ARCHIVES
ARCHIVES
| 12-10-07: Since I was a child, I always looked forward to the coming of March and April. Not only did it mean that winter was behind us but that the start of the racing season was close at hand. But come this March, it will only mean the start of the baseball season. The reason being that for the first time since 1977, I will not be covering the sport of the auto racing and the division that I love the most, the modifieds. I have been so fortunate that for the past 31 years that I have been able to cover modified racing, first at local tracks like Stafford, Thompson and Riverside Park but then across the country when I began covering the modified tour. I have met and become friends with hundreds, possibly thousands of people in that time and are still close with many of them and their friendship, laughter and jokes is what I will miss the most. MORE>> |
| 12-03-07: When Donny Lia strolls to the podium to collect the lion's share of the NASCAR Whelen modified tour points fund as the 2007 champion, he will become the unlikeliest of champions over the past few years. It isn't that Lia and car owner Bob Garbarino weren't deserving because they were certainly the best team throughout the season, winning a total of six times. It was the manner that they came together in mid-January when all rumors had Garbarino retiring. It was a cold call the eventually brought Lia, who was looking to just drive instead of being owner/driver and the veteran car owner as a team at the end of January. "This is just an awesome car and an awesome team." Lia told the media after winning the Spring Sizzler in April. MORE>> |
| 11-05-07: When the first word of a possible impending sale of the New Hampshire International Speedway began on Halloween Day, many connected with the modifieds wondered if this was a cruel trick or a possible treat for the beloved open wheeled modifieds. When word was '99%' on Thursday that indeed Bob Bahre was selling his 18 year old speedway to O. Bruton Smith, many wondered, would the track lose it modified tour dates. Would the 2 Nextel Cup races that thousands of New Englanders enjoy each summer and early fall be a thing of the past? While Smith wasn't about to comment on anything at the press conference announcing the sale of the 1.058-mile oval located just north of Concord, NH, one thing that you can count on is that the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which it will be called now, won't look like the New Hampshire International Speedway that we have all known and loved for 18 years. Smith will make dramatic changes to the speedway and most of all of them will be good for the track, NASCAR and the fans. MORE>> |
| 10-15-07: A lot has changed since Bob Garbarino first owned a modified stock car. The bodies were coupes, the tires were smaller and the speeds certainly were slower. The year was 1961 and Garbarino was venturing into the sport of auto racing and for the past 46 years, the well liked, soft-spoken car owner has owned just modified stock cars. He has won his share of weekly races and big modified events but the one thing that has eluded the owner from Mystic, CT was a NASCAR championship. That is until this year. This year the veteran car owner, who has had many 'name' drivers strap into his car finally will feel what it's like to be the last car owner standing at the annual NASCAR banquet and it's an unlikely story. MORE>> |
| 10-01-07: It was a day for the old folks on the NASCAR Whelen modified tour and for Mike Stefanik, it was a long time coming. Stefanik, of Coventry, RI, the seven time modified tour champion and the defending champion notched his first win since winning the 2006 season opener Icebreaker last year. Stefanik, in the # 16 owned by Eric Sanderson and sponsored by Diversified Metals took control of the lead on lap 92 and then held off the charges of fellow 'old guys' of Tony Hirschman and Ted Christopher to win the 35th annual Carquest Fall Final. It was also the day that longtime modified car owner, Bob Garbarino realized his dream of capturing the championship when Donny Lia finished seventh to win the first title for both owner and driver. "We've struggled. There is no doubt about it." Mike told the media after celebrating his 19th victory at the Stafford Motor Speedway and the 68th of his illustrious career. "It was so bad that several teams came over to us and offered to help us out. This win is great for the team, it keeps the moral up especially with the season that we've just had." MORE>> |
