The threat of impending weather seemed to inspire our Message Forum to proliferate cyberspace with the thoughts of Chicken Little back on Wednesday. Although conditions looked iffy all day, Mother Nature had other ideas. Thankfully the folks at Thompson Speedway and NASCAR didn’t jump the gun and hastily postpone the Double Trouble Twin 100’s.

Forty-four Whelen Modified Tour teams found their ways to the northeastern Connecticut oval and practice was relatively uneventful. Jon McKennedy might dispute that. Just before two o’clock, during the second WMT practice session, McKennedy shortened up his #73 racer in turn two and put it on the trailer.

Time trials certainly aren’t they way they used to be. Thank goodness for that. The addition of the scuff session before qualifying has definitely made the draw for time trial position significantly less relevant. Jimmy Blewett showed ‘em in qualifying with a lap of 19.078 seconds to take down the pole. I think he was third of those who took time.

Chuck Hossfeld slid up the north end of the track on his first lap in time trials. Hossfeld turned around on the track in an attempt to salvage his second lap. Apparently there is a rule on the WMT that when a driver does this that the second lap is disallowed, thus Chuck’s time of 85.537 seconds stood.

One of the people I was glad to meet at Thompson was Peter Adams. Peter publishes the “Master Frequency List”. For those of you who enjoy scanning communications between drivers and their teams, this publication is a must have item. The latest edition is twenty-six pages in length and has the frequencies that most major touring series teams are using.

The Master Frequency List is available at Thompson Speedway, Stafford Motor Speedway, Beech Ridge Speedway and Waterford Speedbowl from the track concessionaires for five dollars. All editions include listings for those local competitors as well. Adams updates and re-issues the Master Frequency List five times per year.

If anyone wants to stay up to date, they can subscribe for twenty dollars and receive the next five issues by mail. There is a subscription coupon in every issue. Order the MFL by sending a check to Master Frequency List, P.O. Box 8001, Portland, ME 04104. For further information, drop me an email.

Jeff Malave took down the win in the 30-lap Sunoco Modified feature after a spirited battle with former WMT competitor, Tommy Cravenho. They were followed to the line by Woody Pitkat, Jimmy Blewett and Keith Rocco. This race was surprisingly clean.

One thing of which I am very proud is the way the Whelen Modifed Tour competitors have treated each other this season on the track. The races have been run with very few cautions so far. Perhaps that has something to do with the one hundred-lap distance of the past two races.

I do wish however that these relatively well behaved drivers would all share the task of running through the oil dry on the track. I believe that at least one of the cautions Thursday night would have been avoided had the competitors all done this. Boys will be boys and then they cry when they break their toys.

The race was very exciting. Most of those who watched the Live Updates probably realized that. There were fierce battles toward the front of the pack and throughout the field all the way to the end. There was some of the passing among the leaders that didn’t make the updates.

Things happened too quickly for us to make the next post. If anyone would like to know how much passing actually occurred, it would be best to be there next time. I’m just breaking the viewer’s shoes.

I would like to make one suggestion on watching the updates. Please refresh the computer screen or change pages within the forum no more than once per minute. It’s easy to figure this out: there is a clock on the screen.

It only takes a couple of people hitting the refresh button like Bart Simpson jacked up on Butterfingers to make it impossible to post. By limiting the amount of times the screens are refreshed, we will reduce the amount of time it takes for the next post to go through. Our thanks in advance for everyone’s cooperation.

Todd Szegedy took down the win in Mike Smeriglio’s #2 car. Todd commented after the race that he had “raced with some of the best drivers in the world…these guys here rank right up there with them”. I beg to differ. Todd raced with some the best drivers in the world right here and that was why he got to race with those other drivers.

Szegedy told us “I was driving as hard as I could but I couldn’t shake him [Eddie Flemke]”. Eddie had a very positive outlook after the race and felt Todd’s comments were high praise. Flemke said, “I was driving for all I was worth…the hundred lap distance allows us to drive all-out”

Glenn Sullivan was in the grandstands at Thompson. There, I said it. And no, I am not doing the Live Updates for the Busch East Races.

