Matt Swanson Set For Tri-Track Open Mod Series Battle In SBM Event At Star Speedway


(Press release from the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series)

Matt Swanson (Photo: Shawn Courchesne/RaceDayCT)

With under two weeks until the drop of the green flag on the second race of the Tri Track Open Modified Series season, Matt Swanson is hoping a return to Star Speedway will end with him carrying the checkered flag for the first time on the Tri Track circuit. 

He’s also hoping it brings his first win with the legendary Boehler family.  

Swanson started driving the famed ‘Ole Blue’ in 2018, when veteran Rowan Pennink went down with a back injury that ended his racing career. Since then, he’s been competing full-time on another Modified Tour, but has also become a frontrunner with the Tri Track Series. Swanson, who grew up racing at Star, finished third in the annual SBM race last year, and is hoping to better that by two spots when the 2020 edition of the race occurs on Saturday, July 25. 

This year’s SBM race is 121 laps instead of 125 – in honor of Tim Webber – the son of track promoter Bobby Webber Jr., who is turning 21 during the month of July. Swanson is familiar with the family. 

“The SBM has always had a special place in my heart,” Swanson said. “Even back when I was driving for Marco Turcotte when he first gave me an opportunity to drive a Modified at the age of 13. It’s where I got my start racing Modifieds. The Webber family – Bob Sr., Bob Jr., Tim – all of them — the family has just played such a role in my racing career. I’m always excited to head back to Star and see all the faces I got to see when I went there years ago. It brings back some memories. I’m excited to go back. Hopefully we can get two spots better than last year.” 

Although Swanson competes full-time with Tri Track, and the car is prepared by Boehler Racing, it’s owned by Larry Westgate, which creates a strong partnership between the two. 

“Larry supplies us with everything we need to be able to go to the Tri Track races,” Swanson said. “He owns the car, the trailer… we wouldn’t be running the Tri Track races if it wasn’t for Larry. The car is a Boehler Chassis, and it’s been around longer than I have been alive. Ryan Preece, Ted Christopher… a lot of drivers have been in that car. We keep it at the No. 3 shop and maintain it. Larry makes it so we can take a lot more time to keep up with what keeps speed in the cars. We go to the track, learn more… I can’t thank him enough for everything he does for us.” 

Due to restrictions from COVID-19 and the state of New Hampshire, Star Speedway is limited to 50% grandstand capacity for the race. Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets ahead through Venmo (@bwebber19) to make sure they get their seat. There will be no pre-sales for pit passes.  

Tri Track teams who have registered for the entire season are good to go, while teams who need to register for just one event can do it on the website. Teams must also pre-order tires with Dan at Hoosier Tire East by calling 860-646-9646 as soon as possible. 

The pit area will open for Tri Track teams at 10:45 a.m., while practice will begin at 1:15 p.m. There will be three practice sessions for the Tri Track Series, with the third of them being a short tire scuff session. The first two sessions will last from 1:15-1:55 p.m. and 2:15-2:40 p.m. Heat races for the Modifieds begin at 4 p.m., while the feature will be the final race of the night, estimated to take the green flag at 7 p.m. 

Pit admission for Saturday is $45, while general admission tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and juniors (11-16) and kids 10 and under are free in the grandstands. Camping is limited at this event. The Pure Stocks, Street Stocks and Mia’s Jewerly Slingshots will also compete. 

For more information on Star Speedway, visit them at StarSpeedwayNH.com and follow them on Facebook. For more information on the Tri Track Open Modified Series, visit them on the web at tritrackmodifieds.com and follow the series on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Comments

  1. Sidewinder says

    Good luck Matt!

  2. Go Ole Blue!!!!!!

  3. Good luck Matt. It would be awesome to see “Ole Blue” back in victory lane. Hope you and the team have fun, because in the end, that’s what it’s all about. The money don’t hurt either.

  4. Sneaky, Shawn, no posting on the Waterford article. How can you deny us being able to read all those armchair racetrack owners posts?
    Keep up the great work your doing, I look forward to getting new racing news. Great Job Shawn

