NEMA: Cabral Takes Boston Louie
SEEKONK, MA – It was back to the egg for Randy Cabral at Seekonk Speedway on Wednesday night. 15 years ago this week, Cabral’s breakthrough victory was the Boston Louie. The four-time NEMA champion from Plymouth, MA picked up his third Boston Louie Memorial Classic trophy (2000, 2008) over teammate Todd Bertrand and points leader Avery Stoehr.
It was a historic night for the Northeastern Midget Association. Seekonk Speedway, a charter track in 1953, hosted the 18th a
nnual Boston Louie Memorial Classic presented by Acquia. The 29-lap features are dedicated to the patriarch of the Seymour family that campaigned a championship USAC team from Marlborough, MA.
Derek Pernesiglio and the MAVTV crew filmed the event for the SPEED SPORT program (August 14, 8PM ). It will be the first television broadcast in NEMA’s 62 year history.
The high profile event featured a heavy media presence including Victory Lane Forum Radio, Vault Productions for Sid’s View.
It was the first race sponsorship for Acquia of Burlington, MA. The software company manages digital content for a variety of clients through Drupal, including the United States government, NBC, Warner Music Group and the Grammys.
Tim Bertrand, NEMA Board member and Acquia Senior Vice President WW Sales, was instrumental in the partnership. According to Bertrand, Acquia has been the fastest growing private company in the country since 2010.
“When I heard about the opportunity to blend our great company, with incredibly interesting racing (NEMA) and National TV, I jumped on the opportunity and took it to my peers on our executive team,” Bertrand said. “They liked the idea, and we figured we would give it a shot!”
NEMA gave a positive first impression as Bertrand said the company would consider expanding the sponsorship.
“The people that came from the company were amazed by the race,” Bertrand said. “It was like nothing they had ever seen before and Acquia got fantastic exposure. We would consider additional televised races in the future.”
Cabral praised Bertrand’s persistence with NEMA, citing the 2003-04 seasons when the cars suffered DNFs. Cabral mentioned the success of the Bertrand Motorsports operation, which fields three Midgets for Todd Bertrand, Doug Coby and Cabral. They also have a NEMA Lite entry for Cabral.
“Tim is the most dedicated person and loyal person,” Cabral said. “No matter what he never gives up and people don’t realize that. …. He is a natural born leader who knows how to make things happen and get the job done. … I don’t think he knows the definition of give up or that’s good enough. Everything has to be (to) perfection and if it’s not he doesn’t get mad he works at it till it is.”
Paul Scally of Raynham, MA launched the Charter Environmental #30 from the pole, besting Michael Barnes’ #85 into turn three. Kenney Johnson and Seth Carlson passed Doug Cleveland for third by lap nine. Avery Stoehr and Doug Coby got by Jim Chambers on the low side in turn one and two to claim ninth.
Carlson made his move for second off of turn four to get by the Johnson #46 machine on lap 15. Cabral was closing in on the duo by turn one.
Defending Boston Louie winner Doug Coby had his bid for victory end on lap 17 when the engine on the Plan B Burger Bar Lindblad/Autocraft expired.
Scally was at the point with former Seekonk winner Carlson alongside. Cabral and Johnson were in row two with Todd Bertrand and Bethany Stoehr in the third row. Carlson tried a crossover move on Scally in the Feigel #71 but Scally fended off the challenge entering turn three. Twin State winner Bertrand was up to fourth on lap 19 off of turn 2.
Cabral used the outside groove to put the black and fluorescent red #47 into second on lap 20. Bertrand used the same move to take third place on lap 23. Cabral was driving hard to try and close the margin to Scally’s dominant silver and black #30. A lap 25 caution for a spin by Bethany Stoehr in turn two setup the final restart.
Scally led the field single file, but Cabral dove under Scally to take the lead in turn one. Bertrand took advantage of Scally’s lost momentum to take over second off turn four.
Todd Bertrand of Suffield, CT came home second for his best finish at Seekonk. Bertrand Motorsports has finished 1-2 in the last three races: Coby-Cabral, Cabral-Coby, and Cabral-Bertrand. Bertrand has opened his fifth season with six top fives in seven races.
“We kind of were really good since the second we opened up today and we didn’t chase the track,”
Bertrand said. “I learned a lot from Randy in those last few laps because he’s the man here and for me to even come close to beating him I’m really proud.
