Yankee All-Star League
Outside introductions for one of the Yankee All-Star events at Waterford
EVENT HISTORY
Harvey Tattersall Jr bought the Waterford Speedbowl in 1975, which led to many changes at the shoreline oval – one of which was the track’s inclusion in a 6-event open competition Modified series. It was a joint effort by 6 men representing 3 New England tracks: Harvey and his son Harvey III from Waterford, Don Hoenig & Carl Merrill of Thompson Speedway and Ken Smith & Russ Conway from Star Speedway. Each track would host (2) 50-lap feature events, all held on Wednesdays with open competition rules and qualifying heats. Competitors would receive purse money and points for each race, with a Yankee All Star League Champion crowned and a point fund distributed at season’s end.
Yankee All-Star events brought some of the biggest names in modified racing history to the Speedbowl. The very 1st Yankee All-Star League event ever held was at the Waterford Speedbowl on July 16, 1975. 61 modified teams signed into the pits that day attempting to qualify. 20 year old Ken Bouchard started on the pole in Bob Ramstrom’s #35 car and led all 50 laps to earn the victory. Richie Evans scored his best career finish at Waterford by staying on Bouchard’s bumper for most of the event before settling for 2nd. Paul Richardson, Speedbowl regular Art Moran and Ollie Silva rounded out the Top 5. There were 7 caution flags in the 50 lapper with only 13 of the 30 starters finishing the race. It was one of the most attended races at the Speedbowl during the 1975 season.
a Yankee All-Star race
Rain forced the 2nd Waterford race to be moved to the final race of the YAS season on August 27th. Going into the event, only 9 points separated Bobby Santos, Paul Richardson and point leader Ken Bouchard, who needed to finish 5th or better to clinch the championship. His brother Ron Bouchard took the lead from Billy Harman early in the event, then led the rest of the way to take the win over Bobby Santos. Ken finished 4th in the 50-lapper to clinch the inaugural Yankee All-Star League Championship by 2 points over Santos (109-107). Fred DeSarro finished 3rd in the race with Leo Cleary rounding out the Top 5 behind Ken Bouchard.
In the Yankee All-Star League’s sophomore season of 1976, the first Waterford event was held on July 28th. Heat winners were Ken Bouchard, Ed Flemke and Speedbowl regular Mark LaJeunesse. In the 50 lap main event, Bugsy Stevens scored the win over Ron Bouchard with DeSarro, Flemke and Paul Richardson rounding out the Top 5.
YAS race at the Speedbowl
In the 2nd Speedbowl event on August 18, 1976, only 12 of the 30 starters finished the caution filled event. Fred DeSarro took the win in Len Boehler’s ‘Ole Blue’ #3 for his only career modified win at Waterford. Paul Richardson finished 2nd for his 3rd Top 5 at Waterford in YAS action. Bugsy Stevens, Bobby Grahan and Bobby Santos rounded out the Top 5.
In 1977, multiple rain-outs reduced Waterford to just one 50 lap event, which was held on August 30th. Heat winners were Ed Flemke, Richie Evans and Gene Bergin. Evans led early, then Waterford stand-out Dick Dunn took over. Evans was involved in a wreck with lapped traffic while in 2nd and did not return. Dunn remained out front until Charlie Jarzombek took the lead on lap 33. The two staged a great battle the rest of the way weaving through lapped traffic, but Dunn could never over take Jarzombek, who scored his only career victory at Waterford when the checkereds flew. Rounding out the Top 5 behind Dunn were John Rosati, Flemke and Ken Bouchard.
The series’ final season in 1978 saw major changes to the format as four more tracks joined the circuit – Stafford Motor Speedway, Westboro Speedway, Seekonk Speedway and Monadnock Speedway. Although the series expanded to 7 races total and the race distances doubled to 100 laps, each track would now host only 1 event.
The 100 lapper at Waterford was held on August 9th and won by Geoff Bodine, his only career win at the shoreline oval. Bodine took the lead on lap 12 and held it until a caution on lap 44. Ron Bouchard took the lead on the restart, but Bodine got it back on the next lap and went on to take the win. 4-time Speedbowl champ Dick Dunn got by Bouchard on last lap for his 2nd straight runner finish. Roland Lapierre Jr finished 4th behind Bouchard. This event may be more remembered for the wild wreck between Paul Richardson in his #97 and Dick Caso in the #7 car.
Bodine dominated the Yankee All-Star’s 4-year existence, winning 11 features overall, including a clean sweep of all seven 100-lap events during his dominate 1978 season. He also won 2 of the 4 Series Championships (1976, 1978). Ken Bouchard and Ron Bouchard both won a YAS Championship and had 3 career wins in the series. Bugsy Stevens (2 wins) was the only other driver to win more than one YAS event.
4-time Modified Track Champion Dick Dunn’s back-to-back runner up finishes in the last 2 Yankee All Star events held at Waterford in 1977 and 1978 were the highest finishes by any regular weekly Speedbowl competitor in any YAS event throughout it’s 4 year run.
Yankee All-Star League events are also notable as some of only a handful of events in Speedbowl history in which 9-time NASCAR Modified Champion Richie Evans competed. His runner-up finish to Ken Bouchard during the inaugural Yankee All-Star event at Waterford in July of 1975 was the Rapid Roman’s best career finish at the shoreline oval – making the Waterford Speedbowl one of very few tracks in the country that the NASCAR Hall of Famer competed on without ever winning a feature event.
