ACT Tour 2023 Schedule

 2023 American-Canadian Tour Schedule of Events

#             DAY       DATE    EVENT                                                 TRACK                                                 LOCATION

**            Fri           Mar 17    St. Patrick's Day 125                               Hickory Motor Speedway                       Hickory, NC

**            Sat           Mar 18    Easter Bunny 125                                    Hickory Motor Speedway                       Hickory, NC

--             Fri            Apr 14     Northeast Classic Practice Day               New Hampshire Motor Speedway         Loudon, NH

1              Sat           Apr 15     Northeast Classic - $5,000 to Win            New Hampshire Motor Speedway         Loudon, NH

(Rain Date Sun. April 16)

2              Sat           Apr 29     Spring Sizzler ACT 75                              Stafford Motor Speedway                      Stafford Springs, CT

--             Sat           May 6      Thunder Road Car Show/Practice Day    Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl               Barre, VT

3              Sun          May 7      25^th Community Bank N.A. 150              Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl               Barre, VT

4              Sun          May 21    New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150     Lee USA Speedway                                 Lee, NH

5              Sat           Jun 3        48^th Spring Green 123                             Seekonk Speedway                                 Seekonk, MA

6              Sat           Jun 24      Claude Leclerc 150 - $5,000-to-Win         Autodrome Chaudiere                            Vallée-Jct., QC

7              Sun          July 9       Oxford 125                                              Oxford Plains Speedway                         Oxford, ME

8              Sat.          July 22     CAN-AM 200 - $10,000-to-Win                Autodrome Montmagny                         Montmagny, QC

9              Sat           Aug 5       Milton CAT Midsummer Classic 250      White Mtn. Motorsports Park                N. Woodstock, NH

$10,000-to-Win!

10            Sat           Aug 26     Oxford Plains 125                                   Oxford Plains Speedway                         Oxford, ME

11            Sun          Sep 3       45^th Labor Day Classic - $5,000 to Win    Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl               Barre, VT

presented by New England Federal Credit Union

12            Sat           Sep 16     45^th Fall Foliage 200 - $5,000 to Win       White Mtn. Motorsports Park                N. Woodstock, NH

** Sat/Sun     Sep 30/Oct 1     61^st Vermont Milk Bowl                          Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl               Barre, VT

presented by Northfield Savings Bank

13            Sat           Oct 21     Waterford 150                                        New London-Waterford Speedbowl      Waterford, CT

 - Schedule Subject to Change -

Brandon Ward ends SMART Tour season in Motor Mile Speedway victory lane

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber Live Report by James Snape and Photos by "Simply the Best", Crystal Snape

Brandon Ward ends SMART Tour season in Motor Mile Speedway victory lane.

Caleb Heady claims SMART Tour Pace O Matic Championship

   Brandon Ward driving the Randy Renfrow owned #2 modified, capped off the 2022 Smart Tour season with a perfectly executed strategy on Oct. 22 claiming his second SMARTY trophy. This was Ward's second win in a row at Motor Mile Speedway.

   Burt Myers and Brian Loftin brought the potent field to green and Myers streaked away with the initial lead with Loftin, Jonathan Brown and Ward in Pursuit.

   Points leader Caleb Heady, 20 years old from Shelbyville, KY experienced a suspension failure and retired from the race on lap eight and the first yellow flag flew on lap eleven for a minor spin by Brian Weber.

The restart tightened the field up but Myers showed his strength by pulling away with the lead until Loftin put pressure on the leader racing to the inside where the two ran for a couple of laps. Myers eventually prevailed, leading Loftin and Brown. The three ran nose to tail while Ward was on cruise control in fourth.

   The stage break caution came on lap thirty which allowed a majority of the field to pit for adjustments. The top three of Myers, Loftin and Brown elected to stay on track.

   On the restart Jonathan "Jon Boy" Brown wasted no time and used the outside groove to race past Loftin and Myers to lead by lap thirty one. Jason Myers put himself in contention by getting by Loftin for third place.

