Stoehr, Chambers Conquer in NEMA’s Butch Walsh Memorial at Star Speedway
EPPING, NH — Avery Stoehr beat back three restart challenges from John Zych Jr. to take down an emotional win this past Saturday at Star Speedway in the Butch Walsh Memorial event. It was Stoehr’s first NEMA start since losing close friend, long time NEMA member/championship car owner, Carl Kibbe.
When the green flag flew in the NEMA feature, Alan Chambers wasted no time in jumping out into the lead. It looked as if Chambers may have been on his way to his first ever feature event win, when misfortune struck his #7 machine on lap fourteen. A broken drive belt the culprit, sidelined Chambers from the remainder of the event.
On the restart, Stoehr wasted no time taking the lead in the NEMA feature. He quickly gained command of the race until a caution for a Bethany Stoehr spin on lap nineteen. When the green flag flew, the young Stoehr was once again in command over John Zych Jr. and Jim Chambers, who had methodically worked his way through the pack.
[NEMA Photo Gallery] by Michael Rothwell
[PASS Photo Gallery] by Michael Rothwell
One more caution flag for a Bethany Stoehr spin did not interrupt Stoehr’s rhythm, as he again beat back Zych to the line. Over the final circuits, Stoehr stretched out his lead, and took down a commanding win over Zych, Chambers, Randy Cabral, Joey Payne, Seth Carlson, Todd Bertrand, Paul Scally, Bethany Stoehr and Alan Chambers.
“The car was awesome. The restarts are always going to try your nerves a little bit but the car was right on. I definitely went into this race wanting to win it for my friend (Carl Kibbe) and more than anything it meant the world to me. He would of been proud of the way the car went tonight. I can’t thank my dad enough for all the extra effort he put in to make sure we went good tonight,” said the young Stoehr.
In the NEMA Lite feature, a story of attrition played out, with a number of cars ending on the sideline in the event.
That didn’t stop Jim Chambers, though, from taking down his first ever NEMA Lite win. Chambers started in the second spot, and battled with up and comer Jim Cataldo for a number of laps before assuming the top spot.
He went on to take down a commanding win over five-time NEMA champion, Randy Cabral, Jim Cataldo, Meg Cugini, Ben Mikitarian, Chad Labastie, Paul Scally, Alan Chambers, Andy Barrows and Jeremy Decourcey.
“It was a lot of work after a hard wreck at Thompson, but luckily it was mostly bolt on parts. The frame, motor, driveline and rear end were all ok so once all the parts came in it wasn’t that bad for us to put it back together. As for Saturday night’s race, it was just one of those nights where it just all worked out. Once I got out front of Jim, we had a hand full of restarts I just tried to stay smooth hit my marks and not over drive the car. I’ve been watching races here for years, and it has certainly helped when we come here,” said Chambers.
NEMA resumes its schedule this coming Saturday at Riverhead Raceway.
Sources: Tim Bertrand/NEMA PR
NEMA
1 15a Avery Stoehr Lakeville, MA Russ Stoehr
2 9 John Zych Jr. Mendon, MA John Zych Sr.
3 21 Jim Chambers Atkinson, NH Mike Chambers
4 47 Randy Cabral Plymouth, MA Tim Bertrand
5 74 Joey Payne Fairlawn NJ Tim Bertrand
6 71 Seth Carlson Brimfield, CT Gene Feigel
7 39 Todd Bertrand Danielson, CT Todd Bertrand
8 30 Paul Scally Raynham, MA Paul Scally
9 5b Bethany Stoehr Bridgewater, MA Greg Stoehr
10 7 Alan Chambers Atkinson, NH Mike Chambers
11 51 Danny Cugini Marshfield, MA D. Cugini
NEMA Lites
1 12 Jim Chambers Atkinson, NH Jim Chambers
2 35 Randy Cabral Plymouth, MA Glen Cabral
3 2 Jim Cataldo Sterling, MA Jim Cataldo
4 41 Megan CuginI Marshfield, MA D. Cugini
5 9 Ben Mikitarian Marlborough, MA John Mikitarian
6 14 Chad Labastie Uxbridge, MA Chad Labastie
7 30 Paul Scally Raynham, MA Paul Scally
8 17 Alan Chambers Atkinson, NH Mike Chambers
9 46 Andy Barrows New Ipswich, NH Andy Barrows
10 29 Jeremy Decourcy Rochester, NY Jeremy Decourcy
11 29 Anthony Nocella Woburn, MA Matt Seymour
12 51 Danny Cugini Marshfield, MA D. Cugini
13 11 PJ Stergios Candia, NH Bill Stergios
14 38 Jeff Locke Raymond, NH Ken Locke
15 21 Anthony Payne Fairlawn, NJ Mike Scrivani
16 28 Jeff Scheter Mohegan Lake, NY Jeff Scheter
17 3 Christopher Vose Gloversville, NY Christopher Vose