 Photo: Stafford Speedway Press Release by Stafford Speedway about Haydt-Yannone Racing (Souza Media client)
When Stafford Speedway kicks off its 2023 season with the 51st Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler®, Ron Silk is sure to be counted among the pre-race favorites. Silk and the #16 Blue Mountain Machine / Future Homes team finished third in last year’s Sizzler® and won the season ending NAPA Fall Final in September. With an average finish of 4.3 in three Stafford starts last season, Silk and his team are eager to return to the Connecticut half-mile facility. “The team and I are certainly looking forward to coming back to Stafford,” said Silk. “We thought the Sizzler® was an awesome event last year with a lot of cars, a lot of people in the stands, and a really good payday. We ran well in the Sizzler® and finished third but we needed just a little more to be able to keep up with Matt [Hirschman] and Ryan [Preece]. We made some improvements over the two remaining races we ran at Stafford and it was really good to get a win at the Fall Final last year. It’s a new year and a new race, but it’s always nice to come back to a track after your last visit there was a victory. We’ll try to take all the positives we can from the Fall Final to the Sizzler® but you’re still going to have to have a fast car and make the right decisions, so we still have a little bit of work ahead of us.” “We’re all pumped for the Sizzler®,” said Silk’s co-car owner Joe Yannone. “Ronnie is comfortable at Stafford and the team always has a great time when we race there. We feel like our car has everything it takes to make it happen at Stafford so we’re all looking forward to the Sizzler®. The Sizzler® will be one of our highlight races for the 2023 season for sure and we’re definitely confident and looking forward to April.” Last year’s 50th running of “The Greatest Race in the History of Spring” brought about several changes to the format. Rather than time trials, teams had to qualify for the race by finishing in a qualified position in one of two 40-lap NAPA Duel races. Drivers who didn’t qualify through a NAPA Duel went into a 15-lap last chance qualifier to earn the final starting positions in the 100 lap NAPA Spring Sizzler®. The new format saw 41 cars attempt to qualify for the 33 car starting field and brought about an atmosphere around the race that was appreciated by all competitors. “I was really impressed with the atmosphere,” said Silk. “It felt like being at the track 15 or 20 years ago when I was younger with a buzz around the track and the race. Honesty as a racer, I’m kind of a fan of time trials, but for the fans it’s more exciting to have heat races, especially when the race is spread out over two days like the Sizzler®. I really like the idea of a 40-lap heat race rather than a 10-lap heat because if you get a poor starting draw, you at least have some time to do something about it. Last year we were fortunate enough to win our duel race, which was a great payday in itself for a 40-lap race, and I think that’s one of the main reasons why there was so much excitement around the race last season. With everything that happened last season, the race should only be bigger and better this season.” Last year’s NAPA Spring Sizzler® paid a guaranteed $15,000 to win plus any contingency money earned and it paid $1,250 to start the race from total posted awards of over $130,000. For the 2023 NAPA Spring Sizzler®, the purse has increased to pay the winner a guaranteed $20,000 with $1,500 to start the race from total posted awards of over $140,000. “Stafford has done a fantastic job with the purse,” said Silk. “I was looking at the purse the other day, and although it would be a very tough feat to pull off, if a driver could win their duel race and lead all 100 laps to win the race, the payout would be around $38,500, which would really be something remarkable.” “The Sizzler is always exciting with the amount of competitors who come to Stafford and the track is always packed with fans,” said Yannone. “Stafford does a great job with the purse and that really helps draw attention to the modifieds.” Silk made his NAPA Spring Sizzler® debut in 2004 and he has since made 15 starts with a best finish of third, which he has done three times, including last season. Silk would like to add the Sizzler® to his career win list while his owner says that a Sizzler victory would be a bucket list item for himself and the team. “The Sizzler is certainly a prestigious race and it’s one of the bigger races that I haven’t won yet, so it would certainly mean a lot to me to win a race like that against that field of competition with a great atmosphere surrounding the race,” said Silk. “It would be really good for the team to get some momentum early in the season and it would be a nice payday on top of that. Thanks to my car owners Tyler Haydt and Joe Yannone, Future Homes, Blue Mountain Machine, and all the crew guys who give up their free time to go racing with us. We all enjoy doing it but it’s still a big commitment and we couldn’t do this without their help.” “If we were