09/02/06

Jimmy Blewett Scores Saturday Night
Victory At Martinsville Speedway

    It was a wild – and rather long – evening of racing action Saturday night in the Made in America Whelen 300 at Martinsville Speedway. When all was said and done, it was all well worth the wait for race winner Jimmy Blewett who picked up what he said was the biggest victory of his young career.
    As a matter of fact, wild might be a rather calm word to describe what took place under the lights at the famed Martinsville short track.
    “This was definitely a long night,” Blewett said. “To be able to win at a place like Martinsville Speedway is awesome and it’s the biggest win of my career. I’ve got to hand it to the guys on this team because they gave me a good car as soon as we unloaded. We made all our adjustments at the halfway point and we picked up some positions which made it a little easier. We simply put ourselves in a position to win and that’s what we did.”
    Blewett scored the victory when another rain shower hit the Martinsville area just after midnight and the race was called official at that point. Rounding out the top-five behind Blewett were Ted Christopher, James Civali, Todd Szegedy and Doug Colby.
    Saturday night’s race was a ‘combination’ event for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour. In the combination format, drivers are credited with an official placement relative to the other drivers in their “home” series.
    It was a race that was once again dominated by the Whelen Modified Tour drivers who swept the top eight spots while Tim Brown led the Whelen Southern Modified Tour competitors with his ninth-place finish.
    The race was started almost two hours late after a rain shower hit the Martinsville area just before the start of the 50-lap ‘last chance’ race. The event was further delayed just after the start for a wild multi-car wreck coming off the fourth turn involving or slowing a majority of the field as the track was essentially blocked.
    The race was placed under a temporary red flag while the cars of potential race winners such as Jamie Tomaino, Tony Hirschman, L.W. Miller, Chuck Hossfield and Junior Miller were taken to the garage.
    Mike Stefanik had the race’s most dominant car in the early stages before Blewett nudged him out the way to take the lead.
    “I got into Mike and that’s really not the way I wanted to win this race,” Blewett explained. “I know if there was a hole open he would taken advantage of it like I did.”

    The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour returns to action next Saturday night, Sept. 9 at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C. while the NASCAR Whelen Tour gets back underway next Sunday, Sept. 10 at Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, Conn.

Unofficial Finish of Saturday's $127,953.00 Made In America Whelen 300 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Martinsville Speedway with driver's starting position in parentheses, hometown, make and model of car, laps completed, winner's average speed, reason out (if any) and prize money.

