Todd Patnode
Todd Patnode got the chance to join to join an exclusive club Sunday in Epping, N.H.
Patnode, of Swanzey, N.H., slayed the favorites to win the Tri-Track Open Modified Series SBM 125 Sunday at Star Speedway in Epping, N.H.
Patnode became only the third different driver to win the event in the seven times it’s been run.
Ron Silk of Norwalk was second and Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa. third.
Hirschman has won four of the previous six SBM 125 events, in 2012, ’13, ’16 and ‘17. Jon McKennedy won the other two (2011, 2014). The event was not held in 2015.
Patnode started 17th in the 23-car field. The race was originally scheduled to be run Saturday night but was rained out.
Patnode went by Woody Pitkat for the lead on lap 87 and never trailed again.
After pitting out of the lead on lap 82, Hirschman charged back and got to third with 10 laps remaining, but got not further.
On Saturday night during the rain delay two specialty awards were presented.
Norm Perry of Ashaway, RI, owner of the #76 driven by Matt Galko, received the Chuck Montville Car Owner award and a check for $1,060. Andy Seuss accepted the first Bob Webber, Sr. Memorial Sportsmanship Award on behalf of his entire team in an emotional presentation by the Webber Family.
Official Finish Tri-Track Open Modified Series SBM 125, Star Speedway, Epping, NH-July 29, 2018: 1. Todd Patnode, Swanzey, NH; 2. Ron Silk, Norwalk, CT; 3. Matt Hirschman, Northampton, PA; 4. Les Hinckley, Windsor Locks, CT; 5. Tommy Barrett, Millis, MA; 6. Chase Dowling, Oxford, CT; 7. Woody Pitkat, Stafford, CT; 8. Matt Galko, Meriden, CT; 9. Ron Frees, Brick Township, NJ; 10. Brian Robie, Sunapee, NH; 11. Russ Hersey, Swanzey, NH; 12. George Sherman, Framingham, MA; 13. Kirk Alexander, W. Swanzey, NH; 14. Mark Bakaj, Lebanon, CT; 15. Les Rose, Southbridge, MA; 16. Calvin Carroll, Johnsonburg,; 17. Carl Medeiros, Westport, MA; 18. Chris Bolton, Weare, NH; 19. Sam Rameau, Westminster, MA; 20. Scott Adams, Berwick, PA; 21. Andy Seuss, Salisbury, NC; 22. Richard Savary, Canton, MA. DNS-Chris Pasteryak, Lisbon, CT; Dale Holdridge, Madison, CT; Jon Keivman, Deerfield Beach, FL; Dana Smith, Sunapee, NH. DNQ-Jeff Gallup, Agawam, MA; Colbey Fournier, Berkley, MA; Josh Cantara, Saco, ME; Bill Dixon, N. Waterboro, ME.
Shows series is a joke !!!! He would not make at tour race !!!! Tri-track is toast !!!
Cograts toTodd Patnode a NH guy won Tri Track in NH very KOOL..Held his ground at the end .NICE !!
I went and i loved it
Best series ever!!!!!
Congrats to winner!!!!!
Johhny manzel!!!!
As a a cheerleader for the Stafford Opens I have to say you TTOMS fans are a tough sell. They lost some cars but rain happens so what can you do. The field was excellent with a ton of name brand drivers as well as local favorites. Is it possible that if Preece is not in the field it’s considered a failure?
The TTOMS is still the gold standard of open competition. And if Patnode is going to come from 17th to beat some headliners maybe he deserves a little credit. If he wins the VMRS race at Monadnock maybe he knows the tracks he has experience on.
In the end whatever you think went wrong it’s nothing that fair weather and $10000 to win can’t fix.
