Seitz Caps Emotional Week for NEMA at All-Star Classic
Angelillo was, officially, the Northeastern Midget Association’s secretary for many years. Unofficially, she was the club’s social director, points keeper, publicity agent, organizer, sounding board, problem solver and, most importantly, its conscience. Marilyn, along with husband Gene, and the Dumo’s Desire crew amassed 14 owner championships throughout the last three decades.
After it was decided that the NEMA All-Star Classic would still go on, in honor of Marilyn, competitors rallied to support the event, which was officially ended on the white flag lap. Joey Payne, driving the Angelillo #45, was officially scored in second place, but carried the checkered flag around the speedway in Marilyn’s memory for one final lap.
The event started with a flurry of practice sessions, followed by thunderstorms, and then the first heat race, which took place on questionable track conditions. As conditions worsened, the cars were called back to the pits and the heat was declared finished on lap eight with rookie John Zych taking down his first ever heat race win. The second heat went off 90 minutes later with Joey Payne taking down the win in dominating style.
In the feature event, Pete Pernesiglio and Mike Lugelle brought the field down for the green flag. After a few failed attempts, Pernesiglio finally got the jump and sprinted into the lead. Randy Cabral, who started fourth, tried the outside of Pernesiglio on lap three, but the caution waved for Jeff Horn’s A1, which sat on the grass off of the back straightaway after a spin off the track.
On the restart, Cabral’s car faltered, causing the field to split him, as Pernesiglio rocketed into the lead once again. Behind him, the action heated up, as from deep in the pack, Seitz, Payne, Bobby Santos III and visiting Whelen Modified Tour driver & NEMA rookie Ryan Preece all invaded the top five. By lap six, it was Pernesiglio, followed by Preece, Seitz, Payne and
A lap nine restart changed the game, as Preece and Pernesiglio lined up for the green with Pernesiglio getting the jump. Seitz and Payne split Preece, as the race for the front began to heat up. Two laps later Seitz challenged Pernesiglio, coming out on top for the lead. On the next lap, Payne moved into second, and by the halfway point, it was Seitz, followed by Payne, Preece and Bobby Santos III.
Over the second half of the event, Payne maneuvered across every inch of the racing surface to find a line around Seitz, but couldn’t get the advantage.
A restart with three laps to go was Payne’s last shot at an emotional victory, but Seitz used a defensive line, in order to shut down Payne’s chance to take command.
At the checkers, a close margin saw Seitz cap off the win over Payne,
An emotional victory lane ceremony took place with both the #17 and #45 teams of Seitz and Payne.
“We really wanted to win this one,” said an emotional Payne. “The effort and emotion of tonight’s run is dedicated to Marilyn. It’s been a tough time for the team and she will be missed more than words can express. I am sure she will still be watching over us at the track every week.”
“The club dedicates this race and our team dedicates this win to Marilyn,” said Seitz. “We’re all at a loss for words around her dedication to this club and how she’ll be missed.”
The win propelled Seitz, Peter Valeri, and the Cape Cod Aggregates team into both the owners and drivers points standings lead over Payne, Angelillo and Dumo’s Desire team.
Sources: Tim Bertrand/NEMA PR