Matthew Kimball of Bennington, N.H. passed Sam Rameau with 11 laps remaining and held on to win the inaugural Winchester Open 100 Tour Type Modified event Saturday at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H.
“We were just following [Rameau] and he was getting really loose,” Kimball said. “We were just kind of settling behind him and he slipped up that little bit in [turn] two and we squeezed on under him.”
Carl Medeiros of Westport, Mass. was second and Ryan Doucette of Framingham, Mass. was third.
It was the first of two open events this season to be put on by JDV Productions.
“I knew we had a good car today,” Kimball said. “… This is a new car to us so it feels good to find victory lane. Ever since we unloaded we had a stout car.”
Richard Savary of Holbrook, Mass. was fourth and Chris Pasteryak of Lisbon fifth.
Not a good race. I question how long a series with low budget cars and very average racers can last?
Well it just proves more that it’s tough to get a good OPEN event in unless your Stafford with a bunch of SK guys running a tour type mod, yes was a cold night but very very small crowd and a old MRS type field, not saying racing was bad! But Thompson NHMS AND now JDV having a tough time in a crowded tour type Schedule, we shall see if the shorter distance races help Thompson, i personally don’t think so but we can hope, Racing Guys event also coming up at Star.
Has to be one of the worst attended modified races of all time. Shockingly small crowd
Cold Cold Nite, only a dozen Tour Mods in the field. Allowing 604 cars to compete might save the Back Gate $$$ but ruins the race.
What is up with this weather. Cloudy and abnormally chilly day after day but the clouds not producing much in the way of precipitation we could definitely use. That’s the backdrop for the race in Winchester not exactly fan friendly. And the few stout fans that did go had to endure a long rain delay, damp with temps unable to get out of the 40’s by the time the green flag flew.
Was a packed schedule the issue, I’m thinking no. The packed schedule generally considered bad for car counts but the JDV open had a perfectly respectable 24 cars.
If your idea of a good race starts with certain popular drivers being at a race of course you’re not going to like whatever happens at the event. Why not take the advice of Crosby, Stills and Nash. If you can’t watch a race you’ll love, love the race you’re watching. Or something like that.
Rameau considered the favorite going in based on his prior success at Monadnock and he delivered. Got a bad break in his heat and charged through the field to challenge Kimball late with some darned good slicing and dicing. Then the bobble and he’s out of it. Kimball not on the tip of every tour mod fans tongue but he’s had good success in MMTTS races up north, the real deal and his lap times proved he deserved that win.
Pasteryak spins early, makes his way through the field and gets a good 5th place finish which was good to see. Savory un-retires……again….goes front to back then back to front also a point of interest.
Cold, rainy weather with a delay, a smattering of fans in attendance all true. But for we at home what’s there to complain about. It’s Saturday night, grab another brew, sit back and wait to see if the race can resume what’s the problem it’s not cold and wet where we are.
Do we at home count at all as part of the crowd? Anecdotal evidence suggests we may not be class A fans but we still count. JDV really gets good announcing tandems, the two calling this race were first rate fully engaged like they knew we at home counted. In spite of the smattering of fans they had a terrific call. Very prepared giving us lots of background on the drivers. Savory a former auto body teacher and big supporter of the trades, who knew.
So how did you know who was in the race and that the stands were empty? That’s right you were at home all cozy and comfortable watching a tour mod race. Maybe JDV deserves some credit for getting their race on FloRacing. Fact is Racing America has all but bailed out completely on tour mod races I’d guess because not enough of us subscribe or pay the going PPV rate.
This year is the first in a few where streaming race availability has diminished a trend that will likely continue. Gotta love the races we’re seeing there may be fewer to see next year.
It wasn’t a bad race – Cold weather and Flo keep the fans away. Lower budget race cars are good for racing, good to see this series race on short tracks
What is an Asphalt Big Block Modified?