This weekend’s quest began seventy-eight days earlier. The Whelen Modified Tour showed up for their original date at Waterford in August. Impending weather forced our departure for a future date. The subsequent date was a washout for a similar weather challenge two weeks ago. At least track and sanctioning body officials came to that conclusion early enough to preclude most of our departures to the track.

As usual, I didn’t get much sleep. I don’t know whether it was because I was excited from the Mets winning their NLDS series, the boxing matches I watched or just anxiety of getting up on time to get to the ferry. I got to the boat with Samsonite eyes.

By the time I got to the track I was somewhat surprised how full the parking area already was. I was signed in by the “Pit Bitch”. She was proud of that. She even had the button to match.

My illusions of meeting folks during the pit party type autograph session became quite dashed as I cruised through the WMT paddock area during that period. By the time I had established a roster and said my hellos back there, folks were being asked to leave the infield. Flawless met me later after qualifying at the previously designated spot. We didn’t feel too popular.

Up in the press box, Pete Zanardi was laying down the law. The front row in the oft-crowded quarters is reserved for deadline media. That is print media, as I have come to know. Fortunately Pete worked with us and I was able to spend most of the evening next to the media legend.

Zanardi actually gave me a plastic medal as a joke. He thought he was going to embarrass someone with it. I think he found it in one of his boxes of candy. It was still around my neck when I got home. Pete is retiring after this season. I will miss him.

Probably the most noted thing that occurred during the Modified Tour practice session was the absence of the #15 car. Zach Sylvester’s car experienced engine woes. His only practice would come in the scuff session before qualifying.

WMT time trials started about an hour late. Most of the delay was due to greater than anticipated time to complete the SK Modified and Sportsman races. Jerry Marquis captured the pole and a new track record in qualifying. The previous record was Chuck Hossfeld’s from 2003.

There were a few things of note from qualifying. Some of the drivers with SK experience turned in great times like Ronnie Silk, Ron Yuhas, Jr. and Doug Coby. Drivers that turned laps that were perhaps better than expected included Danny Sammons and Wade Cole. Ted Christopher, who is second all-time in SK wins at the Speedbowl, turned an uncharacteristically slow lap to wind up in the twenty-fifth starting position.

Defending WMT champion, Tony Hirschman, smacked the wall hard coming off of turn four on his second time trial lap. The Kehley team put the #48 back into shape to start the race. As this race was an impound event, Hirschman would have to start from the tail end of the field.

Throughout the day the clock ticked. Many of us from Long Island had reservations for the final ferry out of New London for Orient Point. As the starting time for the event crept later and later, it became apparent that the eight o’clock boat would leave without us.

The cars were brought out onto the track. We were in hurry-up mode. The drivers stayed in their cars during introductions. Teams adjusted tire pressures out on the track and strapped their drivers in. We were ready to go racing at about 6:30PM. Why aren’t those lights coming on?

Waterford Speedbowl is one of the best-lit tracks on which the Whelen Modified Tour competes. That is as long as the lights work. Three consecutive stanchions of lights along the backstretch and into turn three failed to illuminate.

I thought it would have been best to turn a couple of cars around in the infield and shine their headlights out at the darkened area. Electricians worked feverishly to try to solve the problem. We were told that and that temporary lighting was being brought in from nearby.

Meanwhile, the better than average sized crowd at Waterford patiently waited. Matt Buckler nearly single handedly was burdened with entertaining the crowd through the delay. We like to poke fun at a lot of Matt’s comments over the PA. That will have to wait for another day as Buckler’s heroic efforts kept most of the folks in attendance from leaving.

The combination of the lack of action on the racetrack and the first night of brisk weather might have doomed some other events. This crowd came to see the Whelen Modified Tour. Few left before the race.

WMT Media Coordinator, Mark Mockovak, told us that this delay was penance for those who didn’t go to Martinsville and sit through the rain delay. Pete Zanardi thought it was embarrassing. We blamed the whole thing on Shawn Courchesne because he wasn’t there. When I reached Shawn on the phone to tell him, he was poolside in Florida and strangely had no comment.

Shawn did tell me that he was told the temporary lighting was coming in from the Kobylucks. The temporary lighting did show up. About the time that it was erected, the tracks darkened lighting stanchions came to life.

The box score appears less than spectacular. Seven cautions for fifty-three laps, two leaders and only one lead change are included. Those who were there will attest that the battle up front was one of the best displays of competitive racing witnessed in many years.

Ed Flemke, Jr. and Donny Lia are two drivers that have been much maligned throughout the past few years. Although each has had successes on the Whelen Modified Tour, both have been bad-mouthed in mainstream media and on the Internet for things they have done on the track. Sunday night, they both showed us just how talented they are and what great sportsmen that they can be.

For nearly half of this race, Ed Flemke gave Donny Lia a lane and Lia tried in vain to get around him. Flemke was good on the restarts but within three laps, the #18 of Lia would be all over Flemke’s #10 like a cheap suit. Lia adjusted his entry into turn three several times. His car was just too tight to stay alongside Flemke’s off of turn four.

