Palmisano Tops in Late Model 50 at Thompson; Rocco Checkers Mods
First-Time Winners Ramstrom & Sundeen; Sullivan & Michalski Also Winners
Thompson, CT — The Late Models took center stage at Thompson Speedway on Thursday night with Marc Palmisano of Hadley, MA, taking a dominant win the extra-distance race for the division. It was a career night for some of the young lions of Thompson Speedway. Teenagers Derek Ramstrom and Jay Sundeen scored their first career wins on Thursday night. Ramstrom of Worcester, MA, earned a dominating win in the Pro Stocks and Sundeen of Douglas, MA, was best in the Limited Sportsman division.
Keith Rocco of Wallingford scored a hard-fought victory in the Sunoco Modifieds and Tim Sullivan of S. Windsor rebounded with a TIS Modified victory. Scott Michalski of South Killingly took top honors in the Mini Stock main event.
Former divisional champion Marc Palmisano of Hadley, MA, was back in top form as he turned in a commanding performance to win the 50-lap Late Model main event. The strong field of competitors ran the distance with a single caution flag.
Conrad Cote showed the way early in the Late Model main event as Palmisano was on the march. He made quick work of Tom Sullivan for second before taking over the lead from Cote on lap 10. Meanwhile, Zuidema was ripping through the pack. Likely contender Corey Hutchings dropped off the pace on lap 16.
Palmisano had rolled out to a sizeable lead while Zuidema had worked his way into the second position. At the halfway point of the event, Palmisano continued to hold a consistent lead over Zuidema. Cote was hanging on for third.
During the extended green flag run, Cote and Gentes ran in close quarters. With ten laps to got things began to heat up for the third spot as Cote, Gentes, and Jay Stuart ran nose to tail. Gentes finally got inside of Cote with six laps remaining. They ran side-by-side for a single lap. Gentes slid up making ever so slight contact with Cote. This opened the door for both Cote and Stuart.
With the laps flying off the board, despite lapped traffic, it was smooth sailing for Palmisano to his first win of the 2008 season and ending Zuidema’s strong-hold on victory lane. Zuidema settled for second followed by Gentes and Stuart. Cote held on for fifth.
Keith Rocco of Wallingford, CT, continues his hot streak in open-wheel competition in Connecticut short track racing with his first Sunoco Modified win at Thompson. It is Rocco’s third overall win on the 2008 season. Rocco had to work hard for the victory through a number of restarts and some stiff competition for the top spot.
Bobby Grigas III led the opening lap before the caution flew for a single car incident. On the restart, Ceravolo rocketed into the top spot. Rocco had worked his way into the second position before the caution flew again for a spin by Bert Marvin.
The restart pitted Rocco against Ceravolo. After a single lap of green, Rocco was the new leader. Pitkat had moved into the third position by lap 10 while Cates ran in fourth. Grigas was having his hands full with Jimmy Blewett as Kerry Malone watched.
At the halfway marker, Rocco began to stretch his lead over Ceravolo while Pitkat was making headway toward the lead pack. The caution flew for a spin by Anthony Burr to slow the action.
The outside groove was the sweet spot on the restart with Ceravolo retaking the lead. Rocco looked poised to make a bid at the lead when the caution flew once again for an incident that involved Rookie Josh Sylvester, Harry Rheaume, Josh Steeves, and Geoff Gernhard.
On the resulting restart, Ceravolo got a good jump but Rocco would take command of the event. Almost immediately, the caution flew when Pitkat went hard into the turn four wall.
Cates bolted into the lead after contact between the leaders Ceravolo and Rocco. Bobby Grigas followed through and into the second position. Cravenho moved into the third spot but quickly lost the position to a rebounding Rocco.
Ceravolo, who had a flat tire, spun on the backstretch to bring out the caution. Cates took the lead on the restart but less than a lap later Rocco reclaimed the top spot. Contact between third running Grigas and Kerry Malone, sent Grigas spinning.
Rocco took command on the restart leaving Cates to defend his position over Cravenho and Malone. A pair of cautions could not deter the fast-running Rocco, who continued to lead. Cates was hanging tough in second while Malone clearly had a fast car.
Slicing and dicing on a restart found Jimmy Blewett running through the dust of the infield to move into the third spot. Blewett had his hands full with an ill-handling racecar and fell back as quickly as he had moved forward.
With a pair of laps remaining, Rocco had checked out. The Wallingford, CT driver raced unchallenged to the checkers. Cates had a strong performance to finish second. Malone, Grigas, and Blewett rounded out the top 5.
Through the smoke of a great burnout emerged a new winner in the Pro Stock ranks at Thompson Speedway. Track owner Donald Hoenig met Derek Ramstrom in victory lane after the youngster scored his first career Pro Stock win at the Speedway. Ramstrom has run strong since joining the field in 2008.
He used his pole starting position to run out to a sizeable lead almost immediately. George Bessette freed himself from traffic quickly to run in second. Hard-charger Norm Wrenn took up the third position.
Deeper in the pack, Mike O’Sullivan and Jay Macedonio were locked in a heated battle for sixth that also involved Steve Desmarias. Things got too hot to handle when Macedonio went spinning.
