By Lou Modestino
Another round of Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday was hosted by Waterford Speedbowl Wednesday evening with an action packed night of motorsports on the race track. Taking victories included a first-ever winner in the Super X-Cars, R.J. Cunningham of Clinton.
John Bowes of Willington won the night’s X-Car feature and in INEX racing action Nick Ladyga of Voluntown was a repeat winner in the Legend Cars while Alex McCollum made the trek from Phillipsburg, NJ to win the Bandolero feature. Peter Pollard of Old Lyme was the night’s wackiest driver, taking the Flag Pole Race. An appearance by the Vintage Outlaw Modifieds helped turn back the clock and show race fans a taste of racing from decades ago, rounding out the program.
Stafford Speedway returned to NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing action with Call Before You Dig presenting CBYD 811 Night. Ryan Preece scored his division leading 7th win of the 2013 season in the 40-lap SK Modified® feature, Adam Gray extended his streak of consecutive podium finishes to 12 with his fifth win of the season in the Double Distance 60-lap Late Model feature, Chase Dowling took down his fifth win in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, David Arute claimed his third win in the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Kyle Casagrande scored his second win of the season in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
Waterford Speedbowl was back in action Saturday with a six division race program at the popular shoreline oval. Picking up NASCAR Whelen All-American Series wins included Keith Rocco of Meriden, winner of his seventh SK Modified® race of the year after an exciting photo finish.
Jason Palmer of Berlin won his first Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model feature of the season. Salem’s Corey Hutchings won the Street Stock feature and took over the division point lead while Ian Brew of Wood River Junction, RI won another race in the
Mini Stock division.
Giovanni Giarratana of Newington won the night’s INEX Legend Cars race and Duane Noll of Monroe took the checkered flag in the visiting New England Truck Series.
Northeastern Midget Association point leader John Zych is now two-for-two on a track he’s seen for the first time. Starting 10th, Zych won the 25-lap NEMA feature Saturday night at Riverside Speedway. It was the fourth win of the season for Zych who also “first-timed” Airborne Speedway.
Zych took the lead on a restart following a lap 17 incident that sent Anthony Marvuglio (Bertrand 74) of E.Bridgewater to the hospital with a puncture to his leg and undiagnosed shoulder issues.
Jim Chambers (Chambers 21), Randy Cabral (Bertrand 47) of Kingston, Ian Cumens (Seymour 29) and Paul Scally (Scally 30) of Raynham completed the top five.
Coming from the seventh starting spot, Marvuglio took the lead from Scally on a lap-four restart. Running laps in the high 10s, Marvuglio had a half lap lead on Zych coming up to lap teammate Todd Bertrand and Russ Stoehr of Bridgewater. Bertrand cut a tire down shooting up the track. Marvuglio caught his right rear wheel and hit the wall violently.
The car, which carried both Modified star Doug Coby and Marvuglio to victory this year, was “destroyed” according to owner Tim Bertrand.
Zych, who called the track “scary fast,” moved into second on lap eight but clearly had nothing for Marvuglio. The final laps were uneventful, Zych opening up a commanding lead over rookie Chambers, who collected his second runner-up finish of the season and Cabral.
The first caution flew when Seth Carlson and Bethany Stoehr of Bridgewater got together. Carlson came back to finish sixth.
Russ Stoehr and Marvuglio were the heat winners.
NEMA returned to Riverside Speedway in Groveton, NH for the first time since 1996.
Zych will take a 33-point lead over Cabral heading into NEMA’s Sept. 14 visit to Oswego Speedway.
RESULTS: 1. John Zych, 2. Jim Chambers, 3. Randy Cabral, 4. Ian Cumens, 5. Paul Scally, 6. Seth Carlson, 7. Todd Bertrand, 8. Russ Stoehr, 9. Ian Cumens, 10. Danny Cugini, 11. Anthony Marvuglio, 12. Bethany Stoehr. DNF –Doug Cleveland.
In the companion NEMA Lites, coming from the 10th starting spot, P.J. Stergios needed but eight laps to take the lead and go on to win the shortened (20 laps) Northeastern Midget Association Lites feature Saturday night at Riverside Speedway.