It was like they were out in their own little world. The two battled side-by-side for lap after lap. Although Donny gave Eddie a few shots coming off of turn two, neither of the drivers made moves that would get the other out of shape.

Each time Lia would attempt to pass, it looked like he was getting closer to pulling it off. On lap 128, he finally did. Flemke tried to get back by Lia on a lap 137 restart after a caution for Wade Cole’s smoky header pipe exit. Eddie just came up a little short.

Flemke had nothing but praise for Lia in post-race discussion. Eddie seemed quite content with his second place finish. Flemke said, “It was a good points night for us.” When asked whether he was worried about Lia knocking him out of the lead he replied, “Donny is a gentleman. He will drive you the way that you drive him. I gave him a lane and he raced me clean.” Donny and Eddie both seemed like they had enjoyed their battle.

Lia said, “I was setting him up, crossing him over and just close racing. [Turn] four was a big problem. He knew that. Eddie is smart and he knew where my problem was and he just used me up that little bit each time. I kept backing my corner up trying to time it just right”

“This one is for my guys. I want to win every time I go on the racetrack, that’s never been an issue. With all of the problems we’ve had and how hard my guys work for me and stick by me, it’s all for them. We’ve learned so much this year it’s ridiculous. We’ve had so many problems. I’m really proud to have them.”

“Bob [Mueller from Troyer] helped us a ton this weekend. He’s going to help us hopefully for the rest of the year?” To which Bob nodded approval. “He’s got a lot of experience, experience that we don’t have. We’re a really young team. Me, my tire guy and the guys who have been making the calls chassis-wise we’re all pretty young guys. You know you need that experience. It’s part of the equation that we’ve been lacking and Bob brings it.”

Donny’s father Don was enjoying a victory cigar when I congratulated him. I told him that this would be a race for him to remember. Don said, “This was for all of those fans who waited [through the delays] to remember,” as he pointed toward the stands.

In the reversal of fortune column we have Zach Sylvester and Jerry Marquis. Marquis, who set the new track record in qualifying, seemed to wind up collected in every caution. Sylvester, who had suffered engine problems earlier, rebounded with a top-five finish.

Ted Christopher also rebounded from his lackluster qualifying effort to finish third. Christopher appeared to have the fastest car early on. At the end of the night, he didn’t have anything for the two out front. Ted closes to ninety-nine points of the championship leader.

In the continued misfortune column there is the #48 team. After crashing in qualifying, Tony Hirschman was forced to retire early with overheating problems. The eighteenth place finish drops the defending champion two hundred ninety two markers back in the points and all but eliminates his chance of pulling off a three-peat.

Several rookie drivers finished up near the front. Ron Yuhas, Jr. battled for the lead with Flemke early in the race and brought his #6 home seventh. Chris Pasteryak actually earned the Rookie-of-the-Race with his sixth-place finish although the NASCAR release indicates otherwise. Eric Berndt and Anthony Sesely finished eighth and ninth respectively.

WMT point leader, Mike Stefanik finished fourth. Mike said, “I was tight in the race. To get out of here with a top-five that’s always a good night. Yeah, we’d like to have done better and yeah we’d like to finish in front of Teddy and yeah I’d liked to have gone up and raced Eddie and the #18 but obviously they were the class of the field.”

I asked Mike what he thought about the upcoming event at the World Series at Thompson. Stefanik said, “We’ll go up there and try to run better than we did the last time. Our car got extremely loose last time we raced there so obviously we don’t want to have that happen. It’s only a hundred and twenty-five-lap race so I’m sure pit strategy will be talked about. See how well you’re doing, see if you want to put two [tires] on and go for the track position. I’m sure that’s going to be a big factor in this race. I’ll be leaning heavily on our team. We have great pit stops. Hopefully we’ll have a real good pit stop and maybe we’ll put three [tires] on.”

Had the race gone off as scheduled, with a 5:15PM start, I would have taken the short trip to the New London Ferry terminal, boarded the 8PM boat and been home by 10:15PM. As it turned out, I left the track later than that time. I wouldn’t have traded that time for the world. As frustrating as it was to sit through the caution flags that flew needlessly during the Waterford weekly series races and the technical difficulties with the track lighting, being able to bear witness to the battles between Lia and Flemke made it all worthwhile.

Yeah, I was tired. I stopped several times including once to get about an hour of shuteye. As my car pulled into Riverhead, the temperature was thirty-eight degrees. That’s World Series weather was my thought. I pulled in the driveway at 3:30AM and my car still seemed to be trailing dust from the Speedbowl parking lot.

We head to the World Series next weekend. Let’s hope for some chamber of commerce type weather for this one. Practice is scheduled to get underway on Saturday at 9:30AM. Hopefully we can all get together in the infield on Sunday morning. I am looking forward to see everyone there.