The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Thompson International Speedway
The Dodge Dealers 75/Charter Communication
By Dave Meredith

June 22, Thompson, CT--- Ronnie Silk Takes Second Career Win at Thompson International Speedway. 

Ron Silk meets media in Thompson pressbox
(Meredith Images Photo)
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The Norwalk, Connecticut, driver brought the #79 Coors Light/Sunoco Pontiac around Ted Christopher in the #36 Al-Lee Installation Chevrolet on lap 53. Mike Stefanik in the #16 Sanderson McLeod Diversified Metals Pontiac came home third.   

Bobby Grigas III accepts Coors Light Pole Award
(Meredith Images Photo)
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The Coors Light Pole Award went to Bobby Grigas III of Marshfield, MA, in the #09 Triple G Scaffold Service Chevrolet. Grigas’ speed was 119.994 mph. It was the first Coors Light Pole Award for the second year driver on Whelen Modified Tour. Grigas had five top-10 finishes during 2007. “This is the biggest moment of my career here on the WMT,” said the shocked driver as he qualified faster than Ted Christopher’s speed of 119.770 mph. Chuck Hossfeld of Buffalo, NY, in the #4 Mystic Missile Dodge was third quickest with a speed of 119.624 mph. Hossfeld won the last event on the WMT at Stafford Speedway in the Tech-Net Connecticut Classic 150.  

Danny Sammons of Hamilton, NJ, in the #0 Area Auto Chevrolet was fourth fastest with a speed of 119.554 mph and Eddie Flemke Jr., of Southington, CT, in the #10 was fifth fastest in the Ron Bouchard Auto/Premier Kitchens Chevrolet at a speed of 119.357 mph. Ronnie Silk was sixth on the speed chart at 119.161mph. Eric Beers of Northampton, PA, was seventh quickest in the #46 Reynolds Auto Wrecking Chevrolet, tripping the timer at 119.067 mph. Kevin Goodale in the #58 Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet of Riverhead, NY, was eighth on the speed chart with a speed of 118.960 mph.  

Matt Hirschman of Northampton, PA, in the #59 Furnace and Duct Chevrolet was ninth quickest with a speed of 118.934 mph, and rounding out the top ten was Jimmy Blewett of Howell, NJ, in the #19 TS Haulers Chevrolet with a speed of 118.922 mph.  

The eight fastest qualifiers had to redraw for starting position: 1) Eric Beers, 2) Kevin Goodale, 3) Danny Sammons, 4) Chuck Hossfeld, 5) Ronnie Silk, 6) Bobby Grigas, 7) Ted Christopher, and 8) Ed Flemke Jr.  

The race will be 75 laps of green flag racing – caution laps don’t count.  

Eric Beers jumped to the lead on the green, as the #0 of Sammons didn’t get up to speed on the start and brought out the first caution. Sammons headed to the pits with the #99 of Jaime Tomaino. Sammons was also involved in the second caution along with Flemke, and Charlie Pasteryak. 

Beers seems strong and Hossfeld is ready to pounce if Sammons doesn’t go again. Beers and Goodale battle as Hossfeld in the #4 moves into second. Goodale has led his first lap on the Whelen Modified Tour when he led the first lap.  

Grigas passed Goodale and Hossfeld on lap 7 for the lead and would lead 20 laps. That set up a four car skirmish for second with Goodale and Flemke.  Silk is on the move towards the leaders, though the leaders have opened a little distance on the rest of the field. It’s Grigas, Goodale, and Flemke with Christopher and Silk fighting it out for fourth.  

Lap 21, caution for the #58 as he tried to pass Grigas in turn four. Both drivers were leaning on each other. On the restart Flemke and Christopher touch but both stay right on the track as Flemke challenges Grigas on lap 25.  

Flemke is still knocking on Grigas’ bumper with Teddy in close pursuit. Flemke spun out the #09 of Grigas in turn four on lap 26 and he is sent to the rear of the field for aggressive driving. The leaders are now Christopher, Silk, Beers, and Hossfeld on the lap 28 restart.  

Todd Szegedy is on the inside up to fourth with Stefanik in fifth as they try to move forward. Civali spun on the front stretch and was clipped by Flemke in the rear tire, which also caused damage to the #10 car of Flemke. 

Christopher continues to lead Silk, Hossfeld, Szegedy, Stefanik, Preece, Beers, Blewett, Tony Ferrante, and Bobby Santos III.  Caution again lap 33, with Billy Pauch and Eric Berndt in the apex of turns 1-2. Civali gets a two lap penalty for rough driving.  

