Todd Betrand Scores Monadnock NEMA Lites Series Victory, Rain Curtails Full Midget Event
Winchester, NH — Wheeling the Tim Bertrand #48, Todd Betrand defeated a large field of NEMA Lites entries at New Hampshire’s Monadnock Speedway on Saturday evening to score his first feature victory of the season.
Pole-sitter Andy Barrows set the pace for several circuits surviving a number of early-event restarts before spinning and being overtaken by Lanson Fornoro in the Paul Lugelle #00.
Within laps, 2009 NEMA Full Midget champion Randy Cabral moved into the picture, leading for several circuits before exiting with mechanical issues. Following a mid-race restart, Betrand chose the outside in overtaking the leaders, cruising to the 20-lap win.
Completing the top-3 was Anthony Nocella and Paul Lugelle.
“The cautions kept-coming tonight,” stated Betrand in victory lane. “I took my time in this one. The car was great – we were really hooked-up. It also helped us that the track was in such good shape. The last lap was a little tough when I saw those two cars get-together. I saw the smoke, and was lucky to get through-it.”
Second-place Nocella had a handful in the closing circuits. “We were getting really-loose as the race progressed,” he said. The toe was out on the suspension, and it took a lot to keep the car straight.”
Rounding-out the top-3, Paul Lugelle was pleased with his performance. “We really enjoy racing here at Monadnock, it’s a great track for our team. We’ll take a third as it’s a great comeback from the last-time.”
With Jim Miller and Jeff Horn set to lead the feature to the green, rain ended the Northeastern Midget Association’s Full Midget feature.
Officials agreed that twin 25 lap features will be on the agenda for the division when NEMA returns to Monadnock on Saturday night, July 31. Twin State Speedway in Claremont, NH on Friday night, June 11 is the next stop for the Full Midgets.
The NEMA Lites Series next appears at Massachusetts’ Seekonk Speedway on Friday evening, June 4. For more information on NEMA visit www.nemaracing.com.
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