Justin Bonsignore NWMT Winner
Thompson, Conn: Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park opened the season in grand style with Keith Rocco of Berlin, Conn. earning two NASCAR Whelen All American Series wins in one day in both the Sunoco Modified and Late Model divisions. Justin Bonsignore of Holtsville, N.Y. took the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win over Woody Pitkat. Shawn Monahan of Waterford, Conn. earned his second in as many days in the Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman division while Steve Dickey, Jr. of Londonderry, N.H. checkered the Monster Mini Stocks. Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, Mass. won the Granite State Pro Stock Series 50-lap affair and Vintage Outlaw checkers flew for Joe Baxter of Pascoag, R.I.
Bonsignore win in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was his fourth career victory and his second at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. Bonsignore took the lead from Pitkat for the second and final time at lap 142.
Pitkat led the early laps of the race, but lost the lead to Bonsignore on a lap 18 restart. On lap 21, Pitkat challenged Bonsignore for the lead and went high in turn one only to lose the lead to Rowan Pennink in turn four. Pennink, Pitkat and Bonsignore settled in line nose-to-tail for several laps, but Pennink and Pitkat broke away by a commanding ten-car length advantage.
After a long green flag run, the caution flew and tightened up the field. A few cars opted to pit, but Pennink, Pitkat and Bonsignore were among the majority that stayed out. Pennink wasted no time in jumping right back out to the lead on the restart, but he would have to do it all over again after a car spun on the front stretch at lap 63.
Pennink jumped to the front again, but Pitkat was on his bumper and applying the pressure. On lap 79, Pitkat got a run on Pennink and was able to take over the lead. Pitkat put two-car lengths breathing room over him and the duo pulled ahead to a commanding two-second lead over Timmy Solomito, Bonsignore, and Ron Yuhas. On lap 96, Pennink’s day took a turn for the worse when he came around turn three and his No. 93 machine came around on him and spun into the wall full speed.
A majority of the field pitted after the conclusion of the red flag. Donny Lia inherited the lead followed by Matt Hirschman and Keith Rocco. Green flag racing resumed at lap 105 with Lia leading the way. Coming up quick, however, was Pitkat and Bonsignore now fifth and sixth respectively. Bonsignore muscled his way by Pitkat en route to the third position and challenged for second by lap 114. Bonsignore was still on the move and about to make a run on Lia for the lead when the caution came out and relegated him back to third.
Lia drove to the lead on the lap 118 restart as Pitkat got by Bonsignore for third. Pitkat and Bonsignore both got by Hirschman to take over second and third. Coming around on lap 123, Pitkat drove to the inside lane in a challenge on Lia for the lead when Lia went high into the turn two wall.
Pitkat, Bonsignore, Hirschman, and Yuhas made up the top-four for the restart on lap 129. After a side-by-side battle, Pitkat gets the top spot with Bonsignore still on his bumper. On lap 133, Pennink dove to the bottom groove and got alongside Pitkat in a tight battle for the lead. Bonsignore had a slight advantage coming out of turn two on the following circuit before caution came out and returned the lead to Pitkat.
Pitkat held off Bonsignore for the lead on a lap 139 restart, but on lap 142, Bonsignore went under Pitkat for the lead off of turn four. Once out front, Bonsignore pulled out to a ten-car length advantage over Pitkat and soared to the checkered flag unchallenged.
Keith Rocco’s mastery of restarts helped earn him a win in the Sunoco Modified 30-lap feature, and earned him his second win of the day during Icebreaker weekend.
“We were gaining on him (Cam McDermott) little by little, but we needed that caution in the worst way,” said Rocco from victory lane.
Cam McDermott drove out to the early lead, but all eyes were on the battle between Woody Pitkat and Ryan Preece for the third spot. Pitkat settled into the position as Rocco got into the mix and took over fourth. Pitkat, Rocco, and Preece were nose-to-tail and battling hard. Meanwhile, McDermott had put a comfortable distance over Kerry Malone. At lap 10, Rocco began to bear down on Malone’s second place position and on lap 11 dove to the bottom groove to attempt a pass. Rocco couldn’t quite complete the pass and settled back in behind Malone in third. Rocco tried again on the following circuit, but this time took over the second position coming out of turn two.
As the race reached the 15-lap mark, McDermott had a commanding lead over Rocco, Malone, Preece, Todd Ceravolo, and Pitkat. The field began to stretch out before a caution flew at lap 21 and tightened them back up again.
McDermott and Rocco went side-by-side into turns one and two and were dead even as they approached turn three. Caution halted their battle after a car spun in turn two. Rocco drove to the front when racing resumed with McDermott holding off Preece for the second spot, but a three-car wreck on the front stretch would put Rocco and McDermott back together again.
Rocco drove to the front with McDermott in tow. Pitkat and Preece were side-by-side for third with Preece getting the position. Preece attached himself to McDermott’s bumper before driving underneath him and take over second coming into turn four on lap 24. Rocco held on to the lead through two more restarts. Preece gave Rocco a solid challenge, but he went high in turn two after some contact giving Pitkat a window to take over the second position. Rocco pulled ahead to a five-car length advantage and the eventual win as Pitkat held off Preece for second.
