Cicconi Back on Top at Seekonk in Team Bertrand NEMA Sweep
Seekonk, MA — Open-wheel ace “Liquid” Lou Cicconi of Aston, PA, scored his second Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) victory of the season in dominating fashion on Wednesday night at Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, MA. This was the second race for the Midgets at Seekonk in the last five days. The event, which was postponed due to inclement weather back on July 18, 2007, was worth the wait for Cicconi and his Bertrand Racing teammate Randy Cabral, who chased Cicconi to the checkers. Cicconi took advantage of his front row starting position and went on to wire the field for the victory.
The one-two finish was a much-needed boost for the race team and the Bertrand family. Since an opening day win at the Waterford Speedbowl in April, Cicconi has seen his fair share of adversity. Mechanical woes have sidelined Cicconi twice in the last four races.
“I really wanted to beat Lou tonight,” said Cabral in a post race interview, “but a 1-2 finish is good for Bertrand Motorsports. It’s great for Gil (Bertrand). His wife has some health issues.”
In the face of adversity the team has stuck together to perform valiantly, as evidenced at Seekonk. This is the second time this season that Cicconi and Cabral have completed the sweep. The other came on April 1 at the Waterford Speedbowl in Waterford, CT.
This was also the second time this season that the talented Northeastern Midget Association competitors treated the fans to an exciting green-to-checker event.
Cicconi immediately rocketed out to the lead while Cabral, Bobby Santos and Paul Scally went three-wide for the second position to start the 25-lap main event. With Cicconi as the leader, Cabral got the better of the battle to post the second position to complete lap one. Santos took chase from the third position.
While Cicconi continued to build his lead on Cabral; B. Santos and Greg Stoehr, a fair distance behind second, ran in close quarters for third. Shane Hammond and Jeff Horn locked horns just outside the top-five. Hammond would later advance to as high as the fourth position before mechanical troubles forced him to retire from the event.
By lap 10, the lead pack was entering considerable lapped traffic. At halfway, Cicconi showed the way over Cabral and Santos. Santos made a bid on Cabral for the runner-up spot but it was cut short by a lapped car. The battle for the second spot allowed Cicconi to further build his lead, leaving the duo a half-straightaway behind. Saturday night’s winner, also at Seekonk, Ben Seitz was making up ground from his 12th-place starting spot and headed for the top five.
Once free of Santos, Cabral started to chip away on Cicconi’s lead as they maneuvered through the slower cars.
“I like that kind of heavy traffic,” said Cabral. “My car got tight but it came to me.”
With two laps to go Cabral was making progress; however, he ran out of time, leaving his teammate to head to the checkers unchallenged. Santos joined the teammates on the podium with his third-place finish.
“Lapped traffic is tough here,” said Cicconi, happy with his win but happier to be sharing the spotlight with Cabral.
“Randy is tough competition and a true professional,” added the winner with open admiration for his teammate.
Stoehr held on for fourth while Seitz quietly came home in the fifth position. Nokie Fornoro, Joey Payne, Adam Cantor, Jeff Horn, and Erica Santos rounded out the top ten.
The competitors do not have much time to catch their breath. The whirlwind schedule, courtesy of Mother Nature, rolls right along this Saturday night, September 1st. This holiday weekend, the Northeastern Midget Association will head to Winchester, NH to make-up the Monadnock Speedway event originally rained out on June 9, 2007.
For more information on this event log on to www.monadnockspeedway.com or call 603-239-4067. A comprehensive look at the Northeastern Midget Association can be found at www.nemaracing.com.
Seekonk Speedway – August 29, 2007 OPEN WHEEL WEDNESDAY Feature Finish: 1. Lou Ciconni Jr., Aston, PA; 2. Randy Cabral, Plymouth, MA; 3. Bobby Santos III, Franklin, MA; 4. Greg Stoehr, Bridgewater, MA; 5. Ben Seitz, Pocasset, MA; 6. Nokie Fornoro, Stroudsburg, PA; 7. Joey Payne, Fairlawn, NJ; 8. Adam Cantor, Dix Hills, NY; 9. Jeff Horn, Ashland, MA; 10. Erica Santos, Franklin, MA; 11. Jeremy Frankoski, Newark Valley, NY; 12. Doug Cleveland, Sudbury, MA; 13. Mike Horn, Ashland, MA; 14. Paul Scally, Raynham, MA; 15. John Zych Jr., Mendon, MA; 16. Cory Cleary, Plymouth, MA; 17. Ryan Preece, Kensington, CT; 18. Mike Lugelle, Hull, MA; 19. Shawn Torrey, Marshfield, MA; 20. Steve Powers, N. Andover, MA; 21. Paul Luggelle, Holbrook, MA; 22. Shane Hammond, E. Bridgewater, MA (DNF); 23. Mark Irving, Bellingham, MA (DNF); DNS-Kevin Park, Foxboro, MA.