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June 4,
Brockton, MA--- Bettencourt Honda/Suzuki sponsored motorcycle rider Ken Coolbeth
won last weekend's AMA Twin motorcycle race at Vernon Downs in NY last weekend.
With that win, Coolbeth leads the standings. In the companion 450 Pro event
Carver's Asa Irish was 11th with Plymouth's Bryan McKenna coming in 12th.
All three riders are entrants for next Friday night's, June 13, Ben Campanale
Half-Mile event at the Rochester (NH)Fairgrounds.
Rick Crawford has taken the lead in the driver
point standings for the first time this season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series some twenty points ahead of #88-Matt Crafton. Brockton's Ray Stonkus was
Crawford's crew chief back a few years ago but had to give up the position
because his physical condition prevented him from flying to the coast-to-coast
races. Currently Stonkus runs Crawford's race shop in the Charlotte, NC area
supervising Rick's Ford race trucks which are doing very well this season.
The Pro 4 Modifieds performed at the
Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl last weekend. Rob Richardi, Jr. of Easton was the
early leader in the feature. However, Ken Innarelli ended up with the win while
Rob Richardi ended up third. Plymouth's Corey Cleary came in sixth. Dave
Richardi, also of Easton, finished the night in 13th place.
John Salemi didn't have much success at the
recent NASCAR Camping World Series event held at the South Boston Speedway in
VA. He ended the night in 21st. Rockland native Dale Quarterley is the crew
chief on that entry. Jeff Anton of Russell came in 12th.
Starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday, 27 May 2008, track
construction officially began at Lime Rock Park. The slowest machines to
run on the Lime Rock Park circuit were making their way around the 1.53-mile
course grinding and milling the current surface. It has started with Big
Bend (Turn One), the Downhill (Turn 7) and the Front Straight.
Lime Rock Park is slated to continue track construction
throughout the entire month of June and looks forward to welcoming the first
professional series to run on the optional course – the American Le Mans Series
- for the Northeast Grand Prix, 11-12 July.
At Thompson Speedway's Thursday Night Thunder Woody
Pitkat won the Sunoco Modified main event with Needham's Kerry Malone earning a
third. Bob Grigas of Marshfield cracked the top five while Raynham's Tom
Cravenho was next. Fred Astle, Jr. of Westport won another Pro Stock
feature and was followed by Somerset's Jay Macedonio. Braintree's Greg Nanigian
cracked the top ten in that one. In the TIS Modifieds it was R.J.
Marcotte in for the win. Richie Ferreira and Leo Oliveria, two Raynham drivers,
were third and tenth at the checkered flag.
Last Friday night was CARQUEST Dealer Night at
Stafford Speedway with fireworks in the air and on the track as the Whelen
All-American Series returned to action. Bo Gunning out dueled Ted
Christopher to take the win in the 40-lap SK Modified feature event,
Ryan Posocco extended his record for
career Late Model victories with his 29th career feature win in the Late Model
feature event, Mark Bakaj took down his first career victory in the SK Light
Modified feature, Rob Dow was the winner of the first of two Limited Late Model
feature events, while Andrew Durand took the victory in the regularly scheduled
Limited Late Model feature event, and Dan Flannery took down the DARE Stock
feature event victory.
It appeared as if it was going to be a very
long day at South Boston (VA) Speedway for the Mohegan Sun Racing team after a
practice crash completely destroyed their primary car. A collective effort by
the team coupled with a solid race-ready set-up in the #40 Mohegan Sun Casino
Chevrolet allowed driver Matt Kobyluck of Uncasville, Conn. to pull off a
top-five finish in the NASCAR Camping World Series East’s Strutmasters.com 150.
“It was a
scramble no question. Everybody worked really hard today,” said Kobyluck. “We
were a small track bar adjustment away from being a contender to win that race.”
But driving a back-up car was only one of the hurdles at South Boston.
Defending champion Bruce Thomas Jr. won the
rain-shortened Late Model main event at Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday evening.
Other feature winners were Ken Cassidy Jr. (Mini Stock) and Kevin Iannarelli
(Pro-4 Modifieds).
Defending Late Model champion Bruce Thomas Jr.
will lead a group of “locals” against the “invaders” Saturday night when the
American-Canadian Tour (ACT) comes to Waterford Speedbowl. It is the first time
since 2004 the very successful ACT visits the three/eights mile. The 100-lap ACT
feature is part of a five-division program that also includes SK-Modified (45
laps), Sportsman (20), Mini Stock (20) features and a non-point Late Model race.
Qualifying will begin at 5 p.m.
Sunny weather with temps in the high 70's
contributed to the largest turnout ever at the 4th Annual Norwood Arena Reunion
at Bezema Buick, Pontiac, GMC in Norwood this past Sunday. Among the competitors
of the track that turned out included; Sprint Car and Midget driver Jim McGuire
who traveled up from Bridgewater, NJ to take in his first event. Modified
drivers on hand were Leo Cleary, Bill Slater, George Summers, Jerry Capazzolli,
George Summers and Deke Astle. Also Don McCullough, Lew Austin, Pete Desjardin,
Fred Luchesi, Dick Jackson and Doug McCarthy, Jeff Horn, Jim Callahan, George
Savary, Jim Callahan and Doug McCarthy. Among the officials who turned out were
Carlton Merrill, Dan Brundage, Earl Grant, Jim Power and Mike Scravani, Jr.
Also on hand was Joe Brady of Brockton, a five decade Modified car owner, who
still fields a team for various drivers on the Mod circuits.
Racecars from NEAR, STARS and ACOT combined
with a classic car show had a very strong turnout with over 60 vehicles in
attendance along with other displays. Coastal 181, the racing publishing house,
offered some fantastic new books for sale. Also the NEAR Hall of Fame mobile
unit was on hand. Each vehicle received a dash plaque for the occasion. Don
Seith of Brookline got the Classic Car Trophy for his very impressive restored
'36 Ford Coupe street machine while Dave Poskitt of E. Bridgewater was awarded
the Best Looking Race Car a Modified Coupe.
The big crowd got to see old
acquaintances and look at memorabilia and scrap books to jog their memory of
some of the greatest racing ever at the now shuttered Norwood Arena just down US
Route 1. Host Marty Bezema, Sr., a former competitor at the Norwood Arena,
feed the assembled masses hot dogs, hamburgers, coleslaw and potato salad for
lunch. Plans are in the making for the 5th Annual Norwood Arena Reunion on the
first Sunday in June, 2009.
A husband and wife Demo Derby team hit it big in the
recent Rehoboth Fair event. Eileen Mann of Taunton beat out her spouse Jim in
the event. Eileen took home $2,000 while Jim earned $1,000 for his effort.
The duo along with other local competitors are gearing up for another big Demo
at the Barnstable County Fair next month.
For the weekend it's Thursday Night Thunder at Thompson
Speedway in Conn. Fast Friday is on at Seekonk Speedway and Stafford (Conn.)
Speedway adds a SK Modified 100 lap main event. Saturday Seekonk returns with
the Dusty Young Memorial for the Pro Stocks while Whip City in Westfield has
Mini Sprints on the dirt. For the karters it's Endurance races at Lime Rock Park
in Conn. on Friday and Saturday. For the draggers they can head for New England
Dragway in NH for action Friday through Sunday. MotoX 338 in Westfield offers
motoX action all day Sunday while Shelton Speedway in Conn. host’s dirt track
karts.
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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