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Copied from the New York Times Travel section July 24, 2009
Celebrating Machines That Drink Methanol
By DANA JENNINGS
Published: July 24, 2009
STAFFORD SPRINGS, Conn.— Despite a morning of hard rain, by 3 o’clock on a recent Tuesday afternoon the back 40 at Stafford Motor Speedway had been transformed into a sunny village of R.V.’s, campers and four-wheel-drive vehicles, complemented by tents, wobbly lawn chairs and even-wobblier awnings. It was a kind of Hooverville devoted to the pleasures of high velocity.
Children and dogs tramped and scampered around the swampy campground. The dogs sometimes stopped to bark and howl at the rev and roar rising from the racetrack here in northeastern Connecticut. Grills sizzled, silverware clattered, pop-tops were popped.
But while socializing, medium-rare steaks and chilled Bud longnecks are all well and good, these people had traveled all the way here for just one reason: to watch the wild, wicked and winged racing machines of the International Supermodified Association, or ISMA, go at it for 50 laps that night.
This is grass-roots racing at its essence. There are no ISMA dads, no ISMA Nation, no television contracts, just fans addicted to speed, unpredictable racing action and, just maybe, the smell of methanol. Their hard-driving heroes, most of whom hold down day jobs, are men like Chris Perley, the Rowley Rocket, from Massachusetts.; Bentley Warren from Kennebunkport, Me., who turns 69 this year; and Liquid Lou Cicconi from Aston, Pa.
The fans are people like Lee and Pam Vinal from Dracut, Mass., who arrived at Stafford in an R.V. named Journey with a basset hound named Shillelagh. The Vinals plan to travel to five or six races this season, but Ms. Vinal, who grew up on stock car racing in North Carolina — "It’s a way of life down there" — never imagined she’d end up preferring supermodifieds.
"For a long time she didn’t want to see the supers," Mr. Vinal said of the racecars, which, with their broad wings, oversize racing slick tires and big-block motors, look more like mutant dragonflies than cars.
"But once you start watching them, you get hooked," said Ms. Vinal, who wore an ISMA T-shirt. "They’re faster than stock cars, and we ended up knowing all the drivers."
The Vinals are so hooked on supermodifieds that Mr. Vinal’s company, Lee A. Vinal Excavation, is one of the sponsors for the No. 88 driven by Ben Seitz. And in 2007 they were the primary sponsor for a car driven by Mike Ordway Jr.
Trying to sum up why he’ll travel hundreds of miles to watch the supers, Mr. Vinal, who has been savoring them for 30 years, said: "I’ve never seen a dull race with the supers. You never see these cars freight-train around the track."
Mr. Vinal’s freight-train reference was to Nascar Cup racing, especially at the superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega, in which the cars are indeed marvels of engineering but often follow one another, nose to tail, for miles and miles and miles as if they were in a 180-mile-an-hour parade.
But supermodifieds, Mr. Vinal said, are constantly passing one another on the banked ovals. "They dart in and out," he said. "You never know where they’re going to go."
As quick as they are — the best cars barreled around Stafford’s half-mile in about 16 seconds, averaging 115 miles an hour — supers are also the Ginsu knives of racing. They slice and dice, slash and dash, flitting around the track like 800-horsepower hummingbirds.
The Northeast is the locus of supermodified racing, with Oswego Speedway in New York its shrine. But ISMA’s 2009 season also includes Ohio (Sandusky and Toledo Speedways), Michigan (Berlin Raceway in Marne) and Ontario (Delaware and Cayuga International Speedways).
And there’s no shortage of other racing tours for fans to follow from state to state, including the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series , the Pro All Stars Series pro stock tour , the True Value Modified Racing Series and the USAC Silver Crown Series for midgets. Even Nascar has tours other than Cup racing that feature trucks and open-wheel modifieds.