| 09-24-07: There is nothing like watching a driver earn his first career win. The emotion, the elation and of course the victory lane photos and that is just what a good Sunday afternoon crowd got to see as Ronnie Silk of Norwalk, CT captured his first ever NASCAR modified tour win. Silk, who finished second to Todd Szegedy last week at NHIS passed longtime modified tour competitor Reggie Ruggiero who 13 laps remaining to win the Modified Mania 150 at the Thompson International Speedway. Silk ran up front all week, just like last week at New Hampshire but this time, Silk was able to bring the car into victory lane. "I've been close a lot. I am really happy to be here." Silk told the crowd as he exited his car following the exciting win over Ruggiero and Silk's longtime friend, Todd Szegedy. MORE>> |
| 09-17-07: Todd Szegedy knew that someday he might win a race at the New Hampshire International Speedway. He sure found enough ways not to win them before. But on Saturday afternoon, Szegedy made all the right moves to hold off a last lap charge by Donny Lia and Ronnie Silk to win the weather shortened New Hampshire 100 which was cut to 75 laps before the race started. "I've been second a lot of times here. I've been airborne before on last lap battles and I've screwed up on last laps." Todd said smiling. Szegedy of Ridgefield, CT knew that the last few laps of the modified race would be entertaining, they usually are. The last laps featured Szegedy, Silk, Lia and Bobby Santos, III, as all four cars broke away to settle it among themselves and Szegedy knew what not to do on the last lap, and that was give the guys behind him an opportunity. MORE>> |
| 09-03-07: “One Shining Moment” is the song that CBS television ends the NCAA men’s basketball tournament with. The snippets of videos highlighting the great passes, dunks and buzzer beaters are a staple of the network and the tournament. ‘‘One Shining Moment” won’t be the theme song that NASCAR will use at the Mohegan Sun Casino in December’s banquet to highlight the modified tour in 2007. To say that the 2007 version of the modified tour has been disappointing is an understatement and that is not to take away from the tremendous breakout season that Donny Lia has had or the strides that young drivers, James Civali and Matt Hirschman have shown. The 2007 season will be marked forever by the tragic death of John Blewett, III at the Thompson Speedway and that will be with the tour forever, just as the death of Tommy Baldwin will be. No, bad decisions, bad races, too many caution laps and poor scheduling will mark the 2007 NASCAR modified tour season. The year got off to a bad start when NASCAR ‘showed’ off the 2007 schedule that was Low lighted by three ‘Flash event’. If NASCAR is claiming the fans want it, I would ask where were they at Wall Speedway and the Twin States Speedway in New Hampshire and I can’t talk about the crowd at Riverhead because I wasn’t there. MORE>> |
| 08-22-07: The news hit like the heat of the desert. That’s what it felt like when my brother, Gary, called me while I was on vacation in Phoenix, AZ. and said that John Blewett, III, had lost his life in a racing accident at the Thompson International Speedway. I was stunned, sickened and saddened about John’s death and then when I heard that his brother, Jimmy, was the car involved in the lap 107 accident, my thoughts immediately turned to the well being of Jimmy and his family and how they would cope with this racing tragedy but more importantly, family tragedy. I got to know John when he first came on the modified tour but had followed his exploits running at Flemington Speedway and Wall Stadium and I was impressed with his winning ways at such a early age. John not only won NASCAR track championships but also won the 1996 NASCAR Northeast Regional championship. MORE>> |
| 07-02-07: Donny Lia of Jericho, NY is living a dream right now. For the fourth time in the last five races, Donny Lia found the way to victory lane and it was a typical New Hampshire finish as Lia bested Ted Christopher, Eddie Flemke, Jr., Matt Hirschman and Todd Szegedy to win the New England 100. After a caution on lap 73, NASCAR notified the modified teams that the race would end l2 laps from there and everyone knew it would be a wild finish. "I just tried to stayed focused and not look in my mirror." Lia said when asked how to prepare for the shoot-out. " I can¹t believe this right now, I know I'll wake up soon." Lia won $15,400. For his first win at NewHampshire. For car owner Bob Garbarino, it was another step towards a first ever-modified tour championship, something that has eluded the veteran owner in over 40 years of racing. MORE>> |
| 06-25-07: Right now, Donny Lia of Jericho, NY is one such a roll, he hopes the train doesn't stop. Last Thursday night at the Thompson Speedway, Lia captured his third race of the season winning the Charter Cable 150 when thunderstorms and rain forced the race to be called on lap 100. The win was the eighth of his modified career but even this incredible run of good luck has him stunned. "I just can't believe it." Donny told the fans as they poured into the parking lots as lightning danced around the racetrack. "I never thought that we'd win three of the first five races of the year." MORE>> |
