The Whelen NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will get the 2017 racing season off and running this Saturday, March 18, 2017 at the Myrtle Beach Speedway in SC
Analyzing the Performance Plus 150 at Myrtle Beach Speedway
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will open the 2017 season on Saturday at Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina. Below is a statistical look at the Performance Plus 150 presented by Safety-Kleen, including selected driver notes:
Dave Farrington will team up with with the Woodman Racing Team in 2017 in a run for both the North and South PASS Tours.
In his young career, Maine’s Dave Farrington, Jr. has found quite a bit of success racing locally in his home state. The 24-year-old is a race winner and champion at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Maine and has been a consistent front runner competing in a limited schedule of ACT Late Model events in recent years. But now, thanks in part to an off season shoulder surgery for former series champion, Jay Fogleman, and an unfortunate snowmobile accident for Trevor Sanborn, Farrington will team with the Woodman Racing team to compete for both the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) National and South Super Late Model championships. The duos next race together will be the upcoming Orange Blossom Special at Orange County Speedway on Saturday, March 25.
“We watched Dave race last year with PASS at Concord and again this season at Dillon in his own car and we were impressed with how he gets the most out of his equipment,” said car owner, Dick Woodman. “We contacted Dave and tested at Hickory a few weeks ago and that went real well. We have always been fortunate to have real good drivers in our cars, blue collar guys, who grew up racing and want to race until they are old and gray, and Dave fits that mold.”
For Farrington, it is the opportunity of a lifetime. A chance to still compete in his family-owned cars in New England, while joining the Woodmans and sponsors Energy Dynamics, Cribbs Creek Outfitters and Plants Seafood, for a chance at two of the biggest titles in Super Late Model racing.
“I can’t thank Dickie and Becky [Woodman] enough for giving me a shot,” says Farrington. “I’ve never really had a chance to just show up at a race track and just drive. It’s a new experience to not be turning the wrenches and making all the adjustments. I believe it’ll lead to great communication and a solid team effort with the Woodman Racing team. We anticipate running about 30 races this season between our car and the Woodman Racing car and I can’t thank them enough for their support.”
While it is a great chance to showcase his talent, Farrington knows it will not be easy competing in the south on tracks he has never even seen before. At Dillon in his own machine, he finished sixth against some of the best talent Super Late Model racing has to offer. But a mechanical problem at Southern National in his first effort with the Woodman team did not produce the result they feel was deserved. Now, Farrington heads to Orange County, again against the best of the best in Super Late Model racing, for a race that is doubly important to both the PASS National Championship and PASS South Super Late Model title.
“It’s a positive feeling knowing that Woodman Racing has had prior success at Orange County and we will certainly make every effort to win there,” says Farrington. “I make it a priority to familiarize myself with these tracks by watching both on board cameras and from a fan’s perspective. We hope to put the bad luck behind us from Southern National and have a very good run at Orange County and then continue on to Hickory.”
In addition to the PASS South championship, the Orange Blossom Special will serve as the first race on the “Road To The Oxford 250,” with the winner receiving a guaranteed starting spot in the $25,000 to win race coming up in August. 4-time PASS National champion, Ben Rowe, is in contention once again, along with former PASS South champions, Matt Craig, Tate Fogleman and Tyler Church. Other National Championship contenders that have entered so far include Spencer Davis, Kodie Conner, Sarah Cornett-Ching, Derek Griffith, Tanner Thorson, and JP Josiasse.
Action gets under way on Friday, March 24 for the “Original” Orange Blossom Special with rotating practice from 3 – 6 PM for the PASS Super Late Models, Southern Modified Racing Series Tour Mods, and USAC Eastern Midgets. On Saturday, March 25, pit gates open at 11 AM, with rotating practice for from 1 – 3:30 PM, qualifying at 4 PM, the Pit Party at 5:45 PM and feature racing set to begin at 7 PM.
Entry forms for the Orange Blossom Special, along with the 44th Annual Oxford 250 and upcoming events at Thompson Speedway, Hickory Motor Speedway, Oxford Plains Speedway and Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, can be found at ProAllStarsSeries.com.
Source: Alan Dietz/PASS Tours PR
Notge: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases to: lmodestino@hotmail.com
Connecticut’s is aiming for another NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starting this weekend on Saturday at Myrtle Beach Speedway in VA where Doug Coby of Connecticut will be making his first start of the 2017 racing season (Credit: NASCAR photo.)
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour News & Notes: Myrtle Beach
Doug Coby’s quest for a fourth consecutive championship will include some familiar faces as well as some new challengers as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour begins a new era on Saturday. Continue reading
The first green flag of the season is less than 52 days away at Stafford Speedway and one driver who is eager for the season to get started is Late Model driver and Ellington resident Kevin Gambacorta. After 4 seasons in the Late Model division, Gambacorta finally was able to break through and win his first two Late Model races last season and he finished fourth in the points standings. The winter months have seen Gambacorta and his #23 LifeCare Family Chiropractic team updating his car and he feels like he is the best prepared he’s ever been to start a season at Stafford. Continue reading
Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut continues to gather up contingency money for its support classes as a way of getting more prize money for the race teams.
Olson Apartments of Feeding Hills, MA has renewed their commitment in Stafford Speedway’s SK Light contingency program for the 2017 season. Olson Apartments will furnish a weekly $75 bonus to the third place finisher in each SK Light feature event this season. With 22 races on the schedule, SK Light drivers will have an extra $1,650 to race for thanks to Olson Apartments’ contribution to the contingency program. Continue reading
Dick Berggren assures race fans that his North East Motor Sports Museum is in good hands even though Speedway Motor Sports Inc. moved its September race from NHMS to LVMS starting in 2018. (Photo credit: NEMSM photo.)
New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s September Sprint Cup weekends have been moved to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway effective 2018. Here’s what that means for the North East Motor Sports Museum. Continue reading
The rumors that surfaced a week ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway became fact on Wednesday, March 8 when SMI announced the second NASCAR weekend in September moved from NHMS to LVMS starting in 2018.
Track Talk
By Lou Modestino
It appears that an offer for $2.5 million over the next five years, for a total of $12.5 million, by the Las Vegas Tourist Bureau to move a second NASCAR weekend in the fall of 2018 was enough to make it all happen. As a result Speedway Motorsports Inc. announced that the fall NASCAR race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will move to the Las Vegas Speedway in Nevada. All that is a big disappointment to the hard core New England race fans that have supported the one-mile oval in Loudon, NH since it began to host the big NASCAR events since 1990’s. The rumors were circulating last weekend at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, another track owned by Speedway Motorsports. The official announcement came earlier this week.
Source:USA Today and Las Vegas Review
Note: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases to: lmodestino@hotmail.com
Pirelli World Challenge Opens Lime Rock’s Racing Season!
The USAC-sanctioned Pirelli World Challenge is Lime Rock Park’s season-opening feature on Memorial Day weekend, May 26-27. PWC proved very popular with Lime Rock fans in 2016, so for the second consecutive year the full complement of classes will fill the paddocks: GT, GTA, GTS, GT Cup, plus the three Touring Car classes – TC, TCA and TCB. Continue reading
Facebook live racing show stirs up interest from far and wide about Devil’s Bowl Speedway in W. Haven, VT
“Let’s Talk Racing!” show has made over 330,000 Facebook impressions since December
The winter months are usually not much fun for stock car racing fans in the Northeast, but Devil’s Bowl Speedway in snowy Vermont is changing that. A weekly live talk show called “Let’s Talk Racing!” – airing every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. on Facebook’s “Live” video platform – has kept fans and racers engaged in an upbeat, interactive program through positive use of social media. Continue reading