By Lou Modestino
The final Wild ‘n Wacky race program of the season was held at Waterford Speedbowl Wednesday evening, placing the final winners of the year into Victory Lane. In addition, track championships in all divisions were settled. Picking up race wins included Angelo Belsito of Auburn, MA in the INEX Legend Cars, Dave Yardley of Berlin in the Super X-Cars, Larry Loomis Jr. of Moosup in the X-Car division and Anthony Marvin of Colchester in the INEX Bandoleros.
Track championships were claimed by Joey Ternullo of Middletown in the INEX Legend Cars, the youngest champion in the history of the Legend Cars division at the track at 14 years of age. In the X-Cars, a tight points battle saw Brad Voglesong of Middletown edge out New London’s Zach Thomas.
The Super X-Car title went to Bill Reiman of Southington as he overtook Frank Alessio of Colchester in the final race. Marvin’s victory in the INEX Bandoleros vaulted him to the division title ahead of Corey Comeroski of Lebanon. Peter Pollard of Old Lyme and Chuck McDonald of Groton earned titles in the Super X-Car and X-Car Wacky Race standings. All champions are unofficial pending official review by the track. They will be
confirmed in the coming week.
Taking advantage of lapped traffic, Seth Carlson joined Midget racing’s elite Saturday night, winning the 25-lap Northeastern Midget Association feature at Oswego Speedway.
Starting third, Carlson (Feigel 71) followed pole sitter Bethany Stoehr (Stoehr 5b) of Lakeville, the only other leader, for 18 laps before making the winning pass through turns three and four. Carlson then ran out to a commanding lead, showing a 2.098 seconds advantage at the finish.
Bethany Stoehr held on for a career best second. Her father Greg Stoehr (Stoehr 26b) also of Lakeville edged Kingston’s Randy Cabral (Bertrand 47) for third, the latter coming back from a first-lap spin. Jim Chambers (Chambers 21) was fifth with point leader John Zych Jr. (Zych 9) sixth.
“I was waiting for the lapped car to come up. I figured that was my best shot. I took a chance. I made it work and now I’m here,” Carlson said from Victory Lane. “We really had a good car here last year and I kind of gave it away so this is what I really wanted.”
Only one-caution marred Carlson’s drive, Cabral’s spin on the first lap. Dropping back to 14th on the restart, Cabral was back in the top five by lap 10 and soon was in a battle with Greg Stoehr. Multiple times Cabral drew even with Stoehr.
Despite the single caution, Carlson needed just under seven minutes and 19 seconds to pick up his second career victory. Greg Stoehr had the fastest lap – a 17.116 (131.346 mph) but the entire top five were in the low 17s.
Bethany Stoehr and Carlson were both heat winners, Bethany pulling it off despite losing power steering.
The point race now very tight, NEMA begins its “stretch drive” at Waterford Speedbowl’s Finale Oct. 5-6, Lee USA Speedway’s Oktoberfest (Oct. 12-13) and Thompson Speedway’s World Series (Oct. 19-20) follow.
Carlson is NEMA’s eighth winner of the season…While speeds were impressive, Weymouth’s Jim Miller’s sizzling 16.94 record Oswego lap set last year remains intact…It was the fourth straight top five for Cabral.
Bethany Stoehr’s second and Greg Stoehr’s third Saturday at Oswego Speedway night marks the first time in the Northeastern Midget Association’s 61-year history that a father and daughter have been on the podium. It is still another chapter in one of the country’s most family-centric racing body.
Franklin’s Erica and Bobby Santos III remain the only sister-brother combo to share a podium. That happened at Stafford Speedway on July 3, 2008 when Bobby and Erica were second and third behind Randy Cabral.
Some other family firsts:
Fathers and sons on the same podium start with Joey Coy chasing his dad Johnny home at Thompson on April 2, 1978. The Manns – Johnny and Billy – did it too but probably the most famous incident in this category is Russ Stoehr’s late pass on his dad Paul at Thompson on Sept. 1, 1990.
