Jimmy Johnson takes another in a long string of Nextel Cup Championships at Homestead, Florida
The people who had crowded into Jimmie Johnson‘s pit box erupted in cheers and tears, doling out high-fives and bear hugs as the driver clinched his record-tying seventh Sprint Cup championship. Continue reading
Tri-Track Open Modified Series has some big plans for the 2017 racing season because the management team has expanded.
The Tri-Track Open Modified Series formally announced this week the expansion of its operation. Founding partners Dick Williams and Jim Schaefer have joined forces with Wayne Darling of Seekonk, Ma. and Mark Pennink of Huntingdon Valley, Pa. The operational group is already well into plans for the 2017 season with a number of additional announcements expected in the coming weeks. Continue reading
There are always good buying opportunities for racing competitors at the mid-January Auto Parts Swap ‘n sell at the Big E in W. Springfield.
In the spirit of the season of giving, Start/Finish Productions, owners and operators of the annual Autoparts Swap ‘n Sell, are joining the Giving Tuesday movement by honoring the members of our military. Start/Finish Productions will make a donation in the amount of $5 to Operation Gratitude for every vendor registration received between November 20 and Giving Tuesday, November 29, 2016. Continue reading
Jon McKennedy of Chelmsford was able to back up his Valenti Modified Racing Series championship run and posted back-to-back titles by being the top driver in that series in 2015 and 2016. Credit: Crystal Snapp photo.)
Jon McKennedy of East Chelmsford, MA, was officially crowned 2016 Valenti Modified Racing Series Champion Saturday evening, November 19, taking top honors for the fourth time in eight years, as the 2016 season officially drew to a close at the 13th annual awards banquet at The Yard Banquet Hall in Manchester, NH. Continue reading
Long time race fans are looking forward to the annual Norwood Arena/New England Dragway South reunions which will be held on Sunday, June 4, 2017 at Bezema Motors on the Auto Mile in Norwood, MA from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is always held on the first Sunday in June every year.
By Lou Modestino
Bezema Motors at 401 Providence Hwy. on the AutoMile in Norwood will host the Annual Norwood Arena/New England Dragway South Reunions on Sunday, June 4, 2017. Fans can meet legendary drivers, share racing memorabilia, talk racing, see and photograph race cars, hot rods and classics. A free light lunch will be served courtesy of the Bezema Family. Continue reading
The indoor racing season begins with the Battle of Trenton (NJ) the weekend of December 9-10.
A newly engineered Three Quarter (TQ) Midget built by BJF of West Valley, N.Y., wrenched by veteran TQ team owner Blu Metz and driven by Metz’s ace Geoffrey Sutton, is ready to take on the favored Mark Lafler-built cars that have dominated the Len Sammons Motorsports Productions (LSMP) Indoor Auto Racing Championship Series Fueled By VP Racing Fuels.
The LSMP Indoor Auto Racing Series starts with the Friday and Saturday, December 9-10 Sun National Bank Center events in Trenton, N.J.
The car, built by Jim Fleischman in western New York, is evolutionary, rather than revolutionary.
Dimension Design, the Brodheadsville, Pa., firm owned by Gary Mondschein, where Metz is employed, has run design models of the car and some of those ideas have been incorporated in the finished product.
“This is not a clean sheet of paper car,” Metz stressed. “There has been research and development that has been taken from some of the existing TQ chassis, including the Trey Hoddick car,” Metz said. “Some of my own ideas are part of the design.”
Sutton will drive the BJR TQ in its first competitive start at Wall Stadium’s Turkey Derby over Thanksgiving Weekend.
The man Sutton and the new BJF car and all others will have to work overtime to defeat is Erick Rudolph. Rudolph, of Ransomville. N.Y. won last year’s TQ Battle of Trenton and the Indoor Auto Racing Championship Fueled By VP Racing series 2015-2016 championship.
As a special preview of the 2016-2017 Indoor Racing Series, general admission tickets for Friday’s opening night have been priced at just $10 for adults and $7 for children.
The ultra-quick TQ Midgets will headline both Friday’s opening night and Saturday’s “Battle Of Trenton” feature event finale as part of the Indoor Auto Racing Championship Series Fueled by VP Racing Fuels.
The TQ Midgets are lightweight high-tech race cars powered by 750cc Motorcycle engines that achieve speeds upward of 75 mph when driven by professional race car drivers from eight states and Canada.
The Friday night race program, which begins at 7:30 PM, consists of 60 TQ Midgets split into three 20-lap Qualifier races. A complete program of heat races and feature event for the Champ Karts is also on the schedule. Attendees can get a close up look at a TQ Midgets at Fan Zone located on the concourse.
