Nokie Fornoro Captures Monadnock Midgets
Winchester, NH – Calling it an “either me or him situation,” Nokie Fornoro took the lead on the third restart and went on to capture the 25-lap Northeastern Midget Association feature Saturday night at Monadnock Speedway. It was the second win of the season for the Jarret 4 team.
The third restart came with just two laps complete. It put Fornoro, who initially started sixth, on the front row outside John Zych Jr. Lou Cicconi Jr., subbing for an ill Russ Stoehr in the Angelillo 45 and Greg Stoehr were in row two.
Fornoro got the lead midway through three and four. Cicconi, the quickest in both practice and the heats, got Zych a half lap later for second. “On this track, when cars are within three tenths of each other passing can be a pain in the butt,” said Fornoro who set about “trying to get as many lapped cars between me and whomever.”
Fornoro had the fastest lap in the feature, an 11.892 effort on the 10th circuit.
Only a lap 16 caution slowed Fornoro although Cicconi did close over the final circuits. Greg Stoehr got by Zych on the final restart to claim third and Adam Cantor earned his sixth straight top-five.
Fornoro admitted “making a quicker jump than I should have” on the last restart. Cicconi made some “weight jacker adjustments” late in the race – “I should have done it earlier” – and felt “another five laps I might have caught him.”
The second crash eliminated five cars including Chris DeRitis and Erica Santos. While Fornoro emerged undamaged (“things were going on all around me”) it did affect Stoehr, Cantor and Cicconi (“I hit the rumble strip and it changed things”).
Zych, managed to get the jump on the green to finally complete the first lap.
He had also pulled away on the initial green only to have yellow fly immediately. .
Within a half-a-lap, however, a Fornoro and Cicconi duel emerged. Yellow put an end to it and on the third restart, Fornoro got to take advantage of some green flag action.
NEMA NUGGETS – The Jarret crew made three changes before settling for the “out of box setup” for the feature…”I just love racing with Lou Cicconi,” said Fornoro. “I used to help him out when he was a rookie.”…Cicconi on Fornoro: “He is so good, so smooth. Every time you get next to him, he finds another tenth of a second.”…It was a very impressive run for Zych who had a couple of great restarts but called the final one “bad.” He held his own in the company of the best Midget drivers in the east…Stoehr, who called Monadnock his “very favorite track,” said “the right guys always win here.” …Cantor continues to impress. He passed three cars to get a fifth after actually being airborne in the second crash.
RESULTS: 1. Nokie Fornoro, 2. Lou Cicconi Jr., 3. Greg Stoehr, 4. John Zych Jr., 5. Adam Cantor, 6. Jim Miller, 7. Randy Cabral, 8. Jeff Horn, 9. Abby Martino, 10. Shawn Torrey, 11. Shaun Gosselin, 12 Eddie LeClerc Jr., 13. Doug Cleveland, 14. Chris DeRitis, 15. Erica Santos, 16. Paul Scally, 17. Lee Bundy, 18. Neal Blatt. DN –Frank Swan.
Sources: Pete Zanardi/NEMA PR