It’s fair to say 2020 was a year most are more than willing to forget ever happened.
The COVID-19 Global pandemic touched every facet of life in some way across the globe in 2020, and that was very true in the racing community.
Today 2020 is officially old news. But before we burn the calendar, let’s take a look back at the stories of 2020 on RaceDayCT that captured the most attention of readers.
Below is the list of the top-50 most read stories on RaceDayCT in 2020.
Top Read Story of 2020: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Driver Wade Cole Killed In Accident
2. Breaking Away: Stafford Speedway Dropping NASCAR Sanction For 2021 Season
3. Local Racing Personalities Walk Away From Nasty Highway Crash Saturday
4. Ugly Turn: Wall Stadium Management Unhappy With NASCAR Negotiations For Whelen Mod Tour Event
5. Mike Serluca Resigns As General Manager Of New London-Waterford Speedbowl
6. Dynasty Rebirth: Doug Coby To Run Full-Time As Owner/Driver On Whelen Modified Tour
7. Former Local Racing Official Charged With Sending Indecent Material To Minors
8. New London-Waterford Speedbowl Owner Stabbed During Domestic Dispute At Residence
9. Speedbowl Driver Suing Track Owner, Former Track Operator, Competitor And Crew Member
10. Bad Look: Short Tracks Not Helping Industry Cause To Reopen Through Defiance
11. Construction Of Grandstands At New London-Waterford Speedbowl Scheduled For Next Week
12. Stafford Speedway Looking To Open For Racing With Spectators Within A Month
13. Fictional Significance Of Whelen Modified Tour Unfortunately Can’t Pay The Bills At NHMS
14. Thompson Speedway Competitors Group Looking To Raise Purses, Work With Management
15. Sources: NASCAR Adding Whelen Mod Tour Event At Myrtle Beach Speedway To Open 2020 Season
16. Hoosier Tire East Owner Bob Summers Passes
17. Hitting The Dirt: Chase Dowling Altering Focus For 2021 Racing Season
18. Mixed Feelings: Not All Whelen Mod Tour Teams Happy To Get Back On Track At Myrtle Beach
19. Thompson Speedway Promoters Not Looking To Add Whelen Modified Tour Events For 2021
20. ACT/PASS To Run Outlaw Open Mod Series At Thompson In 2021; Thompson 300 Returning
21. Taking A Chance: The Legal Gamble That Is Online Racing Raffles
22. New SRX Series Coming To Stafford Speedway In 2021
23. Fast Mama: Nichole Thibeault Getting Back To Racing Saturday At Speedbowl
24. Big Addition: Ryan Preece Enters Tri-Track Open Mod Series CBYD Modified Classic 81 At Stafford
25. NH Short Track Planning To Run Event Saturday In Defiance Of State Regulations
26. Hands On: Ryan Preece Uses NASCAR Cup Series Off Weekend To Get Back To Work On Modified
27. On A Roll: Matt Swanson Wins Modified Racing Series Feature At Speedbowl
28. Whelen Modified Tour To Run At White Mountain Motorsports Park On July 4
29. Tri-Track Open Modified Series Adding $10K To Win Stafford Speedway Event In October
30. Q&A With Tri-Track Open Modified Series Managing Partner Ed Bennett
31. Wall Stadium Management Not Currently Looking For Spot On 2021 Whelen Mod Tour Schedule
32. Bad Breakup: Accusations Simmer Between Race Of Champions And Lancaster Speedway After Split
33. Ron Silk, Kevin Stuart Motorsports Skipping Whelen Modified Tour Myrtle Beach Race
34. Full Throttle Weekend Gone At NHMS; Whelen Mod Tour Currently Not On 2021 Track Schedule
35. Fast Learner: Max McLaughlin Turns Heads In Whelen Modified Tour Debut At Stafford NAPA 150
36. Owning It: Doug Coby Wins Whelen Modified Tour White Mountain Showdown 200
37. Rocket Launcher: Keith Rocco Wins SK Modified Opener At Stafford For Third Consecutive Year
38. Zack Robinson Wins Street Stock Title At Stafford After Meghan Fuller Gets Spun On Final Lap
39. Blame Game: Stop Rationalizing Kyle Larson’s Abysmal Mistake
40. Late Arrival: Marcello Rufrano Scores Bud Light Open Mod 80 Win At Stafford
41. Positive Returns: Justin Bonsignore Tops Whelen Modified Tour At Monadnock Speedway
42. Q&A: Doug Coby On Team Ownership, Whelen Mod Tour, Racing Other Places In 2021, SRX Series And More
43. Positive Spin: Meghan Fuller Turns Dreadful Night To Promising Chance In SK Light Mod At Stafford
44. Hooked: Dave Sapienza Ready To Make Tri-Track Open Modified Series A Regular Stop
45. On Their Toes: Dave Sapienza Puts Best Foot Forward For Whelen Mod Tour Competition
46. Schooled: Timmy Jordan Holds Off Keith Rocco To Win Bob Potter Memorial At Speedbowl
47. Tri-Track Open Modified Series Adding $10K To Win Stafford Speedway Event In October
48. Gun Show: Bobby Santos Outduels Justin Bonsignore For Whelen Mod Tour Musket 200 Win At NHMS
49. Going Green: Burt Myers To Run Tri-Track Open Modified Series Event At Stafford Speedway
50. Tri-Track Open Modified Series Not Returning To Stafford Speedway Schedule In 2021
#11 still keeps Dafella up nights.