   Brown tested his new motor by pulling away and running in clean air while Ward, who pitted on lap thirty and restarted in tenth, methodically worked his way forward. By lap forty Ward ran in eighth, ten laps later he was sixth and by lap sixty he raced into fifth place.

   A lap sixty three caution flag waved when Chris Finocchario and Michael Ritch made contact causing Ritch to spin on the back stretch. Pit road became a busy place when a majority of the competitors pitted. It was a perfect time for a new Hoosier for a run to the finish.

   Ward's pit crew had a perfect stop getting their driver back on track with the lead.

   The final restart of the event now had Ward and Brown race off turn four with Bobby Labonte and Loftin in the next row. Ward's Randy Renfro prepared #2 looked to be on  a rail keeping Brown and the rest in his rear view mirror.

   On lap eighty, Loftin overpowered Labonte taking over third place. The final laps ran incident free and Ward raced under the checkered flag with Brown, Loftin and Labonte trailing.

   Early race leader Burt Myers came back from a slow pit stop on lap sixty three restarting in tenth place but powered his way into fifth by the end of the 99 lap marathon

   Caleb Heady driving the Tommy Baldwin Jr #7NY had a comfortable points lead going into the Motor Mile Speedway event, but that lead diminished quickly when his mount failed him on lap eight but he gained enough points in the event to become the 2022 SMART Tour Champion by Pace O Matic.

Motor Mile Speedway Finish

1   #2-Brandon Ward

2   22- Jonathan Brown

3   15-Brian Loftin

4   25-Bobby Labonte

5    1-Burt Myers

6   21W-Jimmy Wallace

7    8-Chris Finocchario

8    4-Jason Myers

9   18-Daniel Yates

10  6A-Randy Butner

11  17-Michael Ritch

12  13-Chris Fleming

13  45-Gary Young Jr.

14  01-Brian Weber

15  07VA-Dennis Holdren

16  7NY-Caleb Heady

17  3-Craig Young

AWARDS

Brandon Ward won for a second year in a row at Motor Mile Speedway. Along the way, Ward led more laps than anyone else earning him the JOSTEN'S lap leader award

Burt Myers won the Jerry Hunt Super Center stage win leading at the 30 lap mark.

The Shady Grady Racing #15 piloted by Brian Loftin turned the 4/10 mile Motor Mile Speedway at a lap time of 15.256 earning Loftin and team the MJ Printing & Graphics fastest lap of the race.

Jonathan Brown led at the halfway mark earning the Bankers Life Halfway Leader Award.

Jimmy Wallace advanced 6 positions from his starting spot to earn the Pace-O-Matic Harn Charger Award plus Wallace was also the highest finishing non touring winner thus earning him the Carolina Drilling "Blast To The Front" Award.

2022 POINTS

1   7NY- C.Heady-334

2   2-B.Ward-320

3   25-B.Labonte-309

4   15-B.Loftin-275

5   1-B.Myers-267

6   22-J.Brown-266

7   60-M.Hirschman-256

8   4/6A-J.Myers-230

9   07VA-D.Holdren-208

10  14-B.Measmer Jr-181

11  21W-J.Wallace-157

12  77-G.Putnam-157

13  79/8NY-J.Gerstner-155

14  02C-J.Coulter-147

15  01-B.Weber-133

69 different drivers ran the SMART Tour in 2022.

