(Press release from Stafford Speedway)
Stafford Speedway officials have announced that the Twisted Tea Open Modified 80 event scheduled for Saturday, August 1st has been postponed to a future date due to scheduling conflicts in the region. Additionally the events scheduled for August 21 and 22nd have been updated to eliminate scheduling conflicts for Modified teams.
“Due to the NASCAR Modified Tour event scheduled on the same day we have decided to postpone the Twisted Tea Open 80 to a later date,” explained Stafford Speedway president Mark Arute. “It’s very important to us to provide an excellent on track product for our fans and we felt that due to the scheduling conflict we would not be able to deliver that on Saturday. The Open Modifieds return next Friday, August 7th for a 100-lap event which should have a great field of cars.”
All tickets purchased for the Twisted Tea Open 80 will be good for the NAPA Auto Parts Open Modified 100 scheduled for next Friday. If ticket holders are unable to attend the August 7th event they are encouraged to contact the track office.
Stafford Speedway has also adjusted the August 21st and 22nd schedule. The Lincoln Tech Open Modified 80 has been moved to Friday and will be paired with the SK Modifieds® and SK Light Modifieds in a full open wheel event. The Call Before You Dig Pro Late Model 81 will remain on the schedule for Saturday, August 22nd and will be paired with Stafford’s Late Model, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions.
“Scheduling in 2020 has been challenging, but we will keep doing our best to get in events and provide a great show for the fans,” continued Arute. “As always, a big thank you to our race teams and fans for working with us through all the changes this year. We’ll see everyone this Friday.”
Stafford Speedway returns to action this Friday with a regular event that includes all 5 of Stafford’s weekly divisions. Limited general admission and paddock passes remain available and are now on-sale here: https://staffordmotorspeedway.com/store/Event-Tickets-c40170015. Any fans who cannot attend this Friday’s event in person can order the live stream for $20 from www.staffordspeedway.tv.
For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com, checkout Stafford Speedway on Facebook or Twitter, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
Well… Look at this breaking news. I guess ticket sales weren’t as robust when the WMT boys were going to be in NH.
I vaguely remember someone saying this would happen. DaReal, maybe you can help me remember.
Stafford should put the remaining Opens back on Friday nights.
Dear Paul Arute,
Thanks for being the better man and coming up with a compromise to benefit the local fans and racers. Too bad Nascar couldn’t take one of their Home Tracks into consideration when making their schedule.
The NWMT is the 1,200 lb gorilla because the fans like it that way.
For those of you that question what series is more popular, here’s your answer.
Did I just hear a Dr Evil evil laugh coming out of a Nascar tour officials home office somewhere. It is definitely a good move by Stafford but I hate how Nascar is approaching this season. Unfortunately tour type modified night in America is no more with MRS and the Stafford open cancelled/postponed. Big bully Nascar wins again.
That 8/22 All fender show doesnt look bad with ACT, PASS and Granite state off that night. They will have some competition for cars with Seekonk running ACT late models, and Beech Ridge running but Seekonk isnt running Pro Stocks unless they are allowed a crowd. Moving modifieds off the schedule will probably kill attendance. I hope enough people and cars show up they give it a go next year hopefully post pandemic.
I will probably check out that all modified show if I can get tickets. As of the time of this writing this Friday General Admission tickets are posted for sale if you are looking for some.
Hey, Captain Obvious, that wasn’t a hard call at all.
I bet that the Sun will rise in the east in the morning.
It wasn’t about ticket sales it was about the teams. They called all the teams, did not get the feedback they were looking for so they made the right decision. It’s pretty well documented on the Stafford facebook page in responses from Stafford management.
What Sharpie fan said!
This was either poor ticket sales or Mothership Nascar made a phone call. No way they canceled this for 3-4 Wmt teams with 30 plus other cars already paid.
Doug, are you sure?? Sharpie and Rob think Stafford pulled the plug FOUR days before the race to be the better man. Bahahaha. Fools.
Listen, I love Stafford. Next week Stafford will be the place to be but Aug 1st was doomed to fail from the get go. It was obvious to many.
On the bright side of things, order has clearly been restored in the jungle. We are back to having no more conflicts. The future is bright.
Now about Thompson…
HEY Sharpie fan NEWFLASH there’s a PANDEMIC which has turned alll racing schedules inside out and upside down, NASCAR HAS SPONSORS AND A POINT FUND PAYOUT AS A SERIESSSSSSSSSSSSSS not a bunch of open races, I applaud Jimmy Wilson for doing what he can to get somewhat of a SCHEDULE made SO the sponsors who support the WMT can be happy, yes thank the ARUTES and Monadnock for rescheduling so teams and fans benefit, plus i like the ALL MOD FRI NIGHT ALL FENDER SAT NIGHT STAFFORD ADJUSTED TOO, Stafford willl get there open MOD shows in between now and OCT.
