Pitkat’s Win Put Him Atop Sunoco Modified Point Battle; Santos Checkers Bud 150
Thompson, CT — It was a night of repeat winners and new point leaders in Thursday Night Thompson Thunder (TNTT). Woody Pitkat led the NASCAR Whelen All American Series action with a come-from-behind win in the Sunoco Modified division. Glenn Boss, Cam McDermott, Joe Baxter, and Bill McNeil also won their division feature events. In NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour action, Bobby Santos, III dominated the action and won the extended distance Bud 150 on a green-white-checker finish.
Santos took the early lead in the Whelen Modified Tour’s Bud 150 and commanded the field until caution slowed the pace at lap 25 for a backstretch accident involving Bryon Chew and Rick Fuller. Santos continued his dominance on the restart and led by half-a-straightaway until caution came out again at lap 109. The entire field came down pit road during the caution period. Santos stalled his machine when trying to exit his pit stall allowing Todd Szegedy to beat him out and take over the lead. Santos was relegated to sixth for the restart. Szegedy’s time out front didn’t last as he went high in turn two and brushed the wall on the restart paving the way for Justin Bonsignore to lead the field. On the restart, Santos rocketed right back to the lead before caution slowed the pace again. Bonsignore got the lead back for the restart and held off Santos until lap 134 when Santos got by in the middle of turn three and four. A caution set up a lap 141 restart with Santos leading the field into turn one. Donny Lia and Rowan Pennink rounded out the top-three. Caution flew at lap 148 and set up a green-white-checker finish, but a front stretch accident quickly saw a halt to the race. Pennink got hit from behind and flipped front to back until he was back on his tires. The driver was able to walk away from the accident. The race resumed at lap 157 with Santos in the lead, and despite Donny Lia’s challenges, Santos went on to win his second of the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.
An early-race accident didn’t deter Woody Pitkat from victory in Sunoco Modified action. Pitkat came from the rear of the field after a lap one accident to inherit the lead at lap 24. Pitkat held off Dennis Perry on a late-race restart en route to the checkered flag and the point lead.Paul Newcomb headed into turn one as the leader, but a tangle between Pitkat and John Catania brought the race under caution before the first lap was complete. Dennis Perry hung with Newcomb on the restart and grabbed the lead coming out of turn two. Ryan Preece made his presence known by taking over the second position using the bottom groove. Preece then drove underneath Perry on lap three and battled side-by-side with him for a full circuit before settling in out front coming out of turn two.
A caution at lap six tightened the field up, but it was not stopping Preece, who jumped right back out front. Todd Ceravolo maneuvered his machine into second followed by the hard-charging Keith Rocco, who was filling Ceravolo’s rear-view mirror. On lap 10, Ceravolo got high in turn two enabling Rocco to move into second and set his sights on Preece, who was leading by a comfortable ten car length advantage.
Further back in the field, Pitkat was proving to be a factor as he maneuvered around Ceravolo for the fourth spot. Up front, Rocco had reeled in Preece by lap 16 and was attached to his rear bumper as he looked for a way around. Preece, however, was not shaken by the pressure and continued to hold him off.
The race took a dramatic turn of events on lap 24 when the leaders came around turn one only to have a lapped car in the middle of the track. Preece didn’t have enough time to react and he had nowhere to go but into the wall. Rocco was collected as well and the duo both had significant damage.
Pitkat inherited the lead for the restart with Perry on the outside groove. Pitkat held off his challenges and drove to the front heading into turn two. Kerry Malone settled in third. Rocco, involved in the accident, was up to eighth and on the move. Meanwhile, Pitkat put some distance over the rest of the field, and despite the battles behind him, drove on to the checkered flag.
Glenn Boss emerged the leader from a three-wide battle on a restart and went on to win the Late Model 25-lap feature in dominating fashion. The victory also catapults Boss to the top of the point standings.
Marc Curtis, Jr. rocketed to the front at the drop of the green flag, but it was deemed a false start and they had to do it all over again. On the restart, Curtis and Chad LaBastie were in a tight race for the lead when an accident emerged in turn three involving John Lowinski-Loh and Randy Tucker that brought out the red flag for an extensive clean up.
