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News 2011 Year in Review January 2012
2011 marked another successful season for Boucher’s customers and it is worth taking some time to recognize those efforts. The Northeast Division hosted six divisional events which started in May and closed out in September. To start the year off right, Ray Sawyer took advantage of a gorgeous weekend at Maple Grove Raceway to post a strong quarterfinal finish in Super Gas. Not to be outdone by his dad, Mike Sawyer set the standards incredibly high about a month later at Lebanon Valley. Mike accomplished the elusive ‘double’ when he scored victories in both Super Gas and Super Street. At that same race, Mac Starks Jr. drove his way to a quarter final finish in Super Gas while Val DiGenova qualified in the top ten in Top Dragster. The series then made its way to New England Dragway for the first time in over 20 years. Even with the temperatures rising above 100 degrees, Brian Fink was able to drive his 1980 Chevy Malibu to the number three qualified position at -0.915 under the L/SA index. Tom Boucher also withstood the hot and humid conditions to qualify #7 in Super Stock with his GT/CA 1997 Pontiac Firehawk. Boucher’s power found their way to two finals with Deb DiGenover posting a Runner Up finish in Top Dragster and Mike Sawyer just missing out on a second consecutive win in Super Gas. Rounding out the notable performances from Epping, NH was Mathieu Beriault who had a quarter final finish in Stock Eliminator. Towards the end of the summer, Super Street racer Chris Butcher heated up scoring a quarter final finish at Cecil County Dragway which he then followed up with a win at Englishtown Raceway Park. Mike Sawyer kept his winning ways up as well claiming runner-up finishes in Super Gas at the division one finale in NJ as well a the division seven finale in Las Vegas.
Coupled with his success at the divisional level, Mike Sawyer took home the big Wally at the national event held in Englishtown NJ. In an effort to keep his national championship hopes alive, Mike registered a quarterfinal finish at the national event in Las Vegas at the end of October. Sawyer has proven to be a contender for both the national and divisional titles and this was just another year that proved that. He finished the year #2 in the world along with placing #2 in the division. His father Ray wasn’t too far behind with a third place finish in the division one Super Gas points standings. With his strong season end push, Chris Butcher also ended his year near the top of the standings falling in at #3 in Super Street.
The well-known All Star Racing Association that competes in NH and NY was celebrating its 30th anniversary season. In support of the milestone, Boucher’s Automotive jumped on board as a sponsor and generated the bounty hunter program which awarded the individual who took out the previous race winner. The series held its first race at New England Dragway where Bill Pomponi Jr. got off to a great start driving his father’s H/SA 69 Camaro to runner up finish. Dave Casey also successfully shifted his way to a semi-final finish in his always sharp A/S 69 Corvette. The next race was held at Lebanon Valley Dragway on Father’s Day Weekend. Racing action started on Saturday but the later rounds extended over to Sunday due to some track delays. The wait proved worthwhile for TJ Boucher who scored the victory with his Boucher’s Automotive GT/CA 1987 Camaro and for Casey, who added a quarter final finish. When action returned back to NED for a double header weekend, TJ Boucher made it two in a row by taking home the trophy on Saturday. On Sunday, Brian Fink registered a quarter final finish. Race 5 saw TJ make it three wins on the season as he outlasted the field on a wet and cloudy day. Once again, Casey was right in the mix of things posting another quarter final finish. The Boucher clan had a very successful weekend to close out the 30th anniversary season. In the shootout, which consists of the top 16 points earners after 5 races, TJ Boucher made it to the quarter finals before being ousted. The senior Boucher did one better by bowing out with a runner up finish. In Race #6 on the following day, the end result was the same as TJ lost to his father in a heads-up semi-final matchup while Tom managed another runner-up finish. When all was said and done, the younger Boucher closed the season out as the 2011 ASRA champion with Dave Casey posting a solid 7th place finish and Tom Boucher landing in the #10 spot.
Lastly, Boucher’s would like to recognize the success of its customers that make the dedicated effort to compete at New England Dragway on a consistent basis. Mark Winterbottom finished the season as the #1 driver in Pro Eliminator and Mark Rodrigues registered and 8th place finish in the Super Pro category. Boucher’s is always proud to be a part of its customer’s success and enjoys taking the time to recognize those accomplishments. Boucher’s wants to thank all of their customers on a successful 2011 and also wish them luck on their endeavors in 2012.
