The Chrome Horn - Looking Back A Bit with Phil Smith

September 30, 2016


  Sixty five years ago in 1951 Wes Kingsley was the Wednesday night Modified winner at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Dick Dixon was the Claiming Car winner. Bobby Sprague was the Saturday night Modified winner at the shoreline oval. Bob Barbari was the Claiming Car winner.

  Sixty years ago rain prevailed at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl.

  Fifty five years ago in 1961 local favorite George Janoski took the Friday night win on the dirt at Stafford.

  Fifty years ago in 1966, Ernie Gahan broke Pete Corey’s stranglehold on victory lane at Stafford on the dirt. Waterford shifted to Sundays. Dick Dunn was the 30 lap Modified winner. Glynn Shafer was the Bomber winner and Red Barton was the Late Model Daredevil winner.

  Forty five years ago in 1971, the season ender at Islip was rained out and not rescheduled. Stafford ran their season ender on Sunday with Gene Bergin taking the win over Fred DeSarro, Jerry Cook, Dave Lape and Bugsy Stevens. Thompson ran an open competition event the same day with Bob Santos taking the win over Dick Caso, Tony Russo and Hank Stevens. The Waterford Speedbowl wrapped up their season with Bob Potter taking the win over Ronnie Wycoff.

  Forty years ago in 1976, the NASCAR Modifieds were silent as race teams made ready for the upcoming Race of Champions at Trenton. The Waterford Speedbowl wrapped up their season with twin 25's which were won by Dick Dunn and Bob Potter. Andy Guimond was the late Model Grand American winner.

  Thirty five years ago in 1981, Stafford ran the Fall Final for the Modifieds and NASCAR North (Busch North Series) The modified 100 lapper carried a purse of $6,300 and drew 59 cars. Richie Evans was the Modified winner as he beat out Corky Cookman, George Kent, Reggie Ruggiero and Bob Polverari. Jean Paul Cabana was the Late Model winner. It was also on this weekend that the New England Drivers and Owners Club (NEDOC) conducted tire tests which would hopefully lead to a more affordable-longer lasting tire for the Modifieds. Brands tested were Hoosier, M&H, McCreary and Goodyear.

  Thirty years ago in 1986, the modified tour headed for Oxford Plains in Maine. Forty-eight Modifieds and 10,000 fans were on hand as Jim Spencer took the win over Jamie Tomaino, Corky Cookman, Mike Mclaughlin and Brian Ross. Track owner Bob Bahre announced that in 1987,an 18 race NASCAR North-Late Model Series would replace the former Late Model Series that had been headed by Tom Curley. In Winston Cup action at North Wilkesboro, Tim Richmond took the pole but it was Darrell Waltrip taking the win. Geoff Bodine finished second.

  Twenty five years ago in 1991, Don Fowler was the Saturday night winner at Waterford. Bob Potter finished second with Jerry Pearl, third. The Fall Final at Stafford ended up being a race that many would talk about for many months. Tom Baldwin, who qualified second and was running in the front all day was caught sleeping on a late race restart and got spun out. Baldwin was given his spot back as NASCAR stated the leader must start the race. Baldwin bulled his way to the front and eventual win. Jamie Tomaino ended up second with Reggie Ruggiero, third. The SK 35 lapper was red checkered after 30 laps when leader Ted Christopher blew his engine and collected Richie Gallup. Bob Potter was awarded the win. In Winston Cup action at North Wilkesboro, Harry Gant was eight laps short of making it five in a row when he lost his brakes and had to give way to Dale Earnhardt who went on to record the win. Gant held on to finish second.