Brothers have occupied the podium countless times. Nokie and Drew Fornoro appear to be the first, finishing first and third at Stafford on Aug. 15, 1981.
RESULTS: 1. Seth Carlson, 2. Bethany Stoehr, 3. Greg Stoehr, 4.. Randy Cabral, 5. Jim Chambers, 6. John Zych, 7. Ian Cumens, 8. Todd Bertrand, 9. Paul Scally, (Raynham) 10. Russ Stoehr, 11. Doug Cleveland, 12. Chris Abold, 13. Anthony Nocella, 14. Michael Barnes. DNS – Phil DiMario.
Making his 13th start, Northeastern Midget Association rookie Richie Morocco became the Lites Division’s ninth winner of the season Saturday night, capturing the 20-lap feature at Oswego Speedway.
Starting fifth, Morocco passed Christian Briggs, the only other leader, with an inside move going into turn one on lap 16. He then went on to a convincing triumph in the caution-free event. It was the first Lites podium finish for the Plainville, MA youngster.
Briggs who started third and took the lead immediately, held on for a season-best second. In a battle that saw several passes, Marshfield’s Danny Cugini bested point leader Carl Mederios Jr. for third with Kenny Johnson fifth. It was the fifth straight top-five for Cugini.
“I thought I had a chance about five or 10 laps in when I started catching Christian,” said Morocco, who had the fastest lap – an 18.605 (120.935 mph. “After I got by him I knew I was good.” Needing 19.02 minutes to cover the 20 laps, he had a 1.54 second advantage at the checker.
The Lites next start will be Saturday night, Oct. 5 at Waterford Speedbowl’s Finale.
RESULTS: 1. Richie Morocco, 2. Christian Briggs, 3. Danny Cugini, 4. Carl Mederios Jr., 5. Kenny Johnson, 6. Avery Stoehr,(Bridgewater) 7. P.J. Stergois, 8. Brandon Igo, 9. Ian Cumens, 10. Paul Bigelow, 11. Jack Smith, 12. Andy Barrows, 13. Ryan Krachun, 14. Logan Rayvals, 15. Paul Scally, 16. Megan Cugini (Marshfield),
In the Late Model Crab Manchester Memorial feature at Seekonk Speedway Ryan Vanasse jumped behind the wheel of Bill Bernard’s team car and rolled to his first win in the LM division in over two years, like he never left. The two-time LM champion started fifteenth on the starting grid and used a couple of early cautions and some timely openings to battle for the win.
Branden Dion brought the field down and jumped out front until Dillon Moltz, looking for some redemption, moved around the rookie for the lead. Moltz held onto the lead through a couple of early cautions, including one that included Dillon Estrella and Gerry DeGasparre.
At the halfway point, Moltz started opening a sizeable lead, which went away after Bill Bernard spun with just 10 laps remaining. Vanasse had moved to third, and moved past Lineham for second. By this time, Moltz was fighting a right front tire that was going down, and couldn’t hold off The Rocket, as Ryan moved around the CT native for the lead with seven laps remaining. Vanasse held off Moltz and DeGasparre on a final Green-White-Checkered finish. Moltz beat DeGasparre to the line for second. Jeramee Lillie and Lineham were fourth and fifth.
1) Ryan Vanasse 2) Dillon Moltz 3) Gerry DeGasparre Jr 4) Jeramee Lillie 5) Ryan Lineham 6) Dylan Estrella 7) Mark Hudson 8) Brandon Dion 9) Ron Barboza 10) Tyler Thompson 11) Derryk Anderson 12) Bill Bernard 13) Vinny Arrenegado 14) Bobby Pelland III 15) Dave Hutchins Jr 16) Fred Astle Jr 17) Charlie Rose
In the Pro Stock main Dave Darling picked up his speedway leading seventh Pro Stock win in the 40 lap main event. Kevin Folan out dueled Mike Mitchell for the lead and held on while Mitchell pressured him. They ran that way for the first ten laps before Dick Houlihan moved by for second. From there, he pressured Folan for the lead, and moved underneath on the seventeenth lap for the lead.
