Christopher Gains Sixth Thompson Sunoco Mod Victory in 50-Lapper; Gelinas Repeats & Materas Earns First of ’10 in Full-Fendered Action; Douton, Michalski & Jussaume Winners
Thompson, CT — After 50-laps of exciting Sunoco Modified racing it was a familiar face in Thompson International Speedway’s victory lane as Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, scored the victory in the division’s marquee event. Before last week Larry Gelinas of Buxton, ME, had never won a race at Thompson. After this week’s race, winning Super Late Model features is becoming a habit. John Materas of Voluntown, CT, turned a last lap pass into his first Late Model feature win of the season.
Sparks were flying as Chris “Moose” Douton of Waterford, CT, earned the Limited Sportsman victory. Shane Michalski of Woodstock, CT, turned in a dominating performance to score the victory in TIS Modifieds. It was an emotional victory lane after Scott Jussaume of Danielson, CT, scored a career first in the Mini Stock night capper.
Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, continued to be the dominating force in the Sunoco Modified division at Thompson with his sixth win of the season. The story in the Sunoco Modifieds; however, began even before the green flag flew. During the pace laps, Keith Rocco headed down pit road. He would pull his #57 machine behind the wall with reported transmission failure; never taking the green.
[Photo Gallery] by Adam Fohlin
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Ronnie Silk jumped out to the early lead over a tremendous battle from second on back between Tim Sullivan, Woody Pitkat, Danny Cates, Ryan Preece, Ted Christopher, and Rowan Pennink. Pitkat came out on top; sailing past the competition and into the second spot behind Silk. He immediately began to run down Silk while Preece was also on the move up to third over Sullivan and Cates.
Pitkat made a bold move exiting turn three to take over the lead from Silk. Preece was running in third and forced to defend his position over Cates. Sullivan had his hands full with Christopher. Pennink ran alone in seventh followed a distance back by Bert Marvin, making a rare 2010 appearance.
Preece continued his march; taking over the second position from Silk, who immediately fell into the clutches of Cates. Christopher was finally able to move by Sullivan on lap 15. Pitkat continued to lead Preece and Cates. Christopher had advanced a position over Silk into fourth.
The first caution of the event flew on lap 18 when Nichole Morgillo’s #55 went up in smoke coming to a rest on the backstretch. Under the caution, Silk headed to pit road followed by Pennink. On the lap 18 restart, Pitkat resumed his lead over Preece. Christopher worked his way into third followed by Cates. Marvin broke into the top five.
Christopher drove around Preece in turn one on lap 21 to take over second. Preece was now pursued by Cates. Christopher was glued to the back bumper of Pitkat as the lead duo’s advantage grew.
On lap 25, Christopher dove low on Pitkat entering turn two. He and Pitkat went side-by-side for a lap before Christopher was able to edge him out to become the new leader. A lap later the caution flew when the #36 of Sullivan came to rest in turn three.
Christopher opted to restart in the outside groove. Pitkat; however, was able to retake the lead from the low-side. Christopher had to settle back in line in second. The top four of Pitkat, Christopher, Cates, and Preece went nose to tail. The third caution flew for a spin by the Andrew Dzenkowski. Under the caution, Cates relinquished the fourth spot and headed to pit road. Last week’s winner would ultimately retire from the event.
Pitkat was up for the challenge on the lap 29 restart. Christopher again had to settle in for second over Preece. Silk had stormed back into contention battling with Marvin for fourth. Marvin lost the handle on his mount spinning in front of Silk in a near-miss. Both cars were able to continue.
It was a repeat of the previous restart with Pitkat on the point. Christopher was getting racy on lap 33; sliding underneath Pitkat in turn two. The two made slight contact with Christopher coming out on top. The new top five was Christopher, Pitkat, Preece, Silk, and Sullivan.
Christopher held a two car advantage over Pitkat. The margin was slightly bigger back to third, fourth and fifth. The field strung out with ten laps to go. A tough night for Rowan Pennink, who had been on and off pit road during the caution periods, ended against the wall in between turns three and four.
After a failed attempt at a lap 40 restart, for an incident involving Carl Oberg and Andy Charron, Christopher headed back to the lead as Pitkat slid sideways coming out of four for the restart. Pitkat lost ground to Christopher but maintained the second position. The man on the move was Sullivan, who stole fourth position from Silk.
With five laps to go, Pitkat resumed his assault on Christopher for the lead. Lap-after-lap, Pitkat would look low entering the corners only to settle back in line on the straight-aways. On the white flag lap, Pitkat made a last ditch effort in turn two but could not make the pass. Christopher took the checkers from chief steward Dick Brooks, who returned to the flag stand for the evening, to post his sixth win of the season. After a week’s absence at the Speedway, Pitkat came home second. Preece, Sullivan, and Silk completed the top five.