Story by James Snape

Photos by Crystal Snape

NASCAR Whelen Modified 2023 Race Schedule

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

Saturday, Feb. 11

New Smyrna Speedway

Friday, March 31

Richmond Raceway

Saturday, May 6

Monadnock Speedway

Saturday, May 20

Riverhead Raceway

Saturday, May 27

TBA

Saturday, June 10

Seekonk Speedway

Saturday, June 24

Riverhead Raceway

Saturday, July 8

Wall Stadium

Saturday, July 15

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Saturday, July 29

TBA

Saturday, Aug. 5

Lancaster Motorplex

Wednesday, Aug. 16

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

Saturday, Aug. 26

Langley Speedway

Saturday, Sept. 2

Oswego Speedway

Saturday, Sept. 9

Monadnock Speedway

Saturday, Sept. 16

Riverhead Raceway

Saturday, Sept. 30

North Wilkesboro Speedway

Sunday, Oct. 8

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

Thursday, Oct. 26

Martinsville Speedway

Hirschman Scores Hickory Hundred

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber   Report by James Snape and Photos by" Simply the Best"Crystal Snape

Hickory Motor Speedway

October 08, 2022

SMART Modified Tour

   Matt Hirschman claimed his fifth SMARTY trophy Saturday Oct. 8th in the running of the Hickory Hundred presented by Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet at the famed Hickory Motor Speedway.

   In the twenty eight car starting field Hirschman topped the charts in qualifying, turning the quick 3/8 mile oval with a time of 14.191 sec. To top that off, when the top ten fastest qualifiers redrew for feature starting positions Hirschman pulled the number one starting spot.

   At the drop of starter J.B. Cole's green flag, Hirschman outdragged Jason Myers and easily ran in the lead. While Hirschman was on cruise control, behind him Jason Myers constantly fought off the challenges of SMART points leader Caleb Heady driving the Tommy Baldwin owned #7NY.

   By lap ten more heavy hitters were making their way forward. Bobby Labonte and Burt Myers put Heady behind them putting heavy pressure on Jason Myers.

   A lap 12 yellow flag waved when Chris Finocchario and Austin Kochenash made contact with the turn one wall, Kochenash was able to drive away, Finocchario was unable to continue.

   The restart was the chance that Labonte and Burt Myers needed to put Jason Myers behind them and eight laps latter Burt Myers flexed his muscle again, racing into second place following in Hirschman's Hoosier tracks until a lap 57 caution. This was the opportunity that a majority of the field used to pit for adjustments and a new Hoosier tire including race leader Hirschman. Electing not to pit was the new race leader Austin Kochenash with  Labonte, rookie Carson Loftin and Jonathan Brown.

   Hirschman's quick pit stop dropped him into the seventh starting spot. With laps running out Jonathan Brown started his run to the front finding himself in second place behind Kochenash while Hirschman powered into third place by lap 70.     

   On lap 73 Hirschman raced by Kochenash and ran in clean air while behind him Brown started to mount his attack on the leader, looking inside and outside for the opportunity to take over the point position.

   A lap 84 restart ended Brown's chance for victory when he jumped the restart and was penalized by being placed at the rear of the field.

   Hirschman ran out the remainder of the marathon in the lead while Burt Myers and Brandon Ward could only follow him to the checkered flag.

   Thirteen caution flags slowed the event.

Pace-O-Matic Finish

1-Matt Hirschman-(1)

2-Burt Myers-(9)

3-Brandon Ward-(8)

4-Bobby Labonte-(7)

5-Joey Coulter-(4)

6-Caleb Heady-(3)

7-Jonathan Brown-(18)

8-Daniel Yates-(21)

9-Gary Putnam-(15)

10-Jason Myers-(2)

11-John Smith-(22)

12-Spencer Martin-(24)

13-Wes Gilbert-(28)

14-Carson Loftin-(13)

15-Kevin Orlando-(11)

16-Brian Weber-(27)

17-Jonathan Cash-(10)

18-Bobby Measmer Jr.-(6)

19-Brian Loftin-(12)

20-Gary Young Jr.-(25)

21-Austin Kochenash-(23)

22-Zack Brewer-(5)

23-Greg Butcher-(14)

24-Michael Rich-(17)

25-Dennis Holdren-(20)

26-Andrew Harrah-(26)

27-Jimmy Wallace-(16)

28-Chris Finocchario-(19)

Cautions-(13)-Laps,9-10-12-20-39-40-44-57-64-75-84-90-96

Next SMART event: Tri County Speedway, Saturday 15,2022  

Story by James Snape

Photos by "Simply the Best" Crystal Snape

2022 Champions Night for 9-26-22

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photos courtesy of Facebook Share

News, Results, Schedules, Sponsor Changes, Driver Interviews.

