Nokie Fornoro Takes Aim At Another NEMA Crown
Things seem to be in order for Nokie Fornoro – all the things necessary to capture the Northeastern Midget Association championship for himself and owner Mike Jarret.
NEMA opens its 19-race schedule April 4-5-6 at Thompson International Speedway. A spot on Waterford Speedbowl’s Budweiser Modified Nationals follows a week later (April 12-13). A large and impressive entry list compliments the agenda.
He expects a “quick” start to his quest. The cooler temperatures mean faster speeds at Thompson he says. Motors will run better and the banking will have more affect. “Thompson is always faster when you can use the banking. I love the speed you get there.”
He and Bobby Santos III were “down in the seventeen seconds” at last year’s. World Series. “The Midgets,” he declares, “are “scary fast” at Thompson.
Fornoro’s last championship was the 1995 ARDC title, one of several he owns including the 1981 NEMA crown. His last Midget victory, the 105th of his career, came last August at the Waterford Speedbowl. With his father Nick and his brother Drew, Nokie is part of one of Midget racing’s most successful families.
“Considering the caliber of cars we have now – 12-to-15 cars can win any given night – you have to have one heck of a maintenance program to win a championship,” says Fornoro. “I believe money can’t buy you wins. Yea, it can help you get the best stuff but if you don’t have a maintenance program, you’re in trouble.”
He gives owner Peter Valeri, the champ three of the past four years (driver Ben Seitz won four in a row) “all the credit in the world. Every race, no matter what happened, they went through the car and that’s what you have to do.”
Fornoro has always “been blessed with good owners” and Jarret is one of them. “Whenever Mike gets involved he does it wholeheartedly,” says Fornoro. “There is nothing this team should lack; there is no reason why we shouldn’t do well. I feel we’ve got the best stuff.”
The present operation, including Mike Scrivani Jr., is a carry over from the glory days of early 1980s when Fornoro dominated in cars owned by Hall of Famer Mike Scrivani Sr., the larger than life character known as ‘Iron Mike.’ Both Jarret and Mike Jr. were key parts of an operation that produced the NEMA title and a couple of his five ARDC crowns.
Fornoro vividly recalls his first Thompson run way back in 1976, a sixth place finish after a confrontation with Joey Coy. Since then he has “hundreds and hundreds of laps” around the historic oval in both Midgets and SuperModifieds. He was an ISMA winner there is 2006.
Sources: Pete Zanardi/NEMA PR.