September is an Important Month at Thompson
Thompson, CT — The pressure mounts on race teams every September and this year is no exception. With the regular weekly racing season nearing an end, events held this month can make or break a division championship run for many race teams.
Thompson hosts six NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions and, to date, not a single division title has been determined. That means that the remaining race dates take on real importance for those teams looking to achieve that very special status being a division champion at Thompson.
Sunoco Modified points leader, Ted Christopher, has an 82 point advantage over second place driver, Woody Pitkat. Pitkat is up 26 points over Ronnie Silk with Rowan Pennink only 2 points behind Silk. With three track points races remaining, the Sunoco Modified championship is still up for grabs.
Super Late Model race teams find themselves in a very tight race for the title. Mike O’Sullivan holds a mere 2 points advantage over defending champion, Derek Ramstrom. However, Larry Gelinas is only 10 markers from the top spot with Jim Banfield still in the thick of it all with a deficit of only 48 points from the leader.
The Thompson Modified division is another division that is far from decided in terms of its champion. R.J. Marcotte leads by 10 points over John Studley. Studley, however, does not find comfort in knowing that Cam McDermott is only 14 points behind the leader and Shane Michalski just 16 points off the winning pace.
Another tight points battle exists in the Thompson Late Model division. The Ocean State’s Rick Gentes leads with 610 points. Gentes has had a very strong 2010 season and on Thursday, September 2nd, he proudly announced in victory lane that he had scored his 75th victory at Thompson. Defending division champion, John Meteras is, however, well within striking distance since he is only 34 points behind Gentes. Veteran Wayne Coury, Sr. is a mere 2 points behind Meteras and Tommy O’Sullivan finds himself just 2 markers behind Coury.
Larry Barnett is looking to secure another Limited Sportsman title. As the driver with the most wins in the history of this division, Barnett leads the chase with 622 points in the bank. Scott Sundeen, a two-time 2010 winner, is second with 592 points. Shawn Monahan, a driver who is always a threat to secure a win, sits third in the standings with 552 points and Jason Chicolas follows closely with 530 points tucked away.
Mini Stock driver, Chuck Rogers has taken over the top spot in his division. 534 points are in the Rogers column but Jeff Moffat is only 28 points off the lead pace. Mike Viens sits third in the standings with 468 to his credit and Leo Defevers is still in the game after earning a total of 438 points.
Thompson has only three more events that will award track points. Those dates are Thursday, September 9th and 16th and Sunday, September 26th. Race teams are giving it their all in the closing stages of the regular season in an effort to secure either a division title or a top five finish. Each is looking to collect bonus monies from the Thompson Points Fund and be honored at the track’s annual awards banquets in January.
A lot can happen in the next three race events and virtually no one is secure in his current points position. Fans and race teams are keeping a very close eye on the points standings and the next three events will be some of the most important races of the season.
Thursday qualifying begins at 6 PM and feature events follow immediately thereafter. Complete schedules and current points standings are available on the Thompson website. www.thompsonspeedway.com.
Sources: Russ Dowd/Thompson International Speedway PR