Cabral, Stergios Take Hammond Memorial Thompson World Series NEMA Wins
The Northeastern Midget Association visited the Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park for the annual ACT World Series of Racing this past Saturday and Sunday, as 30 winged NEMA warriors filled the pits for the annual Shane Hammond Memorial. Randy Cabral fended off an early-race challenge by John Zych and a late-race challenge by teammate Ben Seitz to take down the NEMA victory and come one step closer to his eighth championship, and PJ Stergios dominated the Lites portion of the racing card on Sunday.
NEMA celebrates the life of fellow competitor Hammond each year, who was tragically killed at Thompson in April of 2008.
Shane’s fatal crash was a cold April day in 2008 at Thompson. There was chaos all around the crash site and complete silence in the stands. It did not look good yet we held onto hope as many prayed. He was just 27, wheeling the car of his dreams, the #4 Mike Jarret, Nokie Fornoro NEMA midget which he had shaken down on many occasions. He felt proud and privileged that day to be chosen to wheel this ferocious machine. He was living his dream especially with Nokie as his teammate, he loved that man and how he shared all his inside information about each track they ran together. Shane was respected and loved by the NEMA family and he shared all he had heart & soul with everyone in the club,” said Hammond’s mother, Deb Marvuglio.
In the NEMA feature, Randy Cabral got closer to the Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) championship by winning the 25-lap Shane Hammond Memorial. Cabral snagged the lead from Ben Seitz on lap eight and quickly built up a comfortable margin.
John Zych Jr. passed Seitz for second shortly followed a restart for Jake Trainor’s mechanical failure, and Zych seemed to be closing on Cabral. But as Zych came out of turn four with seven laps to go, his engine gave up the ghost. That left Cabral clear to cruise for the victory. Seitz, Avery Stoehr, Todd Bertrand, and Joey Payne completed the top-five. Doug Cleveland, John Zych, Mike Horn, Jake Trainor, and Richie Coy rounded out the top 10.
Candia, NH’s P.J. Stergios took a dominating victory in the 25-lap NEMA Lites feature. Stergios moved to the front early and faced some initial pressure from Randy Cabral, who had won the NEMA Midget and Pro 4 Modified features the night before. But his bid for a weekend trifecta was denied as Stergios marched off and left him behind in a caution-free race.
The best battle was a fracas for fourth between Jake Trainor, Richie Morocco, Richie Coy, and Jim Santa Maria. Plainville, MA’s Morocco eventually broke out of the tussle and stole third from Kyle Valeri with two laps left for good measure. Valeri ended up fourth with Trainor, Coy, Santa Maria, Mikey Pernisiglio, Dylan Coutu, and Joey Bailey the balance of the top-10.
NEMA
1. Randy Cabral ( 74 ) Kingston, MA
2. Ben Seitz ( 17 ) Pocassett, MA
3. Avery Stoehr ( 39 ) Lakeville, MA
4. Todd Bertrand ( 47 ) Danielson, CT
5. Joey Payne ( 45 ) Fairlawn, NJ
6. Doug Cleveland ( 87 ) Sudbury, MA
7. John Zych Jr. ( 9 ) Mendon, MA
8. Mike Horn ( A1 ) Ashland, MA
9. Jake Trainor ( 8 ) Medway, MA
10. Richie Coy ( 19 ) Ringwood, NJ
11. Eric Bacon ( 26 ) Brimfield, MA
12. Chris Vosey ( 3 ) Gloversville, NY
13. Chase Dowling ( 20 ) Roxbury, CT
14. Jim Chambers ( 21 ) Atkinson, NH
15. Jim Santa Maria ( 97 ) Burlington, CT
NEMA Lites
1. P.J. Stergios ( 11 ) Candia, NH
2. Randy Cabral ( 35 ) Kingston, MA
3. Richie Morrocco ( 10 ) Plainville, MA
4. Kyle Valeri ( 17 ) Monument Beach, MA
5. Jake Trainor ( 29 ) Medway, MA
6. Richie Coy ( 19 ) Haskell, NJ
7. Jim Santa Maria ( 97 ) Burlington, CT
8. Mikey Pernisiglio ( 28 ) Ronkonkoma, NY
9. Dylan Coutu ( 53 ) Griswold, CT
10. Joey Bailey ( 21 ) Monroe, NJ
11. Tiana Kibbe ( 94 ) Fairfield, CT
12. Brayden Egan ( 59 ) Ashford, CT
13. Kevin Merryfield ( 5 ) Rochester, NH
14. Eric Bacon ( 26 ) Brimfield, MA
15. Christopher Vose ( 3 ) Gloversville, NY
16. Joey Payne ( 44 ) Fairlawn, NJ
Sources: Tim Bertrand/NEMA PR