(Press Release from Thompson Speedway)
Even though there is still one NASCAR Whelen All-American Series race remaining on the schedule at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park this season, one championship battle has already been decided.
Bryan Narducci clinched the SK Light Modified® championship for 2019 on Sunday, September 8, becoming the first champion at the Connecticut oval for this season.
“Just to add my name to the record books of all the champions at Thompson is amazing,” Narducci said. “Ted Christopher, Keith Rocco, Ryan Preece, who is now a Cup Series driver … just to add my name to that list, I could never even imagine putting my name anywhere in the same list as them.”
“Sid DiMaggio put up a photo on Facebook from 2003 when I was three-years-old at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl, I was hanging on the fence waiting for Ted to come out for driver introductions,” he added. “My dad and I would go to Thompson every Thursday night, and we’d go to watch Ted. If he didn’t go, we didn’t go most of the time. Just to be able to put my name in the record books anywhere near his is a huge accomplishment for me. No one was as good as him, and no one will be as good as him.”
For Narducci, the partnership with Todd Owen, and his drive to compete at a high-level, has elevated him to championship glory. The Colchester, Connecticut, driver has already earned himself quite the list of accolades in his racing career, even though he is still at a young age. Last year, he won the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division III National championship.
Between Thompson and Stafford Motor Speedway, Narducci has won 14 different races this season, including six of nine at Thompson.
“Everyone always says races are won at the shop, and I can attest to that 100 percent,” Narducci said. “Every week, we go back to the shop and scale the car, check the toe, drop it on the scales, check the heights… and maintain the car. When we get to the track, I’m confident the car is going to be fast and there isn’t going to be something wrong with it. We worked really hard in the shop to accomplish our goal of winning races and a championship, and this year we were able to do both.”
For now, Narducci’s goals for the remainder of the season still include what he hopes will be plenty of winning. He’s fourth in Stafford’s championship battle, hoping to close the gap in their final two races. He also leads the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division III National Championship battle with just about a week remaining, and it looks like he is well on his way to two straight.
“It’s pretty amazing, when we won last year, it was really cool to be able to go down to Charlotte and be honored on the stage,” he said. “Hopefully we can finish well and close it out and make it back to back Division III championships.”
His major goal related to Thompson in the final month of the season? Capture the victory in the SK Light Modified® division as part of the 57th annual running of the Sunoco World Series for the second straight year.
“Hopefully we can close it out at the World Series. It was satisfying to win the title, but I would have liked to have finished on Sunday just to give me more satisfaction, if we would have won both the race and the title, it would have been better,” Narducci said. “But we just have to go out at the World Series and try to win another one.”
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park returns to competition for the 57th annual Sunoco World Series, where 20 different divisions will compete in racing over the course of three days from October 11-13. The full schedule for the weekend will be available soon.
For more information on Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, fans are encouraged to visit www.thompsonspeedway.com and follow the track on social media via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
What do I know. I’m just a guy sitting in the stands, watching replays, following social media and reading the stories in my favorite racing news source RaceDayCt. I don’t know Bryan or any other driver for that matter nor have any connection to any team. But after seeing how the season has played out and reading this wonderfully structured and personal article I just can’t help but think there is a fundamental disconnect between young Bryan and the reality of the season at Stafford and Thompson.
No I’m not going to make vague accusations about wrecks and other drivers feelings about him I clearly have no way of knowing exist outside of a few that have been vocal on social media. Most have kept their feelings to themselves publicly. Time will reveal if this is something or merely my over reaction to one article.
I will say that if you took 100 unbiased people that follow asphalt racing and showed them what the 01 did to the 14 in the last race at Thompson the overwhelming majority would say it was rough riding and deserved a penalty. Look at that incident against a backdrop of disqualifications, the tire soaking penalty that was on then off, winning so many races at Stafford but not leading the points. A memorable season for sure but as much or more negative then positive.
I’d also defer to a racing source that few could question has credibility.
Last year Matt Buckler frequently referred to Reen acres using his good natured way of ribbing since Reen spent so much time in the infield after on track dust ups. This year Reen being a loose cannon is not mentioned pretty much at all nor is Buckler mentioning Reen acres. It was Buckler’s way of making a point with velvet gloves that was true, may have been heard and processed by Reen and now it is no longer true and that’s progress.