  5. It’s so hot, too hot to wear a mask. It’s a violation of my rights, to tell me to wear a mask. A mask ruins my make up.
    WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!
    It’s just a face mask. You don’t have to wear it 24-7, just when your around people, where you can’t social distance. Maybe at your job. But, it’s just a mask. A small inconvenience. Look around, everyone’s in the same situation
    Wearing a mask, social distancing, practicing good hygiene. Very very simple steps to take to slow the spread of a very deadly disease. People in New England have done a fair job of following these simple steps, and it’s paying dividends. Here’s the problem. As you all know, Covid is spreading like wildfire in, basically, the rest of the country. Now, news reports are saying that people who travel outside of New England, are returning home, and bringing the virus with them. If you travel to a Covid hotspot, please quarenteen when you return, or at least try to get tested. We’ve all had to make great sacrifices to get the numbers where they are, let’s band together, and keep the numbers low. In the grand scheme of things, wearing a mask isn’t much to ask. Besides, more and more national and regional retailers are starting to make masks mandatory in their stores.
    I know allot of you have been practicing these simple steps from the start, to all of you I say “THANK YOU VERY MUCH”
    For those of you who haven’t, for some stupid reason I say
    “WAKE UP”.
    Dr. Fauci said today in a teleconference with medical students that at this point in time we should all count on dealing with Covid for at least another year and a half to two years maybe longer.
    We have the power to change that. It all depends on everyone, not just about everyone, doing their part.

  6. Camerissa says

    For fans of ole blue. Lew Boyd has written a book on the story of Boehler racing. It will be available in August. You can pre order it now on coastal181 website. They’ve done a good job in the past with books on Richie, Bugsy, Bentley, Dion, etc

  7. Rob P.
    I wondered when/where it would be mentioned. Just one of my rare executive decisions to keep the toxicity down a bit.

  8. Walmart going to 100% mask wearing. Good thing I don’t go there often. Sounds horrible. Hello Amazon!!

    Current cases in Woodstock NH (WMMP) is ZERO. That would be NONE. Less than one. I guess the WMT won’t be responsible for the end of the world as some here have predicted. Can’t wait to see them argue ZERO cases though.

  9. Fast Eddie says

    I’m anxiously waiting to see “Old Blue” in the winners circle somewhere. When Matt was driving the #89 at 14, I thought to myself “way too soon.” After seeing him drive very intelligently, way beyond his years, he was always one of my “ones to watch and root for”. Good luck to the whole #3 team!
    —– Shawn, when I read the Speedbowl article the day it was posted, my first thought was the comments section would be an absolute mess. Then I noticed the missing comment capabilities and thought that was a real smart decision on your part!

  10. Rob p., give it up.

    “Everything happens for a reason, sometimes the reason is you’re stupid and make bad decisions. ”

    Still, stupid can not be fixed. Leave it to Darwin to sort it out.

    At least we can say we tried.

  11. Thanks Shawn, keep up the great work, and maybe make more of those executive decisions. Although, I’ve got to admit I get a chuckle reading some of those posts from those who have absolutely no clue what actually happens at the track, especially the chassis experts who have never touched any type of race car. You do a great job of reporting the Racing scene, not only in Connecticut, but much of the Northeast, and are by far #1 in my favorites list. Keep up the great reporting.

  12. Just when you thought there might be an end in sight. The 2021 Rose Parade in California has been cancelled, not postponed, Cancelled.

  13. Camerissa, Bones Boucier
    ( Might be misspelled) has some great books about the history of racing in New England. Bones used to be a columnist for Speedway Scene. A little research could turn out worthwhile. Saw the advertisement for the book about Ole Blue, definitely on my wish list.

  14. Shawn posted, “Rob P.
    I wondered when/where it would be mentioned. Just one of my rare executive decisions to keep the toxicity down a bit.”

    And in doing so, you have ceded control to those that do not want what is going on, or not going on, with the bowl to be exposed. You have effectively censored in favor of those that want to suppress news and discussion about the beloved ‘bowl. I have seen this tactic at work on many boards… as long as the conversation is going along the way a certain sect wants it to go, all is good. But once any other view point is posted, or facts that gut and eviscerate the interests of a sect, they go wild to destroy the thread and get the thread shut down. This happened plenty in the early years of these very forums.

    Like the recent poll about Trump you put up, only to be disappeared in just minutes. Probably a good story behind that. That poll sleeps with the fishes and Luca Brasi. But in pulling that poll, you ceded control to those that do not want the truth about Trump to be exposed.

    If Doug and all his personalities are tamed with said executive decisions, the toxicity would disappear, just like that. Doug and his many screen names are like the 15 cases of COVID-19 that Trump promised would go away, just disappear, just like that. Well, you have the executive power to make Doug, and his screen names and associated toxicity go away. Why deprive the rest of us from a lively conversation because Doug and his posse of screen names are gonna 💩 all over the place?

    But I get a real kick from Doug et al., knowing I live rent free and he seethes all day about me. 😝🤪🤣

  15. JD, used to spend a couple weeks each year in Gorham and Berlin, for the papermill shutdown. Beautiful country up there. Do they still have the motorcycle hillclimbs in Woodstock?
    Anyway, Northern New Hampshire is beautiful, wouldn’t mind retiring up there. Do you know if the milk in Berlin ever reopened?
    You say zero cases, and I hope going forward your able to say that for the duration. Stay safe.

