Ramstrom Wins Super Late Model 50-Lapper; Ceravolo Ends Preece’s Win Streak
Thompson, CT — Thursday Night Thompson Thunder hosted a special 50-lap Super Late Model race with Derek Ramstrom dominating the action by leading every lap on the way to the checkered flag. Todd Ceravolo proved his mastery of restarts when he edged out Ryan Preece for the win in the Sunoco Modified division. Other NASCAR Whelen All-American Series winners included Tommy O’Sullivan, Jesse Gleason, Brian Tagg, Cam McDermott, and Eric Bourgeois.
Todd Ceravolo used restarts to his advantage to take the win in the 30-lap Sunoco Modified feature, and ends a four-race win streak by Ryan Preece. Ceravolo held off a determined Preece on a lap 23 restart to take the lead for the third and final time of the night. Kerry Malone jumped to the early lead, but it was all Preece on the second circuit after he dropped to the bottom and drove to the front coming out of turn two. Ceravolo drove by for second before caution slowed the pace at lap four. In a surprise move, Ceravolo soared by Preece for the lead when the race resumed. Woody Pitkat followed his line for the second position with Preece all over his bumper in third. On lap six, Preece challenged Pitkat in a side-by-side battle. Pitkat had the advantage on the line, but the battle continued until Preece took over the spot in turns three and four of lap eight. Caution tightened the field back up again, and Ceravolo commanded the field once again when racing resumed. Preece rode Ceravolo’s bumper and the duo pulled away from the rest of the field by a full second. By lap 16, Ceravolo had put a little breathing room between himself and Preece, but on lap 19, he drove too high in turn two and allowed Preece to close the distance back up. Caution at lap 23 tightened the field up for a restart that saw Ceravolo choose the outside lane. Ceravolo held off Preece and resumed his position as leader. Preece, Pitkat, and Dennis Perry rounded out the top-four. Ceravolo was dominant out front, and took the checkers unchallenged.
Derek Ramstrom led every lap en route to the Super Late Model victory. The 50-lap race was only brought to caution twice. Ramstrom drove right out front at the drop of the green with Mike O’Sullivan settling behind him in second. The duo pulled away from the rest of the field, but caution at lap five would tighten them back up again. O’Sullivan challenged Ramstrom on the restart, but Ramstrom held a slight advantage when they came around to the line. Ramstrom pulled ahead as O’Sullivan settled in behind him. Larry Gelinas challenged Jim Banfield for the third position on lap nine, but Banfield shut the door. Caution flew again at lap 10 for Michael Rivard who spun into the grass in turn four. Ramstrom and O’Sullivan battled it out once again when racing resumed, but Ramstrom pulled ahead coming out of turn two with O’Sullivan and Gelinas nose-to-tail in his rear view mirror. O’Sullivan pressured Ramstrom, but Ramstrom held strong. On lap 30, Gelinas, who was running in third, pulled off the track and onto pit road. Banfield inherited his position in the field. Ramstrom could not be stopped and went on to take the checkers in commanding style.
In the Late Model division, Tommy O’Sullivan scored his third consecutive win and tenth of the season after taking the lead from Mike Scorzelli on lap four and never looking back. Randy Tucker led the field into turn one at the drop of the green, but Scorzelli took the top spot before the lap was complete. Tucker was challenged by O’Sullivan on the second circuit and immediately set his sights on Scorzelli up front. On lap four, O’Sullivan challenged using the bottom groove and drove by for the lead. Wayne Coury brought out the caution on lap seven with O’Sullivan jumping right back out to the lead when action resumed. Caution slowed the pace once again at lap eight, but it didn’t alter O’Sullivan’s momentum as he drove straight out to the lead once again. Scorzelli and John Falconi rounded out the top-three. The field ran single file except for Glenn Boss, who used the inside lane to get by Damon Tinio for the fourth position. Boss wasn’t finished, however, and used the same line to get by Falconi two laps later on lap 16. Falconi hit the wall in turn three and brought out the third caution of the night on lap 19. O’Sullivan drove out front at the drop of the green with Boss driving underneath Scorzelli on lap 20 for the second spot. Tucker tried to follow his line, but Scorzelli held him off and remained in the third spot. Boss set his sights on O’Sullivan, but could not get enough momentum to catch him and O’Sullivan drove on to the checkered flag.
