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With a forecast calling for continued showers through the rest of the day Saturday and showers most of the day Sunday, Stafford Motor Speedway officials made the decision to postpone NAPA Spring Sizzler weekend to May 4-5.
Through multiple bouts of rain and freezing precipitation through the morning and early afternoon, track officials were able to get practice sessions in for their weekly divisions and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
But with the radar looking dire for the remainder of the day track officials decided at about 2:30 Saturday to postpone the remainder of the weekend.
The decision means Stafford will not host its previously scheduled opening Friday night on May 3.
Good call. Tomorrow’s forecast is for 90% chance of rain from 10:00am to 5:00pm. Thank you Stafford.
That was probably one of the dumbest things I think I have ever seen did they not see a forecast
This is a near complete lack of foresight on the behalf of Stafford management.
Great call …
Well in that case I will not be going to the Sizzler,Star opens with the 350′[s and many ACT type Late Models
One town over we got our tag sale in and there was no rain. But it was miserable, windy and cold and tomorrow is a guaranteed washout. The Sizzler deserves good weather so it was the only call. It’s also true that virtually every weather report starting Monday changed daily so foresight was difficult at best.
Still everyone that traveled a long was has every right to be ticked.
“Dire” is a pretty strong word as well as multiple reports of rain and “freezing” precipitation. A bit of oversell I should think.
First event and already as many washouts as all of last year.
Blame it on climate change. Oh yeah. That’s fake news. Right!
Oh boy!! 350’s and some ACT type late models!! I’ll be there!! NOT.
Never ceases to amaze me how one person can know so much about everything , or at least think they do
That call needed to be made on Thursday. Stafford wasted a lot of teams time and money. I know it’s a difficult decision sometimes but this weekend was never going to happen.
Speaking of Star, still a lot of smoke regarding a tour event next summer. Where there is smoke, there is fire.
Rain outs and postponements stink for everyone. It is certainly the right call looking at the forecast. I was impressed they had one of the air titans onsite to help in track drying efforts. Atleast they got some practice in so it wasnt a total waste for the drivers.
Seekonk opens up next Sunday so we have our first conflict of the season. The tracks dont share any drivers or cars that I know of but they do share race fans and they cant be in both places at the same time. Hopefully the weather is much better next weekend.
I think the Modified fan conflict will be the VMRS Saturday @ Monadnock vs. the new Sizzler weekend. Or you could go a little “Banzai” and be at Monadnock Saturday and Stafford Sunday… VMRS & Sportsman Mods Saturday and WMT, SK, & SKL Mods Sunday; sounds good to me!!
So with the week postponed can Jon mckennedy and Burt Myers still enter the event?
Dear Doug,
As far as “freezing precipitation” is concerned, if you were there you would have known that we had HAIL at least 3 times over the 2 days plus tornado warnings.
Just curiously, does any one know what the policy is on rainouts like this pertaining to welding insurance that has been purchased already?
Hail and tornado warnings you say. I stand corrected. Not only was it dire as Stafford said there was also an element of public safety involved. Thanks Sharpie Fan.
I don’t think many people would pick Spring Sizzler Saturday at Stafford over MRS at Monadnock. Stafford usually doesn’t get much of a crowd on the Saturday portion of their two day shows as their isn’t much going on. Qualifying is basically meaningless when you aren’t sending anyone home. I believe they moved the SK lights to run on Sunday’s docket, The only thing I would be disappointed in missing is the street stock feature. Fans should be reimbursed money for sitting through the limited lates extended length heat race which masquerades as a feature event.
Speaking of my favorite subject, the full fenders of Stafford Motor Speedway. According to race monitor they had 7 limited for practice Saturday. They had 17 late models for practice 1. 17 late models + 7 limited late models = 24 car full field. That is just good math, reduces show time and increases entertainment. A win win if I ever saw one. The fastest late model Fearn 21.768 (82.69 mph) and fastest limited lavoie 22.691 (79.33mph) isn’t much of a difference(3.36mph). Lavoie’s time would slot him 14th in the late model field. The mod tour had a difference of 8.868 mph from their fastest to slowest in p2 at Stafford yesterday. They seem to race together without too much trouble and that is at 92-101 mph avg speed for significantly more laps 150 v 30. Obviously more laps would increase the chances of slow cars being caught and lapped by the faster cars. Why cant Stafford run the two similar looking divisions of late models together? What am I missing?
no opening on Friday stinks, just think there would be a bigger crowd for the regular Friday show and all of the camper people would stay for the rest of the weekend anyway. Saturday is a waste of time now a day’s since all the car’s basically make te feature’s, and only the lower divisions race, which real race fans don’t even care about. Stafford should just have time trials on sunday and then get on with the show .all of the other divisions that don’t race on sunday could start on the regular opening nigh!
Monadnock almost always runs the MRS opener on Sizzler weekend. Nothing new there. Been happening for years. A lot of guys would do the double back when MRS was good.
