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May 6, Brockton, MA--- NEMA’s Randy Cabral of Plymouth set everybody’s imagination off with a 12.848 seconds circuit en route to victory at the Modified Nationals at the Waterford Speedbowl in Conn. It will be the standard for the likes of Joey Payne Jr., Greg Stoehr, Erica and Bobby III Santos and Nokie Fornoro when the Midgets return this Saturday night, May 10.
The ISMA Supermodified folks continue to believe an 11
seconds lap will happen and they’ll get their chance on May 24, a 50-lapper part
of a five-division program at Waterford Speedbowl. One-time SK track champ Rob
Summers, “very happy” with a test session at the Bowl recently, thinks it can
happen. Last year’s winner defending champion Chris Perley of Amesbury believes
it as well.
The Waterford Speedbowl’s Wild n’ Wacky Wednesday, about to begin it’s eighth
season, has become New England’s premier mid-week racing program. Based on
affordability for both fans and competitors, the series is a true bargain at
only $7 for an adult admission.
Wild n’ Wacky begins Wednesday (May 7) with the Legends, Super-X Cars, X-Cars,
and X-Modifieds. Leading strong rosters are defending champions Jason Palmer
(Legends), John Yagmin (Super-X), Brad Voglesong (X-Car), and, Bubby Brouwer
(X-Mod).
The stars and cars of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour return to Stafford on
Friday, May 23rd for the 18th Annual TSI Harley-Davidson 150. Last season, Donny
Lia won the Spring Sizzler and then returned to Stafford and won the TSI
Harley-Davidson 150, which accounted for two of his season high 6 wins that
helped propel him to the 2007 championship. Ted Christopher will look to do the
exact same thing this season for the Whelen Modified Tour’s second visit to the
Connecticut half-mile.“I’m looking forward to coming back to Stafford,” said
Christopher. “Ithink we’ll have a real good car again. It will really help us to
get a full practice. At the Sizzler, we only got three laps of practice and we
lost the rear end. We still time-trialed fifth and we won the race, so I think
with a few minor adjustments to the car we should be really good when we come
back. The car was tight at the start of the Sizzler, and I think if we had the
car as good as it should have been, we would have been up front all day long.
The best part of winning the Sizzler is getting that firs twin of the season out
of the way early. It really gives the whole team a confidence boost. We should
have won a lot of races last year, but circumstances led to us not winning. We
thought that’s how our season was getting started this year with the rain at
Thompson right after we came to pit road and then at the Sizzler with the rear
end. No one can say we lucked into that win, we passed a lot of cars to win that
race.” Christopher is also no stranger to the championship chase on the Whelen
Modified Tour. He has finished in the top-5 of the Tour points standings every
year since 2000 with the exception of the 2001 season where he finished 6th.
Although one might think that Christopher would want to follow the path that Lia
used last season, Christopher says the championship is the furthest thing from
his mind. I’m not thinking about the championship at all, been there and done
that,” says Christopher.
The team of New England Dodge Dealers will continue their presence at Stafford
Motor Speedway again for the 2008 season, with the first N.E. Dodge Motorsports
event coming on Friday, May 9th, the 14th Annual New England Dodge Dealers Late
Model 100. New England Dodge Dealers will also be the title sponsor of the
Friday, August 8th New England Dodge Dealers 150 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
event. The New England Dodge Dealers will once again be the Official Vehicle
Supplier of Stafford Motor Speedway with the Dodge Charger pace car and two
Dodge Ram track safety trucks.
Stafford Motor Speedway’s Late Model division will take center stage early in
the 2008 season on Friday, May 9th for the 14thAnnual New England Dodge Dealers
Late Model 100. When it comes to extra distance Late Model racing at Stafford,
few drivers can claim the success that Ryan Posocco has found. With a normal
Late Model feature distance covering 30-laps, Posocco has excelled when the
feature distance exceeds that 30-lap number. Posocco has two career 50-lap
feature wins, two career Late Model 100 wins, and a single Late Model 150 win.
During the 2003 season, Posocco won both the 100 and150 lap events in the same
season, a feat that has never been matched in Stafford’s long and storied
history. Posocco says the reason for his extra distance prowess is simple. “I
just think the extra distance races suit my driving style,” said Posocco.
Upon his first-ever visit to the Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday evening, Dave
Pinkham of Buxton, Maine went home a winner celebrating the second True Value
Modified Racing Series win of his career. During the early laps it was Ed
Dachenhausen and Les Hinckley setting the pace until coming together on lap-42.
Both were sent to the rear of the field, and resulting restart saw Dwight Jarvis
inheriting the lead. On a late-race restart, Pinkham slipped-by Jarvis, going on
to win by several car-lengths. The race was marred by a red flag period with
65-laps remaining when Jimmy Blewett became airborne, flipped, and slammed into
the fourth-turn wall on his roof. Blewett was uninjured. Following Pinkham was
Dwight Jarvis, Les Hinckley, Chris Pasteryak, and, Vinny Annarummo Jr. of
Swansea. Ted Christopher had problems and finished in 23rd. Other feature
winners were Keith Rocco (SK Modified), Ed Reed Jr. (Late Model), Chris “Moose”
Douton (Sportsman), and, Jeff “Soup” Civardi (Mini Stock).