  Twenty years ago in 1996, it was Tom Baldwin again in victory lane at Stafford. As was his previous Fall Final victory, this one wasn't too popular with the fans as he was greeted by the Bronx Cheer in victory lane. With two laps to go in the 300-lap contest, the outspoken Long Island driver spun Reggie Ruggiero out, causing a caution. Going over the 300-lap mark, Baldwin slammed into Tim Connolly, knocking him out of the way, and went on to take the win. Connelly finished second and was followed by Ruggiero and Steve Park. All on the lead lap. Rounding out the top five was Mike Ewanitsko, one lap down. Jim Broderick was the SK Modified winner, giving him two for two on the weekend as he won at the Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday night over Steve Chowanski and Bob Potter. In Winston Cup action it was the final event to be run at North Wilkesboro. Ted Musgrave was the pole sitter but it was Jeff Gordon taking the win with Dale Earnhardt finishing second. Dirt driver Billy Pauch scored his 500th career win at the Bridgeport, N.J. Speedway. On a sad note, former driver and car builder Banjo Mathews passed away as did former New York driver Dick Nephew.

  Fifteen years ago in 2001, John Brouwer Jr. won the final Saturday night modified event at the Waterford Speedbowl. Mark LaJunesse finished second. Dennis Gada finished third and sewed up his third modified driving title in a row. It was the fifth championship title for car owner Harry Wyant. Wynatt’s other track titles at Waterford came with Jim Broderick driving. The NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour Series was at Stafford for the Fall Final. Mike Ewanitsko was the Busch Pole sitter but the day belonged to Ted Christopher who all but dominated the event. Starting from the outside pole, Christopher jumped out to the lead at the start and held the point until pitting for tires and fuel on lap 90. Jerry Marquis inherited the lead at that point and held it thru lap 104 when Christopher blasted his way into the lead. From then on it was a no contest event. During the late stages, Marquis faded to third with Rick Fuller moving into the runner-up spot but Fuller had all he could hold on to because of blistering tires. Fuller hung on for second and was followed by Marquis, Ed Flemke Jr. and Mike Ewanitsko. Kerry Malone was the SK-Modified winner over Lloyd Agor and Jeff Baral. In Winston Cup action at Kansas City, Jeff Gordon took the win in an event that saw many crashes caused by flat tires. Jeff Green won the Grandnational event.

