”

Tickets for the July 8th NAPA SK 5K are available online at www.staffordspeedway.com or by calling the speedway office at 860-684-2783.  Discount tickets are available at participating NAPA Auto Parts Stores.  Tickets purchased through NAPA Auto Parts also include a barbeque dinner and a NAPA goodie bag.  Tickets are priced at $27.50 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for kids ages 6-14, and kids 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult.  Reserved seating will be priced at $30.00 for all ages.  All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.  Stafford Speedway offers free parking with free overnight parking for self-contained RV’s available.  Fans can log onto www.staffordspeedway.com to cast their vote for the NAPA SK 5K Gambler's Challenge presented by Dunleavey Truck and Trailer Repair as well as lap count and invert.

For more information on the July 8th NAPA SK 5K, or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.

Ryan Locke Captures Historic First NEMA Lite Win at Waterford Speedbowl

Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photos by Wayne G. Barber, Seekonk 6-29-16

Kevin Park, Jeff Locke and Ryan Locke discuss the Game plan for Seekonk

The rocketship looked great at the Konk !

A storybook ending was the scene for thirteen-year-old Ryan Locke, as he captured his first ever NEMA Lite win, becoming the youngest driver to ever win in NEMA’s sixty-three year history. Locke bested a strong field of twenty-two competitors, ranging from Indiana to North Carolina, to Pennsylvania at New England’s premier 3/8 mile oval, the New London-Waterford Speed Bowl.
Although Locke may be unfamiliar with victory lane as a driver, the thirteen-year old’s family is not. His father, Jeff, operator at Locke Crane Services, a fierce ISMA Super Modified competitor, and grandfather, Ken, a long time, winning Oswego Super Modified car owner, are no strangers to the podium.
  Ryan was coming off a 20th place finish at Seekonk Speedway in the Boston Louie Memorial race and was gaining valuable experience on the short tracks.
   The evening started strong for the young Locke as he jumped out into the lead from the front of the pack. The win would not come easy, however, as the likes of 2015 Lites Champion, Anthony Payne, and up & comer Meg Cugini were running some lightening fast times as they worked their way through the pack. Further behind them, multi-feature winner, Danny Cugini was also working his way to the front as was Modified standout, Joey Cipriano, who started in eighteenth position.

As the laps wound down, the Locke, Payne, and Meg Cugini trio staged an epic battle, with the three exchanging the lead four times in the last three laps of the event. Locke would cement his spot in victory lane with a pass for the lead, and he went on to take down and exciting victory by a narrow margin. Payne and Cugini would follow him, followed by Danny Cugini, Joey Cipriano, Ben Mikitarian, PJ Stergios, Paul Scally, Randy Cabral and Nikki Carroll.
“I started racing in the tiger sprint go carts 3 just years ago. I raced tiger sprints for 2 years before getting the NEMA lite last year. I practiced at Star last year because I was too young to race, but all the practice paid off,” said the young Locke. I think the key to winning the race was having a good race car and starting with good track position.
I never could have imagined winning this early. I still can’t believe it. The first thing I said when I saw my dad in victory lane was, “did that just happen?”,said an elated Locke.
NEMA and the NEMA Lites pick back up their schedule at Star Speedway this coming weekend.
Unofficial Results:

1 38 Ryan Locke Raymond, NH Ken Locke  ( Youngest Ever)
2 21 Anthony Payne Fairlawn, NJ Mike Scrivani  ( 2015 NEMA Lite Champion)
3 41 Megan CuginI Marshfield, MA Glenn Cugini
4 51 Danny Cugini Marshfield, MA D. Cugini
5 84 Joe Cipriano III – Joe Cipriano III
6 9 Ben Mikitarian Northborough, MA John Mikitarian
7 11 PJ Stergios Candia, NH Bill Stergios
8 30 Paul Scally Raynham, MA Paul Scally
9 35 Randy Cabral Plymouth, MA Glen Cabral
10 24 Nikki Carroll Andover, NJ Nikki Carroll
11 2 Jim Cataldo Sterling, MA Jim Cataldo
12 5 Jessica Bean Farmland, IN Jessica Bean
13 14 Chad Labastie Uxbridge, MA Chad Labastie
14 35L Andrew Layser Collegeville, PA Andrew Layser
15 0 Jake Nelke – Jake Nelke
16 16 Dennis O’Brien Deerfield, NH Chris O’Brien
17 39d Nic Davidson – Nic Davidson
18 17 Jim Chambers Atkinson, NH Mike Chambers
19 39 RJ Trufano West Haven, CT RJ Trufano
20 98 Jeff Schechter Mohegan Lake, NY Jeff Schechter DNS
21 6 Eric Ploskonka – Chris Lamb DNS
22 12 Alan Chambers Atkinson, NH Jim Chambers DNS
Sources: Tim Bertrand/NEMA PR