Doug 1st this race does not pay $10,000 and while Tri Track still has a good field of cars it is not anywhere near where it was when LIMM started this, they used to always have 45-50 plus cars, its not a JOKE but has lost some Thunder
Understood wmass. It was a bit of hyperbole seeing as how the TTOMS is known for big pay outs to win like $10000 at Seekonk. I defer to your experience on the history and overall perspective of opens seeing as how I am simply a local yokel. I saw some glowing reviews for Seekonk, Claremont but very negative for Star. I hope Stafford’s Opens if they continue them are as good as the worst TTOMS event.
Weather issues have really put a damper on the tri track races this season. This is there second rain delayed race in 3 races run so far. I dont think the series made too many fans with their handling of last nights show. I guess they ran all the weekly races before the mods and of course the rain came forcing everyone to come back today.
I do think the series has lost a little bit of its luster this year and other than weather I am not sure why. The purses are good, they seem to treat the drivers really well. I heard they offered additional money to any driver who came back for the makeup at seekonk. They still get a full field with some good talent from different series. I really thought they would take a big step forward with the loss of the MTS this season but that hasnt happened. That being said, I enjoy the series and look forward to their end of year Seekonk show.
I think the frustration comes that BOTH SEEKONK AND STAR races had threatening weather on way and both were not moved along or changed to get races in, yes I saw u asked has that happened, yes the WMT has moved up feature due to weather in past
Now for some facts. The race paid 6k and no SBM ever had a count over 37 so 30 isn’t that bad.
The rain and what transpired after was NOT the fault of TTOM it was a call from Star management
and their desire to try and get this in, in the face of a nasty T storm and subsequent track flooding.
Why the rip on Patnode and why do so called fans of racing continue to do this? If you didn’t go you missed a damn good race. Everyone expected the 60 and 50 to dominate. Didn’t happen . Ron and Matt hot pitted after the majority did, giving up track position to do so and put on a good show getting back to the front. Maybe but maybe Todd Patnode should get a pat on the back instead for figuring out the best set up for the first ever SBM run during the day. The cars ran without benefit of practice today and with two first time winners on the series this year it continues to entertain. Maybe one of you snobs will predict who the next “surprise” winner on the Tour will be. There were a number of good stories in this race and the awesome charge by Tommy Barrett from the consi to 4th was one of them. Here’s hoping your high and mighty SMS opens get to this level. Clowns
Well said Crazy ! I thought it was a great race alot of action all race long.I dont understand why their is so many haters out there.It seems alot of people compare every other series to the almighty TOUR.The TOUR isnt everything !!!!Crazy you better be careful talking about Tommy Barrett on this site LOL…
Here are the real story lines for the TTOMS 2018, three races, 3 different winners and Matt Hirschman 0 for 3. Big Money Matt and the red #60 has lost their mojo.
Only 23 cars started? What a joke. What happened to the red #60? “Monopoly Money Matt” can’t even do anything at this circus. He only goes to places he and his team knows they won’t look at the red car or white #50. For instance, the Friday night of the Open at Stafford he was at Evergreen (near where I live) for a few thousand bucks. If he is so good and can beat anyone (right Moe Hawk? we know who you are), the red #60 and the #41 SK (that has been listed on the Stafford sight as a competing team for years) would have been at Stafford for some real “big money”. Then last week when the “big money” was at NHMS, where was the black #60? I heard he was at the New York circus in the western part of the state with the red car. They only had 19 cars, and 11 finished And guess who came up a spot short from taking home $3500.00 first place money? You guessed it, the red #60. So he got a couple thousand dollars for second. Again not “big money”. Now, Bristol is coming up in a couple weeks (that is a whole lot closer to where the black car comes from than say Oswego). And you won’t see that car at Bristol where the “big money” is. But, it will be at Oswego for the minimum purse.
The thing about the Tri-Track is that the Whelen drivers seldom win. In this series one has to drive to win not win the race with the best set-up. The Whelen guys don’t run this series because they don’t like being beaten so badly and when it first started they ALL used to run it. At Claremont, Mike Willis PASSED Ryan Preece and Woody Pitkat in the last 10 laps to win. In this race Todd Patnode PASSED Woody Pitkat late in the race to win. So what were you saying about the Whelen guys?