  Ten years ago in 2006, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was at the Stafford Motor Speedway. Thirty-eight cars were on hand hoping to qualify for the 150 lap Fall Final. Todd Szegedy took the Busch Pole with a time of 18.091-second lap around the half mile oval. Donny Lia was second fastest with a time of 18.190 seconds. Rounding out the top five were Tony Hirschman, Ted Christopher and Chuck Hossfeld. In the redraw for starting positions Szegedy drew the pole with Hirschman drawing the outside pole. Heavy monsoon type rain forced NASCAR and the Arute family to postpone the Fall Final to Saturday, October 28.
  The Thompson Speedway closed out their Thursday Night Thunder Series. Woody Pitkat of Stafford, CT. turned his rookie Sunoco Modified season into a track championship and ultimately the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Region Four Championship. Along with the glory will come a check for $25,000. Mini Stocker Shelly Perry of Ashaway, RI wrote quite a story of her own on Thursday night. Perry became the first female champion in the 66-year history of the Thompson International Speedway. Both the Sunoco Modified and Late Model divisional championships were decided with a pair of 20-lappers. Marc Palmisano of Hadley, MA swept Late Model twins to erase a thirty-two-point deficit in a single night to steal the championship. Joe Lemay of Millville, MA and Tommy Cravenho of Raynham, MA shared Sunoco Modified victories. Pro Stock checkers flew for Fred Astle, Jr. of N. Westport, MA. Jeff Zuidema had already secured the 2006 Pro Stock championship. In support division action, Ed Puleo of Branford was the Limited Sportsman feature winner, Brad Caddick ran to the Mini Stock checkers and Kurt Vigeant won back-to-back TIS Modified honors. Titles went to Larry Barnett in the Limited Sportsman division and Roger Larson, Jr. in the TIS Modifieds.
  Joe Lemay of Millville, MA saved the best for last in the opening twin event for the Sunoco Modifieds. He ran strong throughout the 20-lap feature but poured it on in the closing lap. Lemay hounded early leader Jeff Malave and made the winning move on the final lap. The first SK Modified feature was led to green by Buddy Charette followed by Keith Rocco. Malave quickly moved into the third position on the start. Malave drove into the lead to complete lap two. Rocco followed Malave into the runner-up spot as Charette faded. Pitkat ran comfortably just outside the top-five. Lemay got around Rocco to take over the runner-up spot. Jimmy Blewett and Tommy Cravenho followed through as well. With Malave handily up front and Joe Lemay solidly in second the battling was for the third spot between Blewett, Cravenho, and Bert Marvin. Blewett was able to maintain his position as the trio ran under a blanket. Lemay, who had been slowing reeling in Malave, came on strong as the laps began to wind down. With only five laps remaining Lemay caught Malave. He made a bid on the lead briefly on lap 16 but settled back in line. There was a scary moment for point-leader Pitkat when third-running Blewett dropped off the pace nearly collecting Pitkat and Cravenho. Pitkat was able to maneuver his way through and into third place. Cravenho avoided any major contact as well. On lap 17, the first caution of event flew when Stephen Masse stalled in turn two-saving Blewett. On the restart, Malave was able to maintain his lead over Lemay. Pitkat sat in third followed closely by Cravenho while a fully recovered Blewett pressured Marvin for the fifth spot. On the final lap Lemay dove to the underneath entering turn three to steal the lead away from Malave and ultimately the win. It was the second win of the season for Lemay. Malave chopped a mere two points of Pitkat’s point lead as the two ran under the checkers second and third respectively. Cravenho and Marvin rounded out the top five. The Sunoco Modified divisional championship was decided with second 20 lap feature that went non-stop. The drivers went heads-up to start the nightcap. Malave led the opening lap from his second –place-starting position. Lemay dropped back on the initial start; leaving Malave to battle Cravenho and Blewett. Cravenho grabbed the top-spot from Malave on lap four. Blewett started to pressure Malave for second on lap five. Rocco ran third followed by Pitkat inside the top-five. The top three of Cravenho, Malave and Blewett ran nose to tail. Malave peeked out of line in turn two on lap eight looking for the lead but settled back into second. He made the same move on Cravenho in