But the fans who had gathered in Stafford on a brisk and breezy July night had come for the supers, even as they kept half an eye on the glowering clouds. Racing fans, like farmers and U.F.O. connoisseurs, constantly watch the skies.
Stafford Motor Speedway has the classic feel of most small racetracks, the kinds frequented by ISMA and its faithful. (There were also races that night featuring two other tours: the Northeastern Midget Association and the Pro Four Modifieds of New England.
There were stands selling Italian-sausage sandwiches smothered in peppers and onions, crackling slabs of fried dough dusted in confectioner’s sugar, and cold beer. Modern country music tumbled from the loudspeakers — Josh Turner rumbling through his "Long Black Train" — and there were plenty of baseball caps: John Deere, Home Depot, Hoosier Racing Tires.
It’s the kind of track that Rick Swift of Danbury, N.H., knows well.
Mr. Swift, the mechanic for two dirt-track racers that run on a Northern circuit called Sprint Cars of New England , has been around racing since he was 9 years old, and his voice still bursts with boyish excitement when he talks about the lightning-fast lure of the supermodifieds.
"It’s the ultimate open-wheel competition," said Mr. Swift, who has raced himself at tracks like Thompson Speedway in Connecticut and the old Westboro Speedway in Massachusetts. "It’s fast, it’s safe, it’s clean. I like it because it’s fast and furious."
And one of the added benefits of being an ISMA camp follower is that when there’s a two-hour rain delay, as there was that night, you can just slop and slog back to your R.V., crack open a cold beverage and chill out until the big-block motors start bellowing again.
So, What is a Supermodified Race Car?
By DANA JENNINGS
Published: July 24, 2009
The only limitations are the engine size, the car’s weight and the builder’s imagination.
Supers, as fans call them, may weigh no less than 1,850 pounds, are powered by a 470-cubic-inch engine and can easily generate more than 800 horsepower. These lightning-fast beasts are fed methanol.
The most noticeable thing about a super is the huge adjustable wing, which creates down force that helps keep the car on the track. When the car slashes into a turn, the wing sits at a more vertical angle. But it flattens out, like the ears of a angry dog, on the straightaways. Having the motor hang off the left side of the frame also helps the car handle better, as a counter to the force generated by continually turning left as the cars race counterclockwise.
Supermodifieds are hand-built using aluminum tubing, and they sit just three inches off the ground. Wide and sticky tires also help keep the cars on the track. It can cost upward of $60,000 to build a competitive super; winners’ purses are typically a few thousand dollars.
The cars are direct drive, which means they have no clutches or transmissions, so they have to be pushed to be started — kind of like giving a grizzly bear a sharp nudge to wake it from hibernation.
The latest International Supermodified Association yearbook states: "The results of all of this technology give winged supermodifieds the speed of an Indy car and the quickness of a midget. It’s not uncommon to see a pack of winged supers three and four abreast, darting in and out of traffic and changing lanes in the middle of the turns."
Rick Swift, a racing mechanic from Danbury, N.H., said, "I like them because guys build them to their liking."
Which is probably why the unswerving fans of supermodifieds consider them the ultimate short-track racing machines.
| | June 4, 2008
Dear All ISMA Drivers,
Effective at the Stafford race on July 8 it will be mandatory for all ISMA drivers to wear the Fast Track Medical Response Bracelets. The ISMA Board feels that the bracelets are a valuable asset to the organization in the case of a situation arising at a race where an ISMA driver is in need of medical attention. The Fast Track Medical Response Bracelets contain a tiny computer chip, which contains vital medical information of the person wearing it, making this information readily available to medical staff at the scene or at a medical facility. Many racing organizations and racetracks, some of which ISMA will be competing at this season, have already made the bracelets mandatory.
