Clark PASS Winner at Thompson; Preece Dominates in Modified Shootout; Rocco, Falconi, Monahan, Sundeen & Field Victorious in Weekly Racing Series Action
Thompson, CT — Thompson International Speedway hosted an full slate of action-packed racing that featured something for everyone as the full-fendered Pro All Star Series Super Late Models shared the spotlight with the open-wheel Tour-Type Modifieds. Five divisions of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action was also on tap.
Johnny Clark of Hallowell, ME, was tops in an eventful Pro All Star Series National Championship event. Ryan Preece of Berlin, CT, was untouchable in the Tour-Type Modifieds Shootout at Thompson on Thursday Night.
Keith Rocco of Wallingford, CT, continued his domination of the Sunoco Modified division with his fourth win of the season at Thompson International Speedway.
John Falconi of Oakham, MA, took a commanding victory in the Late Models. Diego Monahan of Waterford, CT, battled to his fifth Limited Sportsman feature win of the season. Jay Sundeen of Douglas, MA, scored his second victory of the 2011 season in the TIS Modifieds. With his victory on Thursday night Danny Field of Deep River, CT, hopes to begin a new win streak in the Mini Stock division.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Johnny Clark of Hallowell, ME, took down the victory in the Pro All Star Series Super Late Model 100-lapper at Thompson. There was plenty of drama in the PASS National Championship event beginning with an incident in turn one of the opening lap. Top guns Jay Fogleman, Scott Chubbuck, Cassias Clark, Alan Tardiff, Preston Peltier and others were involved. The drama continued on lap 25 when Derek Ramstrom got alongside Mike Rowe in turn three in a battle for the lead. Ramstrom lost the handle on his #35 collecting Rowe in the process. Both cars retired from the event with damage.
After the restart, Ben Rowe and a fully-recovered Cassias Clark, found themselves at the head of the pack. Peltier was on the march after his involvement in the opening lap incident; moving into the third position on lap 39. At halfway it was a three-car battle for the top spot with B. Rowe holding the point with C. Clark and Peltier in hot pursuit. A spin by Chubbuck brought out the caution to change the complexion of the race.
C. Clark jumped out to take over the lead. Johnny Clark and Peltier had a great battle for the second place as Travis Benjamin moved into fourth. Rowe slid back outside of the top five. A caution flew on lap 60 for a spin by earlier leader B. Rowe. C. Clark faltered slightly on the restart giving way to new leader Johnny Clark and Peltier.
An extended green flag run found J. Clark leading Peltier, C. Clark and Benjamin. The lead duo of J. Clark and Peltier were beginning to put some distance on C. Clark. The drama reared up again over the closing laps. On lap 15, Peltier got along side J. Clark for the lead. J. Clark clipped Peltier just shy of the start/finish line; sending Peltier into the wall. After a couple of laps, Peltier headed to pit road for service. He would not rejoin the field. A caution flew on lap 87 when Tardiff came to rest in turn four. B. Rowe would have been the lucky dog; however, an unapproved tire change put Rowe down an additional lap.
J. Clark drove under the checkers to score what could be deemed a controversial win. C. Clark finished second followed by Benjamin. Alexandre Gingras and Billy Penfold completed the top five.
Ryan Preece of Berlin, CT, wired the field in a caution-free 40-lap feature event for the Tour-Type Modifieds. Reminiscent of the Sunoco Modified event held earlier in the evening, Ryan Preece in his family-owned #40 did battle with Keith Rocco. Outside pole sitter Preece was the first to lead a lap with Rocco taking chase. Mike Stefanik, Todd Szegedy, and Steven Reed took chase inside the top five. Rocco was glued to the back bumper of Preece as Stefanik, and Szegedy had a four-car breakaway at the head of the pack.
Reed and Richard Savary had a great battle of their own for the fifth position. Reed held the position with Savary applying heavy pressure. Back up front, Preece was beginning to gain a bit of an advantage over Rocco. Szegedy was getting racy with Stefanik for third.
At the halfway marker Preece had a ten-car length advantage over a heated battle for second between Rocco, Stefanik, and Szegedy. On lap 20, Stefanik got inside of Rocco. He was able to take the position in turn two. Rocco continued to get pressure; this time from Szegedy. The former Modified Tour champion got alongside Rocco in turn four on lap 23. He completed the pass in turn one on lap 24.
Preece enjoyed a sizeable advantage over Stefanik. Szegedy, who had lost some ground to Stefanik during his battle with Rocco, had run down Stefanik for second. With Preece out front the battle was beginning to heat up between Stefanik and Szegedy. Rocco ran all alone a distance back in fourth. Savary ran in sixth nearly a straightaway behind Rocco in fifth.
Over the closing laps, Preece enjoyed clear sailing as Szegedy continued to dog Stefanik for second. Szegedy could reel in Stefanik but could never muster up a real challenge. Preece made it look easy as he cruised to the victory. Stefanik held on for second followed by Szegedy. Rocco and Savary completed the top five.