Back to green and quickly back to yellow as the caution flew for Joe Hartmann and Anthony Sesely. Christopher and Silk are the top two. It seems we can’t run more than one green flag lap as another yellow flies for Carl Pasteryak, Farrell, and Grigas in turns 3-4. The next lap has yet another yellow – too many cars involved to count (and too many cautions on the event!).  

Lap 38 it’s Christopher, Hossfeld, Silk, Szegedy and Ferrante the top five. The caution on lap 53 will give Silk his opportunity to get by Christopher.  

Restart and yellow again for the #28 of Civali. That was the twelfth caution – for 42 laps run under caution (but who’s counting?).  

Ronnie Silk circles the track during qualifying
(Meredith Images Photo)
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Lap 53 Silk takes the lead from Christopher with Szegedy, Hossfeld in tow. Silk continues to leads with Christopher, Ferrante, and Szegedy the top four. Silk holds the point for the balance of the race and wins the Dodge Dealers 75 for his second career Tour win – both coming at Thompson Speedway.  

Silk said, “We’re excited to be here. The Hills gave me a really great car tonight. This was just awesome! I really have to thank the crew and the Hills. The car just kept getting better and better. I’m glad to get the Hills back in victory lane here.” Silk was asked if he thought he would catch Ted Christopher when he had a ten-car-length lead? “Yeah, I had to just wait and on the restart we finally got by him. His [Christopher’s] car was really strong, but took a long time to get going, and we took advantage that on the restart.” 

Christopher was asked in the post race interview, ‘It looked like you had it sewn up, but still had a good run.’ He replied, “Yeah, we had just too many cautions tonight. We had the car to beat, just too many cautions.”  

Mike Stefanik said about his run, “Yeah, my car really came in around lap 50 or so and this one scoring loop at the start finish line is not our friend tonight. Every time we had a restart I would lose 2-3 positions each time. I never passed so many cars to get to the front after starting 14^th. I would like to congratulate the #79 team for their run tonight. They travel all the way from Virginia to race and that is great!” 

Jeff Fuller (C) flanked by Series Director Chad Little (L) and Whelen Engineering's Phil Kurze (R)
(Meredith Images Photo)
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Prior to tonight’s event, former Whelen Modified Champion, Jeff Fuller, was honored by Whelen and NASCAR as part of the “Celebrating Past Champions” that is occurring in this 60^th anniversary season. Fuller won his championship in 1992 with six wins, fifteen top-fives and 18 top-tens, finished 314 points ahead of Reggie Ruggiero.  

Jimmy Spencer will be the next past champion honored at the next Whelen Modified Tour event on June 28^th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, NH.  

Unofficial Race Results (Start position in parentheses)

1. (5) Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Pontiac, 75 laps, 34.105 mph, $5,200.
2. (7) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 75, $2,700.
3. (14) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 75, $2,200.
4. (4) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, N.Y., Dodge, 75, $1,900.
5. (15) Tony Ferrante, Jr., New Hyde Park, N.Y., Chevrolet, 75, $1,300.
6. (11) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 75, $1,500.
7. (9) Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 75, $1,400.
8. (22) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Chevrolet, 75, $975.
9. (2) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 75, $1,125.
10. (16) Ryan Preece, Kensington, Conn., Chevrolet, 75, $1,100.
11. (18) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 75, $875.
12. (17) Rick Fuller, Auburn, Mass., 75, $825.
13. (13) Richard Savary, Canton, Mass., Chevrolet, 75, $1,200.
14. (1) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 75, $1,175.
15. (30) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Ford, 75, $925.
16. (24) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 75, $918.
17. (34) Carl Pasteryak, Lisbon, Conn., Pontiac, 74, $1,450.
18. (31) Tom Abele, Jr., Norwich, Conn., Chevrolet, 75, $1,200.
19. (27) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 74, $1,100.
20. (12) Charles Pasteryak, Lisbon, Conn., Chevrolet, 74, $700.
21. (6) Bobby Grigas, III, Marshfield, Mass., Chevrolet, 74, $1,700.
22. (35) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 0, accident, $700.
23. (33) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Mass., Chevrolet, 73, $700.
24. (32) Joe Hartmann, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 55, $900.
25. (28) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 52, accident, $900.
26. (8) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 52, accident, $1,100.
27. (23) Anthony Sesely, Matawan, N.J., Dodge, 52, accident, $900.
28. (29) James Civali, Meriden, Conn., Chevrolet, 50, accident, $1,100.
29. (10) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 35, accident, $900.
30. (20) Tommy Farrell, Neptune, N.J., Chevrolet, 34, accident, $700.
31. (26) Billy Pauch, Jr., Frenchtown, N.J., Dodge, 33, accident, $900.
32. (19) Eric Berndt, Cromwell, Conn., Chevrolet, 33, accident, $700.
33. (25) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Chevrolet, 21, clutch, $700.
34. (3) Danny Sammons, Hamilton, N.J., Chevrolet, 2, accident, $900.
35. (21) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 0, accident, $900.