Jesse Gleason scored his third victory in dominating fashion when he took the lead in the Limited Sportsman feature on lap two and went unchallenged for the remainder of the race. Lloyd Anderson, Jr. drove out front at the start of the action with Mark Jenison getting sandwiched in a four-wide battle coming out of turn four. Gleason was the beneficiary of the battle after he drove all the way to the bottom to drive around it all and take over second. Jason Chicolas, who was involved in the four-wide scramble, ended up in the grass on the infield and brought out the caution. The field was lined up with Anderson, Mike Palin, Kevin Bowe and Gleason leading the pack back to green. Palin got the early jump, but Anderson came back on the inside groove and took over the top spot. Gleason followed his line and challenged for the lead heading into turn one and settled in as the leader coming out of turn two. Bowe drove by for second with Anderson falling back in line in third. On lap four, Anderson challenged Bowe for the second spot and got by for the position entering turn three. Larry Barnett took over third at lap seven with Gleason leading Anderson by ten car lengths. On lap 10, Barnett dropped to the bottom and got a run on Anderson, who lost the second position on lap 11. Barnett tried to cut away at Gleason’s lead, but Gleason only extended it as the laps ticked off. Gleason maneuvered his No. 81 machine around lapped traffic with ease and drove to the checkers unchallenged.
Brian Tagg celebrated his wedding anniversary in victory lane after winning the 20-lap Thompson Modified feature, and scoring his first win of the season. Tagg drove to the early lead with Jay Sundeen and Danny Gamache, Jr. rounding out the top-three. John Lowinski-Loh was on the move, and on lap four, dropped to the bottom groove and drove by Chad LaBastie for the fourth spot. Lowinski-Loh took over the third position from Gamache on the following circuit as Tagg continued to dominate up front. Lowinski-Loh was attached to Sundeen’s bumper by lap eight. The top-three – Tagg, Sundeen and Lowinski-Loh – were nose-to-tail as the laps ticked off, but on lap 12, Lowinski-Loh made his move and drove by for the second position. Tagg seamlessly drove by lapped traffic on lap 15, but he couldn’t shake Lowinski-Loh, who was still attached to his rear bumper. On lap 17, Lowinski-Loh dropped to the bottom entering turn two, but dropped back suddenly and settled into third. Tagg held off Sundeen to take the checkers.
Cam McDermott continued his dominance in the Lite Modified division by taking the lead from Troy Talman at lap eight. Once out front, the No. 5 machine was unstoppable. Talman took the lead from Nikki Ouellette at the start of the feature as Shawn Brule and McDermott put on a battle for the second position. Brule held the advantage as McDermott had a difficult time clearing Brule on the bottom groove. John Studley sat patiently behind in fourth, while McDermott took over the second position on lap six. McDermott attached himself to the rear bumper of Talman, and on lap eight, dropped down in turn three and took over the lead in turn four. Talman wasn’t about to give up, and tried a crossover move in turn two on lap nine, but got too high and spun. The caution put McDermott and Studley side-by-side for the restart with McDermott driving right out front at the drop of the green. Studley and Brule rounded out the top-three, but by lap 16 Talman, trying to make up lost ground, was already pressuring Brule for the third spot. McDermott was unstoppable and collected his 11th win of the season followed by Studley and Talman.