Keith Rocco of Wallingford, CT, padded his point lead with a victory in the Sunoco Modifieds. Danny Cates and Ryan Preece led the Sunoco Modified field to green with Preece getting the upper hand to lead the first lap. Woody Pitkat followed through to run in the second position. Cates fell back to third and into the clutches of Keith Rocco. Todd Ceravolo held the fifth spot with heavy pressure from Rick Fuller.
A spin by John Hanafin on the backstretch necessitated the caution on lap three. Preece was pitted against Pitkat on the restart. Preece got a push by Rocco to regain the top spot. Pitkat slid back to third and continued to lose positions under green. On lap five, Rocco slid up from the inside groove to take the lead from Preece.
On lap eight, Preece duplicated Rocco’s earlier move to slide into the lead once again. The top six cars of Preece, Rocco, Cates, Fuller, Pitkat, and Ceravolo ran in a high-speed freight train. The duo swapped positions briefly on lap 13. Rocco edged ahead exiting turn four while Preece got the advantage back in turn one.
Cates got a run on Rocco for the second position on lap 15. Cates was forced to check up losing a position to Fuller. Cates regained his momentum and moved back into the third position. Rocco meanwhile had motored to the lead once again.
Once out front, Rocco began to pull away from Preece. Cates ran in third a couple of car lengths behind Preece. Fuller and Pitkat ran inside the top five. Over the closing laps, Cates ran down Preece. Cates could not muster up a challenge on Preece as Rocco checked out for his third win in four weeks at Thompson. Preece had to settle for second followed by Cates. Fuller and Pitkat rounded out the top five.
John Falconi of Oakham, MA, was tops in a caution-free main event for the Late Models. Phil Rondeau took the lead early in the Late Model feature. His stay out front was short-lived as Falconi took over the lead on lap two. He immediately stretched out to a sizeable advantage over now second running John Materas. Tommy O’Sullivan and Mike Scorzelli broke into the top five early.
Over the green flag run Materas was slowly chipping away Falconi’s lead. O’Sullivan had a two-car length advantage over Scorzelli. Rondeau, Rick Gentes, and Damon Tinio were locked in a battle for fifth. Gentes came out with fifth position. Tinio continued to dog Gentes. The former champ got out-of-shape exiting turn four on lap 16 to open the door for Tinio. Falconi continued to lead Materas, O’Sullivan, Scorzelli, and Tinio a distant fifth. The running order would go unchanged as they headed to the checkers. The victory was the first of the season for Falconi.
Shawn Monahan of Waterford, CT, kept his streak alive in the Limited Sportsman division. Brother Diego Monahan jumped out to a sizeable advantage virtually from the drop of the green flag to start the Limited Sportsman feature. Things were getting dicey at the front before the caution flew on lap three for an incident a little deeper in the pack. Contenders Joe Coates, Scott Sundeen, and Art Moran headed to pit road under the caution on lap three.
Back under green D. Monahan and Chris Douton went door-to-door for the top spot. After a couple of laps D. Monahan edged out to the lead. This left Douton to hold off the advances of the leader’s brother S. Monahan. Douton was doing a valiant job holding back S. Monahan.
With the top three cars racing in tight quarters, Douton had his hands full with the Monahan family. With the three-car battle up front, Jason Chicolas was able to join the fray making it a four-car battle for the lead. An incredible battle at the head of the pack that saw the Monahans and Douton looking to go three-wide into the first turn was cooled by the caution for a spin by Scott Young.
On the ensuing restart, contact between the top three found Douton getting shuffled back to fifth. Shawn Monahan got a great run to get up alongside Diego. The brothers went side-by-side for a pair of laps before Shawn edged out to the lead. Over the final two laps, Shawn was able to stretch his advantage. S. Monahan cruised to the checkers to score his third victory in a row and fifth of the season. Diego settled for the second position over Chicolas. Mike Palin came on strong in the closing stages of the event to finish fourth ahead of Douton.
Jay Sundeen of Douglas, MA, was opportunistic en route to his second TIS Modified feature event win of the season. Pole sitter Ryan Morgan set the pace at the start of the TIS Modified feature. Glenn Boss freed himself of Sundeen to take chase of Morgan. On lap four, Boss dove low on Morgan but could not make the pass. R.J. Marcotte had caught third-running Sundeen. The battle allowed the rest of the pack to close up on the leaders.
On lap eight, Boss got a run on Morgan for the lead. Contact between the two resulted with Boss riding the outside wall on the backstretch before coming to rest against the wall in turn three after substantial contact. Morgan and his crew were sidelined from the event by NASCAR officials. Sundeen inherited the lead for the restart with Marcotte to his outside.