“Real race fans”. Easily said but not easily defined. Isn’t a “real race fan” someone that wouldn’t think of missing Saturday’s events. Especially WMT qualifying and the Streets first Triple Crown event.
I’m thinking of two circles and the portions of each that overlap. One the NWMT audience and the other the VMRS audience. The VMRS crowd is mostly local isn’t it and usually respectable but not a barn burner. The NWMT crowd is in large part regional. No conflict with the cars and minor conflict with the audience and drivers.
Even if it got rained out in New Hampshire and they had the race on the Sunday rain date odds are Stafford would be packed anyway if the sun is shining.
Doug, I’m with you on the “real race fan” definition. But with the same drive time if I can see two modified features, LLM’s and more vs. only street stocks & LLM features, the more Modified races the better!
JD, in the past the only time the Sizzler and VMRS @ Monadnock has been on the same weekend is when weather causes a schedule change. I have been going to both on consecutive weekends for more than a few years now.
I don’t know about the other divisions, but at last count there were 33 SK lights signed in. So there would be 1 or 2 consis and 6-7 cars possibly going home.
Sharpie, I heard on the radio the plan for SKL was 4 heats and 2 consis, and 3 heats and a consi for SK.
Wish they didn’t cancel Fridays race- they could have a – show your sizzler ticket get in for half price, show me ur Friday tix get $5 off sizzler tix. This could have turned out to an awesome weekend of racing.
Canceling opening day probably won’t matter much one way or the other. Current forecast is for rain on Friday.
Element of public safety Doug says. Uh no, they cancelled because they knew it was going to rain Sunday. Plain and simple. The tornado warning was on Friday. Why didn’t they cancel the whole weekend Friday then? Was anyone there Friday? Did they know a tornado was possible? Did anyone seek shelter or did they hunker down in their campers. Could’ve been a disaster actually.
2 1/2 hour drive on Saturday, mix of sun and clouds the entire way. It was looking promising. Just as I arrived the hail/snow/rain began. What The Heck???? So, I made my own forecast. No chance of racing in the afternoon but expect lots of beer followed by some food in the evening. See you next weekend.
Sorry but there is no way you run a regular Friday night before Opening Sizzler Weekend. Everyone knows that the Sizzler is normally a wreck fest for the SKS and SKL. You open the season Friday night and destroy half the cars whos going to be ready the following day? Make no sense.
We used to race every fri, sat and Sunday on the tri track days. You fix your car right after the race, that’s how it’s done…
Sense isn’t exactly a strong suit of many of the commenters here. Speaking of commenters where’s dafella with his 3 cents. Or does he only care about Waterford.
That’s funny I was going to mention you Eddie as the exception. The best fan here that would chase the modifieds all weekend if necessary. With all due respect I don’t think you’re typical. Few can keep up with your dedication to chasing down the best regional racing with a good spirit and appreciation for the sport.
” Was anyone there Friday? Did they know a tornado was possible? Did anyone seek shelter or did they hunker down in their campers. Could’ve been a disaster actually”
Yes, thanks to smartphones, yes again, and absolutely…
I was in the back 40. We left the trailer and went outside after the warning and started a sky watch. We were too far away from actual shelter, so my plan was to get under the railroad bridge over the river or to drive away from the funnel to a sheltered area. That bridge has been there for decades, keeps trains out of the water, and is are too heavy to blow away.
I am 100% with you that it could have been super ugly if a twister paid a visit, and most were oblivious.
Yes two plus hour drive hotel room should have cancelled end of week now in conflict with manadnock v m r s sarurday thunder road act Sunday bull ring practice w mountain Sunday and someone said something about seekonk sunday brilliant should had it the following weekend when waterford supossed to have bud opener
Tim, the following weekend has their first Open Mod event Friday and a driving school on Saturday that was rained out back in October.
And if you were planning on watching the sizzler on fans choice you’re out of luck unless you live outside of CT RI or MA. I wonder if Thompson did the same thing.
Ok but better put their heads together looks like rain again this weekend and the following certainally less busy than this one have a whole season ahead of us
Hillary: I never realized there was a Fan’s Choice blackout. Thanks for the info. Is there a listing of that? Again, thanks for the info.
Thompson was on Fans Choice in ct. Sunday not looking good right now. Maybe on Friday they can make a decision to run Saturday night if Sunday looks like a wash out
Massfarmer. I am pretty sure Meyers is a no go. He runs for the Championship at Bowman-Gray. That IS his main focus. As for McKennedy, I wouldn’t venture a guess.
I read it on the WMT FB page if that’s what you’re asking.
Ok so Stafford is not allowing local fans to be able to watch fans choice live. So the greatest race track in the history of the world is afraid that some fans will stay home to watch the sizzler?
With some luck, the Sizzler will go this weekend.
Hillary: Yes, It was what I was asking, and I appreciate the reply. Just good to know! Thanks!
I don’t know why Stafford is calling for a fanschoice.tv blackout. Thompson had an incredible crowd for the Ice Breaker.
