Reen Unexpected World Series WMT Winner; Silk Crowned Champion; Perley Dominates ISMA Season-Finale; R. Stoehr Tops in NEMA; Preece, Ramstrom & Hutchings Also World Series Winners
Thompson, CT — The 38th Annual World Series of Speedway Racing culminated on Sunday with five feature events. The headlining Whelen Modified Tour ended their season in dramatic fashion with Glenn Reen of Wilbraham, MA, scoring a career-first. Chris Perley of Rowley, MA, turned in a dominating performance in the International Supermodifed Association (ISMA) 50-lapper to score the victory. Russ Stoehr of Lakeville, MA, scored top honors in the Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) ranks.
In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action, Ryan Preece of Berlin, CT, outlasted the field in a rough-and-tumble Sunoco Modified feature. Derek Ramstrom of Worcester, MA, scored his sixth Super Late Model race to cap off the 2011 season at Thompson. Corey Hutchings of Salem, CT, survived the Late Model main event to score the win.
Glenn Reen of Wilbraham, MA, was an unexpected winner in a chaotic season finale for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Attrition played a major role in an event that saw tons of drama, short tempers and a season-high 16 cautions. It took three attempts at green-white-checker restarts to get the event in the books. Reen withstood all attempts to post the victory. Bobby Santos III, involved in a mid-race incident, rebounded to finish second. Matt Hirschman turned a difficult weekend into a podium finish as well. Chuck Hossfeld and Tom Rogers, Jr. completed the top-five.
[Saturday Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
[Sunday Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Ronnie Silk was involved in a wreck on lap 52; sustaining significant damage. Impressive work by his crew had Silk back on the speedway in only nine laps. Silk was the recipient of the free pass several times to get back five laps. Szegedy had been forced to slow up for several incidents during the event; losing track positions. Mired deep in the field Szegedy has clawed his way back into contention for the championship. An incident on the first attempt at a green-white-checker finish found Szegedy with substantial damage; giving Silk clear sailing to his first Whelen Modified Tour championship.
Chris Perley continued his sheer domination of the World Series. The Rowley Rocket has won nine out of the last 12 appearances for the Supers at Thompson; including five wins a row. Perley started in the eleventh position. By lap four, he was fifth. He gained two positions on lap six to run second. He was the new leader on lap eight. Perley would never be headed in the commanding victory. Jeff Locke, Timmy Jedrzejek, Mike Litchey, and Eddie Witkum, Jr. completed the top-five. A full race report can be found on ismasupers.com.
Russ Stoehr of Lakeville, MA, came on strong late in the 25-lap main event and held off strong competition to score the World Series victory. Mike Horn jumped from the outside pole to lead the opening lap of the NEMA main event. He immediately had company in Randy Cabral. On lap two, Cabral made the pass for the lead look easy. Cabral immediately distanced himself from Horn in second. A multi-car incident spurred by a spin by Paul Luggelle on the backstretch brought out the caution on lap four. Under the caution period, pole sitter John Zych and Joey Payne headed to pit road. Payne was able to rejoin the field.
On the restart, R. Stoehr made it three-wide; moving from fourth to second in a single-lap. He lurked within striking distance of Cabral. Horn was relegated back to third followed by Ben Seitz and Greg Stoehr. After a pair of laps, Cabral got his #47 wound up again and began to stretch his lead once again.
Cabral was masterful through lapped traffic; extending his advantage over R. Stoehr. At halfway, the running order was Cabral, R. Stoeher, M. Horn, Seitz and G. Stoehr. On lap 15, Abold was able to get by Stoehr and into the top five. The second caution flew on lap17 when the #30 of Paul Scally slowed on the backstretch.
R. Stoehr gave Cabral a run for this money on the restart on lap 17. Although Stoehr was able to steal the lead away, he could not get any distance on Cabral. Entering the corners Cabral could get along side the leader.
Another quick caution set up a restart on lap 20. It was again R. Stoehr with the lead. Cabral continued to use the low groove to get along side of R. Stoehr on successive laps. Each time, Cabral had to settle back in line as he lost momentum coming up off the corner. On the final lap, Abold had caught Seitz. R. Stoehr held off the charges of Cabral to take the victory. M. Horn came home third. Seitz took the fourth spot by inches of Abold.
“The Tim Bertrand/Randy Cabral combination has been unstoppable here,” said R. Stoehr in victory lane. “I saw him on the bottom and I thought ‘not today’”.
Cabral was crowned the 2011 Northeastern Midget Association champion.
Ryan Preece of Berlin, CT, withstood a number of restarts in a caution-marred Sunoco Modified feature event to score the victory. The event was immediately slowed by caution after Todd Ceravolo went sliding through the grass on the backstretch. With the green flag flying, Woody Pitkat had edged out Ryan Preece to take the early lead. Pitkat was not without pressure from Preece. Danny Cates made it a three-car breakaway at the head of the pack. Ted Christopher and Rick Fuller hooked up to run down the lead trio.
