On Aug. 6 the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series made a triumphant return to the New London-Waterford Speedbowl filling the grandstand at the shoreline oval for the running of the Belltown Motors/Fowler’s Auto Wrecking 100.
In 2023 the series will have the chance to fill the grandstands at the Speedbowl twice.
The Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series will make two visits the New London-Waterford Speedbowl in 2023, with the series championship deciding event moving to the track for next season.
The season ending Haunted Hundred will move from Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway to the Speedbowl for the 2023 season. The race will take place on Oct. 21 at the Speedbowl.
“In our efforts to keep things mixed up and have some variety with what we do we had an opportunity to move the Haunted Hundred to Waterford for next season,” Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series managing partner Ed Bennett said. “Obviously there are no hard feelings with Seekonk, they’re still on our schedule for Open Wheel Wednesday. Our title sponsor (Monaco Ford) has a strong connection to the Speedbowl and that area and we feel like this will be something that will benefit the series, our sponsors, our competitors and fans.”
The American-Canadian Tour will also be part of the Haunted Hundred card at the Speedbowl with a 150-lap event.
The Speedbowl will also host the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series on Aug. 12 next season.
“After how incredible that first event was with [the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series], we started discussing the possibilities of a second date even though I thought I was traveling down dream land with that idea,” Speedbowl general manager Sean Foster said. “But we had more discussion at the season’s end and I started noticing that it might become a reality. When I got the confirmation on that it pretty much completed our schedule with bang. It’s very exciting and we look forward to it very much so.
“With the [Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series], their support, advice and everything they did to make last year’s event such a success, it made adding this second event really a no-brainer.”
The Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series has had the Haunted Hundred on the schedule at Seekonk since 2017. The race was moved to Stafford Speedway in 2020 due to COVID restrictions for the closure of Seekonk.
Dana DiMatteo won the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series event last August at the Speedbowl. It marked the first race for the division at the Speedbowl since 2016.
The Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series ran two events at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl in 2015, with Ron Silk and Woody Pitkat scoring victories. The series also ran two events at the track in 2016 with Stepen Masse and Matt Hirschman scoring wins.
This is great news for everyone involved in CT modified racing- so glad Sean is still going to be with the Speedbowl in 2023.
The point behind the Tri-Track was that it wasn’t Connecticut-centric. So much for that! By the way, Fonda ALSO runs modifieds and it has a race that pays $53,000 to win. So much for the asphalt cars
James,
I’ve been around the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series since its inception and never once have I ever heard anyone involved with management of the series say any goal, intention or direction of the divsion was to not be Connecticut-centric.
Easy to understand the change. The governing organization wants to have a second event at the track closest to the primary corporate sponsor. Looks like a good business move to me.
Connecticut fans always show up. They will sell out both races. I’ll be there 100%.
I knew 2 would be good at Waterford, but really thought it would be the Opener. Seems like TTOMS doesnt have a Apr date yet, how about Ice Breaker?
James. If you enjoy getting dirt thrown on you great. I personally do not enjoy it. Love the asphalt mods. Tri track puts on a GREAT show. You go to Fonda. I’ll try and make Waterford
Wow! This is a huge deal. The end of year race at Seekonk (Haunted Hundred) is always packed and well attended. To me this is a Seismic shift in the racing landscape.
Congratulations to Sean Foster in pulling this together and raising the bar at the Speedbowl! Big news
Not a big fan of 150 laps – hopefully they go back to 100 laps. Hopefully they don’t have more than 4 divisions. End of Oct gets cold at night most of the time.
Steve,
The Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series event will still be 100 laps, thus the name, The Haunted “Hundred”. The American-Canadian Tour event on the card will be 150 laps.
I have to say ” not happy about Haunted 100 leaving Seekonk ” always full of fans and pits always full . .. Seekonk Haunted 100 was a staple on the SCHEDULE for TRI-TRACK…. I thought it was BUILDING a Strong Tradition among Mod Fans and Track was gonna keep this RACE DATE going for many many years to come.. Correct me if I am WRONG but Seekonk holds twice as many people as Waterford can quite easily … One year they ran out of food and beer there were so many fans filling the pits and stands… I for one think this is a mistake….. time will tell… it only makes sense if it was Monaco Ford Related… makes no sense otherwise ….. You had a very well attended event that people really supported to go to another track with no where close to the food and amenities that you had at Seekonk .. i mean the bathrooms are ten times better at the Konk .. Seating all the way around with like 5 places to buy tickets and gates to enter,,…Oh well time will tell … I guess this really hit me by Surprise.. The Haunted 100 at Seekonk always put on a Great Show and quick with many a Fan leaving quite happy …. not a fan of moving races around.. let them establish their OWN Race date and build off it…. Kinda like stealing … as I see it ,,….. Not Happy…hell lets move the Sizzler or Ice Breaker next ??????? hell let’s move the World Series to Stafford …. ???? Hell no….
