Ted Christopher Continues WMT Dominance at Thompson; Rocco Tops in Sunoco Mods; O’Sullivan Brothers Share Victory Lane; Douton, Boss & Field Also Winners
Thompson, CT — The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour made its second visit of the season to Thompson International Speedway on Thursday night. Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, made a late race surge to win his seven of the last nine WMT events held at the Connecticut oval. Keith Rocco of Wallingford, CT, waged a heated battle with Ryan Preece to score a victory in the Sunoco Modifieds.
Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, was victorious in the Super Model division. His triumph was matched by his brother Tommy O’Sullivan, also of Springfield, who scored his second straight Late Model feature win. Chris Douton of Waterford, CT, earned the victory in a rough-and-tumble Limited Sportsman feature. Glenn Boss of Danielson, CT, wired the field to score his first TIS Modified feature win of the season. Danny Field of Deep River, CT, continues to make history at Thompson International Speedway with his sixth consecutive victory in the Mini Stocks.
Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, made a dramatic late race charge to win his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race of the 2011. Christopher passed Ronnie Silk of Norwalk, CT, on lap 142 and held off Silk over the final restart for the win. Series point’s leader Rowan Pennink finished third. Defending Champion Bobby Santos of Franklin, MA, was fourth and Eric Berndt of Cromwell, CT, rounded out the top-five. Christopher, who set fast time and earned the pole, was forced to start the race from the rear of the field after missing the driver’s meeting. While Christopher struggled at the back of the pack, Pennink jumped to the lead and held the top spot until the first caution flew on lap 53. Pennink regained the lead on lap76 and held the top spot until Silk passed him following a caution on lap a lap 125 restart. Christopher made his final pit stop on lap 125 and restarted from deep in the pack. By lap 137 he was fourth. He moved to second on a lap 139 restart and three laps later made his pass for the win.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Keith Rocco of Wallingford, CT, took down a hotly contested Sunoco Modified event to score his third win of the season at Thompson. Todd Ceravolo and Ryan Preece went wheel-to-wheel to kick-off the Sunoco Modified feature. Preece rocketed into the lead. Keith Rocco was able to motor by Ceravolo and into second. Ceravolo ran third followed by Rick Fuller and Woody Pitkat.
It took a single lap for Rocco to catch Preece. Rocco ran Preece up the wall in turn four to muscle the lead away. On the same lap, Pitkat was able to grab the fourth spot from Fuller. A caution for debris set up a restart with Rocco grabbing the lead once again. Preece was getting alongside Rocco on the backstretch. He moved around Rocco for the lead coming out of turn four. Rocco remained glued to his back bumper with Ceravolo in third. Pitkat caught Ceravolo on lap nine.
Exiting turn four on lap nine, the lead swapped once again. Rocco could not get away from Preece. The two ran nose-to-tail. Pitkat edged out Ceravolo for third. On lap 10, the caution flew when John Catania encountered problems. Cates came to pit road for service to his mount under the caution.
Following a lap 11 restart, Preece got a great run on the outside of Rocco exiting turn four to take the lead. Pitkat came along for the ride; moving Rocco back to third. Rocco chased for a pair of laps before taking the second position away from Pitkat.
At halfway, Preece enjoyed a five-car-length advantage over Preece. Rocco had a similar advantage over Pitkat. Ceravolo, Fuller, and Ricky Shawn ran in a tight pack at the end of the top five. Under race conditions, Rocco had erased the advantage that Preece had previously enjoyed.
Rocco once again began his assault on Preece. A bobble by Ceravolo opened the door for Fuller. With five laps remaining, Rocco pushed Preece by the start/finish line. Rocco slid below Preece exiting turn four on lap 27 to retake the lead once again. Preece stayed right with Rocco over the final laps. With two to go, Preece got inside Rocco to no avail. Over the final lap, Rocco edged ahead and cruised under the checkers a car length over Preece. Pitkat ran alone to finish the race in third. Fuller and Ceravolo completed the top five.
A bold move on the start of the Super Late Model main event gave Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, his second win of the season. After a three-wide start, Jim Banfield was the leader; however, he would not lead the opening lap as Mike O’Sullivan rocketed into the lead after starting at the end of the top-five. Jeff Connors worked his way into the second position. Derek Ramstrom was on the move and into third by lap three. Up front, O’Sullivan had stretched out his advantage by several car lengths. Ramstrom was all over the back bumper of Connors. Banfield ran a distance behind in third followed by Larry Gelinas.
