Gates open at 1pm. Qualifying starts at 3pm.   
Entry Fee:
  Legends Car and Driver $50
Bandolero and Driver FREE

Gearing Up for LegendStock 2009 at Bethel Motor Speedway

No sooner did the checkered flag wave on the inaugural LegendStock race at Bethel Motor Speedway than talk and preparations began for the next annual running of the event. Believed to be the highest paying individual Legend race in the Northeast, the event drew competitors from up and down the East Coast, and all the way out to the Midwest. The same draw and excitement is expected for LegendStock 2009, scheduled for August 15^th at the quarter-mile asphalt oval located in White Lake, New York. This year’s event will be held in conjunction with the 40^th anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival, the original site of which is only four miles from the racetrack property.

Several sponsors have already committed themselves to LegendStock 2009, including McGraw Moving & Storage, United Financial Bank of Florida, Universal Pool Maintenance and Services, and Power Battery Company. The race has a guaranteed purse of $3,000., with $1,500. of that total earmarked for the winner. All drivers who take the green flag in the A-main will collect a minimum $50 payout.

Aside from the payout, many perks accompany a win in the prestigious event. Last year, each of the division winners received a three-foot tall guitar shaped trophy to commemorate their achievement. The overall winner of the event also received sponsorship from Great North Legends for the Nationals held at Elko Speedway, as well as a guaranteed starting spot in the Legends Fall Classic held as part of the NELMA event at Sundance Vacations Speedway in October.

Mike Alcaro, last year’s Semi-Pro winner in the event and the 2008 INEX Asphalt Semi-Pro champ for New Jersey, has moved into the Pro division for 2009. He has clocked a considerable number of laps on the speedway so far in 2009, picking up three victories in the first three races of the season at Bethel.

“I love coming up to Bethel,” Alcaro said. “You couldn’t ask for a better place to run a Legends car. It’s just the right size track. It’s a great place to come race every Saturday night.”

Also returning for LegendStock 2009 will be the winner in the Masters division, Minnesota’s Tim Brockhouse. Brockhouse made the trip to Bethel for the track’s season opener in April, and he made it obvious that he would be a force to reckon with before he blew an engine and was eliminated from competition.

“Bethel is just a fun place to race,” Brockhouse commented. “I can’t wait for the LegendStock 2009 race, because it gives me a chance to compete against quite a bit of the top talent in Legends racing in the Northeast.”

One question that remains, however, is whether last year’s overall and Pro division winner, Michael Gervais Jr., will be behind the wheel of a car for LegendStock 2009. Gervais himself doesn’t know the answer. Gervais sold his Legends car, and is currently competing in an SK Lite Modified.

“I want to go back and defend it,” he stated, “but I don’t have any plans for a car at the moment…once it gets closer, I guess we will see.”

That could leave the door open for just about anyone to win, as the race itself and Bethel Motor Speedway in general have attracted some well-known talent in Legends racing.

Long Island resident Kevin Nowak, the 2008 INEX Asphalt Semi-Pro champion for New York, made the nearly three-hour trip to race at Bethel for the first three races of the 2009 season, racking up three top five finishes. Kevin Nowak and Chris Bakaj put on an early-race battle for the lead during LegendStock 2008, and Nowak brought home a fifth place finish when the checkered flag flew.

Also taking part in some of the early season races at Bethel this season have been Mark Tischler, who scored a top ten finish in LegendStock 2008; 2008 Sundance Vacations Speedway Legends champion Roger Coss, who was sixth in last year’s event; Matt Maring, who was 12^th in the final rundown for LegendStock 2008; and John Hugate, who won the B-main in 2008 in order to secure a starting spot in the feature.

Bethel was also visited early in the 2009 season by such young Legends standouts as George Cushman, Derek Hopkinson, and Max Zachem. Both 15-year-old Hopkinson and 16-year-old Zachem have a considerable number of laps under their belts in spite of their young ages, and the two have gone head-to-head in such other events as Turkey Derby XXXV held at Wall Stadium (NJ) in November of 2008. Zachem led a number of laps in the Bethel 2009 season opener, and he scored a runner-up finish in the event. Zachem finished ninth in the LegendStock 2008 race. Cushman was the 2007 Chemung Speedrome Legends Rookie of the Year, and he finished 24^th at LegendStock 2008.

Among those who may also file entries are a number of veteran Legends drivers from Long Island who have competed at the track in the past, such as Mike Malone, Glenn Maningo, and Paul Dodorico. Dodorico was the last Legends champion crowned at the speedway, as he captured the title in 2006. Dodorico finished third in his heat race for the LegendStock 2008 event, but suffered mechanical woes all day that resulted in a 22^nd place finish in the feature when he retired from the event early. Long Islander John Beatty, who finished second in points at Riverhead Raceway in 2008 as a rookie, also got some laps under his tires at Bethel early on in 2009.

New Jersey drivers David Polenz, and Steve and Mike Stull may very well be among the entrants for LegendStock 2009 as well. Polenz wound up third in LegendStock 2008 after providing fans with some side-by-side action at the front of the field. Mike Stull failed to qualify for the event last year, and Steve Stull collected an 11^th place finish in LegendStock 2008. Drivers from Connecticut who participated in LegendStock 2008 include Mark and Chris Bakaj, both veteran drivers. Last year’s entrants also included Andrew Smith, a Legends hotshoe who made the trip to Bethel from Georgia. Smith came away with a fourth place finish in the event.

Bandoleros also have the opportunity to take part in the racing excitement that is part of LegendStock 2009. In 2008, the Bandolero race winner was Matt Ewing. So far in 2009, several Bandolero drivers have taken to the track at Bethel Motor Speedway, with such drivers as 11-year-old Andrew Bickford and 15-year-old AJ Hamilton scoring wins.

Entries are currently being accepted for LegendStock 2009, an event that guarantees to have a wealth of Legends talent converging on Bethel Motor Speedway. The entry fee for a Legends car and driver is $50, while Bandolero drivers will have their entry fee waived.