NEMA Second Half Looking Brighter for Frankoski
Huntington, NY — After maintaining a “top ten” standing while racing week to week for four different car owners this season, Jeremy Frankoski can finally “get back in the groove” knowing he has a solid opportunity in NEMA midgets. The 22 year old young gun will be competing as the newest member of the top ranked Bertrand Motorsports team and will pilot Tim Bertrand’s 47B midget at all seven remaining NEMA races in 2008.
“Everything has come together for us during the past two weeks,” stated Tim Bertrand. “With the help of some exceptional people in and around NEMA, we have been able to put together enough support to run the remainder of the 2008 season and hopefully give Jeremy a shot at some top finishes.”
Coming off a solid 9th place finish last Saturday driving the 77M Beast chassis for Luggelle Racing at Waterford Speedbowl’s highly successful “Wings & Wheels” event, Jeremy Frankoski holds onto 7th in the NEMA driver standings.
“Although the 47B will continue to be Randy (Cabral)’s back up car for the remainder of the season, and with a spare engine in the trailer, we hope we won’t have to play that plan out,” Bertrand strategized. Randy Cabral remains on top of the NEMA driver standings ahead of Joey Payne in 2nd and Bobby Santos III in 3rd. Tim Bertrand leads the owner standings ahead of Bob Santos in 2nd and Gene Angelillo in 3rd.
The opportunity comes on the heals of a successful Bertrand/Frankoski venture in the Boston Louie Memorial Race held August 9 at Seekonk Speedway in which Frankoski posted a strong 2nd in time trials among more than 30 cars. Frankoski went on to finish fourth after an inverted start from 13th in his first race in the Bertrand machine.
“After driving (the 47B) in the Boston Louie and getting a feel for this race car, I’m more than excited about our prospects for the rest of the year,” said Frankoski. “The chemistry with Tim and Randy is really good too, and that’s a big factor.”
“I’m also thankful for all the great support I have received from so many people over the past month,” Frankoski continued. Mike Jarret at MJ Motorsports, the Bertrands and Cabrals along with Mike Luggelle, Bob Santos, Bobby Seymour, Mike Horn and John Greenhalgh all pledged their support and continue to be extremely helpful.”
The newly expanded Bertand team has plenty of hard work ahead of them in the next two weeks as they prepare for Monadnock Speedway on August 30th. The extensive work includes a rebuild of the engine that failed for Cabral in the 47 midget during practice at the Boston Louie two weeks ago and installation of a recently acquired engine from Esslinger Racing in the 47B.
The next stop on the NEMA tour, Monadnock Speedway, is a tricky ¼ mile track in Winchester, New Hampshire. Frankoski had a good run there earlier this year and was solidly in 3rd before fuel issues in the final laps dropped him back to a 7th place finish. Cabral claimed runner-up honors to Joey Payne the same night.
Jeremy Frankoski won his first NEMA race last year as a rookie at Beech Ridge. He also finished 3rd at Stafford, 2nd at Seekonk and went on to be honored by NEMA as the 2007 Rookie of the Year. So far this year in NEMA, Jeremy has 7 top ten finishes, 3 top five finishes and 2 heat wins.
The “Boston” Louie Seymour Memorial Race is one of NEMA’s most prestigious races of the season. The race, in its 12th year, honors legendary car owner Louie Seymour who raced midgets across the US and brought notoriety, not only to his team for their accomplishments, but to open wheel racing in the Northeast.
For More Information Please Visit: www.jeremyfrankoski.com.
Sources: Tim Bertrand/NEMA PR