Rent free.
🤣🤣🤣
Too easy.
Perhaps a few polls are in order…
1. How many races on the schedule for each track/series will run on the originally scheduled date?
2. How many races will be cancelled?
3. How many races will be added?
It’s not looking good 😌 COVID-19-wise. Dr. Fauci is now saying the percentage of population that needs to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity is now ~85%. That’s up quite a bit. Wow… I’m having a deja vu all over again. But I won’t say I told you so. I just won’t say it. 😉
Just a couple days ago, it was reported that about 2 million Americans had been vaccinated, and Trump said by Dec. 31, 2020, 20 million Americans would have been vaccinated. That never happened, not even close. At that rate, the entire population of the USA could be completely vaccinated in a few weeks. And that takes into account that children 👶 are not scheduled to be vaccinated. As it is, full population vaccination is not expected for years.
Mask up.
A few threads back a couple comments were inordinately critical of the publisher for the appearance of the Bemer content. Another referring to it with a pejorative reference to click bait. Maybe that was the motivation for summarizing this list of popular stories but what it has done is remind me of all the terrific content that comes out of RaceDayCt and how important it is.
It was a mind boggling year of stories. Not included in this list 17 Quarantine Chronicles that provided alternate topics at a time they were most needed. Race reporters are not known for creativity but a very creative mind came up with that bit of thinking outside the box. Plus the polls. Polls that often were light hearted but at other times stealthy pulse measuring tools that aided in making big decisions.
Killed, dropping, nasty, ugly, resigns, rebirth, charged, stabbed, suing, bad look. Key words in the top ten with only Coby’s “rebirth” representing the uplifting stories.
Down the list my favorite human interest was Fast Mama, Nichole Thibeault. The chick with twins that wins. Boy would it be great if she could get a competitive ride in the Lights at Stafford.
Getting serious what were the most impactful stories for 2020 aside from the pandemic with regard to the future of local racing in CONNECTICUT? There were three in my view.
The first was Michaud and Mayberry. Turning the Thompson downward spiral completely on it’s head and flipping negativity and malaise into excitement. Real race guys with the chops, finances and balls to make 2021 Thompson events not just schedule dates but must see events starting with the opens and doing it all sans the NWMT. And not even modified guys.
The second anything about the Speedbowl. Aside from ownership what happened in 2020 was a game changer. The Speedbowl resurrected, the town and neighborhood accepting of the race facility and it’s positioning to be a race facility for a really long time. Not guaranteeing that a new owner that is inevitable, will continue to own it as a race facility but doing everything but guaranteeing it.
Third story isn’t even on the list, it was a poll. The one asking would you pay $20 to watch races streamed at Stafford. My view it changed everything in local racing and precipitated what turned out to be the number 2 story on the list.
Streaming racing was nothing new but Stafford electing to produce and control their own content may not be new nationally but locally it was huge. I read the naysayers, get their point but do not believe they grasp what it all means. That is most fans don’t go to races weekly. Being invested in teams and personalities in racing is critical. Streaming allows people to stay connected and invested so when they go to the races they know the players and have the best experience. Plus the obvious earning revenue that is not limited by geography.
This time last year no one predicted four things. The pandemic, Michaud and Mayberry’s Thompson gambit, the Speedbowl finished and having a season and Stafford streaming their races. The pandemic being bad, everything else being great.
Oh sure I gush about RaceDayCt and I’m sure it’s tedious. Nonetheless it is all local race fans best link to keep on top of everything important in local racing that even social media can not touch with regard to depth. Big, really good things happened for Connecticut racing in 2020 and RaceDayCt was critical to understanding and appreciating how big those thing were.