Malone Earns Sunoco Mod Win at Thompson
Thompson, CT — During an exciting night of racing, the points battles continued to heat up at Thompson International Speedway on Thursday. Kerry Malone of Needham, MA, won a Sunoco Modified main event that shook up the point standings heading into the final event of the regular season next Thursday night, September 20, 2007. Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, padded his point lead with a Pro Stock feature victory while Keith DeSanctis of Monson, MA, by virtue of his Limited Sportsman victory, moved into the point lead in the division. Keeping in it the family, Tommy O’Sullivan added to the celebration by winning in the Late Model division. Unofficial O’Sullivan teammate Tim Sullivan of E. Windsor bested the TIS Modified field helping his championship hopes. Scott Michalski of South Killingly earned his first win of the 2007 season in the Mini Stocks.
Kerry Malone of Needham, MA saw it all en route to his third Sunoco Modified win of the season. He nearly spun, took the lead, and his car was suspected of leaking fluid. But in the end, Malone was dry all the way to the checkered flag.
For the second week in a row the points were shaken up atop the Sunoco Modified point standings. With his runner-up finish, Keith Rocco took over the points lead by 14 points over a tie for second between Tommy Cravenho and Woody Pitkat.
After a pair of attempts at a start, pole sitter Steve Masse showed the way through lap two before relinquishing the top spot to Woody Pitkat. The first caution flew almost immediately for a spin by Eric Goodale. Back under green, it was a three-car breakaway at the head of the pack with Pitkat holding the top spot over Kerry Malone and Keith Rocco.
There was a tense moment on lap eight when Rocco made contact with Malone. In a great display of driving Malone was able to gather up his racecar losing only a position to Rocco. Further back in the pack, a spin brought out the event’s second yellow. Bert Marvin headed down pit road under the caution period.
Rocco did the slide job moving Pitkat up the race track a bit in an effort to muscle away the lead. The shuffling at the head of the pack had a chain reaction near mid-pack with racecars scattering. The then-point leader Cravenho suffered some significant damage; however, he was able to continue. On the restart, Pitkat resumed his lead while Malone was able to take the second spot away from Rocco. Buddy Charette was running strong in the fourth position, holding off last week’s winner Ceravolo.
At halfway, the top three ran nose to tail while Danny Cates made it a three car battle for the fourth spot. On lap 16, Malone got up alongside leader Pitkat. He was able to make the pass in turn one of lap 17. A half a lap later, Pitkat spun on his own in turn four.
Charette watched his good run end up against the turn four wall to bring out the caution on lap 23. When racing went back to green again, Malone was able to motor out to a 10-car length lead over Rocco, who enjoyed a similar lead on Ceravolo. Pitkat meanwhile was making tracks through the field. He passed Ricky Shawn to break into the top five. On lap 28, he passed Cates to move into fourth.
In the end, it was a strong win for Malone. Rocco had another great run to finish in the second position. Last week’s winner Ceravolo came home third. Pitkat recovered from his early incident to finish fourth. Cates rounded out the top five. Ricky Shawn, who struggled this season, finally had some luck on his side to finish sixth. Cravenho’s luck had run out as he salvaged a 13th place finish but relinquished the point lead.
Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, scored his third Pro Stock win of the season in commanding style. Early leader, George Bessette capitalized on his front row starting position to lead for much of the first half of the race. Bessette has his hands full holding off a strong Mike O’Sullivan, who made it look easy as he marched his way through the field and toward the front. O’Sullivan was finally able to make the pass on lap 13.
A spin by Nick Ribbe gave Bessette a shot to regain the lead but, despite a valiant effort, settled back into the second spot. Bessette ultimately found himself defending his position against Norm Wrenn. While Bessette and Wrenn battled for the second spot, O’Sullivan was getting away and Jeff Zuidema was gaining ground. Zuidema threw his hat into the ring for the battle for the third position.
Wrenn was able to grab the second spot on lap 19. On lap 20, Bessette got out of shape losing positions to both Zuidema and Dave Berghman. The chase was on for Wrenn, who faced the challenge of hunting down the leader O’Sullivan. It proved to be too large of a task for Wrenn as O’Sullivan had run out to an insurmountable lead. Zuidema settled for third over Berghman and Bessette inside the top five.
