Christopher Reigns Supreme at Thompson
Perley, Cabral Winged Winners; Rocco, Ramstrom & Gentes Score Wins
Thompson, CT — Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, delivered in a big way on Sunday at the World Series of Speedway Racing. He needed only to keep his closest competition Matt Hirschman in his sights. Christopher went out and won the 150-lapper for the Whelen Modified Tour to score his first-ever Modified Tour championship.
“I have to commend everyone that I raced with today,” said Christopher following the race. “They gave me plenty of room to race. It was fun out there today.”
Chris Perley of Rowley, MA, continued to be the dominant force in the International Supermodified Association taking down a strong victory at the World Series. Randy Cabral of Plymouth, MA, worked his magic taking his third straight Northeastern Midget Association feature victory. In the regular Thompson Weekly Racing series divisions, Keith Rocco of Wallingford, CT, was tops in the Sunoco Modifieds; Derek Ramstrom of Worcester, MA, turned in a dominating performance in the Pro Stocks; and Rick Gentes of Woonsocket, RI was victorious in the Late Models to conclude the race season at Thompson International Speedway. The only thing remaining on Thompson’s slate is Don Hoenig’s All Automotive Swap Meet on November 1 & 2, 2008.
In the early stages of the Whelen Modified Tour event both Ryan Preece and Ronnie Silk looked to be the class of the field. Championship contenders Christopher and Hirschman ran comfortably inside the top ten throughout the event. Preece had the dominant car but a flat tire diminished his hopes of celebrating in victory lane. Mechanical woes befell Hirschman with just over 30 laps to go ending his bid at a championship. Christopher took the lead on lap 130 but a spin by Eddie Flemke negated the pass. The pass stuck once the race went back to green with 15 laps remaining. Christopher was up for the challenge on the green-white-checker restart holding back Chuck Hossfeld to take the win. Silk, Doug Coby, and Erick Rudolph completed the top five.
Keith Rocco of Wallingford, CT, scored his sixth victory of the season in the Sunoco Modified division. Keith Rocco jumped out to the lead on the third attempt to lap one. He immediately pulled away from the field; however, lap after lap Marvin would edge ever closer. Marvin caught the leader on lap seven. The two went wheel to wheel briefly before Marvin made an aggressive move in lapped traffic in turn one on lap 9 to take over the top spot. Rocco stayed with Marvin even looking low in the corners each lap.
The engine expired on the Tim Sullivan machine to bring out the caution with nine laps remaining. One of several incidents at that conjuncture of the event eliminated the third and fourth place cars of Kerry Malone and Tommy Cravenho. Marvin was up for the challenge on several restarts but gave up the lead on lap 25 under green flag conditions. Marvin gave it all he had over the last lap to chase Rocco to the checkers. He had to settle for second behind the six-time feature event winner, Rocco. Josh Sylvester had a season-high finish in third. Kevin Goodale came on strong in the late stages of the event to finish fourth over Brian McCarthy.
It was a Vic Miller sweep on Sunday afternoon in the World Series ISMA 50 with his cars finishing one-two. Perley took the lead early in the race and would never be headed. The ageless Bentley Warren poured it on late in the race to finish second. Perley worked his way through traffic to take the lead from earlier leader Dave Shullick, Jr. on lap 15. Throughout the event Shullick continued to chase Perley. Lou Cicconi, in the borrowed ride of Rick Wentworth, ran strong in third. Rob Summers and Warren made up the top-five. With less then 10 laps to go Shullick was able to catch Perley in lapped traffic.
Shullick got a great run on Perley exiting turn four on lap 41. Looking for the same real estate, the two nearly made contact. Shullick spun trying to avoid running into Perley. On the ensuing restart, Perley was able to jump out to a sizeable advantage while Warren was able to grab second from Cicconi. Mark Sammut waited until late in the race to pour it on. Perley went unchallenged to the checkers over Warren.
In Northeastern Midget Association competition, Randy Cabral of Plymouth, MA continued his domination of the series with his third consecutive victory. Early in the race Cabral had to contend with veteran Nokie Fornoro for the top spot. Fornoro, who had problems in qualifying on Saturday, started scratch on the field. He was the leader after only a handful of laps. On a restart past halfway, Cabral took over the lead from Fornoro. He had taken the lead the lap prior but a caution had negated the pass. During the event several front runners had problems including Bobby and Eric Santos.
Cabral continued to lead through a number of cautions. Under green, Cabral was able to extend his lead over Fornoro. At the checkers, Cabral scored the victory completing the Thompson sweep in 2008. Fornoro had a great run to finish second followed by Greg Stoehr, Adam Cantor, and Mike Horn.
