Cates Tops in Sunoco Mods at Thompson; Sullivan Wins TIS Extra-Distance Event; Gelinas Earns Thompson First; Monahan Doubles Up in Limiteds; Falconi & Dorr Also Winners
Thompson, CT — Danny Cates of Chaplin, CT, was stout in his victory in the Sunoco Modified main event on Thursday night at Thompson International Speedway. Brian Sullivan of S Windsor, CT, shined in the TIS Modified annual extra-distance event. While Shawn Monahan of Waterford, CT, turned in a repeat winning performance in the Limited Sportsman division and it was a night of firsts in the Super Late Models and Mini Stocks. Larry Gelinas of Buxton, ME, earned his first-ever Thompson victory in a hotly contested Super Late Model feature. Dwayne Dorr of Ledyard, CT, turned in a dominating performance to score his first Mini Stock victory of 2010. John Falconi of North Grafton, MA, was awarded the victory in the Late Models.
Mechanical woes plagued Danny Cates of Chaplin, CT, throughout practice; but his mount was stout when it counted. Cates drove by the toughest competition to score the popular victory. Ronnie Silk and Tim Sullivan went wheel-to-wheel in the opening laps as they battled for the lead. Rowan Pennink was looking racy in third.
Contact between Silk and Pennink sent Silk sliding back to the third spot just ahead of Keith Rocco. Sullivan held the point with Pennink glued to the back bumper. Cates was making headway in the bottom groove taking the fourth spot from Keith Rocco. Cates made quick work of Silk to get third. Ted Christopher had worked his way around Rocco and waged a great battle for the fourth spot with Silk.
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On lap seven, Cates made a bold move to take second from Pennink. Just as Cates was making his move to take the lead from Sullivan, the caution flew on lap eight for an incident in turn two between John Catania and Jodi Johnson. Under the caution, Silk, Rocco, and Ryan Preece headed to pit road for service by their crews.
Sullivan and Cates were even for much of lap nine. Cates was scored the new leader on lap 10. Sullivan also lost positions to Christopher and Pennink. Christopher quickly worked his way into the second spot. Preece, Rocco and Silk were making their way back toward the top five.
Cates stretched his advantage over Christopher. Pennink ran slightly further back in third. Sullivan ran alone in the fourth. Preece took over the fifth position from Dave Salzarulo. Rocco and Silk seemed to stall in the bottom of the top-ten.
The race settled into a groove with Cates methodically clicking off laps. Christopher ran a distant second ahead of Pennink and Sullivan. Preece had caught Sullivan in fourth. An incident with only four laps remaining brought out the event’s second caution to erase Cates’ large lead.
Cates got a great run on the single-file restart to maintain his lead; however, he had his hands full with a charging Christopher. With two to go, Christopher was glued to the back bumper of Cates. On the final lap, Cates was able to get a car-length of breathing room. Despite a last ditch effort by Christopher, it was all Cates at the checkers. After three straight wins, Christopher had to settle for second. Pennink, Sullivan, and Preece completed the top-five.
The TIS Modifieds took their place in the limelight with their annual extra-distance race. At the conclusion of the 30-lap main event it was Brian Sullivan of S. Windsor, CT, taking the victory.
After several attempts at the initial start and several rounds of three-wide racing for the lead, John Studley emerged as the early race leader. Studley held the point but had plenty of company in Keith McDermott. Sullivan, meanwhile, had charged through the field. On lap 13, McDermott, with a push from Sullivan, gained the lead from Studley.
Sullivan was the new leader when the pack took the crossed flags for halfway. Over stretch run, Sullivan motored out to a comfortable lead over McDermott. R.J. Marcotte had recovered from a mid-race incident and was making headway toward the front of the pack. Sullivan handily was in control taking down the win with ease. McDermott continues to have a strong season finishing second. Studley settled for the third spot over Marcotte and Shane Michalski.
