Archive for July, 2009

by JJ Andrews

“It depends on exactly what happens in front of me,” said supermodified driver Otto Sitterly, about his chances of winning Saturday’s “Mr. Novelis Supermodified” event at Oswego Speedway.

The current points leader from Canajoharie will be one of the favorites in the race, which pays $10,000 to win. Sitterly has two feature victories this season in the John Nicotra supermodified, and would love to have another $10,000 to kick into the team’s tire bill.

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by Chris Meyers

The column will be a little different this week as I’m going to be jumping all over the place this week. Hy-Miler weekend has come and gone and what a weekend it was indeed. Supermodified racing’s enemy Mother Nature didn’t make her presence felt this weekend! Fans from Canada and all across the United States towed in for the 32nd Annual ISMA Hy-Miler Supernationals. Friday night saw three Buckeyes on the podium as Randy Burch held off Dave Shullick Jr. and Charlie Schultz in the “Fast 40”. It was Burch’s first career ISMA win and a popular win indeed. It couldn’t have happened to a better person. The fans went crazy when he pulled into victory lane. You could sense the excitement and hear the thunderous roar from the grandstands. Randy has overcome a lot of tough luck over the last few years in the supermodified division and it’s just great to see him back in victory lane. He’s having a solid season so far and it’ll be interesting to see what happens from here on out for him.

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Winning the ‘Tammy 10-Thousand Dollars’ would pay tribute to Harvey Lennox and pay a few bills, too
 
By JIM CRESSMAN
 

Mark Sammut would like nothing better than to pay tribute to Harvey Lennox by collecting the “Tammy 10-Thousand Dollars” prize that awaits anyone who wins both ends of the International SuperModified Association doubleheader Aug. 7-8 at Delaware Speedway.

“That would be excellent, wouldn’t it? It sure would pay a few bills,” said Sammut, who incurred some unexpected costs this past weekend at Sandusky, Ohio — front-end damage on Friday night, then the rear end letting go on lap 12 of Saturday’s 100-lapper.

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By John Houghton, Delaware Speedway PR

The arrival of the ISMA Supermodified at Delaware Speedway is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year. This year promises to be twice as exciting as the ISMA cars invade Delaware Speedway for two days of speed, action, and great racing memories presented by Sloan Insulation of Windsor and Patco Transportation and an added $4,000 on the line for the ISMA drivers put up by Corr / Pak Merchandising. 2009 marks the fourth year in a row the coveted series has graced the Delaware half-mile after a previous twenty-year absence.

The cars in the American-based ISMA (International Supermodified Association) are the most powerful cars to visit Delaware Speedway each year. The majority of the vehicles are home built by the race teams themselves. The light weight of the cars combined with the over 850-horse power the cars generate create a recipe for quick times around the speedways the series visits. The cars also have large wings mounted on top of the car mounted on air shocks, which change the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle to create extra down force in the turns and reduce drag on the straights. The cars are also directly driven off the engine, which means the cars require a push start and have no starter and no battery with the aim of further reducing the weight of the cars.

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by Carol Haynes

Sandusky Oh – No supermodified driver had ever won four-straight Sandusky Hy-Miler 100s going into the 32nd running of the prestigious event Saturday night. Chris Perley now had the chance but also had his doubts. A sixth place finish in Friday night’s Fast 40, made him more uncertain that he could be the first 4-time consecutive winner. He wasn’t the fastest in time trials Saturday. He finished second in his heat. The Vic Miller crew set to work to make the car right. It was about halfway into the race that Perley knew he had a chance. Later that night he stood in victory lane with his fourth Hy-Miler trophy, the doubts erased. The Rowley, Mass. driver had received a call on Friday that his maternal grandmother had passed away in Florida after a bout with cancer. He chose to dedicate his record-breaking win to his “Nana.”

Said Perley in victory lane, “This is amazing. We were a little off yesterday. We worked on it today and made some changes. The crew is pretty sharp. I didn’t think we had the car tonight. I didn’t want to get down and disappoint the crew. By halfway I knew we had a pretty good car to win. It’s just unbelievable. It shows how good this crew is. I was happy to put on a show for the fans. It was kind of drawn out with the reds but it was a blast. It was fun partying. This place is great. This place is my favorite track. I would never have believed yesterday that I would have been here today.”