I don’t know that there is a blackout for the Sizzler as far as FanChoice coverage is concerned but if there is it only makes sense. Every track should black out coverage locally. After all the goal is to have people attend races and make money. Giving your product away for free is generally not considered a good business model. In the long run blackouts are better for the sport unless it’s pay per view. Those blackouts seems to be bone headed in my view.
I think if I had a fan improvement wish, it would be to have a live stream audio. While race fans can pretty much follow what’s going on, it would be great to have an audio live stream while at the event. A while ago, when a certain radio station was up and running, it was great to be in the stands with bluetooth headphones, listening to the live broadcast. Only problem was the 10 second or so latency of the audio to catch up to real time. It’s awesome to find out what is going on in the pits, and all the info missed, while race is going on. Even while cars are taking pace laps, you just cant hear audio. That’s one of the biggest obstacles to get a new generation of fans interested imo. While some may say just stream fans choice while race is going, the issue is, streaming video vs streaming just audio on lte is a considerable difference. I know for me personally, it made being there as a spectator, a much more enjoyable experience. and doug, I too questioned why you give the product away for free. Somebody has to be making money on this some how, some way, or why would it be done? While nice to have when I can’t get to the track, the decision to live broadcast them all has me curious. What did I obviously miss?
“A while ago, when a certain radio station was up and running, it was great to be in the stands with bluetooth headphones, listening to the live broadcast… Even while cars are taking pace laps, you just cant hear audio”
I agree, and carry a scanner for the same reason, interesting information! Stafford still broadcasts on their FM station, we often listen to it in the camper during delays. I wish they’d simulcast on 454.000 like many other tracks.
It sounds counter intuitive, but the best way to hear the PA over the cars is to wear earplugs or protective muffs. Your ears naturally hear vastly different things at different sound levels. Bringing the overall level down helps your ears to pick out the PA over the cars.
I spent another life as a live sound engineer. The way we’d find stressed or blown drivers in a large array was to drive the system at show level, then move from cabinet to cabinet wearing muffs over foam plugs. You could clearly hear the malfunction as a crunch, flutter, or grind, but without the protection you’d be in tears. At the track, you only need one or the other.
I’ve been going to Stafford for more than a few years, but never saw or heard anything about broadcasting the P.A. through a radio station. For future reference, can someone please let me know what station that is? I’d greatly appreciate it, thanks!
What Barry said!!!!!
Stafford needs to advertise that they broadcast over the radio, and the frequency. It’s a great feature. Many scanners have FM and can receive this broadcast. Also, the PA system is useless when the cars are running, and they need to NOT use the PA when cars are running, it only adds noise. Then they can turn the PA volume down so it is not painful when the cars are not running.
Stafford Speedway radio = 103.1
It normally doesn’t come to life until practice ends.
That’s news to me as well. They used to broadcast and push the “head hugger” radios. Thought it was dead. Why wouldn’t Ben and Matt mention the frequency?
I found using ear protection helped cancel out some of the track noise making the announcing a little cleared but didn’t know why. Now I do.
If anyone has a scanner to recommend that would be useful information as well.
Agreed. Sure would be nice to know which tracks do this, if any, and the frequency they are on. Ive still got my old scanner and headset, and this would be a great way to break it out!
Calling for rain Friday Saturday and Sunday now. Maybe they’ll pull the plug early.
My favorite race scanner is the Uniden BC125XLT.
PC programmable, uses rechargeable (two included) or alkaline batteries, has a switchable backlight, and alpha tagging. The backlight can be set to automatically turn on with each scanner hit. It charges from any USB port, including your car.
It doesn’t have 800 MHz or trunking, so it may not work with local PD, FD, etc… but it’s inexpensive, durable, and has everything needed for track scanning. Mine has taken several trips from the top of Stafford’s grandstand to the grass below, and actually survived.
https://www.amazon.com/Uniden-BC125AT-Alpha-Tagged-Emergency-Lightweight/dp/B00772MR0K
My favorite loud environment earbuds are 3M Peltor 2600N, with the replaceable FOAM tips. The vinyl tips don’t block enough noise for the track, but are OK for mowing, etc…
https://www.grainger.com/product/3M-In-Ear-Communication-Earpiece-3NZE6?opr=APPD&pbi=3NZE6&analytics=altItems
I’ve got a Uniden BR330T scanner with FM & AM capability, and Yaesu VX-8r ham radio with scanner and FM capability. Wear a headset plugged into the radio, blocks out the abrasive PA system. Both radios out of production, hope I never have to replace them. The VX has dual radios, so I can scan two bands simultaneously. Weather bands for weather emergencies come in handy. Both PC programmable.
Showers likely for Sunday.
As of right now.
Wait a minute.
If you forget Stafford´s radio frequency it is usually listed on the front page of their Pitstopper program.
Weather outlook just keeps getting worse!!! Heavy rain early Sat PM and 100% chance of heave rain on Sunday!!!
This year’s race may end up being the Summer Sizzler if Mother Nature doesn’t back off soon!