Ben Rowe Surges for PASS Victory at Thompson; Pitkat Earns First of Year in Thompson Sunoco Mods; Gelinas Three-Peats; Douton, Marcotte, Churchill Score Victories
Thompson, CT — Ben Rowe of Turner, ME, made a late race surge to take down the victory in the Pro All Star Series annual visit to the 5/8-mile of Thompson International Speedway. Woody Pitkat of Stafford Springs, CT, ended his winless streak at Thompson with a convincing Sunoco Modified win on Thursday night. Larry Gelinas of Buxton, ME, posted a three-peat in the Whelen All-American Series Super Late Models while Rick Gentes of Woonsocket, RI, was tops in the Late Models. R.J. Marcotte of Millville, MA, wired the field to score his second TIS Modified win of the season. Chris “Moose” Douton streaked to his second straight victory in Limited Sportsman action. Randy Churchill, Jr., of Oakdale, MA, returned to victory lane in the Mini Stocks.
In the early going it looked like it may be a Southern sweep as Preston Peltier and Jay Fogelman, both of NC, dominated much of the race. Pole sitter Peltier enjoyed a fairly comfortable lead in the early stages of the event. His nearest competition in the first half of the event was Thompson’s own Derek Ramstrom. The Thompson regular’s bid for a hometown victory ended when he spun from the second position after losing his breaks entering turn two.
Over the last quarter of the race, Peltier had his hands full with Fogelman, Rowe and Johnny Clark. The Southerners showed the way as Rowe and Clark took chase. With less than 15 laps to go, Rowe decided it was time to go; passing Fogelman for second on the backstretch on lap 62. Rowe immediately began to hunt down Peltier, who had stretched out his advantage slightly. Fogleman fell into the grasp of Clark.
[Photo Gallery] by Adam Fohlin
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Over the final laps Rowe reeled in Peltier. With five to go Rowe, began looking low on Peltier’s lead. Clark got alongside Fogelman and was able to take the top spot away with four to go. Rowe sealed the deal taking over the top spot from Peltier with three laps remaining. Once out front, he quickly distanced himself from Peltier taking the checkers. Peltier had to settle for second. Clark’s late race bid gave him a podium finish. Fogelman and Lonnie Sommerville completed the top five.
Although a contender each week, Woody Pitkat of Stafford Springs, CT, had been shut-out of Thompson’s victory lane thus far this season. That all changed on Thursday night when Pitkat turned in a dominating performance to score the victory. Dave Salzarulo set the pace for the first lap of the SK Modified main event before giving way to Ronnie Silk. Rowan Pennink would also move past and into second. Silk and Pennink were able to get some distance on the field as Danny Cates worked over Salzarulo. Cates was able to make the pass on lap five. Salzarulo immediately fell into the clutches of Christopher.
John Catania spun on the backstretch to bring out the first caution on lap six. On the ensuing restart, Silk’s mount faltered sending the field scattering. Christopher hopped wheels with Silk with his #00 getting hooked on the back bumper of Silk. Tim Sullivan also sustained minor damage.
The line-up on the second attempt at a lap six restart found Pennink on the point with Danny Cates to his outside and the point leader Christopher sitting on pit road. Pennink jumped out to the top spot with heavy pressure from Cates. Pitkat emerged as a contender taking over second from Cates on lap eight. Before the completion of the lap, Pitkat was the new leader. Cates fell in line in third followed by Keith Rocco.
Pitkat was able to extend his lead over a brewing battle between Pennink, Cates, and Rocco. Cates grabbed the second position away from Pennink on lap 14. Pitkat enjoyed a sizeable advantage over Cates. Rocco began to get racy with Pennink. Rocco used the slingshot move on lap 20 to grab the third position from Pennink.
Cates had cut into Pitkat’s advantage slightly with ten laps to go. Pitkat maneuvered his way through lapped traffic with ease to maintain a comfortable margin. The final laps were clear sailing as Pitkat motored to his first victory of the 2010 season at Thompson. Cates continued to be strong coming home second. Rocco, Pennink and Salzarulo completed the top five.
Larry Gelinas of Buxton, ME, continued his domination of the Super Late Model division with his third straight victory on Thursday night. Mike O’Sullivan led the opening laps from his outside pole starting position with Gelinas and Derek Ramstrom in pursuit. Gelinas was able to steal the top spot away on lap four after an early race restart. He was able to extend his advantage as Ramstrom dogged O’Sullivan for second. With Ramstrom and O’Sullivan going door-to-door for the second spot, Rick Fuller was able catch the battle.