able to win the Sizzler®, it would definitely be something for our bucket list and we would all be ecstatic,” said Yannone. “Ronnie is the guy to do it and our crew chief Phil Moran along with Tyler Haydt, myself, and everyone on the crew, we all have the utmost confidence that we can make it happen and it would be totally awesome to win the Sizzler®.” The 51st Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler® kicks off on Saturday, April 29, and will consist of two 40-lap NAPA Duel qualifying races for the Open Modified division. The 40-lap races will each pay $3,500 to win and will set the field for Sunday’s NAPA Spring Sizzler®. The American Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Models will also make their return to Stafford Speedway on April 29th with a 75-lap feature with over 40 cars expected for the race. Limited Late Model, Street Stock, and Vintage All-Star divisions will complete Saturday’s racing program. Order 51st NAPA Spring Sizzler® Tickets Sunday, April 30th will play host to the $20,000 to win 51st NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®. Filling out Sunday’s racing card will be qualifying and feature racing for the SK Modified®, SK Light Modified, and Late Model divisions along with last chance qualifiers for the Spring Sizzler®. For more information, visit staffordspeedway.com, follow Stafford Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
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Caleb Heady To Defend SMART Mod Tour Title, Run Additional Events With Tommy Baldwin Racing1/19/2023  Photo: Phil Cavali/TBR Press Release By Souza Media for Tommy Baldwin Racing
MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Tommy Baldwin Racing announced today that rising star Caleb Heady will return to the seat of the 7NY for the 2023 season. Heady will defend his 2022 SMART Modified Tour title down south, showcasing his talents in a diverse 14-race series schedule for the new year. On top of competing on the SMART Modified Tour, Heady is also scheduled to begin the season in one of TBR’s Tour-Type Modifieds for the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway from February 13-17. Heady will also drive a TBR entry in the Race of Champions 73rd Annual Lucas Oil Race of Champions 250 at Lake Erie Speedway in September. The group will also team together for Open Modified events during the 2023 season, with an exact schedule to be released at a later date. “Caleb and our team clicked last year and we’re expecting similar results for the 2023 racing season,” Tommy Baldwin Jr. said. “The SMART Modified Tour has grown into a successful division down south – with a large variety of tracks – and they have a great schedule ready for the year. We’re excited to chase the championship again with them and also eager to get Caleb down to New Smyrna for the World Series against a stout driver lineup for even more Modified experience.” Heady, who has quickly moved up the ladder in racing from Legends Cars to Modifieds, anticipates getting to the front of the field and contending for trophies. “We’re super excited to be back with Tommy Baldwin Racing and be chasing a second SMART Modified Tour title this season,” Heady said. “I can’t wait to apply all that I learned during the 2022 season to this year. Being able to branch out and run more races with the team is exciting and we’re looking forward to it. I love learning new tracks and racing with the top competition in Modified racing in the country. I can’t wait to see what the season has in store for us.” For more information on Tommy Baldwin Racing, visit TommyBaldwinRacing.com and follow the team on social media for the latest updates.  Press Release by Souza Media For Granite State Pro Stock Series
Eight-Race Slate Includes Two Tracks in New Hampshire, One in Maine & One TBA Race WALPOLE, N.H. – Granite State Pro Stock Series officials announced today an eight-race schedule for the 2023 season. The schedule includes three events at ‘The Place To Race’, Star Speedway, two at Riverside Speedway, two at Speedway 95 and one at a track to be announced. Star Speedway, owned by the Webber family, has been on the Granite State Pro Stock Series schedule since inception of the series and will return for the new season. The three dates include the Hedges Excavating 100 on Saturday, May 6, a special race to pair with the Racers Honoring Racers Open Modified 100 at Star on July 1, and the annual Star Classic Friday night event on September 15. Outside of Star, the series will also frequent two other ovals in 2023 – Riverside Speedway and Speedway 95. Riverside, located in Groveton, New Hampshire, is a true bullring style track with banking and tight corners. Speedway 95, in Hermon, Maine, is a bit flatter, but produces excellent side-by-side racing for Pro Stocks, and will once again do it with the stars of the Granite State Pro Stock Series in 2023. The series will stop at Riverside Speedway on June 3 and August 12, and at Speedway 95 on June 2 and August 19. The final race of the season, set for September 24, is to be announced at this time. “Our 2023 