Mike Brightman followed for second with the inside lane open, with Darling following. Dave made quick work of Brightman, moving past at lap 20. By that time, Houlihan had opened up a 12 car length advantage. That didn’t matter to the three time champion, as he closed in, and with 10 laps remaining, sat atop the leader board.
The first of 2 cautions came out on lap 31 when Kevin Folan and Bob Hussey got together. A second caution on lap 34 slowed up the pack for the final time. On the restart, Ryan Vanasse, who moved past Brightman on the previous restart, moved underneath and past Houlihan, and tried to close in to no avail. He had to settle for second, with Houlihan, Fred Astle and Tom Scully Jr the rest of the top five.
1) Dave Darling 2) Ryan Vanasse 3) Dick Houlihan 4) Fred Astle Jr 5) Tom Scully Jr 6) Mike Brightman 7) Kenny Spencer 8) Dave Silvia 9) Kevin Folan 10) Daryl Stampfl 11) Bob Hussey 12) Mike Mitchell 13) Dave Hutchins Sr 14) Billy Joerres 15) John Berchem 16) Frank Duquette
Sport Truck driver Rick Martin made his fifth trip to Everett’s Auto Parts Victory Lane Saturday night in the 25 lap Sport Truck feature. Nick Uhrig led the opening laps, holding off Anna Gregoire and putting some distance between he and the pack.
Rookie Chase Belcher ran into second by the fifth circuit before being displaced by a hard charging Martin. Martin was on a mission, and moved past Uhrig on lap nine, never looking back.
With Martin out front, all eyes were looking at the battle behind Uhrig, as Belcher held his own against Rob Murphy and Mike Cavallaro. Mike got a much needed caution with just a handful of laps remaining, just after he had moved past Murphy and Belcher. On the restart, moved past into second, with Murphy following through. Mike tried to pressure Martin, but was not going to keep him from his 90th career win at Seekonk.
1) Rick Martin 2) Mike Cavallaro 3) Rob Murphy 4) Nick Uhrig 5) John Paiva 6) Chase Belcher 7) Barry Shaw Jr 8) Darryl Church 9) Anna Gregoire 10) Dan Leach 11) Scott Dion 12) Russ Borges 13) Bill Schoeler 14) Mike Duarte 15) Jim Hawkins 16) Rob Rainville 17) Casey Sanchez 18) Lenny Guy19) Joey Wakefield 20) Billy Clarke
Ray Negley made sure no one was getting past, as he picked up his first win in over 2 seasons in the 25 lap Street Stock main event. Negley started on the pole, and held off Austin Blais and Scott Serydynski for the entire distance. The race was slowed by 5 cautions, and through them all, both the 15 year old rookie and the former 2-time Street Stock champion tried to get around and under The Showstoppa, but it just wasn’t going to happen on this night.
Several times, Serydynski raced wheel to wheel on the outside, but could not complete the deal, while Blais tried to squeeze underneath. Other times, it was the opposite, but the results were the same. Street Stock point championship leader Scott Bruneau kept his nose clean in the main event, moving to a fourth place finish with Rey Lovelace fifth.
Chris DeMoura won the Simpson’s Auto Care Lucky Dray Bonus of $100.
1) Ray Negley 2) Austin Blais 3) Scott Serydynski 4) Scott Bruneau 5) Rey Lovelace 6) Vinny Pangelinan 7) Paul Lallier 8) Justin Travis 9) Crystal Serydynski 10) Gerard Berthelette 11) Bobby Bettencourt 12) David Smith 13) Craig Pianka 14) Randy Moretti 15) Ian Savard 16) A J Solomon 17) Corey Fanning 18) Ed Gannon III 19) Chris DeMoura 20) Manny Dias 21) Joe Melberg 22) Darryl Perry 23) Doug Rioux.
