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08/24/12
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August 24, 2012 |
Sixty
years ago in 1952 Freddy Luchesi continued his winning streak at
the New London-Waterford Speedbowl as he won 25 lap Sportsman features on
both Wednesday and Saturday nights. Ted Dean was the Wednesday night
Claiming Car winner while Harold "Curley" LeMay took Claiming Car honors on
Saturday night.
Fifty five years ago in 1957,
the New London-Waterford Speedbowl ran on Thursday night instead of
Wednesday in order to accommodate a guest appearance of the Lone Ranger. Moe
Gherzi was the Sportsman winner and Arnie Harris was the non-Ford winner.
Red Foote was the Saturday night Sportsman winner at the shoreline oval.
Dick Beauregard was the non-Ford winner.
Fifty years ago in 1962, Bill
Slater was the Modified winner on the dirt at the Stafford Springs Speedway
on Friday night. Charlie Webster was the Modified winner at the New
London-Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday night. Bomber division feature
winners were Dave Hill and Ed Moody.
Forty five years ago in 1967,
the All Star League visited the tight 1/5th mile oval at Islip on Long
Island. Eddie Flemke, a master of the bullrings, lived up to his reputation
as he won the 100-lap event over Jerry Cook, Bill Wimble and Fred Harbach.
Rain prevailed on the East Coast for the entire weekend, wiping out all
racing.
Forty years ago in 1972, Fred
DeSarro went two for two as he won at Seekonk on Friday night and at
Stafford on Saturday night. At Seekonk, Billy Clarke finished second and at
Stafford, Leo Cleary, Ernie Gahan, George Summers and Hop Harrington,
rounded out the top five. Bob Santos took the Friday night win at Malta. Ron
Bouchard finished second with Richie Evans, third. At Fonda, on Saturday
night, Maynard Forrette beat out Harry Peek and Al Castrucci for top honors.
Bill Scrivener made it two in a row at Waterford. Modifieds from all over
the East Coast converged on the Pocono Raceway for the Flight 216 modified
event on the ¾ mile oval. Ninety-eight modifieds were on hand. Richie Evans
won the event over Maynard Troyer and Ray Hendrick but the real story was
the effort put in by Fred DeSarro and Art Barry who teamed up, just for the
day. During practice, the engine in the Len Boehler No.3 spun a bearing.
Without a spare engine, Boehler loaded the car and headed home. Santos, who
had won Malta on Friday night, offered his ride to DeSarro. DeSarro made
numerous chassis changes and even change the steering wheel. The Barry
modified went and handled like it never did before and was a potential
winner until slowed by a broken water pump. Sunday night action at
Utica-Rome, rained out.
Thirty Five years ago in 1977,
Bugsy Stevens was the winner of the Tuesday night Modified Madness. The
50-lap event drew 44 modifieds. Geoff Bodine finished second with Charlie
Jarzombek, third. When the mods returned to Stafford on Friday night, Ronnie
Bouchard had it all figured out as he won, hands down. John Rosati finished
second. with Ed Flemke, third. Rosati took it up a notch as he won at
Seekonk on Saturday night over Ray Lee and Leo Cleary. Joe Howard ruled
Westboro despite extreme pressure exerted by George Savory and Freddie
Schulz in the closing stages of the 35 lap main event. At Riverside, Geoff
Bodine won a 100 lapper over Reggie Ruggiero and Bob Polverari and at
Thompson on Sunday night; Fred DeSarro beat out Ronnie Bouchard and Eddie
Flemke.