Tommy O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA bested a Late Model field that went 29-cars strong to join his brother Mike in victory. The division had a tough time getting going as an opening lap incident collected championship contender Mark Jenison. When lap one went into the books, John Materas was credited with the lead. Materas enjoyed some breathing room over Conrad Cote during an extended green flag run. O’Sullivan was making a run at Paul Newcomb, Jr. in fourth. On lap nine, O’Sullivan was able to take the spot away. A spin at the rear of the field brought out the caution on lap 10.
Materas struggled on the restart but it was the scuffling at the back of the pack that forced an immediate caution. Given another shot, Materas was up to the task regaining his lead once again on the restart. A man on a mission, O’Sullivan appeared to take over the second spot from Cote but a caution negated the pass.
Things got real racy at the head of the field at the halfway marker. Materas continued to hold the point over Cote. O’Sullivan took the second spot from Cote, on lap 15 he headed for the lead. With O’Sullivan out front, the likes of point leader Rick Gentes and Jay Stuart were making their presence known. With Gentes on the march to the front, he had caught the leader O’Sullivan. Sparks flew as the two battled hard for the top spot. The contact appeared to result in a flat tire for the point leader. The gold flew as Gentes was stranded against the outside wall in turn four.
On the races final restart, O’Sullivan easily resumed his lead leaving Materas to defend his position. Stuart was able to move into the second position with a single lap remaining. The win was the third of the season for O’Sullivan and his second in a row. The runner-up spot is a season’s best for Stuart who joined the division late in the season. Materas had a strong run to finish third over Cote and Newcomb, Jr. Jenison rebounded from his early race incident to finish sixth; keeping him in the hunt for the divisional title.
Attrition near the front of the pack may have helped, but Keith DeSanctis of Monson, MA, was bound for victory lane on Thursday night. After an opening lap melee that eliminated third-place runner, Bart Ramos, the man on the move was Larry Barnett. The defending champion went from third to first on lap one. A three card battle for the second spot between Ed Puleo, Gerald Sevigny and Tim Taylor, allowed Barnett to gain a sizeable advantage.
Once free of the competition, Puleo began to run down the leader. The battle for the third position now involved Jess Gleason and Scott Sundeen. At the halfway marker, Barnett continued to lead a quickly-closing Puleo, while the battle for both the third and fifth positions were heating up.
A caution on lap 13 opened the door for Puleo but Barnett was up to the challenge.
The big mover back under green was Keith DeSanctis, who rocketed into the third position ahead of LaRose and Sundeen. Attrition started to play a part in the race when a spin by Puleo on the backstretch also collected LaRose to shuffle the top five. On the ensuing restart, Barnett appeared to break hitting the outside wall bringing out the caution and handing the lead over to DeSanctis.
DeSanctis would run unchallenged to the checkers to score his third win of the season. Scott Sundeen came home second over Jess Gleason. Two new faces for this season appeared inside the top five with Tim Taylor coming home fourth over Mark Charette.
Championship contender Tim Sullivan of E. Windsor did all he could on Thursday night in his quest for his first Thompson track title. With his fifth feature win of the season, Sullivan cut point leader Kurt Vigeant’s lead down to less than five with only one race remaining in the season.
The action really began to heat up after Glenn Boss took over the lead from Mike Viens on a lap eight restart. Several laps later, Viens watched his good run come to an end after hitting the outside wall. Contact on lap 13 between the leader Boss and new second place runner Sullivan necessitated the caution when Boss spun. Sullivan dodged the proverbial bullet when he was able to continue. He was able to assume his position at the head of the pack.
Once back under green, Sullivan quickly extended his lead over Roger Larson, Jr., who ran comfortably in second. Shane Michalski ran a distance third. Once Boss moved passed Leo Adams, he set sail for Michalski. Despite closing the gap considerably, Boss ran out of time and had to settle for fourth place finish behind winner Sullivan, Larson, Jr. and Michalski. Leo Adams completed the top five.