The cost of these bracelets is a mere $40 each, a price well worth taking advantage of this potential life-saving system. To sign up for this bracelet simply go to Fast Track Medical Response System’s website at www.fasttrackmrs.com, once you have reached the website, choose the Series Sign-Up Tab at the top, then choose ISMA, you then need to click the “Register Here” link at the right. By clicking this link it will guide you through the registration process. If you do not have internet access or aren’t computer literate you can see Delores Murphy or Kathy Harrington at Toledo who will assist you in completing the necessary steps in obtaining a Fast Track Medical Response Bracelet in time for Stafford.
Again these bracelets will be mandatory with ISMA by Stafford on July 8, 2008 and the officials will be looking for them! Thank you for your cooperation and should you have any questions or concerns in regards to this requirement please call Delores Murphy at (315) 668-0068.
Sincerely,
ISMA Board of Directors
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Fast Track 
MEDICAL RESPONSE SYSTEMS, LLC
The long awaited answer to the unpredictable environment of a race track
Computer chip with vital medical information in a lightweight bracelet
www.fasttrackmrs.com
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ISMA RENEWS SPEED MATCH
at TOLEDO on JUNE 13TH
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Oswego, NY – For the eighth straight year in a row, ISMA will travel to Toledo Speedway for its annual show at the high-banked half mile – this time on Friday, June 13th. And, once again this season the winged supermodifieds will continue their speed match with the open wheelers of the Auto Value Sprint group. Time trials between the two groups have become a playful grudge match between the two groups and the fans love it!
For more than a few years, Chris Perley clocked some torrid times only to have the sprinters pull out the big guns and tick off some faster times. Last year, however, it was Perley’s year as he set a new track record of 13.116, which held after the dust from the Auto Value sprints had settled. Perley also, almost unbelievably, picked up his first-career Toledo win after years of being fast but not finishing.
ISMA made a trek to Toledo in 1995 prior to the take over of the track by the new ownership with Bentley Warren taking the 50-lapper that Friday in early June. Five years elapsed before ISMA was back on the Toledo schedule and it was “Liquid” Lou Cicconi in victory lane in 2001 for the first ISMA race there in the new millennium. Lou’s victory came in a 75-lapper and Dave McKnight, Joe Gosek, Perley and Timmy Jedrzejek trailed him. Ironically, it was Perley and Dave Shullick Jr. sharing the supermodified fast time of 13.60 that day. Shullick’s day went downhill from there, however, when his 38 blew a motor and he got into his dad’s 33 only to have a scary crash in his heat.
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When Chris Perley and Dave Shullick Jr. tied for fast time in 2001,
Chris said Dave could have the fast time and he'd take the win.
As shown by the photo, Shullick did not take the win but neither
did Perley. It went to Lou Cicconi.
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Russ Wood mastered the half-mile for the next two years taking 50-lap mains in 2002 and 2003 with Perley once again setting a new track record in 2002, but still not gaining a win. In 2003, Pat Abold was back in action after a short hiatus from racing, and he never skipped a beat. By Toledo he was in victory lane in the Dunigan 26. Dave McKnight was the main man in the event as Abold pursued. But on lap 42, McKnight’s motor failed him and the race now was Abold’s to lose. Mike Ordway Sr., Johnny Payne, Timmy Jedrzejek, and Mike Lichty rounded out the top five that year. Chris Perley had his only dnf of the year when he came together with Nokie Fornoro in the first half of the race, with both wrecking hard into the wall.
In 2005, Abold was back in victory lane for his second straight with Ordway back in second. Lou Cicconi, Perley and Russ Wood were in the top five as Perley had once again set a fast time with a 13.266 mark. In 2006, Perley did NOT set fast time, only second fast as Ray Graham Jr. earned the honors this year with a 13.519 mark. Once again Perley had his night fall apart in the feature when while in the lead he tangled with some lap cars in front of him, breaking a radius rod and ending once again without a checkered.
2007 was definitely the year of the “Rowley Rocket” at Toledo as he finally put it all together taking both the new track record and the win after seven years of trying. And, he even beat the Auto Value sprint times.