Running the outside, Stergios dominated the event which featured a violent crash by Scott Bigelow. It was the third win for P.J. and the fourth win of the season for the car. Rookie Kevin Hutchens (Hutchens 27) was second followed by Dan Cugini (Cugini 51), Kenny Johnson (Johnson 45) and Logan Rayvals (Rayvals 95).
The Lites had trouble getting restarted after a lap 10 yellow, needing three tries. On the second try, Bigelow went over Lakeville resident Avery Stoehr’s wheel and, after an end-over-ender, hit the wall. Bigelow was rushed to the hospital with two broken vertebrae and a broken finger as was Stoehr (wrist injury). Bigelow and Stoehr were running second and third at the time of the crash.
Although he did not make Groveton, Carl Mederios will take the point lead in the Lites race at Star Speedway Sept. 7.
RESULTS: 1. P.J. Stergios, 2. Kevin Hutchens, 3. Dan Cugini, 4. Ken Johnson, 5. Logan Rayvals, 6. Richie Morocco, 7. Megan Cugini, 8. Scott Bigelow, 9. Avery Stoehr, 10. Ryan Bigelow, 11. Paul Bigelow, DNS-Anthony Payne.
Long-time racer Vinnie Annarummo once declared in victory lane following a Valenti Modified Racing Series win, “This Is My Home.” Son Todd showed Saturday night he could also lay claim that Seekonk Speedway is his home turf too. The Swansea, MA, driver nabbed his first victory of the season winning the ‘Valenti Auto Group 100’ at the historic Massachusetts oval. The victory was Annarummo’s second series win.
Annarummo started fourth in a 24-car field, moved into third in the early going behind leaders Rob Goodenough, of Swanzey, NH, and Richard Savary, of Canton, MA, then took the top spot from Savary on lap 31.
Chris Pasteryak, of Lisbon, CT, chased the leader, Savary took his turn for 38-laps, then a hard charging Steven Masse, of Bellingham, MA, tried his best to the checkered flag. Masse lead lap-88 only to be passed by a more dominant Annarummo.
Annarummo had a plan in place when then race went green. “I just wanted to get out front and run my race. It was going to take a lot to beat me. It was probably going to have to be in the infield,” he said with a smile.
In the closing laps, the leaders came upon a handful of slower cars that brought Masse and Savary within striking distance. “Not again,” Annarummo reasoned. “Two races so far here. Lapped traffic cost me wins here. I was very patient this time. I had to deal with the cars behind me but I needed to deal with the cars in front of me first.”
Runner-up Masse knew he was in Annarummo country. “My crew gave me a great car. It was real fast. Tightened up a bit. Can’t be ashamed getting beat by the (12) here. He knows the track well. I’ll take second place to him any day.”
With is five-month-old son watching Dad race for the first time,
early leader Savary was pleased with his podium finish.” We had a really good car most of the day. On that second or third restart the clutch started slipping. No excuses. I couldn’t step on the gas. I had to just ride. Cautions were killing me. I couldn’t shift and I couldn’t go full throttle. Happy to bring the car home third.”
Tommy Barrett, of Millis, MA, finished fourth with Louie Mechilides, of Tyngsboro, MA, rounding out the top five.
Max Zachem, Rowan Pennink, Todd Patnode, Chris Pasteryak, and Norm Wrenn, finished sixth through tenth.
Despite eight caution flags, the race was completed in 51 minutes with 15 of the original 24 starters finishing on the lead lap. For the second consecutive race, 32 race teams entered the event.
Heat winners were; Barrett, Pennink, and Savary, with Dana Smith winning the 13-car consolation race.
A busy week coming up for the VMRS as the three-time postponed race at Thompson CT Speedway is scheduled for Thursday, August 22, and a return to Monadnock NH Speedway on Saturday, August 24.