Monadnock Speedway Results 7-2-16

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Keith Carzello, Sportsman Modified Winner. Photo Courtesy of New England Graphix) 

Carzello Celebrates Sportsman Modified Victory

Winchester, NH: The Valenti Modified Racing Series were at the high banked ¼ mile of Monadnock Speedway with McKennedy winning the Firecracker 100 on the last turn of the last this past Saturday night. Along with the Valenti Modifieds there was a full celebration with the six regular divisions and plenty of fireworks to end the night.

The Young Guns came out for their 15 lap feature with Mariah Stebbins leading the field. On the first lap Alex Barden quickly moved up a position into third. Stebbins and Devin Guy continued to lead the field until Chase Curtis took over second on lap 10. Chase Curtis fought hard to move through the pack to get the lead on lap 13. This marked the fifth win of the season for Curtis. The top five finishers for the night were Chase Curtis, Mariah Stebbins, Devin Guy, Alex Barden, and Shelby Avery.

The Lightning Stocks ran a 25 lap feature with Eric Silvernale leading the field and Justin Littlewood on the outside. It didn’t take long for Kris Kristolaitis to take over the lead with Silvernale right behind him. By lap 5 Tim Leblanc took over the second position. Caution on lap 10 gave Leblanc the advantage to take over the lead on the restart. Pat Houle gained positions over the next 10 laps to finally pick up the lead on lap 21. The top five finishers for the night were Pat Houle, Tim Leblanc, Kris Kristolaitis, Tim O’Shea, and Dan Starkweather.

The Mini Stocks brought out the usual excitement during their feature. Kevin McKnight led the field out onto the track with Alexander Pearl in the second position. Matt Kimball moved himself up into the third position just before the caution on lap 8. A red light would stop the field for a pile up on the back stretch which involved Solomon Brow, Julia Raymond, Matt Kimball and Alexander Pearl. On the restart McKnight led them to the green, Nick Anderson took over first going into lap 9. Raymond and Brow started in the rear, but quickly moved up. Raymond took over second with Brow right behind her for third. The race ended with Nick Anderson celebrating his first win of the year. The top five finishers were Nick Anderson, Julia Raymond, Solomon Brow, Kevin McKnight and Eric Pomasko.

The Thunder Stock feature brought a first win for Craig Chaffee as he led the 20 lap feature green to checkered. Michelle Leh was unable to make the feature this week after an injury from last week’s hard hit in the front wall kept her out of the driver’s seat. Richard Vincent started on the outside, he kept that position until the end. Dan Comeau fell to the back which left Ed Lofland and Scott Vien in the top five. The caution free race ended with the top five finishers Craig Chaffee, Richard Vincent, James Nowakowski, Ed Lofland and Scott Vien.

The Sportsman Modifieds had a full field for their 30 lap event. Ben Byrne led the field with Eric LeClair on the outside onto the track. Byrne was black flagged for leaking fluid before the start of the race leaving LeClair to lead the pack on the green with Brian Robie on the outside. Geoff Rollins moved into second on the first lap. On lap 3 Rollins took the lead and by lap 5 Keith Carzello had the lead with Rollins in second. Lap 9 brought out a lot of changes as Nathan Johnson moved into second and Bill Kimball moved into the top five. On lap 15 Kimmy Rivet moved up into third which left Rollins back in the fifth position when Kimball moved into fourth. By lap 24 Kimball would take over third from Rivet. The last six laps would leave the top five finishers as Keith Carzello, Nathan Johnson, Bill Kimball, Kim Rivet, and Geoff Rollins.

The Super Stocks rolled onto the track with Nancy Muni on the pole with Tyler Lescord on the outside. Craig Smith made his first appearance at the speedway this week. Cole Littlewood, Robert Hagar and Tyler Lescord went three wide on lap 1 going into turn 3. Hagar picked up second with Littlewood right behind him. Lap 4 Littlewood picked up second and the caution came out for Lescord, who went around on turn 4 with assistance from Duane Noll. The next lap Littlewood took over the lead and Joel Monahan moved up into second. Chris Curtis worked hard to pick up that fourth position from Hagar but just couldn’t quite make the move. Caution would come out for James Thompson and force a green, white, checkered single file restart. The top five finishers Cole Littlewood, Joel Monahan, Nancy Muni, Robert Hagar and Chris Curtis.