Lap-after-lap, Ramstrom could hang with O’Sullivan but could not make the pass stick. Finally, on lap 16, Ramstrom was able to edge ahead to take second. Ramstrom quickly got away from O’Sullivan but made only small advances toward Gelinas. Fuller continued to chase O’Sullivan while Jim Banfield and Mike Stefanik battled for fifth.
Over the final laps, Gelinas maintained his sizeable advantage over Ramstrom. Fuller remained within striking distance of O’Sullivan but could not muster up a challenge. The battle for the fifth place continued through the final lap. In the end, it was all Gelinas with a dominating win. Ramstrom, O’Sullivan, Fuller, and Stefanik completed the top five.
Rick Gentes of Woonsocket, RI, was the class of the Late Model field to score his division-leading fourth victory of the season. Mark Jenison took the lead from pole sitter Wayne Coury, Sr. in the opening laps. Tommy O’Sullivan was getting aggressive early in his bid for the win. Coury began to fade while the battle was heating up for second on back between Oliveira, John Materas, Gentes, and O’Sullivan. Jenison streaked out to nearly a straightaway lead as the four cars battled for position.
A spin by Falconi in turn two brought out the caution on lap nine; erasing Jenison’s large lead. Materas faltered on the restart allowing Jenison to easily retain his lead. Gentes cruised into second and immediately hunted down Jenison. Materas had his hands full with O’Sullivan. Gentes was the new leader at halfway. O’Sullivan simultaneously took over third. Oliveira began to pressure Materas for fourth.
Gentes stretched his advantage further when O’Sullivan jumped to the inside of Jenison in the battle for the runner-up spot. Materas had freed himself from Oliveira to run alone in fourth. The battle for the second cooled with five laps remaining and Jenison holding the position.
In the closing laps, Gentes held a comfortable lead. O’Sullivan resumed his assault on Jenison for second while Materas tucked in behind O’Sullivan. While Gentes cruised to his fourth victory of the season, both O’Sullivan and Materas were able to get by Jenison over the final circuit. Oliveira completed the top five.
Chris “Moose” Douton was opportunistic in the Limited Sportsman main event to score his third victory of the season and second in row. Kevin Bowe led through the opening of what proved to be eventful laps for the Limited Sportsman division. While Bowe had his hands full with Jason Chicholas and Paul Coutu, Jr., Shawn Monahan and Larry Barnett had been picking their way to the front. When the caution flew on lap nine for a single-car incident involving Anthony Fissora, Monahan ran in fourth followed by Barnett, Scott Sundeen, Joe Arena and Douton.
On the lap nine restart, Chicolas motored by Bowe to take over the lead. A lap later, contact between Barnett and Monahan on the front stretch brought out the caution when the #55 came to rest against the wall in turn one. Barnett was able to keep going to retain his position in fourth. After service to his ride, Monahan joined the back of the field.
Chicolas resumed his place at the head of the field when the race resumed. Chicolas had plenty of company with Coutu, Barnett and Douton. Barnett slid to the low side to grab the second spot from Coutu; taking Douton along for the ride. Barnett dove low on Chicolas on lap 15. The two were dead-even at the stripe.
Chicolas was able to maintain his position as Douton began to apply pressure to Barnett for second. On lap 17, contact between Barnett and Chicolas sent both cars sliding high entering turn two. Douton shot the gap at the bottom driving by both to steal the lead away. Barnett got some air as he went flying through the infield before continuing.
With only three laps remaining, Douton took advantage of the single-file restart to handily retain his lead. Douton enjoyed several car lengths over Coutu. Douton streaked to his second straight victory. Coutu had a great run to come home second. Scott Sundeen quietly came home in third followed by early leader Bowe and Joe Coates.
R.J. Marcotte of Millville, MA, wasted little time getting to the front in the TIS Modified main event. Marcotte rocketed from his third starting position to lead the opening lap. Once out front, Marcotte would not be headed. In the early going, Marcotte was chased by Brian Tagg and Keith McDermott. Marcotte was able to get away ever so slightly as Tagg and McDermott began to battle for the runner-up position. By halfway, Shane Michalski had joined the fray.