schedule brings us back to some tracks where we have a great relationship with ownership, and those facilities produce some of the best Pro Stock racing in the Northeast,” Mike Parks, Granite State Pro Stock Series owner and President, said. “The champion from the 2023 season will have mastered these tracks against some tough competition. Star Speedway hosting three events is going to be a major deal for our series, with all three being major races, especially the one paired with the Modified show on July 1. Heading back to Riverside and Speedway 95 is a great opportunity for our fans to travel and see our stars compete at two more great tracks. We’re excited for 2023.” Additional information about the 2023 season, and the final to be announced date that will be the championship race on September 24, will be announced at a later date. For more information on the Granite State Pro Stock Series, visit gspss.net and follow the series on social media for the latest updates. 2023 Granite State Pro Stock Series Schedule May 6 – Star Speedway – Epping, N.H. June 3 – Riverside Speedway – Northumberland, N.H. June 24 – Speedway 95 – Hermon, Maine July 1 – Star Speedway – Epping, N.H. August 12 – Riverside Speedway – Northumberland, N.H. August 19 – Speedway 95 – Hermon, Maine September 15 – Star Speedway – Epping, N.H. September 24 – Championship Race TBA  By: Kyle Souza / Photo: Seekonk Speedway/Pit Row Photos Another first-time winner. Richie Helger Jr. earned his first career victory in the Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Bandits on August 28, capturing the win by leading all 15 laps of the feature. In just his seventh start at Seekonk in the Bandolero, Helger showed he had the power to get the job done. He beat Brent Robidoux and Ethan Dion to score the win in a great battle at the front of the field. And, as usual, the Victory Lane celebrations were emotional for a first-time winner — with his dad — Rich Helger — the owner of track sponsor Helger’s Southcoast Power Equipment — and his mom and brother trackside. If you look at the Victory Lane photos, somehow, his brother actually smiled more than the feature winner himself. What a family moment. “It was amazing when I won, to get this win early on in my career and it was awesome to move around and win this race,” Richie Helger Jr. said. “It was tough. It was a little bit hard to block them both at the same time. They both did a good job. Brent has been getting better every week, and Ethan has been doing a good job. We are all getting better every week.” The victory lane moment was the icing on the cake for his whole family. “It was exciting… when I got out of the car I was going to jump on my dad, but I was afraid he wasn’t going to catch me, so I just jumped down and gave him a hug. My mom was proud, clapping, and my brother was really happy. I told my brother after tech inspection that he could drive the car back to the trailer, and he was so happy.” Helger wishes to thank Charlie Rose, Rob Murray, Scott Harkin, Harkin Construction, Cat Country 98.1, Bad Boy and Ferris, along with Helger’s Southcoast Power Equipment. “I have to thank dad and Helger’s Southcoast Power Equipment for all they do for me and the track,” he said in his interview. To hear the rest of the interview with Richie Helger Jr. following his first win, check out the latest Seekonk Speedway Race Day Rewind podcast, which can be found on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and more. Seekonk Speedway returns to Fast Friday racing, with no spectators due to Massachusetts restrictions due to COVID-19, on Friday, September 4, with the Labor Day Fast Friday Spectacular. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit Seekonkspeedway.com and follow the track on social media.  LES HINCKLEY LOOKS TO SCORE IN TRI TRACK SEASON
SEEKONK, Mass. --Les Hinckley’s ride to the top of the ladder in Modified racing has come with plenty of checkered flags and trophies. But, to this point, none of them have come with the Tri Track Open Modified Series. He hopes to change that on Sunday afternoon, July 5, when Tri Track hits the ground running for the first time in 2020 -- two months delayed due to COVID-19 -- at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, New Hampshire. “Tri Track is a financially responsible series to run, payouts versus the cost,” Hinckley said. “I like to race once a month, once every four or five weeks... it gives me time in between races to prepare my car the way it needs to be prepared for a race. When you factor in the schedule, with the way the purse is structured and the tracks we go to and race, it fits us as a team.” Hinckley is one of more than 30 drivers expected Sunday at the high-banks of Monadnock. Due to COVID-19, and guidance from the state of New Hampshire, fans will be allowed at 50% capacity through the grandstands. The Tri Track Open Modified Series has also put a list of strict guidelines in place to maintain social distancing and best health practices to keep all competitors, teams, staff and fans safe. The race will also be available via live stream on Speed51.com, where