Posted by Wayne G. Barber
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Monday, December 21, 2020
Stafford Speedway, Ct. Leaving NASCAR Weekly Racing Series in 2021;
Posted by Wayne G. Barber
Stafford Speedway Leaving NASCAR Weekly Racing Series in 2021; Track to Race Independently; Modified Tour Events Unaffected
(Stafford Springs, CT)---After a 60-year partnership working with NASCAR as a sanctioned short track, Stafford Speedway will not operate under the NASCAR Weekly Series banner for the 2021 season due to a conflict regarding ownership of streaming and broadcast rights of weekly racing events.
“Unfortunately we were unable to come to an agreement regarding the media rights of our weekly racing program,” explained Stafford Speedway CEO Mark Arute. “In the existing format NASCAR owns the rights to any NASCAR sanctioned race produced by Stafford Speedway Productions. With the success of Stafford Speedway TV we no longer see this as a partnership we want to continue.”
Launched for the 2020 season, Stafford Speedway TV is the live broadcast home for weekly racing at Stafford Speedway. Teams competing at Stafford Speedway shared in the success of Stafford Speedway TV in the 2020 season with 25% of each pay-per-view sale going back to the race teams.
“StaffordSpeedway.tv has become a great asset to Stafford Speedway and all the race teams that compete at Stafford weekly,” continued Arute. “We see opportunities to grow this platform and currently are handcuffed on what we are able to accomplish for our race teams. Through the weekly racing sanction, NASCAR continues to own all rights to our weekly production, which is something we are no longer comfortable with.”
Stafford Speedway officials have also announced that they will, at a minimum, match the NASCAR Track and State point fund that was paid to 4 of Stafford’s 5 weekly divisions. Additionally this does not affect NASCAR Modified Tour events for the 2021 season with 3 currently on the Stafford Speedway schedule.
“It’s really too bad. We hoped it would not come to this but we’ve really been given no option. We now look to the future and the opportunities in front of us. For starters, we will match the NASCAR Track and State point funds and will expand it to the Street Stock division, which currently does not receive a point fund under the NASCAR banner. Like we have done for decades we will continue to explore options to showcase the talented drivers that race at Stafford Speedway every Friday night.”
“The weekly racing at Stafford Speedway is some of the best racing we’ve ever seen,” continued Stafford Speedway CEO Mark Arute. “We are doing a disservice to the race teams by giving away ownership of the weekly program media rights. Our goal is always to grow short track racing and put our competitors in front of more eyes. In the current structure, operating as a NASCAR sanctioned weekly track limits the opportunities that we can go after.”
The 2021 racing schedule was released last month and features a slate of 24 events across 7 months. View the full 2021 schedule here. Source: Scott Running Stafford Speedway Media Press Release
Sunday, December 20, 2020
Hudson Speedway 2021 Tentative Schedule
Posted by Wayne G. Barber
Lot of fan friendly improvements here race fans !
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Boston Louie NEMA returns to Seekonk Speedway in 2021
Posted by Wayne G. Barber
The race, one of the most coveted of the NEMA season, is in memory of legendary car owner Louie Seymour. Seymour, a Marlboro, Mass., native, died in 1996. He began in racing in the Midwestern-based USAC Silver Crown division, earning the nickname “Boston Louie” from fans and competitors who connected him with the capital of his home state. As a car owner, Seymour had more than 50 drivers in his equipment, including NASCAR star, Ken Schrader. Known as the “man who traveled a million miles,” many legends of Silver Crown racing drove for Seymour, including Rich Volger, Gary Bettenhausen, Sheldon Kinser and Joe Saldana
“If you have any open cockpit [racing] history, you understand just where ‘Boston’ Louie Seymour stands,” said six time champion Randy Cabral. “To win a race with that name on it is very, very special and to have won it multiple times is even more special,” said Cabral..
Making the race even more special, is the continued tradition and partnership with Seekonk Speedway. The first officially sanctioned NEMA race took place at the famed Seekonk, on May 30, 1953. Sixty eight years later, the midgets now storm around the banked, round oval in the low 11 second range.
“Seekonk Speedway is excited to continue the tradition of the Boston Louie on a midweek race. NEMA always brings great talent and puts on an exciting race that brings out all the great aspects of Midget racing. The Speedway has has a long running great partnership with NEMA and looks forward to being as part of their racing program for years to come. The return of the ISMA Super Modified''s on this new event just adds to the excitement,” said Ed St. Germain, Director of Business Development at Seekonk.
“We are very excited to continue our partnership with Seekonk,” said NEMA President, Tim Bertrand. “Seekonk is and always has been the ideal track for the midgets – fast, wide, and combines handling with driver skill more than anything else,” said Bertrand. “We’re excited to be back, and thank Ed and the entire Seekonk family for having us.” Source: Seekonk Speedway Media Press Release and Photo
Saturday, November 21, 2020
Keith Rocco Takes 4th SK Modified® Track Championship at Stafford Speedway, Ct.