At Thompson Buckler referred to Narducci as a “land mine”. Kind of went under the radar but it hit home to me. I don’t see that comparison having any amusing or admirable quality. Being around a land mine is never a good thing. Buckler uses a lot of descriptive words known for being completely unrelated to what he is describing and that’s kind of his thing. In this case it was completely accurate and particularly accurate in the race he used it in as we later were witness to.
I believe this is a heart warming, feel good story about an up and comer that normally would be considered a bright spot in our local racing world. From my chair back however I just don’t think it reflects the actual feelings and respect that such an accomplishment would normally entail on the side of Narducci, the fans or his fellow drivers.
Is this a few vocal people including myself over reacting to an aggressive and talented driver whose tactics we just don’t like. Or is this an issue that may have legs with a wider audience. I guess we’ll see won’t we.
tired of seeing the media patting this kid on the back.he does not deserve it
Agree with you Don, the more accolades he gets the more he misbehaves. Like any other kid he believes his actions are acceptable until someone corrects him.
Maybe the clouds will part and the sun will shine down on the kid some day and BAM, he will get it, or his fellow competitors will take matters into their own hands and he will learn via the school of hard knocks.
Just wondering how he would feel if someone laid the chrome horn to him, took him out then accused him of brake checking them? Think he would have something to say about it or just accept it? Me thinks he would not be a happy camper.
Don has put it perfectly.WE are all so so tired of this kid.STOP .Can we focus the attention to someone wh o deserves it,he does not,ALWAYS some elses fault for his STUPID on track antics.Any car that can race with him he wrecks them,with very little penalty.This is done week in and week out.No track wants to be the bad guy in this case,and we all know why.
Earl, I’ll essentially repeat for the most part what I already said. He wins races so he gets press. Simple as that. He’s won 14 of 27 SK Light Modified events he’s started this year between Stafford and Thompson, so obviously he’s going to get attention from the media. That said, I’ve covered every race at Thompson this year and I can remember twice where people ended up “wrecked” because of incidences that began with something involving Narducci. On Aug. 14 when he had contact with Bert Ouellette and this past Sunday when the field piled in after he and Steven Chapman stopped in turn three. Beyond that, who else has been “wrecked” this year at Thompson by Narducci? Specifically answer the question, beyond those two incidents, who has been “wrecked” by him at Thompson this year and when?
Nobody at Thompson has had to fix their car after every event at Thompson because of anything Narducci has done, as was said here before. That’s just being ridiculously exaggerative. And you act like nobody has ever given it back to him. If you watch races instead of just coming here to regurgitate the social media whining you could see that people give it right back to him. On July 28 at Thompson Steven Chapman purposely wrecked Narducci while Narducci was leading. Chapman openly admitted after the race that he wrecked him on purpose. Is that not someone laying the chrome horn to him? I get that Narducci’s success and aggressiveness get people upset, but the exaggerations and whining just get old.
Changing Gears,
I’ll ask you the same question that none of the commenters here have avoiding actually answering. I’ve covered every race at Thompson this year and I can remember twice where people ended up “wrecked” because of incidences that began with something involving Narducci. On Aug. 14 when he had contact with Bert Ouellette and this past Sunday when the field piled in after he and Steven Chapman stopped in turn three. Beyond that, who else has been “wrecked” this year at Thompson by Narducci? Specifically answer the question, beyond those two incidents, who specifically has been “wrecked” by him at Thompson this year and when?
Shawn.For real.Ask around the paddocks areas at Thompson and Stafford.Everyone is so sick and tired of this kid.He thinks he is Teddy C.Lets go through a race by race ,lap by lap comparsion to other drivers.Contact after contact with other cars.Then the tire scandle,the list goes on.Media just loves to Build him up to be something he never will be.There are plenty of other drivers to talk about then Narducci.
Changing Gears,
All I see in the comments here are people making reference to all the cars he wrecks every race at Thompson. Seen references about talking to the people who have to fix their cars after every race because of him. Yes, I get he’s aggressive. Yes I get people don’t like the aggressiveness. But the tall tales and exaggeration are just ridiculous. Again, I asked a very simple question. For all the talk about all the cars he’s wrecked every week at Thompson this year, specifically list the people he has wrecked. Specifically lists the people who have had to fix cars because they were wrecked by Narducci and list the date it happened. I’ve thrown that question out there and can’t seem to get an answer from anybody. All we get is the general blanket “Oh he wrecks everyone” but nobody can seem to name anybody he’s actually wrecked.
I would like to chime in with some comments, and observations.