Race No.10 of 17- Seekonk Speedway
Entrants: 32 (24 starters)
Distance: 100 laps
Time of Race: 51:31.084
Best Lap Time: 12.229 (T.Annarummo)
Lead Changes: 4 (among 3 drivers)
Lap Leaders: Goodenough 1-10, Savary 11-31, Annarummo 32-87, Masse 88, Annarummo (89-100)
Cautions: 8 on laps-5, 8,26,36,82,82,84,88
Order of Finish; (1) Annarummo, (2) Masse, (3) Savary, (4) Barrett, (5) Mechalides, (6) Zachem, (7) Pennink, (8) Patnode, (9) Chris Pasteryak, (10) Wrenn, (11) Iannarelli, (12) Jarvis, (13) Holdridge, (14) Schneider, (15) Smith, (16) Pearl, (17) Mead, (18) Fifield, (19) Nocella, (20) Goodenough, (21) Barnett, (22) Spiers, (23) Houlihan, (24) Kopec.
Nick Lascoula picked up another win in the Nick’s Pit Stop Legends and clinched the Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Championship for the division, winning two out of the three events. The win also solidifies his place at the top of the 2013 championship standings.
Branden Martinez set the early pace in the 30 lap main event, leading Chris Robbins until Lascoula moved into second by the fifth lap. By lap 9, the Abington driver was in his familiar place, leading the field. Martinez settled into second until his engine expired just shy of the halfway point.
Joey Parker moved into the runner up spot on the restart, and the three subsequent cautions, but could not unseat the points leader, and settled for second. TJ Thompson made a rare appearance and finished third, with Chris Robbins and Wyatt Alexander fifth in his first run at Seekonk.
1) Nick Lascoula 2) Joey Parker 3) TJ Thompson 4) Chris Robbins 5) Wyatt Alexander 6) Al Wisialko 7) Alan Smith 8) Andrew Carpenter 9) Matt Chagnot 10) Matt Carpenter 11) 12) Jesse Jakubajtys 13) Curt Snow 14) Joe Putnam 15) John Bellucci 16) Brandon Martinez
John Robidoux worked his way to the lead on the Pure Stock feature with just six laps remaining after toiling in the top five the entire race. He had watched Daniel Massa, Jr. lead the first eight laps, then Joseph Fortin take the front through the middle of the race from the second slot.
After toiling mightily to get by, he spent the final laps with current champ Jesse Melberg looking for every possible way to steal the win. At the finish, though, it was Robidoux coming under the checkers first as Melberg had to power slide through turn four and down the front stretch to avoid a looseness situation turning into a spin. Melberg still claimed second with Fortin, Jamie Salley and Earl Curtin III in the top five.
1) John Robidoux 2) Jesse Melberg 3) Joe Fortin 4) Jamie Salley 5) Earl Curtin 6) Amy Arsenault 7) Bill Doyle 8) Ed Gould 9) Mark Murphy 10) Dan Massa Jr 11) Keri Manfredo 12) Tim Demarderosian 13) Melissa Charette 14) Ed Flanagan Jr
Devin Miranda made it two in a row in the 20 lap Sport4 feature, widening his championship points lead over the rest of the grid. Tylar Nailor was the early leader before being overtaken by Eric Pelletier on the sixth lap. Eric’s lead would only last a couple of laps before a deflated tire took him out of contention. Shawn DeMello took over the lead and opened up a comfortable lead on the field.
Miranda moved into second by the halfway point, and started to close in on the youngster. When DeMello encountered lapped traffic, Miranda found his opportunity, and moved underneath the traffic while DeMello tried to go around. When he did, a lapped car cut a tire and made contact with DeMello, ending his shot at the win. Miranda held off Glen Leduc for the win.
1) Devin Miranda 2) Glen Leduc 3) Dave Gargado Jr 4) Mike Glad 5) Dave Westgate 6) Tyler Boudreau 7) Gil Bradstreet 8) Chris Bissell 9) Lenny Sousa 10) Jason Enos III 11) Tylar Nailor 12) Chris Testa 13) Chuck McDonald 14) Henry Lavallee 15) Shawn DeMello 16) Kim Bickford 17) Jason Enos II 18) Eric Pellitier19) Bob Henry
Thomas Morsehead, Jr. took advantage on a restart, and when leader Evan Taylor came into turn four too hot and slid up the track, Morsehead nabbed the low road and rocketed into the lead on the tail end of lap nine. Morsehead powered on to a half-second win over Jessica O’Leary and .75 seconds ahead of third place, Matthew Barboza. David White, who led the division going into the race, was fourth followed by outside polesitter, Joey Lembo.
