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April 8, Brockton, MA--- Diego and Shawn
Monahan are completely focused on The SK-150, the centerpiece of Waterford
Speedbowl’s April 12-13 Budweiser Modified Nationals. The Monahans, both with
impressive Speedbowl resumes, are part of an extraordinary “150” entry list.
Both were winners last year and over the years have a total of 22 wins and a
championship between them. They’ll be in the same cars they drove a year ago,
cars they now own.
The $5,000-to-win “150” tops a 10-division weekend that also includes
extra-distance openers from the Bowl’s Late Models, Sportsman and Mini Stocks.
The Legends, Northeastern Midget Association, Pro4 Modifieds, AllStar Race
Trucks, Allison Legacy Cars and NEMA Lites are also due.
“I am really excited with the quality of drivers on the entry list,” says Diego,
the only driver to score a win in all four of the Bowl’s NASCAR divisions. “It
is a real thrill to race against those guys.” He refuses to look past the “150.”
Shawn, who plans on a full assault on the True Value Modified Series this year
(he’ll be at the Speedbowl three times), sees himself “as one of the visitors
there to grab the money but with a little more Speedbowl experience.”
The entry list includes four “150” winners in Ted Christopher (’99), Dennis Gada
(’03), Frank Ruocco (’06) and Jeff Pearl (’07). Jimmy Blewett, Kenny Horton, Rob
Summers, Woody Pitkat, Jeff Malave and Wade Mattesen have filed entries along
with Speedbowl regulars Rob Janovic Jr. (the defending track champion), Dennis
Charette, Jeffrey Paul and Donnie Fowler.
The Monahan brothers join a number of accomplished time trialers led by Blewett,
quickest in qualifying last year, and Horton, the track record holder with a
14.061 seconds effort last July. Christopher, Gada, Summers, Pearl and Fowler
have all set fast time in the past. Both Monahans agree qualifying well is a
major step to success.
SK qualifying kicks off Saturday (April 12) action followed by heats for all the
other divisions. The Legends, Pro 4, AllStar Trucks, Allison Legacy Car and NEMA
Lite features will follow.
The traditional pit party gets Sunday started. A 25-lap NEMA feature and the
Late Model, Sportsman and Mini Stock features share the day with the “150.”
Local drivers will be among those in action in the NEMA Midgets, Pro 4's and
Allison Legacy Series.
During one of the practice sessions at Thompson Speedway in Conn. Richard Savary
of Canton was at the wheel of his own Whelen Modified Tour car and expects to
compete in only a half-dozen races. There will be a limited amount WMT racing
for Bobby Santos, III, as well. But he was practicing in his family owned Midget
in which he will compete in only a limited number of NEMA events, too. Santos
expects to take in a limited number of Modified races but in his family owned
machine. Also on his dance card are special USAC Sprint and Midget races on
paved tracks. According to Area Racing News of NJ, a sponsorship deal evaporated
with Richard Childress Racing in Charlotte, NC that has put a major crimp in
Bobby's plans to go to NASCAR's top tier divisions. Considering everything, it
all puts his career in somewhat of a "holding pattern". We are sure that the
economic climate had a lot to do with it.
The gloom and doom is spreading. Another NEMA driver Ben Seitz of Monument Beach
is said to be without a steady ride this year because his car owner is planning
a minimum schedule. That after several championships with that open wheel club.
All that takes the multiple champ out of the mix of contenders. So it appears
that the NEMA title is up for the taking this season.
The number seven has defied the law of averages and is a symbol of luck and good
fortune. In the casino, seven is lucky in dice because there are more
combinations that exist for a roll of seven. Matt Kobyluck, driver of the #40
Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet, is hoping the same holds true for his seventh
career start at Phoenix International Raceway this week. The Uncasville, Conn.
driver will make the trek out west to compete in the NASCAR Camping World Series
West division’s Jimmie Johnson Foundation 150.