Tagg was able to close the advantage on Marcotte. Michalski, in turn, was applying pressure to McDermott. Things settled down in the closing stages. Michalski began to fade while Tagg settled back in line behind Marcotte. At the checkers, Marcotte had scored the victory over Tagg, McDermott, Michalski and John Studley.
Randy Churchill of Oakdale, CT, scored his second Mini Stock win of the season in fine fashion. Mike Viens was the early leader of the Mini Stock main event; but a host of early race cautions opened the door for the hard-charging Churchill. Once out front, Churchill was able to stretch his advantage as Dwayne Dorr had moved from deep in the pack to run in the second spot. Jeff Moffat followed suit. While there was battling throughout the field, it was uneventful for Churchill, who enjoyed his comfortable lead all the way to the checkers. Dorr finished a solid second followed by Moffat, last week’s winner Scott Jussaume and Scott Michalski.
Pro All Star Series (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Ben Rowe, Turner, ME; 2. Preston Peltier, Harrisburg, NC; 3. Johnny Clark, Hallowell, ME; 4. Jay Fogleman, Durham, NC; 5. Lonnie Sommerville, St. John, NB, Canada; 6. Mike Rowe, Turner, ME; 7. Trevor Sanborn, Parsonsfield, ME; 8. Cassius Clark, Farmington, ME; 9. Nick Ribbe, Kingston, MA; 10. DJ Shaw, Center Conway, NH.
Sunoco Modifieds (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs, CT; 2. Danny Cates, Chaplin, CT; 3. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 4. Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, PA; 5. Dave Salzarulo, Monson, MA; 6. Tim Sullivan, S. Windsor, CT; 7. Wayne Arute, Glastonbury, CT; 8. Nichole Morgillo, Yalesville, CT; 9. Andy Gaspar, Andover, CT; 10. John Catania, Agawam, MA.
Super Late Model (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Larry Gelinas, Buxton, ME; 2. Derek Ramstrom, Worcester, MA; 3. Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 4. Rick Fuller, Auburn, MA; 5. Mike Stefanik, Coventry, RI; 6. Jim Banfield, S. Glastonbury, CT; 7. George Bessette, Danbury, CT; 8. Daryl Stampfl, Norwood, MA; 9. Dave Silvia, Warwick, RI; 10. Dennis Maxfield, Fitchburg, MA.
Late Model (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Rick Gentes, Woonsocket, RI; 2. Tommy O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 3. John Materas Voluntown, CT; 4. Mark Jenison, Warwick, RI; 5. Mark Oliveira, Blackstone, MA; 6. Jeff Hartwell, E. Putnam, CT; 7. Randy Waterman, Danielson, CT; 8. Wayne Coury, Sr., Milford, CT; 9. Jeremy Sadowski, Voluntown, CT; 10. John Falconi, N. Grafton, MA.
Limited Sportsman (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Chris Douton, Waterford, CT; 2. Paul Coutu, Jr., Thompson, CT; 3. Scott Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 4. Kevin Bowe, Pawtucket, RI; 5. Joe Coates, Eastford, CT; 6. Jesse Gleason, Lisbon, CT; 7. Jason Chicolas, Sutton, MA; 8. Joe Arena, Bristol, CT; 9. Scott Fanning, Mapleville, RI; 10. Steve Kenneway, Jr., Lowell, MA.
TIS Modified Feature Finish: 1. R.J. Marcotte, Millville, MA; 2. Brian Tagg, Oxford, MA; 3. Keith McDermott, Scituate, RI; 4. Shane Michalski, Woodstock, CT; 5. John Studley, Framingham, MA; 6. Jason Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 7. Ryan Morgan, Mystic, CT; 8. Denis Legere, N. Reading, MA.
Mini Stock (Top Ten) Feature Finish: 1. Randy Churchill, Jr., Oakdale, CT; 2. Dwayne Dorr, Ledyard, CT; 3. Jeff Moffat, Warwick, RI; 4. Scott Jussaume, Danielson, CT; 5. Scott Michalski, S. Killingly, CT; 6. Emerson Cayer, Contoocook, NH; 7. Mike Viens, Seekonk, MA; 8. Lloyd Anderson, Wauregan, CT; 9. Chuck Rogers, Quaker Hill, CT; 10. Roger Ducharme, Foster, RI.
Sources: Dale Wolbrink/Thompson International Speedway PR