1) TJ Morsehead 2) Jessica O’Leary 3) Matt Barboza 4) David White 5) Joey Lembo 6) Kendra Levesque 7) Sarah DeMello 8) Cassie Meservey 9) Brett Meservey 10) Eric Lebrun 11) Scott Serydynski Jr 12) Derek Debbis 13) Doug Meservey 14) Evan Taylor 15) Shea Kulpa 16) Madison Birchall 17) Branden Lillie
David Lougee turned his unlucky season around with a monster win, leading the SYRA 750 class throughout the 20 lap feature. Lougee went quickly out to a large lead as the field battled behind him. He held of Christine Cavallaro on the solo (lap 13) restart of the feature and moved away enroute to a .113 second win over tenacious Kaitlyn Donovan. Cavallaro was just .66 off in third.
1) Dave Lougee 2) Kaitlyn Donovan 3) Christine Cavallaro 4) Curtis Rolando 5) Taylor Bowser 6) Shelby Donovan 7) Ashley Kuhn
Thursday Night Thompson Thunder will be filled with action and tension this Thursday night at the Thompson Speedway. The action will come from the exciting eight-division program and the tension will be on the shoulders of the competitors in Thompson’s five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions and the three visiting Touring divisions that will make up the program.
Thursday night’s lineup will feature the Valenti Modified Racing Series in a 75-lap main event. The first appearance of the VMRS came on May 19th. The rains came early and forced a cancellation for the night. Little did anyone know that in three subsequent attempts to present the VMRS, Mother Nature would step in each time to act as a spoiler.
Only seven races remain on the VMRS calendar for the 2013 season and Rowan Pennink and Tommy Barrett, JR. top the point chase. Close behind are Richard Savary, Louie Mechalides and Chris Pasteryak. Thompson’s race could play a major role in determining the winner of the 2013 VMRS crown.
The New England Truck Series has also fallen victim of rains at Thompson and they will try for the third time to run their race event. Duane Noll holds the top spot in the points with rookie Tony Lafo close behind. Glen Noll sits third in the standings with Pete Cayer in fourth spot.
The third Touring Series may the one that guarantees good weather. The Outlaw Antique Modifieds have had two successful events at Thompson this year and are being counted on to bring a near-perfect night for racing.
Joining these three Tours will be all five of Thompson’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions. Each of these competitors will feel the pressure of the points battles that have produced incredibly close numbers as the regular season draws to an end.
With only two more Thursday night races on the schedule, the battles for division championships is boiling down to a typical Thompson fight for a top five finish. In the Sunoco Modified division, Woody Pitkat holds a four point advantage over Kerry Malone and Keith Rocco; both of whom are tied for second. Todd Ceravolo is only eighteen points off the leader and Dennis Perry trails Ceravolo by a mere eight markers. Defending champion Ryan Preece sits sixth in the standings only two points behind Perry.
Late Model competitor Glenn Boss has a two point bulge over Rick Gentes going into the final two events. John Lowinski-Loh is twenty four behind the leader and is followed by Marc Curtis and Damon Tinio. Gentes is second on Thompson’s all-time win list with some 71 wins and Boss is 4th on the list with 56 visits to victory lane.
The Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman division has Steve Kenneway out in front by a margin of eight points over Jason Chicolas. Bill McNeil and Larry Barnett are in a tie for third and defending champ Scott Sundeen in fifth place in the standings.
The Lite Modified division has defending champ Cam McDermott looking to claim another title. He leads John Studley by twenty points and is over eighty points ahead of third place Dylan Menditto, Glenn Griswold and Joseph Boivin. The margin that Monster Mini Stock former champ Eric Bourgeois has over defending champ Chad Baxter is only twelve points while Baxter’s advantage over his brother Joe is only six points. Joe Baxter is in a tie with another former champ Mike Viens with Dave Trudeau only two markers behind them.
Thursday night’s race program will get underway with qualifying races for the VMRS and the N.E. Trucks. Those events get underway at 5:30 PM and once completed the eight feature event races will commence.