Thirty years ago in 1982, Kenny
Bouchard was awarded the Friday night win at Stafford after apparent winner
Greg Sacks was disqualified with an illegal carburetor. Ray Miller finished
third but he too, ran amuck with the tech inspector, and was also
disqualified with an illegal carburetor. Bob Polverari ended up second with
Bugsy Stevens, third. At Spencer, also on Friday, Richie Evans led Maynard
Troyer, Jerry Cook and George Kent across the stripe and at New Egypt, John
Blewett Jr. was the 100-lap winner. At Waterford, on Saturday night,
Lightning Larry Lanphear took the win from his up front starting spot. Bob
Potter finished second with Randy Lajoie, third. At Riverside, Reggie
Ruggerio won a 100 lap Race of Champions qualifier. Marty Radwick finished
second with Ray Miller, third. Racing on Long Island took a weekend off. The
Riverhead program was cancelled because of the lack of cars and Islip was
cancelled because of a fatality. Doug Hewitt beat out Jerry Cook at
Shangri-La and at Seekonk, it rained. The Bouchard brothers, Ronnie and
Kenny, finished one-two at Thompson on Sunday night. Reggie Ruggiero
finished third with Mike McLaughlin, fourth. In Winston Cup action at
Bristol, Tim Richmond was the Busch Pole sitter. Darrell Waltrip took the
win.
Twenty five years ago in 1987,
Jerry Pearl was the Friday night winner at Stafford. Leading the Tri-Track
point series, Pearl beat out Bo Gunning and Mike Christopher. Waterford
rained out on Saturday night. Evidently it was a coastal Connecticut storm
as Riverside and Riverhead got their events in. At Riverside, Mike Stefanik
swept a 200 lapper, which also guaranteed him a spot in the Thompson 300.
Reggie Ruggerio finished second with Mike McLaughlin, third. At Riverhead,
Tony Ferrante JR took the win over Wayne Anderson and Fred Harbach. Jimmy
Spencer ruled the roost at Shangri-La as he took the checker over Tony
Hirschman, and George Kent. In Sunday night SK-Modified action at Thompson,
Mike Christopher held off brother Ted along with Bo Gunning, Bob Potter and
Kerry Malone. In Winston Cup action at Bristol, Dale Earnhardt SR took the
win.
Twenty years ago in 1992, Bob
Potter lost the point lead at Stafford on Friday night after he wrecked on
the first lap. Bo Gunning took the win over Richie Gallup, Lloyd Agor and
Mike Christopher. The NASCAR Featherlite Modified tour was at Riverhead for
a 200-lap event. Mike Ewanitsko took the win over Jeff Fuller, Steve Park
and Satch Worley. At Waterford, Ted Christopher in the North End Auto Parts
No.54 took the modified win. Twin features were run for the late models.
Phil Rondeau won his 9th of the season and Jerry Young won the nite-cap.
Fifteen Years ago in 1997, Bo
Gunning was the Friday night winner at Stafford. Ted Riggott got his fifth
of the year at Riverside. The Busch North Series was also at Riverside and
it was Dave Dion taking the win over Mike Stefanik and Jerry Marquis. Tucker
Reynolds got his fifth win at Waterford. Jim Broderick finished third behind
Todd Ceravolo but was disqualified when it was discovered using an illegal
carburetor. Eddie Brunnhoelzl jr. won the Fred Harbach Memorial at
Riverhead. The Featherlite Modified Tour Series was at Watkins Glen with the
Trucks. Mike Stefanik took the lead from Rick Fuller on lap 33 and led the
final eight laps to take the win. Fuller finished second and was followed by
Jan Leaty, Mike Ewanitsko, Tim Arre and Tim Connolly. Ron Fellows won the
truck race. Ted Christopher finished seventh and Mike Ewanitsko finished
21st.At Bristol, Jim Spencer won the Grand National event. Steve Park
finished second and sewed up the Rookie of the Year title. In the on going
confrontation between Randy LaJoie and Buckshot Jones, NASCAR fined Jones
$5000 for trying to ram LaJoie after the two made contact during the event.
Jones missed. In the Winston Cup portion, Dale Jarrett passed Mark Martin in
the closing stages of the event and took the win. Evidently there was a
little confusion in a recent article concerning the date that the late Corky
Cookman and Mike Hornat went out of the track and into the fourth turn
grandstand at Stafford. It was on the eighth lap of a scheduled 100 lapper
that John Falconi got loose as he exited turn four. Both Cookman and Hornat
rode over Falconi's wheel and sailed out of the track.
