The last three scheduled VMRS events have been rained out - a series first.
Race leaders Ron Silk (6) and Todd Szegedy (2) tangle late in Wednesday's UNOH Perfect Storm 150 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Valenti Modified Racing Series is itching to get back on the track.
Drivers, teams, officials and fans have their fingers crossed that the weather cooperates Saturday at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H. The last three scheduled VMRS events have been rained out - a series first.
“I’ve been here since the series started. We’ve had rainouts but not to this extreme,” VMRS announcer John Spence told the Brockton Enterprise’s Lou Modestino. “The last race we ran was a makeup date (July 29) from the July 26th show at Thompson. We have not turned a lap since.”
The Aug. 11 race at Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl will be made up Sept. 8, while last Saturday’s event at Seekonk Speedway was canceled.
Jon McKennedy, of Chelmsford, brings the points lead to Monadnock’s 100-lapper. Twenty-two points behind sits Rowan Pennink. A slight edge goes to McKennedy based on his past history at “Mad Dog,” as he has two wins there to none for Pennink.
McKennedy heads to Monadnock on the heels of last weekend’s ISMA Supermodified victory at Lee (N.H.) USA Speedway.
The Sunday Republican and masslive.com will have full coverage of the Victor Johnson Memorial Race as well as Monadnock’s weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions.
Last Saturday, Belchertown’s Jason LaFleur led the NWAAS races with a victory in the Super Stock feature. Chicopee’s Kimmy Rivet earned a third-place finish in Mini Stocks.
OPEN FOR INTERPRETATION: The view you have on how Ron Silk passed Todd Szegedy for the lead late in Wednesday night’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway probably depends on which driver you’re a fan of.
If you back Silk, it was perfectly fine that he spun Szegedy out just seconds before the caution flag came out late in the UNOH Perfect Storm 150.
If Szegedy’s your guy, he was unfairly dumped by an overzealous Silk.
When I watched the incident, I initially agreed with the pro-Szegedy camp. Upon a couple of second looks, I agree with announcers Mike Joy and Dick Berggren that there was nothing Silk could do to avoid running into the back of Szegedy as he slid down the track.
Two of the best drivers on Tour were fighting for the same piece of real estate late in a race at one of NASCAR’s most iconic tracks. Neither man knew the caution flag was about to come out.
All credit goes to Szegedy for tearing back through the field in only about 20 laps to finish second after restarting 14th. He was a man on a mission but just didn’t have enough time to catch Silk.
BACK ON TRACK: It’s a sign that you’re having a good season when people think you’re in a slump when you haven’t won in just over a month.
Palmer’s Dylan Kopec claimed his sixth SK Lights victory of the season - first since July 13 - last Friday at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway. Kopec started the year on fire by winning four of the first five features before going on a four-race drought.
Since July 13, Kopec has won two of the last four races. He is in fourth place in the standings, 40 points behind leader Zach Aszklar.
Belchertown’s Adam Gray took down his first win of the season in Late Models. Gray is fourth in the division, 88 points in back of Woody Pitkat. Monson’s Jim Peterson and East Longmeadow’s Tom Fearn are third and fifth, respectively.
NUMBER NINE: Wilbraham’s Tommy O’Sullivan prevailed for the second straight Thursday night, winning his ninth Late Model feature of the season at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway.
Ryan Preece joined O’Sullivan in the nine-win club with his Sunoco Modified victory.
FAMILY CONNECTION: Adam Gray and Tommy O’Sullivan weren’t the only members of their respective families to race well last weekend.
Tommy’s brother, Mike, and Adam’s father, Barry, finished second and third, respectively, in the Granite State Pro Stock Series 100-lap race last Saturday at Star Speedway in Epping, N.H.
Matt Frahm led 99 of 100 laps to prevail at the track where his racing career began.
Belchertown's Barry Gray (left) and Springfield's Mike O'Sullivan (right) flank race winner Matt Frahm following last week's Granite State Pro Stock Series race at Star Speedway in Epping, N.H. O'Sullivan and Gray finished second and third, respectively. Mike O’Sullivan is on the entry list for Sunday’s inaugural Pro All-Star Series Late Model 125 at Stafford. The track’s winningest driver, Ted Christopher, will also strap in for the event.
CONDOLENCES: My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Scott Doty, a 41-year-old racer who suffered a heart attack and died during a Crate Sportsman race last weekend at New Egypt Speedway in New Jersey.
Thankfully, Doty’s car was able to slow to a stop and was not crashed into by any of his competitors. The Asbury Park Press reported that Doty suffered from coronary artery disease and that the cause of death has been listed as cardiogenic shock, a state in which the heart has been damaged so badly that it cannot supply enough blood to the body’s organs.
Jason Remillard can be reached at jremillard@repub.com