1. (9) Jimmy Blewett, Howell N.J., Chevrolet, 200, 50.016 mph, $7,700
2. (15) Ted Christopher, Plainville Conn., Chevrolet, 200, $4,300
3. (21) James Civali, Meriden Conn., Chevrolet, 200, $4,300
4. (5) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield Conn., Ford, 200, $3,400
5. (25) Doug Coby, Milford Conn., Pontiac, 200, $3,000
6. (11) Ron Yuhas, Groton Conn., Chevrolet, 200, $2,300
7. (24) Matt Hirschman, Northampton Pa., Dodge, 200, $2,550
8. (29) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead N.Y., Chevrolet, 200, $1,800
9. (12) Tim Brown, Cana Va., Chevrolet, 200, $1,750
10. (38) Gene Pack, N. Myrtle Beach S.C., Chevrolet, 200, $2,200
11. (31) Michael Clifton, Walkertown N.C., Chevrolet, 200, $1,650
12. (1) Eddie Flemke, Southington Conn., Chevrolet, 200, $2,400
13. (17) Burt Myers, Walnut Grove N.C., Chevrolet, 200, $1,575
14. (4) Mike Stefanik, Coventry R.I., Chevrolet, 200, $5,300
15. (10) Zach Sylvester, Lebanon Conn., Chevrolet, 200, $2,225
16. (3) Jerry Marquis, Broad Brook Conn., Dodge, 200, $2,300
17. (6) Donny Lia, Jericho N.Y., Chevrolet, 199, $2,275
18. (42) Jay Foley, Stuart Va., Chevrolet, 197, $1,450
19. (37) Anthony Sesley, Matawan N.J., Chevrolet, 196, $2,125
20. (43) Jimmy Storace, Kingston N.H., Chevrolet, 196, $1,400
21. (40) Wade Cole, Riverton Conn., Chevrolet, 196, $1,375
22. (34) Jamie Tomaino, Jr., Howell N.J., Chevrolet, 195, $1,350
23. (23) Richard Houlihan, Bridgewater Mass., Chevrolet, 194, $2,025
24. (16) Danny Sammons, Trenton N.J., Chevrolet, 189, $1,700
25. (13) L.W. Miller, Dushore Pa., Pontiac, 188, $1,275
26. (39) Frank Fleming, Mt Airy N.C., Pontiac, 173, Engine, $1,225
27. (2) Tony Hirschman, Northampton Pa., Chevrolet, 169, $2,600
28. (27) Jason Myers, Walnut Cove N.C., Chevrolet, 164, $1,200
29. (30) Ronnie Silk, Norwalk Conn., Chevrolet, 159, $1,600
30. (28) Bobby Hutchens, Lexington N.C., Chevrolet, 149, Clutch, $1,200
31. (22) Chuck Hossfeld, Buffalo N.Y., Pontiac, 145, Clutch, $2,000
32. (33) Brian Loftin, Lexington N.C., Chevrolet, 100, Shocks, $1,200
33. (20) Ken Barry, Griswold Conn., Chevrolet, 93, Engine, $1,900
34. (14) Jamie Tomaino, Howell N.J., Chevrolet, 82, $1,900
35. (35) Brian King, Gibsonville N.C., Chevrolet, 50, Accident, $1,200
36. (41) Kevin Powell, Winston Salem N.C., Ford, 23, Engine, $1,200
37. (36) Mike Andrews, Ridge N.Y., Chevrolet, 23, Suspension, $1,200
38. (8) Reggie Ruggiero, Rocky Hill Conn., Chevrolet, 15, Accident, $1,900
39. (26) Junior Miller, Pine Hall N.C., Dodge, 15, Radiator, $1,200
40. (19) Steve Whitt, Forked River N.J., Dodge, 14, Clutch, $1,600
41. (7) Eric Beers, Northampton Pa., Chevrolet, 12, Accident, $2,000
42. (32) Robbie Summers, Vernon Conn., Pontiac, 12, Accident, $1,900
43. (18) Richard Savary, Canton Mass., Chevrolet, 4, Accident, $1,200

Failed to Qualify: (6) Brian Pack (#81), Jon McKennedy * (#73), Brandon Hire (#44), Randy Butner (#5), Ken Heagy * (#38), Jake Marosz (#9)
Time of Race: 2 hrs., 6 mins, 12 secs Average Speed: 50.016 mph
Margin of Victory: Under Caution
BUD POLE AWARD: Mike Stefanik, 16 Diversified Metals Chevrolet
FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER: James Civali *, 28 Ramar Hall/Haydt Excavating Chevrolet
POWERADE POWER MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD: Gene Pack, 31 Bath Fitter Chevrolet
ROOKIE OF THE RACE: James Civali Ramar Hall/Haydt Excavating Chevrolet
Caution Flags: Laps 3-12; 13-23; 45-49; 51-56; 96-102; 123-140; 147-155; 166-172; 176-181; 194-200. 10 for 86 laps.
Lap Leaders: Eddie Flemke 1-11, Jerry Marquis 12-32, Mike Stefanik 33-95, Jerry Marquis 96-98, Mike Stefanik 99-101, Zach Sylvester 102, Mike Stefanik 103-139, Zach Sylvester 140, Mike Stefanik 141-154, Zach Sylvester 155, Mike Stefanik 156-171, Jimmy Blewett 172, Mike Stefanik 173-181, Jimmy Blewett 182-200.
Total Laps Led: Mike Stefanik 142, Jerry Marquis 24, Jimmy Blewett 20, Eddie Flemke 11, Zach Sylvester 3. 13 changes involving 5 drivers.

Source:  Jason Mitchell/NASCARtouring.com
Posted:  September 2, 2006