Busch says no plans to stop running XFINITY races

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

With last Saturday's win at Kansas Speedway, Kyle Busch has now been to Victory Lane an astounding 75 times in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.
   Fox Sports)(10-19-2015)

With his 50th career victory in NASCAR's No. 2 division back in 2011, Busch leapfrogged Mark Martin to become the series' all-time wins leader. Now at the tender age of 30, Busch -- a full-time Sprint Cup Series driver -- could theoretically continue running a limited XFINITY schedule for another decade or even longer. So at what point does he decide to call it quits from XFINITY, where his mark of 75 wins already may never be surpassed? "I don't know if you get to 100 and call it good or what you do," Busch told FOXSports.com after Saturday's XFINITY race at Kansas. "Fortunately, I've been in a good situation with Joe (Gibbs, team owner) and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing to race in the XFINITY Series, and if we've got sponsors that continue to want to be on my race car and to go out there and to put a good show on, then I'll continue to do it. It's a job, it's a paycheck for these guys and it's fun for me to be able to do and to collect trophies and also just kind of set that mark a little bit higher. Hopefully, nobody will get it."(Fox Sports)

1	Kyle Busch	75	Kansas	10-17-2015
2	Mark Martin	49	Las Vegas	3-5-2011
3	Kevin Harvick	46	Auto Club	3-21-2015
4	Carl Edwards	38	Watkins Glen	8-11-2012
5	Brad Keselowski	33	Kentucky	7-10-2015
6	Jack Ingram	31	Hickory	3-15-1987
7	Matt Kenseth	29	Homestead	11-15-2014
8	Jeff Burton	27	Homestead	11-17-2007
9	Joey Logano	25	Watkins Glen	8-8-2015
10	Tommy Houston	24	Hickory	4-18-1992
11	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	23	Daytona	7-2-2010

Clinch scenarios for Talladega:

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

 This weekend marks the final Sprint Cup Series race in the 12-driver Contender Round before the Chase field dwindles to eight. Here are the scenarios for clinching a spot in the Eliminator Round this Sunday at Talladega. Regardless of the finish of any other drivers;
Back-to-back wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway gave #22-Joey Logano automatic admission into the Eliminator Round.
#11-Denny Hamlin needs to finish 14th with no laps led, or 15th with at least one lap led, or 16th and lead the most laps.
#41-Kurt Busch needs to finish 8th with no laps led, or 9th with at least one lap led, or 10th and lead the most laps.
#19-Carl Edwards needs to finish 7th with no laps led, or 8th with at least one lap led, or 9th and lead the most laps.
#4-Kevin Harvick needs to finish 3rd with no laps led, or 4th with a lap led.
#24-Jeff Gordon and #2-Brad Keselowski need to finish 2nd with no laps led, or 3rd with at least one lap led, or 4th and lead the most laps.
#78-Martin Truex Jr. needs to finish 2nd with no laps led or 3rd with the most laps led.
#18-Kyle Busch, #31-Ryan Newman, #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. and #20-Matt Kenseth only control their own destinies with a victory.
(NASCAR)(10-21-2015)

New England Truck Series World Series Results

Posted by Wayne G. Barber Photos by Wayne G. Barber
The New England Truck Series held their penultimate race of the season before crowning their champion next week in Waterford. Bert Oullette would go on to dominate much of the race running a smooth line around the Big T on route to his third win of 2015 and his second in a row, but the win did not come easy. A late race caution bunched up the field leading to an intense battle in the final two laps between Oullette and Roger Turbush who actually took the lead off of turn two on the restart. Not to be denied, Oullette performed a dive bomb move in the final turn relinquishing the top spot and holding on for the victory.
NEW ENGLAND TRUCK SERIES FINISH (TOP-10): 1. Bert Oullette (Ellington, CT); 2. Roger Turbush (Riverhead, NY); 3. Frank Dumicich, Jr. (E. Quoque, NY); 4. Joshua Stringer (East Killingly CT); 5. Erin (Dumicich) Solomitto (E. Quoque, NY); 6. Car #15JR Gerard Giordano (Freeport, NY); 7. Car #15 Kyle Nosal (Higganum,CT); 8. Todd Taylor (Stonin

gton, CT); 9. Brandin Chase (Concord, NH); 10. Tyler Chapman (Mystic, CT)
      1 #88 Roger Turbush                  620

									50	54	54	50	46	50
2	42   Frank Dumicich Jr.	592		50	50	50	43	50	54	50	50	48	54	47	48
3	151 Bert Ouellette	581	47	48	48	46	48	0	47	43	47	54	45	54	54

      3    151  Bert Ouellette              581

Joe Arena Becomes Inaugural North East Street Stock Champion

Posted by Wayne G. Barber Photos from Wayne G. Barber Collection
Ed Puleo Grabs Feature Win at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
THOMPSON, CT – Joe Arena defied the odds to become the inaugural champion of the North East Street Stock Tour with a strong finish at the Sunoco World Series at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

Ed Puleo and Joe Arena led the field to green for the 20-lap feature, presented by Greystone Social Club, and began to pull away with Anthony Belfiore in-tow, until lap 5, when the championship hunt took a twist.  Chris Douton, who trailed Geoff Rollins by five marks entering the event, spun in turns one and two, brushing the wall in the process.  Lightning struck again, as Geoff Rollins and Corey Hutchins spun to the infield on lap 9, bringing out the second caution.

