Spectators Hurt in Crash at NH Track

RUMNEY, N.H. -- Two spectators were injured in a crash on Sunday night at a dirt track in Rumney, New Hampshire.

In what was described to Vermont Motorsports Magazine as a "freak accident" by one eye witness at Big Daddy's Speedbowl, the car of Robby Bodwell hit a wall and became airborne at the end of the backstretch. Bodwell's car then traveled up a rocky embankment in Turn 3 and struck two spectators, Harvey Kage, 67, and his son, 26 year-old Christopher Kage, causing broken bones and other injuries. Bodwell was uninjured, but was "upset" according to an Associated Press story.

The crash happened at around 10:00pm during a Sprint Cars of New England event. WMUR-TV of Manchester, N.H., reported that Harvey Kage was airlifted to Dartmouth-Hitchock Medical Center in Hanover, N.H., to treat a broken femur, while Christopher Kage was being treated at Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth, N.H., for scrapes and bruises.

Big Daddy's Speedbowl owner Mike Rivers said that Christopher Kage pushed his father out of the way just before the car hit. Around 15-20 spectators were standing in the area where the accident occured. There was no indication that Bodwell's car was in trouble before the crash. The racing program was suspended immediately following the incident.

Rivers purchased the facility -- formerly known as Rattlesnake Motordrome, Legion Speedway, and Pines Speedway -- and spent several months improving the track's safety features. Included in the improvements was a state-of-the-art catch fence system, although there was no fence in Turn 3 at the crash site.

Rivers did not respond to attempts by Vermont Motorsports Magazine to contact him on Monday.

Gravco Janitorial to Present Twin State Modified Series

Series reborn at Bear Ridge, Big Daddy's, Canaan

BRADFORD -- The Twin State Modified Series is back for 2010 at Bradford's Bear Ridge Speedway, Canaan Dirt Speedway in Canaan, N.H., and the new Big Daddy's Speedbowl in Rumney, N.H. Gravco Janitorial Services of Barre, Vt., will sponsor the series for the Sportsman Modified division, newly aligned at the three dirt tracks by an alliance between promoters C.V. Elms, Dick Therrien, and Mike Rivers.

Each track will host a pair of 40-lap events, with a $400 bonus for the Twin State Series champion. The runner-up will receive $250, third place $150, fourth place $125, and fifth place $100.

"This was a great series a few years ago, one that the race teams looked forward to," said Bear Ridge promoter Elms. "This new opportunity will allow teams to experience the excitement of racing at all three tracks for the series championship."

"This Series always provided top notch racing," said Brent Graves of Gravco Janitorial Services. "With this economy, the extra money in purses and the solid point fund will be very attractive to many race teams."

Dates for the six Gravco Janitorial Services Twin State Modified Series events will be announced soon.

Dirt Track Promoters Unite in Vermont, New Hampshire

Bear Ridge, Canaan, Big Daddy's adopt universal Sportsman Modified rules

RUTLAND -- A Sunday meeting between the promoters of Northern New England's most prominent dirt tracks will be a boon for racers throughout the region in 2010. The summit bewteen C.V. Elms of Bradford's Bear Ridge Speedway, Canaan (N.H.) Dirt Speedway promoter Dick Therrien, and Mike Rivers of the new Big Daddy's Speedbowl in Rumney, N.H., produced a rulebook that will allow cars in the tracks' headline divisions -- the Sportsman Modifieds -- to compete under a rulebook that includes a universal tire, and common crate and non-crate engine packages.

"We all made concessions in best interest of the sport and especially the race teams," Therrien said in a press release on the Canaan Dirt Speedway website. "We have been working so hard to put this package together. I am proud of all of us that have been involved. We have really done something great for the sport, for our fans, and our racers." Therrien, a Lyndonville native who has worked at White Mountain Motorsports Park and Riverside Speedway, is in his first year operating both the dirt and asphalt tracks at the Canaan Fairgrounds.

"It took a lot of work, but I can proudly say that I walked away from the table feeling pretty good about what we accomplished," said Elms, a third-generation racer and promoter.

"My goal from the start was to have all three tracks working in unison," said first-time promoter Rivers, who renamed and redesigned the track recently known as Rattlesnake Motordrome and Legion Speedway following the 2009 season. "This rules package will certainly go a long way towards making this work. I’m very proud to be a part of this group. Now, we have to keep the communication lines open, and if that happens, it will be a great season."

The common rulebook gives teams the option to race Friday nights at Canaan, Saturdays at Bear Ridge, and Sundays at Big Daddy's.