Race teams from the NASCAR Camping World Series East and NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour are set to visit New Hampshire Motor Speedway for a joint test session on
Monday, May 12.
The test sessions for NASCAR Camping World Series East and NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour teams are held in preparation for the series’ upcoming events at
New Hampshire. The NASCAR Camping World Series East will run the Heluva Good!
Summer 125 on Friday, June 27 while the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will take
the green flag on Saturday, June 28 in the New England 100. Both series are
scheduled to return to New Hampshire for events on Sept. 12-13.
The Monday, May 12 joint session at the 1.058-mile track in Loudon, NH, is
scheduled to run from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The practice is open to the public.
Following the New Hampshire test, the NASCAR Camping World Series East will
return to official competition at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa on Sunday, May
18 in a combined race with the NASCAR Camping World Series West. The NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour will resume its 2008 schedule at Stafford (Conn.) Motor
Speedway with the TSI Harley-Davidson 150 on Friday, May 23.
Joey Logano of Middletown, Conn. was the winner at Rockingham Speedway in NC as
that one-mile oval reopened last weekend after beging shuttered for four years.
At one point, 17-year old Logano had lapped the entire 50-car field with the
exception of the second place driver. Only varying pit stop sequences and the
Aaron’s Lucky Dog award got more machines back on the lead lap for the chance to
challenge in the final stages. Logano, who earned the SIM Factory Pole Award on
Saturday with a new ARCA RE/MAX Series one-lap track record (146.645 mph). He's
among several other NASCAR development drivers competing with the ARCA Series
this year. Joey is a member of the Joe Gibbs Team who field Toyota Camry and
Tundra racers in NASCAR's top three divisions.
For Lime Rock fan.! Only 18 days away from the first holiday of the summer –
Memorial Day. As tradition stands, there’s always racing on Memorial Day weekend
so grab your friends, camping gear and head for LRP.
You don’t have to wait in the long lines to purchase tickets at the gate. You
can get a discount and save when you buy in advance. The sale ends 16 May. For
more information on Grand-Am Racing, visit their website at
grand-am.com. For tickets call
1.800.RACE.LRP or online at limerock.com.
Connecticut motoX rider, a 50 plus time New England Champion, Tony LoRusso,
originally of Randolph, along with a pair of New England Dirt Track Racing
riders Bryan McKenna of Plymouth and Asa Irish of Carver, each sponsored by the
Bettencourt dealership, will be on hand signing autographs for the race fans and
motorcyclists on Saturday, May 17, 2008. In addition to those competitors Ken
Coolbeth of Morris, Conn., an AMA Series Champion, Jason Pacheco and Jason
Perry, both of Taunton, will join those other riders greeting the visitors. Also
expected for this event is Pete Giammalvo the organizer of NEDTS flat track
series will also be on hand. NEDTS sanctions flat track events all over New
England.
Other activities that day include a Whiskey Girls Bikini Bike Wash, weather
permitting, a live rock band called TAILSPIN, an antique bike show plus food and
drink as well as giveaways every hour. In addition some 10,000 Key Mailers were
sent out to 10,000 customers. Those customers who come in that day with their
Mailer plus the keys and if it opens the lock they will win a 2007 Honda VT1000
Shadow Saber OR $10,000. Can you believe that we're giving away a new motorcycle
or $10,000 cash", said Dave Bettencourt. "There's also great deals on bikes,
helmets, jackets, and accessories," said Richard Dow, General Manager of the
Bettencourt dealership. "We have the largest bike selection on the south shore
with over $2 million in new bike inventory. Deals will never be better."
The busy day of festivities on Saturday, May 17 will begin at 10 a.m. and will
end at 5 p.m. For more information call Bettencourt Honda/Suzuki at
508.587.1701. Bettencourt Honda Suzuki is located at 31 South Main St. (Rt. 28
South), W. Bridgewater, MA.
Let's see what's happening in southern New England this weekend for motorsports
action. Thompson Speedway in Conn. hosts another practice session for all
divisions on Thursday afternoon. Provided the weather cooperates it's NASCAR
Whelen All American Series action at Stafford Speedway in Conn. on Friday night.
On Saturday Seekonk Speedway offers four classes of stockcars at 6 p.m. The same
night Waterford Speedbowl in Conn. hosts the NEMA Midget Tour while it's Mini
Sprints at Whip City, on the dirt, in Westfield. MotoX 338 in Southwick holds a
motoX meet for the bike crowd. For the draggers it's Battle of the Imports all
day Saturday at New England Dragway in Epping, NH. NHMS in Loudon, NH has it's
Vintage Celebration set for May 13-18.
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.
Long Island
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