Now I like Aug 21st; SKs AND the Open, just like it was scheduled originally, and last year.
The idea to split these special shows up into two nights, throw in a couple weak filler features and heats, cost us an additional $20, plus tie up TWO nights of our weekends struck me as rather manipulative and gave me a bad taste in my mouth for Stafford. Now, if they would put the SK 5K back onto a Friday (say, Aug 14th) that would be nice.
Rich what 30 other teams STAFFORD only has 22 listed for TWISTED TEA 80
PLUS u lose Silk, Swanson, Goodale, Lutz, Mckennedy, Nocella, 2 Catalanos, Mcdermott,
Seriously, pure and simple, this was a business decision by Stafford, nothing to do with the fans, the competitors or anything else. It is all about the $$$$$$$ coming through the gates. The Arute family is not in business to loose money. Just saying it like it is.
Stafford Facebook page yesterday.
“Stafford Motor Speedway Eric L Chagnot we obviously did not want to do this but after talking with teams we thought this was the best decision. 2020 has been tough.”
“Stafford Motor Speedway No conspiracy here. We contacted every team and made a decision based on that.”
“Stafford Motor Speedway Hi Billy, we had our date announced 11 days prior to the modified tour announcement. Your ticket is good for 8/7. If you are unable to attend 8/7 we can transfer to another date. Sorry for the inconvenience, it is a top priority to provide a first class show for the fans and after talking with drivers we felt we would not have been able to provide that with the schedule conflict.”|
I still think, going forward, NASCAR should pick a day, Saturday or Sunday, and stick to that. That way tracks or other series would know not to schedule on that day if the week. Would solve allot of problems.
I have a prettty strong feeling the event still would have been a sellout at current limited capacity, even with the NWMT running several hours away.
Everyone at Stafford Speedway obviously works very hard to provide a quality entertainment experience. If enough quality teams had to choose the points paying NH event over the Stafford event, the quality of the event would have suffered from a low car count for the headline event. While I think the track itself would have done just fine at the gate this Saturday, a bad car count might harm future fan interest in Stafford open events and the brand in general.
I think the track made a good decision here, a longer view business decision that goes well beyond “all about the money”. The race will still happen on a a more favorable date in a topsy-turvy season and probably be a better experience for all involved.
What Barry said.
Rob p. posted, “I still think, going forward, NASCAR should pick a day, Saturday or Sunday, and stick to that. That way tracks or other series would know not to schedule on that day if the week. Would solve allot of problems.”
Rob, tracks run WEEKLY series, as in EVERY Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Touring series such as NWMT, TTOMS, etc. run every few weeks.
You really want a track to block off Friday, Saturday, or Sunday for an in frequent touring series?
I completely agree with Barry. No track in New England does weekly Modified racing better than Stafford. If they think it improves their overall presentation, than so be it!
It was never about attendance. The limited total wouldn’t even have been one unlimited NWMT race at Stafford. More then enough butts for the limited seats. It was about car counts and perhaps to a lesser extent potential PPV audience.
18 cars plus 5 regular division features would have been OK much like the first Open 80 with 20. 18 cars plus Lights and Streets would have resulted in bad juju on Facebook and here Sunday morning. The blow back would have extended to future opens.
The bulk of the fans won’t be at the race at White Mountain on Saturday they will be watching the race on NBC Sports Gold. It would have killed Staffords PPV. We have no idea how that’s going for them but regardless it’s a revenue stream. There is no scenario where butting heads with the NWMT and NBC comes out well.
Sharpie Fan is on point. The way it played out is that Stafford knew they had a problem with the conflict but kept it scheduled. Saturday, Sunday and Monday they contacted the teams to see where they stood and the results made the decision clear. Tuesday they announced the changes meaning the decisions were made Monday or earlier. That’s a management on top of their game six days in advance of the race. On line ticket sales on a Monday weren’t even a factor at that point. Re assessing August, how to handle ticket purchases already made, how much that would hurt them going forward were all in play. What they didn’t do is say oops the race is postponed. They said the race was postponed and announced significant changes to the August schedule at the same time and they did it on a timely basis.
So what happened in the TTOMS/NWMT conflict? Two consecutive days of great races happened and the fans, tracks, PPV providers all won. My view is NASCAR, Track Pass and the fans win Saturday having a no conflict race at a beautiful venue. Stafford wins for once again showing they have the best track management around that is pro active and delivered schedule changes that help we fans win through the month of August
Some dumb congressman from the great state of Texas came down with Covid after refusing to wear a mask. Serves him right. When will people learn?
They had 35 cars show up less than 2 weeks ago. Stafford only started (26). It’s listed 9 drivers won’t be there this week Silk, Swanson, Goodale, Lutz, Mckennedy, Nocella, 2 Catalanos, Mcdermott. Some of those teams are not Whelen teams that could use another driver. Even without those 9 that is a still a full field. It was also mentioned new teams were showing up this week. I’m still having trouble believing Stafford had lack of interest for this race. Stafford should list every team that confirimed for this race and those who didn’t. Stafford is a Friday night NASCAR track. You can’t blame Nascar for scheduling a race on a Saturday.