Mike O’Sullivan began his Granite State Pro Stock title defense with a win in the season opening 50-lapper for the division. O’Sullivan took the lead on lap 20 after Wayne Helliwell, Jr lost a right front tire. O’Sullivan held off Jeff Connors for the victory.
“We had a good car. We have a lot of laps here, but you have to step it up every time you come here. I put a lot of effort into this winter. Even though we came away with a championship last year, I knew we had to come a little better,” said O’Sullivan in victory lane.
Helliwell took the early lead over Sullivan and Connors. Behind him the battle for fourth went to Larry Gelinas. Helliwell was in control and in a comfortable lead over the rest of the field. Sullivan closed it up to five carlengths by lap 10, but the field strung out single file as the laps ticked off.
On lap 20, the race took a dramatic turn when the leader went off the pace and crawled down the backstretch. Caution flew to allow him to get down to pit road from where he stopped on the outside retaining wall in turn three, but it was O’Sullivan in the lead for the restart.
Sullivan chose the outside lane to take the green with Connors on the inside. The field scattered when racing resumed and yellow was called for a bad start. O’Sullivan drove ahead of Connors at the start with Brad Babb moving into third. Gelinas and Dillon Moltz rounded out the top-five.
O’Sullivan pulled away from Connors by five car lengths while Gelinas challenged Babb for third. On lap 27, Gelinas drove underneath Babb in turn four to get a run on him and take over the third spot heading into turn one. Babb and Moltz began to battle for the fourth spot in a side-by-side dual that lasted for several laps. Up front, Connors reeled in O’Sullivan to within a car length. Caution came out at lap 36 when Keith Caruso and Ron Smith tangled in four.
O’Sullivan jumped to the head of the field on the restart with Connors holding off Gelinas for second. Again, the top-three pulled away in commanding style, but no one had a challenge for O’Sullivan. Gelinas started pressuring Connors for the second spot four laps before the end, and got up alongside him with two laps to go. Entering the second turn on lap 48, Gelinas got the position while O’Sullivan drove to the win.
Shawn Monahan continued to dominate Limited Sportsman action by backing up the overall segment win of Saturday night with a victory in the 20-lap Limited Sportsman feature. Monahan took the lead on a lap nine restart and held on through several restarts for the win.
The battle for the lead was intense at the start of the feature with Chris Douton emerging in the top spot coming off of turn four. Shawn Monahan took over second as Scott Sundeen and Travis Jurcik battled side-by-side for the third spot. Sundeen cleared Jurcik for the position and set his sights on Monahan, but Douton and Monahan were a comfortable five car lengths ahead. Sundeen reeled him in within two lengths by lap seven.
Monahan took the lead from Douton on a lap nine restart leaving Douton to battle it out with the hard charging Sundeen, who took the second position coming out of turn four. Todd Dean brought out the caution on lap 11 when he had some mechanical issues on the backstretch, and tightened the field up once again for a restart.
Monahan and Sundeen brought them back to green with Monahan driving to the front into turn one. Larry Barnett edged into third before caution came back out for a spin in turn four. Monahan drove to the front once again as Sundeen and Barnett battled it out side-by-side for the second spot with Sundeen getting an advantage at the line. Jurcik and Barnett tangled on the front stretch and scraped the outside retaining wall before coming to a stop and bringing out the yellow.
Monahan led Sundeen into turn one with Douton and Kevin Mason side-by-side for the third spot. Further back, the field was battling three wide for the sixth spot. After 15 laps Monahan led Sundeen, Mason, Douton, Ryan Waterman, and Corey Hutchings. Monahan continued to extend his lead lap after lap and soared to the checkered flag unchallenged.
Keith Rocco started the Late Model 25-lap feature last, but led every lap of the race to take the first victory of the season in the division.
“This car is absolutely awesome,” said Rocco in victory lane. “Hopefully, we can keep the streak alive.”
Rick Gentes wasted no time getting to the front of the field at the start of the Late Model feature, but it didn’t take long for the fireworks to start when trouble on the front stretch brought out the first caution before the lap was complete. Nick Ladyga brushed the front stretch wall and had to push his car behind the wall to repair the damage. The restart didn’t go much better when the field stacked up just before the entrance to turn one. Gentes, Chris Curtis, Damon Tinio, Keith Rocco, and Marc Curtis, Jr. rounded out the top-five for the restart.
Gentes and Chris Curtis raced side-by-side at the drop of the green, but Rocco took the low line to drive by both of them and claim the lead. Once out front, Rocco pulled ahead to a comfortable five-car advantage over Curtis and Glenn Boss. On lap five, Boss dropped to the bottom groove and drove by for second coming out of turn four.
Rocco, Boss, Curtis, and Gentes pulled ahead to a commanding lead over the rest of the field. Boss reeled in Rocco within a few car lengths by lap 14, and their torrid pace separated them from the third and fourth place cars. The field strung out single file as Rocco and Boss made their way through lapped traffic with ease. Boss was persistent in his efforts to close up the three car lengths that Rocco held over him in turns three and four, but he just could not get close enough to challenge.
