UPCOMING
RACES:
Sept
11 - Mahoning Speedway - Poke Series - 100 laps
Sept 18 - New Hampshire Speedway
Sept 25 - The RoC - Oswego Speedway
Race Results
and Stories:
Sept
4 - Mahoning Speedway - Poke Series - 35 laps
When Eric Beers of Northampton is not running on the NASCAR Whelan Modified
Tour he makes it a point to race at his home track Mahoning Valley Speedway
where he is expected to be contending for a win and for the most part that
is usually the case. This year, despite leading more laps than anyone, victory
had eluded him although he has been close. Three of his starts have been runner-ups.
That’s
all behind him now as he finally took a win and not in one of the famous Mahoning
100-lappers either but a regular 35-lap feature. That chance, which he does
exceeding well in, will come this Saturday, September 11 when he looks to
better his cards in Hand 4 of the 7 Card Stud Poker Series 100. Beers started
ninth and grabbed the lead from a strong running Joe Mooney on lap 11 and
then held off the late race efforts of Tyler Haydt in securing his first feature
verdict of 2010. “I almost forgot where Victory Lane was,” stated Beers. “We
had a pretty good race car. The crew guys did a great job preparing it and
I got to drive it and got it to the front pretty quick before the tires wore
out.” Never one to waste time, Beers was making his way through in a hurry,
getting to third by lap eight, second the next time by and finally first place
two laps after that. For the outset it was Terry Markovic and Jarred Nace
on the front row with Markovic holding the opening lap lead. On lap two Nace
disposed of him and two laps after that Mooney had command. Once taking the
lead Beers was able to pull away from the pack. Second place was being contested
amongst Mooney and Haydt. It took until lap 21 before Haydt was able to lock
into the position. He then got a much needed caution on lap 28 which enabled
him to step up and challenge Beers. There were a few valiant efforts in doing
so but in the end there was no denying Beers. “He’s (Haydt) good to race with.
A good clean racer just like most everyone is here,” said Beers who has now
tied George Wambold for second on the all-time Modified winner list. “These
guys here have really stepped up their game. You have guys running here every
week and they are fast so you can’t mess around. You got to go to the front
here as quick as you can. I just love coming here.” Lonnie Behler, Don Wagner
and Mooney rounded out the top five. Beers’ win also guaranteed him a starting
spot for the Race of Champions All Star feature on September 24
1.Eric
Beers 2.Tyler Haydt 3.Lonnie Behler 4.Don Wagner 5.Joe Mooney 6.Chip Santee
7.John Bennett 8.Lou Strohl 9.Pete Brittain 10.Brian Romig 11.Jarrd Nace 12.Matt
Higgins 13.Stacey Brown 14.Johnny Udes 15.Rick Reichenbach 16.Chris Hamilton
17.Harry Schaefer 18.Rob Schultz 19.Rick Kirkendall 20.Troy Bollinger 21.Terry
Markovic
Aug
28 - Mahoning Speedway
- make up Poker Race 4th - Regular Show: 2nd
One week was worth the wait for Wharton, New Jersey’s Don Wagner as he not
only won the special Poker Series race but assumed the division point lead
as well. With
13 laps competed in the August 21, 35-lap 7 Card Stud Poker Series race at
Mahoning Valley Speedway, John Bennett and Wagner where running one-two. Unfortunately
rain put a halt to the action at the point and the event was resumed this
past Saturday night. When the race got back underway Bennett was again ahead
of Wagner but never by much as the pair, who came into the night tied for
first in points, ran virtually side-by-side. Six laps after the restart Wagner,
running the outside, went by Bennett for the lead and ultimately the win.
“I love racing side-by-side with Johnny (Bennett). We’ve done it like that
for a long time and he always runs you clean. We got it tonight and it felt
good because we had been fighting some motor issues the past few weeks,” said
Wagner, now a two-time winner. In moving to the point lead Wagner is the first
driver in the past two-and-one-half seasons to unseat Bennett from the top
of the standings during the regular season. “He is the king and unless you
beat the best what do you have the gauge it against,” added Wagner.Chip Santee,
Eric Beers and Lou Strohl completed the top five. “Donny is a good competitor.
Our car was a little down tonight and we weren’t able to keep it down were
we wanted to be. He was able to get around the outside and it’s good to see
him win,” said Bennett.
In the regular Modified feature it was an all out barnburner as Santee picked
up his second win of the season by the narrowest of margins over Beers, Wagner
and Bennett. Off the track, Santee and Beers are the best of friends. Once
strapped inside their race cars they become fierce competitors and that was
evident over the final laps as Beers came within inches of winning. Santee
took the top place from Troy Bollinger on a lap eight restart and by lap 12
it became a four car confrontation with Bennett, Wagner and Beers all over
the backside of the leader. The foursome where amazing in the way they raced
under a blanket. As Santee led Wagner and Bennett traded off second with Beers
watching intently from fourth. With ten laps to go Wagner somehow got second
to himself while Beers checked into third over Bennett. Still as close as
could be, Beers passed Wagner four laps from the finish and then tried to
keep that rhythm going on Santee. On the final lap Beers made an all out effort
but fell short by a scant .086-second. “I mentioned earlier that the car was
way off. My guys went to work on it and the guy (Beers) that finished second
had been giving me a couple good pointers the last few weeks. He’s a great
friend and competitor,” said Santee. “I seen Donny there and Johnny there
and didn’t know Eric was part of it too. Usually when I get in the lead I
take it easy but tonight there was no choice but to run as hard as I could
to hold off those guys. “There’s one thing I have to say, Eric how does it
feel to be looking at my back panel for once coming across the line.” This
was third runner-up for Beers who uncharacteristically has yet to reach Victory
Lane this season despite leading the most laps of anyone this season“He (Santee)
had been running a good line. We were all running in a tight bunch out there,
the top four of us. I had to use a lapped car to get past Bennett and we snuck
under Donny. I pulled up on Chip and tried as best I can to get him. On the
last lap coming to the checkered I pointed it towards the flagman and held
it flat out hoping I could get him. He did a great job and we’ll come back
and get him next time,” said Beers.
Holdover Modified Feature Finish From 8/21, 35 Laps: 1. Don Wagner 2.John
Bennett 3.Chip Santee 4.Eric Beers 5.Lou Strohl 6.Joe Mooney 7.Troy Bollinger
8.Matt Higgins 9.Earl Paules 10.Brian DeFebo 11.Ed Heim, Jr. 12.Terry Markovic
13.Rick Reichenbach 14.Tommy Flanagan 15.Andy Szapacs 16.Jarred Nace 17.Keith
Mullineaux 18.Rob Shultz 19.Kevin Graver, Jr. 20.Lonnie Behler DNQ: Matt Clemens
Modified Feature Finish, 35 Laps: 1.Santee 2.Beers 3.Wagner 4.Bennett 5.Behler 6.Lou Strohl 7.Brian Romig 8.Flanagan 9.Higgins 10.Reichenbach 11.Stacey Brown 12.DeFebo 13.Mooney 14.Nace 15.Mullineux 16.Heim 17.Szapacs 18.Bollinger 19.Terry Markovic 20.Clemens
Aug
21- Mahoning Speedway -- Need to run 22 more laps
Modified running order after 13 laps: 1.John Bennett 2.Don Wagner 3.Troy Bollinger
4.Chip Santee 5.Joe Mooney 6.Bobby Jones 7.Eric Beers 8.Lou Strohl 9.Lou Strohl
10.Earl Paules 11.John Markovic 12.Rob Shultz 13.Jarred Nace 14.Kevin Graver,
Jr. 15.Matt Higgins 16.Terry Markovic 17.Tom Flanagan 18.Keith Mullineaux
19.Ed Heim, Jr. 20.Andy Szapacs 21.Lonnie Behler DNS: Matt Clemens
Aug 18 - Bristol Speedway - NASCAR - 14
NEWMAN WINS UNOH PERFECT STORM 150 AT BRISTOL
Second NASCAR Modified Win In As Many Starts In 2010
Ryan
Newman continued his winning ways in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with
a victory in the UNOH Perfect Storm 150 at Bristol Motor Speedway Wednesday.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver held off a late charge from seven-time
tour champion Mike Stefanik over the closing laps to secure his second win
of the season. Newman also won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway driving the
Modified owned by Kevin Manion, crew chief for Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray.
James Civali was the top NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour driver in the
annual combination race in third place overall. The event is the annual combination
race between the two Modified tours and drivers received points for their
finish in respective to other drivers in the same Tour.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers Bobby Santos and Todd Szegedy rounded
out the top five
Newman powered by Civali and Ted Christopher in one swoop in traffic on Lap
128, and chased down Stefanik three laps later. Stefanik pulled alongside
Newman twice in the final five laps but was unable to complete the pass. Rookie
Justin Bonsignore, who won his first career Coors Light Pole Award earlier
in the day, finished sixth, followed by Dale Quarterley, Eric Goodale, Ryan
Preece and Erick Rudolph. The race was slowed just three times by yellow flags,
including the competition caution at the halfway point. Christopher led 80
of the first 125 laps before encountering engine trouble and pulling off the
track suddenly on Lap 140 while running third. He finished 26th, nine laps
down, and lost the points lead to Santos. Santos now leads Christopher by
32 and Stefanik by 61. L.W. Miller also lost the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified
Tour points lead because of mechanical issues. He finished 39 laps down in
29th overall. Civali leads Miller by five and Andy Seuss by 32...
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-NASACR Whelen Southern Modified Tour
UNOH Perfect Storm 150 Unofficial Results
Wednesday At Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tenn.
Lap length: 0.533 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (4) Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind., Chevrolet, 150 laps, 101.025 mph, $10,400.
2. (7) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 150, $4,800.
3. (5) James Civali, Meriden, Conn., Pontiac, 150, $3,950.
4. (3) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Dodge, 150, $3,900.
5. (2) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 150, $3,050.
6. (1) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $4,200.
7. (18) Dale Quarterley, Westfield, Mass., Chevrolet, 150, $3,200.
8. (10) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $2,500.
9. (8) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $2,200.
10. (11) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $2,000.
11. (25) Burt Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 150, $1,300.
12. (14) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $1,700.
13. (28) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $1,400.
14. (21) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 149, $1,500.
15. (9) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 149, $1,500.
16. (13) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 149, $1,000.
17. (24) Frank Fleming, Mt. Airy, N.C., Ford, 148, $1,000.
18. (23) Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 148, $1,000.
19. (29) John Smith, Mount Airy, N.C., Chevrolet, 147, $1,300.
20. (19) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 146, $1,400.
21. (36) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 146, $1,400.
22. (35) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 145, $1,400.
23. (12) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Dodge, 144, $1,000.
24. (26) Bryan Dauzat, Midland, N.C., Chevrolet, 143, $1,000.
25. (27) Gene Pack, North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Chevrolet, 143, $1,000.
26. (6) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 141, engine, $1,500.
27. (22) Rob Summers, Vernon, Conn., Chevrolet, 138, rocker arm, $1,400.
28. (20) George Brunnhoelzl, III, W. Babylon, N.Y., Chevrolet, 130, $1,400.
29. (17) L.W. Miller, Dushore, Pa., Pontiac, 111, engine, $1,000.
30. (16) Tim Brown, Cana, Va., Chevrolet, 108, fuel pump, $1,000.
31. (34) Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Chevrolet, 94, electrical,
$1,400.
32. (15) Zach Brewer, Winstom-Salem, N.C., Chevrolet, 62, brakes, $1,000.
33. (32) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 42, engine, $1,500.
34. (33) Greg Butcher, Mocksville, N.C., Chevrolet, 36, suspension, $1,100.
35. (30) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 28, engine, $1,400.
36. (31) Brandon Hire, Winston-Salem, N.C., Chevrolet, 12, accident, $1,000.
Race
Statistics
Time of Race: 47 minutes 29 seconds
Margin of Victory: .322 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: J.Bonsignore * (129.343 mph, 14.835 seconds)
Caution Flags: 3 for 15 laps.