| 06-18-07: Woody Pitkat of Stafford, CT received an early birthday gift when Roger and Sandra Hill of Westfield, NC named the 2006 NASCAR Regional Champion as driver of the Hillbilly Racing #79. Pitkat, who will turn 28 on July 7th found he was the choice when notified by the Hills on Tuesday evening, June 12th and the defending Thompson Speedway SK modified champion was elated with the news. "I can't believe this." Woody said by phone of the news. "This is an incredible opportunity for me. I've worked hard for the last 10 years to get to this point. I am just very thankful to the people who have helped me along the way." MORE>> |
| 06-11-07: While the modified tour heads into the middle of its mid spring sabatical, a change took place on the NASCAR Whelen modified tour when Chuck Hossfeld was released as driver of the Roger and Sandra Hill owned, Coors Light sponsored #79. The news broke on Wednesday, June 6th and for many it wasn't a surprise as the results weren't what either side wanted. On Thursday, I was able to talk with David Hill, son of the car owners and crew chief on the modified and according to him; it was his fathers' decision. "My dad said this is strictly a performance based decision. He certainly had no luck and not everything is his fault. We've been around forever and Chuck just wasn't adapting to the Race Works chassis." Dave added that Chuck was 'sort of set in his own ways and sometimes didn't want to try something new.' Hossfeld is used to running Troyer Chassis. "I wish that Chuck would have called Eddie (Flemke) or Reggie (Ruggiero) over at Race Works and ask for a little help in figuring out what was wrong." MORE>> |
| 05-28-07: It's funny how in Victory Lane, you'll hear drivers thank God, the crew and the sponsors but usually never thank lady luck. But, Donny Lia of Jericho, NY knew that his second win of the young season had a lot of luck in it as Lia proved to be the class of the field winning the 17th annual Connecticut Classic 150 at the Stafford Motor Speedway. The rest of the top five was James Civali, Eddie Flemke, Jr., Zach Sylvester and Todd Szegedy. First off, Lia, has been trying to win at the tough Stafford Speedway since he broke onto the modified tour five years ago and now, less than one month after winning the Spring Sizzler at the famed Connecticut oval, he follows it up with another win. "Just luck." Donny told the media after winning his second straight race at the speedway and became the first repeat winner in 2007. "You know it's just racing and racing, like a lot of things goes in cycles but it was luck." MORE>> |
| 05-07-07: It seemed that as soon as the 2006 NASCAR Whelen modified tour season ended, that changes were on the way for the 2007 modified tour, changes that were not going to be welcomed by owners, drivers and crews. These changes were so called 'Flash Races', a race that is short in distance and short in the payoff line at the end of the night. Well this past weekend, the Flash came home to roost as the first of three Flash races took place at the Wall Township Speedway on the New Jersey shoreline. NASCAR officials (i.e. Daytona Beach) felt that because the tour was losing tracks they couldn't afford to run a regular full purse race that they would offer these new tracks a cut rate purse. A track on a $90,000 race purse pays about $60,000 cash for the event, the Flash races total purse is about $59,000 meaning the cash obligation to a Flash promoter is about $34,000. MORE>> |
| 04-30-07: Donny Lia of Jericho, NY wasn't even born when the first Spring Sizzler went green in 1972 but he appreciates the history of the "Greatest Race in the history of Spring". Now, his name is among the winners of the Sizzler as he battled Todd Szegedy for the win taking the lead with two laps left after Szegedy had passed him with four laps remaining. "He was racing me so hard." Donny told the media after the event, "When he got by me, I didn't think I'd get him back." While Lia, who teamed with veteran car owner, Bob Garbarino in January after running his own team, he didn't know they'd hit off like this. "This was a real team effort. I have always wanted to win a tour race here at Stafford but to win the Spring Sizzler, I'm just a little speechless." MORE>> |
| 04-23-07: James Civali of Meriden, CT scored his second modified tour career win when the 2006 NASCAR Whelen modified tour Rookie of the Year captured the Icebreaker in the Don King owned #28 Chevrolet. Civali, who came into the series as a driver with a chip on his shoulder, has earned the respect of everyone as they have watched the kid become a driver. "It was a very interesting day." James told the media after the race that saw his hold off Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, NY on a green/white/checkered finish. The rest of the top five included Ronnie Silk in third, Jimmy Blewett fourth and Matt Hirschman fifth. MORE>> |