In the Seekonk Fast Friday action Earl Curtin III made quick work from his fourth row starting position, and moved past early leader Kei-Lyn Manfredo on the fourth circuit of the 25 lap Pure Stock feature to pick up his third victory of the season. Manfredo jumped out in front of Dan Johnson on the opening lap, and set the early lead. Her top position didn’t last long until Curtin found the outside and moved past the third year driver.
Jon Fortin moved into second right behind the chase, but could not close in the gap in a race that was deplete of cautions. The battle for third was a heavy one, as Amy Arsenault ran third with pressure from Ed Flanagan Jr for much of the middle portion of the race, and from defending Pure Stock champion Jesse Melberg, as he worked the second groove, trying to move through the field. The battle between the trio was three wide on several occasions, but it was Melberg who had the grip when it counted, and held on for third. Arsenault and Flanagan rounded out the top five.
Points leader John Robidoux finished seventh, along with Curtin’s victory, closes in the championship race between the two going into the final event. Unofficially, John has a 12 point advantage going into the final night.
1) Earl Curtin III 2) Joe Fortin 3) Jesse Melberg 4) Amy Arsenault 5) Ed Flanagan Jr 6) Jamie Salley 7) John Robidoux 8) Bill Doyle 9) Dan Johnson 10) Dan Massa Jr 11) Mark Murphy 12) Melissa Charente 13) Keri-Lyn Manfredo
Al Wisialko used a late race caution to move past, and eventually hold off points leader Nick Lacuna in the 25 lap Nick’s Pit Stop Legends 25 lap race. Wisi started fifth in the eleven car field, and started his push to the front early on.
Chris Robbins took the lead on the opening circuit, pulling away from Matt Carpenter immediately. His lead opened up to several car lengths before Andy Carpenter started to reel the leader in. John O’Sullivan ran third through the first half, when Lascoula started to make his way to the front. ON the eighteenth circuit, Carpenter was able to move under Robbins, and take over the top spot. His lead only lasted 2/3 of a mile before Lascoula moved out front.
The final caution came out when Andy Carpenter spun. setting the stage for a four lap shootout. Wisialko restarted on the outside of the front row, and the pair raced wheel to wheel for the next three laps before Wisialko moved out front and picked up his second career victory. Robbins held on for third, with O’Sullivan and Andy Carpenter rebounding for a fifth place finish. With Lascoula’s runner up finish, he clinched the Nick’s Pit Stop Legends Championship.
1) Al Wisialko 2) Nick Lascoula 3) Chris Robbins 4) John O’Sullivan 5) Andrew Carpenter 6) Matt Carpenter 7) Jesse Melberg 8) Jesse Jakubajtys 9) Curt Snow 10) Joe Putnam 11) John Bellucci
The Sport4 feature came down to a three car battle for the win, and it was Len Sousa picking up his first win of the season. Kim Bickford led the opening lap before Gil Bradstreet moved past and to the top of the leader board. Bradstreet held the helm for a dozen laps before Sousa got the best of Gil on a restart.
Gil fell back after the green, which allowed Devin Miranda, Mike Glad and Shawn DeMello past. Over the final laps, Miranda was able to even up with Sousa, but didn’t have enough to make the pass. As he slid back, Glad was able to sneak under and take over the second position. Miranda held onto third, with DeMello and Henry Lavallee rounding out the top five. Points leader Tyler Boudreau was caught in an early incident that involved Miranda, but was caught in the pits for repairs, and lost a lap to the leaders, relegating him to a 16th place finish. This jumbles the standing, giving Miranda a single point advantage over Boudreau, with DeMello only eight points out.
1) Lenny Sousa 2) Mike Glad 3) Devin Miranda 4) Shawn DeMello 5) Henry Lavallee 6) Gil Bradstreet 7) Dave Westgate 8) Eric Pellitier9) Dave Gargaro Jr 10) Chuck McDonald 11) Kim Bickford 12) Chris Testa 13) Bob Henry 14) Glen Leduc 15) Nick Mattera 16) Tyler Boudreau
Curtis Rolando moved to the front of the SYRA 750 division after avoiding an incident involving several cars, and never looked back in the 20 lap feature. Shelby Donovan led the first 1/3 mile before getting caught up in an incident that eliminated her and Ashley Kuhn. Taylor Bowser and Dave Lougee were also involved. Bowser was able to continue, and Lougee was penalized to the rear for the aggressiveness.
