April 2--- Stafford Motor Speedway will host its first on track action of the 2007 season on Saturday, April 21 with an open practice session in preparation for the season opening Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST scheduled for April 27, 28, & 29.  The practice will be open to all divisions scheduled to race at Stafford in 2007, which includes: SK Modified, Late Model, SK Light Modified, Limited Late Model, DARE Stock, Busch East Series, ISMA Supermodified, NEMA Midget, and Pro-4 Modifieds.  The rain date for the open practice session will be Sunday, April 22. The paddock gates will open at 10 a.m., with the practice session running from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.  The cost for admission into the paddock area for the practice session will be $25.  Stafford Motor Speedway season paddock pass holders have their admission cost covered by the pass.  The general
admission grandstands will be closed to the public for the practice session.

     “The Tech-Net Spring Sizzler is our premier event of the season, and this practice session is a great way for teams to get some seat and track time before the start of the 2007 season,” said SMS CEO Mark Arute.  “The practice session will give all of our teams an opportunity to shake down their equipment, see how they stack up against their fellow competitors, and see where they need to make improvements before returning the following weekend.  With the information our teams can gain by attending this practice session, it should make for great weekend of racing.”

      The 36th annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST is the first race of the 2007 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season at SMS, and is scheduled for April 27-29, 2007.  The 2007 Tech-Net Spring Sizzler kicks off on Friday, April 27 with pit gates opening at 9:00am with a practice session running from 12:00pm to 7:00pm for Stafford’s weekly divisions.  The General Admission grandstands will be open to the public at no charge for the practice session.  The G.A. Grandstands will open at noon.Action continues on Saturday, April 28 with Bud Pole Qualifying for the Whelen Modified Tour cars at 1 p.m., with heat and consolation races for Stafford’s weekly divisions following Bud Pole Qualifying.  Saturday’s events wrap up with feature events for Stafford’s SK Light Modified, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock divisions.

     The Sizzler continues on Sunday, April 29 with the famous Stafford CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party kicking off the day’s activities from 11 a.m. to noon with 270 laps of feature racing to follow.  Stafford’s SK Modifieds will take to the speedway at 1 p.m. for 40-laps, with the Whelen Modified Tour 200-lap Tech-Net Spring Sizzler scheduled to take the green flag at approximately 2:30 p.m.  Following the Tech-Net Spring Sizzler will be a 30-lap Late Model feature event that will conclude the weekend’s activities.

     Tickets for the Tech-Net Spring Sizzler are available and on sale now at the Stafford Motor Speedway Box Office.  Tickets are priced at $35 for adult General Admission, $5 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 & under are free.  Reserved seating is $38 for all ages.  All tickets cover both Saturday and Sunday admission to the Sizzler.  Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.

    In only five short years, the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown has become the pinnacle of short-track racing.  The special event at the half-mile Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway was designed to bring together the top drivers in the NASCAR Grand National Division from across the nation. Each of the first four events have resulted in remarkable races that have elevated the Showdown to the status of the Daytona 500 of NASCAR's Developmental Series. The fifth edition of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to be held Oct. 19-20 at Irwindale, will continue the tradition.

    "Everyone looks forward to it," said Matt Kobyluck of CT, the 2006 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown winner. "When you go to that event, you know you're competing against the best that there is to offer at the level we're racing. You are also competing against guys that are going to be moving up to the next level. There's a lot of potential for recognition for both the drivers and the teams."

         Changes to the format will up the ante:  "The top 15 drivers in the final championship point standings for the NASCAR Grand National Busch East Series and West Series will receive invitations and be eligible for bonus awards. However, only the 2007 champions have protected starting positions in this year's Showdown. All other competitors must attempt to qualify for the race through the new time trial procedure or the last-chance 50-lap Open.

     Any driver approved to compete in the NASCAR Grand National Series at tracks of half-mile or greater may also enter and attempt to qualify for the race.  The starting field has been increased to 40 cars and the race lengthened to 250 laps. One of the biggest changes will be the procedure for drivers to be locked into the event. Any driver who wins a Grand National race overall in 2007 will automatically qualify for the race. In addition, the 2007 champions from each of the NASCAR Developmental Series will also be eligible for 'protected spots' in the starting lineup. Invitees will include the champions of the NASCAR Grand National Busch East Series, the NASCAR Grand National West Series, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, the NASCAR Mexico Series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Champion.