Puleo would take the advantage off the restart, but Arena kept Puleo within striking distance.  With the field dicing behind them, Arena tried to dive underneath Puleo on the final corner, but Puleo was too strong and earned his first North East Street Stock Tour victory.

On his battle with Arena, Puleo explained, “If there’s one guy to battle with, I’m happy it was with Joe.  We’ve raced a lot in the past, you can trust him, he’s a good driver, and congratulations on his championship.”

On the North East Street Stock Tour, Puleo continued, “I definitely want to do this again, there’s a lot of good drivers in this series, and a lot of respect and give and take.  It’s really a good division.”

With Arena following in the second spot, Rollins in eleventh, and Douton in fifteenth, Arena secured the first championship of his career.

After the race, an excited Arena commented, “I’m absolutely amazed, and surprised, to be honest with you.  I saw the 02 [Rollins] go to the infield for some reason, and I had no clue that Moose [Douton] had wrecked early.  When I came in they said go to the start/finish line, I said ‘For what’?”
Arena continued, “I’m just ecstastic to come out with this, this is a one-in-a-lifetime thing.  It’s been 22 years at this, and it’s finally come my way.”

Steve Kenneway would come away with his second-consecutive podium finish, crossing the line third.  Josh Wood and youngster Tyler Janovsky would finish fourth and fifth, respectively.  Jack Aquilina salvaged a tough weekend, grabbing the sixth spot, with Kyle Casagrande seventh.  Josh Galvin bounced back after a motor change to claim the eighth spot, with Frank L’Etoile, Jr. and Patrick Tanguay rounding out the top 10.

The North East Street Stock Tour will officially crown Arena at the championship banquet, with a date to be announced soon.  For more information on the North East Street Stock Tour, visit www.nestreetstocktour.com.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Sunoco World Series, presented by Greystone Social Club
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
10/17/15
Pos. (Start)         Driver                                   Hometown1. (1)                      Ed Puleo                              Branford, CT
2. (2)                      Joe Arena                            Bristol, CT
3. (6)                      Steve Kenneway              Lowell, MA
4. (7)                      Josh Wood                          Palmer, MA
5. (8)                      Tyler Janovsky                   Whitingham, VT
6. (21)                   Jack Aquilina                      Oakdale, CT
7. (9)                      Kyle Casagrande               Stafford Springs, CT
8. (24)                   Josh Galvin                         Oakdale, CT
9. (12)                   Frank L’Etoile, Jr.              Weathersfield, CT
10. (17)                 Patrick Tanguay                Lebanon, ME
11. (18)                 Geoff Rollins                      Groton, MA
12. (4)                   Jim Boyle                             Waterford, CT
13. (10)                 Chad Baxter                       Pascoag, RI
14. (22)                 Jim Silvia                              Middletown, RI
15. (16)                 Chris (Moose)Douton                      Waterford, CT
16. (11)                 Bill Staves                            Windsor Locks, CT
17. (5)                   Trace Beyer                        Dover, VT
18. (23)                 Corey Coates                     Ledyard, CT
19. (3)                   Anthony Belfiore             Haverhill, MA
20. (19)                 Corey Hutchins                 Salem, CT
21. (15)                 Jesse Gleason                   Lisbon, CT
22. (20)                 Joe Plonski                          Worcester, MA
23. (14)                 Scott Bronczyk                  Broadbrook, CT
24. (13)                 John Carpenter                 Danielson, CT
DNS                       John Berchem                   West Greenwich, RI
Dur-A-Flex ($100 gift certificate) – Joe Arena, Ed Puleo
Northeast Race Cars + Parts (Lucky Dog) – Chris Douton
Northeast Race Cars + Parts (Lucky Dog) – Geoff Rollins
RAD Auto Machine ($200) – Tyler Janovsky
Coastline Fire Protection ($100 winner) – Ed Puleo
Coastline Fire Protection ($100 random) – Anthony Belfiore
                                STR.     W       T'5       T10

74

Joe Arena

8

1

6

8

David Comeau Wins 2015 Limited Late Model R.A.D. Automachine & T/A Engines Rookie of the Year Award at Stafford Motor Speedway

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

(Stafford Springs, CT)--- After two successful seasons in Stafford Speedway’s DARE Stock division, Palmer, MA native David Comeau moved up to Stafford’s Limited Late Model division and took home R.A.D. Automachine & T/A Engines Rookie of the Year honors to go along with his 2013 R.A.D. Automachine Rookie of the Year award in the DARE Stock division. While Comeau was unable to match his 2-win season of one year ago, he posted 1 top-5 and 17 top-10 finishes during the season. Comeau was neck and neck for much of the year with Robert Bloxsom, III for the R.A.D. Automachine & T/A Engines Rookie of the Year honors, and the final margin between the two rookie drivers was 16 points, or 8 positions on the race track.