This Saturday, Monadnock Speedway will host their annual Christmas in July where they will collect unwrapped toys for local charities to hand out at Christmas time. Racing will include Sportsman Modifieds, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks, Thunder Stocks, Young Guns and NEAR. Race time is at 6pm.

Sportsman Modifieds: Keith Carzello, Nathan Johnson, Bill Kimball, Kim Rivet, Geoff Rollins, Eric Leclair, Cameron Sontag, Brian Robie, Brian Chapin, Casey Ouellette, Mike Chamberlain, Dylan Campbell, Jason Barden, Ben Byrne

Super Stocks: Cole Littlewood, Joel Monahan, Nancy Muni, Robert Hagar, Chris Curtis ,Tyler Leary, Dennis Stange, Scott Beck Jr, Allen Griffin, Duane Noll, Craig Smith, Glen Noll, James Thompson, Tyler Lescord, Scott Beck Sr, Shawn Stone

Mini Stocks: Nick Anderson, Julia Raymond, Solomon Brow, Kevin McKnight, Eric Pomasko, Ethan Marsh, Bill Lambert, Louis Maher, Matt Kimball, Alex Pearl, Mike McGoldrick

Thunder Stocks: Craig Chaffee, Richard Vincent, James Nowakowski, Ed Lofland,Scott Vien,Joe Zellman, Jason Kozacka, Dan Comeau, Bruce Clark, John Rowan

Lightning Stocks: Pat Houle, Tim Leblanc, Kris Kristolaitis, Tim O’Shea, Dan Starkweather, Eric Silvernale, Greg Millette, Justin Littlewood, Tim Paquette, Josh Houle, Jim Drew

Young Guns: Chase Curtis, Mariah Stebbins, Devin Guy, Alex Barden, Shelby Avery, Colby Lambert, Jaret Curtis

Donny Schatz Makes It an Even Dozen with Badlands Win

Woman in Racing 2016, Paige Polyak 19th tonight.

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Saldana and Gravel finish second and third both nights

BRANDON, S.D. - July 3, 2016 - Donny Schatz made it an even dozen wins on Sunday night as he battled forward from a fifth place starting position and powered past Joey Saldana at Badlands Motor Speedway to score his 12th World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series victory of the season.

Schatz, who last stood in victory lane with his No. 15 Bad Boy Off Road/Chevrolet Performance team earlier this week at Rockford Speedway, won at Badlands with the Outlaws in 2015.

"I feel awesome," Schatz said. "It feels great to drive Tony Stewart's racecar. These guys are incredible at what they do."

The previous night's winner, Brad Sweet, kicked off the second night of the double-header at Badlands by taking the quick time award in qualifying with a lap of 10.924.

Saldana was the beneficiary in the Dash inversion draw and after winning the eight lap Dash race, started on the feature pole in his No. 83 Roth Motorsports car with Dusty Zomer on his outside.

Through the early laps of the feature, Zomer and Rico Abreu traded the second position through several laps as Saldana put distance on the field. Eventually, Abreu threw a slider on Zomer on lap five and took over the second spot as the drivers exited on to the front straight.

CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL RESULTS AND WATCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM NIGHT 2 AT BADLANDS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

As Saldana began working his way through traffic, Abreu closed on the leader. Behind him, Schatz was making moves, passing Zomer for third on lap 16.

Past the halfway point, Saldana continued to work his way through traffic as Abreu and Schatz closed the distance. Abreu, who crashed the previous night while leading the feature, made his move on lap 24 with the slider through turns three and four. Abreu got side-by-side with Saldana but bounced off the wall and allowed Saldana to retake the spot. The next lap, Abreu had Saldana again, side-by-side on the front straight, but he jumped the cushion through turns one and two, giving Schatz an opening to take the second position.

With Schatz in second, it was less than a lap before he found his way around Saldana for the lead.

Through the remaining laps and one caution, Saldana tried to run down Schatz as David Gravel pulled into third with his No. 5 Big Game Treestands/CJB Motorsports car but Schatz pulled away to claim the win. Saldana and Gravel repeated their previous night's finish of second and third.