     Also new for 2007 is the addition of a 150-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model race on Friday night, providing an opportunity for some of the nation's best short track drivers to shine on a national stage. Many of the current NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series stars got their starts at their local short track. At the Daytona 500, NASCAR launched a comprehensive awareness campaign, NASCAR Hometracks, to spotlight racing on the grassroots level.

     "Late Model racing opened up a lot of doors for me and it gave me the opportunity to try my hand at the next level and for that I will always be grateful," said Denny Hamlin, the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Raybestos Rookie of the Year.  "I remember my Late Models days as some of the best times I have had in racing. It was a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice, but you were doing it with your friends and family and it was worth it because we really just wanted to race."

     Time trials and the last-chance Open will be held Friday, Oct. 19. Top qualifiers transfer to the Showdown until the top 30 starting positions are filled. The remaining 10 starting spots will be determined by the finishing order of the last-chance Open.

    We've upped the bar for 2007", said George Silbermann, NASCAR Managing Director of Racing Operations. The enhanced NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown will again feature the best and brightest talent from the NASCAR Grand National series. The format changes will make for even more compelling drama and excitement. The new eligibility criteria place a greater emphasis on race wins during the season, provide opportunity for the champions of all NASCAR developmental series to participate in this marquee event, and open the door for any bona fide competitor approved to compete at the Grand National level.

     The NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown will air on SPEED, which has featured the event in each of its first four years. Irwindale Speedway, located 15 miles from downtown Los Angeles, is one of the premier short-track facilities in the country. The half-mile surface features graduated banking between six- 12 degrees with multiple racing grooves that make for exciting side-by-side racing.

      "We're honored to host this event," said Bob DeFazio, Irwindale Speedway track operator. "It's a prestigious event. It's important to us, and we know it's important to NASCAR. We think with this year's format, it's going to be even more exciting."

    Past winners of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown include Austin Cameron, Mike Johnson and David Gilliland. Cameron's emotional win in the inaugural event capped a season in which he missed four races while undergoing cancer treatments. In 2004, Johnson drove from 24th starting spot to the front. Gilliland's victory in 2005 started him on a road that has led to a seat with Robert Yates Racing's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series team.

     And then came the 2006 classic, when the 36-year-old Kobyluck emerged the victor of a spirited duel over the final laps with young superstar Sean Caisse and West Series champion Eric Holmes. Twice a Showdown runner-up, Kobyluck finally earned a career-defining victory.  "That was definitely the highlight of my career, Kobyluck said. I've won a lot of races at other places. That was the best of the best."

       Nice going by local drivers at the Modified Nationals at Waterford last Saturday. Plymouth's Corey Cleary won the Pro-4 Modified feature while his cross town neighbor Randy Cabral took a sixth in the Allison Legacy Series main event.  Shane D'Agostino, who previously raced 1/4 Midgets at the Little T in Thompson, CT, placed 9th in that Allison Legacy feature. All that happened on Saturday. On Sunday in the NEMA Midget feature Plymouth's Randy Cabral made a late race surge to finish second behind teammate and winner Lou Cicconi. Ben Seitz of Monument Beach ended the day in fourth while Bobby Santos of Franklin came in fifth with his sister Erica taking ninth. Paul Scally of Raynham was 18th at checkered flag with Shawn Torrey of Marshfield taking 21st while Corey Cleary placed 22nd.  Local favorite  Jeff Pearl won the hotly contested Sk Modified main event.

    Let's see what's happening for motorsports action this weekend in southern New England. Thompson Speedway in CT has an Open Practice session all day Saturday starting at noon. Down on the CT shoreline the Waterford Speedbowl opens the Saturday night NASCAR Weekly Racing action with a five card program starting at 6 p.m. with the NEAR Antique racing club added to the card. On Easter Sunday, there's just MotoX action at the Capeway Rovers track in Middleboro.

    Lou Modestino is a long-time columnist and Public Relations person, working for numerous tracks in the northeast, and now writes for The Enterprise in Brockton, MA.  He may be reached at lmodestino@hotmail.com. 

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