Ten years ago in 2002, The
NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour was at Stafford on Friday night. NASCAR,
because of numerous complaints, changed the qualifying procedure in hopes of
leveling the playing field. In the past, those who went out early to qualify
had a distinct disadvantage because of the lack of rubber and debris on the
track. In order to make it fair for one and all NASCAR made the following
change. Each car would take its first time trial lap and then pull in. When
the entire field had their lap, the process would begin again. One must give
NASCAR credit with this change. There were 43 Modifieds on hand and the jury
was still out as far as the change in format for qualifying. Jerry Marquis’
pole speed held but six cars did improve their times, the second time
around. Among those who didn’t make the cut were Kenny Bouchard, Wade Cole,
Carl Pasteryak, Jimmy Kuhn, Jake Marosz and Tom Baldwin.
Friday’s NASCAR Modified Tour Series event at Stafford served as a
monument to both Ted Christopher and Bugsy Stevens. Christopher took the
win, his 73rd, and broke Stevens’ all time win record. Stevens, who hadn’t
turned a wheel for quite some time, was on hand for the debut of his new
book, The Life and Times of Bugsy Stevens. Even though he had been retired
as a driver for quite a while, he is still as popular as ever. Those who
followed him during the 60’s. 70’s and 80’s still follow and speak well of
him. The Bug was still the Bug, very friendly and talked to everybody and
most of all; he had not forgotten where he came from. Any way, Christopher
didn’t qualify all that well as he started 15th. Eddie Flemke Jr. qualified
fourth and by the luck of the draw, started on the pole with the Hill
Enterprises No.79. Chuck Hossfeld in the Garbarino Mystic Missile started on
the outside pole and jumped out to an early lead with Flemke in tow. Flemke,
who in the past has made it a point of going non-stop without a stop for
tires, took the lead on lap 9 and held it thru lap 63.In the mean time,
Christopher, who had previously gone the 150 lap distance at Stafford had
conservatively worked his way into second spot. The opportunity to lead
presented it self on lap 64 and he took it. Flemke then turned up the wick a
bit and he re-took the point on lap 70. Evidently, Christopher’s set-up
wasn’t exact as he began to slip a little. A caution on lap 106 presented a
way out for the defending National Champion as it allowed him to pit for new
rubber. Maybe it was the chill in the air or maybe not as Flemke was only
able to hold the lead for 43 laps when Jerry Marquis took over the top spot
on lap 114. His lead was short lived as Flemke took it back on lap 121. All
the while, Christopher on fresh rubber was coming to the front. With 18 laps
to go, Christopher powered by and went on to make it four for four in Tour
Series action at Stafford. Flemke held on for second and was followed by
Marquis, Hossfeld and Rookie sensation Todd Szegedy. All tolled sixteen cars
finished on the lead lap. For the second race in a row, defending Tour
Series Champion Mike Stefanik had problems and was an early out. After
losing an engine at Thompson, Stefanik came to Stafford where he qualified
sixth. Starting third, he was never a factor and his night ended on lap 70
when he dropped out with ignition problems.
The regular weekly racing also started last Thursday at Thompson
where rain prevailed and washed out the regularly scheduled SK-Modified
event. The Pro Stocks had a scheduled 75 lapper but the event was
red-checkered after 39 laps when the clouds opened up. Norm Wrenn took the
win. According to NASCAR Chief Steward Richard Brooks, 145 cars were on
hand.
In SK-Modified action at Stafford on Friday night, Brad Hietala
ended a long dry spell. Hitala previously won at Stafford in 1983. Since
then it’s been a rough road. In 1985 he almost paid the ultimate price when
female driver Gilda Berti planted him in the wall. Hietala suffered severe
head injuries, which almost ended his racing career and his life. What made
the win even sweeter is the fact that he built his car himself in a day
where the majority of the cars on the track in competition come from major
chassis builders. Donnie Travaglin came all the way from the rear to finish
second with Jay Miller recording a third. Series point leader Bo Gunning
finished 10th.
