Pennink to Lead Valenti Modifieds to Thompson on May 19th
THOMPSON, CT — Rowan Pennink, fresh off of a second place finish at the Thompson Speedway’s Icebreaker, will lead a full field of Valenti Modified Racing Series cars and stars to the Thompson Speedway on Sunday, May 19th. The Pennsylvania driver is the current points leader in the VMRS. He gained the top spot as a result of a 4th place finish in the season-opening race at the Waterford Speedbowl and then a win at the Monadnock Speedway. Pennink, like many drivers, competes with the Valenti Modified Racing Series, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
“I think we have a pretty good chance at Thompson”, Pennink said. “With the # 25 car, Thompson seems to be our best track. Gary (Casella) has a really good setup for that track and we have had great motors from Mike Pettit. Generally, we unload the car at Thompson and don’t touch it. The setup has been that good,” Pennink concluded.
When asked about the challenge of competing in every race on both the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the Valenti Modified Racing Series, Pennink said that they plan to run them all. He did indicate that there are a couple of races that are scheduled pretty close, but he indicated that the teams felt that if all went well they would be able to make every race.
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Even though it is very early in the new season and he sits near the top of the points chase in both touring series, Pennink said that thoughts of a championship are a long ways away. “We just want to keep up front all season and see where the points are as the season gets near the end. We’ll take every race as it comes,” he said.
Second in the VMRS points standings is veteran Louie Mechalides. Steve Masse, winner at Waterford, holds the third spot and is followed by Mike Holdridge and Tommy Barrett, Jr. The competition in this extremely popular series is fierce and to succeed every race team has to bring their best effort to every event.
The Valenti Modifieds will pay three visits to Thompson this year with the first on Sunday, May 19th. Their second race will be on Thursday, July 25th with their third event slated for the Saturday night of World Series weekend, October 19th.
Joining the VMRS on May 19th will be Thompson’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions. The exciting Sunoco Modifieds will lead those divisions with a 30-lap main. They will be joined by the Thompson Late Models, Lite Modifieds, Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman and Monster Mini Stocks.
Grandstands for the May 19th event will open at 11AM and practice gets underway at 12 Noon. Qualifying is scheduled to get underway shortly after 2 PM with features to follow. The complete event schedule is available on the Thompson web site. www.thompsonspeedway.com
Sources: Russ Dowd/Thompson International Speedway PR