2010 Year in Review November 2010
With the final points tallied for the 2010 racing season, Boucher’s would like to congratulate some of the year’s top performers. Locally at New England Dragway, Mark Winterbottom drove to a 3rd place finish in Modified Eliminator, Mark Rodrigues finished in 3rd place in Top Eliminator, Jim Ditucci completed a 5th place finish in Quick Rod, and Val Digenova closed out the year with a 2nd place finish in Top Dragster. With the level of competition increasing in the area, finishing in the Top Ten in any category is always and accomplishment and one that should be recognized. Congratulations!
In the NHRA Northeast Division, there were 3 customers that finished in the top 10 in Super Gas. Mike Sawyer continued to be a threat for the title as he finished #2 just a mere 3 points out of the top spot. Chuck Rothermel put in a stong effort to finish #8 and Todd Logan landed himself in the 10th position. Boucher’s is always proud to be a part of a season’s worth of accomplishments.
Now that winter is creeping upon us in the northeast, Boucher’s would like to thank all our customers for another successful year. We here at Boucher’s appreciate your business and for allowing us to help you reach your performance goals at the race track. We are looking forward to bringing success to the race track again in 2011!
2010 Racing Season Comes to a Close November 2010
Finding ourselves in the later half of November and the 2010 racing season in the books, Boucher’s would like to take some time to review some of their customer accomplishments from the second half of the season.
On the NHRA circuit, Boucher’s customers once again found the late rounds at the Lucas Oil Racing Series event at Lebanon Valley Dragway. Mike Sawyer enjoyed racing close to home as he posted a big win on Sunday in the Super Gas category. Mike marched his way through a tough field and capped it off with a 0.018 reaction time and a 9.901 on the 9.90 index in the final. Congratulations to the entire Sawyer racing team. In super stock, Tom Boucher (1997 Firehawk, GT/DA) and Charlie Bubka (1967 Camaro, SS/HA) drove their way to semi-final finishes. Dave Casey also recorded an excellent semifinal finish in his gear jamming 1969 A/S 427 Corvette. Another notable was Brian Fink who qualified 5th in stock with his 1980 Chevy Malibu that runs strongly in the K/SA class. Following the race in New York, both Sawyer and Chuck Rothermel posted quarterfinal finishes at the divisional level. Sawyer accomplished the feat in Atco, NJ while Rothermel went to the late rounds in Englishtown, NJ.
In early October, Dave Casey was awarded with the best appearing car at the NHRA Toyo Tires Nationals in Reading, PA for his stunning 1969 Corvette. An award well deserved and well overdue. Later in the month, Casey would show that the car can run as good as it looks when he set the A/S national record at 9.94 seconds. Boucher’s would like to congratulate Dave and his family for the accomplishment of breaking the 10 second barrier.
Turning over to the IHRA circuit, New England Dragway in Epping, NH held their annual 3 races in 2 weekends. The first race was the North American Nitro Jam and for the second year in a row, Ray Knight brought home the Iron Man in Hot Rod. Along with the victory came a birth to the tournament of champions where Ray would go on to a quarterfinal finish and end the year in the #6 spot for the Hot Rod category. That is quite the accomplishment and Boucher’s is glad they were able to be a part of it. Other strong efforts over the weekend were put in by Val Digenova in Top Dragster and TJ Boucher in Super Stock. Both finished with semi-final finishes and were right in the hunt for claiming an iron man. Individuals who posted strong efforts in qualifying included Brian Fink (#7) and Charles Sousa (#10) in stock and TJ Boucher (#2), Tom Boucher (#5), and Vic Santos (#7) in super stock.
