Star SBM 125 June 16th

[Groundpounder]

Totally agree. A feature that could have started at a little past 8pm and didn't finish until almost 11pm is in need of time management.

The feature started at the scheduled time of 8:30. Yes there were a lot of cautions, but I'll take what we had over alternatives like counting caution laps or single file restarts.

There were 3 or 4 backmarkers that were causing most of the issues. Hinckley didn't show a lot of sense running around the track with his motor misfiring like that, someone should have told him the race wasn’t paying any Sprint Cup points. Storace & Savary were two other drivers suffering from a lack of oxygen to the brain.

Apparently some drivers need to cause 5 or 6 yellows before they figure out it's not their night.

Hinkley kept returning to the track to see if they solved the problem as they have a points race at Stafford Friday. The last time he came back out they had the problem solved, a broken wire as stated above. Also as stated above, he never caused a caution. Storace had power steering issues all night. Not sure what issues Savary may have had. Yes, maybe there should be a 3 spin rule next year.

What's the deal with Mike Stefanik?

Since getting canned from the 16 he's been racing like a total ass. He reminds me of the 40 something guy still playing rec league basketball and throwing elbows all over the place to try and keep up with the younger players.

Excellent analogy. I used to have a lot of respect for him, but not anymore. He drove like a complete azzhat from the drop of the green when he pushed the outside pole sitter up the track to the checkers when he made a futile attempt to keep the 71 from passing him and sent them both spinning. Charlie Pasteryak might fit that analogy too. He hit everything but the lottery.

I had a great time Saturday night. Lots of great racing and stellar performances by Hirschman and Cantara made this a memorable event. And I love coming to Star Speedway. It's the perfect bullring. I'm not big on fenders, but I really like their Outlaw Sportsman class. A pretty thin rule book makes for a large variety of cars (this is NOT a cookie cutter class!) and good racing, not to mention a solid car count. I wish other tracks would take note of that. I can't wait get back to this race next year. I think this has the potential to become one of the premier modified events in the northeast.

[TroyT]

I had a great time Saturday night. Lots of great racing and stellar performances by Hirschman and Cantara made this a memorable event. And I love coming to Star Speedway. It's the perfect bullring. I'm not big on fenders, but I really like their Outlaw Sportsman class. A pretty thin rule book makes for a large variety of cars (this is NOT a cookie cutter class!) and good racing, not to mention a solid car count. I wish other tracks would take note of that. I can't wait get back to this race next year. I think this has the potential to become one of the premier modified events in the northeast.

+1, It was a great race even though the cautions took forever, they must have paced under yellow atleast 100 times. I was disappointed TC didn't show with the Brady #00 and a few other guys like Pennink and the Roscoe #25. That would have spiced it up a bit more.

It was good rubbin racin, I don't think one car had toe-out after that race hahaha.

[SUfan]

Part of the reason for the longer cautions was to allow teams to pit and return without running anybody over. The pit situation can be somewhat treacherous there. So to allow stops for a tire without creating a dangerous situation, teams need to know that they don't have to set any records while changing a tire. Drivers didn't have to race out of the pit area, like they did in 2011 with only one caution and everybody pitting on the same lap. I would rather see a race with some extra caution laps than a delay requiring an ambulance to rush a crewman to the hospital. Also, there was an unfamiliarity with the person running the transponder system communicating with officials to get the lineups squared away. These things happen when you have a group of people not used to working with one another.
And the reason for the delay before some of the races was the lateness of time trials caused by the person running the transponder system arriving an hour late. All of a sudden there wasn't much time between Modified events. The pre-race concert was moved into the race program so that the Modified teams could change their cars over from time trials to heat setups. Maybe if there is a next year the answer would be to impound the cars between the two in case the schedule does get altered.
Thanks to everyone who supported this race. It was a very stressful, but at the same time memorable night. When Todd Szegedy calls you on Sunday moring to say he had an "absolute blast" at a track he had never been to, it really means something. I think we need a few more events like this to add more excitement to Modified racing. If it ever happens, or even if this race happens in it's current state or better are the questions.

[uticamike]

As a crew member I appreciate your comments Kevin, well put. It is tight there at Star especially at the throat right there where they enter into turn four. People in the pits
understand and I think most in the stands do to but a few neggies think only about themselves. You and the LIMM did a great job there Saturday and again the vast majority
get it I believe. I sure hope you can bring this race back again I think it will be even better like most things new get as they move forward. I know it was a ton of work but also
shows you don't need a big national sanctioning body to put on a great show. Thanks again Kevin.