| 04-16-07: The season opening Icebreaker scheduled for the Thompson Speedway was postponed late Saturday afternoon as weather reports of 2 to 4 inches of rain from a powerful nor'eastern forced track officials to pull the plug. The event will be made up this coming Sunday, April 22nd. While the race itself was rained out, there was a lot of news and it wasn't especially what competitors on the modified tour exactly wanted to hear. On Thursday night, April 12th, NASCAR held a meeting at the Thompson Speedway with drivers and owners on the 2007 season but specifically concerning the "Flash" races that are set to be held at the Wall Township Speedway on Sunday, May 6th. Other events include the Twin States Speedway in New Hampshire on Sunday, July 8th and Riverhead Raceway on Saturday, August 4th. MORE>> |
| 04-09-07: Auto racing fans in the state of Connecticut and particularly, fans of the NASCAR Whelen modified tour are lucky. They are lucky in the sense that the states major papers, The Hartford Courant, the Connecticut Post, the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, the New London Day and the Hour out of Norwalk, CT are just some of the dailies that cover auto racing on a weekly basis. For many years, the Courant, the states largest paper was criticized for its lack of auto racing coverage but that certainly hasn't been true the past 18 years or so. Shawn Courchesne has been the auto racing writer the past few years and recently he started an auto racing blog, which according to all reports has been a hit with race fans. On March 30th, Shawn had one blog titled, 'Watching the Modified Tour die' and that naturally grabbed my attention. Shawn was saying that 'the writing is on the wall' and that fans of the tour might want to soak in all the races that are on tap this season and possibly next, because the end is near. MORE>> |
| 04-02-07: When Matt Hirschman was born on November 29th, 1982, his life was pretty much pre-destined for him. He knew that someday, he too would be a racer, just like his father, and Matt couldn't have written a better script. "I've always said that this is what I wanted to be. Even in grade school when the teacher would ask you what you wanted to be, I always said a race car driver. I wonder how many of my classmates can say they are doing what they wanted to do?" Matt said recently." One might think that growing up in a family that has know only traveling to a race track each weekend in spring, summer and fall, that naturally Matt would want to settle into some role in racing. MORE>> |
| 03-26-07: For Jerry Marquis of Broad Brook, CT, the past couple of months haven't been the best in the life of the 2000 NASCAR Whelen modified tour champions life. Marquis was notified in mid January by car owner, Bob Garbarino that he was shutting down the team because the crew chief, Greg Schroder, was leaving his employment at the Mystic River Marina and didn't want to run the car without giving it 100% effort. Marquis, was then left to scramble and find a ride and sponsors and thankfully for one of the modified tours most consistent drivers, he was able to hook up with long time modified car owner, Joe Brady and the famous 00 Brady Bunch Chevrolet. "It's a load off my mind to finally get this done. I am excited about getting together with Joe and making this work out for the both of us." Jerry said by phone. MORE>> |
| 02-26-07: Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT always makes the trek to Florida during Speedweeks in Daytona. While Teddy goes for the fun, the sun, he is usually used to bringing back a lot of hardware from the week but 2007 at the New Smyrna Speedway didn't shine brightly on the veteran driver. Last week, I caught up with the Northeast terror of the short tracks to get his views on the recently completed Speedweeks. "It wasn't the best week we'd ever had." Teddy joked when asked; "We had some issues down there with parts falling off and some wrecks." Christopher's best finish of the week was second place in the Richie Evans Memorial 100 lap race while he also had 2 fourths, a 15th, 16th, 19th and 21st in the modified tour type division. MORE>> |
| 02-05-07: As the calendar clicks away towards the middle of February, and with trace amounts of snow on the ground, many race fans minds are turning to spring and the start of another NASCAR Whelen modified tour season. Last week, I contacted both George Silbermann, the managing director of racing operations for NASCAR and Ed Cox, the longtime modified tour race director about the upcoming season and get their thoughts. I asked Silbermann why his speech at the NASCAR modified tour banquet in December wasn¹t more than a hand full of words and not a state of the modified tour, he joked that "maybe I just not as accomplished a speaker as my predecessors." Silbermann said taking the modified tour to other markets and seeing how it plays out is part of NASCAR¹s plan for the future. "We want to see how it goes for the promoter, the teams and the fans." George said from his Daytona office. MORE>> |