Top drivers and Ms. Motorsports 2016 Arynne Moody will be making an appearance at Fan Zone offering autographs and photos free of charge.
On Saturday the “Battle Of Trenton” 40 lap feature event will be held after a series of qualifying events for the TQ Midgets. The always popular and wild Slingshots will also be part of this program sponsored by Oliver Communications in Bordentown, N.J. and Pete & Elda’s Bar in Neptune City. N.J.
Rudolph outraced a feature event field of 24 drivers to win the top prize last year. Sixty entrants will seek to stymie Rudolph’s repeat victory bid.
Tickets for Saturday’s races are available starting at $17 for adults and $7 for children. Fan Fest will be held inside the speedway one hour prior to the 7 PM starting time. The entire field of race cars competing on Saturday will be on display during Fan Fest and drivers will be available for free autographs and photos by their cars.
The Trenton race is part one of a three-race Indoor Series. Other races are scheduled for December 30-31 at PPL Center in downtown Allentown, Pa., and at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., on January 27-28, 2017.
Trenton Indoor Race tickets are available online at sunnationalbankcenter.com or by phone at 1-800-298-4200. Tickets may also be purchased at the Sun National Bank Center Box Office on Monday through Friday from 10 am until 5:30 pm and on Saturday from 12 Noon through 4 pm.
Source: Ernie Saxton Communications/Battle of Trenton PR
Note: if your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases to:lmodestino@hotmail.com
Rowan Pinnink was honored for winning the Stafford Motor Speedway Sk Modified Track championship at the 2016 awards banquet. Pennink backed up his defending title with another one during the currently completed season.
Stafford Motor Speedway welcomed a guest list of nearly 500 people consisting of teams, drivers, sponsors, and employees this past Friday night, November 18 at Maneely’s in South Windsor to officially honor Rowan Pennink, Tom Fearn, Tony Membrino, Jr., Duane Provost, Johnny Walker, and Noah Korner as the 2016 Stafford Motor Speedway NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track champions.
With Stafford Motor Speedway broadcasters Matt Buckler and John Gates serving as the Masters of Ceremony, the 47th annual Stafford Motor Speedway NASCAR Champions Awards Ceremony not only honored the six track champions, they also recognized the top-15 points finishers from the SK Modified®, Late Model, SK Light, Limited Late Model, DARE Stock, and U.S. Legend Cars divisions. Special awards that were presented during the evening’s festivities were Most Popular Driver Awards, NAPA Auto Parts Parts Rookie of the Year, R.A.D. Automachine Rookie of the Year, and the UNOH Youth Achievement Award.
Rowan Pennink and the #99 Independent Wheel team entered the 2016 season as the defending SK Modified® champions and the question looming over them was could they repeat with Kevin Crowley taking over as the crew chief from Jimmy Fuller? The #99 team put to doubt any questions about their prowess with wins in 3 of the first 4 SK Modified® events of the season and they exhibited a high level of consistency with top-10 runs in all but one of the first 16 races of the season. They wrapped up the championship with one race to go and next season will see them attempt to become the first team to win 3 consecutive SK Modified® championships at Stafford. Pennink is the fifth driver, joining Jerry Pearl ’84-’85, Mike Christopher ’89-’90, Bob Potter ’91-’92 and ’94-95, and Ted Christopher ’00-’01 to have won back to back championships but a three-peat has yet to be accomplished. For the season, the #99 team posted a division leading 6 wins, 11 top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes for an average finish of 4.9.
After winning 10 races last season and coming up short of the championship, Tom Fearn and the #92 SAFCO Foam team entered the 2016 season as favorites to be among the championship contenders and they lived up to that pre-season billing with a performance that was a combination of dominance and consistency. Fearn won 7 times and had 16 top-6 finishes in 17 starts this season but Michael Wray and the #42 DMW Graphics team took the championship fight with Fearn all the way to the season ending NAPA Fall Final. A second place finish for Fearn wrapped up his fourth career Stafford track championship and his first since winning the 1998 ProStock championship. Among Fearn’s 7 wins, 16 top-5 and 17 top-10 finishes this season were 13 podium finishes that helped lower his season average finish to 2.8.