turn four and made the pass stick. At the halfway marker, Malave led Cravenho, Blewett, Rocco and Pitkat. Blewett got along-side Cravenho to complete lap 11 but could not make the pass stick. On the same lap Cravenho got a good run on Malave. With Malave out front it was a three-car battle for the top spot. Double-file lapped traffic changed the complexion of the race for Malave, who got caught on the outside, losing positions to both Cravenho and Blewett. Rocco dogged Malave for the third spot. At the end of 20-laps, Cravenho had run to his third feature win of the season in the green-to-checker finale. Blewett came home second followed by Malave and Keith Rocco. Pitkat cashed in on his fifth-place finish to become the champ.
  The Stafford Springs Motor Speedway was supposed to close out their season with the Fall Final but Mother Nature ruled the roost, putting the season ender on hold until October 28. The sun shone bright on Saturday, which allowed a full day of preliminary action. The 20-lap Ltd. Late Model feature took the green flag with Corky Hinze taking the lead ahead of Mike Sweeney, Ed Charette, Michael Chaves, and Joey Ferrigno. Back in the pack, the race for the championship was on between George Nocera, Jr. and Kevin Gambacorta. With 7 laps complete, Nocera's championship bid looked to take a disastrous turn as he spun in turn 2 to bring out a caution. On the restart, Nocera drove through the frontstretch grass, but was able to keep going. Up front, Hinze continued to hold the lead, with Andrew Durand moving into second. A caution for a multi-car spin with 10-laps complete slowed the action. Durand powered around Hinze for the lead on the restart, with Bill Davis moving into third. A spin by Pete Cayer brought the caution out with 13 laps complete. Under the caution, Durand had a flat right front tire, which brought him to pit road and ended his race. Hinze was back out front as the race resumed, with Davis on his heels. Joey Ferrigno moved into third, but a near spin on lap-17 sent him back through the field as Nocera took over the third position after his early race troubles. With Nocera third, Kevin Gambacorta was 10th, one position short of where he needed to be for the championship. But on the last lap of the race, Gambacorta picked up the position that he needed, and he clinched the championship by 2 points as Hinze scored his first career feature win. Davis finished second, with Nocera, Charlie Newman, and Rob Dow rounding out the top-5. When the green flag flew on the final DARE Stock feature event of the 2006 season, Norm Sears, of Manchester, became the 2006 DARE Stock track champion. Duane Provost took the early race lead ahead of Jeff Hubbell, with Rob Lawrence, Vince Gambacorta, and Tom Stirk in tow.
  The SK Modified 21 Means 21 feature took the green with Lloyd Agor taking the lead ahead of Kirk Zervas and Bo Gunning. Gunning quickly worked his way around Zervas for second, and set his sights on Agor and the lead of the race. Gunning made a pass for the lead on lap-8, but as he took the lead, the caution came out, putting Agor back out front. Gunning made the pass for the lead on lap-9 in the same fashion that he took the lead from Agor previously. Gunning had to hold off the field on two separate restart situations, but he went unchallenged to the checkered flag. Shawn Monahan finished second, with Rowan Pennink, Agor, and Tom Rogers, Jr. rounding out the top-5. The Late Model 16 feature took the green flag with Jay Stuart setting the early pace ahead of Scott Foster, Jr., Chuck Docherty, and Mike O'Sullivan. The race ran green to checkered and Stuart went unchallenged as he pulled away from the field to cruise to victory. Foster finished second, with Docherty, O'Sullivan, and Patrick Townsend rounding out the top-5.
  In other weekend action Ruckersville, Va’s Phillip Morris sewed up the 2006 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series National Championship after winning the 100 lap NASCAR Late Model Stock feature at Caraway Speedway. Kevin Harvick's victory in a caution-filled Yellow Transportation 300 at the Kansas City Speedway also made him the first Busch driver to win seven races in a season since Dale Earnhardt Jr. did it en route to the 1998 title. Harvick had five victories when he won the title in 2001. Tony Stewart ran out of gas on the last lap of the Nextel Cup event but still managed to coast to victory at the Kansas City Speedway. Ruben Pardo won the season ending Busch East event at Lime Rock. Mike Olsen took the series championship.