“We’re all pretty excited about this race,” said Kobyluck of his team. “We’ve
performed really well there. In the last three years, we’ve had things happen
that were out of our control, and it ended up hurting us. We have to have a
little bit of luck to get a victory there, but we’ll be running a car more than
capable of winning that race.”
Kobyluck has been a contender in this event every year - either leading the pack
or running with the top-five. The team wants to raise the bar, and tested last
week to prepare for that.
“The test session proved to be critical,” admitted Kobyluck. “On the first day
of testing, we blew an engine in the car so we had to pull out a backup car,
which incidentally happened to be a new car we were planning on shaking down for
the Iowa race. We were so pleased with the results that we’ve decided that’s the
car we’re taking back.”
Matt Kobyluck began racing in NASCAR’s Camping World Series East in 1999 and has
become a top contender and elder statesman of the series. Kobyluck owns 12 wins,
49 top-five, and 72 top-10 finishes in the NCWS East. Kobyluck is also the 2006
winner of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.
Ed Flemke, Jr. captured the first event of the
2008 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season in a rain-shortened Icebreaker Sunday
afternoon at Thompson International Speedway. In third place at the time, Flemke
gambled and stayed out on the track when the race went to caution on lap 74. As
the race leaders pitted, the gamble paid off as the track gained moisture and
the race never went green again. The result was Flemke’s 17th career victory.
“It just means so much toward the end of my career,” Flemke said of the victory.
“Each one gets sweeter. Like Mark Martin once said, you enjoy each win because
it may be your last.”
Chuck Hossfeld took home second place in the
No. 4 and Bobby Grigas III of Marshfield finished third in the event, which was
slated to go 150 laps. Joe Hartmann and Tom Abele, Jr. rounded out the top five.
It was the best career finish for the latter three.
In his first career start, Abele was able to garner both the Sunoco Rookie of
the Race and POWERade Power Move of the Race awards as the highest rookie
finisher and for improving 32 spots.
Although he had been in victory lane at Thompson three times previously, it was
the first win in the Icebreaker for Flemke, the traditional season-opening event
for racing in New England. It also marked the first win for Flemke’s car owner,
Gary Teto.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will make its second stop of the season at
Stafford Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 27 in Stafford Springs, Conn.
Thompson's Icebreaker had to have the worst weather in many years plus the
tragedy of local driver midget Shane Hammond losing his life. Eric Beers in the
Bob Katon entry out of Berkley came in 14th while others with local connections
fared much worse. Ryan Preece in the Mike Boehler car was 19th with Canton's
Rick Savary getting 26 while Bobby Santos, III, in the Brady entry out of
Brockton was punted out by another car in the very early going. Anderson Olivera
of Raynham took a fifth in the Thompson Modifieds while his neighbor Richie
Ferriera placed seventh. In the Pro Stocks Westport's Fred Astle, Jr. and
Rehoboth's Dave Darling took third and fourth. Wrentham's Robert O’Connell
cracked the top ten in the Mini Stock main. The Sunoco Modified and Late Model
features were deferred until later this season due to the washout.
Let's see what's happening for motorhead action this weekend in southern New England as the 2008 racing season starts to ramp up. The Danbury Race Arena goes off all day Saturday at the Golden Age of Trucking Museum in Southbury, Conn. while MotoTown in Windsor, Conn. hosts the NEMX MotoX series indoors. The outdoor MotoX season is also on at MotoX 338 in Southwick the same day. And for the Mini Sprint and Go-Kart set Shelton (Conn.)Speedway offers a seminar that day. Sunday has MotoTown coming back with a Bike, Quad and Karting event while MotoX 338 offers an Off Road meet. Stafford Motor Speedway hosts the Ty-Rod Swap Meet all day Sunday.
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.
Disclaimer: Views expressed by columnists and all others on this website are strictly their own, and may not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of the management of Long Island Motorsports News.
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