"We just haven't had the feel we've been looking for," Schatz said. "Every night we get closer to it. The racecar was really good on the bottom, middle and top, and that's why we were able to get through traffic the way we did. Hats off to this Tony Stewart, Bad Boy Off Road, Chevrolet Performance team. I'm just the lucky guy that gets to drive it."
Schatz extended his lead in the championship standings to 95 points over Sweet.

Saldana was disappointed in his finish following the feature, in which he led the first 26 laps, but admitted the weekend was a success for his team.

"It was a good solid weekend for us - two seconds," Saldana said. "We were close. I just kept running the top which killed my tires. We'll come back next week and hopefully do a better job."

Gravel, who claimed his 15th consecutive top-10 finish, said the final caution killed his momentum.

"We had a really, really good car there late in the race," Gravel said. "I just wish we didn't have a caution. It seemed like, this weekend, every time we had a caution, the tires aren't the same after that. We'll try to figure that part out. We were really, really good in that long green flag run. I thought we had something for those guys but we're happy with another podium."

Jason Sides, who battled Rico Abreu late for the fourth place position, scored the KSE Racing Hard Charger award after climbing five positions in the feature to finish in fifth.

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series kicks off the 'Month of Money' this week as it heads to Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. for the FVP Outlaws at Cedar Lake on Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9. For more information and to learn how to purchase tickets, visit WoOSprint.com/Cedar-Lake-Speedway.

Follow the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series on Twitter at Twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook at Facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, or check out the latest videos on YouTube at YouTube.com/WorldofOutlaws.

Badlands Motor Speedway Notebook

RACE NOTES: Donny Schatz scored his 12th World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series victory of the season Sunday night - the most of any driver this season… David Gravel has fifteen straight top-ten finishes with the World of Outlaws… Gravel and Joey Saldana scored the same finishes both nights at Badlands Motor Speedway. A second for Saldana and third for Gravel… Jason Sides was the night's KSE Racing Hard Charger, advancing five positions to finish in fifth… One night after a crash sent him to the hospital, Jason Johnson rebounded to take the quick time in the second qualifying flight.

CONTINGENCY WINNERS - MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Cory Mack; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Jason Sides; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Tim Kaeding; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Paul Nienhiser; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Paul Nienhiser; Morton Buildings ($50 cash): Mark Dobmeier; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Brad Sweet; Super Flow ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; Craftsman/Sears ($100 cash): Dusty Zomer; KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Jason Sides; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Donny Schatz; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Logan Schuchart; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Aaron Reutzel.

SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz - 12 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 4, Stockton Dirt Track on March 18, Stockton Dirt Track on March 19, Silver Dollar Speedway on April 2, Lincoln Speedway on May 19, Weedsport Speedway on May 22, Lincoln Park Speedway on June 8, Knoxville Raceway on June 11, River Cities Speedway on June 17, Rockford Speedway on June 29, Badlands Motor Speedway on July 3); Brad Sweet - 7 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Cotton Bowl Speedway on Feb. 26, Ocean Speedway on April 1, Bakersfield Speedway on April 15, Plymouth Speedway on May 13, Badlands Motor Speedway on July 2); Daryn Pittman - 5 (Royal Purple Raceway on Feb. 27, Perris Auto Speedway on April 16, USA Raceway on April 18, New Egypt Speedway on May 24, Jackson Motorplex on June 24); Shane Stewart - 5 (Arizona Speedway on March 6, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 23, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 30, Granite City Speedway on June 15, Brown County Speedway on June 19); Joey Saldana - 4 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 3, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 22, Jacksonville Speedway on May 4, I-80 Speedway on June 22) David Gravel - 3 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 12, Tri-State Speedway on May 14, I-96 Speedway on June 6); Kerry Madsen - 2 (Eldora Speedway on May 6 and 7); Bill Balog - 1 (Beaver Dam Raceway on June 25); Lance Dewease - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 20); Chad Kemenah - 1 (Fremont Speedway on June 3); Jason Johnson - 1 (Placerville Speedway on March 24); Terry McCarl - 1 (Knoxville Raceway on June 10); Jason Sides - 1 (I-30 Speedway on April 26); Greg Wilson - 1 (The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 27).