At Waterford, Ed Reed Jr. and Dennis Gada kissed and made up and
are no longer mad at each other. Reed beat Gada out for the win. Reed
admitted that he jumped the last three re-starts and was surprised that
officials said nothing. The big story of the night was the fact that third
generation driver, sixteen year old Bobby Santos III won the Boston Louie
Memorial NEMA Midget event.
Last year, 2011, the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour took a week off before heading south to the Bristol
Motor Speedway. Kevin Rice reported in trade publication Area Auto Racing
News that 2008 series champion Ted Christopher and car owner Ed Whelan had
split following a dismal finish at Loudon. Evidently there had been a lot of
friction between Christopher and crew chief Brad Lafountaine. It all boiled
over after Christopher dropped at the recent Loudon event with rear end
problems in the car. The bickering and hard feelings got so bad that Whelan
just pulled the plug and parked the car. He split with his Sunoco Modified
car owner at the Thompson Speedway earlier this year citing car and motor
preparation were not up to his standards. Woody Pitkat took over the ride
and became an instant winner. Christopher did not secure another ride at
Thompson.
Based on what crew chief Brad Lafountain stated at Thompson it was
just "Teddy being Teddy" "The broken u-joint was a result of Christopher
running over something on the track" stated the noted crew chief. "There is
a crease in the bell housing and in the transmission case as a result of
something he ran over on the track" he added.
In Thursday Night Thunder action at the Thompson Speedway Mike
Stefanik triumphed over the competition and Thompson International Speedway
beat the weather for an action-packed night of racing action. With weather
and Ryan Preece bearing down, Stefanik of Coventry, RI, was flawless to
score the victory in the Tour-Type Modified Special. Stefanik had to hold
off another Thompson winner to visit victory lane. Preece jumped out of his
winning Sunoco Modified to run second to Stefanik in the event. The Sunoco
Modified victory earlier in the evening was Preece’s third at Thompson in
2011.
In other racing action, Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, handily
took the win in the Super Late Models. Chris Douton of Waterford, CT,
extended his point lead with a Limited Sportsman victory. Glenn Boss of
Danielson, CT, continued his hot-streak in the TIS Modifieds with a
division-leading five victories. Another point leader, Danny Field, also
tacked on points with his victory in the Mini Stocks.
The ten cars on hand for the Sunoco Modified feature provided quite
a bit of excitement. Joe Allegro started on the pole and jumped out to lead
at the drop of the green. Shortly after Allegro completed the first lap
Danny Cates shot by in turn two. Allegro faded as Woody Pitkat moved in on
Cates' bumper on lap two. Keith Rocco, who was waiting in the wings, took
the lead on lap 5 with Cates and Pitkat in tow. By lap 20 Ryan Preece moved
into contention as he raced side by side with Rocco. On lap 22 Preece dive
bombed into turn one, brushed Rocco who spun. Said Preece, "I didn't mean to
hit him, the car lost foreward bite and got away from me". Evidently Rocco
was also having mechanical problems as he pitted and then retired after
taking a couple of laps. Preece went on to take the win over Cates, Pitkat
and Allegro.
The open competition Tour Type event drew 20 cars. Mike Stefanik
took the lead after a spirited battle with Ryan Preece. Stefanik took the
lead on a restart on lap 20 of the 40 lap contest. Preece ended up second
with Kenny Barry, third. Tom Bolles and Steven Reed rounded out the top
five.
The Stafford Motor Speedway headlined its second division and Woody
Pitkat was the big winner of the night, capturing the Late Model 100
checkered flag for his third win of the 2011 season. In other NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series feature racing action, Keith Rocco scored his 8th win of
the 2011 season in the SK Modified® feature, Kyle Spencer picked up his
first career win in a spectacular finish in the 20-lap SK Light Modified
feature, George Nocera, Jr. picked up his fourth win of the 2011 season in
the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Don Wood scored his fourth win of
the 2011 season in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
Rocco and Ryan Preece played a game of cat and mouse until the
final lap of the 40 lapper. Coming off the fourth corner on the final lap
Rocco got the edge as he beat Preece to the finish line for his23rd win in
46 starts at Connecticut tracks in 2011. Preece finished second, with Eric
Berndt right behind him in third. Dave Gervais finished fourth with Todd
Owen rounding out the top-5.
