NEMA Visits Thompson: Stopping Stoehr Goal
Brockton, MA — Stopping the win streak of Russ Stoehr is the objective when the Northeastern Midget Association visits Thompson Speedway for the Marvin Rifchin Trophy race on Thursday night, July 7. Stoehr and the Dumo’s Desire 45 team have run off three straight.
Several drivers, starting with Randy Cabral (Bertrand #47), hope to reverse their relationship with dame fortune on the super-quick five-eights. Cabral carries a streak of bad luck into Thompson where he has won an incredible nine races since 2001 including a couple last year.
After setting fast time in the heats, Cabral found a broken sparkplug just before the feature at Stafford’s Extreme Tuesday. Lady luck deserted Greg Stoehr (Stoehr #26b), Jeff Abold (Abold #29) and Jeremy Frankoski (Cantor #7ny) as well at Stafford. All hope to rekindle the relationship at Thompson.
Greg Stoehr, who beat Russ at Thompson back in 1993 in one of NEMA’s most memorable races, makes no secret about wanting to stop Russ’ streak. “He’s tough to catch though,” understates the younger of the racing brothers. “Still, that’s the objective.”
Mike Horn (Horn #93x), a leader at Thunder Road before confronting motor problems, is another trying to rid himself of demons. Other contenders include Jim Miller (Miller #3M), John Zych Jr. (Zych #9), Chris Leonard (Leonard #22) and Keith Botelho (Stoehr #25).
Russ Stoehr, aiming to become the first since Nokie Fornoro in 1981 to win four in a row, refuses to be concerned with numbers. He lost to Cabral by a few feet in last year’s Rifchin battle. He has three Thompson wins, none, however, since 2002.
Clearly the fastest place NEMA visits, a Thompson victory looks good on any resume. The Rifchin Trophy, honoring one of NEMA’s greatest benefactors, is added incentive.
Success at Thompson means joining one of the most impressive win lists in Midget history. It has been part of NEMA since 1960, the immortal Dutch Schaefer winning the first event.
Sources: Pete Zanardi/NEMA PR