Lead Changes: 7 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Szegedy 1-26; T. Christopher 27-62; T. Szegedy 63-65; T. Christopher
66-91; M. Stefanik 92-107; T. Christopher 108-125; M. Stefanik 126-130; R.
Newman 131-150.
by Polly Reid
It
was overload. From flag to flag the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour UNOH Perfect
Storm 150 was fast, changing, non-stop bumper to bumper action and when the
dust settled, it was Ryan Newman from South Bend, IN claiming the victory
in the Kevin ‘Bono’ Manion owned modified. Seven time NWMT Champion Mike Stefanik
finished second with James Civali, the first NASCAR Southern Modified Tour
driver to cross the line in third, Bobby Santos, Todd Szegedy the top five.
“The first 75 laps we maintained until that break. Bono and those guys did
a good job making adjustments and getting another set of tires on,” said Newman.
“I want to thank Bono and our sponsors Menards and Aggressive Hydraulics for
the opportunity. We come here to win but it’s a lot of fun. These guys have
had a heck of a year and I’m glad to be part of it.” The first half, Newman
lingered in the fourth to sixth place position. On the restart after the competition
yellow, Newman seemed to repeat the effort, the key words being ‘seemed to
repeat.’ A comfortable fourth at the 127 mark, it was like a flip switched
and one circuit later Newman launched past James Civali and Teddy Christopher
suddenly tucking into second place, his focus centered on one more spot, getting
past the stout Diversified Metals, R.B. Enterprises sponsored modified, Stefanik
behind the wheel. “I tried to manage my tires a little bit,” explained Newman
about his sudden surge. “I wasn’t as quick as those guys in the first 75 laps.
Then I got a really good run off of turn four and got passed two of them.
I had a good run on the outside of Stefanik there and set sail. I didn’t really
expect it to come as easy as it did but I looked up and it was like 19 to
go and I was like fourth or fifth. Everything came together at the right time.”
With confidence and conviction, Newman saw his opportunity to take the lead
as he moved to the outside of Stefanik. Side by side, a lap car came into
the mix and Newman, using the lap car as a pick, finished off the pass to
take the lead with 19 to go. Stefanik stayed with Newman, the pair running
nose to tail and while Stefanik made several attempts to gain the lead back,
timing of lap traffic continued to foil completion. “If we could have had
the luck of catching lap traffic right, we could have had something for the
7 car,” said Stefanik who mentioned he used the lap traffic to his advantage
once to keep Newman behind him. “I’m really proud of my team,” said Stefanik.
“We’re contenders.” While all eyes seem to focus on Christopher and Santos,
Stefanik is more than into the mix for the championship title only 61 points
out of first. There is a determination not to mention momentum that the Eric
Sanderson owned team has that is going to bring this down to the wire. Newman
described the closing circuits, Stefanik filling his rear view mirror. “He
pulled underneath me a couple of times especially in 3 and 4, I was a little
loose getting into three more than one. He was really good rolling through
the center. Honestly, I didn’t know who was in the 16 but he raced me clean
then I realized after it was Stefanik. He could have come up and nerfed me
a couple of times in turn four but he left me plenty of room and raced me
clean, that was a lot of fun. I really have a lot of fun racing with these
guys in the Whelen Modified Tour, their hard nosed racers and I really appreciate
that.” The best seat in the house had to have been NSWMT driver Civali, the
Meriden, CT driver who was fastest in both practice sessions and started fifth
in the Hill Enterprises, Coors Light, LeBleu Water modified. A battle back
and forth with Todd Szegedy was another whole show in itself as the pair finally
settled with less than 25 to go, Civali edging out the UNOH, Wisk, Snuggle
sponsored Szegedy for the eventual podium spot. “Our car was real good, it
was a battle at the end, everybody was good,” said Civali. “We were real good
but the two guys who finished in front of me were a little better. The 4 car
finished right behind me, I think he was a little better than me but we held
our own. A big improvement over last year. We really needed this for the points,
it was a good run for us.” Civali leaves Bristol with a five point lead over
L.W. Miller who suffered terminal motor problems. Szegedy in the Mike Smeriglio
owned Ford dominated the opening laps setting a torrid pace but a slight brush
with the outside wall at some point suddenly turned the complexion of the
race around as the Ridgefield, CT driver worked to hold onto a top five. Szegedy
in fourth, had his hands full with Bobby Santos and relented the position
with just over 15 to go, Szegedy crossing fifth. Coming up short, Ted Christopher
led on three separate occasions, a top contender until engine problems brought
the Al-Lee Installations to pit row with 10 to go. Clearly disappointed, the
finish sets Christopher back to 2nd in points, 32 behind Santos with three
events left on the schedule. Santos struggled in the first segment with brake
issues, or more the point, lack of brakes. But after the five minute competition
yellow, Santos in the Mystic Missile Dodge returned and starting ninth, used
the caution free run to work his way forward. “It feels good to have an awesome
run,” said Santos. “We found the outside in the second half of the race, the
car was awesome.” There was a lot of ‘first time’ in Justin Bonsignore’s vocabulary
this week who crossed the line a solid 6th place. It was the first time he
came to Bristol, the first time he raced the car and now, it is the first
time he won a pole. Bonsignore set a 14.835 second qualifying lap topping
the field in time earning the Coors Light Pole. “It is a car we bought from
Brain Loftin, the first time we ran it was at Riverhead just to shake it down.
Our first time in it really, had no flaws in it, everything’s working good
and we have a new motor.” “I knew we had a good car, I didn’t think we had
a pole car. We picked up a little bit from practice, I figured we back in
up and be a top ten. The guys gave me a really good car and they told me not
to lift, so I didn’t lift.”With qualifying rained out a year ago, Bonsignore
in the M3 Technology modified owned by Ken Massa with crew chief Aaron Clifford,
now holds the track record for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at the half
mile Bristol high banks. “It’s pretty cool,” said Bonsignore about the track
record. “Anywhere it’s cool, but at Bristol? We’ve had some good cars, but
nothing to show for it. Finally we have something to hang up in the shop.
It’s a real morale booster. Next, we just need to seal the deal.” Two cars
did not qualify and think they would certainly have added to the action if
they made the field. Gary Fountain from Clermont, FL pulled together a team
to attempt his first NSWMT start and while Fountain adjusted well to the high
banks, he was a tick off in time and was not able to qualify. Andy Petree
took a break from his ESPN announce booth duties teaming up with car owner
Brody Jones. Lap times showed improvement form the first to second practices,
but unfortunately it was not quite enough to make the field. The University
of Northwestern Ohio returned to not only sponsor the NWMT event at Bristol,
they came to work it. UNOH brought several students for some ‘on the job’
training. UNOH students were on hand to help out Todd Szegedy with four of
them actually going over the wall during the competition yellow. And it did
not end there, six UNOH students went over the wall during the NASCAR Camping
World Series Truck race helping out on the pit stops for #12 Truck driver
Mario Gosslin.
A final note, Newman mentioned in his post race interview what will always
be on our minds. It was August 19, 2004 that we lost ‘Tiger’ Tom Baldwin.
The 7 car will always be a welcome sight in victory lane
Aug
14- Mahoning Speedway - POKER Series 100 laps- 2
It was
a great night of racing at Mhoning. Eric started out the night setting fast
time which meant he started the race in the 12th position. For the first 40
laps you could see the #9 was the fastest car on the track. Passing cars on
the inside and the outside it did not matter as Eric made his way to the front
taking what the race was giving him. The race changed on when Eric was on
the outside of Lou Strohl passing him for the lead when Lou got loose out
of four and push high hitting the #9. Smoke flew but Eric kept the car straight
and went ontot he lead. But we couldnt see was that the hit knocked the tow
out so now the car was not the same. Following a restrat Eric on the inside
and hirstman on the outside battled side by side for several laps until Hirstman
took the lead and then went onto a victory. But the #9 team should be proud
of the work they did this week getting the car ready and knowing they had
the fastest car in the field on this night.
By Dino " The Voice" Oberto
No one will argue the fact that the Modified Poker Series concept at Mahoning
Valley Speedway has been a huge success, especially Matt Hirschman, who scored
his third 100 lap win in the last five races. In the process he has also raked
in a nice amount of cash to the tune of $10,000, including $3000 for winning
Saturday’s race. This was Hand 3 of the 7 Card Stud Modified Poker Series
and Hirschman authored one of the most dominating race wins at the track in
some time. After shuffling the lead with Eric Beers after a lap 50 restart,
Hirschman went ahead for good on lap 53 and then proceeded to head out into
a zone all his own. With no cautions over the final 50 tours, Hirschman easily
had his way with the pack. Weaving inside and out and passing cars at will,
he pulled away to a commanding 5 second win over Beers and early leader Lou
Strohl. Rob Shultz and John Markovic completed the top five. “I just
had a perfect race car. We passed Eric Beers to win and lapped Earl Paules
(last week’s poker winner) here at Mahoning, unbelievable,” said
Hirschman, who drove the Bob Horn #50. “We finally had won a race here
at the end of last season and ended all that nonsense that we can’t
win here. Three (wins) out of the last five here, that’s awesome. This
was a good crowd that came out to support the races tonight and the management
here does these 100 lappers that are wildly popular. The Poker Series is definitely
been a good thing.” After an inversion of the top 12 in time trials,
Lou Strohl and Tyler Haydt had the front row for the start. Beers was the
top qualifier with a lap of 9.745 with Anthony Sesely second quick at 9.757.
When the race began Strohl was in control. Haydt, CJ Jones and Don Wagner
all had a stint at second spot but it was Beers and 15th starting Hirschman
who were doing the most frontward movement. Both powered to second and third
respectively and made matters tough on Strohl. Beers was running alongside
Strohl and aiming for the lead and was just about to do so until a caution
waved on lap 49. On the restart Strohl and Beers ran neck-and-neck. As they
were exiting turn four and with Beers on the topside, Strohl got his right
front into the side of Beers and went spinning. With a throng of oncoming
traffic several cars got collected. For the restart it was now Beers and Hirschman,
who both hail from Mud Lane in Northampton, at the front and as expected from
these two stars, they put on a thrilling duel for the lead. They went back
and forth with the lead until Hirschman went to the front for keeps on lap
53. He then dazzled the crowd with his stellar performance the rest of the
way. “I want to document everything because I never had a car that worked
as good as this. The car was just so perfect. Usually I’m out of breath
at the end of a race here because I’m fighting the car. I was still
running as hard as I could because I figured Eric Beers was going to be sticking
his nose in there with those lapped cars out there,” said Hirschman.
“I gave it everything it had and it had a lot tonight. I want to thank
Bob Horn from Connecticut for bringing it here.” Hirschman drew the
Ace of Clubs as the suite for the night. For Beers it marked the third time
this year that he has led a 100 lapper but fell short at the end. He does,
however, have a pair of Kings heading into next week’s 35-lap wild card
race. “He (Hirschman) had a real good car tonight. I thought that we
may have had the better car there for a little while but then Louie (Strohl)
and I got together and it knocked my toe-in some but hats off to Matt and
his guys, they had their act together. We’ll get more races coming up
here and try next time,” said Beers. Strohl’s third was his best
effort to date, which came after storming back through the pack after pitting
on lap 49. Likewise with Shultz who checked in the pits at midway and once
again made a late race charge into the top five. Markovic has finished
in the top five in each poker race this year.