  16. Darealgoodfella,

    You said: And in doing so, you have ceded control to those that do not want what is going on, or not going on, with the bowl to be exposed. You have effectively censored in favor of those that want to suppress news and discussion about the beloved ‘bowl. I have seen this tactic at work on many boards… as long as the conversation is going along the way a certain sect wants it to go, all is good. But once any other view point is posted, or facts that gut and eviscerate the interests of a sect, they go wild to destroy the thread and get the thread shut down. This happened plenty in the early years of these very forums.

    No, don’t turn this into the walls going up on conversation here. In the eight years plus this website has been around I can count on one hand the times I’ve turned off comments on a story. It has nothing to do with censoring any side of the argument. And please don’t try to paint it that I’m in some way trying to hide the negative. The story is there, whatever it may be, nothing is being hidden. Right now, this week, I just don’t want to deal with the toxicity that invariably becomes the comment section on stories like this. Nothing that hasn’t already been commented about it multitudes of times will be missed, and there will be other stories about the subject.

  17. Shawn, hope your week gets better.

    Keep up the good work. 👍

  18. Dareal, not to offend you, but I agree with Shawn’s judgement regarding the bowl. Every time he has an article about the place, and allows comments, for the most part they are negative toward either the management, or the owner. I’ve even been the author of negative posts in the past.
    I was simply saying how it’s amazing how many armchair race promoters/ managers/ officials come out every time he does an article on the place. And how it makes me laugh to read posts, that just by reading you can tell the author has never stepped foot inside a racetrack. My posts of negativity were based on one visit to the bowl many years ago, where I just thought the place was a dump, especially compared to what was then a recently repaved Stafford. Plus you’ve got to consider that RacedayCT is Shawn’s baby, and ultimately it’s him who decides wether or not to allow comments. Given the extreme leaniency Shawn has shown throughout the Covid crisis, in regards to posting, I think he deserves a pass on this one. Hope that doesn’t offend you, or anyone, well, except MR GIGGLES.

  19. “IT’S BRISTOL BABY” !!! All Star Race is on from Bristol, complete with ‘choice cone’
    This should be interesting.
    🏁🙊🙈🙉🏁

  20. For all the hype preceding the all Star race… In all honesty…very boring race. NASCAR needs to take a good hard look at these cars. They need to eliminate aero from the equation. The supposedly best stock car drivers in the world shouldn’t have to rely on aero and clean air. Get rid of it,make the drivers showcase their talents. There was very little side by side racing, and it came down to the same old story, where clean air was king. Very disappointing indeed.

  21. JD posted, “Current cases in Woodstock NH (WMMP) is ZERO. That would be NONE. Less than one. I guess the WMT won’t be responsible for the end of the world as some here have predicted. Can’t wait to see them argue ZERO cases though.”

    Be careful what you ask for. Have you learned nothing??????? 🌈JD🌈, there’s no argument about the number of cases in Woodstock, NH. Per the NH Department of Health and Human Services, the number of cases in Woodstock is NOT ZERO. Only ZERO is zero. There’s only an argument when you don’t know the facts, and the facts are presented by the NH Department of Health and Human Services.

    And if you review this:

    https://www.nh.gov/covid19/dashboard/cumulative-cases.htm

    you will see that COVID is now in the vast majority of NH municipalities, and not just the extreme southern NH.

    JD, many of these NH municipalities have very low populations, so just a couple cases is a huge impact on such small population.

    Indeed, COVID is slowly seeping through the remote regions of NH.

    JD, are you dumb, nuts, or both?

  22. DaReal, go back and read what you wrote 2 weeks ago. You know, how everybody was going to get sick because nobody was wearing a mask at the race. You went on and on and on and on about it. Nevermind it was 4th of July weekend and every resort was packed. Here we are two weeks later and ZERO cases. Zero in Lincoln NH too where a lot of people stayed. So just admit you were 100% wrong and we can all move on.

    Unrelated stat, there were 30,000 fans at Bristol last night.

  23. BREAKING NEWS: The Trump Administration is stripping COVID-19 reporting responsibility from the CDC and taking it over themselves. Hospitals will report COVID-19 data directly to the Trump Administration.

    Feel any safer?

    🌈JD🌈, head on down to your local jammin’ garden center where they have SACKS OF FACTS available in 15 lb, 25 lb and 40 lb sacks. That’s the closest you’ll ever come to facts.

  24. 🌈JD🌈 posted this on July 15, “Current cases in Woodstock NH (WMMP) is ZERO. That would be NONE. Less than one. I guess the WMT won’t be responsible for the end of the world as some here have predicted. Can’t wait to see them argue ZERO cases though.”

