Reen Unexpected World
Series WMT Winner
Thompson, CT (October 16, 2011): The
38th Annual World Series of Speedway Racing culminated on Sunday
with five feature events. The headlining Whelen Modified Tour
ended their season in dramatic fashion with Glenn Reen of
Wilbraham, MA, scoring a career-first. Chris Perley of Rowley,
MA, turned in a dominating performance in the International
Supermodifed Association (ISMA) 50-lapper to score the victory.
Russ Stoehr of Lakeville, MA, scored top honors in the
Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) ranks.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
action, Ryan Preece of Berlin, CT, outlasted the field in a
rough-and-tumble Sunoco Modified feature. Derek Ramstrom of
Worcester, MA, scored his sixth Super Late Model race to cap off
the 2011 season at Thompson. Corey Hutchings of Salem, CT,
survived the Late Model main event to score the win.
Glenn Reen of Wilbraham, MA, was an
unexpected winner in a chaotic season finale for the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour. Attrition played a major role in an event
that saw tons of drama, short tempers and a season-high 16
cautions. It took three attempts at green-white-checker restarts
to get the event in the books. Reen withstood all attempts to
post the victory. Bobby Santos III, involved in a mid-race
incident, rebounded to finish second. Matt Hirschman turned a
difficult weekend into a podium finish as well. Chuck Hossfeld
and Tom Rogers, Jr. completed the top-five.
Ronnie Silk was involved in a wreck on
lap 52; sustaining significant damage. Impressive work by his
crew had Silk back on the speedway in only nine laps. Silk was
the recipient of the free pass several times to get back five
laps. Szegedy had been forced to slow up for several incidents
during the event; losing track positions. Mired deep in the
field Szegedy has clawed his way back into contention for the
championship. An incident on the first attempt at a
green-white-checker finish found Szegedy with substantial
damage; giving Silk clear sailing to his first Whelen Modified
Tour championship.
Chris Perley continued his sheer
domination of the World Series. The Rowley Rocket has won nine
out of the last 12 appearances for the Supers at Thompson;
including five wins a row. Perley started in the eleventh
position. By lap four, he was fifth. He gained two positions on
lap six to run second. He was the new leader on lap eight.
Perley would never be headed in the commanding victory. Jeff
Locke, Timmy Jedrzejek, Mike Litchey, and Eddie Witkum, Jr.
completed the top-five. A full race report can be found on
ismasupers.com.
Russ Stoehr of Lakeville, MA, came on
strong late in the 25-lap main event and held off strong
competition to score the World Series victory. Mike Horn jumped
from the outside pole to lead the opening lap of the NEMA main
event. He immediately had company in Randy Cabral. On lap two,
Cabral made the pass for the lead look easy. Cabral immediately
distanced himself from Horn in second. A multi-car incident
spurred by a spin by Paul Luggelle on the backstretch brought
out the caution on lap four. Under the caution period, pole
sitter John Zych and Joey Payne headed to pit road. Payne was
able to rejoin the field.
On the restart, R. Stoehr made it
three-wide; moving from fourth to second in a single-lap. He
lurked within striking distance of Cabral. Horn was relegated
back to third followed by Ben Seitz and Greg Stoehr. After a
pair of laps, Cabral got his #47 wound up again and began to
stretch his lead once again.
Cabral was masterful through lapped
traffic; extending his advantage over R. Stoehr. At halfway, the
running order was Cabral, R. Stoeher, M. Horn, Seitz and G.
Stoehr. On lap 15, Abold was able to get by Stoehr and into the
top five. The second caution flew on lap17 when the #30 of Paul
Scally slowed on the backstretch.
R. Stoehr gave Cabral a run for this
money on the restart on lap 17. Although Stoehr was able to
steal the lead away, he could not get any distance on Cabral.
Entering the corners Cabral could get along side the leader.
Another quick caution set up a restart
on lap 20. It was again R. Stoehr with the lead. Cabral
continued to use the low groove to get along side of R. Stoehr
on successive laps. Each time, Cabral had to settle back in line
as he lost momentum coming up off the corner. On the final lap,
Abold had caught Seitz. R. Stoehr held off the charges of Cabral
to take the victory. M. Horn came home third. Seitz took the
fourth spot by inches of Abold.
“The Tim Bertrand/Randy Cabral
combination has been unstoppable here,” said R. Stoehr in
victory lane. “I saw him on the bottom and I thought ‘not
today’”.
Cabral was crowned the 2011 Northeastern
Midget Association champion.
Ryan Preece of Berlin, CT, withstood a
number of restarts in a caution-marred Sunoco Modified feature
event to score the victory. The event was immediately slowed by
caution after Todd Ceravolo went sliding through the grass on
the backstretch. With the green flag flying, Woody Pitkat had
edged out Ryan Preece to take the early lead. Pitkat was not
without pressure from Preece. Danny Cates made it a three-car
breakaway at the head of the pack. Ted Christopher and Rick
Fuller hooked up to run down the lead trio.
On lap four, Preece did the patented
Sunoco Modified slide move to take the lead away from Pitkat.