Cole,
There’s a lot more at play here than just the drivers. A lot of the teams involved that would be competing in a Stafford Open event also depend on crew members that are committed to Whelen Modified Tour teams that will be at White Mountain. It’s pretty clear that Stafford wants to give its fans the best possible field they can offer for a special event. I can say with certainty that they’re not just about saying we have 26 cars so let’s just do this. That was never the intention of these events. And as far as the “Stafford is a Friday night NASCAR track. You can’t blame NASCAR” part.” Everything is out the window in 2020 when it comes to scheduling. But that said, NASCAR added the White Mountain event on Aug. 1 after Stafford had announced its Aug. 1 Open Show. Not assigning blame, but Stafford made it very clear in June that they would be using Saturday nights regularly for the remainder of the year to make up for events lost in April, May and June.
Rob, that dumb Congressman from Texas is blaming WEARING a mask gave him COVID-19. There could be many more dumb Reps from Texas.
This lousy Pandemic had raised hell with all sports! Sad, but true….Have to give Stafford & Monondock credit for at least having something……
Yes Dareal he is blaming a mask, BUT, he is noted as being very outspoken about how he didn’t wear a mask, because he thought it was a Democrat hoax.there are many images showing him maskless, even showed up to Congress and refused to wear one. Oh the irony
About NASCAR picking a day, that was meant to be so other touring series, or tracks operating special events wouldn’t conflict, because as Shawn said many open teams rely on NWMT crew ECT. The Tour seems not to be considering these other series, so if they said all NWMT events will be scheduled for Saturday’s, it would make things easier for others. Do you see it now?
Rob p, NWMT is THE 2,000 pound gorilla and will do whatever it pleases, as the time and conditions require. They are not going to accommodate the competition.
These are strange times, it is a day-by-day thing. It’s business, may the strongest prevail.
And that dumb Rep from Texas is a GOP. If people believe him, they won’t wear masks and make the problems even worse.
Again WHAT DONT U GUYS UNDERSTAND? everyday things change in 2020, states can loosen or tighten restrictions anyday, Thompson just cancelled, who knows if OSWEGO or even the riverhead dates will happen, u guys act this is FEB of a normal year, pick a night so others can schedule, its CHANGES DAILY WITH THIS VIRUS, WOWWWWWWWW, allll tracks and SERIES HAVE TO ADJUST DAILY!!
ITS NOT A NORMAL RACING SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
New York, Connecticut, Vermont and Maine are the only four states that have COVID-19 data trending in a successful direction. They are using science to form decisions and policy.
Wmass and Dareal, your both missing what I’m trying to convey. If the NWMT said they would only schedule races to be held on Saturday, then it would be up to the other modified promoters to not schedule their races on Saturday. If they did, then had to cancel or postpone, it would be nobody’s fault but their own. As you’ve seen, whenever there is a conflict, NASCAR wins, so why not avoid conflicts all together? It would be up to the other promoters to act as though Saturday doesn’t exist. Wouldn’t that make sense if your really interested in furthering the existence of modified racing?
As far as things changing on a daily basis, it would almost be safe to say things change on an hourly basis, in some instances.
Dareal, your right. Too many people are listening to misinformation, which only makes fighting this virus harder, and the existence of said virus is the reason racing is so screwed up.
What would be cool is a NWMT double show. Race on Saturday, invert the field and race on Sunday, like they’ve done in cup and Xfinity.
ROB P well since most of the top drivers and as Shawn said crew members are on WMT teams so they WILL ALWAYS WIN the schedule conflict with an open shows and most other tracks or series know this so if u wanna have a top quality show, why would you try TO compete against the WMT, YOU are not gonna win the battle, its NOT NASCARS fault the teams choose them and if I were Jimmy Wilson I would keep doing the same to get my series 10-12 races
What wmass01013 said.
I guess that’s true. The NWMT has the biggest crowds in normal times. They are the best funded and are the focus of the two major chassis builders. It’s NASCAR baby. Even if they do have issues they still are the biggest, baddest auto racing sanctioning body in the country.
On the other hand are their races better then TTOMS, the Stafford Opens or any other of the opens offered? Not in my view. They’re all uniquely interesting but it’s really hard to say the NWMT races are better. Glitz and fire power gets your attention. Do they have the most talent top to bottom who knows. The most money and talent at the top for sure. Time trials is a negative. Nascar’s trade mark but how’s starting the fastest guy in front make for compelling racing.
The big dog barks and the other dogs back off. Might be a fact but in a national crises being tone deaf to the other sanctioning groups and tracks trying to navigate the same treacherous waters as you……….not a good look.