“It feels great,” said Comeau.  “Rookie of the Year was one of my goals when the season first started.  I’ve tried out 2 different divisions now after never racing before and I was able to win Rookie of the Year both times, so I’m pretty excited about that.  It was tough this year, those guys out there make it look easy.  We struggled with the car.  I finished second one night so we can say we were the highest finishing rookie, but overall we weren’t really competitive and it was a bit disappointing for us.  I wanted to win a race so bad for everyone on the team and my wife brought our kids to the track every Friday night, but we just could never get there.  Everyone worked so hard, Kris Fluckiger really did a lot of work on the car, along with his dad Kevin, Matteo and Barry Fluckiger.  They all helped me out and it took a lot more time and energy with this car compared to the DARE Stock.”

Comeau was able to challenge for the DARE Stock championship last season with his 2 wins, but he says the biggest challenge for him and the #8 T.S. Alliance team this season in the Limited Late Model was the difference between the two cars with tuning options and how to best relay what the car needed for changes on a week to week basis.

“Having to get used to a whole new car was the biggest challenge for me,” said Comeau.  “I was real comfortable in the DARE Stock car.  This was a completely different car and I don’t think I had a full grasp on what the car was doing to let the crew chief know what kind of changes to make to the car on a week to week basis.  That didn’t stop us from trying and I really have to thank the Fluckigers, Matteo, and Don Wood for all their help this season.  Donnie and I live pretty close to each other and he would let me use whatever I needed for spare parts so I really have to thank him for letting me do that this season.  Also a big thanks to Donnie Wood and Tony Altieri for sponsoring the rookie program.  And thank you to all my sponsor this season, U.S. Environmental, Cape Cod Realtor.com, and Sunoco for their weekly contingency bonuses.  Also we were raising money for the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance all year long, which was a big thing for me with my daughter Hannah.  We did a raffle this year at the track and we raised almost $1,500 just from that.”

For winning the 2015 R.A.D. Automachine  & T/A Engines Limited Late Model Rookie of the Year Award, Comeau  will take home an $1,100 bonus, which will be paid in $100 increments for the first 11 races of the 2016 season that Comeau attends.  Comeau will officially be crowned as the 2015 R.A.D. Automachine & T/A Engines Rookie of the Year at the 46th Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 20 at Maneeley’s in South Windsor. 

Tickets to the 46th Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony are $47 per person and can be ordered by calling the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at (860) 684-2783, or by downloading an order form from www.staffordspeedway.com and returning the form to the track office. 

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

Zack Robinson Takes Home R.A.D. Automachine DARE Stock Rookie of the Year Honors at Stafford Motor Speedway

(Stafford Springs, CT)---With only 4 years of quarter midget experience to his racing resume, 15-year old Putnam native Zack Robinson had modest expectations heading into his rookie season of DARE Stock competition at Stafford Motor Speedway.  Robinson and his #14 Shipee Solar Panels team had one goal and that was to win R.A.D. Automachine Rookie of the Year honors, which they did by a whopping 116 point margin.

“It feels pretty good,” said Robinson.  “We went into the year with the one goal of winning Rookie of the Year.  We weren’t hoping for anything in the points and with 3 races to go, we were fifth in points so it became another goal of ours to finish in the top-5 for the season.”

Robinson finished the season fifth in points to check off another accomplishment on his short list of goals for the 2015 season and not only did the team end the season in fifth place, they were one of three DARE Stock rookie teams, joining the #48 team of Marcello Rufrano and the #27 team of Phil Evans, to record a feature win.  Since Robinson and the #14 crew had no expectations for where they were going to finish in the points standings, their feature win came as a big but welcome surprise.

“That was a surprise for us,” said Robinson.  “That race went green to checkered and Nikki [Chambrello] was in front of me and she was a little slower and I went low into turn 1 and Tyler [Trott] was right there behind me.  He followed me around lap after lap and slowly he started disappearing and there were no cautions, so I think we may have gotten a little lucky there.  The whole season was above expectations for us.  Rookie of the Year was the only goal we had.  Once we got a win, we wanted to win another race.  It was a little disappointing that we didn’t win again and we got into the backstretch wall with 2 races to go in the season.  I think that could have been our lucky night because the car was really fast and there were a couple of other nights but the year was a success for us.”