Curtis drove to the lead again on the restart, but LaBastie and Glenn Boss made it a three-wide battle coming out of turn four with LaBastie taking the lead. Boss stayed right underneath LaBastie as the two came to the line with Boss holding only a slight advantage. On lap four, Boss cleared LaBastie once and for all and pulled ahead to a three-car length advantage before a caution slowed the action.
Boss led the field into turn one on the restart with LaBastie and Curtis side-by-side for the second spot. LaBastie got caught on the outside groove and lost the position to Curtis by a nose. LaBastie fought back, but Curtis continued to keep the advantage. LaBastie finally got ahead and settled into the second position as the field went single file by lap 10.
At the halfway mark, Boss held a half-a-straightaway advantage over the rest of the field, and a caution-free second half allowed him to never look back as he took the checkered flag for the third time this season.
Cam McDermott continued his dominance in the Lite Modified division and earned his fifth win of the season in only seven starts.
It only took two laps before Cam McDermott found himself ahead of early leader Dylan Menditto. Once out front, the Scituate, RI-native was the class of the field with a nearly two second lead by lap eight.
On the move, however, was John Studley, who broke into the top-three by halfway and was still on the move. On lap 14, Studley was on the rear bumper of Menditto, who was not easily going to give up the position. On lap 17, Studley went underneath to challenge the two drove side-by-side with Studley getting the advantage coming out of turn three and taking over the spot at lap 18.
Up front, McDermott was untouchable as he continued to pull away from the rest of the field before taking the checkered flag in dominating fashion.
It was a family affair in the Monster Mini Stock victory lane Thursday night when Joe Baxter checkered the ahead of his brother Chad Baxter. Baxter took the lead for the second and final time at lap 11 and never looked back.
Joe Baxter took the lead at the drop of the green flag with Nathan Taylor and Chad Baxter rounding out the top-three, but a caution quickly slowed their pace and they were tightened back up for a restart on lap three. Joe Baxter drove to the lead but coming on the bottom groove was Chad Baxter to challenge Taylor for the second position. A caution would put the battle on hold.
Status quo defined the restart with Joe Baxter leading Taylor. In turns one and two, Chad Baxter drove high into the corner allowing Dave Trudeau to move into the third spot. Meanwhile, Taylor was all over Joe Baxter for the lead and put the hammer down on lap six to get aside Baxter before taking the lead on lap seven. Scott Michalski followed his line for the second position.
Taylor pulled away with Michalski on his bumper, but on lap 10, Michalski took the lead. The duo continued to battle with Taylor driving back out front before the lap was complete. The race intensified on lap 11 when the two made contact in turn four- sending Taylor to the pits. Race officials sent Michalski to the rear of the field during the caution period giving the lead back to Joe Baxter.
Baxter outraced Eric Bourgeois into turn one to hold on to the lead with Chad Baxter taking over the second position. The trio ran nose-to-tail to the checkered flag, but it was all Joe Baxter when the race concluded.
Bill McNeil never gave up and his persistence paid big dividends. With two laps to go, McNeil used the bottom groove to get by Kevin Mason for the win in the Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman division feature.
Mason led the field down into turn one with McNeil taking over second after all the dust had settled from the start. Mason and McNeil pulled ahead by ten car lengths over the rest of the field and ran nose-to-tail around the 5/8th’s mile for the next several laps.
McNeil took his chance at lap six and started to tap the back bumper of Mason. He looked low, but got squirrelly going into the turn and had to back out of the challenge. The move cost him about a car length of real estate, which he made up by lap 10. Mason showed no signs of giving up as they began to put the tail end of the field a lap down.
Behind the battling duo, Scott Sundeen moved into the third position and set his sights on the leaders, who were a half-a-straightaway ahead. On lap 13, McNeil got into the throttle once again to challenge Mason for the lead. McNeil tried to establish a line on the bottom, but Mason held him off. Lapped traffic was playing out in Sundeen’s favor as he closed in within ten car lengths of the leader by lap 17.