Feature racing got underway on World Series Sunday with the Pro Stocks. Derek Ramstrom of Worcester, MA, scored his fourth win of the season in dominating fashion. Ramstrom jumped from the outside of the front row to take the lead. The early going of the 30-lap main event featured a great side-by-side battle between Ramstrom and Jeff Connors. Connors was able to take the top spot on lap 8. Ramstrom quickly regrouped to retake the lead at lap 12. Over the long green flag run, Ramstrom was able to extend his lead over Connors and Dave Berghman. In the late stages, Gentes was the man on the move, breaking into the top five. At the checkers, it was all Ramstrom. Connors settled for second ahead of Berghman, Mike O’Sullivan and Gentes.
The “Woonsocket Rocket” Rick Gentes stormed to the lead in the Late Model race and never looked back to score the prestigious World Series victory. Gentes looked to have the race well in hand before a caution flew just shy of halfway to open the door for Tom O’Sullivan. The two waged a great battle for several laps before an incident involving O’Sullivan, who suffered minimal damage. Gentes resumed the lead with Steve Landry and Paul Newcomb, Jr. taking chase. Pete Yetman joined the fray for the second position. Gentes was able to distance himself from the pack. Yetman exited the battle in second but had nothing for Gentes, who cruised to his fourth win of the season. Yetman, Landry, Wayne Coury, and Mark Oliveira rounded out the top five.
Whelen Modified Tour Feature Finish (Unofficial Top Ten): 1. Ted Christopher, Plainville, CT; 2. Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, NY; 3. Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, CT; 4. Doug Coby, Milford, CT; 5. Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, NY; 6. Jamie Tomaino, Howell, NJ; 7. Richard Savary, Canton, MA; 8. Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, CT; 9. Tony Ferrante, Jr., New Hyde Park, NY; 10. Eric Beers, Northampton, PA.
ISMA Supermodifieds Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Chris Perley, Rowley, MA; 2. Bentley Warren, Kennebunkport, ME; 3. Mark Sammut, London, Ont.; 4. Lou Cicconi, Jr., Aston, PA; 5. Rob Summers, Vernon, CT; 6. Russ Wood, Pelham, NH; 7. Mike Ordway, Jr., Fremont, NH; 8. Dave Shullick, Jr., N. Ridgeville, OH; 9. Jeff Holbrook, Oswego, NY; 10. Dave McKnight, Jr., Brampton, Ont.
NEMA Midgets Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Randy Cabral, Plymouth, MA; 2. Nokie Fornoro, Stroudburg, PA; 3. Greg Stoehr, Bridgwater, MA; 4. Adam Cantos, Dix Hills, NH; 5. Mike Horn, Ashland, MA; 6. William Wall, Shrewsbury, MA; 7. Doug Cleveland, Sudbury, MA; 8. Paul Scally, Raynham, MA; 9. Lee Bundy, Kennebunkport, ME; 10. Erica Santos, Franklin, MA.
Sunoco Modified Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT: 2. Bert Marvin, New London, CT: 3. Josh Sylvester, Lebanon, CT; 4. Eric Goodale, Riverhead, NY: 5. Brian McCarthy, Norwich, CT: 6. Zach Sylvester, Lebanon, CT; 7. Glenn Griswold, Vernon, CT; 8. Steve Masse, Bellingham, MA; 9. Shawn Solomito, Islip, NY; 10. Brad Vanhouten, Wading River, NY.
Pro Stock Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Derek Ramstrom, Worcester, MA; 2. Jeff Connors, Ellington, CT; 3. Dave Berghman, Seekonk, MA; 4. Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 5. Rick Gentes, Woonsocket, RI; 6. Jay Macedonio, Somerset, MA; 7. Fred Astle, Jr., Westport, MA; 8. Dave Silvia, Warwick, RI; 9. George Bessette, Danbury, CT; 10. Jim Banfield, S. Glastonbury, MA.
Late Model Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Rick Gentes, Woonsocket, RI; 2. Pete Yetman, Peru, MA; 3. Steve Landry, Tyngsboro, MA; 4. Wayne Coury, Milford, MA; 5. Mark Oliveira, Blackstone, MA; 6. Garret Frabizio, E. Patchogue, NY; 7. Mike Scorzelli, Malta, NY; 8. John Materas, Voluntown, NY; 9. Roy Either, Newtown, NC; 10. Randy Waterman, Killingly, CT.
Sources: Dale Wolbrink/Thompson International Speedway PR