  Five years ago in 2011, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour traveled to the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, NH. Steady rain greeted competitors as they arrived at the track for tech inspection. The skies cleared on Thursday afternoon, allowing qualifying. Ron Silk, looking to get his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour points lead back, was the top qualifier of the 29 cars on hand. Silk had a top lap of 29.764 seconds (127.967 mph) around the 1.058-mile oval. It was the fifth career pole for the Norwalk, Conn., driver, who won at the ‘Magic Mile’ in 2009. Eric Beers qualified second with a lap of 29.793 (127.842), followed by Justin Bonsignore at 29.799 (127.816). NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman, the defending race winner, and Erick Rudolph rounded out the top five. Rowan Pennink, Matt Hirschman, Todd Szegedy, Woody Pitkat and rookie Patrick Emerling completed the top 10. Bobby Santos, who incurred a flight delay and Ted Christopher who was absent because of personal reasons, did not take time which forced them to take provisionals.
  The New Hampshire weather on Saturday was shakey to say the least and had an adverse effect on the crowd, especially those who chose just to attend Saturday's events. Ron Silk pulled away from the field on a green-white-checkered finish to win the New Hampshire 100 and take back to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour points lead. Silk got a push from Todd Szegedy on the final restart to open some ground on the rest of the field and was unchallenged over the final two laps. Szegedy, who won the tour race at New Hampshire in July, finished second followed by an outstanding run by Justin Bonsignore who finished third.
  Ted Christopher came from a 29th starting spot to finish fourth with outside pole sitter Eric Beers rounding out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Erick Rudolph, Zane Zeiner, Mike Stefanik, Matt Hirschman and Eric Goodale. Twenty one of the original 29 starters were on the lead lap at the finish. Among those who had problems was Rowan Pennink who was robbed of a top three finish when his car developed fuel delivery problems in the final moments. In the blink of an eye, Pennink went from running second to Silk on lap 97 to 22nd, one lap down, at the finish. Eric Berndt had a multitude of problems as he finished 23rd, four laps down. Wade Cole, who had been running in 23rd spot, broke an axle after completing 81 laps and ended up 24th. Richie Pallai, Jr and James Civali were eliminated in a wreck on lap 65. Bobby Santos III appeared to be down on power on a restart causing cars behind him to bunch up and make contact. Santos managed to remain on the lead lap, finishing 18th while Pallai ended up 25th and Civali, 26th. A big disappointment was the fact that Woody Pitkat suffered engine problems and finished 27th. Pitkat, who was told by his car owner Don King that he was shutting down his race team, had qualified ninth and had led at two different points, made his final ride and finish in the King Car a bitter pill to swallow. Ryan Newman, who was looking for absolution after being disqualified in a previous event with an illegal engine, dropped out on lap 28 with a blown engine. Newman, whom many thought would stink up the show, had qualified fourth, was running sixth, when his power plant died. Finishing 29th and first out was Jake Marosz who had a handling problem.
  The actual race took 1 hour 13 minutes to complete, not counting a slight rain delay on Lap 43. There were four cautions for 25 laps and there were 17 lead changes among five drivers. In addition to Silk, Pennenk and Pitkat, Erick Beers and Bob Santos led laps.
  In Whelen Southern Modified Tour action south of the Mason-Dixon line George Brunnhoelzl III’s fourth with of the 2011 campaign moved him one step closer to a second NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship as he took home the Tri-County 150 Saturday at Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson, NC.