Modified Feature Finish, 100 Laps: 1.Matt Hirschman
2.Eric Beers 3.Lou Strohl 4.Rob Shultz 5.John Markovic 6.Lonnie Behler 7.Anthony
Sesely 8.Matt Higgins 9.Don Wagner 10.Brian DeFebo 11.Earl Paules 12.John
Bennett 13.Bobby Jones 14.Tyler Haydt 15.Troy Bollinger 16.Chip Santee 17.Jarred
Nace 18.Joe Mooney 19.Terry Markovic 20.CJ Jones
For
most of the night Ted Christopher made it look easy. Almost too easy.\
Christopher paced the field from the start and only relinquished the lead
twice during the Budweiser King of Beers 150 on Thursday at Thompson International
Speedway to record his 37th career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory. It
was Christopher’s 10th Whelen Modified Tour win at Thompson, and his
fourth in the Tour’s last six races at the .625-mile oval. The Plainville,
Conn., driver led 141 of the 156 laps.Christopher was clearly the class of
the field building leads by as much as four seconds before losing his advantage
after the fourth and final caution flag of the race flew on Lap 149 after
Erick Rudolph’s problems set up the final sprint to the finish.Bobby
Santos took the lead after Christopher pitted under caution on Lap 95, however,
it only took Christopher 10 laps to get back in front after the restart on
Lap 101. Santos finished the race in third place.Following Santos across the
line Thursday night was Rowan Pennink and Mike Stefanik in the top five. Todd
Szegedy, Chuck Hossfeld, Doug Coby, Eric Goodale and Glen Reen rounded out
the top 10.With the win, Christopher took the championship points lead from
Santos, who had led through the first nine races. Christopher’s three
wins and six top-fives have forged a 14-point lead over Santos with Mike Stefanik
in third, 85 tallies back. NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to action when
it joins the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour in the only combination
event of the season next Wednesday, Aug. 18 at 6 p.m., for the UNOH Perfect
Storm 150 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-Budweiser King of Beers 150 Unofficial Results
Thursday At Thompson International Speedway, Thompson, Conn.
Lap length: 0.625 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (2) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 156 laps, 94.228 mph,
$7,900.
2. (5) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 156, $3,400.
3. (3) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Dodge, 156, $3,500.
4. (4) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 156, $3,100.
5. (8) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 156, $2,300.
6. (10) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 156, $2,050.
7. (6) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 156, $1,850.
8. (13) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 156, $1,325.
9. (16) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 156, $1,900.
10. (22) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Mass., Chevrolet, 156, $1,900.
11. (12) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 156, $1,625.
12. (20) James Civali, Meriden, Conn., Pontiac, 156, $1,488.
13. (23) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 156, $1,475.
14. (25) Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Chevrolet, 156, $1,750.
15. (14) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 155, accident, $1,436.
16. (18) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 155, accident, $1,400.
17. (15) George Brunnhoelzl, III, W. Babylon, N.Y., Chevrolet, 154, $1,375.
18. (26) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 151, $1,350.
19. (29) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Chevrolet, 151, $1,325.
20. (19) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 151, $1,300.
21. (17) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 149, accident, $1,375.
22. (11) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 146, $1,350.
23. (28) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 142, $1,225.
24. (1) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 126, electrical, $1,300.
25. (24) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 106, engine, $1,190.
26. (21) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Ford, 105, electrical, $750.
27. (27) Johnny Bush, Huntington Station, N.Y., Chevrolet, 39, drive shaft,
$1,150.
28. (9) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 3, accident, $750.
29. (7) Eric Berndt, Cromwell, Conn., Chevrolet, 1, accident, $1,150.
Race
Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 2 minutes 5 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.228 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: T. Christopher (120.812 mph, 18.624 seconds)
Caution Flags: 4 for 20 laps.
Lead Changes: 4 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Christopher 1-96; B. Santos 97-110; T. Christopher 111-153;
R. Silk 154; T. Christopher 155-156.
Standings:
1. T. Christopher, 1583; 2. B. Santos, 1569; 3. M. Stefanik, 1498; 4. R. Silk,
1467; 5. T. Szegedy, 1463; 6. R. Preece, 1358; 7. E. Rudolph, 1246; 8. E.
Beers, 1227; 9. E. Goodale, 1227; 10. R. Pennink, 1195.
LAP 156 (9:55 p.m.) -- CHECKERED FLAG: Christopher holds off Silk for the
Budweiser King of Beers 150 checkered flag. It is Christopher's 37th career
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win, his 10th at Thompson International Speedway
overall, and his fourth at in the last six races at the track.
LAP 155 -- Christopher regains the lead on the backstrech.
LAP 154 -- GREEN FLAG: Silk nips Christopher at the line.
LAP 149 -- CAUTION NO. 4: Erick Rudolph broke on the frontstretch with Christopher
leading Silk by more than four seconds.
LAP 145 -- Christopher, Silk, Santos, Pennink, Szegedy, Stefanik.
LAP 140 -- Christopher has a lead of more than three seconds with 10 laps
remaining.
LAP 137 -- Top 10: Christopher. Santos, Silk, Szegedy, Pennink, Stefanik,
Coby, Reen, Hossfeld and Goodale.
LAP 134 -- Christopher's lead is now 2.5-seconds over Santos.
LAP 130 -- Heagy is out of the race. Reason: Engine.
LAP 128 -- Christopher is now half a straightaway ahead of Santos, Szegedy,
Silk and Pennink.
LAP 125 -- Best race on the track right now is for fifth, where Pennink just
passed Stefanik.
LAP 121 -- Doug Coby has rallied up to the eighth spot. Woody Pikat out of
race now with engine woes.
LAP 120 -- Christopher's lead is .7 seconds over Santos.
LAP 117 -- Top five has strung out. Christopher leads Santos, Szegedy, Stefanik
and Silk.
LAP 114 -- Just three laps after taking the lead, Christopher has opened a
six-car length led over Santos.
LAP 112 -- Ken Heagy heads to pit road.
LAP 111 -- Christopher powers by Santos for lead on bottom side of Turn 2.
LAp 108 -- Christopher second.
LAP 107 -- Even contact in traffic doesn't slow Christopher. He's third and
pressuring Szeedy for second... Bonsignore, Pitkat slow on backstretch and
both head to pit road.
LAP 104 -- Christopher charges all the way back to fifth. Fresh tires really
helping. Pennink up to 8th.
LAP 102 -- Christopher drops from fifth to ninth after contact with Jimmy
Blewett in Turn 4.
LAP 101 -- GREEN FLAG -- Santos takes outside pole for restart, by choice.
He drives clear of Szegedy off Turn 2.
LAP 97 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Santos leads Szegedy, Coby, Reen, Rudolph, Blewett,
Civali and Christopher. Pennink loses lots of ground on pit road and will
restart in 12th.
LAP 96 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Jamie Tomaino gets free pass under this caution.
Christopher wins rce off pit road between cars that made stops.
LAP 95 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Christopher, Pennink, Silk, Bonsignore, Hossfeld,
Stefanik among those who head to pit road.
LAP 94 -- CAUTION 3 -- Preece stopped on backstretch. He was running fourth.
LAP 90 -- Top 5: Christopher, Pennink, Santos, Preece, Silk.
LAP 89 -- Preece drives under Szegedy, Silk and now sits fourth.
LAP 87 -- Tomaino, Brunnhoelzl, Dupuis have all gone down a lap on this run
since the restart.
LAP 84 -- Christopher has stretched the lead over Pennink to half a straightaway.
Then it's a long way back to Silk -- another full straightaway -- in third.
LAP 81 -- Preece gets the sixth spot. Might be fastest car on the track.
LAP 77 -- Preece putting serious heat on Bonsignore for sixth.
LAP 75 -- HALFWAY -- Top 15: Christopher, Pennink, Silk, Szegedy, Santos,
Bonsignore, Preece, Stefanik, Hossfeld, Reen, Coby, Rudolph, Goodale, Civali
and Flemke.
LAP 70 -- Cars are pretty well strung out. Cars that didn't pit clearly in
'ride' mode.LAP
68 -- Good battle for eighth between Preece and Stefanik.LAP
65 -- Ed Flemke Jr. in 11th. Good run going for the No. 10.
LAP 62 -- Pennink not losing any ground to Christopher up front. They're 2.5-seconds
ahead of Silk, with Pennink just a couple of car lengths behind Christopher.
LAP 59 -- Szegedy up to fourth now and closing quickly on Silk for third.
That pit stop obviously did the No. 2 car some good.
LAP 55 -- Christopher leads Pennink, Silk, Bonsignore, Szegedy, Stefanik,
Santos, Hossfeld, Flemke and Goodale.
LAP 52 -- Silk coming to life after the restart. He's third and moving up
on leaders. Meanwhile, Szegedy has cracked the top-five.
LAP 50 -- Eric Goodale wiggles off Turn 2, cars stack up behind him. Everybody
keeps it straight.
LAP 48 -- Johnny Bush officially out. Reason: Driveshaft.
LAP 47 -- Pennink, Silk move past Bonsignore to take second and third behind
Christopher, who gets away cleanly on restart.
LAP 46 -- GREEN FLAG -- Stefanik restarts in seventh -- first car that pitted.
LAP 43 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Preece, Tomaino make second pit stops.
LAP 42 -- UNDER CAUTION -- No free pass. Bush would have been the eligible
car. Preece, Santos, Szegedy, Flemke, Rudolph, Pitkat, Beers, Brunnhoelzl,
Pallai, Dupuis, Blewett, Reen, Coby, Civali, Tomaino all head to pit road.
Top five stayed out -- Christopher, Bonsignore, Pennink, Hossfeld and Silk.
LAP 41 -- CAUTION 2 -- Johnny Bush barely rolling down frontstretch.
LAP 38 -- Christopher's lead up to 2.2 seconds over Bonsignore, as Bonsignore,
Pennink and Hossfeld stack up trying to work around lapped car of Bush.
LAP 34 -- Christopher starting lap cars. McDonald, Cole, Bush all going a
lap down.
LAP 30 -- Doug Coby up to seventh after starting 13th, dogging Santos for
sixth. Side Note: The Santos family owns the car driven by Coby.
LAP 26 -- Ron Silk around Santos for fifth.
LAP25 -- Christopher in cruise control. He's got a full second lead over Bonsignore.
No changes in top five runners, with Pennink, Hossfeld and Santos rounding
out the top-5.
LAP 20 -- Kevin Goodale officially retires from race due to damage from Lap
2 incident.
LAP 19 -- Stefanik having trouble keeping car down in the turns. Ryan Preece
just nosed under him off Turn 2 to try and take eighth place away.
LAP 16 -- Christopher strong at the front of the field. He's opened up five-car
length lead over Bonsignore, Pennink.
LAP 13 -- Top 12 cars stretch out single file in early going. Ed Flemke Jr.
started 18th and is already up to 13th.
LAP 11 -- Berndt officially out of race.
LAP 10 -- Outside line moving, Santos into top-5 around Stefanik.
LAP 8 -- GREEN FLAG -- Christopher holds lead, as Pennink peeks under Bonsignore
for second.
LAP 6 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Christopher, Bonsignore, Pennink, Hossfeld, Stefanik,
Santos, Szegedy, Silk, Beers and Coby the top-10 as we go back to green.
LAP 3 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Kevin Goodale takes damaged car behind the wall.
Wade Cole also visits pit road, as Eric Berndt's car is towed off the track.
LAP 2 -- CAUTION 1 -- Eric Berndt part of a chain reaction wreck off Turn
2. Stopped against wall. Christopher leads Bonsignore, Pennink, Hossfeld and
Stefanik.
8:53 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG -- As fireworks thunder over the backstretch, Ted
Christopher leads the field off the top side of Turn 2 on Lap 1.
Modified
Feature Finish, 35 Laps: 1.Earl Paules 2.Lonnie Behler 3.Bobby Jones 4.Don
Wagner 5.Eric Beers 6.Rob Shultz 7.Brian Romig 8.Brian DeFebo 9.Tom Flanagan
10.Jarred Nace 11.Rick Reichenbach 12.John Bennett 13.Tyler Haydt 14.Matt
Higgins 15.Troy Bollinger 16.Stacey Brown 17.Lou Strohl 18.Joe Mooney 19.Anthony
Sesely 20.Chip Santee DNQ: Andy Szapacs
August
6 - Stafford Speedway - NASCAR - 6
Todd Szegedy ended the longest Victory Lane drought of his career Friday night
when he won the Town Fair Tire 150 at Stafford Motor Speedway.Szegedy, who
had been winless since September 2008 at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway,
took the lead from Mike Stefanik on Lap 100 en route to his 14th career win.
