5/15/12
Sprint Cars of New England Open Season at Canaan Friday
BY MARK McKEON
CANAAN, NH – The Sprint Cars of New England will open their 2012 season with a full program of qualifying races and a 25 lap feature at the Canaan Dirt Speedway this Friday night, May 18. Also on the card will be the Bombers, the Super Streets and a non-points race for the Modifieds- a class that drew 23 cars last week.
Defending SCoNE champ Dan Douville of Bridgewater hopes to be on hand for opening night after blowing an engine during time trials at the Can Am Challenge in Granby, Quebec last weekend.
“We were able to knock some rust off and the car felt really good in hot laps until that awful sound during time trials,” Douville said.
Other past champions expected to compete with SCoNE this season include Chris Donnelly (2010), Tunk Berry (2009), Chad Dow (2008), Shawn Lawler (2007), and Mark Cole (2002-2004). Asphalt Supermodified veteran Butch Valley, Jr. will be among those claiming 2012 as their rookie season in a Sprint Car.
Grandstands open at 4:30 and the first green flag is scheduled to drop at 7:00 pm this Friday at the Canaan Dirt Speedway.
Next events scheduled for the Sprint Cars of New England are the Test and Tune session at Legion Speedway in Wentworth, NH on Sunday May 20 and the first Sprint Car event of the season at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, VT on Saturday May 26.
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4/22/12 Waist Deep in Champions:
SCoNE Practice at Canaan Dirt Speedway
BY MARK McKEON
CANAAN, NH – A half dozen members of the Sprint Cars of New England took advantage of the first practice session of the year to test and tune their methanol gulping Winged Rockets at the Canaan Dirt Speedway on Saturday. All emerged both unscathed and better prepared for the upcoming season.
The all New Hampshire lineup included three-time SCoNE champ Mark Cole of West Lebanon, three-time Granite State Mini Sprint Champ Matt Robie of Hill, former NEMA Midget and Big Block Super Modified Champ Jim Lowrey of Tilton, as well as championship contenders Shawn Berry of Center Ossipee, Clay Dow of Barnstead and Jake Williams of Center Tuftonboro.
All six competitors and more than a dozen others are expected to follow the SCoNE tour in 2012.
The SCoNE season starts at Canaan Dirt Speedway on Friday May 18. Bear Ridge Speedway hosts the fire breathing mudslingers for the first of seven visits on Saturday May 26 and SCoNE’s first visit to Legion Speedway is on Sunday June 24.
SCoNE’s annual Triple Crown Weekend takes place at Canaan on August 31, Bear Ridge September 1 and Legion September 3.
For more information, visit nesprintcars.com.
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2/20/11 B Mains May Be Toughest SCoNE Races in 2012
BY MARK McKEON
CHESTER, VT – With a likely increase in the number of competitors and possible average car counts in to 20 to 24 ranges, the B Main or Last Chance Qualifier may just provide some of the best racing for the Sprint Cars of New England during the 2012 season.
“We really hate to send anybody home without qualifying for the A Main,” says SCoNE honcho Mike Kondrat, “but we have to strike a balance. Having more than 18 full sized, winged 360 Sprint Cars on the tracks we race on doesn’t make for a good show for the fans and almost always tears up a lot of equipment. Don’t get me wrong, there is no place we’d rather race than on the quarter miles at Canaan, Bear Ridge and Legion, but we have to use our heads too.”
Unless track operators specify otherwise, SCoNE features will be limited to 18 cars in 2012, as they were in 2011. When there are 22 or fewer cars, two heats will be run and seven cars from each heat will qualify for the A Main. The remainder will go to the B Main from which four cars will qualify. When there are 23 or more cars, three heats will be run with five cars qualifying. An additional three cars will qualify from the B Main.
In order to maintain SCoNE’s hard-won reputation as the tour that starts the fastest cars and best drivers at the back of the A Main, the current handicapping system will continue in 2012, with minor changes.
Drivers are handicapped based on championship points earned in both the heats and features for the previous three events and if a driver misses an event, 65 handicapping points are assigned. Drivers with the highest points start at the rear in heats.