“We got by him at the beginning there and he got us because I was trying to get by Chambers there (on lap 7), but I just want thank Acquia for sponsoring the telecast. I want to thank Plan B West Hartford, K&N Filters, Plas-Tec Coatings, and Full Moonshine. I’d also like to thank my brother, my dad for helping me out a lot and letting me go racing every week and I’d also like to thank my girlfriend, her parents for supporting me and everybody else that’s around me.”
Points leader and Oxford winner Avery Stoehr used the bottom lane to go from fifth to third in the final laps.
“Kind of tough in the heat race today, but as it came down to the feature I knew we had a pretty good car, a little bit better than we had in the heat race,” Stoehr said. “It’s just as the race went on, it seemed like we could pick off some cars, make all the passes we needed to. We ended up third tonight, which is great. Congratulations to Randy. He’s been running great all season. …Thank you to Skater’s Edge, Motorcars International, Circle Performance, everyone for coming out tonight, Acquia, Speed Sport News.”
Fourth place Scally rebounded from a DNF at Oxford to claim his best finish of the season. Carlson was fifth; his second top five in the last three races.
Rookie Kenney Johnson was sixth for his best career effort. Doug Cleveland, Ian Cumens, Jim Chambers and Bobby Santos, III rounded out the top 10 in the John Zych #9.
Cabral continued his recent hot streak with five consecutive top two finishes. Cabral has won at Seekonk in six of the last seven seasons.
“Paul was a sitting duck,” Cabral said of Scally’s performance. “I feel so bad for Paul. He did such a good job. I was stuck in the middle of a moral dilemma letting a guy win who deserved to win because I really didn’t deserve to win … I know what it means to win this race, but it’s either let him win and lose my ride or keep my ride and I decided to take the route to keep my ride.”
“The car was good but it just wasn’t as good as his unfortunately, so it started to get a little bit free at the end but every caution helped,” Cabral said. “The car came to me every caution, so after the caution the car was perfect. But I just really want to thank Seekonk Speedway for having us here.
“I want to thank all you fans who came out here. You guys are awesome. I do this for you guys. You guys are what makes me want to be in victory lane. … I want to thank K&N Filters, Acquia, Genuine’s Inspections, my whole crew and family and all my friends that came out and all the fans that come here and support me. You guys are the best.
Cabral dedicated his victory to Irene Venditti, a familiar presence and favorite among drivers.
“She was always so nice to me whenever I saw her,” Cabral elaborated in a later interview. Cabral considers the Boston Louie victory lane photos with Venditti among his favorites. “Now I’ve got Mrs. Venditti as an angel with me,” Cabral said in victory lane.
For the Record:
Cabral’s ninth series win broke the tie with Nokie Fornoro for the most at Seekonk.
“(It) still doesn’t compare to Nokie and Dave Humphrey,” Cabral said deflecting the attention. “But it’s still pretty cool being able to do that at your home track growing up watching all your racing heroes race there as a kid.”
The next milestone for Cabral is 10 NEMA Midget wins at Seekonk. Double-digit wins at any series track are a rarity. Star Speedway, home base for the club for many seasons, has three drivers. Recent NEAR Hall of Fame inductee and nine time NEMA king Drew Fornoro leads with 24 wins. Next is National Midget Hall of Famer and birthday boy Dave Humphrey with 17. Six time champion Russ Stoehr has 10.
Fornoro owns 11 victories at the high banked Monadnock Speedway. Humphrey had 10 at the old Westboro Speedway. Cabral has 10 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
It was Cabral’s tenth overall midget victory at the Cement Palace, placing him third for the class. Seekonk hosted midgets exclusively for its first three seasons. A pair of NEAR Hall of Famers lead the pack with Bill Randall at 15 wins (1946-57) and Eddie Casterline at 12 wins (1946-47). Cabral’s wins have come in NEMA Midgets and Lites since 2000.
Randall of North Reading, MA was a prolific winner in ARDC and NEMA Midget competition. He won the 1957 USAC Sprint Car (Eastern) championship in Edgar Stone’s #5 Offy despite not winning a race. He lost his life in a crash at Lime Rock Park in July 1963.
A Connecticut native, Casterline was a veteran Midget and Big Car driver by the time Seekonk Speedway opened in 1946. He secured the inaugural championship at Venditti’s 1/4 mile oval with 11 victories including four in a row. Casterline won 30 Bay State Midget Racing Association features to claim the Dracut and New England titles. He returned from racing in California with hopes of Indianapolis for 1947. When the ride did not come together, he was back midget racing. He won at Seekonk on May 30. One week later, the #7 Koopman Offy crashed into an infield fence. He succumbed to his injuries the next day.
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com
Photos: Nicholas Teto/R.A. Silvia collection