6 races in the schedule so far by my count- Thunder Road, Seekonk, Star, Stafford, and 2 at Waterford. I hope there’s still room on the schedule for one more? Monadnock already has 2 Whelen dates including one in early May close to last year’s Tri Track date, though that might not be significant. Also wondering if the NHSTRA Whitcomb 5 series will be run again.
And some of you thought the Bowl was dead. LMAO
I will be honest i am a little disappointed that Seekonk loses a tri track race with this announcement. The haunted hundred was my favorite race event for several years. It does seem like the traditional events you looked forward to year in year out are going away. You no longer have the haunted hundred at the Konk. The SBM race at Star is no longer a Tri track race. I understand the need for a second show at your primary series sponsors home track Waterford but why not add a show at the beginning of the season. Why take a show from Seekonk? Hopefully there is a second date at Seekonk yet to be announced but I think they probably would have announced that at the same time if there was one to be had. I would love to see tri track at the Konk opener.
Suitcase Jake,
One thing that’s unique about this event is that since its inception it has been a situation where the track was leased by series operators to put on the event. This has never been an event that Seekonk Speedway was putting on. It’s my understanding that there had been a significant increase in the rental costs for the facility for this year. Couple that with an attendance drop this year that looked like about 25 percent from 2021 and I would say it seems to make sense why they’re doing what they’re doing.
CSG,
I can understand your sentiment about the race moving from Seekonk to Waterford, but I’m baffled by you saying: “The SBM race at Star is no longer a Tri track race.”
Taking the title “SBM” off of the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series event at Star literally changes absolutely nothing about the event in July 2023 at Star. Having that name on the event didn’t bring anything more to the event financially or otherwise. It was a simply a race name that carried over from an event that had been abandoned by a previous promoter at Star.
As far as your “Why take a show from Seekonk?” question, see my response to Suitcase Jake.
Shawn, actions speak louder than words. Tri-Track did not mean Stafford, Thompson and Waterford.
James,
I’m still lost at why you’re trying to push some narrative that has never been real. Your first comment you said the: “The point behind the Tri-Track was that it wasn’t Connecticut-centric.” Again, I’ve never heard anyone in any management capacity with the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series ever say there was any intended effort to avoid competing at Connecticut tracks.
Now you say: “actions speak louder than words.” Are you trying to say that because Connecticut tracks weren’t historically a big part of the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series schedule that means one should assume that was because series management was intentionally not going to those tracks? Again, I don’t think that was the case. And why would that ever be the case? It doesn’t even make sense. Why on earth would anyone running any type of Modified touring division have some type of mission statement goal to avoid tracks where the division has the most history, support and fan engagement?
As far as Seekonk goes if the price went up significantly over the past few years, I understand Tri tracks reasoning. It may also explain why they dropped the PASS SLM for a legends race this year at the Haunted hundred event. At the end of the day the promoters have to do what they can to make their races successful.
I thought the SBM race was a bigger purse show and a few extra laps than the regular tri track show. I will be honest, I haven’t been to it since before COVID but when I did go it seemed to have more of big event feel to it than a regular tri track show. They seemed to draw a more diverse field of drivers than a regular tri track show. I looked forward to going to that one and tried to get to it every year. Unfortunately, Covid, gas prices and just plain laziness has me staying home watching stuff online more and more recently. Perhaps over the past few years the SBM has become more of a normal tri track event and isnt one of the bigger modified race events anymore. That could certainly be the case.
It just seems like anytime the modifieds have a signature or crown jewel type of event that is gaining traction it disappears, changes venues or gets altered in some way. What would you say is the 4 biggest Asphalt tour type modified events being held right now? I would argue that if you asked 100 people you would find little consensus among those queried. There just isnt many storied race events for the mods like other race divisions.
Quickly thinking, my top 4 mod events would probably be Stafford Spring Sizzler, OWW at Konk, ISLIP 300, and Turkey Derby. Formerly I would have had SBM, ROC, Thompson 300, NHIS musket race in the running for top modified races of the season. Maybe Whelens NH cup weekend event should be in my top 4.
