Rocco Reigns at Thompson in Sunoco Mod Extra-Distance Race
Thompson, CT — It was a night of close finishes in the six NASCAR Whelen All-American Series on Thursday Night Thompson Thunder. Keith Rocco of Wallingford went the distance in the Sunoco Modified 50-lapper on Thursday night at Thompson International Speedway. Jeff Zuidema of N. Brookfield, MA made a long-anticipated return to Pro Stock victory lane while Tommy O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, scored his second Late Model feature win of the season. Scott Sundeen of Douglas, MA edged Larry Barnett for the Limited Sportsman victory. Roger Larson, Jr. won the TIS Modified feature in tech while Brad Caddick of New London won a barnburner in the Mini Stocks.
Keith Rocco gave his car owner Don Bannister the best birthday gift by winning the 50-lapper for the Sunoco Modifieds. Rocco who is in the hunt for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National championship bested his rival Woody Pitkat to score the victory. Steve Masse jumped out from his front row starting spot to lead the opening lap of the event but it did not take long for Todd Ceravolo to take over command. Woody Pitkat gave up the third spot to a charging Kerry Malone while Tommy Cravenho had his hands full with Rocco.
[Photo Gallery] by Adam Fohlin
Things settled down in the early stages of the event with Ceravolo leading a freight train that included Masse, Malone and Pitkat. Current point leader Pitkat was the first to step out of line, motoring to the inside of Malone. Rocco, too, was making his run to the front. Rocco passed Cravenho then Malone before lap 15.
The battle for the third position between Pitkat and Rocco really started to heat up as Masse had tucked in on the back bumper of Ceravolo. The first caution of the event flew on lap 23 when David Lacroix made hard contact with the pit gate on the backstretch. Kerry Malone headed down pit road for service under the caution flag.
Ceravolo headed to the green flag two laps shy of halfway. Early leader Masse faltered on the restart bringing Rocco down with him. The duo dropped to the back of the pack.
Masse’s ride finally came to rest in turn one to bring out the caution.
As the Sunoco Modifieds struggled to get to the halfway marker, Cates lost the handle on the restart collecting Josh Steeves to bring out the caution yet again. When the halfway marker finally waved under green flag conditions, Ceravolo was the leader. Pitkat ran in second followed by Cravenho, Bert Marvin and Rocco.
Yellow fever continued when Harry Rheaume spun on lap 30. After a failed attempt at a restart, Ceravolo resumed his place at the head of the racy pack. Cravenho struggled on the restart losing positions to Marvin and Rocco. Pitkat made a run at Ceravolo on lap 33 but lost his momentum in the low groove, ultimately falling back and losing positions to Marvin and Rocco.
Rocco looked to continue his charge to the front as he hounded Marvin in second. Rocco went low in turn two but drifted up the race track toward Marvin. Marvin was forced to check up giving way to both Rocco and Pitkat.
Over the final ten laps, Ceravolo continued to show the way. Rocco took chase in second followed by Pitkat. With five circuits remaining Rocco really started to show his hand. On successive laps, Rocco would dive low in the turns but could not retain enough speed to make the pass stick.
A spin by Masse on lap 47 set up a final chase to the checkers; giving Rocco the opening he needed. Rocco dove to the inside of Ceravolo, again drifting up the track. Ceravolo slid out of the groove relinquishing several positions in the process. Rocco went on to take down the victory over Woody Pitkat and Bert Marvin. Cravenho and Ceravolo rounded out the top five.
By virtue of his victory, Rocco earned his car owner Bannister a guaranteed starting spot in the SK-Type Modified portion of the 5th Annual North-South Shootout scheduled for November 2&3, 2007 at Concord Motorsport Park in Concord, NC. Rocco received a custom-made clock courtesy of C&C Racing Promotions and a $200 gift certificate courtesy of the Joie of Seating to commemorate the victory.
Through the generosity of Bruce and Pat Webber of Independent Truck Services, five Sunoco Modified competitors, who finished in randomly selected positions, were awarded an additional $200 for their efforts. Pitkat, Steeves, Rich Mann, Malone and Kenny Bouchard each received checks.
The last time that Jeff Zuidema visited victory lane in the Pro Stocks at Thompson was May 24, 2007. On Thursday night the former champ was back to his winning ways besting Norm Wrenn and Mike O’Sullivan to claim the victory. Les Rose, Jr., who took the lead after a three-wide move on the opening lap, looked like he might be headed to his first win of the season. Rose had to battle the likes of George Bessette and Jay Macedonio before establishing himself as the leader.