On the restart, Ramstrom bolted back out to the top spot. Bessette settled back in second. Wrenn had his hands full with a charging O’Sullivan. Macedonio was quickly making his way back into contention. In the end, it was all Ramstrom. Bessette came home second followed by Wrenn, O’Sullivan, and Dave Silvia.
It was a stellar evening for the Sundeen racing family of Douglas, MA. Son Jay Sundeen bested father Scott to take down his first career victory at the Speedway. Recent high school graduate, Jay launched to the lead from his front row starting position. Scott, who started sixth, quickly became a factor. During a long green flag run, Jay was able to gain some distance over this father with Ernie Larose running strong in third.
The elder Sundeen had begun to reel in his son when the caution flew with less than five laps to go for a spin by Kevin Bowe. Jay proved to be up to the challenge on the single-file restart to retain his lead. Larry Barnett looked racy on the restart but never mustered up a real challenge on Larose. Victory lane was a family affair as Jay was joined by Scott. Larose, Barnett, and Ed Puleo completed the top five.
Scott Michalski of S. Killingly, CT, bested a strong field of Mini Stocks to score the win. Fred Michalski held the point early before giving way to his brother Scott Michalski. Things turned bad quickly for the band of brothers as they were involved in successive cautions. A spin by Fred brought out the first caution. On the ensuing restart, his brother Steve had trouble getting up to speed resulting in hard contact with the front stretch wall.
On the restart, Danny Fields began to pressure to the leader; getting up alongside Sc. Michalski. Mike Romano and Rick Blanchard had made their way into the top five.
A pair of cautions set up a green-white-checker restart. Romano looked to make a move to the inside for second but had to settle back in line. Fields, in turn, tried a last ditch effort on the leader. Sc. Michalski turned back all challenges to take his first win of the season. Fields came home a strong second followed by Romano. Blanchard and Roger Ducharme rounded out the top five.
After a devastating wreck during the last outing for the TIS Modified division, Tim Sullivan rebounded with a commanding victory in the 20-lapper for the division. Sullivan jumped out from his pole starting position and hid from the rest of the field. Leo Oliveria and Glenn Boss took chase in a distant second and third.
It was a heated battle for the fourth spot between Richie Ferreira, Kurt Vigeant, and R.J. Marcotte over the closing laps. In the caution-free main event Sullivan scored the victory followed by Oliviera and Boss. Marcotte raced to the checkers ahead of Ferriera to round out the top five.
Late Model Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Marc Palmisano, Hadley, MA; 2. Jeff Zuidema, N. Brookfield, MA; 3. Rick Gentes, Woonsocket, RI; 4. Jay Stuart, Preston, CT; 5. Conrad Cote, Lisbon, CT; 6. Mark Oliviera, Blackstone, MA; 7. Jeff Hartwell, Putnam, CT; 8. Mark Jenison, Danielson, CT; 9. John Materas, Voluntown, CT; 10. Dennis Perry, Pawcatuck, CT.
Sunoco Modified Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 2. Danny Cates, Chaplin, CT; 3. Kerry Malone, Needham, MA; 4. Bobby Grigas, III, Marshfield, MA; 5. Jimmy Blewett, Howell, NJ; 6. Tommy Cravenho, Raynham, MA; 7. Josh Sylvester, Lebanon, NY: 8. Eric Goodale, Riverhead, NY; 9. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry, CT; 10. Anthony Burr, Wallingford, CT.
Pro Stock Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Derek Ramstrom, Worcester, MA; 2. George Bessette, Danbury, CT; 3. Norm Wrenn, Nashua, NH; 4. Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 5. Dave Silvia, Warwick, RI; 6. Jay Macedonio, Somerset, MA; 7. Fred Astle, Jr., Westport, MA; 8. Jim Banfield, Glastonbury, CT; 9. Steve Desmarias, Westport, MA; 10. Nick Ribbe, Kingston, MA.
Limited Sportsman Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Jay Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 2. Scott Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 3. Ernie Larose, Moosup, CT; 4. Larry Barnett, Ledyard, CT; 5. Ed Puleo, Branford, CT; 6. Randy Jurcik, Chaplin, CT; 7. Jesse Gleason, Lisbon, CT; 8. Joe Arena, Berlin, CT; 9. Scott Cook, Uncasville, CT; 10. Tommy Shea, New London, CT.
Mini Stock Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Scott Michalski, S. Killingly, CT; 2. Danny Field, Deep River, CT; 3. Mike Romano, Glendale, RI; 4. Rick Blanchard, Pascoag, RI; 5. Roger Ducharme, Foster, RI; 6. Glynn Roy, Sterling, CT; 7. Chuck Rogers, Quaker Hill, CT; 8. Leo Defevers, Brooklyn, CT; 9. Jason Paquette, Norwich, CT; 10. Bill Schoeler, Warwick, RI.
TIS Modified Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Tim Sullivan, S. Windsor, CT; 2. Leo Oliviera, Raynham, MA; 3. Glenn Boss, Danielson, CT; 4. RJ Marcotte, Millville, MA; 5. Richie Ferriera, Raynham, MA; 6. Kurt Vigeant, Oxford, MA; 7. Shane Michalski, Woodstock, CT; 8. John Studley, Framingham, MA; 9. Cam McDermott, Scituate, RI; 10. Brian Tagg, Oxford, MA.
Sources: Dale Wolbrink/Thompson International Speedway PR