Top Speeds Make NEMA Sought After Commodity
Speed was the centerpiece of the Northeastern Midget Association’s 57th season. Champions Randy Cabral (driver) and Tim Bertrand (owner) ruled over a 17-race campaign filled with astonishing lap times.
The Cabral/Bertrand #47 team won eight shows en route to the first championship for both.
“We started off badly (losing Shane Hammond at Thompson) but everybody pulled together,” reports NEMA President Mike Scrivani Jr. “We had a lot of good races. We had great support in difficult times.”
There were five winners in all, Bobby Santos III (5), Greg Stoehr (2), Joey Payne and young Jeff Abold joining Cabral. Adam Cantor, Erica Santos, Jeremy Frankoski and William Wall had promising seasons.
“No question,” continues Scrivani, “the speeds help us. People want to see it. Like Midget racing everywhere, NEMA is on the upswing. The cars are a lot better and the show is a racier than ever.”
Bertrand points to speeds at three of NEMA’s long-time haunts. “We had a 10.9 at Seekonk for the first time,” he says. “Greg Stoehr and Jeff Abold both did it. At the World Series at Thompson, Randy had 15 laps under 18 seconds, an astonishing thing. At Waterford, Randy just kept breaking the record and wound up with a 12.62 lap at the Finale.”
NEMA was also quick at Monadnock, Lee, Stafford, Beech Ridge and Twin State.
“Two years ago11.4 won the feature at Seekonk,” adds Scrivani, the president since 2003. A 12.9 was lightning quick at the Speedbowl just a year ago.
The trend is making NEMA a sought after commodity. Scrivani, who remembers “scratching for shows” four years ago, now says the challenge will be putting together a “reasonable schedule” in the face of the economic difficulties that will no doubt continue in ’09.
The success of the NEMA Lites has also been positive. A development Series, it brought an additional dozen cars to several dates.
“We are seeing the results of the stuff we’ve worked on for years,” he continues. “Every winter guys did their homework trying to get these cars to go faster. It used to be five or six guys doing that. Now, it’s 10 to 15 guys doing it.”
Bertrand says it’s “a natural progression that we see in every sport. Everything is getting bigger, faster, better.” In that picture, NEMA “is now viewed as one of the premier open wheel series in the country, equal to the USAC pavement series.” The latter has suffered car count losses because of the economy.
Long on history, NEMA is an “expected commodity” at New England’s established events – the Icebreaker and World Series at Thompson; the opener and closer at Waterford, the Boston Louie and DAV at Seekonk, the midweek specials at Seekonk and Stafford. “Fans expect us to be there,” Scrivani points out. “NEMA is part of the party.”
Drivers: 1. Randy Cabral 2230; 2. Joey Payne, 1903; 3. Bobby Santos III, 1841; 4. Adam Cantor, 1839; 5. Greg Stoehr, 1775; 6. Erica Santos, 1675; 7. William Wall, 1577, 8. Nokie Fornoro, 1561; 9. Jeremy Frankoski, 1548; 10. Doug Cleveland, 1344.
OWNERS: 1. #11 Tim Bertrand, 2222; 2. #98 Bob Santos Jr. 2101; 3. #45 Gene Angelillo, 1939; 4. #7ny, Cantor Racing, 1839; 5. #26b, Greg Stoehr, 1775; 6. #44 Ed Breault, 1631; 7. #5 Wall Motorsports, 1577; 8. #4 Mike Jarret, 1561; 9. #63 TSR Motorsports, 1342; 10. #9 John Zych, 1315.
Sources: Pete Zanardi/NEMA PR