In the closing stages of the event, Zuidema, who had moved into second earlier, dogged Rose for the top spot. For the final five laps, the two were locked in a heated battle. On the white flag lap, Zuidema was finally able to maneuver around Rose and into the lead. Wrenn and O’Sullivan came along for the ride.
At the checkers, Zuidema was back in victory lane. Wrenn took home second over O’Sullivan. Rose had to settle for fourth ahead of early leader Andy Johnson.
Neither an injured hand nor his fellow competitors could stop Tommy O’Sullivan from Springfield, MA from scoring his second win of the season. Pete Yetman jumped out to the early lead leaving Dennis Perry and Paul Newcomb, Jr. to do battle. O’Sullivan ran in the fourth.
It only took four laps for O’Sullivan to take command, passing Newcomb, Perry and Yetman en route to the front. Perry followed suit moving Yetman back to third. Disaster struck for the co-point leader Jenison when contact with Conrad Cote ended with heavy damage to Jenison’s #22. On the ensuing restart, O’Sullivan continued to show the way with Yetman hanging on for second over Gentes.
Gentes began to work over Yetman. Diving to the inside, he made the pass stick on lap eight. Jay Stuart meanwhile was making his way into contention. A lap later Stuart had made his way by Yetman. O’Sullivan began to stretch his lead on Gentes while Stuart was closing the gap.
After halfway, Stuart had reeled in Gentes. The caution came out on lap 21 to cool the battle for second. It also erased the large lead that O’Sullivan had built up. O’Sullivan withstood another quick restart and easily resumed his spot at the head of the pack. It was clear sailing for O’Sullivan as he cruised to the victory over Gentes, who now has the point lead all to himself. Stuart turned in a great performance to finish third ahead of Yetman and Dennis Perry.
Scott Sundeen of Douglas, MA, scored his second feature win of the season in a Limited Sportsman division thriller. The excitement started in the main event right from the drop of the green flag. Tim Taylor came out on top of a three-wide battle for the lead on the opening lap. Scott Sundeen, who started on the front row, wisely backed out of the sandwich. Sundeen was only winding up to make his bid at the leader. Sundeen took over the top spot from Taylor on lap five.
Taylor immediately fell into the clutches of Ernie Larose and Larry Barnett. The trio went three-wide with Larose moving into the second spot. Barnett came along for the ride but then immediately became the aggressor. Barnett stole the spot from Larose and set his sites on the leader Sundeen. Keith DeSanctis was on the move as well getting by Larose for third.
Up front, Barnett was quickly tracking down Sundeen. Ed Puleo was glued to the back bumper of Larose in a heated battle for the fourth position. Jay Sundeen ran conservatively in the fifth spot. The second and final caution of the event flew with only two laps remaining to set up a shootout between a host of drivers with feature wins this season including Sundeen, Barnett, DeSanctis, and Puleo.
On the restart, Sundeen and Barnett went door to door. After running the distance of lap #18 side by side, Sundeen finally got the edge exiting turn two on the final lap to officially retain his lead. Barnett made a strong run coming out of turn four but Sundeen was up to the challenge and streaked to the checkers by a nose over Barnett. DeSanctis had the best seat in the house in third. Larose and Puleo rounded out the top five.
With the point race heavy on his mind, Brad Caddick of New London, who entered the night only 17 markers behind point leader Mike Romano, edged slightly closer with a Mini Stock feature victory on Thursday night. Billy Pomposelli led the first two laps before giving way to Glynn Roy. Jeff Moffat had moved into the second position while Scott Michalski, Caddick, and Rick Blanchard lurched inside the top five. Caddick passed Michalski and immediately began to reel in the leader. After a brief battle, Caddick was the new leader on lap nine. Roy immediately fell to the challenge of Blanchard as well.
The action was slowed on lap 10 for a spin by Leo Defevers. On the ensuing restart, Blanchard lined up behind Caddick. In the closing stages, Blanchard closed but could not mount a solid challenge. It was the third win of the season for Caddick. Blanchard settled for second over point leader Romano, who despite a tense moment on the final lap came home in third. Scott Michalski and Roy rounded out the top five. Michalski crossed the stripe in third but was penalized a position after the race for jumping the start.
Roger Larson, Jr. of Milford, MA did not lead the final lap of the TIS Modified main event but he ultimately sat in victory lane. Tim Sullivan appeared to edge out Larson by inches at the stripe; however, a rules infraction resulted in a disqualification of Sullivan.