1) If I remember correctly, Steven was leading a race until turn 3 when the 01 went in low hot and heavy, slide into him and put him in the marbles, and went on to win the race. ( No penalty)
2) The next race. Steven did the exact same move and when the 01 brake checked him on pit road, Steven was penalized.
3) Come to this point 01 Over aggressive again and now wrecks the two cars plus at least 4 other contending cars in the process and NO PENALTY.
IN all my years of racing. bumping is bumping, Hard racing with contact is hard contact and as long as cars are not getting torn up that is fine.
Wrecking someone, and or yourself in the process is not only stupid, but if you are actually faster, you can race, and will eventually win on talent .
I have been around the sport long enough to know that the 01 moves at every track are made by someone who has a lack of understanding of what goes into being a true champion. He will never be a champion in my book. His team has done a heck of a job, I just wish they could calm him down in every aspect of his racing.
On a side note, I used to be a huge fan of this site but lately your articles are biased and sometimes just plan ignorant of facts and media used to have to be biased.
Shawn , he wins so he gets press , I remember a young kid getting his first SK win at Stafford and not getting any press so I guess that’s not always true , I get its your deal and you can pick and chose what you want , maybe earl and changing gears see things a little different than you I’m sure there is plenty of others that would side with them and I’m sure with you also .as far as names and dates I don’t see anyone keeping a diary in the stands ,maybe in the press box they do but not the stands. Done for today keep up the good work
Buford,
Your memory is certainly questionable at best.
1. In the race you’re referring to with your No. 1, (Bryan Narducci Stays Perfect In Dramatic Fashion In SK Light Mods) yes Narducci went in low and rode him up, the same way about 10,000 other passes have been made in the corners at Thompson Speedway over the years. Chapman finished that race in second place, unscathed. If you start penalizing every guy at Thompson who rides someone up in the corner to make a pass you’re going to black flag three quarters of the field every event.
2. In your point No. 2 you say “The next race. Steven did the exact same move.” No, not even close. The next race Chapman drove into the side of Narducci and it was clear to anyone watching that the intent was to wreck him not make a pass for the lead. Chapman admitted after the race that his intention making the move was to wreck Narducci (Perfect No More: Bryan Narducci Streak Wrecked By Steven Chapman In SK Light Mods At Thompson).
The point I’ve been trying to make here is that multiple people have come on here this week and made reference to multiple cars at Thompson being wrecked at every race this year because of Narducci which is entirely false. Yes he’s aggressive, and at times clearly over aggressive. But exaggerating the end result of his aggressiveness has just become ludicrous. There are drivers in that field regularly that have been the reason for a lot more cars getting wrecked this season than Narducci, you just don’t hear anyone complaining because they’re not competitive cars. Sadly, we live in a culture now of social media where if a group of people just continue to spread the same exaggerated stories they just magically becomes the truth in the eyes of many people. To come here and say Narducci has wrecked cars in all nine races this year at Thompson is simply moronic, but yet multiple people have come here this week and said that.
As far as how you judge my objectivity, I get that. I can tell simply from your foggy and very clearly leaning recollection of what’s happened in the events that you’re describing that you’d prefer my coverage to be against Narducci just because that’s what the crowd wants. I have no dog in the fight, I don’t have a favorite, I’m not a fan. I cover the events objectively. I don’t care who wins or who loses or who gets wrecked.
Buford, you’ve clearly shown for many months that you’re the one that has a bias. You hate Narducci and you’ve been leaving comments celebrating that hate for him for a year now under multiple names.
I’ll refer you to the response I made to you when you posted under the name Johnny Whitehead on July 29 and also then called me biased:
“Johnny Whitehead,
Reality perspective? Really. Come on, should we go back over all the other comments you’ve left under different names here. Buford T Justice, James, Buford, Johnny, Johnny Whitehead? The list goes on and on. And the common link in ALL those names and all those comments you leave? Every one of them left here bashing Bryan Narducci for months. Reality perspective is that you hate Narducci, you have hated him for quite a while, you use different names here so you can leave more comments all basically saying the same thing, and you’re too much of a coward to actually back up your words with an identity. I mean really, you’re that much of a coward that you’re so afraid of an 18-year old kid that you’re terrified to use a real name on your comments? Reality perspective is that you’re about as spineless as they come. I mean, seriously you want to talk about reality perspective, here you are using fake names one after the other to insult an 18-year race car driver on a weekly basis? You can call me biased or whatever you want, I put my name on everything you read here. I’m not afraid, I don’t hide.”