At the Waterford Speedbowl, Glenn Pressel III scored his second
career victory in the SK Modifieds®, Rich Staskowski picked up his second
win of the year in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models and Josh Galvin won
for the third time in the Street Stocks. A popular win went to rookie
Garrett Denton as the teenager won his first career feature event in the
Mini Stocks. Rounding out the winners were Paul French who won his third SK
Light Modified race of the year and Paul Kusheba who took the victory in the
night’s Legends Cars feature.
Pressel started on the outside pole and led the entire 35 lap
distance. Rob Janovic and Jeff Pearl finished second and third, while Keith
Rocco rallied back to fourth position after an early race spin. Doug Coby
beat out Tyler Chadwick in the final laps for fifth.
The Valenti Modified Racing Series was at the Seekonk Speedway for
a 100 lapper on Saturday night. The event, which drew 19 cars was won by Les
Hinkley who took the lead from Dwight Jarvis on lap 79. Jarvis finished
second and was followed by Chris Pasteryak, Joey Jarvis and Norm Wrenn.
Sixth through tenth were Mike Holdridge, Jimmy Kuhn, Jr., Joe Doucette, Jack
Bateman and Rowan Pennink.
At the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island, John Fortin returned to
victory lane for the second time this year, with a Modified win and closed
the gap on points leader Justin Bonsignore.
The Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC wrapped up it's season
with the Carolina Farm Credit 150. Jonathan Brown won the battle as Burt
Myers played it smart and won the Modified Track Championship, his second
straight and fifth overall, after finishing 12th.
Kyle Busch won his 23rd race on NASCAR's Sprint Cup circuit, pulling even
with brother Kurt in career victories. Marcos Ambrose a victory and finally
paid up. Marcos Ambrose took the lead on a restart with nine laps to go and
held off crowd favorite Alex Tagliani to take the checkered flag in the NAPA
Auto Parts 200 in Canada.
Special Happy Birthday wishes went out to Mrs. Irene Venditti who
had turned 92. Considered by many as the First Lady of Auto Racing, Mrs
Venditti and her late husband, D. Anthony Venditti had operated the Seekonk
Speedway since 1946.
NEAR Hall of Fame inductee Billy Harman stated that former driver
Dick Caso was still in very serious condition as a result of being run over
while riding a moped. Harman stated that he was in an induced coma as a
result to relieve brain swelling from a scull fracture. In addition to head
injuries the former driver suffered a broken foot and broken ribs.
On a sad note, Jim Costello, former race starter and partner of
Walt Faulkner passed away at the age of 91. He was co-founder, secretary and
treasurer of the New England Sports Association as well as Atlantic Auto
Racing. Costello and Faulkner along with Bill Welch and John Falconi Sr
promoted the Thompson Speedway in the early 1960's as well as the Westboro
Speedway. Costello was also a Rhode Island State Senator. While in the State
Senate Jim also served on the Finance Committee, the Corporations Committee
and the Committee on Health, Education and Welfare. While finding time for
all those public activities, he was also owner and president of Warwick Ford
on Post Road in Warwick, RI where he was president for 20 years from 1958 to
1978.
That’s about it for this week from 11 Gardner Drive, Westerly, and
R.I.02891. Ring my chimes at 401-596-5467.
E-mail:
smithpe_97_97@yahoo.com.
Phil Smith has been a
columnist for Speedway Scene and various
other publications for over 3 decades.
This week are several vintage racing photos
Courtesy of
SpeedwayLineReport.com & Dave Dyke's
RacingThroughTime.com
Click on Photo for Full Sized
Fred Luchesi
Eddie
Flemke Sr
George Alkas
Bob Stefanik
Fred Harbach
Stan
Greger
Looking Back Archive
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Source: Phil
Smith / Looking Back A Bit
Posted: August
24, 2012 |
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