| 01-22-07: Auto Racing and bobsled racing are about as far apart as well, the summer and winter are, but for the second straight year, they joined forces as the Chevrolet Geoff Bodine Bobsled challenge took place at the site of the 1932 and 1980 Olympics games back a few weeks ago. Geoff Bodine, the former modified ace and winner of the 1986 Daytona 500 started his interest in the bobsleds after watching the winter Olympics. When he found out that the American bobsleds were sleds used by Europeans and were bought by our Olympians, he decided that something needed to be done to insure that the Americans have the best bobsleds in the world. "I thought this isn't right that they have to buy their own sleds and they were old models used by the Europeans." Geoff said during a break in the practice runs. Bodine then teamed with modified car builder, Bob Cuneo, and together with other designers have built American made bobsleds that are now the top sleds in the bobsledding world. But designing and building these intricate sleds takes money, lots of money, another thing in common with auto racing, and Bodine has hosted this event as a way of raising money and to build awareness for the Unites States national teams and future Olympians. MORE>> |
| 01-08-07: LAKE PLACID, NY------- When it comes to racing in the northeast, not many can hold a candle to Mike Stefanik but when the nine time NASCAR champion rolled into the Lake Placid Olympic Sports complex, he was slightly at awe. "I wanted to go shopping with the girls." Mike said laughing about his initial Bobsled run as part of the Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge, a fund-raiser for the USA Bobsled team. "You're just out of your element here. It's like skydiving or skiing, if you haven't done it, you feel uneasy." A statement that makes a lot of sense and after Stefanik finished the first of his two runs. Mike said that he felt more and more at ease after getting in several runs of practice on Friday and it showed on Saturday. Stefanik was riding a white sled sponsored by Whelen and was teamed with a brakeman from the National Guard. MORE>> |
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2006 |
| 12-04-06: One of the most interesting is that the modified tour will run both of their races at the New Hampshire International Speedway on Saturdays. Last year, the modifieds and the Busch East each had one race on a Friday and one on a Saturday but NHIS officials, most notably that of track owner, Bob Bahre wanted the modifieds on Saturdays and what Bob wants, Bob usually gets. Last week, I talked with Bob about the change. "We had gotten a lot of calls as to when the modifieds would race. A lot of fans love to watch the modifieds at New Hampshire and many can't get here on a Friday. I asked NASCAR if we could do it and they said yes. We also have many Cup drivers who want to race the modifieds and this way everything can be on one day for them." Bob Said. "The modified put on a hellava show and now they will be apart of the weekend and the larger crowd on Saturdays." MORE>> |
| 11-13-06: Who can blame Matt Hirschman if he wishes the calendar said April instead of November. One week after his big win in the North-South Shoot-out, the young driver from Northampton, PA is ready to keep on racing. "Right now, I just want to race. I am young and Hungary and I just want to keep racing." An excited Matt said from his shop last week. For a driver like Matt to win the Shoot-out, it says a lot about how far the son of five-time modified tour champion, Tony has come despite his early career success. MORE>> |
| 10-30-06: Todd Szegedy of Ridgefield, CT wanted to give his crew chief, Phil Moran another win before the season ended and Szegedy knew Stafford was just the place to do it. Szegedy wired the Carquest Fall Final on a cold, blustery day closing out the season and he did give Moran a going away present. Moran, a longtime modified crew chief is leaving to work at Bill Davis Racing working under Tom Baldwin, Jr. next year. "I have to thank Phil for putting a great car underneath me today." Todd said of his second tour win of the year. "To go on one set of tires, it was awesome but at the end, Ken Barry gave me all I could to hold on for the win." MORE>> |
| 10-23-06: As the modified tour prepares for the final race of the 2006 season, we'll take a quick look back at what has transpired since the first race back in April. But before we look back we have to look over a few penalties that were handed down to drivers Carl Pasteryak and Matt Hirschman following the event at the Thompson Speedway. Both drivers were cited under section 12-4-A, which is described as actions detrimental to auto racing under the NASCAR rulebook. Carl was suspended from NASCAR until October 30th, 2006 while Matt is on NASCAR probation until December 31, 2006. Carl was also cited with altercations with another driver on the track as well as verbal abuse to a NASCAR official and failure to follow a directive from a NASCAR official. MORE>> |