The following weekend which consisted two divisional races, Jim Ditucci ran his way to a runner up finish in quick rod on Saturday and then backed that up with a quarterfinal finish on Sunday. Other quarterfinal finishes over the weekend were achieved by Jeff Coyne and George Labelle in Stock, Paul Lorenti in Hot Rod, and Vic Santos in Super Stock. Pete Stickles would advance a little further into the semifinals before bowing out with his Malibu in stock. The big winner of the weekend was Allan Dame driving his 1970 SS/FA Plymouth Barracuda to the Super Stock Crown on Sunday. Congrats to Allan Dame and we look forward to seeing that beautiful ‘Cuda out in full force next year. Concluding remarks from the weekend include TJ Boucher taking his first ever #1 qualifying position in super stock with the Boucher’s Automotive GT/CA 1987 Camaro (along with a #2 effort in the second race). Also filling the stat sheets was Vic Santos with qualifying positions of 3rd and 4th, Tom Boucher with qualifying positions of 4th and 5th, and Jeff Coyne with positions of 5th and 10th over the two days. Boucher’s is glad to have a race so close to home in which customers continually have success.
Racing in the Northeast has begun June 2010
Racing is finally underway here in the Northeast as the points programs at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire have started. Boucher’s would like to congratulate some of their customers that are off to a hot start. Ray Knight seemed to pick up where he left off last year as he has claimed two victories in the New England Dragway Hot Rod program. Driving his 346 cubic inch powered mustang, his first win came on April 25th and the second came on May 22nd. Paul Lorenti with his Big Block Chevy powered Camaro was the runner up to Knight on the 22nd. Boucher’s congratulates both drivers as it is always great to see an all Boucher powered final round. In the Top Eliminator ranks, Mark Rodrigues also found himself in the winners circle on May 22nd using his newly built 540. On the weekend of May 15th and 16th, Brenda Mason claimed runner up finishes in the back to back races for the Dan Page Top Dragster program.
On the NHRA circuit, Vic Santos brought home the Super Stock GT/HA class Wally after traveling down to Englishtown, NJ for the NHRA SuperNationals. Santos ran a best of 10.21 at over 130 mph for the class win in his 1985 Firebird powered with a 400 cu. in. Pontiac. A few weeks earlier at the NHRA Division 1 race at Maple Grove Raceway, Todd Logan put in a great effort as he was the event runner-up in Super Gas losing a very close final round. Logan continues to be a consistent threat of going the distance at any race he enters. Congratulations to Santos and Logan, as well as all the Boucher’s customers that have gotten their race seasons underway.
Racers head south for some exciting class racing March 2010
With the highly popular Cajun Sportsnationals taking place at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, LA, some of Boucher’s customers retreated from the cold to take part in the event. In the extremely tough class of A stick, Dave Casey drove his 1969 Chevrolet Corvette to the class win running 10.07 at over 132 mph. Casey definitely has the 427 tri-power corvette running well and should dip into the 9’s in no time.
The following weekend, racers made their way to Concord, N.C. to participate in the inaugural NHRA Four Wide Nationals. With class eliminations being held, Boucher’s power took home three Wallys in Stock Eliminator. Sam Murray won J/S driving his 1972 Olds Cutlass to an elapsed time of 11.35 seconds at over 116 mph. That strong pass also put him in the #10 qualified position at -0.991 under the index. Jim Roberts drove his 350 powered, 1969 Camaro Convertible to the G/S class win and Billy Harper brought home the F/SA in his 1969 Nova. Bouchers congratulations each driver on their class win. Harper, along with Dave Casey, also had solid appearances in the eliminator as they wheeled their way to fourth round finishes. These racers will return home and be ready for more racing as the Northeast’s season opener is next month.