Larry Gelinas took advantage of an early race caution to take over the lead in the Super Late Model main event. Once out front it was smooth sailing for Gelinas, who posted his second consecutive Super Late Model feature win. It was an intense four-car battle for the top spot featuring George Bessette, Derek Ramstrom, Gelinas and Dennis Maxfield. When things finally shook out, Bessette held a slight advantage over Ramstrom followed by Gelinas and Maxfield. The battle for the top spot came to a head when contact between Bessette and Ramstrom sent the #35 of Ramstrom spinning on lap eight.
On the ensuing restart, Gelinas was able to take the lead away from Bessette taking Mike O’Sullivan along for the ride. Bessette immediately fell into the grasp of Mike Stefanik. An incident deeper in the pack between Dave Silvia and Ramstrom had the yellow flag waving once again on lap 14. Gelinas was up for the challenge on the restart not only taking the lead but also opening up a sizeable advantage. O’Sullivan ran alone in second while Bessette, Rick Fuller and Stefanik duked it out for third. Fuller was able to grab third on lap 17 leaving Bessette to battle with Stefanik.
Jim Banfield appeared to get out of shape on the front stretch collecting both Maxfield and Ramstrom to bring out the caution once again. It was much of the same with the field back to green. Gelinas enjoyed an advantage over O’Sullivan and Fuller while Bessette still had to contend with Stefanik.
Over the stretch run to the checkers, all the competition could do was chase Gelinas. The Buxton, ME driver earned his second straight Super Late Model victory. O’Sullivan came home second over Fuller. The heated battle for the fourth spot continued right down to the wire. Bessette took fourth by inches over Stefanik.
The defending Late Model champion John Materas has struggled thus far in the 2010 season. Things turned around as the Voluntown, CT, driver scored a come-from-behind win in the Late Model main event. Mark Jenison took over the top spot from early leader Wayne Coury, Sr. His lead was short-lived as Rick Gentes was the new leader a lap later. Jenison; however, was not done with his fight for the top spot. While Gentes and Jenison battled, John Materas was able to catch the front duo. John Falconi and Tommy O’Sullivan were mired back deeper in the pack.
Materas began to apply pressure to Jenison for the second position. Materas got alongside Jenison on lap eight and made the pass for second on lap nine. At halfway, Gentes continued to stretch his lead over Materas and Jeff Hartwell.
In the late stages of the event, O’Sullivan had worked his way past Falconi and finally Coury. O’Sullivan began to run down Hartwell. Up front, Materas had caught Gentes with three laps remaining. With two laps to go, Materas looked low on Gentes’ lead. Jenison joined the fray; making it a three car battle for the win. Materas made his move exiting turn four on the final lap. Materas bested Gentes at the stripe to win his first Late Model feature victory of the season. Gentes held off Jenison for second. Hartwell and O’Sullivan completed the top five.
Chris “Moose” Douton borrowed a motor to race but owned victory lane in the Limited Sportsman division. After missing a week of competition, Douton borrowed a motor in order to return to action. He did not disappoint as the sparks were flying between Douton and Monahan; ending Monahan’s stronghold on victory lane.
Kevin Bowe led through a number of early race starts as the Limiteds had a tough time getting going. On lap three, Bowe finally relinquished the top spot to Joe Arena. Douton had worked his way into the second spot with the red-hot Shawn Monahan in tow.
Douton marched to the lead on the lap six restart. Douton had company in Monahan for the top spot. Barnett began to turn his night around breaking into the top five before lap 10. Monahan worked over Douton for the lead while Barnett dogged Arena.
On lap 12, Monahan was able to muscle by Douton. The two; however, were not done battling. Exiting turn four with the lead, Monahan lost the handle on his racer sliding through the corner. Douton was able to grab the lead back once again. Barnett and Arena were both able to get by as Monahan made contact with the outside wall on the front stretch. Barnett grabbed the second position away from Arena.
Fully recovered, Monahan made his way past Arena and into the third spot. With two laps to go Barnett was glued to the back bumper of Douton. Monahan caught the battle for the lead. Over the final lap, all Barnett could do was chase as Douton streaked to his second win of the 2010 season. Barnett finished second ahead of Monahan, Joe Arena, and Bowe.
Shane Michalski of Woodstock, CT, scored his first victory of the 2010 season in a green-to-checker run for the TIS Modified. Michalski took advantage of his pole starting position to lead the early going of the main event. John Studley had his hands full with a charging R.J. Marcotte; allowing Michalski to gain a sizeable advantage over the rest of the pack.
At halfway, Marcotte had gotten by Studley for the runner-up spot. He immediately began to cut into the lead of Michalski. Marcotte had reeled in the leader with a handful of laps remaining while Keith McDermott began to work over Studley for third.