Race Statistics

Time of Race: 1 hour 22 minutes 28 seconds

Margin of Victory: .733 seconds

Fastest Qualifier: B.Grigas (119.994 mph, 18.751 seconds)

Caution Flags: 12 cautions (caution laps did not count)

Lead Changes: 5 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders: E. Beers 1; K. Goodale 2; C. Hossfeld 3-6; B. Grigas, III 7-27; T. Christopher 28-52; R. Silk 53-75.

Standings: 1. C. Hossfeld, 675; 2. T. Christopher, 649; 3. T. Szegedy, 604; 4. M. Stefanik, 549; 5. J. Civali, 526; 6. E. Beers, 525; 7. R. Pennink, 524; 8. M. Hirschman, 516; 9. E. Flemke,Jr., 497; 10. K. Heagy, 472.

The True Value Modified Racing Series Town Fair Tire 100
Waterford Speedbowl
by Dave Meredith

June 22, Waterford, CT--- Les Hinckley III wins the Town Fair Tire True Value Modified Series 100 as he held off persistent challenges from Chris Pasteryak and Mike Holdridge, who started on the pole position. 

Les Hinckley wins TVMRS race at Waterford
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Hinckley drove the #06 to a hard fought victory with second-generation racer Chris Pasteryak who would come home second. Coming out on top in several restarts, Hinckley lengthened his lead in the final laps of the event winning by a comfortable margin. The race seemed like it would never end as numerous cautions and two long red flag situations had the Speedbowl officials wondering if curfew would fall before the event finished under green. The track crew earned their money tonight! 

This was one of the best attended events at the Speedbowl this year as the crowd rooted for the local drivers. However, Pasteryak garnered the focus of the fans as a former Legends champion at the Bowl.   

The was the second of three visits to the Bowl this year for the True Value Modifieds. In their first visit, Dave Pinkham of Maine took the checkers in close battle with Dwight Jarvis and Les Hinckley. Chris Pasteryak finished fourth in the May 3^rd event. 

Mike Holdridge of Madison, CT, in the #0 would start first in tonight’s feature after winning the first heat. Jack Bateman in the #17 of Cannan, NH, will set on the outside of the front row. Bateman, who was instrumental in the formation of the True Vale Modified Series, is happy the series has progressed to it’s current level, and is really pleased with growth and interest it has generated.  

The #06 of Les Hinckley of Windsor Locks, CT will start third, Chris Pasteryak of Lisbon, CT will start fourth, and Ed Dachenhausen of Danbury, CT in the #10 will start fifth. Three-time tour champion, Kirk Alexander of Swanzey, NH, in the #43 will start 6^th. Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT will start seven in the #20, while the #11 of Jeff Pearl will start eighth. Pearl is from Salem, CT, and is a regular competitor in the Speedbowl SK division. Former Riverside Park champion, Dave Berube in the #04 of Bristol, CT, will start ninth, while Rod Goodenough of Swanzey, NH, rounds out the top ten.  

The rest of the starting line-up: 11) #35 Dale Evonsion; 12) #22 David Pinkham; 13) #28 Dwight Jarvis; 14) #77 Kenny White Jr.; 15) #1 Sean Bodreau; 16) #69 Jim Dolan; 17) #13 Steve Masse; 18) #31 Shawn Monahan; 19) #55 Joe Doucette; 20) #33 Matt Hudon; 21) #18 Eddy Spiers; 22) #76 Shelley Perry; 23) #29 Todd Owen; 24) #46 Doug Coby; 25) #88 Dennis Gada;  and 26) #12 Vinnie Annarummo Jr. 

The Race Is On 

Well, sort of! Mike Holdridge, Les Hinckley, Ed Dachenhausen, and Ted Christopher set the early pace, though by lap 8, the #88 of Dennis Gada is obviously way off the timing. On lap 12 there is a melee on the backstretch involving numerous cars. There is a 45-minute red flag to fix the backstretch wall that needed to be welded.  

Finally, at 10 p.m. the modified engines roar back to life. Les Hinckley took lead as they went three laps until caution flew again. Five cars were involved in this one and Shawn Monahan, Shelly Perry, and Dennis Gada all had damage.  The cautions keep coming, fast and furious -- the #04 of Berube, then lap 27 for the #10 of Dachenhausen as his engine blows on the front stretch. 

On the restart Hinckley and Holdridge battle for the point, with Pasteryak challenging. He gets by Holdridge for second, while Christopher takes third. However, on lap 42, Christopher is black flagged for leaking fluid on the track. He is done for the night. 