2009 Year in Review February 2010
The end of the 2009 season came and went so quickly that we did not have the opportunity to maintain the monthly update of race results. Boucher’s apologizes for this and with a slight lull in the action, we would like to take a moment to recognize the accomplishments that Boucher’s customers achieved in the 2009 season. It is becoming quite common to find the Sawyer family at the top of standings at the end of each year. This year, Mike Sawyer put together an extraordinary year in Super Gas and finished #3 in the NHRA Lucas Oil National Standings and was able to claim the #1 spot in the northeast division. Father Ray Sawyer was not too far behind as he finished #5 in Division 1. As always, Boucher’s would like to congratulate the Sawyers on their success. Another notable standout in the New England area was Ray Knight. Knight was able to claim the New England Dragway Top Eliminator season championship as well as the local Hot Rod series championship. Along with those two tremendous accomplishments, Ray won the IHRA North American Nationals in Hot Rod which qualifies him for the Race of Champions (still to be held). There is not a whole lot more that a racer can achieve in a single season, so with that said, Boucher’s congratulates Ray Knight and his family and wish him luck at the Race of Champions. Other drivers deserving recognition include Tony Fillipone and Arnie Martel Jr. for finishing in the top ten in the always competitive All Star Racing Association. Fillipone drove his 66 Chevy II to the #9 spot while Martel finished #6 with his 98 Firebird. In the Top Dragster Series held at New England Dragway, Debby DiGenova , Val DiGenova, and Warren Heaps finished #7, #8, and #9 respectively. Bob Bacon drove his beautiful corvette to a #9 finish in the Top Sportsman series and Mark Rodrigues wheeled his way to a solid #3 finish in the Top Eliminator point’s standings. Last but not least, Todd Logan finished 7th in the Division 1 Super Gas points standings. Boucher’s is proud to recognize these individuals on their accomplishments in the 2009 season. Before closing out the 2009 season, recognition is due for those racers that had strong performances in the second half of the year. Reading PA - August At the NHRA National Event held in Reading, PA, Mike Sawyer was able to post a solid quarter final finish in Super Gas.
US Nationals - September Sam Murray made the long trip out to Indiana well worth it as he brought home a class win in J/S with his 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass.
Charlotte NC - September Later In the month, Jim Roberts accomplished the same feat after traveling to Charlotte, NC and drove his 69 Camaro convertible to the G/S class win.
North American Nationals - September The month of September proved to be very busy as New England Dragway hosted the IHRA North American nationals as well as a pair of divisional points meets. At the national event, Warren Heaps qualified #5 in Top Dragster while Tom Boucher and Vic Santos were at the top of the Super Stock sheets in the #5 and #9 positions. On race day, Santos made it to the quarter finals with his GT/HA Firebird. In Hot Rod, Ray Knight set the bar high as he qualified #1 and then went on to win the race. Other notables from the weekend include Elroy Dame with a semifinal finish in Stock Eliminator, Paul Lorenti with a quarterfinal finish in Hot Rod, and Val DiGenova who was the runner up in Top Dragster.
Pro-Am Events at NED - September The weekend following the nationals, a pair of points meets was held. In the first race, Vic Santos qualified #4 is Super Stock. Jeff Coyne slammed gears to a #8 qualifying position with his I/S Camaro and Charles Sousa landed the #10 spot with his I/SA 1969 Chevelle. When racing was completed, Paul Lorenti was the runner-up in Hot Rod, Bob Moran Jr. made it to the semi-finals of Stock, and Tony Fillipone bowed out in the Semi-finals of Super Stock. In the second race, Boucher’s power held 4 of the top 9 spots in stock qualifying as Dennis Martens (#3, J/SA 305 Firebird), Jeff Coyne (#6, I/S 305 Camaro), Charles Sousa (#7, I/SA 350 Chevelle), and Bob Moran Jr. (#9, B/SA 396 Camaro) all had their cars running strong. In Super Stock, Vic Santos qualified #6 and TJ Boucher qualified #9 with his GT/CA Camaro. When the day was completed, TJ Boucher found himself in the winner’s circle for super stock. Tony Fillipone had another good effort with a quarterfinal finish. In Quick Rod, Jim Ditucci made it to the Quarterfinals. For the second week in a row, Val DiGenova reached the Top Dragster Final and walked away with a runner up finish.
Atco NJ – October Two Division 1 LODRS were held in the first weekend of October as a regularly scheduled event was completed along with a rain out. Mike Sawyer was very productive over the weekend as he had a semifinal and quarterfinal finish in the two races. Not to be outdone by his son, Ray Sawyer was able to claim the Super Gas win in the second event of the weekend. Warren Heaps and Charles Sousa had strong qualifying efforts as Heaps was #5 in Top Dragster and Sousa was #7 in Stock.
Las Vegas, NV – November On a west coast swing, Mike Sawyer was runner up at a Division 7 LODRS. Due to a large turnout of competitors, the final round was the 8th round of competition. The 7 round wins Sawyer tallied vaulted him up the national point standings as well as clinched him the Division 1 Super Gas title.
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