Does anyone know how old Todd Padnode
PS Modman Melissa Fifield and Wade Cole qualify for every Whelen Tour race, so I’m pretty sure if Padnode went to a Tour race he would qualify, sure he might not Battle Coby, Bonsignore, Pennink and Preece for the win but it was his home track and beat Hirschman, Silk and Pitkat.
David…Todd is in his late 40s and his hometrack is Monadnock, not Star, where I believe he is up to six track championships. I’ve been watching him for years as well as locals Hersey and Alexander. These guys can all wheel and know how to run a smart race… at least it sounds like people who actually went to the race enjoyed it. I would hope that’s what really matters.
Didn’t Mr Patnode once drive for the team Mr Pitkat now drives for? That’s surely an interesting revenge factor storyline and that no one has mentioned.
To the clowns who tout every other series but this one. Stafford open shows pay 3k to win, then drop off steeply from there. That’s why they dont get the cars. Tri-track never had close to fifty cars. Mid thirties sometimes. Patnode 17th to 1st. Hirschmann 14th to 3rd. Hinkcley 13th to 4th. Barret 23rd to 5th. There’s good racing out there if you open your eyes, and not be so judgemental. Did you even go to the race??
Didn’t Mr Patnode once drive for the team Mr Pitkat now drives for? if so, that’s surely an interesting revenge factor storyline and that no one has mentioned…
Hey Pete C why so much hate toward Big Money Matt ? Is it because he makes more money than you at your Taco Bell drive threw job or is it that he can pick and choose the races he wants to run.Not everyone wants to run the tour.Why dont you pick up the Richie Evans book and read how these guys have to run their racing like a company to pay the bills.Im sure you are a smart guy and know everything there is to know about Mod racing and already know all this.Remember he is sitting in the car racing and your making tacos.I will have extra hot sauce please..Please let me know when you get that full time TOUR RIDE
Congrats to Patanude. This TTOMS they race at Seekonk, and Star. What is the third track? Did see some NWMT drivers in the run down, but in different cars then they run on the tour. All these modified racing series should sit down and come up with a common set of rules, allowing teams to be able to run different series without spending allot of money. The biggest obstacle for NWMT teams is the NASCAR spec engines and the unwillingness to break the seal.
If the tour ran a race here, Todd might beat woody but he wouldn’t win the race. Get a clue
Great race, congrats to Todd Patnode and the #24 team! Nice to see someone other than Hirschman win at Star. Good racing all through the field as well.
I think TTOMS along with other touring series need to have an agreement with the track to adjust the schedule with threatening weather. I’ve seen Lee USA, Stafford, Thompson, and drag strips make successful adjustments to an event before. If the Modifieds ran heats first, ran the consi after the heats, then ran the feature after the 1st or 2nd weekly category, they might have got it in Saturday. The worst part was sitting in the rain for two hours with no word as to what was happening. No announcements at all over the PA system, which I’ve never experienced before in 50 years of racing. We finally knew for sure what was up when they shut off the track lights! Memo to Star Speedway: PLEASE UPDATE THE PAYING SPECTATORS DURING A RAIN DELAY!
P.S. It’s a lot easier to reschedule a weekly class that was rained out than it is to reschedule a touring race!
When it comes to weather Touring series get top billing. Many times at Stafford they’ve adjusted the running order mid- show due to impending weather. What really sucks is when the weather calls for rain,but the show goes on. Then the touring series gets full practice, tire scrub, time trials, outside intro’s, hot laps ect… and the weekly guy’s get screwed. If there’s a chance of weather the tour should line up by points,just like the weekly guy’s, then just maybe everybody gets a chance to race. Chances of this happening… About the same as seeing Jesus walk on water.