    July 15 was YESTERDAY.

    The State of New Hampshire publishes this fact based document:

    https://www.nh.gov/covid19/dashboard/cumulative-cases.htm

    🌈JD🌈 has demonstrated that he does not know what ZERO is.

  25. 🌈JD🌈 posted this on July 16, “DaReal, go back and read what you wrote 2 weeks ago. You know, how everybody was going to get sick because nobody was wearing a mask at the race. You went on and on and on and on about it. Nevermind it was 4th of July weekend and every resort was packed. Here we are two weeks later and ZERO cases. Zero in Lincoln NH too where a lot of people stayed. So just admit you were 100% wrong and we can all move on.

    Unrelated stat, there were 30,000 fans at Bristol last night.”

    🌈JD🌈, go through this fact document:

    https://www.nh.gov/covid19/dashboard/cumulative-cases.htm

    and you will see that Lincoln, NH does not have zero cases.

    You were spoon fed the facts and you did not take the help.

    In other news, the Sun will rise in the east.

    I was right again. This is what winning is like. Sure wish some of you might get to experience what it feels like. Some of you simply can not be helped.

    Related stat, JD is still batting 0.000%, 100% wrong. Very consistent.

  26. The only ZERO around here is 🌈JD🌈.

    Statistically speaking, of course.

  27. Those states are county stats going back to March. There are no active cases right now or over the last few weeks. Nice try though.

    Speaking of incorrect. Going to watch me some MLB baseball next week. Another thing you said wouldn’t happen. Go Sox!!!

  28. JD, at Bristol 30,000 tickets were distributed, but roughly 20,000 people actually showed up. Considering that Bristol has a seating capacity of 165000, I’d say they did their best to keep fans far enough apart to feel comfortable in regards to Covid. Still, 20000 is allot of people, and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out 2-4 weeks from now. Even with 20000 people, those stands looked empty.
    As far as New England, it appears that we’re still doing ok. The biggest threat now is people travelling to other regions if the country, and bringing the virus home with them. New York and Connecticut are asking people returning home to self quarenteen for 2 weeks, and I think you’ll see other states starting to do the same. At Bay State in Springfield another 5 cases were confirmed as being from people who recently travelled.
    Hope everyone is safe strong and sane. Keep on keeping on. We can beat this if everyone works together.

  29. Really surprised that the Open 80 hasn’t sold out. The question is, is it due to lack of interest, fear of Covid, or is it because of face coverings being mandatory. Saturdays weather forecast is for mid 90’s, with allot if humidity, so wearing a mask could be uncomfortable, but I can’t imagine that it would be the reason why they didn’t sell out. The way I understand is that once seated you don’t have to wear a mask, although I might be wrong. For those planning to attend, don’t forget your sunblock

  30. Rob. P,
    Stafford announced this evening that the event is sold out Saturday.

  31. Thanks Shawn. Still wondering why it took so long. I figured it would have sold out in hours, not days.

  32. 🌈JD🌈 posted, “Those states are county stats going back to March. There are no active cases right now or over the last few weeks. Nice try though.

    Speaking of incorrect. Going to watch me some MLB baseball next week. Another thing you said wouldn’t happen. Go Sox!!!”

    This is what is called a target rich environment. JD, as much as you like to ignore the facts, the facts are that for every KNOWN case, there are many, many more unconfirmed cases. That is well known. Even at this very late juncture, a tiny fraction of the population has been tested. Just because the people have not been tested does not mean that the cases do not exist. Many people have died of COVID although they were never previously tested. That’s the President Pine Sol option, stop testing and there will be no more cases. But that stack of bodies will keep piling up. It is stunning how far and deep COVID has penetrated New Hampshire, one of the whitest states, and luckily a sparsely populated state. JD, statistically speaking, there are active cases where none are officially reported. It is well known that people are afraid to go to hospitals and care centers. Nice try though.

    Are you going to the game to enjoy a 🌭 and a 🍺? Oh wait, the MLB is not allowing any fans. I believe I said that sometime. Just saw on the news an interesting report about the start of baseball. With the number of players opting to sit out the 2020 “season”, and the players that have been infected and will become infected as the season progresses, it is believed that the championship team will be the one that has nine players left at the end of the season. Oh yeah, baseball has a new rule: NO SPITTING. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. You are going to get so excited by the canned crowd track. These players are so arrogant and above the rules, they have already been caught violating the bubble.

  33. Sorry to be posting something related to the article but I thought it was neat. At the Monadnock Tri-Track race I noticed Matt drove one handed with just his left hand on the wheel and his other hand up on his side headrest. Then under caution though he’d put both hands on the wheel. Got a good chuckle out of it.

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