A bobble on the start by Roger Ducharme found the pack of TIS Mods scattering. When the dust settled Richie Ferreira could be found at the head of the pack. In the early stages of the event Ferreira had enjoyed some breathing room over the rest of the pack. As the green flag laps clicked off the board, Larson, Glenn Boss and Sullivan ran down the leader to erase the margin. Larson was able to motor by Ferreira with a little help from Sullivan. After two laps of heavy racing, Larson was the leader with Sullivan in relentless pursuit.
Contact between Mike Viens and Glenn Boss, running fourth and fifth, necessitated the event’s first and only caution with only three laps remaining. Boss made heavy contact with the outside wall while Viens sustained damage but was able to continue.
On the restart, Larson got the jump but had to contend with a hard-charging Sullivan. The two went nerf bar-to-nerf bar for two laps with Larson barely keeping the top spot.
Larson exited turn four on the final lap with a slight advantage but Sullivan rocketed down the front straightaway to take the win by inches over Larson, Jr. Ferreira had to settle for a third-place finish ahead of Leo Adams and Roger Ducharme.
The racing action continues at Thompson International Speedway with Modified Mania on Saturday and Sunday, September 7&8, 2007. The Whelen Modified Tour will be joined by the True Value Modified Racing Series, the Race of Champions Modified Series and Thompson’s own Sunoco and TIS Modifieds. The Thompson International Speedway will be silent this coming Thursday in preparation for Modified Mania.
Sunoco Modified Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 2. Woody Pitkat, Stafford, CT; 3. Bert Marvin, Waterford, CT; 4. Tommy Cravenho, Raynham, MA; 5. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry, CT; 6. Buddy Charette, Woodstock, CT; 7. Harry Rheaume, Oakdale, CT; 8. Paul Supernant, Springfield, MA; 9. Dan LaJeunesse, Norwich, CT; 10. Steve Masse, Bellingham, MA.
Pro Stock Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Jeff Zuidema, N. Brookfield, MA; 2. Norm Wrenn, Nashua, NH; 3. Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 4. Les Rose, Jr., E. Wareham, MA; 5. Andy Johnson, Rehoboth, MA; 6. George Bessette, Danbury, CT; 7. Dave Silvia, Warwick, RI; 8. Nick Ribbe, Kingston, MA; 9. Jim Banfield, S. Glastonbury, CT; 10. Jay Macedonio, Somerset, MA.
Late Model Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Tommy O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 2. Rick Gentes, Woonsocket, RI; 3. Jay Stuart, Preston, CT; 4. Pete Yetman, Peru, MA; 5. Dennis Perry, Pawcatuck, CT; 6. R.J. Marcotte, Millville, MA; 7. Paul Newcomb, Plymouth, MA; 8. Mark Oliveira, Blackstone, MA; 9. Tony Bodine, Cranston, RI; 10. Jim Kiley, Jr., Griswold, CT.
Limited Sportsman Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Scott Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 2. Larry Barnett, Ledyard, CT; 3. Keith DeSanctis, Monson, MA; 4. Ernie Larose, Plainfield, CT; 5. Ed Puleo, Branford, CT; 6. Kevin Riley, Plainfield, CT; 7. Jay Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 8. Jesse Gleason, Lisbon, CT; 9. Joe Arena, Kensington, CT; 10. Tim Taylor, Wauregan, CT.
TIS Modified Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1.Roger Larson, Jr., Milford, MA; 2. Richie Ferreira, Raynham, MA; 3. Leo Adams, Putnam, CT; 4. Roger Ducharme, Foster, RI; 5. Kurt Vigeant, Oxford, MA; 6. Shane Michalski, Woodstock, CT; 7. Cam McDermott, Scituate, RI; 8. Bart Ramos, Sterling, MA; 9. Josh Walmsley, Scotland, CT; 10. Mike Viens, Seekonk, MA.
Mini Stock Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Brad Caddick, New London, CT; 2. Rick Blanchard, Pascoag, RI; 3. Mike Romano, Pascoag, RI; 4. Scott Michalski, S. Killingly, CT; 5. Glynn Roy, Sterling, MA; 6. Jeff Moffat, Warwick, RI; 7. Chris Williams, Niantic, CT; 8. Jason Paquette, Columbia, CT; 9. Tyler Poulin, Millville, MA; 10. Ron Rixham, Jefferson, MA.
Sources: Dale Wolbrink/Thompson Int’l Speedway PR