race fans can purchase the action for $24.95. Following Monadnock, Tri Track plans to keep the remainder of the 2020 season schedule in place – with races at Star Speedway (July 25), Monadnock (August 15) and Seekonk Speedway (August 26 & October 24) still in the plans. Hinckley is no stranger to running at Monadnock, as a former track champion and winner in the Pro Stock division. He's also a former regular at Riverside Park Speedway, where he grew up racing. The last 20 years of racing have taken a few different surprise left turns for the veteran. Hinckley was competing for veteran car owner Chuck Montville in Modifieds, where he started winning races in 2004, and continued the partnership until the middle of 2013, when Chuck suddenly passed away. That left Hinckley looking for a new opportunity. He teamed with a few different rides, including current Tri Track Managing Partner Wayne Darling, who was a car owner at the time, and had success. Now, he’s working on and responsible for his own equipment as owner/driver and is enjoying spending time at home when possible. “Being a father of two kids that are actively in sports, I would enjoy going back to racing Saturday nights at Riverside where you didn’t have to show up until 3:30 in the afternoon, 10 minutes from my house,” Hinckley joked. “But the biggest transition from having Chuck, to not having Chuck, was racing full-time to not racing full-time. I was in the garage the second most amount of time, with Chuck there the most. I lost my car owner, who was primarily responsible for expenses, I lost the guy who spent the most amount of time on the car, and I lost a friend. I either had to step away and retire, hope that my phone rang, or step up and get back to an ownership role. I wasn’t interested in retiring.” “It’s been an adjustment,” he said of running things. “For financial and time reasons, I haven’t been able to race full-time since then, but there have been other things in my life that have filled the time. I got involved with my kids and their sports, and I don’t regret that for a minute.” Monadnock is a tight, banked track that Hinckley has so many laps around he could probably do it with his eyes closed. But, when the field rolls in Sunday afternoon, he’s going to have some stout competition to run against. Stars of the Tri Track Series will roll to green against some from the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Race of Champions Tour, Monadnock Speedway Sportsman Modified Series and more. Hinckley knows he’s got his work cut out for him, with mistakes not an option. “It’s a tricky track for guys that don’t have a lot of experience because both ends are so different,” Hinckley said. “We’ve won our fair share of races there, and a championship in a Pro Stock, and we’ve had success. A ton of laps, but at this level, with this group of guys, I don’t think the competition is any better anywhere than what it is with Tri Track. When you deal with the talent and equipment level, the experience gets swallowed up. I’m not sure how much of an advantage I have, with a lot of them being well-seasoned veterans with a small learning curve.” With the offseason now in the rear-view mirror, Hinckley is looking forward to getting back to the track, but with a heavy heart. He lost his father in April, not due to COVID-19, but another illness. He knows his father will be in the seat with him when the competition hits full speed. “It will be hard... in recent years his health and mobility weren’t the greatest, so he wasn’t going to the track very often. But what will be extremely hard Sunday night is coming down the road on the way home and knowing that the phone won’t ring with him wanting a race report,” Hinckley said of his father. “Good, bad, or different, when I pulled out of the track, I would have a voicemail from him. I’ve never needed any motivation to do what I do, but I’ve lost a few people, with my dad being the most recent, that were icons to me in racing. I’ve always had a work ethic in me, that more than just me, I wanted to make them proud. Chuck, my Dad, my uncle... they were three people I looked up at and I’ve lost them... we’re going to keep doing what we are doing and I know they are watching over us.” Action begins on Sunday with practice at 12 p.m., followed by heat races at 2 p.m., and feature racing to follow. Only the Tri Track and Pro Truck Challenge qualifying, and feature racing will air live on Speed51.com, where fans can purchase for just $24.95. The Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, Sportsman Modifieds and Late Model Sportsman will also be in competition but will not be shown due to broadcast restrictions. For more information on Monadnock Speedway, visit monadnockspeedway.com. For more information on the Tri Track Open Modified Series, visit tritrackmodifieds.com and follow the series on social media. |
Kyle SouzaSouza Media writes for several tracks, sanctioning bodies and race teams in the motorsports field, while also presenting original content by staff. Archives
March 2024
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