Sundeen bolted out to the lead as Marcotte and Cam McDermott went at it for the second position. McDermott continued to chase Marcotte with John Studley making a three-car battle for the runner-up spot. An incident involving John Lowinski-Loh, Jr. and Payton Henry brought out the caution.
Sundeen retained his lead with the field back under green flag racing with second place Marcotte. Studley was able to take over the third spot from McDermott. Studley ran down Marcotte but he ran out of time as Sundeen ran under the checkers for the win. Marcotte held on for second over Studley. McDermott and Brian Tagg rounded out the top five.
The opening lap of the Mini Stock main event featured a three-car battle for the lead between Lloyd Anderson, Tim Armstrong, and Travis Jurcik. Armstrong led the early laps by just feet. A handful of laps into the race, Jurcik had worked his way around both Armstrong and Anderson to grab the lead. While Jurcik was taking command of the event, point leader Danny Field was picking his way through the pack. By lap five, Field was into second and immediately went to work on Jurcik. The duo went side-by-side for several laps. Field edged ahead to take the lead but could not shake Jurcik.
The first yellow of the event flew on lap 10 when Nick Matera made significant contact with the outside wall in turn three. It was all Field on the ensuing restart. Jurcik settled in for second ahead of a heated battle for third between Roger Ducharme, Joe Baxter, and Eric Bourgeois. Field bested the youngster to score his eighth feature win of the season. Jurcik had a career night finishing second. Ducharme had a strong finish in third ahead of Bourgeois and Baxter.
Unofficial Pro All Star Series Super Late Model (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Johnny Clark, Hallowell, ME; 2. Cassius Clark, Farmington, ME; 3. Travis Benjamin, Morrill, ME; 4. Alexandre Gingras, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; 5. Billy Penfold, Oxford, ME; 6. Scott Alexander, Orrington, ME; 7. Matt Matheson, Geary, New Brunswick, Canada; 8. Ben Rowe, Turner, ME; 9. John Dabrowski, W. Bridgewater, MA; 10. Kyle DeSouza, E. Providence, RI.
Tour-Type Modified (Top-Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Ryan Preece, Berlin, CT; 2. Mike Stefanik, Coventry, RI; 3. Todd Szegedy, Bethel, CT ; 4. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 5. Richard Savary, Canton, MA; 6. Steven Reed, Jackson, NJ; 7. Rich Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, NY; 8. Rick Gentes, Woonsocket, RI; 9. Gary Putnam, Westminster, NC; 10. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry, CT.
Sunoco Modified (Top-Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 2. Ryan Preece, Berlin, CT; 3. Danny Cates, Chaplin, CT; 4. Rick Fuller, Auburn, MA; 5. Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs, CT; 6. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry, CT; 7. Henry Stampfl, Norwood, MA; 8. Carl Oberg, Sutton, MA; 9. John Hanafin, Quincy, MA; 10. George Wilkinson, Pawcatuck, CT.
Late Model (Top-Ten) Feature Finish: 1. John Falconi, Oakham, CT; 2. John Materas, Voluntown, CT; 3. Tommy O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 4. Mike Scorzelli, Malta, NY; 5. Damon Tinio, Mendon, MA; 6. Rick Gentes, Woonsocket, RI; 7. Mark Oliveira, Blackstone, MA; 8. Randy Tucker, Millis, MA; 9. Jeremy Sadowski, Voluntown, CT; 10. Phil Rondeau, Baltic, CT.
Limited Sportsman (Top-Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Shawn Monahan, Waterford, CT; 2. Diego Monahan, Quaker Hill, CT; 3. Jason Chicolas, Sutton, MA; 4. Mike Palin, Dudley, MA; 5. Chris Douton, Waterford, CT; 6. John Carpenter, Danielson, CT; 7. Joe Coates, Groton, CT; 8. Scott Young, Willimantic, CT; 9. Brandon Chamberland, Moosup, CT; 10. Leo Adams, Putnam, CT.
TIS Modified (Top-Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Jay Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 2. R.J. Marcotte, Millville, MA; 3. John Studley, Framingham, MA; 4. Cam McDermott, Scituate, RI; 5. Brian Tagg, Oxford, MA; 6. Payton Henry, Willington, CT; 7. Denis Legere, N. Reading, MA; 8. Chad LaBastie, Uxbridge, MA; 9. John Lowinski-Loh, Jr., Milford, MA; 10. Glenn Boss, Danielson, CT.
Mini Stock (Top-Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Danny Field, Deep River, CT; 2. Travis Jurcik, Chaplin, CT; 3. Roger Ducharme, Foster, RI; 4. Eric Bourgeois, Moodus, CT; 5. Joe Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 6. Mike Anzalone, Griswold, CT; 7. Mike Viens, Seekonk, MA; 8. Steve Romjue, Coventry, CT; 9. Lloyd Anderson, Jr., Wauregan, CT; 10. Leo Defevers, Brooklyn, CT.
Sources: Dale Wolbrink/Thompson International Speedway PR