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by Carol Haynes

Sandusky, OH – History repeated itself Friday night at Sandusky Speedway when Randy Burch took home his first-ever ISMA feature win repeating what Charlie Schultz had done in 2008. Burch, who started 4th in the 27-car stellar field of supermodifieds, grabbed the lead on lap 9 and took the Steve Stout 49 home to victory 31 laps later. Burch pulled away from the field but his nearest challenger, Dave Shullick Jr., slowly reeled in the leader toward race end with lap traffic playing a critical role. Schultz got into the mix to make things very interesting.  At the end the top 3 hailed from the “Buckeye” State much to the delight of the record-breaking crowd on hand who stayed despite the past-midnight start.

Said Burch, surrounded by the large Stout crew in victory lane, “I figured Shullick would be coming. I didn’t know how close he was. I figured there were a couple other guys out there when I ran into lap traffic. And, then I realized they weren’t there. Tomorrow’s the big one. And, tonight I thought I might take it easy, but with 40 laps you just have to go. With the guys out there tonight, it was a real honor to win. These guys out here tonight are real great. It’s great that the fans stayed. It was a long night. Hopefully, we get some good weather tomorrow and get the race in. This is a great night for our team.

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By DANA JENNINGS

STAFFORD SPRINGS, Conn.— Despite a morning of hard rain, by 3 o’clock on a recent Tuesday afternoon the back 40 at Stafford Motor Speedway had been transformed into a sunny village of R.V.’s, campers and four-wheel-drive vehicles, complemented by tents, wobbly lawn chairs and even-wobblier awnings. It was a kind of Hooverville devoted to the pleasures of high velocity.

So, What is a Supermodified Race Car? (July 24, 2009) Children and dogs tramped and scampered around the swampy campground. The dogs sometimes stopped to bark and howl at the rev and roar rising from the racetrack here in northeastern Connecticut. Grills sizzled, silverware clattered, pop-tops were popped.

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by Dana Jennings

The only limitations are the engine size, the car’s weight and the builder’s imagination.

Celebrating Machines That Drink Methanol (July 24, 2009) Supers, as fans call them, may weigh no less than 1,850 pounds, are powered by a 470-cubic-inch engine and can easily generate more than 800 horsepower. These lightning-fast beasts are fed methanol.

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by Chris Meyers

The weekend we’ve all been waiting for is finally here. The ISMA Hy-Miler Supermodified Nationals takes place this weekend at Sandusky Speedway and you can bet your bottom dollar that the place is going to be packed. This race means more to me then any other racing. Classic definitely sits right in second. There’s nothing like seeing the track you grew up at packed with supermodifieds and people. There’s nothing like seeing 100 green flag action packed laps around a half-mile circle track. There’s nothing like the friends, partying, and comradery during the weekend. Every supermodified fan all across the United States and Canada comes together to make memories, tell supermodified stories, and make new friends on this weekend.  As I stated last week, this column is about the ten drivers that I believe have the best chances to pick up a win or two this weekend. I am happy to announce that I have been joined in my predictions by Kenny Hutchison, a long-time supermodified fan like myself. Kenny and I have become good friends these last few years and I’m happy to have his insight. Hope all you readers out there enjoy what’s about to come your way!

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by CNS

12 supermodifieds hit the track for the 25 lap main event with the
#7 Stevie Gallegos on the pole with #29 Craig Moore on the outside. On the inside of row two was #15 Joshua Lewis with #88 Kevin Day on the outside. #22 Ira Castor had the inside of row three.

Castor made an early break for the lead, taking 1st by the end of lap 2. #2 Rich Castor Jr., who had started second from dead last was navigating the field and by lap 8 had moved into 2nd. Castor had fallen behind with #11 Nick Haygood moving into the lead. Haygood, Castor, and #8 Larry Lapoint made easy work of lapped traffic as they continued on toward the checkered flag.

The last time the Super Mods raced here at CNS, Haygood had lapped every competitor but Rich Castor Jr. (and was even gaining on lapping him!). Castor made a noteworthy performance this time around, catching up to and sticking with Haygood through the last 5 laps.

Results below:

1 #11 NICK HAYGOOD, 2 #2 RICH CASTOR J.R., 3 #8 LARRY LAPOINT, 4 #7 STEVIE GALLEGOS, 5 #40 HARRY STONE, 6 #3 AJ EVANS, 7 #51 JOE PRISELAC, 8 #22 IRA CASTOR, 9 #16 BRYAN GOSSEL, 10 #29 CRAIG MOORE, 11 #15 JOSHUA LEWIS, 12 #88 KEVIN DAY