Despite a battle of their own, it appeared as if Connors and Ramstrom were running down O’Sullivan. At lap 10, the top-three cars ran nose-to-tail. On lap 11, Ramstrom stepped out of line to look low on Connors. Ramstrom could not make the pass. He ducked back in line to follow Connors.
At halfway, the wounded car of Tom Metcalf slowed dramatically in front of the leader nearly making contact. O’Sullivan was quick to recover and even gained some breathing room on the second- and third-place runners. Over the closing stages of the event it was much of the same as O’Sullivan continued to lead Connors and Ramstrom. O’Sullivan joined his brother by scoring the victory in the Super Late Models.
Tommy O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, rode his hot streak to his second straight Late Model victory. Phil Rondeau held the top spot in the early going of the Late Model feature. Tommy O’Sullivan, Rick Gentes, and John Falconi were locked in a three-car battle for the third spot. Mike Scorzelli dogged leader Rondeau. With the lead duo battling, O’Sullivan and Falconi joined the action; making it a four-car battle for the lead. The top-four cars ran lap-after-lap in a tight pack. A hard-charging O’Sullivan was able to grab the second spot away from Scorzelli on lap nine. A lap later, O’Sullivan was the new leader. Rondeau enjoyed an advantage as Scorzelli bobbled.
The caution flew on lap 11 when the 17 of Wayne Coury, Sr. went up in smoke. O’Sullivan rocketed back out to the lead on the restart. Rondeau fell in line in second. A spin by Jeremy Sadowski found the yellow flying once again. Rondeau looked like he was shot out of a cannon on the restart to retake the lead. Rondeau enjoyed the lead for a pair of laps before O’Sullivan reasserted himself as the leader. Falconi got a great run coming out of turn two on lap 13 to move into the second spot.
Things settled down up front with O’Sullivan holding a two-car length advantage over Falconi. Rondeau held on to third followed by Scorzelli and John Materas inside the top five. With only a handful of laps remaining, Falconi began to reel in O’Sullivan. The veteran competitor could close the gap but could not get close enough to muster up a real challenge for the lead. O’Sullivan posted the victory followed by Falconi, Rondeau, Scorzelli and Materas.
Chris Douton of Waterford, CT, scored his second win of the season in a messy Limited Sportsman feature event. Diego Monahan was the leader in the Limited Sportsman feature following an opening lap caution. D. Monahan gave way to new leaders Joe Coates. Shawn Monahan began to pressure his brother for second after washing up in front of Scott Sundeen. Coates held a three-car length advantage as the Monahans raced hard for second. The event’s second caution flew on lap seven for a spin by Robby Davis.
On the restart, Coates had his hands full with the Monahan Brothers. As Coates drifted high in turn two, S. Monahan slid on the low groove making it momentarily three wide with D. Monahan up against the wall. D. Monahan was able to get the edge to take the lead before the caution flew once again.
After a side-by-side battle, Coates was able to retake the lead from D. Monahan. The pass for the lead was negated by a caution. Coates repeated the feat on the ensuing restart to secure his place at the head of the pack. Contact between the Monahan Brothers sent both cars spinning and the yellow flag flying once again. Both headed for the pit area for service. Coates, who had been warned regarding his restarts was black flagged. Scott Sundeen was the new leader on the lap nine restart. In nearly a repeat of the previous restarts, Sundeen was black flagged as well. Chris Douton inherited the lead.
When things finally settled down, Douton and Barnett were locked in a battle for the lead. Barnett got alongside Douton but could not make the pass. Barnett actually lost some ground opening the door for Jason Chicolas. Douton was able to stretch his advantage. Barnett found new life in the late stages of the race. Barnett looked to get a run on Douton on the high groove. A bobble in turn one, allowed Douton to run out to a several car length advantage. At the stripe, Douton scored the victory over Barnett. Sundeen rebounded from his earlier penalty to cross the line third. Following the event; however, Sundeen was penalized one position for over-aggressive driving. Chicolas was scored in third followed by Sundeen. Dwayne Dorr completed the top five.
Glenn Boss of Danielson, CT, took the lead on the opening lap and never looked back as he scored a victory in the TIS Modifieds. Boss made quick work of pole sitter John Lowinski-Loh, Jr. to take the lead in the 20-lap TIS Modified main event. With Lowinski-Loh fading, Jay Sundeen quickly joined Boss for a battle for the lead. A great battle was brewing for third between Ryan Morgan and Cam McDermott. The lead duo began to distance themselves from the battle for third. The caution flew on lap six for a spin by newcomer Payton Henry.