I think some of the biggest congratulations have to go out to our third place finisher. James Civali started from the point and battled tenaciously but cleanly and never put a wheel out of place. Civali earned his third Rookie-of-the-Race in four races and has thus established that he is the favorite to win the Rookie-of-the-Year award. James wasn’t available for the press box after the Modified race: he had to get to his #7 Busch East Series car.

Shortly after the Busch East Series race started, I think, Civali might have thought, it would have been better to go to the press box, throw back a couple cold ones and watch the guys who drove with fenders demonstrate why they aren’t as entertaining as those who drove without them. James finished 27th in the Busch East Race. Matt Kobyluck took down the victory over Brian Hoar. Last week’s victor, my buddy Bryon Chew finished 5th.

Then there was the trip home. After going to the Busch East paddock to pass on my congratulations, I went back to my car. I noticed on my way down to the back pits that the WMT competitors had all vacated the premises. I tried to open my driver’s door and the door handle came off in my hand.

As I drove away I called Jerry Moran, who I happened to miss Thursday. He and ThE sHaDoW had traveled from their neighborhoods in the Garden State Thursday morning. It had taken them more than ten hours to get to the track and they just made it in time for the WMT feature. The two were making pretty good time as they were already past New Haven.

Jerry warned me about some construction on I-95 which promptly resulted in my taking a U-turn on East Thompson Rd. That’s right; I went to Long Island via the Mass. Pike. I made pretty good time despite hitting construction on I-95 in the Bridgeport area.

Have you ever had anyone sit behind you with Xenon high beams aimed at your rear-view mirror? I would call these people (expletive deleted) bags, but that would be unfair to bags that were designed to hold vinegar and warm water. And they wonder from where road rage comes? That’s my homage to Mr. Miller.

Speaking of idiots that shone lights behind me Thursday, there was the cameraman who was shooting footage for the Busch East Series broadcast. The lights are extinguished in the press box during a race so that those inside the press box can see what is important. That is the action outside of the press box.

This…camera…person…(expletive deleted) turned on his camera and his Fahrenheit four hundred fifty one degree lamp inside the press box. This was without notice, during the WMT feature! I am sure, it is possible, that a full-length profile of Shawn Courchesne or a view of yours truly from behind would probably be more exciting to some than anything that happened in the Busch East race. Nice job (expletive deleted) bag.

If the camera operator simply went outside and focused his camera on the racetrack, he would have had the most exciting footage of the evening. If Mark Cuban saw that footage, he might even find that exciting enough sponsor the broadcast of Whelen Modified Tour racing in the future. Media vermin, like myself, should not have been an important part of any show Thursday night. Our drivers and crews should have been.

Further down the road I passed Joe Hartmann. Joe is another one of several WMT rookies who deserved an at-a-boy. Civali, Ron Yuhas, Anthony Sesely, Ronnie Silk and Hartmann all finished on the lead lap.

Looking at the back of Joe’s trailer I was reminded of the three undeniable truths I learned back in my drinking days. The truths are; Death, Taxes and the Broken Down Valise is open until 4AM. Hartmann was on pace to make it there before last call.

Here is a little heads up about an event for those who might not be venturing to the Holland Speedway at the end of this month. There is a group of decidedly crazy racing folk that will be among those in attendance at a concert in Riverhead on Friday night, July 28th at Wildwood Lanes. John Valby, also known as “Dr Dirty”, will be performing. Limited tickets are still available.

Call Wildwood Lanes at 631-727-6622 for information. This is something for some people to enjoy the night before the Tom Baldwin Memorial 77. Be forewarned, if anyone has a problem hearing words like (expletive deleted) and (expletive deleted) or any other filthy (expletive deleted) language, this show is one that should probably be avoided.

Shopgirl mentioned that there was a person in the background commending us for our efforts while I was calling in the updates from Thompson. Lou Modestino was the gentleman who was giving our little group a pat on the back. I find it and honor to have something of which I am a part to be even mentioned by the veteran journalist in a positive light.

Our next race is so close that the time between its’ start and when this story gets posted could be better measured in hours than days. Although there was a good crowd at Thompson, I really hope that we see more folks show up for the second attempt to run the Connecticut Classic 150 Tuesday at Stafford. I look forward to seeing everyone there. For those I won’t see, have a great Independence Day.