It was the third triumph at Stafford for Szegedy, who led a race-high 54 laps.For
Szegedy, the 2003 Whelen Modified Tour champion who has been a consistent
front-runner and winner throughout his career, the drought put a lot of weight
on his shoulders. His previous longest winless streak was 17 races between
his first and second career wins in 2002-03. “It gives you motivation, when
you lose so much,” Szegedy said in Victory Lane. “When you lose, it’s horrible.
So winning – this is awesome.” After disappointing finishes in the previous
two races, Szegedy’s No. 2 Wisk/Snuggle Ford team had slipped from second
to fifth in the standings.
“It’s going to give us momentum to catch back up in points,” Szegedy said.
“It’s going to be really hard, but we know we have to maintain top-five finishes
to have a shot in the points.” Stefanik finished as the race runner-up - the
best finish of his season - and his best result at Stafford since he won the
2008 Fall Final. He led 33 laps Friday.“I haven’t had a car this good here
in a long time,” Stefanik said. “We had a car to stay up front and lead laps.
I started to get that ‘feel-good feeling’ for a little while there until reality
set in. Todd turned it up and got by us on the outside and drove away.” Ron
Silk, who earned his first Stafford Coors Light Pole Award earlier in the
day, crossed the line third for his fourth-straight podium finish and fifth-consecutive
top-five erall. “We’ve finished third the last four races,” Silk said. “I
want to win one pretty soon, but if we keep finishing third, we’ll get one.”
Erick Rudolph and Ted Christopher rounded out the top five while Eric Beers,
Eric Goodale, Bobby Grigas III, Chuck Hossfeld and George Brunnhoelzl III
completed the top 10. Goodale tied his previous career-best finish, set last
week at Riverhead Raceway. Points leader Bobby Santos suffered a blown motor
that brought out a red-flag for cleanup on Lap 100 that resulted in a 23rd-place
finish. As a result, the 67-point advantage he brought into the race on Christopher
was chopped to just six, the tightest at any point this year. Stefanik remained
third in the standings, now 56 tallies out of first, while Szegedy moved up
to fourth.
NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour-Town Fair Tire 150 Unofficial Results
Friday At Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford, Conn.
Lap length: 0.5 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (5) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 150 laps, 65.950 mph, $7,600.
2. (4) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 150, $3,700.
3. (6) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $3,800.
4. (2) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $2,800.
5. (3) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $2,400.
6. (16) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 150, $1,950.
7. (21) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $2,800.
8. (1) Bobby Grigas, III, Marshfield, Mass., Chevrolet, 150, $1,750.
9. (8) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $1,700.
10. (10) George Brunnhoelzl, III, W. Babylon, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $1,650.
11. (15) Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $1,925.
12. (9) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $1,600.
13. (26) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $1,525.
14. (23) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Ford, 150, $1,100.
15. (22) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Mass., Chevrolet, 150, $1,075.
16. (17) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 149, $1,550.
17. (13) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 148, $1,025.
18. (25) Danny Knoll, Jr., Buffalo, N.Y., Chevrolet, 146, $1,400.
19. (30) Michael Speeney, Newtown, Pa., Chevrolet, 146, $975.
20. (28) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Chevrolet, 146, $1,325.
21. (24) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 142, $1,400.
22. (19) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 138, $1,275.
23. (14) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Dodge, 100, $1,950.
24. (27) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 99, $1,225.
25. (11) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 89, $1,318.
26. (20) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 88, $800.
27. (12) Eric Berndt, Cromwell, Conn., Chevrolet, 64, $1,200.
28. (18) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 47, $1,200.
29. (7) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 43, $1,300.
30. (29) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 16, $1,200.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 8 minutes 14 seconds
Margin of Victory: 2.967 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: R.Silk (98.382 mph, 18.296 seconds)
Caution Flags: 6 for 39 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: E. Rudolph 1-50; D. Coby 51-55; R. Silk 56-63; M. Stefanik 64-95;
T. Szegedy 96-108; M. Stefanik 109; T. Szegedy 110-150.
by Polly Reid
This one was not going to be the one to get away. After a side by side battle with Mike Stefanik on the final restart, Todd Szegedy of Ridgefield, CT left no margin for error taking the lead for good in the last 40 circuits pulling away from the pack to score his first win of the season in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, collecting the checkers in Town Fair Tire 150 at Stafford Motor Speedway. “The car was phenomenal,” said Szegedy about his Wisk, Snuggle sponsored Ford. “I don’t know if I had the absolute best car, but I was one of the better cars that got to the front the quickest and being out front I was able to run my own line, race my own race and that makes a big difference.” A testament to the Mike Smeriglio owned team lead by co-crew chiefs Don Barker and Lloyd Agor, Szegedy knew he didn‘t have the fastest car after practice, but it was solid. “It amazed me that I could get to the throttle and the front end didn’t push, didn’t get loose, it just stuck, boy it’s rare to have something that good. The conditions were perfect, we hit the nail on the head.” While all was going well for Szegedy, nothing was going to be left to chance as Szegedy put as much real estate as possible between himself and Stefanik. “I’ve lost a race here with a guy on my tail. I wanted to get away as far as I could, get around these lap cars because you never know what’s going to happen.” It may have been 2003, but still fresh in his mind, Szegedy lost a race to Jerry Marquis at the line because of a lap car. “I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I had the car, pulled away, I wanted to have plenty of cushion in case something happened.” His 14th career NWMT win, the 2.967 margin of victory was indeed a cushion. Crossing for second, Mike Stefanik appeared to have the car to beat earlier after taking the lead from Ron Silk before the half way mark. Hospitality night for the Sanderson/McCloud group, they saw a great show as their driver powered on the outside for the lead from Silk on a restart, the duo side by side with Stefanik taking the edge out of turn four. Dueling next with Szegedy, Stefanik fought the battle and while he edged into the lead once over Szegedy, Szegedy turned up the wick and didn’t look back.“It was great for Flamingo Motorsports to have a good night,” said Stefanik. “I enjoyed running up front and staying up front. We had a great pit stop, those guys are awesome, they practice a lot and it shows. I have to thank everyone involved in this 16 car. It’s a pleasure to drive when it drives like that.” Stefanik, who led a total of 32 circuits, pulled the Eric Sanderson owned, Diversified Metals, R.B. Enterprises machine to within 56 points of current leader Bobby Santos. “This car, it was a privilege to stay up front, run with the big boys. I’m proud of my team, proud of the pit stop, proud of all the hard work they do.” Setting a solid time trial lap, Ron Silk of Norwalk, CT nailed his third career pole, his first at his home track. Silk followed up his fast time crossing the line for a third place finish for car owner Ed Partridge. “I was pretty happy with my car. Me and Mike Stefanik had about the exact same speed car, Todd’s was a little better than both of ours. We had a third place car and that’s where we finished tonight, you can’t complain about that,” said Silk about his T.S. Haulers, Calverton Tree Farm ride. Taking on 2 tires during the pit stop to up their track position, Silk indeed was the first car back out. “We’ve finished third the last four races, we want to win one pretty quick but if we keep finishing third we’ll get one.” The opportunity might come this Thursday at Thompson. “I’ve won four Tour races and three of them were there. I’m looking forward to getting back there. We’re on a good run here, we just have to keep the momentum going. I want to thank all my guys for the work they did.” After dominating the first fifty laps, Erick Rudolph of Ransomville, NY brought the Mohawk N.E., Original Pizza Logs ride across the stripe fourth with Ted Christopher following in fifth. The Town Fair Tire 150 turned into a long night for point leader Bobby Santos. Taking the green flag fourteenth, Santos had navigated the Mystic Missile well into the top ten by the half way mark. Less than 15 laps later, Santos in seventh got caught up in a multi car tangle and while Santos continued, the damage became terminal. Santos was forced to pull behind the wall with fifty circuits remaining on the board. The 23rd place finish combined with Christopher’s fifth, closed the numbers in a hurry, Santos now carrying a 6 point advantage heading to Thompson on Thursday. Making his fifth start of the season in his third different ride of 2010, Doug Coby of Milford, CT continues to stay very active in the NWMT scene, this night bringing the Santos Motorsports, LI Mod Maniac Chevrolet across the line for a top 20 finish. In his first NWMT start of the year, Bobby Grigas, III in the Furnace & Duct Supply number 52 pulled off a qualifying lap good enough to get in the redraw. Pulling the number 1 spot, the Marshfield, MA driver led the 30 car field to green. Crossing the line 8th, Grigas was more than pleased with the night. “I’m excited,” said Grigas post race. “The car is one piece, it was fun. All in all a good night. I have to thank everyone on this team
LAP 150 (10:59 p.m) --
CHECKERED FLAG: Todd Szegedy has won the Town Fair Tire 150 at Stafford Motor
Speedway. It ends the longest drought of his career - 27 races - between wins.
He is followed across the line by Mike Stefanik, Ron Silk, Erick Rudolph,
Ted Christopher, Eric Beers, Eric Goodale, Bobby Grigas, Chuck Hossfeld and
George Brunnhoelzl III. Points leader Bobby Santos finished 23rd, 50 laps
down. COMPLETE RESULTS
LAP 149 -- WHITE FLAG: Szegedy in position for the victory.
LAP 145 -- Szegedy has more than a two second lead on Stefanik with five to
go.
LAP 140 -- Ten to go. All Todd Szegedy. Good battle for second still between
Stefanik, Sil and Rudolph.
LAP 138 -- Clear sailing for Szegedy. No imminent lapped traffic, either.
LAP 135 -- Fifteen laps to go. Szegedy is motoring, opening up an eight car-length
lead now over Stefanik. Looks poised to snap nearly two-year winless drought
on Whelen Modified Tour.
LAP 131 -- No changes up front, as Szegedy has extended lead to two car lengths
again over Stefanik. Top-6 have checked out.
LAP 129 -- Points leader Bobby Santos is behind the wall, 28 laps down.
LAP 125 -- Szegedy, Stefanik, Silk, Rudolph, Christopher, Beers, Goodale,
Grigas, Pallai, Hossfeld in Top-10.
LAP 118 -- Top-7 have checked out from rest of field. Szegedy leading comfortably,
while battle between Stefanik and Silk has allowed Christopher to close up
behind Rudolph with Beers in tow.
LAP 114 -- Szegedy opens up a two car-length lead over Stefanik, who now has
hands full with Silk.
LAP 111 -- Szegedy, Stefanik, Silk and Rudolph line up and start to distance
themselves fro Christopher in fifth.
LAP109 -- Szegedy rallies back on inside to lead by half a car length.
LAP 108 -- GREEN FLAG -- Szegedy and Stefanik door-to-door down the backstretch.
Stefanik leads by a nose.
LAP 106 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Heading back racing in one lap.
LAP104 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Hossfeld, Flemke, Preece, Grigas among those heading
for work in the pits.
LAP 103 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Ryan Preece on pit road in the No. 3. He had some
trouble getting going again after the red flag period it appears.
LAP 101 -- UNDER CAUTION -- After 11-minute red flag period here in Town Fair
Tire 150, cars are rolling again.
LAP 100 -- UNDER RED -- Top 15: Szegedy, Stefanik, Silk, Rudolph, Beers; Christopher,
Goodale, Preece, Grigas, Reen; Pallai, Santos, Hossfeld, Beers, Dupuis. There
are 17 cars the lead lap.
Cleanup of incident now stretches around 3/4 of the track. Speedy dry is down
from the start/finish line all the way around the top groove of the race track
to the pit road entrance on the low side of Turn 3. Red flag is five minutes
old as of now.
LAP 100 -- RED FLAG -- Fluid from one of the accident cars stretches from
start/finish line clear through to top of Turns 1 and 2.
LAP 100 -- CAUTION 6 -- Santos spins again. Fluid covering Turn 1.
LAP 100 -- Szegedy, Stefanik, Silk, Rudolph, Beers; Christopher, Goodale,
Preece, Grigas and Reen the Top-10.
