Marquis, Docherty among Thompson winners
Thompson, CT — Jerry Marquis of Broadbrook, CT took the lead in the Boehler Racing #3 from rookie Scott Szegedy on lap 114 to take the lead in the Featherlite Modified Series, NASCAR Touring event during IceBreaker ’02. Once out front he maintained a comfortable lead over Rob Summers in the Bear Motorsports entry. Chris Kopec ran a great race to finish third.
Chuck Docherty turned his IceBreaker start at Thompson in the Poulin #78 a victorious one. He set sail from his pole starting position in the second Sunoco Modified feature of the weekend. Behind Docherty a great race was developing for the runner-up spot between Scott Foster, Jeff Malave and Ted Christopher. The trio ran nose-to-tail for several laps catching Docherty as the laps clicked off. A caution on lap 13 set up a restart that gave Christopher the opening that he needed as he got past Foster, who had slipped to third behind Malave.
A green flag run to the checkers gave Docherty breathing room and the fans a great show. A tremendous side-by-side battle was waged between Christopher and Malave. At the stripe it was Docherty in for the win and Malave by a few feet over Christopher. Rounding out the top five was Scott Foster and Eric Berndt.
Dick Houlihan enjoyed the benefits of side-by-side battle between Rick Martin and George Bessette for the opening laps of the Pro Stock 30-lapper. Once free of Bessette, Martin set his sites on Houlihan. Martin caught the J&R Precast #1 but couldn’t muster up a real challenge for the lead. A caution at lap 13 gave him an opening but he could not capitalize. Instead Martin had a mirror full of multi-time champion Roger Godin, who returns to the Pro Stock ranks after a stint in the Sunoco Modifieds.
Godin looked to the inside of Martin with ten laps to go; however, the move backfired and Godin slipped backed to fifth. Godin fought his way back to once again pressure Martin with five laps remaining. Houlihan all the while maintained a marginal lead. Godin again encountered difficulty with only two laps remaining as contact with Norm Wrenn sent him spinning.
A quick restart gave Houlihan the lead and the feature victory. Martin held on for second while George Bessette made his way back to third after slipping back during the mid-stages of the event. Norm Wrenn and Jeff Zuidema rounded out the top five.
Young Ryan Dolan cruised to his first NEMA Midget victory of his career. The defending champ Russ Stoehr showed the way in the early going before relinquishing the lead to the young gun. Heat race winner Mike Roselli, Jr. finished third followed by Ed Breault, and Drew Fornoro.
Jeff Zuidema of North Brookfield, CT led green to checker to take down the feature win in the second Late Model feature event of the weekend. The win came on the heels of his fourth place finish on Saturday night. The veteran driver had a mirror full of Mike Lindquist and Jeff Hesselton as they battled for the second position. Saturday night’s feature winner David Blain joined the fray in the later portion of the event. At the checkers it was Zuidema, Lindquist, Blain, Hesselton, and Rick LaFlesh.
After having his hands full in the early going of the event, Ernie LaRose of Moosup, CT easily outdistanced himself from the remainder of the pack to take down the Limited Sportsman feature win. Lyle Wolfinger, who experienced more than his fair share of bad luck in 2001, tried in vain in his newly painted green Barracuda to reel in LaRose. Wolfinger would settle for second ahead of defending champ Scott Cook, Jeff Sutcliffe, and Keith DeSanctis.
Rich Barry of Central Village, CT bolted to the front on the first lap of the Mini Stock race from his fifth starting position. A bauble coming out of turn four around the halfway marker gave Roger Larson, Jr. the chance he needed to make his move to the front of the pack. Barry, however, regained his composure and was able to take the lead back from Larson on a late race restart.
A Savary returned to victory lane on IceBreaker weekend. This time it was Richard Savary of Avon, MA picking up where his now-retired father, George, left off, taking down the Southern New England Modified feature victory. It was a four-car battle for the lead for much of the event between Savary, Tony Mendosa, Tim Proctor, and Dan Meservey. Frank Hirt came from deep in the pack to round out the top five.
RESULTS
Featherlite Modified Series, NASCAR Touring (Top 10): Jerry Marquis, Robbie Summers, Chris Kopec, Rick Fuller, Tony Hirschman, L.W. Miller, Ted Christopher, Chuck Hossfeld, Tony Ferrante, Jr., Dave Etheridge.
Sunoco Modified Feature #2 (Top 10): Chuck Docherty, Jeff Malave, Ted Christopher, Scott Foster, Eric Berndt, Ron Yuhas, Jr., Kerry Malone, Bert Marvin, Bo Gunning , Ronnie Silk.
Pro Stock Feature (Top 10): Dick Houlihan, Rick Martin, George Bessette, Norm Wrenn, Jeff Zuidema, GeGe Gravel, Jim Mavlouganes, Mike O’Sullivan, Chris Perley, Chuck Docherty.
Late Model Feature #2 (Top 10): Jeff Zuidema, Mike Lindquist, Dave Blain, Jeff Hesselton, Rich LaFlesh, Marc Palmisano, John Falconi, Scott Fanning, Dennis Perry, Scott Bronczyk.
Limited Sportsman Feature (Top 10): Ernie LaRose, Lyle Wolfinger, Scott Cook, Jeff Sutcliffe, Keith DeSanctis, Larry Barnett, Charlie Poulin, Chris Birdsall, Nick Bazzano, Mike Cavanaugh.
Mini Stock Feature (Top 10): Rich Barry, Roger Larson, Jr., Paul Pion, Gene Vitiello, Cindy Larson, Ron Rixham, Clyde Caswell, Andy Publicover, Dana Savery, Rod Rixham.
Northeastern Midgets (Top 5): Ryan Dolan, Russ Stoehr, Mike Roselli, Jr., Ed Breault, Drew Fornoro.
Southern New England Modifieds (Top 5): Richard Savary, Tony Mendosa, Tim Proctor, Dan Meservey, Frank Hirt.
Sources: Thompson Speedway PR