The NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour Series has wrapped up
their 2011 season. The wheels continue
to turn as competitors continue to make
their plans for 2012. Among those who
may not be running a full schedule is
Mike Stefanik. Stefanik vacated the seat
in the Flamingo Motorsports No. 16 just
prior to the season ending World Series
at the Thompson Speedway. Stefanik drove
the Ed Marceau Modified at Thompson but
does not have a Tour ride secured at
this time. Marceau and Stefanik have
been successful in running limited
Valenti Modified Racing Series events
and in open competition Tour type events
at Thompson. Marceau feels that his car
can compete with the best of them but
financially there is no way he can field
a car for the Whelen Modified Tour
Series. Stefanik's wife Julie has had
health issues this past season and maybe
the multi-time series champion may take
a step back in 2012. As a competitor and
fabricator Stefanik can be proud of his
accomplishments and has nothing to left
to prove.
Bobby Santos III came up a little short
in defending his Whelen Modified Tour
title but in the USAC Sprint Cars he
excelled as he won the first USAC Sprint
Car Pavement Series championship. Santos
won two of the seven races held.
The annual North-South Shootout takes
center stage this weekend. Previously
run in Concord, NC, the event has been
relocated to the Caraway Speedway in
Asheboro, NC. The speedway measures .455
miles in length with seven degrees of
banking on the straight-aways and 12
degrees in the turns. Boasting multiple
grooves Caraway Speedway will also
produce the traditional excitement that
fans and competitors have come to expect
from the annual North-South Shootout.
The ninth Annual John Blewett III
Memorial North-South Shootout will be
presented in loving memory of Charles
Kepley, the event founder. Keeping with
tradition, the annual event will feature
the Tour-Type Modifieds in 125-laps of
green flag racing. A star-studded field
of Late Model competitors is expected
for the 100-lap CRA Super Late Model
main event. SK-Type Modifieds, USA
Modifieds and Sportsman will also be
part of the excitement.
In the northeast, the annual Don Hoenig
Auto Flea Market will take place at the
Thompson Speedway this Saturday and
Sunday.
With the 2011 Stafford Motor Speedway
season concluded, the speedway will
honor its track champions at the 42nd
Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions
Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 18th
at the La Renaissance Banquet Facility
in East Windsor. In addition to
recognizing the 2011 track champions,
other prestigious awards, including Most
Improved Driver, Most Popular Driver,
the Reliable Welding & Speed Rookie of
the Year Awards, and the Craftsman
Mechanic of the Year Award will also be
presented. Stafford Motor Speedway will
also recognize the top-20 finishers from
the 2011 SK Modified®, Late Model, SK
Light, Limited Late Model, and DARE
Stock points standings.
Headlining the night's festivities, Ryan
Preece will be recognized as the 2011 SK
Modified® Champion, which is his first
career championship; Ryan Posocco will
be honored as the 2011 Late Model track
champion for a record sixth time in
Stafford's Late Model division; Matt
Galko will be honored as the SK Light
Modified championship for the second
consecutive season; Kevin Gambacorta
will be honored as the 2011 Limited Late
Model track champion, his second Limited
Late Model championship and third
overall track championship; and Don Wood
will be honored for the second time as
the DARE Stock track champion.
In TV land NASCAR Race Hub will air on
the Speed Channel at 6:00pm on Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday. NASCAR Now on
espn2 will be seen on Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at
3:00pm. Race viewing for the week begins
on Tuesday, Nov 1 at noon with a two
hour highlight show of the recent DIRT
events at Syracuse. On Wednesday at noon
the Speed Channel replays last Sunday's
NASCAR Sprint Cup Tums Fast Relief 500
that was run at Martinsville. On
Thursday, at 3:00am, Speed replays the
Syracuse Modifieds. At noon, Speed
replays last weekends Nationwide Series
O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge that was
run at the Texas Motor Speedway. At
3:00pm Speed replays last year's Sprint
Cup AAA Texas 500 that was run at the
Texas Motor Speedway. On Friday at
11:30am espn2 goes live at the Texas
Speedway for Sprint Cup practice. NASCAR
Live on Speed at 4:00pm breaks it up
prior to going into Sprint Cup
qualifying at 4:30pm on Speed.
Nationwide Series qualifying at Texas
follows at 6:30pm. Coverage by Speed
continues at 7:30pm with the Truck
Series pre-race show that will lead to
the 8:00pm start of the NASCAR Camping
World Truck Series Winstar World Casino
350k at the Texas Motor Speedway. Speed
Center at 10:30 and Trackside at 11:00pm
wrap up Friday at the Texas Motor
Speedway. Saturday's coverage from Texas
starts at 9:30am with Sprint Cup
practice. NASCAR Live follows at
10:30am. The action moves to espn2 at
noon with the Nationwide Series pre-race
that will lead into the 12:55pm start of
the NASCAR Nationwide Series O’Reilly
Auto Parts Challenge at the Texas Motor
Speedway. Also on Saturday on Speed will
be a repeat of the Syracuse DIRT events
at 1:00pm and the Lucas Oil Late Model
Knoxville Nationals at 3:00pm. At 7:00pm
Speed Center on Speed wraps up the
racing at Texas Speedway. Speed goes
live at 8:00pm at the Dirt Track at the
Charlotte Motor Speedway with the World
of Outlaws sprints, late models and Dirt
Modifieds. This event repeats at 1:00am
on Sunday morning. Sunday's action heats
up at 11:30 am with Speed Center
followed by a two hour session of NASCAR
RaceDay at noon. At 2:00pm the action
shifts to ESPN for the Sprint Cup
pre-race show that will lead to the
3:00pm start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup
AAA Texas 500 at the Texas Motor
Speedway in Fort Worth, TX. NASCAR
Victory Lane at 7:00pm plus SPEED Center
at 8:00pm wrap up the day's racing. At
9:00pm its Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.
On the Speedway Stock Market scene last
week two of the three speedway stocks
had positive numbers at week's end. The
International Speedway Corporation went
up 1.32 to 24.66 and Speedway
Motorsports went up 0.63 to 13.27 while
Dover Motorsports dropped 0.13 to 1.02.
NASCAR Cup sponsor Sprint dropped 0.05
to 2.72 while NASCAR fuel supplier Sun
Oil went up 3.22 to 39.33 and tire
supplier Goodyear went up 1.87 to 14.84.
Two of the three car makers had positive
results for the week. Ford dropped 0.26
to 12.00 while General Motors went up
2.10 to 26.45 and Toyota jumped 2.05 to
69.66. In the home improvement sector,
Home Depot dropped 0.74 to 36.12 and
Lowes dropped 0.76 to 21.37. The major
team sponsors had varing results. Dupont
leaped 4.21 to 49.36 while Coca-Cola
dropped 0.25 to 56.62. Target Department
Stores went up 0.60 to 55.24 while
Aarons Rentals dropped 1.31 to 26.95.
Last, but not least, Fedex went up 5.91
to 84.25.
That’s it for this week from 11 Gardner
Drive, Westerly RI 02891. Ring my chimes
at 401-596-5467. E-Mail is
smithpe_97_97@yahoo.com
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