This season, a fan, Gene Steele has added a little incentive to the time trials putting $100 from his own pocket for the second quick time trialer and adding $100 to the check of the last feature finisher. Steele, from Pemberville, Ohio, says he “is just an avid fan who loves supermodified racing”.
Sandusky Speedway hosts a Burke’s MSA-Oswego wing series event on Saturday, June 14 giving fans and competitors a double dose of speed for their money
(and gas). Log onto www.sanduskyspeedway.com or www.oswegospeedway.com
for more info on that event.
Toledo Speedway is located within the city limits of the city of Toledo at 5639 Benore Road. Grandstands open at 4 pm with time trials at 5:30. Go to www.arcaracing.com and click on the Toledo Speedway icon for further information.
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PRESTIGIOUS OSWEGO & STAR EVENTS
UP NEXT FOR ISMA
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Oswego, NY – As has been the tradition, supermodified’s three big events – or longer distance events – come at Sandusky’s Hy-Miler 100, at Oswego’s Int'l Classic 200 and at the Star Classic which this year returns to an old format 150 laps in two 75-lap segments. While the Oswego Int’l Classic is a non-winged event, ISMA-Wirtgen competitors also have the Super Nationals 50 as part of the big weekend. And, this
year a big bonus goes to the driver of $25,000 extra dollars.
OSWEGO SPEEDWAY
Tobacco Free Network is sponsoring the Oswego Classic Challenge which states that it will pay a $25,000 bonus to the one driver who can pick up the $5,000 first place money in the 14th annual Bud Light ISMA Super Nationals on Friday night Aug. 31 and who follows that up by collecting the $20,000 first place money in the 51st Budweiser International Classic 200 on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 2. This bonus will be paid
directly to the driver and does not require them to drive the same car in both races.
In the past thirteen years that both the Super Nationals and Classic have been run, only Bentley Warren and Greg Furlong have ever won both races, but neither did it the same year. The closest finishes came in 2004 when Bobby Santos III and Greg Furlong finished 1-2 in the Super Nationals and then swapped the spots for the Classic. Russ Wood has been the only driver to get as close as the aforementioned when he registered top three spots in both races. That was in 1997. He’s had an amazing 10-top fives in winged super events at Oswego
Venerable Bentley Warren is the defending champion of the ISMA Super Nationals while Greg Furlong is going for his fourth straight Classic win and his sixth overall. Add to the mix Warren’s teammate, the Rowley Roller Chris Perley who has rolled to nine wins in 2007 to add to his ten wins in 2006. Can the dominant Perley possibly take home the $50,000? His Classic record has been less than auspicious, never finishing in the top five, although he had twice been running in the top five in the latter portions of the race when a pileup took him out of a possible good finish. How about Bentley? He’s certainly no stranger to winning at Oswego. He proved that last year. He also won the first Super Nationals in 1994 with Perley going on to capture the next three
straight. Dave McKnight? He’s had a couple wins in the ISMA Super Nationals and four straight Oswego wins counting the May races in 2000 and 2001. He’s also had a couple top fives in the Classic. Timmy J has won the Super Nationals and has a guaranteed starter’s spot in the Classic this year.
Pits open at 2:30 pm on Friday, August 31 for the Bud Light ISMA Super Nationals. Open practice for SBS, RoC Mods, ISMA and Oswego supers begins at 4:30 pm. ISMA time trials are at 7:00 pm with heats consi and the 50-lap feature to follow.
Saturday, the RoC Mods take over with SBS Time Trials and qualifying and Oswego Time Trials (round one) taking place during the afternoon before the RoC Mod 125 ends the evening.
Oswego Budweiser Int’l Classic 200 and SBS Classic 100 activities take place on Sunday. Pits open at 7:30 am, grandstand 9:30 am and warm-ups begin at 9:30 am. Supermodified Time Trials (round 2) begin at 11:30 am.