when i posted earlier on this i made no mention of who got wrecked.my point is that narducci cant make a pass without using 8 tires,with out laying a nerf into someones drivers side,with out punting the car infront of him to make a pass.yet he gets all the media coverage and praise
Said it before and will say it again. Aggressive driving is the new normal in all forms of Auto racing, from street stocks at any track USA to Formula 1. Aggressiveness is what wins races nowadays. What some of the most successful drivers lack in talent, they make up for in aggressiveness. The officials take little or no action, because everyone is aggressive. Nowadays it’s easier for a driver to punt someone out of the way rather than drive around them, especially when they know the officials won’t penalize them for it. As far as this kid comparing himself to TC he will never, nor will any driver I know of be comparable to Teddy. What they don’t realize is that Teddy’s talent was that he could take anything with wheels on it, and win, sometimes in his first time in the seat. I wish these kids would stop saying “I’m the new TC” cause kid…you ain’t now nor will you ever be. God made TC then threw away the blueprint. So stop trying to be someone your not and get your own identity, TC’s is taken.
I guess we are all wrong here.Nothing any of us have seen is true.The tire soaking to the contact,and more too come.All hail the PRINCE OF THE LITES.
Sean. This was the first time I have ever posted anywhere to any site. Your ignorance and your ability to not take not only my words, but others words without a snapping back shows your level of intelligence. My memory is not foggy at all. And I will agree. Chapman had the balls to say he did it, unlike your boy in the 01. But if your foggy memory comes back to you, Not only did he NOT wreck narducci (and he was not wrecked the week before either) But he WAS PENALIZED for actions “after the race” in which 01 retaliated by break checking. That was the official call from Thompson. This will be the last time I even read your tiny web page, But LIKE the 01. If you stopped.. Thought about what you said, Owned up to some of it even maybe. And did not just jab someone making a statement.. Maybe you would not be loosing fans too.
Changing Gears,
That’s the most stale and tired response. Again, the comment was made by multiple people that Narducci has wrecked cars in every event this year at Thompson. I asked for more specific clarification of who he wrecked and when. And that’s your response. You sound like a four year old with that response.
Buford,
Really, first time you’ve ever posted here was today? You should really just stick to working on your videos.
So let’s see, first time here …
Here’s plenty more comments from your Buford persona
Penalties For Todd Owen And Bryan Narducci At Thompson Speedway Overturned
Wesley Prucker Beneficiary Of Feisty Last Lap Battle For SK Light Mod Victory At Stafford Speedway
Noah Korner Declared Winner Of SK Light Mod Feature After Bryan Narducci Penalty At Stafford
Rowan Pennink Penalized On Both Valenti Modified Racing Series And At Stafford Speedway
Oh and here’s where you changed your name to Johnny Whitehead for a bit
Perfect No More: Bryan Narducci Streak Wrecked By Steven Chapman In SK Light Mods At Thompson
That a boy Shawn keep them honest. Great work on your reporting, and keeping up this site, it gives us gearheads a place to gather and chat about the issues at hand. Im not a Narducci fan, nor have I been to Thompson in years, I have however been to Stafford quite a bit this season. At Stafford Narducci was no more aggressive than his competitors, and the few times he was he was penalized, even having a win taken away. One thing is certain, he is the 2019 Thompson SK Lite champion, and should be given the respect of being so. If his driving was what everyone seems to suggest, someone would have taken him out, or the officials would have stepped in. Everyone hates a winner, case in point Kyle Busch. Congrats to Brian Todd, and the #01 team you guys are the champs, case closed.
There’s little doubt of the influence the presidency has. Trump is well known now for judging certain news sources as fake or marginalizing their truthfulness or impartiality and making sweeping references to news reporters as being enemies of the State. I think it’s filtered down here to some degree. Instead of making points about the specifics in the article, general accusations are made about bias and marginalizing the news source.
Here it started with donald super. Not making any comment about the article or topic or even mentioning Narducci. Just attacking the “media” like that’s some kind of point. Nonetheless that simple, thoughtless one liner was all it took to get others to chime in and the brawl was on.
Sure, tell all of RaceDayCt nation you can’t express your point without name calling and threats, say you won’t read the articles you get for free or make comments in the one place provided for local racing with an audience that shares your interest. That will really showem won’t it.