The race for the SK Light championship was a seesaw affair between Tony Membrino, Jr. and Joey Ferrigno for much of the year. Membrino and the #44 Additive Manufacturing of New England team had a blazing hot start to the year with 4 wins in the first 5 races. But as dominant as Membrino was, Ferrigno was right on Membrino’s heels and they would swap the point lead several times during the summer. Membrino took control of the points race at the very end of the season as Ferrigno ran in to a string of bad finishes and he collected his second career SK Light championship at Stafford to go along with his DARE Stock championship. Membrino posted 7 wins, 11 top-5 and 13 top-10 finishes this season for an average finish of 5.3.
The race for the 2016 Limited Late Model championship saw long shot Duane Provost cash in to take home his very first career championship. The driver of the #88 Facchini Law Firm Chevrolet was in the championship mix for much of the season along with Paul Arute and Al Saunders. All three drivers had a share of the point lead at some point during the 2016 season. Provost entered the NAPA Fall Final 12 points behind Saunders and a third place finish, combined with a 10th place finish for Saunders, was enough to make Provost the champion by a scant 2 point margin. For the season, Provost posted 1 win, 12 top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes for an average finish of 4.6.
Johnny Walker entered the 2016 season having taken a year off from racing after back to back 2nd place finishes in the DARE Stock division. Having nearly won the championship twice already, Walker knew what it was going to take to win the championship from the very first race and he was a model of consistency during the 2016 season, driving to 13 podium finishes in 17 starts this season with a final tally of 2 wins, 16 top-5 and 16 top-10 finishes for an average finish of 3.2. As dominant as Walker was finishing in the top-3 almost every week, Brandon Michael was keeping pace with him for much of the year and took the title fight down to the last race but Walker wasn’t to be denied as he collected his first career championship.
In the U.S. Legend Cars division, it was a year of domination for Noah Korner and the #31 Midstate Site Development team. In the 11 race Legend Cars schedule, Korner won 7 times, finished second three times, and finished third once. Such a level of dominance was too much for Teddy Hodgdon to overcome as Korner locked down the track championship in a season that also saw him win the National Championship in the Semi-Pro division of the U.S. Legend Cars.
The NAPA Auto Parts Rookie of the Year awards were presented to Stephen Kopcik from the SK Modified® division and Joel Monahan from the Late Model division. Taking home R.A.D. Automachine Rookie of the Year honors were Joe Graf, Jr. in the SK Light division, Frank L’Etoile, Jr. in the Limited Late Model division, and Michael Hopkins in the DARE Stock division. The NAPA Auto Parts rookie awards will be worth a $1,000.00 gift card redeemable at participating NAPA Stores to Kopcik and Monahan, with Graf, L’Etoile, and Hopkins each winning a $500 bonus from R.A.D. Automachine that will be paid out in $100.00 weekly increments to each driver as they attend events during the 2017 season.
The winners of the Most Popular Driver Awards were Woody Pitkat in the SK Modified® division, Tom Fearn in the Late Model division, Daniel Wesson from the SK Light division, Bryan Narducci from the Limited Late Model division, Alexandra Fearn in the DARE Stock division, and Teddy Hodgdon in the U.S. Legend Cars division. The Most Popular Driver Awards are voted on by the fans who attend Stafford Motor Speedway race events and fill out the ballots found in the track’s weekly PitStopper Magazine.
The UNOH Youth Achievement award was won by SK Light Modified driver Daniel Wesson. The UNOH Youth Achievement Award is a program that is open to all drivers at Stafford between the ages of 14-17. The eligible driver who scored the most track points from their best 14 finishes this season won a $500 cash award from UNOH as well as a $500 scholarship award from UNOH.
Source: Stafford Motor Speedway PR/Scott Running
Note: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases to: lmodestino@hotmail.com
NEAR HOf inducts Class 2016.
By Dave Dykes
Explaining his “overwhelming desire” to win on NASCAR’s then Winston Cup series, Maine’s Ricky Craven called the final 20 circuits at Martinsville in the fall of 2001 “the greatest laps of my life.” Craven, who won that race, then credited it to lessons learned as a competitor in New England. Continue reading
There were a few suprises on the 2017 Stafford Motor Speedway schedule like two Modified Touring Series races and the ISMA Super-Modifieds!
With just over 5 months until the 2017 season kicks off at the 46th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler, Stafford Speedway is proud to announce the 22 event 2017 schedule. Continue reading
Lee USA Speedway in southern NH closed out the 2016 racing season at the Executive Court Inn in Manchester, NH on Saturday night, November 5
Race teams, track officials, fans, and sponsors gathered at the Executive Court Inn and Conference Center to celebrate the 2016 Lee USA Speedway “Banquet of Champions” on Saturday night, November 5, closing out the 30th year under the leadership of track owners Red and Judy MacDonald. Continue reading