Lap 60 leaders are Hinckley, Jarvis, Pasteryak, Holdridge and Annanrummo. On Lap 69 there is a caution for the Jeff Pearl who spun in the grass in turn one. Then another quick caution as the #28 Jarvis blows a left front tire. Jarvis skillfully piloted the car to keep from hitting the wall, preventing any further damage. That was caution number seven. 

The restart has Hinckley and Pasteryak battling for the lead, and so far Hinckley is holding him off. By lap 87, Holdridge is now closing in on Pasteryak for second.  With just 12 laps to go, there’s another red flag thrown for a melee in turn one. Several cars caught air, but it appears everyone was OK. After another long delay the race went green and as the laps counted down, Hinckley was able to pull away from Pasteryak, who it seemed was tight. He could challenge Hinckley on restarts, but the tires just wouldn’t cooperate for Pasteryak. He was able to keep second as a determined Holdridge tried to claim the spot.   

Hinckley stated, “The restarts were dicey, as it took my car a few laps to really work itself in. I certainly knew Chris was there, because he was right on my bumper on each restart. After a few laps I was able to pull away. We’d done a lot of adjustments on the car after practice, as we really weren’t that good earlier. Luckily, my guys went in the right direction. The Speedbowl can be a demanding little track, and you have to be on top of your game here to really hit the setup.” (Quote supplied by Speedbowl PR) 

TRUE VALUE MODIFIED SERIES 100 RESULTS 

1. Les Hinckley; 2. Chris Pasteryak; 3. Mike Holridge; 4. Kirk Alexander; 5.Vinnie Annarummo Jr.; 6. Jack Bateman; 7. Dave Pinkham; 8. Eddy Spiers; 9. Rob Goodenough; 10. Dwight Jarvis; 11. Jeff Pearl; 12. Kenny White Jr.; 13. Dale Evonsion; 14. Steve Masse; 15. Sean Bodreau; 16. David Berube; 17. Shawn Monahan; 18. Shelly Perry; 19. Teddy Christopher; 20. Todd Owen; 21. Ed Dachenhausen; 22. Matt Hudon; 23. Dennis Gada; 24. Jim Dolan; and 25. Jim Doucette.

SK Modified Race 

 The race began with Mike Sweeney and Frank Mucciacciaro Jr. as the leaders on lap one when the #3 of Dennis Gada spun in the apex of turns 1 & 2. Mike Sweeney in the #15 spun during lap 1, take #2. The one caused a  melee involving Rob Janovic and Ron Yuhas. 

The race stayed yellow, as cars circled the track as the crew cleaned the speedy dry that was used. Pearl in the #71 also suffered damaged and returned to the track.  

Todd Ceravolo takes the lead from Mucciacciaro on the restart as Keith Rocco in the #57 took over secon. Three green flag laps three cautions so far! 

Coby in the #10 has moved to fourth. Rocco challenges Ceravolo for lead and the fourth caution flies as Don Fowler, Glen Pressell III, and Ted Christopher tangle. The #99 of Pressell leaves on the hook.  

Ceravolo and Coby are battling with Keith Rocco for the top three spots as of lap 10. Ceravolo leads with Coby second. Dennis Gada was on the move. Keith Rocco got into Doug Coby on lap 12 to bring out caution #5. Rocco was sent to the rear for rough riding. 

Ceravolo will lead the field to the green again with Jeff Paul second. Caution is out again on the next lap! I must say this is getting a little old! Restart lap 13 with Ceravolo still leading. 

At lap 28 Ceravolo leads Shawn Monahan, Dennis Gada, Jeff Paul and Keith Rocco. With one lap to go, Gada passed Monahan for second but Ceravolo takes the checkers.  

In his post-race interview, Todd Ceravolo said, “I’m sorry for the contact with the #15 of Mike Sweeney.” Todd was very happy and glad to be back here at the Bowl. “I have to thank my dad for all his support. He has more desire than I do, but I really enjoy racing with these guys here.”  

SK MODIFIED (35); 1.Todd Ceravolo; 2. Dennis Gada; 3. Shawn Monahan; 4. Jeff Paul; 5. Keith Rocco; 6. Tyler Chadwick; 7. Jay Miller; 8. Doug Coby; 9. Justin Gaydosh; 10. Jeff Pearl; 11. Ed Reed Jr.; 12. Glenn Pressel III; 13. Wendell Dailey; 14. Rich Hammann; 15. Ron Yuhas Jr.; 16. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr.; 17. Teddy Christopher; 18. Don Fowler; 19. Mike Sweeney; 20. Rob Janovic Jr.