NASCAR Busch North Report and Results from Watkins Glen
11 August 1997
from NASCAR PR WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - Ted Christopher of Plainville, Conn. appeared to be out of the Burnham Boilers 150 on the very first lap as he failed to come up to speed due to a balky transmission, but he persevered to take the win on a bright afternoon in the rolling hills of Watkins Glen, N.Y. Mike Stefanik of Coventry, R.I. jumped to an early lead, but a broken transmission put him behind the wall on lap 2, and heading down the road to the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour event at Riverhead, N.Y. Trans-Am standout Brian Simo of Carlsbad, Calif. took over he lead, but suffered his third blown engine of the weekend on Lap 11. Bobby Dragon of Milton. Vt., the 1993 winner of this event, then took over the front position, and held on until all the leaders pitted on Lap 23 during a caution flag. Dragon was the first out of the pit area, but was back in the field with other drivers choosing to stay out. When the leaders all pitted, Raybestos Rookie Tom Carey of Orange, Mass. inherited the lead, and was put to the test when the green flag came back out on lap 24. Carey held his own for a while, but could not hold off a hard-charging Kelly Moore from Scarborough, Me. who had pitted a number of laps earlier, gaining track position when the leaders all pitted. Christopher, working without first gear in his transmission, had managed to work himself into leadership contention, and he squeezed by Moore as the two entered turn one on Lap 38. Christopher breezed past several caution periods for the victory in the race which was forced into the green, white checkered overtime. Kim Baker of Wilbraham, Mass. chased Christopher across the line for second with Martin Truex of Mayetta, N.J. in third, Andy Santerre of Cherryfield, Me. fourth and Brad Leighton of Center Harbor, N.H. in fifth. Christopher's win was worth $21,525 from the $143,945 purse. WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - Results from Saturday's Burnham Boilers 150 for the NASCAR Busch North Series, Grand National Division at Watkins Glen International giving starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car make, laps completed, winner's average speed, reason out if any, and money won. NASCAR BUSCH NORTH SERIES, Grand National Division BURNHAM BOILERS 150 - August 9, 1997 - $143,945 Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y. (2.45 Mile Road Course) 1. (3) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 64, $21,525 2. (30) Kim Baker, Wilbraham, Mass., Chevrolet, 64, $12,155 3. (21) Martin Truex, Mayetta, N.J., Chevrolet, 64, $8,070 4. (13) Andy Santerre, Cherryfield, Me., Chevrolet, 64, $5,650 5. (9) Brad Leighton, Center Harbor, N.H., Chevrolet, 64, $5,000 6. (20) Mike Olsen, N. Haverhill, N.H., Pontiac, 64, $4,000 7. (19) Brett Roubinek, Lakeville, Conn., Chevrolet, 64, $3,250 8. (11) Paul Spencer, Berwick, Penn., Chevrolet, 64, $3,000 9. (24) John Preston, Wyalusing, Penn., Ford, 64, $2,750 10. (22) Dave Dion, Hudson, N.H., Ford, 64, $4,100 11. (10) Kelly Moore, Scarborough, Me., Pontiac, 64, $2,750 12. (25) Tracy Gordon, Strong, Me., Pontiac, 64, $3,100 13. (7) Bobby Dragon, Milton, Vt., Pontiac, 64, $2,400 14. (8) Jerry Marquis, Broad Brook, Conn., Chevrolet, 64, $2,300 15. (26) Dennis Demers, Shelburne, Vt., Chevrolet, 64, $2,575 16. (33) Billy Penfold, Yarmouth, Me., Chevrolet, 64, $2,100 17. (12) Jeff Barry, Norwich, Conn., Chevrolet, 64, $2,050 18. (35) Dennis Doyle, Plymouth, Conn., Chevrolet, 63, $2,000 19. (32) Bob Brunell, Peru, N.Y, Pontiac, 63, $1,450 20. (36) Herb Drugg, Troy, N.H., Oldsmobile, 63, $1,650 21. (34) Stuart Jones, Holyoke, Mass., Chevrolet, 62, $1,350 22. (14) Rick Bell, Salisbury, Conn., Pontiac, 62, $1,300 23. (37) Glen Brehio, Worcester, Mass., Chevrolet, 62, $1,775 24. (15) Brad Bennett, Stamford, Conn., Pontiac, 61, $1,750 25. (27) Stub Fadden, N. Haverhill, N.H., Chevrolet, 53, $1,750 26. (6) Kat Teasdale, Oakville, Ont., Chevrolet, 48, Transmission, $1,200 27. (29) Tom Bolles, Ellington, Conn., Pontiac, 45, Engine, $1,650 28. (28) Jamie Aube, Ferrisburg, Vt., Pontiac, 45, Accident, $1,600 29. (16) Eric Bodine, Chemung, N.Y., Chevrolet, 43, Engine, $1,600 30. (31) Alan Chapman, Elmira, N.Y., Pontiac, 42, Driver Fatigue, $1,100 31. (4) Dale Quarterley, Westfield, Mass., Chevrolet, 40, Brakes, $1,600 32. (23) Scott Deware, Braintree, Mass., Pontiac, 38, Running, $1,100 33. (38) Tom Carey, Orange, Mass., Pontiac, 32, Engine, $1,600 34. (18) Lou Rettenmeier, Sherman, Conn., Chevrolet, 22, Valve Train, $1,100 35. (17) Russ Brown, Mannsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 18, Transmission, $1,100 36. (5) Brian Simo, Carlsbad, Calif., Chevrolet, 11, Engine, $1,100 37. (1) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Chevrolet, 4, Transmission, $1,600 38. (2) Bryan Wall, Sandown, N.H., Ford, 2, Engine, $1,600 TIME OF RACE: 2 hours, 22 minutes, 9 seconds WINNER'S AVERAGE SPEED: 66.184 mph MARGIN OF VICTORY: 2.6 seconds BUSCH POLE AWARD: Mike Stefanik 112.999 mph (78.054 seconds) MCI FAST PACE AWARD: Brian Simo, Lap 10, 110.176 mph (79.620 seconds) RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Tracy Gordon AE CLEVITE ENGINE AWARD: Ted Marsh CAUTION FLAGS: 9 for 29 laps LEAD CHANGES: 5 among 6 drivers LAP LEADERS: Mike Stefanik 1-2; Brian Simo 3-11; Bobby Dragon 12-23; Tom Carey 24-27; Kelly Moore 28-37; Ted Christopher 38-64