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TVMRS Notebook 3rd Edition:
By John Spence Sr.
Thunder Road leftovers and other things…
With the spring portion of the 2008 schedule, Lee,
Monadnock, Waterford , and Thunder Road , in the books, it
comes as no surprise defending champion, Kirk Alexander,
has three wins to start the new campaign. What has been a
pleasant surprise is the emergence of David Pinkham and
car owner Tom Greeley as viable candidates for a
championship. As the tour heads to Seekonk June 14 to
start the summer schedule, Pinkham enjoys a 24 point lead
over Alexander. Kirk opted out of the Waterford show
because of predicted rain. Pinkham won that one to put him
atop the standings. Additionally, Chris Pasteryak and Mike
Holdridge wrap up May in third and fourth spots with only
four points separating them. 06 champ Dwight Jarvis sits
fifth.
With car counts averaging around 25 per event, all things
considered, not a bad start, but the question remains
where do we go from here. Gas prices continue to climb, as
of this writing $4.49 a gallon in Chicago, which leaves us
to wonder what mid-summer will bring. A total of 39 of the
58 registered drivers have competed this spring. Not
bad.With stops coming up at Seekonk and Waterford , look
for some teams to compete with the series that have not
yet done so.. How many remains to be seen.
25 cars towed to Thunder Road with the end result a very
competitive race, a widespread interest from fans that had
never seen or heard a modified before, and a strong desire
to return by competitors and fans alike. Several tour
officials indicated that fans were coming up to them
thanking (them) for bringing the tour to Vermont . As one
official said, “I just work here, but it is amazing how
these people reacted to our series. Anyone with a True
Value uniform on was followed by fans asking questions
about the cars, drivers and the series. These people love
their full bodied cars but they really liked our show.”
The Chrome Horn modified website continues to do a great
job covering modifieds and short track racing. J.A.Ackley
provided live updates from T-Road and does a fabulous job.
“Different directions” said car owner Marco Turcotte when
speaking of the recent split between him and driver Louie
Mechalides. Mechalides has seen success with the owner
endowed with utterance including a track title at Lee in
small block supermodifieds and as a 4-time winner on the
TVMRS. “We’ve been together a long time but I’m okay with
it,’ said the Nashua , NH , resident. “Maybe someday Louie
will sit in my car again.”
As for now, Kirk Alexander will fill the seat of the
Turcotte racer. . Alexander admits he was not going to run
the entire series. “I’ll drive Marco’s car at the shows I
was not going to run my car.” Alexander will enter the
Wiscasset Raceway event June 28. The # 40 will be
renumbered #43.
As for Mechalides, he bought back the car he drove last
year that Turcotte sold to purchase a new SPACFO car “We
are going through that car right now and plan to run
selected True Value events.” said Mechalides. The
Tyngsboro, MA driver also plans to run at All-Star
Speedway more regularly.
From the Impressive File:
Sean Bodreau, hard work, patience, overcoming someone
else’s misfortune and top ten finishes. Dad Ernie has that
proud look going. Good for the # 1 race team. Good for
Ernie! Rob Goodenough, fast at T-Road, turned the high
banks at 12.24 to set a new track record. Tom Curley said
it was good enough for a 100 M.P.H. blast down the back
chute. And to think the famed “Widow Maker” is waiting on
the other side. Eddie Dachenhausen: Eddie D has made the
Linstedt # 10x go fast. They are currently in the top 10
in points and with a little luck here and there could
start to climb in the standings.
Steve Masse: After a tough start, an even tougher Thunder
Road practice, and an even worse end to the weekend, this
soon to be graduating high school senior was impressive
early at the Nations Site of Excitement. In fact the kid
turned a few heads.
Good to see and chat with Dave Moody at Thunder Road .
Moody is one of the very best announcers in the business
who I enjoy “talking shop” with. He is good company for
the commute home if you have Sirius Radio in your motor
vehicle.
Koszela Speed has signed on to sponsor the Rookie of the
Year program.
Rookie Kenny White Jr raced at Thunder Road in 1999 in
Busch North Series action.That year White became the
youngest driver to qualify for a Busch race.
Jack Bateman was involved in a practice crash that
required a trip home to Canaan for repairs. Jack returned
for Sundays race and had a top five run going late
eventually finishing a strong sixth. A tip of the TV hat
to the # 17 crew.
Jared Goodell stepped up to the microphone on practice day
at Thunder Road and did from all accounts a fine job.
Jared, whose real interest is the broadcasting business,
is going to work along side yours truly in the tower and
also on pit road. The plan is to have a system in place
shortly that Jared will be able to go live from the pit
area during TVMRS races ala Gary Danko at Waterford .
Speaking of Danko, check him out on www.
speedwaylinereport.com Monday nights talking racing with
in-studio guests. Gary ’s show originates from WATR,
Waterbury , CT , but is streamed on the internet. Danko
talks modifieds most of the time.
Congrats to Koszela Speed Rookie of the Year contender
Kevin Ianarelli on the recent Pro-4 modified win at
Waterford .
Karl Fredrickson tells us he is working on his modified.
His job requires more time on the road resulting in no
time for the race car. Hope to see the # 41 team soon.
Trivia Answer: Marissa Niederhauer was the first female to
compete with the TVMRS |
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