For more info www.oswegospeedway.com
ALL-STAR SPEEDWAY
It’s on to the annual Star (now All-Star) Classic which this year changes format. The race will consist of 150 laps, divided into 2 75-lap segments. The top 16 will be locked in from time trials and the rest of the field comes from the consi, or last chance race. The first 75 lapper will be flagged to a halt, with cars going back to the pits and another division(s) racing in between before the second 75-lap segment takes
place lining up from the end of the first 75-lapper.
There is general practice at All-Star Speedway with gates opening at 4 pm and practice beginning at 7 pm. Saturday, Sept. 8, the pits will open at 10 am, practice runs from 1-5 pm and racing begins at 6 pm. Go to all-starspeedway.com for more info.
At All-Star “Liquid” Lou Cicconi was the winner of his second prestigious All- Star Classic with Nokie Fornoro, Mike Ordway, Chris Perley and Mike Lichty chasing. With Cicconi not competing his car on a regular basis this season, there might be a good chance at a different winner unless Cicconi should be driving a car not his own.
With a tremendous amount of history surrounding all three of the big supermodified events, one thing is for certain and that is that nothing is for certain. Longer races produce surprises and anything can happen. In the storied history of the Triple Crown events, only four drivers have managed to win all three events – Bentley Warren, Doug Heveron, Joe Gosek and Mike Ordway and only Bentley won all three in the same year!
You’ll just have to be there and see what happens this year! | |
NEW 2008 ISMA SCHEDULE CHANGES – Jennerstown July 5 show out – Second Waterford show is in on August 16.
Oswego, NY - 6/2/08– It was announced this afternoon by ISMA President Howie Lane that he has been informed that Jennerstown Speedway (PA) has decided to cancel the July 5 ISMA event for financial reasons. But, on the other hand, Waterford Speedbowl, the site of ISMA's opener, has requested a second date this season. The successful May 24 event prompted Waterford management to ask for another race in 2008 and ISMA complied with a Saturday, August 16 event – the day after the Lee USA Ollie Silva Classic.
"The new management at Jennerstown was just not ready to take on our show," said Lane this morning. "With the economy getting worse by the day, it is understandable that he was extremely nervous about this year. ISMA should be back on the docket in 2009 if all goes well."
On the plus side, securing the August 16 Waterford show will give those teams traveling the farthest a chance at a two-race weekend. ISMA will be paired that Saturday with the popular True Value Modifieds for an open wheel event. "Adding Waterford was great," said Lane in conclusion. "We are trying our best to keep the costs down for the competitors and everyone else. The one-day trip to Jennerstown on July 5 was a tough one with Stafford coming up so quickly on July 8."
The second show at Waterford was not a complete surprise as hints of it happening floated around the Connecticut oval before the ISMA teams departed on May 24. According to Media Coordinator Dave Dykes, "It was a pleasure to host ISMA at the Speedbowl again. It was a great night of racing and we'll work on getting the group back down here for a later date this season."
Keep track of all the ISMA news at www.ismasupers.com
Revised 2008 ISMA Schedule:
Sat, May 4 Waterford Speedbowl (CT) - Chris Perley winner
Fri, June 13 Toledo Speedway (OH)
Tues, July 8 Stafford Speedway (CT)
Fri, July 25 Sandusky Speedway (OH)
Sat, July 26 Sandusky Speedway (OH) Hy-Miler
Sat, Aug. 9 Mansfield Motorsports Park (OH)
Fri, Aug. 15 Lee USA Speedway (NH)
Sat, Aug. 16 Waterford Speedway (CT)
Fri, Aug. 29 Oswego Speedway (NY) Classic Weekend
Sat, Sept 6 All-Star Speedway (NH) Classic
Fri, Sept. 26 Delaware Speedway (Ont.)
Sat, Sept. 27 Berlin Raceway (MI)
Sat-Sun, Oct 18-19 Thompson Int'l Speedway World Series
Sat, Nov. 8 Concord Speedway (NC) – non sanctioned event
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