With his first feature victory and a top-5 finish in the points standings to go along with the Rookie of the Year accolades, Robinson and the #14 team already have their sights set on bigger and better things in 2016, including racing for the championship.

“We’re already talking about what we want to do for next year,” said Robinson.  “We’re looking at redoing the whole car and changing a few things on it and we want to run for the championship.  Getting a fifth place finish in our first season, I think it’s a realistic goal for us and what other reason is there to be out there racing than to be going for the championship.  It took us about 10 races into the season this year to get the car handling and after that we picked right up.  I think if we can get the car handling right from the first race we can go from there and have a good chance at the championship.  We’re ready for the season to get started already.  All we have left to do is to send the motor to R.A.D. to get refreshed and once we do that we’ll be ready to go.  I have to thank Shipee Solar Panels, KO Industries, NAPA of Putnam, Bear Paw Sign and Graphics, Hitchcock Pool Water, Bates Auto Parts, NEC Auto Body, Easy Does It Lawn Care, Terry’s Embroidery, Dur-A-Flex Race Bodies, R.A.D. Automachine and John Boyd, my Grandfather, Brother, Mother, Aunt, Grandmother, Tom, Denise, Joe, Mo and Donald for all their help and support this season.”

For winning the 2015 R.A.D. Automachine DARE Stock Rookie of the Year Award, Robinson will take home a $500 bonus from R.A.D. Automachine, which will be paid in $100 increments for the first 5 races of the 2016 season that Robinson attends.  Robinson will officially be crowned as the 2015 R.A.D. Automachine Rookie of the Year at the 46th Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 20 at Maneeley’s in South Windsor. 

Tickets to the 46th Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony are $47 per person and can be ordered by calling the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at (860) 684-2783, or by downloading an order form from www.staffordspeedway.com and returning the form to the track office. 

Kurt Busch Back with Stewart-Haas Racing

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Monster Energy To Serve as Co-Primary Sponsor with Haas Automation of No. 41 Team

 

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Oct. 21, 2015) – Monster Energy is moving to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series while Kurt Busch is staying at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). The energy drink manufacturer has teamed with Busch in a multiyear agreement that will see Monster Energy co-sponsor him and the No. 41 Chevrolet SS with Haas Automation, the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America.

 

Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup champion and owner of 27 career victories, will debut this new sponsorship during the Oct. 30-Nov. 1 Sprint Cup race weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS will then become a fixture beginning with the 2016 season, whereupon Monster Energy will be the alpha sponsor (hood) for 17 races and the bravo sponsor (quarter panel) for 18 races with one full primary race sponsorship.

 

“I’m very happy to be back with Stewart-Haas Racing and proud to take Monster Energy to the Sprint Cup Series,” said Busch, who has won three races and three poles since joining SHR in 2014. “This is exactly where I want to be and I have two partners who want to win as much as I do.”

Monster Energy passes on traditional forms of advertising and instead earns significant brand exposure through its roster of extreme athletes. Busch, renown for a tenacious driving style that has earned him multiple wins in a Sprint Cup career spanning more than 15 years, fits the bill for Monster Energy.

 

“Kurt Busch has been a member of the Monster Energy team since 2012 and we’re very happy to take his involvement with us to a whole new level,” said Mitch Covington, vice president of sports marketing, Monster Energy. “The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the premiere form of stock-car racing in North America and it’s exactly where we want to be. Kurt and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing are racers. They walk the walk, just like Monster Energy.”

 

SHR is the championship-winning Sprint Cup team co-owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas. Stewart is a three-time Sprint Cup champion with 48 career victories. Haas is the founder of Haas Automation. Since its inception in 2009, the team has won two titles (2011 and 2014), 30 races and 26 poles. With this new agreement, Monster Energy becomes the official energy drink of SHR.

 

“I’ve always respected Kurt’s talent and determination, and I’m glad it’s staying at Stewart-Haas Racing,” Stewart said. “Kurt can win at every racetrack we visit, and his feedback and attention to detail make our entire organization better.”

 

“Kurt Busch gives us the opportunity to win races every week and contend for a championship every year,” Haas added. “This is an organization built on winning, and Haas Automation is a company built on performance. Kurt embodies each of those qualities, and it’s why we invest in his abilities.”
“I can’t thank Gene Haas and Tony Stewart enough for the opportunity to be a part of this team,” Busch said. “We’ve accomplished a lot in our two years together, but there’s so much more I want to do for them, for Haas Automation and for Monster Energy. It’s great knowing we’ll be able to keep the momentum we have and extend it into next year and beyond.”