Lougee moved into second on the restart and held there until the final caution came out on the tenth lap for Christine Cavallaro, who stalled on the speedway. Bowser moved past into second on the restart, but was not able to catch Rolando, who clinched the SYRA 750 championship. He is also the 2011 SYRA 600 Champion.
1) Curtis Rolando 2) Taylor Bowser 3) Dave Lougee 4) Christine Cavallaro 5) Ashley Kuhn 6) Shelby Donovan
Cassie Meservey took off from her pole position starting position, and held the top position for the entire 20 lap SYRA 600 feature. Kendra Levesque held onto second until she was caught up on lap nine, forcing her to the back of the field.
David White tried to move into the lead on the restart, but fell back as Matt Barboza and TJ Morsehead moved past for second and third. With the laps winding down, the top three settled into a single file parade, and followed the third generation Meservey to her first ever win.
1) Cassie Meservey 2) Matt Barboza 3) TJ Morsehead 4) Brandon Lillie 5) Dave White 6) Derek Debbis 7) Joey Lembo 8) Jessica O’Leary 9) Doug Meservey 10) Sarah DeMello 11) Madison Birchall 12) Eric Lebrun 13) Mikey Toner 14) Kendra Levesque 15) Scott Serydynski Jr 16) Shea Kulpa.
Ryan Preece has figured out Riverhead Raceway by winning his third consecutive NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at the track Saturday night in the Green Earth Technologies 200.
Preece, 22, from Berlin, Conn., took the lead from Timmy Solomito on Lap 177, sliding underneath the local driver and holding on for his fourth win of the 2013 season.
In addition to his win at Riverhead earlier in the season, Preece also has a win at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H., another quarter-mile bullring.
“I think my driving style suits them,” Preece said. “I really like a loose car.
“And without the car I’ve had, I wouldn’t be in Victory Lane. I’ve just been very fortunate. I’ve been in the right places and the right ime and in the right cars.”
The 21-year-old Solomito, a regular in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Modified Division at Riverhead, won his first career Coors Light Pole Award in his sixth tour start and led the first three-quarters of the race before giving way to Preece.
Justin Bonsignore managed to get by Solomito on Lap 193 to take second, while Solomito settled for third.
“It was a pretty good run,” said Bonsignore. “All the cautions just killed us. We were set up for the race to go fairly green. And the car just stayed too tight, until that last yellow. We were able to work Solomito and get by him, and at that point, Preece was just too far checked out.
“We were kind of catching him, but he’s one of the best here right now — on any level of racing — and it was just going to be tough to get him.”
Despite missing out on the win, it was a career day for Solomito.
“I knew we had a pretty good car,” Solomito said. “We were just trying to run a pace at the beginning not to kill the tires. But when you have Ryan Preece behind you, that’s tough to do.
“Not running a lot of these Tour shows, I wanted to lead the laps. I wanted to be that guy. I kind of burnt it up a little bit there in the beginning and paid for it in the end.
“But all in all, a great day to come here, qualify on the pole and finish third. Lead 176 laps. I really couldn’t ask for me. I just can’t thank everybody enough that’s helped me out today.”
The race was slowed by 13 cautions. Each time Solomito was able to pull away, although after a few laps Preece began to reel him back in and look for an inside lane to pass.
“He races a lot, obviously,” said Solomito. “And from racing those SK (Modified) cars, he gets real close to your back bumper down the straightaways and kind of sling shots it in.
“I was really on the guard for one of those moves. He kept trying to work us over. I was really trying to protect the bottom the best I could and keep the right rear tire under me. Because usually when you hold nose down, you usually end up burning the right rear off. I was just trying to protect the bottom the best I could. But he got in there and the rest was history.”