Although the name swap at Star may not mean a lot, the two races will be very different from the originals. The TriTrack race becomes 100 laps instead of 125 giving us a 20% shorter race. I liked the longer one myself, giving more enticement to a tire change during a caution. Conversely we have the MRS “no change rule” for what will now be a longer race. One of the reasons for that rule was to give the smaller teams a place to race without a full pit crew. The possibility for “follow the leader” racing increases.
csg,
I’m guessing it’s hard for asphalt modified races to gain traction or last long enough to be “crown jewel” events because the money just isn’t always there. Racing keeps getting more expensive but the rewards for doing so seem pretty stagnant. When I see advertisements like “$7,000 to win” I always think, “Does that even cover the cost of traveling to the event?” Then if it’s too expensive for tracks to even have racing for whatever reason it’s no wonder series move around so much. Also a lot of the money sports make these days are in the broadcast rights, and modified racing is like a niche within a niche that isn’t going to attract the big bucks from Amazon, YouTube, or whoever. Higher ticket prices will force away people who hate that most sports events are already out of their reach. In the end if a series needs to move events around the region to keep them on the calendar I can accept that. It’s not like they’re shifting beloved races to new markets chasing every last dollar.
Disappointing for me. Close to home. Spoiled.
With that being said, picture perfect day for racing, weather was awesome this year.
I did notice when I was there at the time, that the crowd seemed to be a lot thinner than previous haunted hundreds, at least to me anyway.
The day ended up being way too long though. (No fault of tri track for sure, stuff happens) Maybe Seekonk balked at having more than 2 tow trucks for next year so Tri Track moved it?
(Yes Sheldon, sarcasm). Ill miss going to Seekonk for that one for sure.
Shawn,
Thank you for shedding some light on the motivation of the move. I always say “follow the money” so that is a perfectly feasible explanation in my opinion. I have no idea the finances but perhaps the success gave the management there the impression they could simply ask for more and more money with essentially no risk … except the fact the customer can actually say no and walk. That is certainly what happened to NASCAR in all of Connecticut and now, perhaps, to Seekonk.
So, the thing to remember I guess is the Haunted 100 is a Tri-Track race and not a facility race. Interesting!
Now, with some stability and a set schedule before March the Bowl is looking like a professionally run business. Next, I would imagine, is some further investment in essential elements of the facility like food, restrooms, beer, etc.
There has been a substantial investment made there in the last short number of years certainly but a few finishing touches need to be done it sounds like the fans are saying.
Gee Stuee we Know you Hate NASCAR but please that Is Not what happened in ALL of Ct. Stafford absolutely dropped NASCAR and it’s working great for them, Bravo, but NASCAR dropped Waterford After the Bemer Arrest so please say it correctly and as far as Thompson while sure they are no longer a NASCAR track i think the Hoenig’s choice to Not keep the oval active and lease to Mayberry/Michaud is the reason and obviously they see the value of now having 2 WMT (NASCAR) events.
Congratulations to Sean Foster and the Speedbowl for securing two MMTTS events at the shoreline oval in 2023. Hard work and determination is paying off. Keep up the great work!
It’s hard not to notice. Sean Foster a favorite son locally getting so much love. Serluca also a favorite local at one time never did get the credit he may have deserved. Foster the mid season shop foreman in place who’s greatest challenges had to be the MMTTS race, The Final Day three days and the Shoreline 150. Serluca the man on the ground coordinating the massive renovation at a very trying time for the legally, morally and ethically challenged owner. No race nights, no bright lights, no yucking it up with the folks in the stands and paddock just a construction site and endless problems. Serluca shown the door and and ignominious exit, Foster the new great white hope many have assumed has succeeded already. The contrast in contribution vs fan perception noteworthy.
The Final Day, day three 101 cars in 5 divisions for an average of 20 cars per division with a respectable 18 in the SK 60 lap feature. That’s what you want on a regular basis. Not 57 cars in 6 divisions present on Fan Appreciation Night August 20th an average of 10 including 10 SK’s. When the circus comes to town which in this case is the MMTTS or ACT with their sterling reputations, car counts and fan base the goal of track management is to accommodate the visitors to help the shows succeed. The real test for track management is to build the regular shows up to a respectable level.
It’s not an overstatement to say getting the weekly division schedule out so early is huge. That has Foster’s finger prints all over it. Teams not guessing like last year as spring approached with no schedule and no rules. If you’re a regular attendee of the track that’s far more important then this announcement.
Next up is creating and advertising purse /points fund structures. Demonstrating you have the competing teams backs by getting the most money to them. Stafford would probably be the gold standard locally on that score a bridge too far for sure. However any measures taken to get track, event and points championship sponsors on board ASAP and advertise the hell out of it would pay dividends for the regular nights in the dog days of summer.
I wouldn’t agree that more infrastructure improvement is priority number 1. The first priority if you only have so much money in the budget is to signal to the teams things are different. That’s accomplished by being decisive and showing commitment to the competitors. Schedule, rules and money are the measuring stick competitors will use to gauge track commitment.
