Thompson Speedway finished up the
34th Annual XtraMart World Series of Stock Car Racing with some
truly terrific feature races. Bobby Santos III ran an excellent
race in the WMT 150 lap portion of the program to grab the
victory in that event, and Jimmy Blewett made his return to the
Sunoco Modifieds a great experience by taking the victory in
that event. Jeff Connors took down the Pro Stock feature, and
Ron Levesque Jr. won the Late Model event. It is the story of
each of these events that made the whole thing exciting.
The Pro Stocks led off the day’s events, with Jay
Macedonio’s #14 on the pole, and Connors’ #51 to his outside.
Macedonio grabbed the lead at the start, but Dave Silvia’s #36
brush with the turn 1 wall brought out caution immediately. On
the restart, Macedonio and Connors battled side by side, with
Connors finally nosing ahead to take the lead, just as a huge
wreck on the front stretch brought out another yellow on lap 3.
On the restart, Macedonio challenged Connors for the lead once
more, but another front stretch wreck took even more cars out as
yellow was out again quickly. Peter ‘Buzzy’ Eriksen, #68 and
Rusty Turbush, 08x, running in 11th and 18th at the time, were
able to avoid the wreck, but pitted and rejoined the field in
the rear. On the restart, Connors took the lead once more, as
Macedonio, Wayne Dion, #99, and Fed Astle, Jr. #48 followed.
Connors held on to the lead by slim margin as the laps ticked
off toward the race’s halfway point. Connors continued to hold
the lead, as on lap 25 Macedonio mounted his last attempt to get
by, but Connors was able to hold him off as the top 5 ran in a
tight line through the end of the race with no change in
positions. Buzzy Eriksen came across the line in 14th, followed
by Rusty Turbush in 15th.
Next out were the Late Models, with Woody Pitkat’s #48
on the pole, and Jay Stuart’s #42 to his outside. Pitkat took
off at the drop of the green, as Stuart battled Tom O’Sullivan’s
#16 for 2nd, and Corey Hutchings #36 battled with Marc
Palmisano’s #03 for 4th in side by side battles. Zach Fisher’s
#66 slowed going into turn 1 at the back of the field, and Randy
Waterman’s #76 and Garret Fabrizio’s #13 collided with him and
each other trying to avoid Fisher’s slow moving vehicle, and the
first yellow of the race was out. Waterman and Fabrizio were
able to drive away, but Fabrizio pitted for repairs and lost a
couple of laps as the race resumed with Pitkat taking the point
once more, as Stuart and Palmisano followed. Hutchings shot by
Stuart and Palmisano from 4th to challenge Pitkat by lap 8, but
another 2 car wreck in the front stretch brought out caution
once again, and during the caution, Thore Foss, who started
25th, pitted to make adjustments to his #57 and quickly rejoined
the field. On the restart, Hutchings grabbed the lead, but on
lap 11, caution flew again as Waterman’s #76 hit the turn 2
wall. Hutchings led once more at the green, but Rob Visconti’s
#23 stalled on the front stretch after brushing the wall, and
caution flew immediately. On the next restart, Hutchings was out
front once more, but a crash a couple of laps later involving
Pete Yetman’s #87 caught Hutchings right rear, severely damaging
his car, and giving the lead to Pitkat for the next restart.
Pitkat took off at the drop of the green, with Stuart and Rick
Gentes’ #70 chasing closely behind him, but yellow was out again
quickly when John Materas’ #73 crashed in turn 2. On the next
restart, Gentes and O’Sullivan came together, and yellow was out
again. On the next restart, Pitkat didn’t get up to speed, and
Stuart and Gentes blew by him as they battled for the lead, with
Gentes getting out front, but yellow flew again as Pitkat came
to a stop off turn 2, with the incomplete lap not counting. On
the restart, Stuart beat Gentes to the line, taking sole
possession of the lead, but Gentes shot under him going into
turn 2, and took the point down the back stretch, with Scott
Fanning and Wayne Coury Sr. also getting by, dropping Stuart
back to 4th. Stuart pitted under green on lap 17 as Gentes
continued to lead and stretched his lead to 8 car lengths over
Fanning, as Palmisano and Coury battled side by side for 3rd by
lap 20, with Palmisano taking 3rd on lap 21. Yellow flew again
on lap 22 as Steven Witt spun and stalled. On the restart,
Gentes jumped out front, with Palmisano passing him comingg off
turn 2, and the duo battled down the back stretch, coming
together entering turn 3, and collecting O’Sullivan, Fanning and
a couple of others, as Osullivan ended up with his car on top of
Palmisano’s and almost flipping out over the turn 3 wall in a
spectacular crash. After lining up the remaining cars, track
officials decided to shorten the event to 23 laps, declaring a
very surprised Ron Levesque, Jr. the winner, and an even more
shocked Thore Foss, who missed practice and his heat race,
relegating him to 25th starting spot, as the 2nd place finisher.