Eric Bourgeois took the lead on a lap eight restart and never looked back en route to the victory in the 15-lap Monster Mini-Stock feature event. Steve Michalski and Joe Baxter battled it out side-by-side for the first circuit of the feature with Michalski holding onto the lead by inches. Caution put an end to the action when Alicia Thatcher spun to the infield grass on the front stretch. On the restart it was all Michalski as Baxter got out run by Louis Bellisle III for the second position. Bellisle’s progress was not over and he challenged Michalski for the lead heading into turn three on lap two. Bellisle went low, got side-by-side with Baxter, and drove by as they entered turn four. Chad Baxter took over the third spot. On lap six, Chad Baxter, battling a loose racecar, got sideways in turn four and Trudeau, who had nowhere to go, got into him and brought out the caution. Bellisle drove back out front on the restart. Steve Michalski lost the battle for second to Eric Bourgeois, but caution flew for the third time at lap eight when Travis Jurcik hit the turn three wall. Bourgeois was the new leader on the restart after getting by Bellisle at the drop of the green. Once front, Bourgeois pulled out to a five-car length advantage as Bellisle and Nick Anderson battled for second. Anderson dove to the bottom coming out of turn four on lap 12, but Bellisle kept him at bay. Bourgeois drove on to the checkers with Anderson edging out Bellisle for the second spot.
SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH: 1. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry, CT; 2. Ryan Preece, Berlin, CT; 3. Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs, CT; 4. Dennis Perry, Pawcatuck, CT; 5. Kerry Malone, Needham, MA; 6. Jason Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 7. Nick Boivin, Belchertown, MA; 8. Moose Douton, Waterford, CT; 9. Wayne Arute, Meriden, CT; 10. George Wilkinson, Pawcatuck, CT.
SUPER LATE MODEL FEATURE FINISH: 1. Derek Ramstrom, Worcester, MA; 2. Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 3. Jim Banfield, S. Glastonbury, CT; 4. Dick Houlihan, Bridgewater, MA; 5. Jake Vanada, Berkley, MA; 6. George Bessette, Danbury, CT; 7. Colbey Fournier, Berkley, MA; 8. Greg Nanigian, Braintree, MA; 9. Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, NY; 10. Ron Laperche, Pascoag, RI.
LATE MODEL FEATURE FINISH: 1. Tommy O’Sullivan, Wilbraham, MA; 2. Glenn Boss, Danielson, CT; 3. Mike Scorzelli, Malta, NY; 4. Randy Tucker, Millis, MA; 5. Damon Tinio, Mendon, MA; 6. Wayne Coury, Milford, CT; 7. Robert O’Connell, Jr., Wrentham, MA; 8. Jared Materas, Palmer, MA; 9. Ryan Waterman, Danielson, CT; 10. John Falconi, Oakham, MA.
THOMPSON MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH: 1. Brian Tagg, Oxford, MA; 2. Jay Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 3. John Lowinski-Loh, Milford, MA; 4. Danny Gamache, Jr., Woonsocket, RI; 5. Chad LaBastie, Uxbridge, MA; 6. Denis Legere, Auburn, MA.
LITE MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH: 1. Cam McDermott, Scituate, RI; 2. John Studley, Framingham, MA; 3. Troy Talman, Oxford, MA; 4. Shawn Brule, W. Thompson, CT; 5. Eric LeClair, Easthampton, MA; 6. Joe Boivin, Belchertown, MA; 7. Nikki Ouellette, East Granby, CT.
LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH: 1. Jesse Gleason, Lisbon, CT; 2. Larry Barnett, Moosup, CT; 3. Mark Jenison, Warwick, RI; 4. Corey Fanning, Mapleville, RI; 5. Steve Kenneway, Lowell, MA; 6. Lloyd Anderson, Jr., Wauregan, CT; 7. Jason Chicolas, Sutton, MA; 8. Mike Palin, Dudley, MA; 9. Glynn Roy, Sterling, CT; 10. Tom Shea, New London, CT.
MINI STOCK FEATURE FINISH: 1. Eric Bourgeois, East Haddam, CT; 2. Nick Anderson, Oxford, MA; 3. Louis Bellisle III, Lisbon, CT; 4. Steve Michalski, Brooklyn, CT; 5. Steve Violette, Canterbury, CT; 6. Joe Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 7. Jim Helger, Rutland, MA; 8. Roger Ducharme, Foster, RI; 8. Roger Ducharme, Foster, RI; 9. Brad Caddick, Wyoming, RI; 10. Mike Viens, Seekonk, MA.
Sources: Penny Aicardi/Thompson international Speedway PR