LAP 98 -- GREEN FLAG -- NEW LEADER -- Good restart for Szegedy in outside.
Carries momentum off Turn 2 -- noses ahead of Stefanik to lead.
LAP 97 -- UNDER CAUTION -- One-to-go signal given again.
LAP 95 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Restart waved off.
LAP 94 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Field given one-to-go signal with 56 laps remaining.
LAP 92 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Santos and Hossfeld among those headed to pit road.
Appears to be very little damage to Santos' car. He makes a short stay in
pits before heading back out on the track.
LAP 90 -- CAUTION 5 -- Points leader Bobby Santos among those spinning in
Turn 1. Justin Bonsignore also involved.
LAP 89 -- GREEN FLAG -- Todd Szegedy great run off outside of Turn 2 to challenge
Mike Stefanik. Can't complete pass.
LAP 88 -- UNDER CAUTION -- One to go signal given.
LAP 85 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Replays seem to indicate that Coby may have had
some help from Flemke in first spin on Lap 80; vice versa on Lap 82. Coby
to be held by NASCAR for one lap penalty for rough driving.
LA 83 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Stefanik, Szegedy, Silk, Beers and Rudolph the Top-5.
No free pass this caution.
LAP 82 -- CAUTION 4 -- Coby not so lucky in Turn 2. Gets together with Flemke.
LAP 80 -- Coby spins to infield in Turn 3. Green stays out.
LAP 75 -- HALFWAY -- Stefanik, Szegedy, Silk, Beers, Rudolph; Christopher,
Flemke, Santos, Coby, Grigas; Preece, Reen, Blewett, Hossfeld and Goodale
the Top-15.
LAP 73 -- GREEN FLAG -- Szegedy under Silk for second behind Stefanik.
LAP 70 -- UNDER CAUTION -- A few cars at the back of the pack take opportunity
to pit. Nobody running inside Top-20. Stefanik, Silk, Szegedy, Beers, Coby
the top-5. Renee Dupis the free pass car.
LAP 69 -- CAUTION 3 -- Wade Cole, Michael Speeney in separate incidents.
LAP 68 -- Stefanik holds car-length lead over Silk. Szegedy beginning to show
strength.
LAP 66 -- Eric Berndt off the pace, heads to pit road under caution.
LAP 64 -- GREEN FLAG -- Stefanik makes run off Turn 2 on outside to nose ahead
of Silk for lead.
LAP 62 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Field given one-to-go signal.
LAP 61 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Speeney was able to drive away from incident on
his own. No other pit road takers besides Berndt and Pallai. 21 of 30 starters
on lead lap.
LAP 60 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Silk leads Stefanik, Coby, Beers and Rudolph. Berndt
and Pallai hit pit road. Ken Heagy the free pass recipient under this caution.
LAP 59 -- CAUTION -- Speeney backs into Turn 1 wall.
LAP 57 -- GREEN FLAG --Silk takes lead from Coby, putting that fresh rubber
to good use.
LAP 55 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Running order heading to restart: Coby, Silk, Beers,
Stefanik, Flemke, Rudolph, Szegedy, Tyler, Christopher and Berndt. One to
go sign given.
LAP 52 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Richie Pallai Jr. is the free pass car under this
caution. Doug Coby is the race leader after electing not to stop in the No.
92. Then Silk, who pitted for tires, is second. Cleanup work continues between
Turns 1 and 2.
LAP 50 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Ron Silk wins the race off pit road over Beers,
Stefanik, Flemke and early race leader Rudolph.
LAP 49 -- UNDER CAUTION -- Leaders all hit pit road -- in fact everybody but
Heagy, Pallai, Coby, Dupuis, McDonald and Speeney make stops for tires.
LAP 48 -- CAUTION -- Jamie Tomaino and Woody Pitkat together between Turns
1 and 2 to bring out the caution.
LAP 46 -- The hood is off Pennink's car as the crew goes to work. Still plenty
of smoke from that car, even as it's stopped in its pit stall.
LAP 43 -- Pennink gives up seventh position and heads to pit road with heavy
smoke pouring from rear of the No. 93.
LAP 39 -- Points leader Bobby Santos sits 11th after starting 14th. Still
green to this point in the race.
LAP 35 -- Top 6 have cleared lapped traffic. Rudolph, Stefanik, Szegedy, Christopher,
Silk and Hossfeld all separated by between 6-8 car lengths.
LAP 32 -- Silk gets into back of Grigas as they battle for fifth in lapped
traffic after Grigas gets loose off Turn 2.
LAP 28 -- In lapped traffic, Stefanik has now closed to within a few car lengths
of leader Rudolph.
LAP 23 -- Jake Marosz black-flagged in the No. 38 for being unable to maintain
minimum speed.
LAP 22 -- Rudolph still with half-straightaway lead over Stefanik, but starting
to close on heavy lapped traffic.
LAP 20 -- Top 15: Rudolph, Stefanik, Grigas, Szegedy, Christopher, Silk, Hossfeld,
Pennink, Flemke, Coby, Santos, Berndt, Beers, Preece and Bonsignore.
LAP 14 -- Still green as top-10 starts to string out early in Town Fair Tire
150.
LAP 10 -- Rudolph has built nearly a half-straightaway lead over Stefanik.
Jake Marosz off the pace and down a lap early, now headed to pit road.
LAP 8 -- First side-by-side battle for position is for 21st and 22nd between
Glen Reen and Jamie Tomaino.
LAP 3 -- Top 10 string out single-file. Rudolph, Stefanik, Grigas, Szegedy
and Christopher the top-5.
9:39 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG -- Erick Rudolph leads first lap and Mike Stefanik
follows him into second.
July
31 - Riverhead Raceway- NASCAR - 6
Rowan Pennink held off Ryan Preece
in a late-race duel to claim the checkered flag in the Riverhead 200 and his
first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory Saturday night. The 24-year-old
Huntingdon Valley, Pa., driver was making his 51st career start. He took the
lead from Riverhead resident Kevin Goodale with 40 laps to go and weathered
restarts on two ensuing cautions to bring home the win.Preece, who suffered
a mid-race spin, came back through the field to finish second. He was followed
in the top five by Ron Silk, Mike Stefanik and George Brunnhoelzl III. Brunnhoelzl,
another Long Island native and the 2009 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour
champion, earned his first Coors Light Pole Award in the NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour earlier in the day.
Eric Beers, Eric Goodale, Jamie Tomaino, points leader Bobby Santos and Erick
Rudolph rounded out the top 10.
Brunnhoelzl led a race-high 57 laps. Kevin Goodale led 51 circuits, his first
laps led since June 2008, but suffered a late-race spin and finished one lap
down in 15th.With another top-10 finish, Santos was able to grow his lead
in the season standings to 67 points on Ted Christopher, who finished the
race 12th.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-Riverhead 200 Unofficial Results
Saturday At Riverhead Raceway, Riverhead, N.Y.
Lap length: 0.25 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (9) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 175 laps, 44.605
mph, $3,300.
2. (3) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 175, $2,700.
3. (6) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 175, $1,800.
4. (12) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 175, $1,600.
5. (1) George Brunnhoelzl, III, W. Babylon, N.Y., Chevrolet, 175, $2,100.
6. (10) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 175, $1,400.
7. (13) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 175, $1,450.
8. (20) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 175, $1,200.
9. (15) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Dodge, 175, $1,775.
10.(8) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 175, $1,150.
11. (22) Dave Brigati, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 175, $925.
12. (7) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 175, $1,000.
13. (28) Danny Knoll, Jr., Buffalo, N.Y., Chevrolet, 175, $1,650.
14. (26) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 175, $850.
15. (5) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 174, $600.
16. (24) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 173, $775.
17. (2) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 173, $1,025.
18. (14) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 170, $700.
19. (18) Tony Ferrante, Jr., New Hyde Park, N.Y., Chevrolet, 170, $475.
20. (23) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 169, $425.
21. (21) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 163, $600.
22. (16) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 129, $550.
23. (25) Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Chevrolet, 124, $527.
24. (17) James Civali, Meriden, Conn., Pontiac, 118, $500.
25. (27) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 81, $500.
26. (11) Chuck Steuer, Bohemia, N.Y., Chevrolet, 71, $300.
27. (19) Frank Vigliarolo, Jr., Mt. Sinai, N.Y., Chevrolet, 20, $300.
28. (4) Howie Brode, East Islip, N.Y., Chevrolet, 7, $300.
Race
Statistics
Time of Race: 58 minutes 51 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.346 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: G.Brunnhoelzl, III (76.181 mph, 11.814 seconds)
Caution Flags: 9 for 68 laps.
Lead Changes: 9 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J. Bonsignore 1-25; G. Brunnhoelzl,III 26; J. Bonsignore 27-28;
G. Brunnhoelzl,III 29-80; K. Goodale 81-89; G. Brunnhoelzl,III 90-91; K. Goodale
92; G. Brunnhoelzl,III 93-94; K. Goodale 95-135; R. Pennink 136-175.
9:34
p.m., Lap 175 -- CHECKERED FLAG: Rowan Pennink wins the Riverhead 200. It
is his first career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory. Ryan Preece is the
runner-up and he is followed in the top 10 by Ron Silk, Mike Stefanik, George
Brunnhoelzl III, Eric Beers, Eric Goodale, Jamie Tomaino, Bobby Santos and
Erick Rudolph. RESULTS
Lap 174 -- WHITE FLAG: Pennink by a nose.
Lap 171 -- GREEN FLAG: Pennink got a big jump on the inside.
Lap 168 -- Pennink leads Preece, Silk, Stefanik and Beers under caution.
Lap 166 -- CAUTION NO. 9: K.Goodale spins.
Lap 160 -- Pennink leads Preece by 0.3 seconds with Silk a second and a half
back in third.
Lap 150 -- Leaders are: Pennink, Preece, Silk, K.Goodale, Stefanik, Beers,
Brunnhoelzl, Tomaino, E.Goodale and Rudolph.
Lap 143 -- GREEN FLAG: Pennink holds off K.Goodale at the line.
Lap 137 -- CAUTION NO. 8
Lap 136 -- Pennink has taken the lead from K.Gooda.e
Lap 127 -- Leaders are: K.Goodale, Pennink, Silk, Preece, Beers, Stefanik,
Tomaino, Brunnhoelzl, Brigati and E.Goodale. Bonsignore has fallen off the
pace.
Lap 125 -- GREEN FLAG: K.Goodale maintains lead on Pennink at the line.
Lap 119 -- CAUTION NO. 7: Civali in the wall in Turn 3, drives off to the
pits.
Lap 115 -- K.Goodale leads Pennink by 0.2 seconds while Silk is another full
second back of Pennink in third.
Lap 100 -- Brunnhoelzl is going backwards, now in sixth. K.Goodale, Pennink,
Silk, Bonsignore and Preece lead.
Lap 95 -- K.Goodale and Pennink both get past Brunnhoelzl to lead.
Lap 93 -- GREEN FLAG: Brunnhoelzl takes back the lead on the outside, which
now seems to be the preferred line.
Lap 90 -- Race leaders under caution are: K.Goodale, Brunnhoelzl, Pennink,
Silk, Beers, Stefanik, Preece, Bonsignore, Rudolph, E.Goodale.
Lap 85 -- CAUTION NO. 6: Dupuis into the infield.
Lap 81 -- GREEN FLAG: K.Goodale blows past Brunnhoelzl on the outside row,
takes the lead.
Lap 75 -- RED FLAG LIFTED, YELLOW DISPLAYED.
Lap 75 -- Leaders are scored under caution as: Brunnhoelzl, K.Goodale, Silk,
Pennink, Beers, Bonsignore, Christopher, Stefanik, Preece and E.Goodale.
Lap 75 -- RED FLAG: Traffic on track stopped for clean-up. Steuer's car will
go off on the hook.
Lap 73 -- CAUTION NO. 5: Multi-car spin.
Lap 70 -- K. Goodale around Silk for second place.
Lap 66 -- GREEN FLAG: Brunnhoelzl holds off Silk from the inside row.