All the early leaders of the race crashed out at one point or
another after lap 11 before the surprising finish came about.
In the Sunoco Modified event, Bo Gunning sat on the
pole in the #21x, and Kerry Malone’s #79 was to his outside. At
the green, Gunning took off, but Jimmy Blewett’s #12, which
started 3rd, quickly ducked under Malone and shot by Gunning,
taking the lead going into turn 3 of the 1st lap. Malone passed
Gunning to retake 2nd on lap 3, but by then Blewett was out in
front by 10 car lengths. Bert Marvin in the #07, who started
4th, got by Gunning for 3rd a lap later, as Josh Steeves in the
9 took 4th and Gunning settled into 5th, while Ted Christopher
ran in 6th in the #87. Christopher passed Gunning for 5th on lap
12, but the biggest battle on the track was for 3rd as Marvin
and Steeves ran bumper to bumper. Marvin held him off, but up
front, Blewett was stretching his lead to almost 20 car lengths
over Malone, as Blewett was lapping slower cars at will. Further
back, Christopher was being challenged for 5th by Tom Cravenho,
Jr. in the #31, but on lap 22, caution slowed the race as Carl
Oberg’s #47 spun and stalled. This closed the field back up for
the 8 lap dash to the finish, but at the green, Blewett jumped
out front, just as Eric Goodale‘s #20 , Dennis Krupski’s #66 and
a few other spun in the front stretch, bringing yellow back out.
Goodale drove away, but Krupski suffered a broken tie rod and
was done. On the next restart, Blewett pulled out front as
Malone stuck close to his bumper, looking for a way by, but
Blewett hung onto the lead. On lap 27, Brett LeBlanc came to a
stop near the Start/Finish line after contacting the wall, and
yellow was out once more. On the final restart, Blewett was able
to shoot to the lead off turn 4 once more, but Malone hung on as
best he could, as Blewett went a little higher than usual
through turns 1 & 2, but was able to stay out ahead of Malone,
who was pushing with everything he could muster to find a way
past Blewett, but Blewett held on to take the victory in his
return to the Sunoco Modifieds after missing the last few events
for the division. Malone held on for 2nd, while Steeves came in
3rd, Marvin 4th, and Ted Christopher 5th.
The last event of the weekend was the Whelen Modified
XtraMart 150, the last event of the season. With Donny Lia
having already wrapped up the title, the excitement surrounding
the race centered on part-time runner Tony Ferrante’s setting
fast time the day before to win the pole. Ferrante and Bobby
Santos III battled side by side through the first lap and a
half, with Santos taking the lead going down the back stretch on
lap 2. Santos stretched his lead to about 4 car lengths very
quickly, as Doug Coby got by Billy Pauch for 3rd. Woody Pitkat
slowed early in the race, and went a lap down in the #79 by lap
11, as Santos continued to enjoy a comfortable lead up front.
Pauch was being challenged for 4th by Tony Hirschman, and Coby
got by Ferrante to take 2nd on lap 14. By lap 20, Hirschman
worked his way past Pauch to take 4th, as Coby closed the gap on
Santos a bit each lap. All that went away on lap 41 as Anthony
Sesely spun in turn 2, bringing out the first caution of the
race. When green flew again on lap 45, Santos took off, and
Hirschman got by Coby to take 2nd away, but yellow was out once
more on lap 48 for a brief spin in turn 4. Many had opted to pit
on the lap 42 caution, and about 10 more chose to do so during
this one to get fresh rubber. Green was back out again on lap
52, with Santos out front as Ted Christopher got by to take 2nd,
but it was short lived as Christopher over drove going into turn
2 and spun, bringing the caution out again, and bringing
Hirschman back to 2nd. On the lap 56 restart, Santos held the
point as Hirschman, Reggie Ruggiero, and Ryan Preece followed,
with Matt Hirschman now up to 5th spot and Donny Lia right
behind in 6th. On lap 59, Bobby Grigas III hit the wall in turn
3, bringing out yet another yellow. On the restart on lap 62,
Santos took off, with Tony Hirschman right on his bumper, as
Matt Hirschman came up to 3rd, and Lia took over 4th. Hirschman
was now looking to seriously get by Santos, looking high and
low, but Santos managed to hold him off. Tony Ferrante, who’d
pitted for tires earlier, had now worked his way back to 5th,
right behind Lia, but on lap 72, Ron Yuhas’ #6 came into contact
with Joe Hartmann’s #05, and the two spun into the turn 1 wall,
bringing out the caution again. The pits opened on lap 733, and
Santos and Hirschman both elected to pit, giving the lead to
Matt Hirschman, who on the lap 79 restart took off, with Lia,
now 2nd, taking the lead from Hirschman as they came off turn 2,
as Preece and Ronnie Silk, in 3rd and 4th, trailed behind them.