McNeil’s perseverance continued and, on lap 18, he dropped to the bottom groove and got a run strong enough to take the lead away from Mason and drive to the victory.
NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR FEATURE FINISH: 1. Bobby Santos, Franklin, MA; 2. Donny Lia, Jericho, NY; 3. Eric Goodale, Riverhead, NY; 4. Doug Coby, Milford, CT; 5. Woody Pitkat, Stafford, CT; 6. Ron Silk, Norwalk, CT; 7. Jimmy Blewett, Howell, NJ; 8. Jamie Tomaino, Howell, NJ; 9. Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, CT; 10. Ron Yuhas, Jr., Groton, CT; 11. Ed Flemke, Southington, CT; 12. Ryan Preece, Berlin, CT; 13. Mike Stefanik, Coventry, RI; 14. Eric Berndt, Cromwell, CT; 15. Wade Cole, Hartland, CT; 16. Cole Powell, Mt. Brydges, Ont. Canada; 17. John Beatty Jr., Merrick, NY; 18. Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, PA; 19. Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, NY; 20. Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, NY; 21. Richie Pallai Jr., Yorktown Heights, NY; 22. Ted Christopher, Plainville, CT; 23. Glen Reen, Wilbraham, MA; 24. Ken Heagy, Calverton, NY; 25. Rob Fuller, Boylston, MA; 26. Bryon Chew, Mattituck, NY; 27. Brian Schofield, Monson, MA.
SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH (TOP-10): 1. Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs, CT; 2. Dennis Perry, Pawcatuck, CT; 3. Kerry Malone, Needham, MA; 4. Nick Boivin, Belchertown, MA; 5. Matt Gallo, Berlin, CT; 6. Keith Rocco, Meriden, CT; 7. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry, CT; 8. Jay Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 9. Rick Shawn, Bradford, RI; 10. John Catania, Ludlow, MA.
LATE MODEL FEATURE FINISH (TOP-10): 1. Glenn Boss, Danielson, CT; 2. Chad LaBastie, Uxbridge, MA; 3. Marc Curtis, Jr., Spencer, MA; 4. Rick Gentes, Burriville, RI; 5. Jeff Smith, Old Lyme, CT; 6. Damon Tinio, Mendon, MA; 7. John Lowinski-Loh, Jr., Milford, MA; 8. Jared Materas, Palmer, MA; 9. Jariah Roderick, East Taunton, MA; 10. Derryck Anderson, Jr., Coventry, RI.
LITE MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH: 1. Cam McDermott, Scituate, RI; 2. John Studley, Framingham, MA; 3. Dylan Menditto, Brooklyn, CT; 4. Joseph Boivin, Belchertown, MA; 5. Nikki Ouellette, East Granby, CT; 6. Danny Gamache, Jr., Woonsocket, RI; 7. Ryan Pellerin, Dayville, CT; 8. Bob Vojtila, Southington, CT.
MONSTER MINI STOCK FEATURE FINISH (TOP-10): 1. Joe Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 2. Chad Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 3. Eric Bourgeois, East Haddam, CT; 4. Scott Michalski, S. Killingly, CT; 5. Mike Viens, Seekonk, MA; 6. Steve Michalski, Brooklyn, CT; 7. Michael Gorgievski, Auburn, MA; 8. Dave Trudeau, Mansfield, CT; 9. Alicia Thatcher, Pascoag, RI; 10. Keith Ballou, Pascoag, RI.
XTRA MART LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH (TOP 10): 1. Bill McNeil, Preston, CT; 2. Kevin Mason, West Warwick, RI; 3. Scott Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 4. Scott Fanning, Mapleville, RI; 5. Corey Fanning, Mapleville, RI; 6. Jason Chicolas, Sutton, MA; 7. Jesse Gleason, Lisbon, CT; 8. Steve Kenneway, Lowell, MA; 9. Travis Jurcik, Chaplin, CT; 10. Michael Malbaurn, Sterling, CT.
Sources: Penny Aicardi/Thompson International Speedway PR