Lap 58 -- CAUTION NO. 4: Santos and Flemke spin, but drive off.
Lap 55 -- No change in leaderboard. Leaders are starting to navigate lap traffic.
Lap 50 -- Brunnhoelzl has stretched it out to a two second lead.
Lap 45 -- Top 10 is: Brunnhoelzl, Silk, K.Goodale, Bonsignore, Pennink, Christopher,
Beers, Rudolph, Stefanik and Flemke.
Lap 35 -- Bonsignore shuffled to fourth as Silk and K.Goodale get by.
Lap 31 -- GREEN FLAG: Brunnhoelzl maintains the lead on the inside.
Lap 26 -- CAUTION NO. 3: Car spin.
Lap 25 -- GREEN FLAG: Brunnhoelzl beat Bonsignore to the line on the outside.
Lap 20 -- Running order under caution: Bonsignore, Brunnhoelzl, Silk, K.Goodale,
Christopher, Pennink, Rudolph, Beers, E.Goodale.
Lap 20 -- Multiple cars pitting. Szegedy drove off without a left front tire.
Lap 15 -- CAUTION NO. 2: Multi-car accident in Turn 2. All cars drive off.
Lap 12 -- GREEN FLAG: Bonsignore nips Brunnhoelzl.
Lap 7 -- Running order, under caution is: Bonsignore, Brunnhoelzl, Silk, K.
Goodale, Rudolph. Brode has front end damage and has come off the track.
Lap 2 -- CAUTION NO. 1: Preece and Brode scrape the wall in Turn 3.
Lap 1 -- Bonsignore leads the first lap.
8:32 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: George Brunnhoelzl III and Justin Bonsignore lead
the field to the start line for the Riverhead 200.
8:30 p.m. -- Pace laps are underway.
July
24 - Mahoning 100 Poker Series
- 4
By Dino Oberto
(LEHIGHTON,
PA 7-24-10) Poker is a game of risk, chance and luck when it comes to winning.
Just ask Chip Santee who, in the blink of an eye, saw his shot at the $3000
Poker Series jackpot in the Hand 2 Seven Card Stud Modified 100 slip through
his fingers after the lapped car of Tommy Flanagan got in his path while leading
and he was forced to back down to avoid a possible rear end collision with
just under 30 laps to go. Earl Paules was the lucky card holder when all was
said and done as the Palmerton hot-shoe was positioned to the outside of Santee
and Flanagan and had the clear lane to take the lead and score the popular
win over Anthony Sesely, John Markovic, Eric Beers and Matt Hirschman. Santee
had been leading from lap 28 and although Paules was mounting a respectable
challenge, it appeared be his race to lose. On lap 71 a caution was out for
Flanagan had spun. He then ducked into the pits and as he was returning to
rejoin the race the field was charging out of turn four to get the green.
Flanagan came out in front of Santee and Paules Santee suddenly found his
inside lane blocked and Paules was able to take advantage and move to the
front. Santee was never able to regain his spot and even spun at one point
while trying. “Chip (Santee) got a little short end of the deal when
the 87 (Flanagan) came out of the pits but what can you do. You have to take
advantage with things like that. I felt bad for him but I needed to get the
lead right then because our car was tight and Chip was strong,” said
Paules who notched his third 100 lap Mahoning win and 11th overall in a Modified.
Time trials locked in the top 12 with Rich Kuilkem, Jr. setting fast time
with a 9.880-second lap. For his efforts he received a $100 cash bonus. The
field was inverted for the start with Matt Higgins and CJ Jones on the front
row. When the race began Higgins led and was holding off Santee and Paules
who were in a dogfight for second. Higgins was impressive in the way he led
as both Santee and Paules tried several times but could not get past. Santee
finally got a good run on lap 25 as he was able to dip underneath Higgins
and finish off the pass on lap 28. Two laps later Paules was in second and
it was then a heated battle with him and Santee. Lonnie Behler was running
a strong fourth over proverbial favorite Beers. Beers got around Behler at
lap 57 and then tucked in behind the top two. Sesely joined the front fray
on lap 67.
Although Paules was making valid bids to get the lead, Santee was clearly
better. He was finally starting to put distance between them until the ill-fated
lap 71 caution arrived. It was indeed an unfortunate situation for Santee
with the gaffe of Flanagan. “He was good and I was just trying to save
my car,” noted Paules. After taking the lead Paules had to hold back
Beers who tried on several restarts to overtake him and then Sesely who tried
repeatedly near the closing laps but came up just short at the finish. The
race took just over 30-minutes to complete. “I love that. There’s
a great bunch of guys here and when these 100 lappers are held its good racing,”
said Paules who drew an Ace of Spades as the suit for Hand 2. Since his first
start on June 26 which he won, Sesely continued on his trend of being a front
runner with his runner-up finish and has been a crowd pleaser with his ability
of coming through traffic. “I’m just having so much fun here and
be able race the way these guys do and run door-handle-to-door handle,”
said Sesely. Markovic stormed from 15th to third and in doing so has the lead
poker hand with a pair of Queens heading into the next 100-lap race on August
14. He was also third in Hand 1 on June 12. “It was a great night. Earl
and Anthony did a great job and it’s always fun to come back to Mahoning,”
said the former five time champion Markovic. “Doug (Hoffman, track promoter)
has got a good thing going here. Everyone races fair, hard and clean.”
Modified Feature Finish, 100 Laps: 1.Earl Paules 2.Anthiny Sesely 3.John Markovic 4.Eric Beers 5.Mat Hirschman 6.Rob Shultz 7.Bobby Jones 8.Brian DeFebo 9.Chip Santee 10.Matt Higgins 11.CJ Jones 12.Terry Markovic 13.Scott Adams 14.John Bennett 15.Barry Callavini 16.Tommy Flanagan 17.Lonnie Behler 18.Tyler Haydt 19.Rich Kuilkem, Jr. 20.Don Wagner 21.Jimmy Zacharias 22.Lou Strohl 23.Joe Mooney DNQ: Jarred Nace
July
17 - Monadnock Speedway - NASCAR -10
by
Polly Reid
Monadnock Speedway fans packed the house Saturday night welcoming the return
of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to the fast, high banked quarter mile speedway
in Winchester. And in the end, the fans were not disappointed when the victory
hinged on a green, white checkered finish between the two dominate drivers
of the night, Ted Christopher and Erick Rudolph. Rudolph, who set fast time
earning his first career NWMT pole earlier in the evening brought the 26 car
field to green quickly establishing that his Al Heinke owned, Mohawk N.E./Original
Pizza Logs sponsored Chevrolet was indeed the car to beat. The one up to the
task was Christopher, the Plainville, CT driver had surged to the lead passing
Rudolph after a restart just past the 150 mark and stayed strong and steady,
holding off a tenacious Rudolph to capture the win, his second of the season
for the Eddie Whelan owned, Al-Lee Installations sponsored Chevrolet. Ron
Silk crossed for third with Eric Berndt and Bobby Santos the top five. “I’ve
always had some fast cars here but never able to finish the deal,” said
Christopher in victory lane. “I really have to thank Erick Rudolph for
really running me clean, it was a good race with him, he’s definitely
a talented young individual, he has a future in the modifieds. We’re
gaining each week on it. We go to Riverhead in a couple of weeks and I really
love that place too.” “I
haven’t run a lot here, but never been able to get a good handle on
it. And not that tonight we had a great handle on it, just enough to win because
Erick was definitely there. The restarts were tough,” admitted Christopher
who lost the lead to Rudolph after a lap 108 restart. “Right on the
bottom, there’s a bump right when you shift that really gets your car
upset, it was a really hard angle on the bottom compared to the top side,
it was sometimes better to be on the outside, but the last one, I wasn’t
going to let that one get away, not with a green, white, checker.” The
victory marks Christopher’s 36th career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
win bumping the 20008 Tour champion to 3rd on the all-time win list not to
mention a boost in points, Christopher moving up a spot to second. “Every
restart, it was who was going to be the quickest through one and two and be
the guy into three,” explained Rudolph on the restarts. “It feels
good to have a good finish. Just to get a top five finish and hopefully gain
some momentum, we have some tracks coming up that we’re good at, we’re
looking forward to those.” After
collecting his first career pole, Rudolph was focused on the main event, but
remained cautious. “Lately we’ve been doing real good in qualifying,
not so good in the races, we’ve been having some mechanical issues.
Hopefully we’ve got them figured out for tonight and get a strong finish.”
Patience and persistent has been rewarded, the effort and hard work has finally
paid off tonight. On a side note, when the Tour last visited Monadnock, Rudolph
wasn’t born yet. However, that night, June 10, 1990, when Jamie Tomaino
took the win in the NASCAR Winston Modified Tour Whitcomb 150, Charlie Rudolph,
dad and current crew chief of the 98, finished seventh. Rudolph
led twice for 138 laps of the 179 while Christopher led twice for 41 including
the most important, the final circuit. “We
started 16th, I’m real happy with third,” said Silk. “I’m
disappointed I messed up in time trails, we had a really good car all day
and I blew it in time. By the time I got to third, I had used up so much of
my car to get there, I didn’t have anything left. It would have been
nice to have at least raced a little bit with Erick and Teddy but I didn’t
have anything for them.” While most of the field settled into single
file racing at times, Silk did not. The Norwalk, CT driver was determined
to move forward. “I got up into the outside lane on restarts, there
was a lot of grip up there and I could carry a lot of momentum. Once the field
singled out, I could drive onto the outside and beat them off.” A
consistent night for George Brunnhoelzl, III of West Babylon, NY, his first
time to Monadnock Speedway was a success crossing the line 6th. “We
had a real good night. We had a long run car and on the one long run, we were
able to pick up a few cars, but after the restarts, it would take 5, 7 laps
to get going again. If we had a couple more laps at the end we could have
gotten more but it was a good run. After the year we’ve been having,
we’ll take a 6th place and hopefully roll a little momentum to another
little track I like,” Brunnhoelzl said referring to the next race on
the schedule, Riverhead. The 2009 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion,
Brunnhoelzl is happy to have the opportunity to run the full Whelen Modified
Tour this year in the Cape Cod Aggregates/J&R Pre-Cast ride for car owner
Robert Katon, Jr. “I’ve
always wanted to run the Tour up here. My dad did, I grew up watching everybody
run up here, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.” The
season was looking like a ‘pick and choose’ for Brunnhoelzl until
a friend introduced him to Katon. A deal followed, “and it’s working
out great. Hopefully we can turn this around now for the season.” The
Monadnock 200 is now in the books, the 175 lap feature extended to 179 circuits
was free of any serious incidents. The majority of cautions waved for cars
with mechanical issues including title contenders Todd Szegedy and Ryan Preece
who suffered uncharacteristic breakdowns resulting in dismal finishes for
each. Meanwhile point leader Bobby Santos held on to cross the line a respectable
fifth and will travel to Riverhead with a 56 point advantage over Christopher.
Monadnock
happens to be my home track and I’ve seen in years past a lot of modifieds
run there but never the Tour, so this race was more than a little special
to me. I can’t help but recognize the effort put out by the management
to make the night a success. Here’s hoping it was enough of a success
for a return visit much, much sooner than the next twenty.
Ted Christopher celebrated the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour's return to the
high banks of Monadnock Speedway with his 36th career victory Saturday.The
win moved Christopher, the 2008 Tour champion, into sole possession of third
place on the career win list. It's Christopher's second win of the season,
allowing him to move past Tony Hirschman. The Plainville, Conn., driver now
trails only Mike Stefanik (70 wins) and Reggie Ruggiero (44).
The Whelen Modified Tour was making its first race at the quarter-mile oval
since 1990.Erick Rudolph, who won his first career 21 Means 21 pole award
presented by Coors Light earlier in the day, led the first 95 laps before
Christopher moved to the front. The two battled each other for the lead until
Christopher moved out front for the final time on Lap 152. He held off Rudolph
on a green-white-checkered finish. The scheduled 175-lap race was extended
to 179 laps by a late caution. Christopher led twice for 41 laps, while Rudolph
led twice for 138 laps.
