Nominees for the NEAR HOF Class of 2016 are now being accepted
NEAR is accepting Nominations for the New England Auto Racers 2016 Hall of Fame Class until the end of February.
After a February start, PASS South will have three more races in March
After an exciting start to the season at Greenville-Pickens Speedway a couple of weeks ago, Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model racers from across the Southeast are busy preparing for the biggest month of racing in the 2016 season. The month of March will see three huge events for the South’s top Super Late Model racers, beginning with the 11th Annual South Carolina Clash at Dillon Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 5. Continue reading
There’s a close point race going into Battle of Trenton TQ Midget race at the end of the month
The third and final race of the Len Sammons Motorsports Productions (LSMP) Indoor Racing Series presented by VP Racing Fuels looms large. The events, to be held on Friday and Saturday, February 26th and 27th at the Sun National Bank Center, will decide the series champion. Continue reading
Second generation race driver Todd Gilliland has to like racing at north Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway. That’s because he’s 2-for-2 in the NASCAR Pro East Tour at that track. (Credit:Todd Gilliland photo.)
Third-generation racer Todd Gilliland could not have scripted a better start to his own NASCAR career.
Stephen Kopcik makes the leap to the Sk Mods from the Legends at the Stafford Modified Speedway. (credit: Stafford Speedway photo.)
Stephen Kopcik came to Stafford Motor Speedway in 2014 having never before driven an open wheel modified car. After 2 wins in his rookie season, Kopcik won the track championship last year and he is now ready to move up to the SK Modified® division where he will race for Rookie of the Year honors with the #31 NJK Automotive Chevrolet.
“We always had it in our minds that we were going to run SK Lights and then make the move up to the SK Modified® division,” said Kopcik. “My car owner, David Smith, bought an SK motor last year so we could run at Thompson and that was a big piece of the picture for us to make the move. Hocon Industrial Gas is going to help us out with tires so between that and David Smith with the engine, we have our two biggest expenses taken care of. I’m really excited and it should be awesome. I can’t wait to go to the track and show everyone what we can do as a team. The Spring Sizzler can’t come soon enough and I can’t wait to see what the new season brings. Rookie of the Year is a goal for us and it would be an awesome accomplishment if we could win that this season.”
In addition to winning the championship last season, Kopcik finished 5th in the 2014 SK Light points standings as a rookie. With 2 strong seasons of SK Light experience plus 2 SK Modified® starts at Thompson and then the North-South Shoot-Out at the end of the 2015 season, Kopcik feels like he and his team have a good set of notes to begin life with in the SK Modified® division and will have a head start on their SK Modified® learning curve.
“I think we have an awesome notebook to work with,” said Kopcik. “I think we’re only going to build on it during the season. I think my experience at Thompson will really help give us a head start. We started 17th and we finished 9th and I think I was as high as 7th and then we went down to the North-South Shoot-Out and we were fast all weekend and we were second behind Keith Rocco for most of the race and we ended up finishing fourth. Those races really helped give me an idea of what to expect and I think we should be ok this season.”
While most rookie drivers have a set of goals in mind of what they want to accomplish and how they would like to run, Kopcik has no such pre-conceived notions. He simply says that he wants to show up to the track and give each race his best effort and see where he finishes that night since that is what has worked for him during his time in the SK Light division.
“I don’t’ really have a goal for myself, we just want to go race by race and do the best we can and see what happens,” said Kopcik. “Just like we did in the Lights this season, we went to the track every week and we did our thing. I don’t want to say we’re going to get some top-5’s or top-10’s, just that we’re going to try our best, work on improving the car each week, and see where that lands us. It’s possible we could struggle. We saw Tyler Hines and Jeremy Sorel both struggle a little bit last season after moving up but I feel confident in my team giving me everything I’ll need in the car with the setup. A lot of people would probably say the power difference would be the biggest challenge but I think the level of the competition is going to be the hardest challenge for me this season. The SK Lights are pretty darn competitive but in the SK’s, you have guys like Ryan [Preece], Teddy [Christopher], Keith [Rocco], Todd [Owen], people who have been doing this forever and they can anticipate everything that’s going to happen around them while I’ll be a rookie. I think that everything is shaping up really well for us and I can’t wait to get started.”
Kopcik will kick off his rookie campaign with the running of the 45th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler on April 22-24 and a special 45-lap SK Modified® feature event to commerate the 45th annual running of the NAPA Spring Sizzler. Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office.
Source: Stafford Motor Speedway PR/Scott Running
The Frank Maratta Auto and Racing show at the Big E on Feb. 26-28 means that the New England racing season is just around the corner.
With the 2016 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season drawing closer to dropping the green flag, Stafford Motor Speedway is geared up for what will promises to be a blockbuster year. The Connecticut half-mile track will offer race fans a sneak preview into the season at the Frank Maratta Auto & Race-A-Rama show, which will be held at the Big E in Springfield, MA from Feb. 26-28. Continue reading
NASCAR’s fourth tier series gets the 2016 season off and running this Sunday, Feb. 14 at NSS in Flriday.
A new year brings new championship contenders.
Austin Hill dominated the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East opener at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway last year. This year, though, Hill has graduated to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he will be racing at Daytona International Speedway along with 2015 series champion William Byron, Dalton Sargeant and Rico Abreu. Continue reading
Tim Buckwalter looks for a big win at the Battle of Trenton TQ race at the end of February. (Credit: Tim Buckwalter photo.)
Win a TQ Midget race indoors! That was the goal, when driver Tim Buckwalter and car owner Paul Lotier, Jr. formed a partnership last spring. Their day may come in the third annual Battle Of Trenton, set for the weekend of February 26-27 inside Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, N.J. Continue reading
Defending Pass champion Joey Doiron got by Derek Ramstrom with 25 to go and post the win at the Winter Meltdown at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in SC. (Credit: PASS Tours photo.)
Defending Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Model national champion Joey Doiron stormed back from three laps down to take the lead from Derek Ramstrom with 25 laps to go and led the rest of the way to take the win in the PASS Winter Meltdown 150 Saturday afternoon at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. The win matches his Winter Meltdown triumph at Florida’s Auburndale Speedway in 2013. It was also his second straight PASS Super Late Model win at Greenville-Pickens Speedway.
Rob Summers will return to the NASCAR Whelen Modified tour from the ISMA Super-Modifieds in 2016. (Credit: Jim Feeney photo.)
When the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour comes to Stafford for the 45th Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler, one driver who will be looking forward to the race is Rob Summers. The 2016 season will mark a return to full-time NWMT competition for Summers, who hasn’t run a Tour race since the 2013 season. Summers has recorded 4 of his 7 career pole positions and 3 of his 14 career top-5 finishes have come at the Connecticut half-mile facility.