E-Mail the program at waynewnri@yahoo.com

Podcast to follow at anchor.fm/wayne-barber

Tentatively scheduled for 6:10pm will be Seekonk Speedway 2 Division NASCAR Weekly Track Champion in the Late/ Models and premier Pro/ Stocks on the same night, driver, Mark Jenison

Mark  Jenison

Stafford Speedway Cancels Friday Nights Racing Card due to Heavy Rain Forcast.

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

Stafford Speedway August 26 Weekly Racing / Kids Night Event Canceled

(Stafford Springs, CT)---Tonight’s Kids Night event has been canceled due to incoming severe weather.  Kids night, including the big wheel race, will be added to next Friday’s Paradiso Insurance Late Model 50. All tickets purchased for tonight will be honored next Friday. Please contact the track office for more information.

 

For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.

Alexandra Fearn Wins May 27th Limited Late Model Feature;

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber  Source: Story & Track Photot by Scott Running Media Press Release and my comments.

(Stafford Springs, CT)---Stafford Speedway returned to Friday night racing action with a Stafford Weekly Series program on Friday night, May 27th.  Alexandra Fearn won the Limited Late Model feature before rain prematurely brought the rest of the evening to a halt.  All tickets sold for the May 27^th event will be honored next Friday night, June 3^rd for the Weekly Racing / Kids Night program at Stafford.

In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, Gary Patnode took the lead from polesitter Damian Palardy at the drop of the green and he led the first lap before the caution flag flew for Dana Wray, who spun in turn 4.

Patnode took the lead again back under green with Alexandra Fearn pulling alongside Palardy for second.  The field completed one lap before the caution came right back out with 2 laps complete for a spin in turn 4 by Trinity Provost.

Patnode again took the lead with Fearn and Palardy going side by side again for second.  Matt Clement worked his way up to fourth with Devon Jencik in fifth place.  Fearn took second on lap-4 and Matt Clement followed her through to move into third and drop Palardy back to fourth.  Devon Jencik took fourth from Palardy on lap-5 with Jay Clement right behind Palardy in sixth place as Patnode continued to hold the lead with Fearn giving chase.

With 10 laps complete, Patnode was still in the lead followed by Fearn, Matt Clement, Devon Jencik, Rich Hammann, Palardy, Jeremy Lavoie, Jay Clement, Kevin Cormier, and Matt Scappini.  With 5 laps to go, Fearn had closed to within a car length of Patnode for the lead while Jencik was applying heavy pressure to Matt Clement for third place.

Fearn caught Patnode with 2 laps to go and as they took the white flag, Fearn made her move to the inside of Patnode to take over the lead.  Fearn led Patnode back to the checkered flag to pick up her first win of the 2022 season after a rough start to her first three races.  Matt Clement finished third with Devon Jencik and Hammann rounding out the top-5.  Alexandra's first victory came on 7-11-14 and now as the Stafford Speedway All-Time Female Driver at 23 Career Wins and the 2021 Weekly Point Champion.

LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)

1) Alexandra Fearn, East Longmeadow, MA (1)  23 Career, 2021 Division Champion

2) Gary Patnode, New Hartford

3) Matt Clement, Wethersfield

4) Devon Jencik, Canton

5) Rich Hammann, Tolland

6) Jeremy Lavoie, Windsor Locks ( 2 time track champion)

7) Damian Palardy, Willington

8) Jay Clement, Wethersfield

9) Kevin Cormier, Agawam, MA

10) Matt Scappini, Litchfield

11) John Orsini, Morris

12) David Shinder, West Granby

13) Trinity Provost, Holland, MA

14) Dana Wray, Durham