Posted by Wayne G. Barber
(Stafford Springs, CT)---When the 2020 SK Modified® season kicked off at Stafford Speedway back on June 26, Keith Rocco and the #88 Wheelers Auto team began with a victory and they closed out the 2020 season with a victory and a 4th career track championship at Stafford. Rocco actually clinched the title with one race remaining but he closed out his championship season in grand style, bookending the 2020 season with victories.
“It’s awesome, any time you win a championship at Stafford you’re definitely doing something,” said Rocco. “I always race to win and I race week by week. We want to win every race but starting around 13th to 15th every week makes it tough. I’m not usually the one to look at the points. When we saw Todd Owen get wrecked two weeks in a row, I knew he was our competition. We got a little bit of a lead, which makes life easier to just go out and race harder knowing you have a gap. Thanks to my entire crew and my sponsors Wheelers Auto, Hocon Industrial Gas, 811 Call Before You Dig, Arbitell Convenience Stores, Green Construction, Mike’s Auto, D & G Paving, FK Rod Ends, Fragola Performance Systems, Pettit Racing Engines.”
Rocco’s championship set a NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Division I record, breaking a tie he held with Nebraska native Joe Kosiski. Rocco was previously tied with Kosiski on 17 championships. This 18th career Division I championship increases his SK Modified® titles at Stafford to 4, breaking a tie with Mike Christopher and Bo Gunning for third place on the list of all-time SK Modified® champions. With 4 Stafford SK Modified® titles to his name, Rocco only trails Bob Potter with 5 and Ted Christopher with 9.
“It left me speechless,” said Rocco. “We’ve clicked off a lot of championships over the last 5 years or so and there was one year where we won the championship at all 3 tracks. Over the last 3 or 4 years we’ve won I think 5 championships so it’s kind of mind blowing to even think about. I think I might have been a little more exciting to watch when I was younger because I tore a lot of stuff up but nowadays I race a little more with my head and it shows in our finishes. To win a race you have to finish and back in the day I wanted to win the race on the first lap and now I try to win the race on the last lap. I wanted to close out the second to last Friday with a win but we fell just short of that. We gave it 110% to do that and it was very nice to go into the last race not having to worry about the championship.”
Rocco was not only dominant in 2020, but he was consistent as well. Rocco won 6 of the 14 SK Modified® races held this season and his worst finish of the season was seventh place. Rocco’s average finish for the 2020 season was a miniscule 3.3, meaning that he fell just short of averaging a podium finish each time he took to the track in 2020.
“We always want to win the first race and we’ve been fortunate the last handful of years we always seem to win the opening race,” said Rocco. “It seemed like where we struggled was always mid-season with not keeping up with the track and the way the weather changed. This year I feel like that’s where we had our best consecutive finishes and I feel like we were more dominant at the end of the season than we were at the beginning even though we won the first two races.”
As dominant as Rocco was during the 2020 season, his season wasn’t without its share of issues to deal with. Rocco had to rely on his pit crew several times during the year to get his #88 not only fixed, but fixed well enough to where he could drive his way back through the pack and get into the top-10 or top-5.
“We had some luck on our side but the majority of it all comes down to having a great team and great help behind me,” said Rocco. “There was one night where we got wrecked early and the nerf bar was stuffed into the tire and there were two other nights where we got tangled up and had flat tires and knocked the toe out. At the end of the day it’s all about having good help on pit road that really makes a difference. Everyone will have a bad night and have to come down pit road at some point during the season. My guys were able to turn things around and get the car back out on the track and we were able to get top-10 finishes in those races.”
For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com, checkout Stafford Speedway on Facebook or Twitter, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.Source: Scott Running Stafford Speedway Media Press Release and Track Photo
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Friday, November 20, 2020
Jeb Burton Gets His Big NASCAR Break with Kaulig Racing
Posted by Wayne G. Barber
My friend, Ward Burton just called and said it's a done deal. Jeb got a 33 race seat in the 2021 Xfinity Series, NASCAR'S second highest division. My daughter Kimberly is a big family Burton race fan and should put a smile on her face. Jeb's uncle Jeff Burton is retired and now a broadcaster.
The second-generation racer, and son of 2002 Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton, had been negotiating with Kaulig Racing and sponsor Nutrien Ag Solutions but wasn’t entirely sure if they were going to make it happen in time for the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity season.
Burton has suffered numerous setbacks or near misses in recent years, coming close to several wins in partial seasons with JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing, but coming up short in all kinds of heartbreaking manners.
So naturally, when Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice, who is arguably the most optimistic person in the world, told Burton he wasn’t entirely optimistic about their progress, Burton believed it.
"Chris is a really positive guy," Burton said later. "So, when he was down, I was like, man, this is this isn't a good situation."
The truth was that Rice and team owner Matt Kaulig agreed to a full season agreement and invited Burton to a meeting at the Kaulig Racing shop in the hopes of convincing Nutrien Ag Solutions to a deal that had already been consummated.
The plan was to surprise Burton and it worked to amazing effect.
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