Paige Polyak

World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Badlands Motor Speedway; Brandon, S.D.; July 3, 2016.
A-Main - (40 Laps) - 1. 15-Donny Schatz [5] [$10,000]; 2. 83-Joey Saldana [1] [$5,000]; 3. 5-David Gravel [6] [$3,000]; 4. 24R-Rico Abreu [4] [$2,700]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [10] [$2,500]; 6. 9-Daryn Pittman [7] [$2,200]; 7. 18-Ian Madsen [11] [$2,000]; 8. 3-Tim Kaeding [13] [$1,800]; 9. 82-Dusty Zomer [2] [$1,600]; 10. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [8] [$1,450]; 11. 13JT-Mark Dobmeier [12] [$1,300]; 12. 49-Brad Sweet [9] [$1,200]; 13. 29-Kerry Madsen [15] [$1,100]; 14. 41-Jason Johnson [3] [$1,000]; 15. 7-Paul McMahan [14] [$950]; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart [16] [$900]; 17. 24-Terry McCarl [19] [$850]; 18. 2-Shane Stewart [18] [$750]; 19. 17A-Austin McCarl [24] [$725]; 20. O9-Matt Juhl [23] [$700]; 21. 19-Paige Polyak [20] [$700]; 22. 55-Aaron Reutzel [22] [$700]; 23. 15X-Joe Riedel [17] [$700]; 24. 25-Cory Mack [21] [$700]. Lap Leaders: Joey Saldana 1-26, Donny Schatz 27-40. KSE Hard Charger Award: 7S-Jason Sides [+5]

Teddy Christopher back in Victory Lane at the Speedbowl 7-2-16

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Finish	Start	Car	Driver	Hometown	Race Points
1	2	13	Ted Christopher	Plainville , Ct	32.00
2	5	78	James Monahan	Quaker Hill, Ct	29.00
3	7	88	Keith Rocco	Berlin , Ct	28.00
4	9	81X	Todd Owen	Somers , Ct	27.00
5	3	94	Justin Gaydosh	Newton , Ct	26.00
6	24	51	Robert Janovic Jr.	Waterford , Ct	25.00
7	4	21CT	Dennis Perry	Pawcatuck , Ct	24.00
8	22	22	William Gunning	Southbury , Ct	23.00
9	16	04	Dylan Izzo	Monroe , Ct	22.00
10	10	06	Joe Gada	Uncasville , Ct	21.00
11	6	27	Tyler Chadwick	Ledyard , Ct	20.00
12	1	17	Adam Gada	Bozrah , Ct	19.00
13	21	66	Wendell Dailey	Gales Ferry, Ct	18.00
14	11	49	Jake Berchem	West Greenwich, Ri	17.00
15	18	1	Brent Sweet	Monroe , Ct	16.00
16	14	43	John Montesanto	North Branford, Ct	15.00
17	15	85	Michael Benevides	Westerly , Ri	14.00
18	20	3	Tom Pinson	Colchester , Ct	13.00
19	13	32	Tom Abele Jr.	Norwich , Ct	12.00
20	17	15	Jeff Fialkovich	Shelton , Ct	11.00
21	8	72	Paul Kusheba Iv	Monroe , Ct	10.00
22	19	98	Frank Mucciacciaro Jr.	Milford , Ct	9.00
23	23	20	Dominic Capuano Jr.	East Haven, Ct	8.00

24	12	9	Paul Buzel	Trumbell , Ct	7.00

NEMA Results Seekonk 6-29-16 Boston Louie Memorial Race

Posted by Wayne G. Barber & all photos by Wayne G. Barber Collection

Bethany Stoehr , currently 8th in points with 1 career victory at New London Waterford Speedbowl
Erica Santos Pitkat was the first female driver with a win at Stafford Speedway

 This spectacular NEMA race ( Boston Louie Memorial ) is becoming the must attend event of the year at Seekonk Speedway. Over 40 midgets from as far away as Indiana made the trip and Speed Sport Network also covered the races with a TV crew. I believe the touring group has a 64 year history and has produced a lot of racing stars in its history.
 Last year they shared the racing card with the Valenti Modifies and this year was the Modifed Madness Tri Track Group, already rained out at Monadnock Speedway with a $10,000 winners purse.