Lia held a small lead over Hirschman, when suddenly, on lap 84
coming off turn 4, Lia slowed dramatically, pulling down to the
inside and slowly rolling down the front stretch as Matt
Hirschman led the rest of the field on by. Lia pulled off as he
came to turn 2, done for the day with a blown motor. Hirschman
pulled out front a bit, as Ferrante now challenged Silk for 2nd
while James Civali ran 4th, just ahead of Ruggiero in 5th. On
lap 98, caution flew again for a minor spin in turn 4, and
Preece and Christopher were the first in the pits on lap 99 when
they opened. Green flew once more on lap 103, as Hirschman and
Silk renewed their battle. Hirschman pulled away a bit, leaving
Silk to contend with Civali for 2nd, but Silk was able to hold
on, as behind them, Bobby Santos had now worked his way back to
5th, and went to work on Doug Coby to take 4th away. Santos got
by Coby on lap 109, and 2 laps later, got by Civali to take 3rd
away. The top 6 were now running in a tight line all the way
back to 6th place Ruggiero, who made his own moves, passing Silk
and Coby in one lap (120) to take 4th spot. Ted Christopher had
worked his way back up to 10th by this point, as Santos opened a
nice lead over Hirschman up front, and Ruggiero had gotten by
Civali for 3rd, but Sesely hit the turn 2 wall on lap 127, and
yellow came out closing up the field once more. On the lap 131
restart, Santos stayed out in front of Hirschman, while Silk got
by Ruggiero for 3rd, and Christopher took 6th spot by lap 134,
passing Civali for 5th a lap later. Santos pulled away to a 5
car length lead, as Ruggiero took 3rd back from Silk on lap 137,
and started working on Matt Hirschman, taking 2nd on lap 140.
But Santos was now out front by at least 7 car lengths as the
laps wound down, leaving Ruggiero in a comfortable 2nd as
Hirschman soon found himself 7 car lengths back in the 3rd spot.
Christopher, meanwhile, had passed Silk to take over 4th spot,
as Silk did all he could to stay in 5th as the Checkers waved
over Bobby Santos, while behind him, James Civali made a bonzai
move coming off turn 4, causing a race-ending crash that
involved Civali, his teammate Coby, Ed Flemke Jr, and a few
others as drivers took evasive action to avoid the mayhem at the
finish. NASCAR WMT Tour Director Ed Cox penalized Civali for the
move after the race ended, placing him last in the finishing
order for his actions on the track at the finish.
News and Notes: For Bobby Santos III, it was his first
win, but it brought the Mike Boehler owned Ole Blue #3 to
victory lane once more, a place it has been many times in the
past…9 drivers sent home after WMT qualifying whittled down the
entrants to 32 starters…Many Riverhead drivers present at
Thompson, but most left their cars at home, as the leanest group
of Riverhead regulars battled it out over the weekend with their
fellow Northern drivers…Thore Foss arrived late, missed
practice, missed his qualifying heat through a communication
error, and with no practice in the car, went out and outlasted
the carnage of the Late Model race to finish a fine 2nd, the
best finish of any Riverhead regular for the weekend….Rusty
Turbush, who put an SK type motor in his 17x mod to compete in
the Sunoco Mod race, saw that part of his weekend fade quickly
in his heat race as the motor expired, ending his chances for
competing in that race. He did get to compete in the Pro Stock
race in the Cappazola Motorsports 08(x), but against the more
powerful NE Pro Stocks. Most Riverhead LM’s have not fared well,
and this weekend was no different, as he and Buzzy Eriksen did
their best to keep up, but finished 14th and 15th in the
event….Early week weather predictions looked grim, but other
than a Friday morning rain shower, the weather was cool and
brisk (windy!) the rest of the weekend, under blue skies. A well
run program by the track prevented anyone from getting frostbite
by getting the show over early on both Saturday and Sunday…Don’t
forget, our Annual NELMA race at Mountain is this coming
Saturday, Oct. 20th, with well over 30 entries already filed,
and the addition of the Super Pro Trucks and Street Stocks
should make for a great day of racing in the colorful Pocono
mountains at Mountain Speedway, so make your plans now to
attend. We’ll have the story for you next week as always, but we
hope to see many of you there…until then, live well, and please,
be safe.
Source: Walter Johnston/LongIslandJam.com
Posted:
October 15, 2007