Ron Silk followed Rudolph in third, with Eric Berndt fourth and points leader
Bobby Santos fifth. George Brunnhoelzl III, James Civali, Glen Reen, Justin
Bonsignore and Eric Beers completed the top 10.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-Monadnock 200 Unofficial Results
Saturday At Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, N.H.
Lap length: 0.25 miles
(Start
position in parentheses)
1. (4) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 179 laps, 42.937 mph,
$3,300.
2. (1) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 179, $2,700.
3. (16) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 179, $2,550.
4. (3) Eric Berndt, Cromwell, Conn., Chevrolet, 179, $1,400.
5. (2) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Dodge, 179, $1,500.
6. (7) George Brunnhoelzl, III, W. Babylon, N.Y., Chevrolet, 179, $1,400.
7. (14) James Civali, Meriden, Conn., Pontiac, 179, $1,250.
8. (15) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Mass., Chevrolet, 179, $1,000.
9. (10) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 179, $1,475.
10. (18) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 179, $1,750.
11. (6) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 179, $1,125.
12. (22) Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Chevrolet, 136, $1,000.
13. (9) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 179, $900.
14. (17) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 179, $850.
15. (8) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 179, $1,000.
16. (23) Danny Knoll, Jr., Buffalo, N.Y., Chevrolet, 179, $775.
17. (26) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Chevrolet, 179, $525.
18. (11) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 178, $700.
19. (20) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 174, $675.
20. (19) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 173, $625.
21. (24) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 155, $600.
22. (13) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 155, $550.
23. (5) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 136, $527.
24. (21) Johnny Bush, Huntington Station, N.Y., Chevrolet, 105, water leak,
$300.
25. (12) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 84, suspension, $500.
26. (25) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 4, accident, $300.
Race
Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 2 minutes 32 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.144 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: E.Rudolph (72.446 mph, 12.423 seconds)
Caution Flags: 8 for 65 laps.
Lead Changes: 3 among 2 drivers.
Lap Leaders: E. Rudolph 1-94; T. Christopher 95-108; E. Rudolph 109-152; T.
Christopher 153-179.
Lap By Lap: Monadnock 200
CHECKERED
FLAG: Ted Christopher earns 36th career Whelen Modified Tour victory, giving
him sole possession of third-place on the all-time list. Erick Rudolph second,
and Ronnie Silk third. Eric Berndt and points leader Bobby Santos round out
the top-five. George Brunnhoelzl III, James Civali, Glen Reen, Justin Bonsignore
and Eric Beers complete the top-10.
Lap 178 -- G-W-C GREEN FLAG -- Christopher leads into turn one on bottom.
Rudolph settles in for second.
Lap 172 -- Under caution. The top-10 coming up to G-W-C are Christopher, Rudolph,
Silk, Berndt, Santos, Brunnhoelzl, Civali, Reen, Bonsignore and Beers.
Lap 168 -- CAUTION 8 -- Wade Cole in outside wall in turn three. Likely to
have a green-white-checkered finish.
Lap 165 -- Ten laps remaining. Silk won't have enough time to catch Christopher,
Rudolph at front of field if race continues to go green the rest of the way.
Lap 158 -- Christopher and Rudolph pulling away at front. Ron Silk has gotten
back around Eric Berndt for third. Bobby Santos holding fifth.
Lap 152 -- GREEN FLAG -- NEW LEADER -- Lightning flashes over backstretch.
Christopher takes lead into turn three.
Lap 146 -- CAUTION 7 -- Flemke, Hossfeld both drive right down pit road.
Lap 142 -- GREEN FLAG -- Rudolph easily away from Christopher again.
Lap 135 -- Under caution with 40 laps remaining. Rudolph, Christopher, Silk,
Santos, Berndt, Stefanik, Brunnhoelzl, Civali, Reen and Flemke the top-10
as they run. Twenty-three of 26 starters still on track.
Lap 133 -- CAUTION 6 -- Big pileup in turn three, right in front of leaders.
Rudolph and Christopher have to check up big time to avoid.
Lap 132 -- Rudolph continues to lead Christopher by a car length.
Lap 125 -- 50 laps remaining. Rudolph holding Christopher off. Silk has taken
over third, with Santos and Berndt rounding out the top-five.
Lap 118 -- Rudolph and Christopher with straightaway lead over third place
Santos.
Lap 110 -- GREEN FLAG -- NEW LEADER -- Christopher loose off turn four on
restart. Rudolph retakes lead as they head into turn one. Clear by two car
lengths.
Lap 100 -- Under caution. 75 laps remaining. Christopher ahead of Rudolph,
Santos, Berndt and Silk.
Lap 98 -- CAUTION 5 -- A couple of cars spinning in turn three. Bush and Dupuis
involved.
Lap 95 -- GREEN FLAG -- NEW LEADER -- Christopher clears Rudolph for lead
into turn three.
Lap 88 -- Still under caution. Running order has Rudolph, Christopher, Santos,
Berndt, Silk, Brunnhoelzl, Stefanik, Civali, Flemke and Reen as the top-10.
Lap 84 -- CAUTION 4 -- Todd Szegedy spins alone on the top of turn four.
Lap 80 -- No changes to top-five. Christopher is still riding behind Rudolph
as leaders in considerable lapped traffic.
Lap 70 -- Rudolph has led every lap. Christopher inching closer to his rear
bumper. Santos third, Berndt fourth and Silk riding in the fifth spot.
Lap 62 -- Ronnie Silk making the biggest moves. He's already up into top-5.
Lap 56 -- Field starting to string out. No changes to top-5. A car length
at least separates each position in top-10.
Lap 50 -- Top 10: Rudolph, Christopher, Santos, Berndt, Stefanik, Silk, Brunnhoelzl,
Civali, Flemke and Hossfeld.
Lap 45 -- GREEN FLAG -- Again, Rudolph leads drag race into turn one. Christopher
looks outside unsuccessfully into turn three.
Lap 42 -- Several cars return from pits, including Bonsignore, Tomaino and
Bush. Preece still hasn't returned after leaving prior to green flag.
Lap 38 -- CAUTION 3 -- Richie Pallai Jr. stalled on frontstretch.
Lap 37 -- GREEN FLAG -- Rudolph and Christopher pull away from leaders.
Lap 33 -- Still under caution. Rudolph leading with Christopher, Santos, Berndt
and Stefanik behind him.
Lap 30 -- CAUTION 2 -- Eric Goodale spins on frontstretch as he exits turn
four.
Lap 25 -- Rudolph, Christopher, Santos, Berndt, Stefanik, Brunnhoelzl, Pennink,
Hossfeld, Flemke, Goodale the top-10.
Lap 19 -- Jamie Tomaino, the last driver to win a WMT race at Monadnock (1990)
is off the pace.
Lap 15 -- Christopher has moved by Santos for second. Rudolph, Christopher
have two car lengths on Santos in third.
Lap 13 -- GREEN FLAG -- Rudolph leads field into turn one. Santos challenges
into turn three.
Lap 10 -- Still under caution. Rudolph leads Santos, Christopher, Berndt and
Stefanik.
Lap 5 -- CAUTION 1 -- Chain reaction, cars checking up between turns three
and four. Jake Marosz stopped int turn four.
8:58 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG -- Erick Rudolph leads lap 1 by a few car lengths.
8:57 p.m. -- Green flag waved off with Ryan Preece stalled on backstretch.
Back underway on his own, but headed down pit road.
8:53 p.m. -- Engines have been fired on frontstretch at Monadnock Speedway.
Up next: 175 laps for the Whelen Modified Tour.
8:47 p.m. -- Driver introductions underway here at Monadnock Speedway. A couple
of minutes from the green flag.
CHECKERED FLAG: Woody Pitkat has won the 25-lap qualifying race to earn starting
position No. 17. He is followed by Eric Beers and Wade Cole.
Lap 20 -- Pitkat and Beers have pulled away with Cole now in third.
Lap 15 -- No change in leaders.
Lap 10 -- Pitkat stretching lead on Beers with Dupuis, Cole and Bush trailing.
Lap 5 -- Pitkat, Dupuis, Beers, Cole, Pallai.
Lap 2 -- Pitkat goes around Dupuis for the lead with Beers in third.
7:26 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Dupuis leads at the line.
7:24 p.m. -- Qualifying race set to take green. Lineup is: Dupuis, Cole, Pitkat,
Beers, Pallai, Tomaino, Bush, Knoll, Marosz, McDonald.
7:18 p.m. -- The Monadnock Mini-Stock features has just completed. After Victory
Lane, the Whelen Modified Tour 25-lap qualifying race will get underway.
6:36 p.m. -- Top-16 qualifiers are locked into the Monadnock 200. The remaining
10 will compete in the 25-lap qualifying race later this evening. The 16 drivers
already qualified (in order)are: Erick Rudolph, Bobby Santos, Eric Berndt,
Ted Christopher, Ryan Preece/Mike Stefanik, Eric Beers, Eric Goodale, Rowan
Pennink, Justin Bonsignore/Chuck Hossfeld, Todd Szegedy, Ed Flemke Jr., James
Civali, Glen Reen and Ron Silk.
6:29 p.m. -- Erick Rudolph takes first career Coors Light Pole Award here
at Monadnock Speedway. He's followed in top-5 by Bobby Santos, Eric Berndt,
Ted Christopher and Ryan Preece. There is no re-draw for starting position
in the Monadnock 200.
6:24 p.m. -- Bobby Santos followed Berndt with a potential pole-qualifying
lap and is now atop the board.
6:23 p.m. -- With six cars left to take time, Eric Berndt just bumped Christopher
off the provisional pole.
6:18p.m. -- Ted Christopher, the 15th car out, just moved to the top of the
board.
6:12 p.m. -- After 10 cars, Brunnhoelzl remains on the provisional pole.
6:07 p.m. -- After five cars, George Brunnhoelzl III is atop the board.
6 p.m. -- Qualifying is now underway. Chuck Hossfeld will be the first car
out. Cars will have four laps - a warm-up, two hot and one cool-down lap.
Skies are partly sunny.
4:35 p.m. -- The sun has returned to the track.
4:24 p.m. -- A spot shower moved in over the track and the last six minutes
of practice were called off. Civali finished as the fastest car with a quick
lap of 12.542 seconds (71.759 mph). Berndt, Pennink, Silk and Preece rounded
out the top five.
4:15 p.m. -- With 15 minutes left in final practice, Berndt still paces the
field. Rowan Pennink and Ron Silk are just behind him on the speed chart.
4:05 p.m. -- Preece coasted into the infield and needed a push off the track.
4 p.m. -- Twenty-five cars have practiced and Berndt is atop the board followed
by Civali and Preece. Some cloud cover has moved in over the speedway.
3:50 p.m. -- Caution out for spin by Danny Knoll Jr. No contact made.
3:45 p.m. -- Final practice is underway.
1:45 p.m. -- First practice is complete. Christopher ended up with the fastest
car lap at 12.633 seconds (71.242 mph). James Civali, Mike Stefanik, Todd
Szegedy and Berndt were the five fastest cars. PRACTICE RESULTS
1:25 p.m. -- Ted Christopher, Berndt at Preece are the three fastest as 22
cars have participated.
1:15 p.m. -- Twenty cars have been on the track so far. Woody Pitkat, Eric
Berndt and Ryan Preece have recorded the three fastest times.
1 p.m. -- First practice is underway.
11:30 a.m. -- There are 26 cars unloaded for tonight's race. Glenn Tyler and
Ken Heagy have withdrawn. The drivers meeting is complete and the first on-track
activity will be first practice starting at 1 p.m.
July
3- Lime Rock Speedway - NASCAR - 25
Something broke in the motor
LIME ROCK, CT------It was wine and
cheese fans move over, the beer drinking, hot dog eating fans of NASCAR took
over the Lime Rock Park for the day and what they saw was a historic first
and not a bad race as the Whelen modified tour made their first ever stop
at the historic road course located in the northwest corner of Connecticut.