On the restart, Boss gained an advantage as Sundeen and Morgan duked it out for second. Sundeen was able to retain his position in second. McDermott began to apply pressure to Morgan with R.J. Marcotte taking chase. Lap-after-lap, McDermott dogged Morgan. Up front, Boss ran out to a two-car length advantage over Sundeen. The best battle continued to be between Morgan and McDermott. Over the closing laps, Boss continued to maintain his advantage over Sundeen. On the speedway, Morgan held off the advances of McDermott.
Boss cruised to the checkers for his first win of the season over Jay Sundeen. Morgan crossed the stripe in third; however, following the race was penalized a position for his actions over the final laps. McDermott was scored in the third position followed by Morgan and Marcotte.
Danny Field of Deep River, CT, remains undefeated in Mini Stock action at Thompson during 2011. Brent Gleason showed the way early in the 15-lap Mini Stock feature. Gleason enjoyed his lead as the division’s notables were making their way through the pack. The battle for the lead erupted at halfway-when Lloyd Anderson got alongside Gleason. Tyler Poulin made it three wide to cruise into the lead. Both Gleason and Anderson began to fade. The dominator Danny Field had worked his way into the second spot and set his sites on Poulin. On lap 12, Field was the new leader. Eric Bourgeois joined the fray in third.
Over the final lap, Bourgeois was beginning to get racy. As Field stretched his advantage, Bourgeois got alongside Poulin. Feeling the pressure, Poulin edged ahead even getting some breathing room over the final laps. Field cruised to his sixth straight victory over Poulin. Bourgeois settled for third over Joe Baxter and Gleason.
Sunoco Modified (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 2. Ryan Preece, Berlin, CT; 3. Woody Pitkat, Stafford, CT; 4. Rick Fuller, Auburn, MA; 5. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry, CT; 6. Ricky Shawn, Bradford, CT; 7. Joe Allegro, Vernon, CT; 8. Danny Cates, Chaplin, CT; 9. Carl Oberg, Sutton, MA; 10. George Wilkinson, Pawcatuck, CT.
Super Late Model Feature (Top Ten) Finish: Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 2. Jeff Connors, Ellington, CT; 3. Derek Ramstrom, Worcester, MA; 4. Jim Banfield, Glastonbury, CT; 5. Larry Gelinas, Buxton, ME; 6. Scott Rotherforth, Glastonbury, CT; 7. Greg Nanigian, Braintree, MA; 8. Jeff Hartwell, E. Putnam, CT; 9. Keith Caruso, Millbury, MA; 10. Tom Metcalf, N. Stonington, CT.
Late Model (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Tommy O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 2. John Falconi, Oakham, MA; 3. Phil Rondeau, Baltic, CT; 4. Mike Scorzelli, Malta, NY; 5. John Materas, Voluntown, CT; 6. Rick Gentes, Woonsocket, RI; 7. Damon Tinio, Mendon, MA; 8. Mark Oliveira, Blackstone, MA; 9. Jeremy Sadowski, Voluntown, CT; 10. Randy Tucker, Millis, MA.
Limited Sportsman (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Chris Douton, Waterford, CT; 2. Larry Barnett, Moosup, CT; 3. Jason Chicolas. Sutton, MA; 4. Scott Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 5. Dwayne Dorr, Leydard, CT; 6. Brandon Chamberland, Moosup, CT; 7. Bill McNeil, Stonington, CT; 8. Corey Fanning, Mapleville, RI; 9. Shawn Monahan, Waterford, CT; 10.Robby Davis, Waltham, MA.
TIS Modified (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Glenn Boss, Danielson, CT; 2. Jay Sundeeen, Douglas, MA; 3. Cam McDermott, Scituate, RI; 4. Ryan Morgan, Mystic, CT; 5. R.J. Marcotte, Millville, MA; 6. John Studley, Framingham, MA; 7. Brian Tagg, Oxford, MA; 8. Denis Legere, N. Reading, MA; 9. John Lowinski-Loh, Jr., Milford, MA; 10. Chad LaBastie, Uxbridge, MA.
Mini Stock (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Danny Field, Deep River, CT; 2. Tyler Poulin, Pascoag, RI; 3. Eric Bourgeois, Moodus, CT; 4. Joe Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 5. Brent Gleason, Norwich, CT; 6. Nathan Taylor, Wauregan, CT; 7. Leo Defevers, Brooklyn, CT; 8. Tim Armstrong, Uxbridge, MA; 9. Louis Bellisle III, Lisbon, CT; 10. Roger Ducharme, Foster, RI.
Sources: Dale Wolbrink/Thompson International Speedway PR