[rim runner]

I don't know if people had an issue with the length of each caution, as much as the number of caution flags. I didn't think any of the cautions lasted a particularly long time, however I do think there easily should have been 5 or 6 less cautions if some backmarkers would have used a little common sense.

Lets face it, if a WMT or MRS 125 lap race took 2.5 hrs to run on a 1/4 track, the NASCAR or the MRS drivers would be hung from the highest tree by the fans of the other series (and quite likely their own fans too), and rightly so.

The racing up front was hard and fair for the most part (the exception being around the 66), while the drivers bringing up the rear really screwed up the show.

With open comp events, it's always a crap shoot how a bunch of drivers from different areas and series will race together, but I think if there is a next time, a 2 spin rule should be strongly considered.

[limodmaniac]

I don't care if there's 40 cautions. Let them race for 10 hours if needed.. At least they didnt go single file or call the race at lap 44.

Thanks to Kevin Rice for his hard work. Aren't too many people willing to do what he did.. Countless hours of work. Because he loves the modifieds!

[BigMac]

I don't know if people had an issue with the length of each caution, as much as the number of caution flags. I didn't think any of the cautions lasted a particularly long time, however I do think there easily should have been 5 or 6 less cautions if some backmarkers would have used a little common sense.

Lets face it, if a WMT or MRS 125 lap race took 2.5 hrs to run on a 1/4 track, the NASCAR or the MRS drivers would be hung from the highest tree by the fans of the other series (and quite likely their own fans too), and rightly so.

The racing up front was hard and fair for the most part (the exception being around the 66), while the drivers bringing up the rear really screwed up the show.

With open comp events, it's always a crap shoot how a bunch of drivers from different areas and series will race together, but I think if there is a next time, a 2 spin rule should be strongly considered.

I agree with everything you said. When things get out of control officials need to use the black flag to tell a driver when his night is over. My opinion is not a reflection on Kevin or Star. Its a great event and I look forward to the 2013 edition but Saturdays race was frustrating as hell to watch for me because the racing was so good up front and so bad in the back.

I don't know how anyone could think 40 cautions would be exciting.

[SUfan]

The official time of the race was 91 minutes green to checker for 125 green flag laps. Maybe it seemed longer to some because it was cold out, and shorter to others because the racing was so good.

[MOD11RACER]

20 cautions for over 100 laps makes for a bad race no matter how you spin it. If I would have driven to the race I would have left at about the 12TH caution.

[RBH]

It was a good race, a few to many cautions, yes, but it there were several different cars at the front and there was competition among the top 10 most of the race. Remember numbers(statistics) don't tell the whole story!
If you weren't there don't complain & if you were, weigh your options. Many good cars from several series put on a good race for great money at the front.
Will be there next year & enjoying the race

[rim runner]

The official time of the race was 91 minutes green to checker for 125 green flag laps. Maybe it seemed longer to some because it was cold out, and shorter to others because the racing was so good.

The race started at 8:30pm and ended at almost 11:00 pm, who was the official time keeper of the race, Bruton Smith??

[csg]

I will agree it seemed a lot longer then an hour and a half. I think you can expect more cautions when you have a bunch of drivers who dont know the track or each other well and are racing for money, not points. There were a 2 or 3 cars that spun out multiple times bringing out needless cautions, after the 2nd or 3rd time they should figure it out and realize its not their night. And if the driver can not figure it out on there own, perhaps the track should let him know it is not their night. The racing itself was great when they weren't parading under caution. I believe even with the cautions this was just a good race. I enjoyed the live band they had during intermission, heats which meant something, the one tire change promoted passing, and the all out racing for the lead throughout the feature because there was lap money. Overall they did more right then wrong on this one. They tighten up the schedule next year, remember most of your fans were coming from 1+ hour away, you turn a great show into an awesome show. I had a genuinely fun time at this one and would support the show again.

[SUfan]

Pos No. Name Laps Total Tm
1 59 125 1:31:40
2 40 125 1:31:40
3 71 125 1:31:41.695
4 66 125 1:31:41.894
5 28 125 1:31:42.224
6 44 125 1:31:42.444
7 88 125 1:31:42.964

So now we are going to claim that the transponders can't tell time on here? The 47 was parked after his third spin. This board could turn my great grandmothers 100th birthday into a negative.

[JEFF]

What tires did they run ? american racers or hoosiers ?

[uticamike]

Hoosier 20's/30's. 1 tire allowed for teams option to change. Most took the 5th tire. A fantastic race to be sure.