Scally, Zych Rocket to Wiscasset, Ames True Value NEMA Wins
Picture perfect skies welcomed the Northeastern Midget Association to Wiscasset Speedway in Wiscasset, Maine this past weekend. An unbelievable, packed house was on hand as well, with eager fans filling every spot in the parking lot to greet the fastest winged midgets in the world.
When the double checkered flags flew at the end of the evening, the most talked about story in the pits was Paul Scally’s first NEMA win, breaking a long overdue streak for the family owned team, taking down the win in the Lites class. In the NEMA feature, John Zych proved he was the class of the field all day, coming from mid pack for a dominant victory.
In the Lites division, Scally jumped out into an early lead. Fast right from the start of the day, he paced the field, setting some of the quickest laps of the feature event. Behind Scally, youngsters Ryan Locke and Ben Mikitarian were putting on a show for the second spot, and further back, Danny Cugini was slicing his way through the pack from deep in the field.
In the closing laps, Cugini would slip past Mikitarian for third, and Locke began to close the gap on Scally in the front of the pack. Scally held his line and hit his marks, and Locke was unable to muster up enough to challenge. Scally would go on to take down the victory, a Cinderella story of sorts for the family owned team, who has been in NEMA since 1993. Mikitarian was third, followed by PJ Stergios and Kevin Ianarelli rounding out the top five.
“The win is long over due we have had so many heart breakers that we started believing we would never get there. We had two really good cars all night. After the big car broke while running very strong. It kind of made me feel like it’s now or never. I guess I just accepted the challenge. I stayed calm and didn’t try to overdrive it and it paid off,” said Scally.
A family operation through and through, Scally can often be seen with his two trusted counterparts, his Dad and girlfriend, Rachel.
“My Dad is the guy who started all of the racing back in 1989, he liked the mini sprints and got me into racing. Rachel is the oil the keeps the teams engine running she never quits and she has a passion for the competitiveness that sometimes more than mine,” he said.
In the NEMA feature, Jim Santa Maria and Paul Scally brought the field to the green flag. Santa Maria jumped out into the lead like he was shot out of a cannon. By lap five, Santa Maria and Scally had nearly a straightaway on the field, and John Zych had broken free from his sixth spot, into third.
Over the next laps, Scally began closing on Santa Maria, and as the cross flags appeared, Zych was within six carlengths of the leaders, and Scally had closed on Santa Maria.
Heartbreak occurred for Scally on lap thirteen as he came to a stop on the back stretch. A broken ignition wire was the culprit.
On the restart, Santa Maria and Zych streaked down the front straightaway, with Zych taking the lead. He would set sail and never be seriously challenged.
Todd Bertrand came through the field to finish third, followed by Alan Chambers, Seth Carlson, Jim Chambers, Randy Cabral, Avery Stoehr, Paul Scally and Bethany Stoehr.
“The win was a great bounce back after week 1. That was just a tough situation. We were lucky we were quick right from the first practice. Didn’t really change a thing all day. The front row got out to a good start there, but I was patient and kept them in sight. The caution helped us,” Zych said. “We love Wiscasset!”.
NEMA’s next event is at Riverhead Raceway on June 3.
NEMA Lites: Paul Scally Ryan Locke Dan Cugini Ben Mikitarain PJ Stergios Kevin Iannarelli Jim Chambers Jim Cataldo Christopher Vosey Richie Coy, Randy Cabral
NEMA: John Zych Jim Santa Maria Todd Bertrand Alan Chambers Seth Carlson Jim Chambers Randy Cabral Avery Stoehr Paul Scally Bethany Stoehr
Sources: NEMA PR