  After earning the Coors Light Pole Award earlier in the evening, Brunnhoelzl led early on and the regained the lead from Jason Myers with a decisive pass on lap 73. The 2009 tour champion put it on cruise control from there for his 10th career victory. Brunnhoelzl stretched his lead by more than 10 car lengths as the end neared, but just the second caution of the event came out with five laps to go to negate the significant advantage. The West Babylon, N.Y., native was able to hold off his Andy Seuss, his teammate – on the final restart to seal the deal. Seuss settled for second followed by last year’s Tri-County winner Burt Myers, Brandon Ward and Jason Myers in the top five.
  With the victory, Brunnhoelzl extended his lead in the championship standings by 20 points on Seuss Saturday night. Sixth through tenth were Tim Brown, L.W. Miller, Austin Pack, Renee Dupuis and Frank Fleming. There were 18 cars on hand.
  In NASCAR weekly racing action at Thompson rain again prevailed.
  With two events remaining on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series schedule Ron Silk, with 2182 points led Todd Szegedy by a mere 8 points. Rowan Pennink sat in the third spot, 164 behind the leader. Eric Beers and Doug Coby rounded out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Justin Bonsignore, Bobby. Santos III, Matt Hirschman, Ted Christopher and Erick Rudolph.
  At the Waterford Speedbowl Keith Rocco put the previous weekend's disappointment behind him as he padded his point lead and picked up his 11th feature win of the year in the SK Modifieds®. Also scoring victories on the night were Al Stone, who won his sixth Street Stock feature of the season, Charles Canfield notched his first career victory in the Mini Stocks and Chris Correll captured his first career SK Light Modified checkered flag. In the touring NEMA races, Russ Stoehr won for the second time at the Speedbowl in 2011 while Anthony Nocella scored victory in the companion NEMA Lite feature race.
  George Silbermann, NASCAR Vice President of Regional and Touring Series, officially notified Philip Morris that he had won his fourth NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship based on his standout season in an asphalt Late Model. To claim the title, Morris won nine of his last 10 races. He closed out his second track title at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and then went to his old home track, Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va. and won his 20th race of the season on Sept. 10. Morris edged defending national champion Keith Rocco of Wallingford, Conn., 789-778. Morris finished with 20 wins in 28 starts. Rocco, who started 51 events, won 24.
  In addition to his championship run last year, Rocco finished second to Morris in 2009 and fourth in each of the two previous years.
  The New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame announced the Class 2012. Driver Reggie Ruggiero and car owner Mario Fiore, at one time a powerful force on the modified scene, head up the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame class of 2012. Driver Joey Kourafas, car owner/mechanic Jim Jorgensen and track owners Irene Venditti and Donald Hoenig are also members of the class.
  The group, along with three choices from the Veterans Committee, would be inducted at the NEAR’s 15th annual banquet Sunday Jan. 29 at the LaRenaissance Banquet Hall in East Windsor , CT
  In Sprint Cup racing at Loudon, Tony Stewart made it two in a row as he led a pack that included four other Chase drivers in the top 10. Brad Keselowski was second, Jeff Gordon was fourth, Matt Kenseth was sixth and Carl Edwards finished eighth. Gordon rocketed from 11th to sixth in the standings and was still a legitimate contender for his fifth championship.