Steve Dickey, Jr. led every lap of the Mini Stock 15-lap feature Sunday afternoon and held off Steve Michalski for the win. Dickey drove to the early lead with Michalski on his tail. Leo DeFevers joined the crowd and the trio pulled away from the rest of the field by a second-and-a-half. On lap eight, Michalski moved in on Dickey in turns three and four, but wasn’t quite able to get close enough to mount a challenge. Dickey held on strong out front despite the pressure from Michalski, who had to contend with DeFevers who made an inside challenge on lap 10. DeFevers continued his challenges and got up alongside Michalski in turns three and four of lap 12. Their battle enabled Dickey to pull away to a larger lead as he cruised his way to the checkered flag.
Joe Baxter was dominant en route to the Vintage Outlaws feature win. Paul Lapante took the early lead with Baxter coming up quick. Baxter took the lead away from Lapante coming out of turn four on the third lap. Art Chartier got in the mix and the trio was able to pull away from the rest of the field. Baxter was unstoppable and cruised to the checkered flag.
NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR FEATURE FINISH: 1. Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, NY; 2. Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn.; 3. Doug Coby, Milford, Conn.; 4. Timmy Solomito, Islip, NY; 5. Eric Goodale, Riverhead, NY; 6. Ron Yuhas, Jr., Groton, CT; 7. Ron Silk, Norwalk, CT; 8. Ted Christopher, Plainville, CT; 9. Ryan Preece, Berlin, CT; 10. Jimmy Zacharias, Candor, NY; 11. Matt Hirschman, Northampton, PA; 12. Ken Heagy, Calverton, NY; 13. Rob Fuller, Boylston, MA; 14. Jamie Tomaino, Howell, NJ; 15. Glen Reen, Wilbraham, MA; 16. Wade Cole, Hartland, CT; 17. Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, NY; 18. Bobby Santos, Franklin, MA; 19. Melissa Fifield, Wakefield, NH; 20. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 21. Donny Lia, Jericho, NY; 22. Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, PA; 23. Thomas Barrett, Jr., Millis, MA; 24. Mike Stefanik, Coventry, RI; 25. TJ Zacharias, Candor, NY.
SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (TOP-10): 1. Keith Rocco, Berlin, CT; 2. Woody Pitkat, Sturbridge, MA; 3. Ryan Preece, N. Falmouth, MA; 4. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry, CT; 5. Cam McDermott, Scituate, RI; 6. Paul Newcomb, Plymouth, MA; 7. Kerry Malone, Needham, MA; 8. Dennis Perry, Pawcatuck, CT; 9. Danny Cates, Chaplin, CT; 10. Andrew Charron, E. Greenwich, RI.
GRANITE STATE PRO STOCK SERIES FEATURE FINISH (TOP-10): 1. Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 2. Larry Gelinas, Buxton, ME; 3. Jeff Connors, Ellington, CT; 4. Brad Babb, Windham, ME; 5. Dillon Moltz, Waterford, CT; 6. Matt Frahm, Hampstead, NH; 7. Barry Gray, Belchertown, MA; 8. Derek Griffith, Hudson, NH; 9. Carl Eriksson, Deep River, CT; 10. Keith Caruso, Millbury, MA.
LATE MODEL FEATURE FINISH (TOP-10): 1. Keith Rocco, Berlin, CT; 2. Glenn Boss, Danielson, CT; 3. Chris Curtis, Rutland, MA; 4. Rick Gentes, Burriville, RI; 5. Damon Tinio, Mendon, MA; 6. Marc Curtis, Jr., Worcester, MA; 7. Robert O’Connell, Wrentham, MA; 8. Louis Rimiza; 9. John Lowinski-Loh, Milford, MA; 10. Robert Pelland, III, Cranston, RI.
LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (TOP-10): 1. Shawn Monahan, Waterford, CT; 2. Scott Sundeen, Sutton, MA; 3. Kevin Mason, W. Warwick, RI; 4. Chris Moose Douton, Waterford, CT; 5. Corey Hutchings, Salem, CT; 6. Ryan Waterman, Danielson, CT; 7. Jason Chicolas, Sutton, MA; 8. Scott Cook, Uncasville, CT; 9. Corey Fanning, Mapleville, RI; 10. Steve Kenneway, Lowell, MA.
MINI STOCK FEATURE FINISH (TOP-10): 1. Steve Dickey, Jr., Londonderry, NH; 2. Steve Michalski, Brooklyn, CT; 3. Leo DeFevers, Moosup, CT; 4. Mike Viens, Seekonk, MA; 5. Eric Bourgeois, E. Haddam, CT; 6. Mike (Butch) Viens, Putnam, CT; 7. Jeff Moffat, Smithfield, RI; 8. Alicia Thatcher, Blackstone, MA; 9. Dave Trudeau, Mansfield, CT; 10. Nick Anderson, Oxford, MA.
VINTAGE OUTLAWS TOP-THREE: 1. Joe Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 2. Paul Lapante, Cumberland, RI; 3. Art Chartier, Douglas, MA.