| 10-16-06: Reggie Ruggiero has probably forgotten more about racing than most of the competitors on the modified tour have amassed in their career. Ruggiero knows that sometimes you have to slow down to go fast. That was never more evident as Ruggiero gave himself plenty of room in third place and watched the two leaders, Teddy Christopher and John Blewett, III slugged it out and crashed with just two laps left in the modified portion of the World Series at the Thompson Speedway. "Nobody wanted to win today." A happy Ruggiero told in the media center. The win was the 44th of his career and first since June of 2004 at the Wall Stadium in New Jersey. "I've been racing 1969 and I have learned a few things. I just watched the two in front of me and gave them plenty of room." MORE>> |
| 10-09-06: Donny Lia of Jericho, NY has never backed down from a challenge before and Sunday night at the Waterford Speedbowl, the Long Island driver wasn't about to start. In a classic short track race, Lia and eventual runner up Eddie Flemke, JR of Southington, CT showed what open wheel modified racing is all about. Lia fought for over 50 laps to get by Flemke, who led from the opening green but Lia's persistence finally paid off getting by Flemke on lap 128. He was never headed in securing his first win of the year in winning the Whelen Volunteer Fire Department 150 at the Waterford Speedbowl. Third went to Ted Christopher with Mike Stefanik fourth and Zach Sylvester was fifth. MORE>> |
| 09-18-06: SPECIAL-When one thinks of the Olympics, one doesn't think usually about auto racing but this past weekend the two came together to bring awareness to the United States Bob Sled program. Don Barker, former modified championship car owner, Bob Cuneo, designer of modified race cars as well as others forms of Motorsports and John Morgan, business development manager of the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, Inc. were at the New Hampshire International Speedway to race and bring consciousness to the USA bobsled. The NASCAR Whelen modified tour machine was driven by Todd Bodine, whose brother, Geoff started the ball rolling on the bobsled back several years and since his involvement with the bobsleds, the Bo-Dyn sleds have become one of the best in the world. The Sleds are an all Connecticut project as they are designed and built in Oxford, CT. MORE>> |
| 09-18-06: The NASCAR Whelen modified tour event at the New Hampshire International Speedway is always the best race of the weekend and this past Friday at the 'Magic Mile' it was no different as John Blewett, III won as he did in July, but this time without the controversy. Blewett took over the lead on lap 93 of the 100-lap event and then held off a third turn charge by Jerry Marquis to capture the New Hampshire 100. In the July race, NASCAR mistakenly sent James Civali to the winners circle as Blewett left the track to race in New Jersey, as he was leaving the speedway, NASCAR reviewed the scoring tapes and declared the Howell, NJ driver the winner. MORE>> |
| 09-11-06: The Boehler family and the Thompson Speedway have quite a history together but the driver of the Boehler owned 'OLE Blue' #3 modified, Eric Beers, hasn't always met with much success, in fact, it's been quite a pain for him. Beers in his first race for the Boehlers last year suffered a broken shoulder and was sidelined a couple of weeks but on Sunday, Beers had it covered winning the NASCAR Whelen modified portion of the 'Modified Mania.' MORE>> |
| 09-04-06: They say that you never forget your first love. For racers, it's their first win and Jimmy 'Showtime' Blewett of Howell, NJ will never forget his as he captured his first ever NASCAR Whelen modified tour race at the Martinsville Speedway on Saturday night. Blewett took over the lead on lap 181 when he pushed Mike Stefanik out of the way and then held on until NASCAR was forced to checker it on lap 200 because of persistent showers that popped up. The race was scheduled for 250 laps. MORE>> |
| 07-17-06: t seemed for a while that the winner of the 2000 Presidential election might have taken less time than to figure out if John Blewett, III or young James Civali captured the New England 100 at the New Hampshire International Speedway on Saturday. Civali was told that he had won the modified race but NASCAR officials later informed him that Blewett was declared the winner that left almost 45,000 fans standing in awe in another classic modified race at the ‘Magic Mile’. MORE>> |
| 07-03-06: Todd Szegedy of Ridgefield,
CT wants potential car owners down south to know that he can still drive and
