LJracer711
05-03-2009, 01:35 AM
Hello everyone! Just got back from taking my 3 year old birthday boy to Monadnock, for the return of regular feature division modified racing, for the first time in 15 years! I saw that there was about 15 modifieds in attendance, a little low, I thought, since there was no other racing going on in the area for the mods. Kirk Alexander won, as many would expect, and since he took the lead around around lap 5, I thought it was gonna be a snoozer. I'm glad to say that I was wrong. I'm sure he clearly had the field covered, and was just on cruise control, but it got pretty interesting, what with Jim Boniface tagging Rusty Ball and sending him around, being sent to the back, and then storming back to a 3rd place finish. Brian Shumway did a great job of running a clean race, and was rewarded with a well earned 2nd place. I was hoping to see Boniface get around the 5m of Shumway, as he looked like he might of been able to reel in Alexander, but the laps just clicked away too quickly at the end. Rusty Ball is still competive, even after all these years(the announcer pointed out that he was there when the track opened in 1971, and that he was the winner of the last regular weekly feature held at the track, back in 1994. It was great to see some drivers from the Park days. Roy Seidell, Eric LeClair, Frank Le'Toile(sp?), Dave Berube, and Glen Griswold were all on hand.
But the best site there was, was when I was about to settle into the bleacher seating and I turned around to see a new section of seating with some very familiar metal seats! As I gazed across the racetrack, I saw a prominently displayed advertisement for Teddy Bear Pools and Spas across a large section of the turn 3 retaining wall, and realized that Teddy Hebert and Freddy & Larry(or whoever runs the track now) had made a deal to finally use some seating from Riverside Park Speedway. It brought back a lot of memories for me, and having my son with me for the first time, just the two of us, made it even better.
Two non-modified points I'd like to touch on... one being the Allison Legacy North tour was on hand, and what a very competitive, interesting tour that is(for taxicabs). Kids as young as 12, competing with 40 year olds, with the racing for the win coming down to a pair of 18 year-olds, who put on a great show, and were generally excited about the racing, and it showed that they were friends as well. Looks like a great series for young racers to get involved with, as the cars are simple and affordable, strict rules(with the drivetrains all coming from the same place, sealed and race-ready), and the fact that they race all over the northeast, so the kids can hone their skills for the future on different tracks.
The last point is to say congratulations to Kim Rivet on a great run from dead last to a 3rd place finish in the mini-stock feature. Having met the Rivet family about 10 years ago, while Kim(who was about 8 years old at the time) and her brother Ryan were racing slot cars in chicopee, It's great to see how she has grown from slot cars, winning many Kart races at Whip City, up into the mini's, all the while showing maturity, skill, patience, and a knack for staying out of trouble, at such a young age.
I know this rambled a little, but I truly had a good time. The track seems to be doing what it can to put on a good show. The Mods and Pro stocks are alternating feature divisions; tickets are cheap($15/$20 adults-depending on what is racing, 12&under free, and 2 adults/2 kids only $20/$30-also have a program where if you bring in last weeks ticket stub, you get $5 off the next week! The food is decent and fairly priced as well. Bottom line is, in order for our sport to survive, tracks need to have butts in the seats, and "Mad Dog" seems to be trying to do its part, and I think they've got a good thing going!
But the best site there was, was when I was about to settle into the bleacher seating and I turned around to see a new section of seating with some very familiar metal seats! As I gazed across the racetrack, I saw a prominently displayed advertisement for Teddy Bear Pools and Spas across a large section of the turn 3 retaining wall, and realized that Teddy Hebert and Freddy & Larry(or whoever runs the track now) had made a deal to finally use some seating from Riverside Park Speedway. It brought back a lot of memories for me, and having my son with me for the first time, just the two of us, made it even better.
Two non-modified points I'd like to touch on... one being the Allison Legacy North tour was on hand, and what a very competitive, interesting tour that is(for taxicabs). Kids as young as 12, competing with 40 year olds, with the racing for the win coming down to a pair of 18 year-olds, who put on a great show, and were generally excited about the racing, and it showed that they were friends as well. Looks like a great series for young racers to get involved with, as the cars are simple and affordable, strict rules(with the drivetrains all coming from the same place, sealed and race-ready), and the fact that they race all over the northeast, so the kids can hone their skills for the future on different tracks.
The last point is to say congratulations to Kim Rivet on a great run from dead last to a 3rd place finish in the mini-stock feature. Having met the Rivet family about 10 years ago, while Kim(who was about 8 years old at the time) and her brother Ryan were racing slot cars in chicopee, It's great to see how she has grown from slot cars, winning many Kart races at Whip City, up into the mini's, all the while showing maturity, skill, patience, and a knack for staying out of trouble, at such a young age.
I know this rambled a little, but I truly had a good time. The track seems to be doing what it can to put on a good show. The Mods and Pro stocks are alternating feature divisions; tickets are cheap($15/$20 adults-depending on what is racing, 12&under free, and 2 adults/2 kids only $20/$30-also have a program where if you bring in last weeks ticket stub, you get $5 off the next week! The food is decent and fairly priced as well. Bottom line is, in order for our sport to survive, tracks need to have butts in the seats, and "Mad Dog" seems to be trying to do its part, and I think they've got a good thing going!