Larry Gelinas of Buxton, ME, has many wins to his credit. Until Thursday night,however, the veteran Super Late Model competitor did not have a victory at Thompson International Speedway. He added the accolade after a great battle with young lion Derek Ramstrom. Gelinas took the lead from pole sitter Dennis Maxfield to set the pace for the Super Late Models early. Maxfield fell into the second position followed by Ramstrom and Mike O’Sullivan.
Ramstrom began his assault on Maxfield on lap seven. Maxfield put up a good fight but finally gave up the second position on lap 11. O’Sullivan followed suit; also taking a position from Maxfield. Jim Banfield had reeled in Maxfield.
At halfway, Gelinas enjoyed a sizeable yet shrinking advantage over Ramstrom, who held an equal margin over O’Sullivan. At lap 17, Banfield made a bid on Maxfield. A bit further back George Bessette and Mike Stefanik were waging a battle of their own.
Ramstrom had caught Gelinas with ten laps remaining in the feature event. Ramstrom was happy chasing until five laps to go. Ramstrom dove low beneath Gelinas entering turn one. However, Gelinas showed his muscle on the straightaway. Lap-after-lap, Ramstrom could get alongside Gelinas in each of the corners to no avail.
On the final lap, Ramstrom pulled even with Gelinas exiting turn two. Gelinas edged ahead by inches on the backstretch. The exited the corner with Gelinas holding a slight advantage. With smoke pouring off the cars as they made contact, the two headed to checkers. Gelinas won by a nose over Ramstrom. All O’Sullivan could do is watch in third. Banfield edged out Maxfield to complete the top five.
A couple of weeks back, John Falconi of N. Grafton, MA, ended a winless streak with a popular victory. It took only one week and post race technical inspection to score his next victory. It appeared as if Rick Gentes had earned back-to-back victories; however, a rules infraction stripped the veteran of the win.
Mark Jenison took command of the Late Model main event from the drop of the green flag. After a quick caution, Jenison had to contend with a hard-charging Falconi while Rick Gentes lurked in third. Jenison and Falconi went door-to-door for a handful of laps. With the leaders running double-file, all Gentes could do is take chase. While the three cars battled up front, John Materas and Tommy O’Sullivan were able to reel in the lead pack.
A bobble by Jenison opened the door for Falconi and others. Jenison fell back to the fifth position. Once out front, Falconi was able to gain a two-car length advantage over Gentes. O’Sullivan had caught Materas to give him a run for the third position.
With less than 10 laps to go, they were side-by-side battling for both the lead and also for the third spot. On lap 18, Gentes was able to jump to the low groove to take the lead from Falconi. Materas was able to hold off O’Sullivan.
Gentes ran out to a sizeable advantage once out front. Falconi ran alone in second followed by a continuing battle between Materas and O’Sullivan. On the final lap, Gentes had clear sailing to run under the checkers. Falconi cruised to what would ultimately be the victory. Materas was able to hold back O’Sullivan. Mark Oliveira quietly completed the top five.
Shawn Monahan of Waterford, CT, streaked to his second straight Limited Sportsman feature victory; bringing his season-long tally to four at Thompson Speedway. Rookie Limited Sportsman competitor Mike Romano showed the way in the opening laps of the 20-lap main event. An early race caution proved to be Romano’s undoing as Joe Arena took the lead on a lap three restart. Both Monahan and Larry Barnett reached the top five before lap five.
Arena immediately had heavy pressure from Jesse Gleason while Monahan took chase. The three cars were locked together in a heated battle for the top spot. Gleason came out on top of the battle to take over the lead on lap seven. Contact between Monahan for second sent Arena sliding back outside of the top five. Once in second, Monahan began to apply consistent pressure to Gleason. Barnett had move into the third.
Gleason entered lapped traffic; opening the door for Monahan. Getting up alongside Gleason, Monahan was able to motor into the lead on lap 13. Scott Sundeen, who had mechanical woes earlier in the day, had worked his way around Barnett and into the third spot.
Once free of Gleason, Monahan edged out to a three-car length advantage. In the closing laps Barnett began to work over Sundeen in attempt retake the third place back. At the checkers it was Monahan taking his second win in as many weeks while Gleason continued his string of top finishes. Sundeen held on to third over Barnett. Joe Coates turned in a great performance to finish fifth.