Priority number 2 should be normalizing the track relationship with the media and that starts with RaceDayCt. In September and October when some of the biggest events at the track were happening 12 racing specific articles appeared in RaceDayCt seven of which were press releases. 5 Shawn Courchesne articles related to race results. Three featuring Todd Owen, one Eric Berndt, one Anthony Flannery all SK feature winners. SC articles I’d guess motivated by a loyalty to local racers, not the track. That won’t do if there is to be a real turnaround in 2023. The ball is in Waterford’s court. They must do whatever is necessary to assure Courchesne in writing, if that’s what’s necessary, to assure him that all the hostility from track management, some competitors and fans in the past is over. Foster can’t pull that off with a guy he’s got a great relationship with will be telling.
The last priority might be streaming. Who knows if streaming is on the upswing, downswing or has stagnated for 2023. If it has become a contributing third leg to track revenue, the Speedbowl needs to be setting the groundwork now for streaming the bigger events in 2023. The MMTTS leaves it up to all their tracks individually and with the Speedbowl’s limited seating monetizing the streaming audience makes sense at least from long distance (no pun intended).
It’s pretty clear your white knight is Sean Foster. I don’t see managing the park when the heavy hitters like ACT and the MMTTS are hitting home runs is the real test. My view that comes next summer in July and August at the regular Saturday night shows. If the groundwork is done now there won’t be a repeat of a 10 car average per division in July and August.
Time to make the sausage, cranberry, walnut cornbread stuffing.
Happy Thanksgiving RaceDayCt nation and especially Mr. Courchesne for providing this space to say it!
I am Backing SEEKONK on the Haunted Hundred…They suffered the most being shut down basically for 2 years almost…Mr Darling is a great guy and has great long standing ties at the Cement Palace ..The food and Beer sales probably went into Seekonk accounts..I was Super Happy for Seekonk to have the place packed for the special Shows… It’s not about if Tri-Track leases it… For me and my fellow Modified Fans.. WE LOVE HEAT RACES and WE LOVE EVENTS that build Tradition .. Like OPEN WHEEL WEDNESDAY has been established as a CAN’T MISS EVENT on the Calendar every YEAR…WE Bobf, CSG, Fast Eddie we love TRADITIONS and RACES that we can depend on and time of the year to look forward to.. I was hoping the Haunted 100 would join OWW as a STAPLE on the Schedule that would end the SEASON in a very FAN and Family Friendly Venue… I believe Seekonk is far better comfortable place to bring your FAMILY to a season ending SHOW … just hate seeing races that are building a following get moved … time will tell….they have plenty of wreckers during the Season …. maybe Tri- Track was getting away with a small crew .. until there was some really bad wrecks… it showed… so thats on TRI – Track not Seekonk…
Knuckles hit the nail on the head.
The place may not be perfect but it’s getting better by the day.
Keep up the great work team!
Can we come up with a better name than Tri Track? It seems like a misnomer since they have been running at several tracks for the past couple of years.
Tic toc. The 2022 schedule announced on RaceDayCt November 16, 2022 to rave reviews. A bit behind so any day now.
This year as last year a call for a name change befitting the change from the early format of the series. Seems reasonable. I loved the original and lobbied for no change last year but it was changed to incorporate Monaco. So what’s the big deal guys? Obsolete Tri Track, work your magic and come up with something really cool that works with the current series sponsor.
How about this idea? Open up suggestions to the fan base right here and on social media. Perhaps offer a season pass to the winner coming up with the name you use.
Give it some thought.
I’m for keeping the Tri Track name. After all NASCAR doesn’t race stock cars in their premier series, and the NFL hasn’t played anything resembling actual football for decades (no I don’t mean soccer). Think of Tri Track as the 13 stripes on the American flag. Don’t mess with a name the fans already know.
If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it!! Started as TriTrack, always has been TriTrack, should always be TriTrack in regognition of its begining.
When you say ” TRI-TRACK” we know exactly what we are getting ‘……
HEAT RACES . CONSI’S 100 GREEN FLAG LAPS … enough said ….
The name has already changed as has the logo. I loved that old logo my singular reason for not changing the name. Name was Tri-Track Open Modified Series. New name Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series. Logo completely changed. Cow’s already left the barn.
Title sponsor’s need to get their due. Monaco a well earned headliner.
My vote for a new name would be Monaco Modified New England Open Series. What’s wrong with highlighting the series New England roots. Most of us being New Englander’s a place with a rich heritage not unlike the MMTTS which also has a rich heritage.
I suggest a slight modification of Doug’s proposal: Monaco Open Modified Series (MOMS). If/when a new title sponsor comes on board, the name can be changes to (X)OMS.
Call it whatever you want. It will always be tri track. They haven’t been on actual “tri track” series for how many years now? Now all of a sudden they need a name change? I also think that we need a third vote on what was the best event of 2022. The two that were already voted on that put the speedbowl on top had to be rigged.
“They haven’t been on actual “tri track” series for how many years now?”
One year and a couple months actually, 2021. Monadnock, Star and Seekonk.