win. Thursday night at the Thompson Speedway, the 2003 NASCAR Whelen modified tour champion reminded everyone on the tour that he is back and looking to reestablish his name. Szegedy took over the lead from Eddie Flemke, Jr. on lap 67 and then fought off Flemke and James Civali to capture the New England Dodge Dealers 100 before a packed house. MORE>> |
| 06-19-06: While the NASCAR Whelen modified tour was off in the western hills of Pennsylvania at the Jennerstown Speedway, I decided to head off to the Connecticut shoreline and take in the newest rave for modified racing, the True Value Racing series. The True Value modifieds are the brainchild of former modified tour driver, Jack Bateman, who became disenchanted with the owners of the Claremont Speedway. MORE>> |
| 06-12-06: Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT suddenly finds himself without a modified ride. Thanks to the federal government. Christopher, who drives the #13 Mystique Motorsports Chevrolet arrived at work on Friday, June 9th to find federal marshals loading up his race cars and equipment all due in part into an ongoing investigation into his car owner, James Galante of Danbury, CT. MORE>> |
| 06-05-06: When word was leaking out that Don Hawk, the director of NASCAR's touring series had either resigned or was asked to leave, it set off shock waves in the modified community. While many people liked Hawk for his direct approach, many also viewed him as another in the long line of NASCAR mouthpieces telling people in the modified series what they wanted to hear. I called Phil Kurze, the director of Whelen Motorsports and the modified series sponsor, to get his reaction to Hawk leaving his post. MORE>> |
| 05-08-06: When word was leaking out that Don Hawk, the director of NASCAR's touring series had either resigned or was asked to leave, it set off shock waves in the modified community. While many people liked Hawk for his direct approach, many also viewed him as another in the long line of NASCAR mouthpieces telling people in the modified series what they wanted to hear. I called Phil Kurze, the director of Whelen Motorsports and the modified series sponsor, to get his reaction to Hawk leaving his post. MORE>> |
| 05-08-06: Officials of the Waterford Speedbowl announced this past weekend that they will host a second modified tour event during the 2006 season. It will either be held on Saturday, September 23rd or Sunday, September 24th as part of the Waterford Speedbowl season finale weekend. It was rumored lately that Waterford might get the 17th race of the season but many felt when Waterford opted to take a True Value modified event in June instead of a second tour race that they were happy with the one tour race. MORE>> |
| 05-01-06: STAFFORD, CT----------Doug Coby of Milford, CT should have at least four or five wins on the NASCAR Whelen modified tour but various mechanical problems and crashes ended sure-fire trips to victory lane. So when Coby qualified poorly and needed to take a provisional just to get into the field for the Spring Sizzler, he wasn't high on the list of potential winners. But Coby proved everyone wrong and cruised to his first ever tour win in the most prestigious of all races of the modified tour, the Stafford Spring Sizzler. MORE>> |
| 04-10-06: THOMPSON, CT-------Mike Stefanik of Coventry, RI proved that despite all of the young drivers on the Whelen modified tour, the tour still belongs to the 'old guys.' Stefanik, running full time on the modified tour this year because his Busch East team folded is focused on winning his seventh modified title and said winning at Thompson was a great way to start the hunt. Stefanik beat back the charges of Chuck Hossfeld, Reggie Ruggiero, Ted Christopher and defending series champion, Tony Hirschman. MORE>> |
| 03-27-06: Well, it¹s been quite a while since I¹ve sat at my computer, but when youlive in Connecticut, there is something called college basketball that keeps you busy during the winter months. Since that time, a lot has gone on in the world of the NASCAR Whelen modified tour. The last time we looked at the 2006 schedule that NASCAR put out, there has been much discussion about it, most of it not good. NASCAR officials told me in February that they were still looking to add to the 14 races that will make up the 2006 season. When I talked with Ed Cox, the director of the modified tour this past week, he too said the goal was to add one or two races for 2006. MORE>> |
| 01-09-06:
Now that NASCAR has released a preview of the 2006 NASCAR Whelen modified tour,
there has been much discussion on various modified chat rooms as well as word of
mouth.
Most are not pleased with a 14-race schedule and the fact that ten of the races
are in Connecticut. When word was out that the Thompson 300, a race steeped in
modified history was being replaced with a 150 lap Whelen modified tour event on
that weekend. Also on the tap would be a 100-lap for the Race of Champions
modifieds and a 100-lap event for the True Value modifieds as well as a 50 lap
SK modified race.