On lap four, Preece did the patented Sunoco Modified slide move to take the lead away from Pitkat. Cates got out of shape on lap six; losing the third spot to Christopher. Fuller peeked to the outside of Cates on the backstretch. He ran out of room making contact with both the outside wall and Cates to bring out the caution on lap six. Neither car could continue.
On the restart, Preece was once again in command of the event. Pitkat was in hot pursuit in second. Christopher ran nearly a half straightaway behind in third. Michael Gervais was having a strong run in fourth. The caution flew again on lap nine for an incident involving Dylan Kopec and Ceravolo.
Preece picked the outside grove on the restart to rocket back into the lead. He took Christopher along for the ride; relegating Pitkat back to third. After a quick caution on lap 11, it was now Christopher pitted against Preece on the restart. Preece was sluggish on the restart opening the door for Christopher. Christopher had edged ahead but by turn one it was Preece taking command. Pitkat got by Christopher and immediately went to work on Preece for the lead.
At the crossed-flags Preece held a slight advantage over Pitkat. Christopher ran third followed by Gervais and Shelly Perry in fifth. Pitkat was glued to the back bumper of Preece when the caution flew for a spin toward the back of the pack. Preece and Pitkat picked up where they left off after another pair of cautions. Lap-after-lap, all Pitkat could do was chase Preece.
On lap 22, Pitkat got the opportunity he was looking for to get by Preece and back into the lead. Preece faltered slightly also giving way to Christopher. A multi-car incident in turn one negated the pass by Christopher; placing Preece to Pitkat’s outside for the restart on lap 23. Track officials deemed that Pitkat had gone early and was black-flagged for jumping the restart. Preece was able to gain a car-length advantage on Christopher on the restart.
Restarting at the rear of the field, Pitkat was collected in a multi-car incident. There was no damage to the #00. Perry, who had been running in the top-five, was not as lucky. Christopher had nothing for Preece on the restart. With five laps to go, Pitkat had moved into fifth. With four laps to go he was fourth and reeling in Gervais in third. With two to go, Pitkat was all over Gervais. Dylan Liseo hit the wall in turn two to bring out the caution. This would allow Pitkat to line-up on row two with two laps to go. What appeared to be Pitkat’s shot was actually his undoing as his car ran out of fuel. Also, under the caution, Henry Stampl gave up the fourth position retiring to pit road.
Over the final two laps it was all Preece. The Berlin, CT, driver went on to capture the victory. It was Preece’s fourth of the year in the Sunoco Modifieds at Thompson. Christopher settled for second. Gervais had a career day to finish third. Craig Lutz and Joe Allegro, Jr. completed the top-five.
Derek Ramstrom of Worcester, MA, had a dismal start to the Super Late Model main event; but it was his strong finish that netted him the World Series victory. Pole sitter Ramstrom faltered on the initial start; falling from first to fifth. Mike O’Sullivan capitalized to grab the lead. Former Thompson regular Norm Wrenn ran in second followed by Jim Banfield. Ramstrom was beginning to rebound; taking the fourth spot from Jarrod Hayes. He drove by Banfield a lap later. After a short battle with Wrenn, Ramstrom had battled back into the second position. Mike Stefanik, who had lost several spots on the initial start as well, had worked his way back into contention in fifth.
A spin by Chris Magee on lap six brought out the caution; erasing the lead that O’Sullivan had enjoyed. O’Sullivan and Ramstrom went fender-to-fender for the lead on the restart. By the stripe, Ramstrom was the new leader. Stefanik had gotten by Banfield for third. He immediately went to work on Wrenn. Lap-after-lap, Wrenn and Stefanik ran door-to-door. The 2011 divisional champion, Larry Gelinas had come from deep in the field to run in sixth position.
During an extended green flag run, Ramstrom had gained a sizeable advantage over O’Sullivan; who was a straightaway ahead of Wrenn in third. In heavy lapped traffic, O’Sullivan was able to close the gap slightly on Ramstrom, but never posed a real threat. Ramstrom went on to post the victory. O’Sullivan had to settle for second. Wrenn had a solid return to Thompson’s Super Late Model division in third. Stefanik and Banfield completed the top-five.
It was survival of the fittest for Late Model winner Corey Hutchings of Salem, CT, on Sunday at the World Series. Once the Late Model feature event finally got underway, following a tough start, it was front row starters Rick Gentes and Hutchings duking it out for the top spot. The two went door-to-door for a pair of laps. Coming off of turn three Gentes got crossed up sliding sideways to the inside of Hutchings. Contact between Gentes and third-running Marc Palmisano found Gentes making hard contact with the wall. Palminsano’s mount rode the wall during the contact. Both cars sustained heavy damage.