When the schedule was released it was circled on many in the modified communities
calendar and while the tour supplied just 25 cars, it proved to be an entertaining
event that was dominated by Todd Szegedy but won by road racing specialist
, Dale Quarterley as he pass Todd with just four laps remaining.It also proved
to be a good days for the points chasers as points leader, Bobby Santos III
suffered his first DNF of the season as he hand grenaded a motor towards the
end of the race, bringing out the final caution with fewer than 10 laps remaining.
While it did close up the points somewhat, Santos did manage to record a 17th
place finish while T.C., Ted Christopher managed a fifth place tally after
running second most of the race, at times swapping the spot with Mike Stefanik.
The road course of Lime Rock, which usually host the exotic looking cars of
the BMW’s, Lexus and Porsche, this time it was the open wheeled modifieds
and the fendered series cars of the NASCAR K and N Series and the crowd responded
as thousands of people brought their portable chairs and found their favorite
place to sit or to roam the grounds and get a different perspective of the
world famous track. For those who have never been to the 1.5 mile road course,
there are no stands so the fans are allowed to sit wherever. There are several
hills to catch a glimpse of the road course but like most road courses, no
place to watch the entire race. Some fans prefer the infield watching them
enter the first turn at the end of the long straight-away and make their way
through the first set of turns while many like sitting on the outside of the
track and watching the pit action, long straight and winding turns. But it
was definitely a NASCAR day as most fans were garnished wearing NASCAR garb
and swilling beer and while this was an expensive day for Lime Rock Park track
owner, Skip Barber, with the two purses, the crowd was certainly a good starting
point for what could become a huge crowd in future years but NASCAR, everyone
agrees needs to schedule another road course for next year and in the future
to cut down on the cost to the modified teams. While the modified tour has
only driven at Watkins Glen, in the past, there is the new road course in
New Jersey and according to a NASCAR rep, a road course in Canada, right on
the border of the two countries. This reporter was surprised by the lack of
cars but according to most teams, they felt it was right because of the cost
of switching the car over to turn both left and right. One veteran modified
crew chief told me that it cost several thousand dollars to convert the usually
left turning cars only into something that is respectable on the twisting
and turning road course. While the roar of the start of a modified race is
usually ear screaming, you definitely knew the 600 horse powered machines
were taking the green at Lime Rock as the engine sound reverberated throughout
the mountains surrounding the track. All in all, it was a successful debut
for the NASCAR Whelen modified tour cars and it added another first time winner
to the long list of race winners on the tour.
SOME NAYSAYERS
While
many thought the mods put on a good race for the first time, one former NASCAR
employee that was based in Daytona said it was just too much money for many
of the teams and thus the lack of cars and he blamed his former employees
for putting the cars out of their element. “It’s just too much
money. From the time you get done switching the A frame over, the air cleaner,
move suspension around it’s a very expensive deal for these teams.”
He did acknowledge that another road course in the future would allow the
teams to either build a road racing car or to split up the cost of the Transmission
and other parts over the cost of two or three road course events.
But while he softened somewhat on the cars at Lime Rock, he said the race
at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H. could be terrible for the tour.
“$2,600 to win. You’re going to get the point chasers and that’s
about it figuring that they would have less cars than the 25 that showed up
at Lime Rock and he is convinced that the Daytona brass feels what they are
doing with the tour will work with these patch work small purse tracks but
added they aren’t dealing in the real world.
The teams just can’t afford to lose money each and every race he added.
K & N SERIES HURTING TOO
While the modifieds were paired with their K & N East series cousins, it gave me the chance to see some old modified friends now living down south and working on the developmental series. Two of them are Clyde McLeod, who at one time was general manager of Sherwood Racing that propelled Mike McLaughlin to the modified title and Mike Greci, a onetime modified car owner as both work for Michael Waltrip racing series driver, Ryan Truex, brother of Cup driver Martin. Both said they hardly know anyone connected with the modified tour, other than the standouts like Mike Stefanik, a driver that Greci won two Busch North titles with and Ted Christopher and Ed Flemke, Jr.
1.
(6) Dale Quarterly, Westfield, Mass., Chevrolet, 66 laps, 65.335 mph, $6,900.
2. (1) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 66, $4,100.
3. (8) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 66, $3,000.
4. (7) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 66, $2,500.
5. (2) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 66, $2,450.
6. (4) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 66, $3,000.
7. (9) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 66, $2,200.
8. (18) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 66, $2,100.
9. (21) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 66, $2,750.
10. (22) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 66, $1,900.
11. (13) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 66, $1,900.
12. (23) Danny Knoll, Jr., Buffalo, N.Y., Chevrolet, 66, $1,700.
13. (19) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 66, $1,600.
14. (17) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 65, $1,540.
15. (24) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 63, $1,525.
16. (3) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 63, $1,490.
17. (10) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Dodge, 62, engine, $1,575.
18. (14) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 61, $1,640.
19. (25) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Chevrolet, 53, accident, $1,440.
20. (16) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 46, $1,440.
21. (11) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 41, engine, $1,840.
22. (5) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 28, $1,440.
23. (12) Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Chevrolet, 23, engine,
$1,540.
24. (15) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 20, engine, $1,440.
25. (20) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 20, engine, $1,540.
Race
Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 30 minutes 55 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.784 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: T.Szegedy (101.697 mph, 53.009 seconds)
Caution Flags: 5 for 21 laps.
Lead Changes: 1 among 2 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Szegedy 1-62; D. Quarterly 63-66.
NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour-New England 100 Unofficial Results
Saturday
At New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H.
Lap length: 1.058 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (1)
Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind., Chevrolet, 100 laps, 84.509 mph, $15,800.
2. (8) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $11,800.
3. (12) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $8,800
4. (2) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Dodge, 100, $7,400.
5. (7) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $4,800.
6. (17) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $4,050.
7. (11) James Civali, Meriden, Conn., Pontiac, 100, $3,950.
8. (6) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $3,200.
9. (27) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $4,250.
10. (23) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 100, $3,350.
11. (22) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $3,350.
12. (15) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $3,450.
13. (16) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $2,950.
14. (29) Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $3,025.
15. (3) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 100, $2,900.
16. (26) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $3,375.
17. (28) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Ford, 100, $2,350.
18. (24) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 100, $2,725.
19. (34) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $2,700.
20. (35) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $2,543.
21. (31) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $2,125.
22. (32) Danny Knoll, Jr., Buffalo, N.Y., Chevrolet, 99, $2,500.
23. (19) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Chevrolet, 83, $2,375.
24. (25) L.W. Miller, Dushore, Pa., Pontiac, 83, $1,947.
25. (18) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 83, $2,300.
26. (30) Johnny Bush, Huntington Station, N.Y., Chevrolet, 74, $2,200.
27. (13) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 62, $2,300.
28. (4) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 58, $2,300.
29. (21) George Brunnhoelzl, III, W. Babylon, N.Y., Chevrolet, 49, accident,
$2,200.
30. (10) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Ford, 46, $2,300.
31. (5) Rob Summers, Vernon, Conn., Chevrolet, 37, engine, $1,800.
32. (36) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 37, overheating, $1,800.
33 (33) Joe Hartmann, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 13, engine, $1,800.
34. (20) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Mass., Chevrolet, 3, $1,800.
35. (9) Rob Fuller, Boylston, Mass., Ford, 2, accident, $1,800.0.
Race Statistics
Time of
Race: 1 hour 15 minutes 7 seconds
Margin
of Victory: 0.125 seconds
Fastest
Qualifier: R.Newman (128.402 mph, 29.663 seconds)
Did
Not Start: Richard Savary, Mike Christopher
Caution
Flags: 7 for 26 laps.Lead
Changes: 15 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders: R. Newman 1-8; T. Christopher 9-40; E. Goodale 41-44; D. Coby 45; B. Santos 46-58; T. Christopher 59-60; D. Coby 61-64; T. Christopher 65; B. Santos 66; T. Christopher 67; B. Santos 68-69; T. Christopher 70-72; R. Silk 73-79; R. Newman 80-98; T. Christopher 99; R. Newman 100.
June
12 Mahoning Speedway Poker-
2
As Eric staes below - Bobby Jones had the better car on this night. Eric fought
a very very loose car for most of the night. The crew of Glenn, Terri, Sluggo
and Howie did a great job bringing home a 2nd place finish
This past Saturday night the personable Jones
furthered his endeavors with a rousing victory in one of the infamous 100-lap
Modified races to his resume. Jones, who started ninth in the 21-car field,
did something that is tough to do in these Mahoning century runs, he passed
Eric Beers for the lead and in doing so went on to notch his biggest career
win in the Hand One 7 Card Stud 100. The Walnutport ace collected $3000 for
his effort. “I can’t believe this. This year just started out
bad, I thought it was anyway and I was close to maybe thinking about taking
a break and instead here we are winning again. We won last week (Sundance)
and again tonight. This is good,” said Jones. “I haven’t
won and been in Victory Circle for a while and tonight we earned it because
I’m tired.” It was the first time Jones had won at Mahoning since
July 9, 2005. After an inversion of the top 12 in time trials, Tommy Flanagan
and Lonnie Behler brought the field to Dick Brown’s race commencing
green. Flanagan led the opening circuit and on the next go-around it was Behler
showing the way. Third starting Beers drove to the outside lane and went by
Flanagan and then Behler for the lead with five laps in. The first 23 circuits
were clicked off in a fast pace as Beers was very strong and pulling away
from the pack. Moments before he was attempting to go past the first of the
back-markers, the first of six cautions waved. On the restart Beers had Behler,
Flanagan, Earl Paules and John Markovic sharing the top five. On the restart
Behler faded back and Flanagan assumed second. Flanagan then kept within reach
of Beers, never allowing pulling away as he did in the opening green flag
stretch. Jones emerged into the front five at the same time and ten laps later
was fourth behind Markovic. As Beers remained in command over Flanagan, Jones
jumped to third a lap shy of the midway point which also saw a caution period.
On the restart he lined up behind Beers and followed his tire path to second
and then went side-by-side. What would turn out to be the final caution on
lap 56 for a solo spin by Rick Reichenbach, Jones simply outgunned Beers for
the lead at the restart. The rest of the way all Beers could do was watch
as he never mounted a challenge. Jones went on to a .739-second margin of
victory.
“I thought he (Beers) was just riding it and then on that restart (lap
56) I told myself I had to go for it. I knew the car was really good on the
outside. That first 100-lapper (April 17), we where a lapped car and I vowed
to come back tonight and redeem myself but this is beyond what I expected,”
said Jones who then pulled the Ace of Diamonds for the suite for the opening
poker hand. Beers, Markovic, Flanagan and Brian DeFebo rounded out the top
five with Chip Santee, Rick Kirkendall, Don Wagner, Paulus and Rob Shultz
completing the top 10. “We had the second best car here tonight,”
bottom lined Beers. “Bobby (Jones) was definitely better than us. He
had a good restart there. We ran side-by-side, I gave him his lane and he
gave me mine and he ended up just driving around me. Hats off to him and his
guys they did a heck of a job.” “I’d like to congratulate
Bobby. He was spot on, drove the wheels off the car, ran everybody clean and
that’s Mahoning Valley,” added Markovic. As the top qualifier
in time trials, Wagner, 9.855-second 91.324 mph, was awarded a wheel courtesy
of Bair's Wheel Repair of New Ringgold.
Modified Feature Finish, 100 Laps: 1.Bobby Jones 2.Eric
Beers 3.John Markovic 4.Tom Flanagan 5.Brian DeFebo 6.Chip Santee 7.Rick Kirkendall
8.Don Wagner 9.Earl Paules 10.Rob Shultz 11.Matt Hirschman 12.Lou Strohl 13.Rick
Reichenbach 14.Jarred Nace 15.Lonnie Behler 16.John Bennett 17.Zane Zeiner
18.Tyaler Haydt 19.Andy Szapacs 20.Scott Adams 21.Matt Wentz Did not start:
Matt Higgins, Terry Markovic