Cates got out of shape on lap six; losing the third spot to
Christopher. Fuller peeked to the outside of Cates on the
backstretch. He ran out of room making contact with both the
outside wall and Cates to bring out the caution on lap six.
Neither car could continue.
On the restart, Preece was once again in
command of the event. Pitkat was in hot pursuit in second.
Christopher ran nearly a half straightaway behind in third.
Michael Gervais was having a strong run in fourth. The caution
flew again on lap nine for an incident involving Dylan Kopec and
Ceravolo.
Preece picked the outside grove on the
restart to rocket back into the lead. He took Christopher along
for the ride; relegating Pitkat back to third. After a quick
caution on lap 11, it was now Christopher pitted against Preece
on the restart. Preece was sluggish on the restart opening the
door for Christopher. Christopher had edged ahead but by turn
one it was Preece taking command. Pitkat got by Christopher and
immediately went to work on Preece for the lead.
At the crossed-flags Preece held a
slight advantage over Pitkat. Christopher ran third followed by
Gervais and Shelly Perry in fifth. Pitkat was glued to the back
bumper of Preece when the caution flew for a spin toward the
back of the pack. Preece and Pitkat picked up where they left
off after another pair of cautions. Lap-after-lap, all Pitkat
could do was chase Preece.
On lap 22, Pitkat got the opportunity he
was looking for to get by Preece and back into the lead. Preece
faltered slightly also giving way to Christopher. A multi-car
incident in turn one negated the pass by Christopher; placing
Preece to Pitkat’s outside for the restart on lap 23. Track
officials deemed that Pitkat had gone early and was
black-flagged for jumping the restart. Preece was able to gain a
car-length advantage on Christopher on the restart.
Restarting at the rear of the field,
Pitkat was collected in a multi-car incident. There was no
damage to the #00. Perry, who had been running in the top-five,
was not as lucky. Christopher had nothing for Preece on the
restart. With five laps to go, Pitkat had moved into fifth. With
four laps to go he was fourth and reeling in Gervais in third.
With two to go, Pitkat was all over Gervais. Dylan Liseo hit the
wall in turn two to bring out the caution. This would allow
Pitkat to line-up on row two with two laps to go. What appeared
to be Pitkat’s shot was actually his undoing as his car ran out
of fuel. Also, under the caution, Henry Stampl gave up the
fourth position retiring to pit road.
Over the final two laps it was all
Preece. The Berlin, CT, driver went on to capture the victory.
It was Preece’s fourth of the year in the Sunoco Modifieds at
Thompson. Christopher settled for second. Gervais had a career
day to finish third. Craig Lutz and Joe Allegro, Jr.
completed the top-five.
Derek Ramstrom of Worcester, MA, had a
dismal start to the Super Late Model main event; but it was his
strong finish that netted him the World Series victory. Pole
sitter Ramstrom faltered on the initial start; falling from
first to fifth. Mike O’Sullivan capitalized to grab the lead.
Former Thompson regular Norm Wrenn ran in second followed by Jim
Banfield. Ramstrom was beginning to rebound; taking the fourth
spot from Jarrod Hayes. He drove by Banfield a lap later.
After a short battle with Wrenn, Ramstrom had battled back into
the second position. Mike Stefanik, who had lost several spots
on the initial start as well, had worked his way back into
contention in fifth.
A spin by Chris Magee on lap six brought
out the caution; erasing the lead that O’Sullivan had enjoyed.
O’Sullivan and Ramstrom went fender-to-fender for the lead on
the restart. By the stripe, Ramstrom was the new leader.
Stefanik had gotten by Banfield for third. He immediately went
to work on Wrenn. Lap-after-lap, Wrenn and Stefanik ran
door-to-door. The 2011 divisional champion, Larry Gelinas had
come from deep in the field to run in sixth position.
During an extended green flag run,
Ramstrom had gained a sizeable advantage over O’Sullivan; who
was a straightaway ahead of Wrenn in third. In heavy lapped
traffic, O’Sullivan was able to close the gap slightly on
Ramstrom, but never posed a real threat. Ramstrom went on to
post the victory. O’Sullivan had to settle for second. Wrenn had
a solid return to Thompson’s Super Late Model division in third.
Stefanik and Banfield completed the top-five.
It was survival of the fittest for Late
Model winner Corey Hutchings of Salem, CT, on Sunday at the
World Series. Once the Late Model feature event finally got
underway, following a tough start, it was front row starters
Rick Gentes and Hutchings duking it out for the top spot. The
two went door-to-door for a pair of laps. Coming off of turn
three Gentes got crossed up sliding sideways to the inside of
Hutchings. Contact between Gentes and third-running Marc
Palmisano found Gentes making hard contact with the wall.
Palminsano’s mount rode the wall during the contact. Both cars
sustained heavy damage.
On the ensuing restart, Hutchings was
pitted against Wayne Coury, Sr. Hutchings withstood the pressure
through a number of restarts before giving up the top spot to
Coury, Sr. by inches on lap six. Coury could not get away from
Hutchings with the two door-to-door. Coming off turn four Tommy
O’Sullivan looked to make it three wide. O’Sullivan could not
keep up the momentum and settled back into the third spot.