Possibly feeling the pressure, Michalski once again began to stretch his advantage over Marcotte. As the battle up front cooled, the battle for third continued to heat up. In the end, Michalski scored a popular victory over Marcotte. Studley held on to finish third over McDermott and Brian Tagg.
Local driver Scott Jussaume of Danielson, CT, scored his first-ever Mini Stock feature win on Thursday night. Jeff Moffat capitalized on his pole starting position immediately running out to a comfortable margin from the drop of the green flag. Joe Baxter took up the chase in second followed by Jussaume and Randy Churchill. Last week’s winner Dwayne Dorr had maneuvered his way into the sixth position.
A pile-up in turn four collected three cars including Chuck Rogers, Fred Michalski and point leader Scott Michalski. All three cars headed to the pit area. S. Michalski was able to rejoin the tail of the field. On the restart, Churchill rocketed to the second spot. He continued his march to the front taking over the lead on lap nine. Moffat was looking to take retake his lead. His was successful; however, when leader Churchill spun in front of the pack sending cars scattering.
Moffat was scored as the leader for the lap nine restart with Jussaume in second followed by J. Baxter, Mike Viens and Chad Baxter inside the top five. With Moffat handily in the lead, the battle for third was a fierce one with Viens and the Baxters. With only three laps remaining, Jussaume had reeled in Moffat. On lap 13, Moffat went high in turn two opening the door for Jussaume. Moffat fought back but could not reclaim his position at the top. Jussaume came home the victor followed by Moffat. C. Baxter, Viens, and Dorr completed the top five.
Sunoco Modified Feature (Top Ten) Finish: 1. Ted Christopher, Plainville, CT; 2. Woody Pitkat, Stafford, CT; 3. Ryan Preece, Berlin, CT; 4. Tim Sullivan, S. Windsor, CT; 5. Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, CT; 6. Bert Marvin, New London, CT; 7. Dave Salzarulo, Monson, MA; 8. Henry Stampfl, Norwood, CT; 9. Andrew Charron, N. Grosvenordale, CT; 10. Wayne Arute, Glastonbury, CT.
Super Late Model Feature (Top Ten) Finish: 1. Larry Gelinas, Buxton, ME; 2. Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 3. Rick Fuller, Auburn, MA; 4. George Bessette, Danbury, CT; 5. Mike Stefanik, Coventry, RI; 6. Jim Banfield, S. Glastonbury, CT; 7. Dave Silvia, Warwick, RI; 8. Daryl Stampfl, Norwood, MA; 9. Dennis Maxfield, Fitchburg, MA; 10. Greg Nanigian, Braintree, MA.
Late Model Feature (Top Ten) Finish: 1. John Materas, Voluntown, CT; 2. Rick Gentes, Woonsocket, RI; 3. Mark Jenison, Warwick, RI; 4. Jeff Hartwell, E. Putnam, CT; 5. Tommy O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 6. Wayne Coury, Sr., Milford, CT; 7. John Falconi, N. Grafton, MA; 8. Jeremy Sadowski, Voluntown, CT; 9. Mark Oliveira, Blackstone, MA; 10. Randy Waterman, Danielson, CT.
Limited Sportsman Feature (Top Ten) Finish: 1. Chris Douton, Waterford, CT; 2. Larry Barnett, Moosup, CT; 3. Shawn Monahan, Waterford, CT; 4. Joe Arena, Bristol, CT; 5. Kevin Bowe, Pawtucket, RI; 6. Joe Coates, Eastford, CT; 7. Scott Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 8. Scott Fanning, Mapleville, RI; 9. Jason Chicolas, Sutton, MA; 10. Steve Kenneway, Jr., Lowell, MA.
TIS Modified Feature Finish: 1. Shane Michalski, Woodstock, CT; 2. R.J. Marcotte, Millville, MA; 3. John Studley, Framingham, MA; 4. Keith McDermott, Scituate, RI; 5. Brian Tagg, Oxford, MA; 6. Ryan Morgan, Mystic, CT; 7. Jason Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 8. Denis Legere, N. Reading, MA; 9. Tyler Poulin, Pascoag, RI.
Mini Stock Feature (Top Ten) Finish: 1. Scott Jussaume, Danielson, CT; 2. Jeff Moffat, Warwick, RI; 3. Chad Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 4. Mike Viens, Seekonk, MA; 5. Dwayne Dorr, Ledyard, CT; 6.Joe Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 7. Lloyd Anderson, Wauregan, CT; 8. Nate Taylor, Wauregan, CT; 9. Leo Defevers, Brooklyn, CT; 10. Mike Gorgievski, Auburn, MA.
Sources: Dale Wolbrink/Thompson International Speedway PR