MORE>> 01-02-06: When NASCAR officials spoke at the banquet just a couple of weeks ago they said most would be pleased with the schedule. One certainly finds this schedule hardly anything to get excited about. The Riverhead Raceway, which for years a staple on the series is only having one event instead of their usual two while the Waterford Speedway is losing one race from the last couple of years. MORE>> 01-02-06: The 2005 NASCAR Whelen modified tour closed the season off on December 16th as Tony Hirschman of Northampton, PA was crowned the tour champion for the second straight year and the fifth time in his career. The gala banquet was held at the magnificent Mohegan Sun Casino in southeastern Connecticut and was attended by more than 500 people. It was the third straight year the banquet has been held at the Casino and judging by the response of those attending, the banquet has found a permanent home. MORE>> |
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2005 |
| 11-14-05: For the second straight year and for the fifth time in the past 11 season, the NASCAR Whelen modified tour championship will reside in Northampton, PA. When Tony Hirschman took the checkered flag at the Thompson International Speedway, he capped off another championship season but for the quite champion, it looked as though he might have to settle for the runner up position. MORE>> |
| 10-31-05: One of the classiest teams and driver called it a career this past weekend at the Thompson International Speedway. The records will show no championships on the modified tour and no wins but the respect by everyone on the modified tour is immense. We are talking about the team of Tony Ferrante, Jr. and his father, Tony, Sr. MORE>> |
| 10-24-05: For the third consecutive weekend, the big winner in racing has been Mother Nature as she once again caused the postponement of the World Series at the Thompson Speedway and the Waterford Speedbowl finale. The northeast, which for most of the summer had no rain, now has seen well over two feet of rain in some parts of the New England region. As the skies have opened up and has caused havoc with schedules at Thompson, Waterford and many other race venues in the northeast. Thompson Speedway officials postponed the race on Friday afternoon after looking at the National Weather Service and then in a conference call with officials from NASCAR in Daytona Beach, FL decided to call it and move it back to the weekend of October 28th and 29th. MORE>> |
| 10-10-05: For the third time and twice in the past weekend, the NASCAR Twin 100's featuring the season finale for the Busch North series and the second to last NASCAR modified tour race was rained out at the Thompson International Speedway. The Twin 100's now are set to the season finale for both of NASCAR's touring series in the northeast on Saturday, October 29th. The race was originally scheduled to be run in June but with humid conditions, thunderstorms popped up and forced NASCAR to reschedule the race for Saturday, October 8th. MORE>> |
| 10-03-05: Tony Hirschman hardly shows much emotion. That is one of the reasons that you can't count out the four time modified tour champion because of his business like approach to racing. But Hirschman showed that the Carquest Fall Final meant a lot to his chances to win a fifth title as he dominated the race, leading 133 of the 150 lap event. Hirschman, of Northampton, Pa. won for the fifth time on the Whelen modified tour and cut the points lead deficit from 61 to 36 points over Ted Christopher, who finished fifth. MORE>> |
| 9-26-05: What do NASCAR and the World Wrestling federation have in common? They both act and think like they are legitimate sports. In reality, they have nothing to do with real sports. That is the reaction that many people got following NASCAR's inaction following the Nextel Cup race at the New Hampshire International Speedway last week. How else can you explain drivers on the track throwing helmets and drivers purposely driving back on the track and running over another car and NASCAR saying in a rough tone 'don't do this again or else.' MORE>> |
| 9-19-05: LOUDON, NH-----The NASCAR Whelen modified tour has always been the best division racing at the New Hampshire International Speedway but right now, Teddy Christopher is out to prove he is one of the best drivers at the demanding one mile oval. On Friday afternoon, Christopher captured not only the NASCAR Whelen modified tour 100 lapper but earlier in the day won the Busch North 125. MORE>> |
| 9-12-05: THOMPSON, CT-------TC WINS 300-WORDS FLY BETWEEN COBY AND LIA Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT scored one of his biggest modified wins when the NASCAR Whelen modified tour points leader captured the Thompson Sunoco 300 at the Thompson International Speedway. Christopher, notching his 22nd career win and his second straight big win after taking the Made in America 300 one week earlier at Martinsville, VA. He will go for the trifecta this Friday at the New Hampshire International Speedway. MORE>> |
| 9-05-05: MARTINSVILLE, VA. ------- As the laps were winding down in the inaugural Made in America 300, Ted Christopher knew that he had one shot left to try and win. With just 24 laps remaining in the race, Christopher got a good jump on the lap 226 restart. He then nudged leader, Mike Stefanik in turn one and then went on to cruise to the win before more than 18,000 fans to witness the historic first night race at the Martinsville Speedway. MORE>> |
| 8/29/05: WATERFORD, CT---------Jerry Marquis of Broadbrook, CT struggled so much early in the season, many wondered if he and new car owner, Bob Garbarino would gel before it was too late. MORE>> |
| 8/8/05: Chris Kopec, one of the more popular drivers on the modified tour has decided to hang up his helmet. Kopec, from Ware, MA was a former Riverside Park Speedway and joined the modified tour becoming one of the most consistent drivers on the circuit. MORE>> |
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8/1/05: SEEKONK, MA------- For Eric Beers of Northampton, PA, it wasn’t a matter of if but when. When became a win on Saturday night when the ‘other’ driver from Northampton scored a win on the NASCAR Whelen modified tour MORE>> |