Congrats to TP now let’s all behave and respect all these racers no matter what they spend Tens of thousands to put on shows. Sure they all want to win. However each one puts in 100 percent effort and to disrespect them is totally uncalled for. Congrats to all the drivers no matter were you finished thanks for the show. And thanks for putting your heart,soul and MONEY into putting on weekly shows across the North East
Fast Eddie star suggested moving the feature up. The series chose to stay on schedule due tomorrow some cars that crashed in the heats needed the time to prep for the consi. Once the rains came the radar was showing on a small storm. No one knew it was going to keep growing. Star wanted to get the show in for a few reasons 1. By coming back Sunday star had to hire the ambulance again. 2. A large percentage of the employees also work at Hudson which had a shoe later in the day Sunday. 3. There was very little new revenue that would come in Sunday to offset these cost.
Thanks for the info Sonny. I have always had the impression that the program order was determined by the track. Maybe it’s more of a collective decision. All the weather reports did say if any rain came through it was expected to due just that; blow on through. But geez, it would have been nice to get word from the PA once in a while during the delay! Even when the decision finally was made to call it a night, there was no indication of that until the track lights went out.
Not sure why anyone would think Patnode couldn’t make a tour race? I’d also like to know what better competition is out there besides Jon McKenedy and Preece who do run opens quite frequently? I kinda think Silk and Hirschman along with Pitkat, Barrett, Dowling, Hinkley, Seuss, Savary, Alexander and Hersey are all names one could expect to win a feature event on a mod tour and they were all there! Todd beat all these drivers on this day so to try to make it sound like the field was weak is simply not true! As far as this series goes it isn’t perfect but the tires are right for racing! the Whelen tour is follow the leader and the big teams win every race! The MRS is awful their tires last 20 laps so the fans pay good money to watch the whole field conserve their tires and not race till 15 laps to go! Not sure what you people who think the NWMT is good racing are thinking because there is nothing better than the Tri Track mod series anybody who loves mods knows this!
We’ve got an interesting two thread contrast going on here. In the other Star Tri Track thread the frequent flier guys are engaged in their usual bare knuckle slug fest to determine the unquestioned king of the hill of modified racing and what series should fade to oblivion. Nothing new really.
In this one it’s a couple frequent fliers but a more civilized and diverse group with more useful perspective and current information. Gold star to sonny for the inside scoop.
For my money there is only one guy that is a must read and that’s Fast Eddie. Always an impartial view on all the series and is willing to wait until the freakin lights go out in the rain before giving up on a race. Best fan ever. My only gripe is you don’t give your reviews fast enough and more often. Wish you had your own column.
Doug, thanks for the kind words! Honestly I’ve never posted anything before doing it on this site. I love the Modifieds, so I got finally got brave enough to comment on here. I’m only a fan, but have been going to races for over 50 years. This was the one part of my childhood I refused to let go of! I have never raced circle track, but I feel I have some good mechanical knowledge, as I have 40 years working with cars and industrial equipment. I try and keep it positive and constructive, as I don’t want to come out negatively about my favorite hobby. Sorry for my delayed comments on events, as my computer is the electronic equivalent of a tube TV; sometimes it co-operates and sometimes not so much. Thanks again!
I think most times the track can make the call on which divisions run when.(unless it is a NASCAR tour and they might be able to convince them to change it) I was a Modified Racing Series race at Seekonk(probably back when the series was still sponsored by True Value)years ago. It was obvious rain was coming and you could hear over the scanner the MRS officials say they were trying to get the order of events changed, but Seekonk refused. Of course it rained as soon as the mods hit the track for the feature. I am pretty sure there was a similar issue with MRS at Canaan around the same time, but they somehow beat the rain.
Let’s start a Go Fund Me page to get Fast Eddie a new computer! It’s definitely a good cause!
Thanks Dareal! It’s on my “to do” list, but has not reached the top of the list yet.