 The 400hp rocket ships have a direct drive no starter set-up and burn methanol instead of Sunoco racing fuel. The race cars also use a magneto instead of a regular ignition system. The night was bluebird sky clear and the crowd was starting to swell and then the NEMA  heat races began. NEMA had 15 cars on hand so split the heats into two of 7 cars and 8 cars. Todd Bertrand's #39 Danielson, Conn. last years winner smoked the field in his heat and Seth Carlson #71 Brimfield Conn. was his closest competition. Last years 2015 series champion John Zych #9 Mendon, Mass. tried
different lines for a third in the heat and saved his chariot for the feature and raced with the 8 time winner at Seekonk Randy Cabral #47 to the delight of the crowd.
 The second heat had another Bertrand car, with Doug Coby in the #74 completely rebuilt after the Riverhead wreck. Coby has 1 Seekonk victory on his part time resume and 3 overall coming in to the race in the series. The #21 Jim Chambers midget coming off a big win the previous race matched Coby in the heat and young driver Avery Stoehr #15a also drove different lines to see how his car would react to more and more rubber on the 74 foot wide racing surface. The early season points battle is tight with 4 cars in the hunt.
 Green flag for the 15 car 29 lap race was as tight as I have seen in years. The Bertrand #39 set a blistering pace with Nocella staying close till lap 4 and the first caution for the Kevin Park #28 Foxboro, Mass. spinning out. On the restart you could see the Bertrand car fading and the rest of the field closing the gap. Cabral and Zych for third and fourth were having their own race with-in the race to the delight on the standing room only crowd.
.The Bertrand car #39 stalled on lap #22 and died on the back stretch to bring out the caution. The restart had Coby and Nocella leading the front row and Cabral and Zych in 3rd and 4th. Nocella lost all power and Zych and Cabral made heavy contact with him and Zych through the grass spinning and then lost a tire to be sent on captain hook to the pits and all hopes of a victory taking away. Cabral somehow survived and finished on the lead lap with a new pair of shorts. Coby dominated the lead as his car really seemed to get stronger on lap 23 and was short lived by another caution for points leader Avery Stoehr 15a stalling on the back stretch on lap 24. Cabral salvaged a  second place finish and very valuable points tonight. Zych's dad did a super quick stop tire and wheel change to get his son back out to garner some points in the chase for a repeat championship. Bertrand Power was certainly on display tonight at the action track of the east, Seekonk Speedway.
Coby pursued Anthony Nocella for a number of laps for the lead, but eventually moved to the top when Nocella’s car broke on a restart. Coby outran Randy Cabral on the final run to take the victory. Coby last won the Boston Louie in 2013 when it was held on a date separate from the Modifieds. He was more than thrilled he was able to complete the sweep on the night.

“I told Jim Schaefer walking in here that should pay a bonus,” joked Coby. “To double up is awesome. It’s the biggest race of the season for NEMA. It’s not easy, and it’s gotten so competitive. I used to think NEMA would be a cakewalk, I remember watching Randy Cabral and Bobby Santos just kill everybody at Waterford and I’m like ‘NEMA’s easy’ and then I raced with them for three years and I got my ass handed to me just about every other race.”

The NEMA return to action on JULY 9, 2016 at the Star Speedway, Epping, NH

1	74	Doug Coby	Wethersfield, CT	Tim Bertrand
2	47	Randy Cabral	Plymouth, MA	Tim Bertrand
3	29	Jeff Abold	Baldwinsville, NY	Jeff Abold
4	21	Jim Chambers	Atkinson, NH	Mike Chambers
5	71	Seth Carlson	Brimfield, CT	Gene Feigel
6	44	Doug Cleveland	Sudbury, MA	Ed Breault
7	5b	Bethany Stoehr	Bridgewater, MA	Greg Stoehr
8	9	John Zych Jr.	Mendon, MA	John Zych Sr.
9	15a	Avery Stoehr	Lakeville, MA	Russ Stoehr
10 DNF	39	Todd Bertrand	Danielson, CT	Todd Bertrand
11 DNF	30	Paul Scally	Raynham, MA	Paul Scally
12 DNF	28	Kevin Park	Foxboro, MA	Pete Pernisiglio Sr.
13 DNF	51	Danny Cugini	Marshfield, MA	D.  Cugini
14 DNF	93	Jake Smith	Stroudsburg, PA	Ted Smith
15 DNF	4	Anthony Nocella	Woburn, MA	Bobby Seymour

Rained Out Notification: Stafford Speedway, Connecticut

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Rained Out Notification,   Rain Gods win for the Third time in 2016,  Only once in 2015.

Stafford Motor Speedway

Stafford Speedway 7/1 program cancelled tonight.  Fireworks and Sr. Champ Kart race moves to 7/29