Hutchings edged ahead to lead the lap. Coury got out of shape
exiting turn two on lap 10. He slid up the race track forcing
O’Sullivan, who was looking to make a bid for second, into the
outside wall. O’Sullivan’s championship mount was heavily
damaged in the incident.
A single file restart on lap 10 allowed
Hutchings to get some distance between a brewing battle for
second between Coury and Mike Scorzelli. Scorzelli motored into
second and immediately caught the back bumper of Hutchings.
Coury continued to dog Scorzelli; making it a three car battle
for the lead.
Scorzelli pulled even with Hutchings in
turn two on lap 16. Neither could get a decided advantage;
however, Huchings continued to lead. In lapped traffic,
Scorzelli settled back in line behind Hutchings. On lap 20,
Scorzelli got to the inside of Hutchings once again. On lap 21,
contact between the lead duo found Scorzelli chasing his ride
outside the groove. Exiting turn four Coury, Sr. dove below
Hutchings in a bid for the lead. The jockeying for position was
for naught as the caution flew for a pin by Wayne Coury, Jr.
Hutchings was still the leader on the
restart on lap 21. Coury, Sr. got out of shape exiting turn two
once again. This time third-running Pitkat was forced into the
outside wall. The #88 was not able to continue. Coury, Sr. dove
to the inside of Scorzelli on the restart to take over the
second position. Over the final two laps, things finally settled
down with Hutchings taking the victory over Coury, Sr., who just
edged out Scorzelli for second. Coury, Jr. and Shawn Thibeault
completed the top five.
Whelen Modified Tour (Top Ten) Finish
Feature: 1. Glenn Reen, Wilbraham, MA; 2. Bobby Santos, III,
Franklin, MA; 3. Matt Hirschman, Northampton, PA; 4. Chuck
Hossfeld, Ransomville, NY; 5. Tom Rogers, Jr., Patchoque, NY;
6. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 7. Eric Beers, Northampton, PA;
8. Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, NY; 9. Mike Stefanik,
Coventry, RI; 10. Eric Goodale, Riverhead, NY.
ISMA Supermodified Association (Top Ten)
Finish Feature: 1. Chris Perley, Rowley, CT; 2. Jeff Locke,
Raymond, NH; 3. Timmy Jedrzejek, Independence, OH; 4. Mike
Litchey, Innerkip, Ontario, Canada; 5. Eddie Witkum, Jr.,
Westford, MA; 6. Russ Wood, Pelham, NH; 7. Mark Sammut, London,
Ontario, Canada; 8. Joey Scanlon, Salem, NH; 9. Jon Gambuti,
Montville, NJ; 10. Dan Bowes, Rowley, MA.
Northeastern Midget Association (Top
Ten) Finish Feature: 1. Russ Stoehr, Bridgewater, MA; 2. Randy
Cabral, Plymouth, MA; 3. Mike Horn, Ashland, MA; 4. Ben Seitz,
Bourne, MA; 5. Jeff Abold, Baldwinville, NY; 6. Jeff Horn,
Ashland, MA; 7. Ted Christopher, Plainville, CT; 8. B.J.
MacDonald, Dublin, PA; 9. Joey Payne, Fairlawn, NJ; 10. Erica
Santos, Franklin, MA.
Sunoco Modified (Top Ten) Finish
Feature: 1. Ryan Preece, Berlin, CT; 2. Ted Christopher,
Plainville, CT; 3. Michael Gervais, Southbury, CT; 4. Craig
Lutz, Miller Place, NY; 5. Joe Allegro, Jr. Vernon, CT; 6.
Kyle Spencer, Montgomery, MA; 7. Earl Pelletier, Wolcott, CT; 8.
Tony Membrino, Jr., Waterbury, CT; 9. Woody Pitkat, Stafford,
CT; 10. Henry Stampfl, Norwood, MA.
Super Late Model (Top Ten) Feature
Finish: 1. Derek Ramstrom, Worcester, CT; 2. Mike O’Sullivan,
Springfield, MA; 3. Norm Wrenn, Nashua, NH; 4. Mike Stefanik,
Coventry, RI; 5. Jim Banfield, S. Glastonbury, CT; 6. Larry
Gelinas, Buxton, ME; 7. Jarrod Hayes, Calverton, NY; 8.
Mike Brightman, Acushnet, MA; 9. Chris Magee, Edgartown, MA; 10.
Greg Nanigian, Braintree, MA.
Late Model (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1.
Corey Hutchings, Salem, CT; 2. Wayne Coury, Sr., Milford, CT; 3.
Mike Scorzelli, Malta, NY; 4. Wayne Coury, Jr., Milford, CT; 5.
Shawn Thibeault, Plainville, CT; 6. Chris Turbush, Riverhead,
NY; 7. Damon Tinio, Mendon, MA; 8. John Falconi, Oakham, MA;
9. Ron Rice, W. Hyannisport, MA; 10. Randy Tucker, Millis, MA.
Source:
Thompson Speedway PR
Posted: October 17, 2011
