2001

No. 7 Remains Elusive

Allen Coates denies Phil Rondeau 7^th LM title; wins tie-breaker

Gada wins 3rd straight SK Mod crown; Monahan dethrones Dupre

NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series

Wild N Wacky Wednesday Series

• Dennis Gada tied Phil Rondeau for 2nd place on the most consecutive track championships list.  Dennis' 3rd straight SK Modified equaled "Farmer Phil's" Late Model streak from 1987-1989.  In addition to his division leading 8 wins, Gada also had 17 top 10's, 16 top 5's and 14 top 3's.  He beat runner-up Ed Reed Jr by just under 100 points (96).  Young guns dominated the Triple Crown events as teenager Eric Berndt won the SK 150 at the Budweiser Modified Nationals, future NASCAR Modified Series feature winner Ronnie Silk won the 100 lap SK portion of the Pepsi 300 and Ron Yuhas Jr won his 3rd straight Town Fair Tire Finale 100.

• Both NASCAR touring series would have their track lap records fall as NASCAR Modified driver Robbie Summers Jr (13.743) and NASCAR Busch East (then North) competitor Dale Shaw (15.006) would set the new fast time during qualifying.  The NASCAR Modifieds expanding to two events at the Speedbowl with Reggie Ruggiero winning the Budweiser 200 and Ed Flemke Jr winning the Left Turn University 150.  Mike Johnson won the Busch North 150 lapper.

• Phil Rondeau finished tied with Allen Coates for the Late Model point championship, but lost his bid for a record 7th track championship through the most wins tie breaker, which Coates won 5 to 3.  It was the 12th season that Rondeau finished among the top 2 in the final point standings.  Rondeau and Larry Goss won the 100 lap events while Mark St. Hiliare won the season opening 50 lapper.  It was the first Triple Crown event wins for all 3 since the format took form in 1998.

• Shawn Monahan won the Sportsman track championship by more than 50 points over defending champ Ted Dupre; despite a disqualification in week 4.  He made up for the set back with a consistent season which included 16 top 10's, 10 top 3's and a pair of feature wins - the first of which did not come until mid-August when he won his second straight 50 lap portion of the Pepsi 300.  His #31 also was the winner during Nostalgia Weekend when Al Rondeau drove it to victory during the Heroes of the Bowl exhibition.  Shawn's brother Diego Monahan won the season opening 30 lapper.  Ed Gertsch Jr ran a limited schedule but won 2 of the last 3 races including the season ending 50 lapper during Town Fair Tire Finale weekend.

• Bruce Thomas Jr claimed the Mini Stock track championship and with it became the 5th driver to join his father on the Speedbowl Track Champions list.  Bruce Thomas Sr won the 3 Mini Stock titles - two Sunday titles (1991 & 1992) and one on Saturday (1997).  The other family duos include the Gadas (Bob and Dave & Dennis), the Pearls (Jerry and Jeff), the Reeds (Ed Sr and Ed Jr) and the Ceravolos (Dickie "Doo" and Todd).

• The new Wild N' Wacky Wednesday series debuted with 3 point divisions and plenty of family fun activities throughout the season.  Chris Pasteryak would win 8 Legend Car features during the mid-week series, including a division record 5 in a row.  He tied Dennis Gada for most overall wins during the season.  He also won the points championship.  The enduro divisions were revamped to including restarts and ran for points weekly.  The inaugural Super X-car (8 cyl) and X-car (4 cyl) champions were Will Slivinski and Jason Paquette, respectively. 

• Mark Buonomo won 2 of the NEMA midget events, Ryan Possoco won 2 of the ARTS events and George Savary swept the 2 Pro4 Modified events.

• Mini Stock competitor Richard Brooks, son of longtime NASCAR Modified Tour official (and previous car owner and Speedbowl official) Dick Brooks, was seriously burned as a result of a fire at the team's garage the night before opening day.  Brooks was on doctor's orders to remain off the track grounds while he recuperated.  Former Strictly Stock competitor Tracey Kernozek and then current Strictly driver Diego Monahan shared driving duties in the #65 until Brooks made his return to the track as a driver in late July.  A few weeks later, Brooks rewarded his team's hard work in his absence with a victory in the 50 lap Mini Stock portion of the rescheduled Pepsi 300.