After taking control of the top spot, Preece strategically moved around the quarter-mile asphalt oval, pulling away for the win by 2.314 seconds.
“We had a strong car when we started – we started off a little snug,” said Preece. “There were quite a few cautions that put us on the outside of Timmy Solomito. But fortunately, all those cautions helped me, as far as making the little adjustments I can make – and that was putting rear brake into the car so I could roll the center.
“It seemed like every restart, we got a little bit better and a little bit better. And maybe he was getting a little bit freer up off.
“We were able to muscle our way in there and get by him and come out with the victory.”
It was the ninth tour victory for the 2013 NASCAR Next driver and he tied Mike Ewanitsko for the most consecutive wins at the track, which has held 53 tour events.
“It’s such an accomplishment,” said Preece. “He’s kind of like a Richie Evans to me – in my eyes, as a hero. So it’s definitely great to tie him.”
Woody Pitkat capped a strong run with a fourth-place finish, while Howie Brode came back from a mid-race spin to finish fifth. Earlier in the month, Brode wrapped up Riverhead’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Modified Division title.
Bonsignore was the 2011 Riverhead track champion, while Preece has also raced regularly in the track’s weekly division.
Eric Goodale, Rowan Pennink, Ted Christopher, Todd Szegedy and Patrick Emerling rounded out the top 10.
Preece also pushed his points lead to 46 over Doug Coby, who finished 14th, with three races remaining. Preece leads by 73 over third-place Pennink and 77 over Mike Stefanik. Pitkat is fifth in points, four back of Stefanik.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will race next in the F.W. Webb 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 21. The race will air live on FS2 at noon.
NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR-Green Earth Technologies 200 Results
Saturday
At Riverhead Raceway
Riverhead, NY
Lap length: 0.25 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (3) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Ford, 200 laps, 38.136 mph.
2. (5) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, NY, Chevrolet, 200.
3. (1) Timmy Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200.
4. (11) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Pontiac, 200.
5. (2) Howie Brode, East Islip, NY, Chevrolet, 200.
6. (6) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200.
7. (16) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 200.
8. (7) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 200.
9. (12) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn, Ford, 200.
10. (9) Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, NY, Chevrolet, 200.
11. (8) Donny Lia, Jericho, NY, Dodge, 200.
12. (10) Shawn Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Chevrolet, 200.
13. (23) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 200.
14. (18) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 200.
15. (20) Wade Cole, Hartland, Conn., Chevrolet, 200.
16. (19) Ron Yuhas, Jr., Groton, Conn., Chevrolet, 200.
17. (26) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn, Chevrolet, 199.
18. (28) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, MA, Chevrolet, 197.
19. (22) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Pontiac, 196.
20. (14) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 195.
21. (21) Bryon Chew, Mattituck, NY, Chevrolet, 195.
22. (24) Ron Silk, Norwalk, CT, Chevrolet, 200.
23. (27) Frank Vigliarolo, Jr., Mt. Sinai, NY, Chevrolet, 154, mechanical.
24. (4) John Beatty, Jr., Merrick, N.Y., Chevrolet, 147, mechanical.
25. (25) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Chevrolet, 147, suspension.
26. (15) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Ford, 142.
27. (17) Eric Berndt, Cromwell, Conn., Chevrolet, 86, accident.
28. (13) Cole Powell, Mt Brydges, Ont., Canada, Chevrolet, 61, accident.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 18 minutes 40 seconds
Margin of Victory: 2.314 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: T.Solomito * (75.956 mph, 11.849 seconds)
Caution Flags: 13 for 101 laps.
Lead Changes: 1 among 2 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Solomito 1-176; R. Preece 177-200.
Standings: 1. R. Preece, 453; 2. D. Coby, 408; 3. R. Pennink, 380; 4. M. Stefanik, 376; 5. W. Pitkat, 372; 6. J. Bonsignore, 367; 7. T. Christopher, 367; 8. D. Lia, 363; 9. R. Silk, 356; 10. T. Szegedy, 355.