I don’t agree with Mr. Courchesne nor Rob that the 01 is a simple case of a talented driver merely being too aggressive on occasion. I don’t agree that he is being singled out only because of his success and only by a few malcontents jealous or envious of his success. I think it’s more. I also know it’s my responsibility to make the point without being a petulant child, name calling then grabbing the ball and going home.
Mr. Courchesne is already on record as saying the 01 is an aggressive driver and perhaps too aggressive on occasion. On the other side there are those of us that think to goes beyond that but really isn’t the difference simply a matter of perspective.
Bryan Narducci Norwich Bulletin 7/28/2019 after Chapman ended his winning streak.
“I wouldn’t have cared if he beat me straight up and actually passed me,” Narducci said. “He slammed me off of (turn) two so I protected the bottom like anybody would. I was on the flat (going into turn four) and he goes under me and I watched his wheels go hard right. I’m done with him and I know he’s done with me.”
That’s the disconnect I referred to in my opening comment. He did the same thing to Chapman last weekend he previously found fault with.
“Hopefully we can close it out at the World Series. It was satisfying to win the title, but I would have liked to have finished on Sunday just to give me more satisfaction, if we would have won both the race and the title, it would have been better,” Narducci said. “But we just have to go out at the World Series and try to win another one.”
He wrecked the leader and a few others. No regrets express other then not winning… disconnected.
“Just to add my name to the record books of all the champions at Thompson is amazing,” Narducci said. “Ted Christopher, Keith Rocco, Ryan Preece, who is now a Cup Series driver … just to add my name to that list, I could never even imagine putting my name anywhere in the same list as them.”
Factually correct. However that list of names he’s adding himself to if that is the implication I see no equivalency in at this stage of his career………..disconnected.
All that stuff about the work in the shop. Scaling, checking the toe in, ride heights etc like they discovered detail. Guess what, everyone does those things or most anyway. Mention checking the wheel bearings, rear end gears, tranny or the like would have made the point………disconnected.
Finally an observation I cannot prove but have been witness to at Stafford. The best drivers at Stafford in the SK Lights are rightfully wary racing with the 01. I have witnessed Bakaj and Hodgdon back out in the corner knowing the 01 would cross over into their lane. I’ve witnessed the 01 go low, make it three wide and the outside car back out. No there weren’t wrecks but only because someone else had better judgement.
I think it’s more then an aggressive driver being simply over aggressive on occasion.
Doug,
Thank you for bringing some needed perspective here. I’m not saying Narducci is perfect or the next greatest thing in racing. He’s aggressive, at times clearly over aggressive. He carries himself with a cockiness that wears on many people. He doesn’t hide the fact that Ted Christopher is his hero and he’s trying to pattern himself after his hero. My issue here this week was with the ridiculousness that comes with exaggeration. I have no issue with people sharing their perspectives and opinions here, but when you’re targeting someone and using out and out lies to indict their character I’m going to call that out. Saying that people were fixing destroyed race cars after every event at Thompson this year because of Narducci is just simply an out and out lie. But that’s what’s become of the this whole deal. If you read social media you would think Narducci has wrecked 100 cars this year at Thompson. You’d think there wasn’t a lap that goes by that he doesn’t bury someone into the wall and leave them rebuilding from nothing. Hate on the guy all day long if you want, but don’t use lies to argue why that hate exists.
Doug likes to call me the porcupine so here it comes.
What if some of the drivers he wronged previously decided to take matters into their own hands and take the “turn about is fair play” approach just to send a message that enough is enough, your driving tactics will no longer be tolerated and they will race him the way he races them.
How long do you think it will take his car owner after spending a small fortune in repairs to sit him down, have a long conversation about his occasional aggressive driving tactics that seem to be getting him into trouble and his continued employment?
On occasion he has been getting away with things that have yet to have an adverse affect on him and as I said previously, keep kicking the dog every time you walk by him and eventually that dog will bite you.
He needs to learn that “respect given is respect earned” and “act like a professional and you get treated like a professional, act like an bonehead and you get treated like an bonehead”.
BTW Doug, good last post.
Doug, the one you posted on 9/12 at 8:36AM that is.
Disconnect is a great way of putting it. I think of it more as having a 5 second car and a 10 second brain.
Doug, NOT a Narducci fan, and never said the kid had any talent. To the contrary usually it’s the drivers with no talent who turn to aggressiveness to be successful.
I stand corrected Rob. I inferred you thought Narducci was a really good driver when you actually never said such a thing. You said he won the championship and you thought he mostly was no more aggressive then other drivers when you saw him at Stafford.