On the ensuing restart, Hutchings was pitted against Wayne Coury, Sr. Hutchings withstood the pressure through a number of restarts before giving up the top spot to Coury, Sr. by inches on lap six. Coury could not get away from Hutchings with the two door-to-door. Coming off turn four Tommy O’Sullivan looked to make it three wide. O’Sullivan could not keep up the momentum and settled back into the third spot. Hutchings edged ahead to lead the lap. Coury got out of shape exiting turn two on lap 10. He slid up the race track forcing O’Sullivan, who was looking to make a bid for second, into the outside wall. O’Sullivan’s championship mount was heavily damaged in the incident.
A single file restart on lap 10 allowed Hutchings to get some distance between a brewing battle for second between Coury and Mike Scorzelli. Scorzelli motored into second and immediately caught the back bumper of Hutchings. Coury continued to dog Scorzelli; making it a three car battle for the lead.
Scorzelli pulled even with Hutchings in turn two on lap 16. Neither could get a decided advantage; however, Huchings continued to lead. In lapped traffic, Scorzelli settled back in line behind Hutchings. On lap 20, Scorzelli got to the inside of Hutchings once again. On lap 21, contact between the lead duo found Scorzelli chasing his ride outside the groove. Exiting turn four Coury, Sr. dove below Hutchings in a bid for the lead. The jockeying for position was for naught as the caution flew for a pin by Wayne Coury, Jr.
Hutchings was still the leader on the restart on lap 21. Coury, Sr. got out of shape exiting turn two once again. This time third-running Pitkat was forced into the outside wall. The #88 was not able to continue. Coury, Sr. dove to the inside of Scorzelli on the restart to take over the second position. Over the final two laps, things finally settled down with Hutchings taking the victory over Coury, Sr., who just edged out Scorzelli for second. Coury, Jr. and Shawn Thibeault completed the top five.
Whelen Modified Tour (Top Ten) Finish Feature: 1. Glenn Reen, Wilbraham, MA; 2. Bobby Santos, III, Franklin, MA; 3. Matt Hirschman, Northampton, PA; 4. Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, NY; 5. Tom Rogers, Jr., Patchoque, NY; 6. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 7. Eric Beers, Northampton, PA; 8. Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, NY; 9. Mike Stefanik, Coventry, RI; 10. Eric Goodale, Riverhead, NY.
ISMA Supermodified Association (Top Ten) Finish Feature: 1. Chris Perley, Rowley, CT; 2. Jeff Locke, Raymond, NH; 3. Timmy Jedrzejek, Independence, OH; 4. Mike Litchey, Innerkip, Ontario, Canada; 5. Eddie Witkum, Jr., Westford, MA; 6. Russ Wood, Pelham, NH; 7. Mark Sammut, London, Ontario, Canada; 8. Joey Scanlon, Salem, NH; 9. Jon Gambuti, Montville, NJ; 10. Dan Bowes, Rowely, MA.
Northeastern Midget Association (Top Ten) Finish Feature: 1. Russ Stoehr, Bridgewater, MA; 2. Randy Cabral, Plymouth, MA; 3. Mike Horn, Ashland, MA; 4. Ben Seitz, Bourne, MA; 5. Jeff Abold, Baldwinville, NY; 6. Jeff Horn, Ashland, MA; 7. Ted Christopher, Plainville, CT; 8. B.J. MacDonald, Dublin, PA; 9. Joey Payne, Fairlawn, NJ; 10. Erica Santos, Franklin, MA.
Sunoco Modified (Top Ten) Finish Feature: 1. Ryan Preece, Berlin, CT; 2. Ted Christopher, Plainville, CT; 3. Michael Gervais, Southbury, CT; 4. Craig Lutz, Miller Place, NY; 5. Joe Allegro, Jr. Vernon, CT; 6. Kyle Spencer, Montgomery, MA; 7. Earl Pelletier, Wolcott, CT; 8. Tony Membrino, Jr., Waterbury, CT; 9. Woody Pitkat, Stafford, CT; 10. Henry Stampfl, Norwood, MA.
Super Late Model (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Derek Ramstrom, Worcester, CT; 2. Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 3. Norm Wrenn, Nashua, NH; 4. Mike Stefanik, Coventry, RI; 5. Jim Banfield, S. Glastonbury, CT; 6. Larry Gelinas, Buxton, ME; 7. Jarrod Hayes, Calverton, NY; 8. Mike Brightman, Acushnet, MA; 9. Chris Magee, Edgartown, MA; 10. Greg Nanigian, Braintree, MA.
Late Model (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Corey Hutchings, Salem, CT; 2. Wayne Coury, Sr., Milford, CT; 3. Mike Scorzelli, Malta, NY; 4. Wayne Coury, Jr., Milford, CT; 5. Shawn Thibeault, Plainville, CT; 6. Chris Turbush, Riverhead, NY; 7. Damon Tinio, Mendon, MA; 8. John Falconi, Oakham, MA; 9. Ron Rice, W. Hyannisport, MA; 10. Randy Tucker, Millis, MA.
Sources: Dale Wolbrink/Thompson International Speedway PR