It took only a lap for Dwayne Dorr to capture the lead in the Mini Stock main event. Once out front the Ledyard, CT, driver would never be headed. Dorr was able to maintain his advantage despite a pair of early race cautions. With a run of green flag racing Dorr was able to stretch his advantage over Chad Baxter and Randy Churchill. While Dorr continued to lead, Baxter had his hands full with Churchill. Scott Michalski was busy fending off the Scott Jussaume for the fifth position.
In the waning laps, Dorr held a five-car length advantage. Baxter slid high exiting turn four giving Churchill the edge and the second spot. Baxter continued to fight back over the final lap. In the end, it was Dorr scoring his first victory of the 2010 season. Churchill held on to second with Baxter settling for third. Michalski and Jussaume completed the top five.
Sunoco Modified Feature (Top-Ten) Finish: 1. Danny Cates, Chaplin, CT; 2. Ted Christopher, Plainville, CT; 3. Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, PA; 4. Tim Sullivan, S. Windsor, CT; 5. Ryan Preece, Berlin, CT; 6. Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, CT; 7. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 8. Nichole Morgillo, Yalesville, CT; 9. Henry Stampfl, Norwood, MA; 10. John Catania, Agawam, MA.
TIS Modified Feature (Top-Ten) Finish: 1. Brian Sullivan, S. Windsor, CT; 2. Keith McDermott, Scituate, RI; 3. John Studley, Framingham, MA; 4. R.J. Marcotte, Millville, MA; 5. Shane Michalski, Woodstock, CT; 6. Ryan Morgan, Mystic, CT; 7. Jason Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 8. Denis Legere, N. Reading, MA; 9. Leo Adams, Putnam, CT; 10. Brian Tagg, Oxford, MA.
Super Late Model Feature (Top-Ten) Finish: 1. Larry Gelinas, Buxton, ME; 2. Derek Ramstrom, Worcester, MA; 3. Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 4. Jim Banfield, S. Glastonbury, CT; 5. Dennis Maxfield, Fitchburg, MA; 6. Mike Stefanik, Coventry, RI; 7. George Bessette, Danbury, CT; 8. Dave Silvia, Warwick, RI; 9. Daryl Stampfl, Norwood, MA; 10. Matt Zenisky, W. Springfield, MA.
Late Model Feature (Top-Ten) Finish: 1. John Falconi, N. Grafton, MA; 2. John Materas, Voluntown, CT; 3. Tommy O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 4. Mark Oliveira, Blackstone, MA; 5. Jeremy Sadowski, Voluntown, CT; 6. Randy Waterman, Danielson, CT; 7. Bob O’Connell, Wrentham, MA; 8. Mark Jenison, Warwick, RI; 9. Jeff Hartwell, E. Putnam, CT; 10. Wayne Coury, Sr., Milford, CT.
Limited Sportsman Feature (Top-Ten) Finish: 1. Shawn Monahan, Waterford, CT; 2. Jesse Gleason, Lisbon, CT; 3. Scott Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 4. Larry Barnett, Bristol, CT; 5. Joe Coates, Eastford, CT; 6. William Wall, Shrewsbury, MA; 7. Joe Arena, Bristol, CT;8. Jason Chicolas, Sutton, MA; 9. Paul Coutu, Thompson, CT; 10. Steve Kenneway, Jr., Lowell, MA.
Mini Stock Feature (Top-Ten) Finish: 1. Dwayne Dorr, Ledyard, CT; 2. Randy Churchill, Jr., Oakdale, CT; 3. Chad Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 4. Scott Michalski, S. Killingly, CT; 5. Scott Jussaume, Danielson, CT; 6. Fred Michalski, Dayville, CT; 7. Mike Viens, Seekonk, MA; 8. Nat Taylor, Wauregan, CT; 9. Chuck Rogers, Quaker Hill, CT; 10. Joe Baxter, Pascoag, RI.
Sources: Dale Wolbrink/Thompson International Speedway PR