In features, drivers are assigned to their handicapped starting position if they qualify through the heats; except, the driver who won the previous feature starts as the last car qualified through the heats (assuming he/she qualified through a heat). Drivers qualifying through the B Main start behind the drivers who qualified through the heats. They start the feature in the order they finished in the B Main.
The SCoNE season starts at Canaan Dirt Speedway on Friday May 18. Bear Ridge Speedway hosts the fire breathing mudslingers
for the first of seven visits on Saturday May 26.
SCoNE’s first visit to Legion Speedway is on Sunday June 24.
SCoNE’s annual Triple Crown Weekend takes place at Canaan on August 31,
Bear Ridge September 1
and Legion September 3.
For more information, visit nesprintcars.com
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1/30/12
Here's the Entry Form for anyone interested
in joining the
CAN-AM
challenge!
12/27/11 Three-Class Standout Kevin Chaffee is
VT Motorsports Magazine Driver of the Year
BY MARK McKEON
CHESTER, VT – Capping a diverse season that saw him on the podium with the Sprint Cars of New England, the USAC Dirt Midget Association and the DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds at Bear Ridge Speedway, “The Fairlee Flier” Kevin Chaffee of Fairlee, VT was voted by the readers of Vermont Motorsports Magazine as the 2011 Vermont Motorsports Magazine Driver of the Year.
The versatile Chaffee had a pair of wins in his first season behind the wheel of a Midget, despite racing only part of the USAC DMA schedule. A feature victory in the DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds helped him finish fourth in Bear Ridge points and a solid SCoNE season saw success with an overall third place in the ultra-tight championship points battle.
“I was actually pretty surprised when I went on line and saw that I had won. On the first day of voting, I went on line and voted for a bunch of guys in a bunch of different categories. Then I kind of put it out of my mind while the voting ran for two weeks,” Chaffee said.
“One of the things that makes it such an honor to win is that it’s a competition for the entire state and for the tours from all over the area. I really want to thank everyone who voted for me. Of course, without my car owners I wouldn’t have had the season that I did. I owe a lot to Bruce Clattenburg with the Sprint Car, Larry Covey with the Modified and Skip Matczak with the Midget,” Chaffee concluded.
Readers also voted Chaffee Open Wheel Driver of the Year and 14-time track and series champion Chris Donnelly as Touring Series Driver of the Year.
Chaffee had a 26% plurality out of more than 13,000 votes cast for Driver of the Year.
"We couldn't be more pleased with how the fans made their voices heard and took these nominations seriously," said Vermont Motorsports Magazine Editor T.J. Ingerson. "All 67 nominees should be proud of their recognition. We are very thankful for the support from our readers for the votes we received. The entire staff at VMM congratulates Kevin Chaffee and the rest of the winners on their well-deserved honors."
Further details and a complete list of winners in
all 11 categories
can be found at vtmotormag.com
Visit this great website to learn about Sprint Car Racing
a
The Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) is proud to announce
a partnership with "The Race Depot" as the series
first official product sponsor.
The Race Depot is located at 500 Boston Post Road West in Marlboro, MA
Tel- 508-485-5606 or at www.theracedepot.com
Race Depot
has been providing performance race products since 1991.
"Bobby has been great! He is committed to providing racers of the open wheel community great product, readily available at the lowest cost possible, It is our honor to be associated with the Seymour name and specifically, The Race Depot." said SCoNE President Mike Kondrat.
The agreement allows SCoNE members the opportunity to purchase the mandatory "RACEceiver" at a reduced price and additionally provided the series assistance with the aquisition of staff communications for the series officials. Bobby Seymour reflected, "There has been a lot of buzz about the dirt sprinters up in New England, they supported my Racers Expo trade show this past winter and I'm happy to help them out!"
Product sponsorship is a major step forward for the fledgling series,"We have worked extremely hard this off season to bring the series to the next level and with registrations nearing the 30 car mark, a strong17 Race schedule and now incorporating a product sponsor like TheRaceDepot.com, we believe our brand of racing is a viable option for the race fans of New England to enjoy for years to come!" added Mike Kondrat. The Race Depot logo will be displayed on each SCoNE sprinter and the Race Depot will be announced as a product sponsor at each event through out the summer.
