November 25, Brockton, MA--- According to a very reliable source, All-Star Speedway in Epping, NH plans a four race Open Modified Series in 2008. One race is set for May 10  with another planned for October 17-18.  Two others will be announced later. Each of the races will pay five grand to win.  There are plans to have a $10,000 points fund for that quartet of Modified races at the southern NH quarter-mile oval. Also, there will be a $100 entry fee for each of the four races. Between 20 True Value Modified Racing Series events, the Wednesday Night Modified Open at the Seekonk Speedway plus the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, there's going to be plenty of open wheel Modified action around New England in 2008.

If Joe Gibbs Racing Development Driver Joey Logano of Middletown, Conn. made a checklist before the season of things he wanted to accomplish, the page would be full of marks.  NASCAR Busch East Series Champion – check.  Busch East Series Rookie of the Year – check.  More wins in the Busch East Series than anyone else – check.  NASCAR Toyota All Star Showdown Champion – check.  Tour-type Modified debut – check.

However, Logano recently got that checklist back out and added one more line.  It reads, “win the 40th Annual Snowball Derby.”  And now, thanks to Stanley Smith, Logano will have a chance to check that off of his list as well. Logano will pilot Smith’s #49 Super Late Model in the December 2nd Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.

“Todd Foster here in the (Joe Gibbs Racing) Cup shop used to work down there and hooked me up with Stanley,” said Logano.  “I haven’t even met him yet, but we are going down there to test on Sunday (Nov. 25th) though. “I am really excited about it now.  I have never run (the Derby) before.  I’ve been bored lately since the Busch East Series ended a couple of months ago.  I am not going to lie.  I’ve been freaking out.  I go to a racetrack every weekend and I get mad because I can’t drive anything.  So this was the perfect opportunity to get to race again and race in one of the best races around.”

The Snowball Derby weekend won’t be all that simple for Logano though.  Since winning the Busch East Series Championship, Logano will be in New York City all week leading up to the Derby to represent the Busch East Series as part of NASCAR Championship week.  Logano will not be able to get to Pensacola until late Friday night and will not get to be in the seat of Smith’s #49 until Saturday morning. That means that Smith, who has 16 career starts in the Snowball Derby with a best finish of 11th, will have to try and qualify the car during Friday night’s qualifying session, where the top-30 teams lock into the show.  If Smith cannot get into the top-30, Logano will get a chance to still qualify for the event through one of two Last Chance races slated for Saturday night. It will be a trying weekend for Logano, but a challenge that he is willing to take on.

“We will fly to New York, do the deal up there and be coming back on Friday night.  That will put us on the track on Saturday and Sunday,” added Logano, who recently announced that he would make his NASCAR Nationwide Series (formerly the NASCAR Busch Series) debut just after his 18th birthday in 2008.  “It is going to be pretty hectic, but that’s alright.  I’m ready for it.  It will be a lot of fun and a good experience.  I’m just excited to get back behind the wheel of a Super Late Model.” Being behind the wheel of a Super Late Model is something that Joey Logano hasn’t done for quite some time.  The last time he drove a Super Late Model was when he was 14 years old and competed on the now defunct the ASA National Tour.

“Super Late Models are fun to drive.  I ran the Southern All Stars Series when I was 12 and then I ran in the ASA.  It has been three or four years since I’ve been in one of those cars, but I think we’ll be ok and adapt right back to it.” Five Flags Speedway is one of the new tracks in the country that Logano has yet to compete on.  However, when he’s not racing at the track or testing a NASCAR Nextel Cup or Busch car at a superspeedway around the country, Logano gets his racing fix on the computer.  And he’s already been running computer simulation laps at Five Flags Speedway. “I’ve never even seen the racetrack.  I just know it is really hard on tires.  I think someone told me that it wears out tires in three laps.  So I’ve heard a lot about the place.  I am really looking forward to running it.  I think we will be pretty good actually. “I hope the computer game is close to real life.  It wears the tires out bad on the computer game.  So I think I will be ready.”

The 40th Annual Snowball Derby is set to run Nov. 29 - Dec. 2 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL.  The 300-lap feature event will go off on Sunday at 1 p.m. local time.

We got a look at the ACT Late Model Schedule for 2008. Seekonk Speedway has been dropped off the schedule but Waterford Speedbowl in Conn. was added on after an absence of two seasons on Saturday night, June 7.

Longtime AMA racing hero Doug Henry of Oxford, Conn. was awarded Sportsman of the Year at the recent annual AMA Annual Awards Night in Vegas. Henry has shown tremendous courage and perseverance in recovering from a devastating back injury suffered earlier this year. The accident left Henry partially paralyzed, but a photo of him standing and watching an AMA Supermoto race from the grandstands in Stafford Springs, Conn., was one of the most inspirational images of the year. Yamaha’s Keith McCarty accepted the award on behalf of Henry in one of the evening’s most poignant moments.

James Civali of Meriden, CT overhauled a bunch of Jersey and Pennsy Modified drivers in last weekend's Modified Open, part of the   Annual Turkey Derby, at Wall Stadium in NJ.  Les Hinkley of Windsor Locks, Conn. finished 16th, Bob Grigas of Marshfield came in 23rd while Reggie Ruggiero of Rocky Hill, Conn. finished way back in 27th.

How about Franklin's Bobby Santos, III winning the USAC Turkey Night USAC Sprint Car  Grand Prix out at the Irwindale Speedway in Calif.! Santos defeated a strong group of west coast  and Canadian midget drivers in this annual classic. A Toyota engine similar to the one in NASCAR’s Busch and Craftsman Truck Series, according to the source, powered Bobby’s car.   Other reports reveal that Santos' driver development deal with Bill Davis Racing has come to an end. However, the word is that another deep pocket team will sign the local driver to an even better contract in the near term.

    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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