Archive for November, 2009

BY Carol D Haynes, ISMA PR

Verona, NY – The resplendent setting of the Turning Stone Casino served as the perfect backdrop for the International Supermodified Association to close out its 35th anniversary season. Founded in 1974 by Jim Shampine, Nolan Swift and Tom Heveron, ISMA ran its first two seasons establishing itself and then began issuing points and naming champions in 1976. Steve Gioia Sr. was crowned the first owner-driver champion. Vic Miller and Chris Perley took home the owner-driver honors this year for their fourth straight title and sixth overall. Perley, with this year’s crown, tied Russ Wood as a six-time ISMA driver champion, while Miller, as a car owner now has two titles less than the late record-holding Paul Dunigan. Dunigan acquired eight owner championships with four different drivers over his career.

ISMA began the evening by honoring its top-20 car owners and drivers with plaques and point fund checks. Then it was on to handing out the top honors to Vic Miller and Chris Perley. Championship jackets, plaques and the winning point fund checks went to the popular winners.

Read the rest of this entry »

by Roy Sova

Strap in – hang on – for the thrill of a lifetime ride! Hit speeds of 120 – 130 – 140 Miles per hour in the 2-seat Supermodified, which will be driven by some of Oswego’s best drivers. Rides will be available on most Saturdays before the pits open for racing action. The Oswego Speedway kicks off its “60th Season” of weekly racing action on Saturday May 8th and for the first time ever, fans will get a chance to tour the “fast five eighths” race track as a passenger in a real supermodified race car.

The 2-seater Supermodified will make its first appearance in Oswego Sunday, November 15th at the fund raiser for Stephen Gioia, III at Lighthouse Lanes. A highlight of the day will be somebody is going to win a ride in the 2-seater. Plus, for the first time, “Ride with the Supermodified Stars” tickets will be available for the 2010 season. Also look for the 2-seater at the National Parts Peddler trade show at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse the weekend of November 20-21-22. You will be able to purchase rides in the 2-seat Supermodified at both events.

Read the rest of this entry »

by Gerald Laurie

Troy Regier not only won the Saturday’s fifty lap Supermodified feature at the LVMS Bullring, he took the 2009 Supermodified Racing Association Championship by merely starting the feature. This was the eighth time Troy has won the West Coast Championship in recent years. Although many were expecting Troy to announce his retirement from full time competition in Victory Lane, no announcement was forthcoming and he refused to get specific when asked in the pits after the races.

There were 12 Supermodifieds in the pits with five additional competitors stuck on the East side of the Rockies by a huge Blizzard. One Colorado competitor called and said they had made twenty miles in four and a half hours and they all just packed it in and went home. Maybe next year.

Read the rest of this entry »

by Carol Haynes

Thompson, CT – “I’ll take this one,” Chris Perley shouted as he erupted from his Vic Miller 11 in victory lane at Thompson Speedway Sunday. With ten laps to go in the ISMA portion of the World Series of Racing, Chris Perley, who had won six of the last nine World Series’ events, had not really expected win number seven. He was running fifth late in the race and figured that was where he was going to stay. Ahead of him Mark Sammut, Dave Shullick Jr., Russ Wood and Mike Lichty had been the show. But on lap 43 things began to happen. Leader Sammut broke a hub and crashed out of the race. Dave Shullick Jr. took over the lead on the restart and Perley was able to pass a “loose” Mike Lichty who had used a lot of car battling Sammut, to gain third with five to go. Then with two to go, Perley had moved by Wood when all of a sudden Shullick’s wing broke giving Chris the opportunity to grab the lead and the win.

  Read the rest of this entry »

by Carol Haynes

Epping, NH – Chris Perley became a four-time winner of the prestigious All-Star Classic on Saturday night, tying him with supermodified legend Ollie Silva who also won four. Only two drivers – Bentley Warren and Russ Wood – have won more in the 44 years of the event’s running. Perley’s run to the front of the ISMA Classic Cigar 100 was an exciting and challenging one, as he had to find a way around some tough competition. Ipswich, Mass.’s Justin Belfiore and Canadian Mike Lichty led the way until Perley swapped the point with Lichty after midway to take the lead on lap 66. Lichty stayed with the Vic Miller 11 until the waning laps of the event when the 84 began to fade and Lou Cicconi and Dave Shullick Jr. powered by. Perley, whose last win came on July 25, has felt the loss of some of his competitive edge, uncharacteristically falling out of the top five on two occasions in the last five race events, although staying on top of the point standings. Perley described what brought him back into victory lane.

“We’ve definitely been off lately. We’ve been searching and hoping that we didn’t get to a point where we were over-engineering and over-thinking what we had. We came here and practiced a couple weeks ago and it wasn’t bad. We warmed up earlier today and it wasn’t that great. The times weren’t there but it didn’t feel that bad. We just kind of left it alone. Two things were out there today.  Number one basically, we felt that whatever happens, happens. And number two, let’s get this race under our belts and get more information as well as go back to look at some of the old notes that worked.

  Read the rest of this entry »