Scott Michalski of S. Killingly waited until late in the season but his first win of 2007 was an impressive one as he showed patience in traffic to score the Mini Stock victory. Three-wide was the norm in the early going of the main event as Michalski and Rick Blanchard came storming to the front. Michalski, who started deep in the pack, was the new leader by lap six; taking the top spot from early leader Jason Paquette. A charging Blanchard had made his way into the second position before lap 10. The championship contenders Brad Caddick and Mike Romano ran solidly inside the top five.
In an uneventful run to the finish, Michalski held a sizeable lead as he went unchallenged to the checkers. Blanchard began to fade over the final two laps, allowing Caddick and Romano to close. Blanchard; however, was able to hold on to finish second. Caddick shaved two points off the point lead with his third-place finish. Romano, who finished fourth, holds a 12 point lead heading into the final race next Thursday night. Ron Rixham rounded out the top five.
The action promises to be exciting on Thursday night, September 20, 2007 as Thompson International Speedway rounds out the regular season. Only a single race remains to decide the 2007 season champions. The titles are still up for grabs in all six divisions with less than a 20-point margin in the Sunoco Modifieds, Limited Sportsman, TIS Modified and Mini Stock divisions.
Sunoco Modified Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Kerry Malone, Needham, MA; 2. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 3. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry, CT; 4. Woody Pitkat, Stafford, CT; 5. Danny Cates, Chaplin, CT; 6. Ricky Shawn, Bradford, RI; 7. Bert Marvin, Waterford, CT; 8. Steve Masse, Bellingham, MA; 9. Dan Lajeunesse, Norwich, CT; 10. Josh Steeves, Webster, MA.
Pro Stock Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 2. Norm Wrenn, Nashua, NH; 3. Jeff Zuidema, N. Brookfield, CT; 4. Dave Berghman, Seekonk, MA; 5. George Bessette, Danbury, CT; 6. Jay Macedonio, Somerset, MA; 7. Les Rose, Jr., E. Wareham, MA; 8. Jim Banfield, S. Glastonbury, CT: 9. Dave Silvia, Warwick, RI; 10. Carl Eriksson, Deep River, CT.
Late Model Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Tommy O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 2. Jay Stuart, Preston, CT; 3. John Materas, Voluntown, CT; 4. Conrad Cote, Lisbon, CT; 5. Paul Newcomb, Jr., Plymouth, MA; 6. Mark Jenison, Danielson, CT; 7. Dennis Perry, Pawcatuck, CT; 8. Wayne Coury, Sr., 9. Jeremy Sadowski, Voluntown, CT; 10. Tony Bodine, Cranston, RI.
Limited Sportsman Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Keith DeSanctis, Monson, MA; 2. Scott Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 3. Jess Gleason, Lisbon, CT; 4. Tim Taylor, Wauregan, CT; 5. Mark Charette, Wolcott, CT; 6. Gerald Sevigny, Brooklyn, CT; 7. Chris Bisson, Putnam, CT; 8. Jay Pepin, Ridgefield, CT; 9. Michael Cavanaugh, Coventry, RI; 10. Steven Cole, Brooklyn, CT.
Mini Stock Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Scott Michalski, S. Killingly, CT; 2. Rick Blanchard, Pascoag, RI; 3. Brad Caddick, New London, CT; 4. Mike Romano, Pascoag, RI; 5. Ron Rixham, Jefferson, MA; 6. Jason, Paquette, Columbia, CT; 7. Roger Ducharme, Foster, RI; 8. Jeff Moffat, Warwick, RI; 9. Leo Defevers, Brooklyn, CT; 10. John Kelly, Groton, CT.
TIS Modified Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Tim Sullivan, S. Windsor, CT; 2. Roger Larson, Jr., Milford, MA; 3. Shane Michalski, Woodstock, CT; 4. Glenn Boss, Danielson, CT; 5. Leo Adams, Putnam, MA; 6. Richie Ferrera, Raynham, MA; 7. Leo Oliveira, Raynham, MA; 8. Bart Ramos, Sterling, CT; 9. Roger Ducharme, Foster, RI; 10. Kurt Vigeant, Oxford, CT.
Sources: Dale Wolbrink/Thompson Int’l Speedway PR