The Yankee All Star League shows were big-time events back in the mid-70’s, and definitely had the drawing power to attract the Northeast’s finest drivers. All 3 Yankee All Star League Champions (Ken Bouchard, Geoff Bodine and Ron Bouchard) went on to earn Rookie of the Year honors on the NASCAR Cup Series. The series’ short existence shouldn’t diminish it’s importance to the Speedbowl’s history as one of the track’s most star-studded series of modified events during the pre-touring series era. Below is a complete list of results from the entire Yankee All-Star League history.
COMPLETE SERIES RESULTS
1975
| DATE | TRACK | LAPS | RACE WINNER | 2nd PLACE | 3rd PLACE | 4th PLACE | 5th PLACE |
| 07/16 | Waterford Speedbowl | 50 | Ken Bouchard | Richie Evans | Paul Richardson | Art Moran | Ollie Silva |
| 07/23 | Thompson Speedway | 50 | Ron Bouchard | Geoff Bodine | Jerry Dostie | Leo Cleary | Bobby Santos |
| 07/30 | Star Speedway | 50 | Ollie Silva | Bobby Santos | Paul Richardson | Ron Bouchard | Ken Bouchard |
| 08/06 | Waterford Speedbowl | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | |
| 08/13 | Thompson Speedway | 50 | Geoff Bodine | Ed Flemke | Fred DeSarro | Bobby Santos | Jerry Dostie |
| 08/20 | Star Speedway | 50 | Ken Bouchard | Paul Richardson | Punky Caron | Mike Weedon | ?? |
| 08/27 | Waterford Speedbowl | 50 | Ron Bouchard | Bobby Santos | Fred DeSarro | Ken Bouchard | Leo Cleary |
1975 YANKEE ALL-STAR CHAMPION – KEN BOUCHARD
1976
| DATE | TRACK | LAPS | RACE WINNER | 2nd PLACE | 3rd PLACE | 4th PLACE | 5th PLACE |
| 06/30 | Waterford Speedbowl | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | |
| 07/14 | Star Speedway | 50 | Bugsy Stevens | Mike Weedon | Pete Fiandaca | Bob Karvoner | Jim Landry |
| 07/21 | Thompson Speedway | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | |
| 07/28 | Waterford Speedbowl | 50 | Bugsy Stevens | Ron Bouchard | Fred DeSarro | Ed Flemke | Paul Richardson |
| 08/04 | Star Speedway | 50 | Ken Bouchard | Geoff Bodine | Ollie Silva | Dick Osborne | Dave Thomas |
| 08/11 | Thompson Speedway | 50 | Geoff Bodine | Fred DeSarro | Ron Bouchard | Leo Cleary | ?? |
| 08/18 | Waterford Speedbowl | 50 | Fred DeSarro | Paul Richardson | Bugsy Stevens | Bobby Gahan | Bobby Santos |
| 08/25 | Thompson Speedway | 50 | Geoff Bodine | Richie Evans | Fred DeSarro | Jerry Dostie | Bobby Santos |
1976 YANKEE ALL-STAR CHAMPION – GEOFF BODINE
1977
| DATE | TRACK | LAPS | RACE WINNER | 2nd PLACE | 3rd PLACE | 4th PLACE | 5th PLACE |
| 07/13 | Star Speedway | 50 | Ron Bouchard | Bugsy Stevens | Dave Thomas | Paul Richardson | Ollie Siva |
| 07/20 | Thompson Speedway | 50 | Richie Evans | Geoff Bodine | Ed Flemke | Ron Bouchard | Bugsy Stevens |
| 07/27 | Waterford Speedbowl | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | |
| 08/03 | Star Speedway | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | |
| 08/10 | Thompson Speedway | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | |
| 08/17 | Waterford Speedbowl | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | RAIN | |
| 08/30 | Waterford Speedbowl | 50 | Charlie Jarzombek | Dick Dunn | John Rosati | Ed Flemke | Ken Bouchard |
| 08/31 | Thompson Speedway | 50 | Geoff Bodine | Ron Bouchard | Fred DeSarro | Richie Evans | Bugsy Stevens |
1977 YANKEE ALL-STAR CHAMPION – RON BOUCHARD
1978
| DATE | TRACK | LAPS | RACE WINNER | 2nd PLACE | 3rd PLACE | 4th PLACE | 5th PLACE |
| 06/28 | Monadnock Speedway | 100 | Geoff Bodine | Jack Bateman | Punky Caron | Bugsy Stevens | Fred Schultz |
| 07/12 | Star Speedway | 100 | Geoff Bodine | Bugsy Stevens | George Savary | Jim Landry | Herb Simpson |
| 07/19 | Thompson Speedway | 100 | Geoff Bodine | Fred DeSarro | Fred Schultz | Joe Howard | Jerry Dostie |
| 07/26 | Stafford Speedway | 100 | Geoff Bodine | Ron Bouchard | Fred Schultz | Ollie Silva | Bob Polverari |
| 08/02 | Seekonk Speedway | 100 | Geoff Bodine | George Summer | Fred DeSarro | Jack Bateman | Ron Bouchard |
| 08/09 | Waterford Speedbowl | 100 | Geoff Bodine | Dick Dunn | Ron Bouchard | Roland Lapierre Jr | Bobby Clark |
| 08/16 | Westboro Speeway | 100 | Geoff Bodine | Leo Cleary | Fred Schultz | Mike Weeden | Fats Caruso |
1978 YANKEE ALL-STAR CHAMPION – GEOFF BODINE
SPEEDBOWL DOC SERIES
segment produced by Vault Productions for the Speedbowl Documentary Series
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