  Last year, 2015, The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series traveled to Loudon, New Hampshire last weekend. Doug Coby earned a season sweep of Coors Light Pole Awards at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when he took the top qualifying honors for the F.W. Webb 100. Coby posted a fast lap of 29.130 seconds (130.752 mph) to notch his eighth career pole overall and third at the 1.058-mile oval. It was his fourth Coors Light Pole of the 2015 season, which includes the Whelen Modified Tour’s first trip to NHMS in July. Bobby Santos qualified outside pole with a quick circuit of 29.249 (130.220) while Woody Pitkat was third-fastest at 29.256 (130.189).
  Doug Coby bumped Ryan Preece out of the race lead in Turn 1 after taking the white flag and drove away from New Hampshire Motor Speedway Saturday evening with the F.W. Webb 100 trophy. The result was a big boost to the title defense hopes of the driver from Milford, Connecticut, who is back in the game with two races remaining on the schedule. Twenty-five points behind Preece entering the event, Coby moved to within 11 of new championship leader Woody Pitkat at 529-518 while Preece slipped to second at 521.
  Coby was in control for the majority of the event, but Preece moved to the lead on the Lap 100 restart after the eighth of nine cautions in the event. It marked the 15th career Whelen Modified Tour victory for Coby, and third at the “Magic Mile.” It was also his tour-leading fifth of the season. Patrick Emerling ended up second for his best finish in 67 career starts. Bobby Santos was scored in third followed by Justin Bonsignore and Ron Silk. Rounding out the top ten were Donny Lia, Jeff Goodale, Chase Dowling, Dave Sapienza and Pitkat.
  Loudon Notes: There were 34 Modifieds on hand. During practice Ryan Preece was the fastest as he toured the one mile oval in 28.89 seconds (131.838mph). Melissa Fifield was the slowest with a time of 31.815 sec. Among the missing was Keith Rocco who chose, with car owner Robert Our's blessing, to race at the New London Waterford Speedbowl where he is in contention for the SK Modified Championship, which he ended up winning.
  Ground was broken on the speedway property for the North East Motor Sports Museum on Friday to protect and preserve the stories and artifacts of the region’s racing and riding past. Among those taking part were Dick Berggren, Ronnie Bouchard, Ricky Craven, Joey Logano, Andy Cusack, Bentley Warren, Ken Smith, Skip Matczak, Dave Frahm, Frank Manafort, Bill Manafort, and Paula Bouchard (in memory of her father, Ed Flemke) assisted in the groundbreaking, which took place on speedway property near the south entrance.
  Also taking part were Marcus Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., Bruton Smith, Executive Chairman of SMI, and New Hampshire Motor Speedway VP/GM Jerry Gappens.
  Seventeen of the original 34 starters were running at the finish. There were actually ten cautions for 29 laps including the race ending confrontation between Coby and Preece. The first caution came on lap 3 when Anthony Nocella spun in turn 2. He was able to restart and drive away. The second caution flew on Lap 10 for Rowan Pennink who also spun in turn two and pulled away. Turn two continued to be the hot spot as Dave Salzarulo spun in front of the field on lap 35 for the third caution. The fourth caution came on lap 42 when Nocella spun with a flat tire in turn 2. The competition caution on lap 50 was the fifth of the day.
  Max Zachem's day came to an end on lap 85 when he spun into the wall, bringing out the sixth caution. The seventh caution occurred on lap 88 when Troy Talman wrecked hard on the back stretch. The tenth and final caution came on lap 96 when James Civali got in the grass going into turn three and triggered a massive wreck which collected the cars of Matt Swanson, Eric Goodale, Timmy Solomito, Ryan Newman, Ron Silk, Woody Pitkat and Jeff Goodale. The track went to red in order to clean the track of debris. On the final restart Coby hit the left rear of Preece, spinning him in turn two. When Preece spun he was hit by Pitkat. Ted Christopher was attempting to squeak through in the incident when he was hit by the Preece machine after collision with Pitkat. Todd Szegedy then ran over the right wheels of Christopher and ended up on his side on the outside wall. As Coby exited turn four the checker and the yellow were displayed.
  The FW Webb 100 mile Whelen Modified Tour Series event is scheduled to be televised this coming Thurs, Oct 1 at 7:00pm on the NBC Sports Net. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be back in action this coming Sunday, Oct. 4 at the Stafford Motor Speedway for the NAPA Fall Final 150.
  The Stafford Motor Speedway announced that Bob Summers of Hoosier Tire East would serve as the Grand Marshal of the 42nd Annual NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final. Summers, now a Hoosier Tire distributor, began his 60-year career in the tire business in 1955 working for the Firestone tire company in Indianapolis. During his time with Firestone Summers worked with some of the legends of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway such as Mario Andretti, the Unsers, and A.J. Foyt as well as a host of Grand National, Sprint Cup as it is currently known, drivers. Summers left Firestone in 1981 and a phone call from Bob Newton shortly thereafter got Summers into the business as a Hoosier distributor. Summers passion for short track racing is still going strong 34 years later operating Hoosier Tire East out of Manchester, CT. Currently Hoosier Tire East services local tracks Stafford, Thompson, and Waterford as well as the Whelen Modified Tour, and the Super Modifieds at Star Speedway.
  The New London-Waterford Speedbowl closed out its Saturday night season with Champion's Night. Keith Rocco won the battle and the war as he recorded a victory in the SK Modifieds and locked up the Track Championship in the division at the shoreline oval. Rocco brought his track win total to 119 wins. The win also took Rocco over the top to a career overall total of 209 wins which also include victories at Thompson and Stafford Speedways. Ted Christopher ended up second with Joe Gada, third. Diego Monahan and Zach Sylvester rounded out the top five.
  Other winners at the Speedbowl were Bruce Thomas Jr in the Late Models, Al Stone III in the Limited Sportsman, Roger Turbush in the New England Trucks, Josh Galvin in the SK Lights,Sean Caron in the Mini-Stocks and Dana Dimatteo in the Legends.
  In NASCAR Sprint Cup racing at Loudon, race leader Kevin Harvick ran out of fuel with three laps to go. Matt Kenseth sped by and went on to clinch his fifth win of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season in the Sylvania 300. Kyle Busch held off a determined Matt Kenseth to win Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Furious 7 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.

  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.


Looking Back Archive
 

Source: Phil Smith / Looking Back A Bit
Posted: September 30, 2016

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