Stoehr Edges Frankoski at Monadnock
Winchester, NH — Starting third, Greg Stoehr took the lead with one lap in the books and then held on to capture the 25-lap Northeastern Midget Association feature Saturday night at Monadnock Speedway. It was the second win of the year for Stoehr in the family 26b.
Stoehr, spending most of the late stages in traffic, had a two-car length lead on Jeremy Frankoski (Bertrand 47b) at the checkered with Ryan Preece (Santos 98s) a close third. Twenty-four laps of green-flag racing resulted in battles, often three-wide, for position almost all the way back.
The only caution showed with one full lap complete when Stoehr and Nokie Fornoro (Jarret 4) made contact in turns three and four. Fornoro and Lou Cicconi, subbing for Joey Payne Jr. in the Angelillo #45, both spun and were sent to the rear.
Stoehr lined up outside pole sitter William Wall on the restart. On the green Stoehr, who had the fastest lap of the night in his qualifying heat (11.77 seconds), beat Wall into the corner and opened a sizable lead.
Meanwhile, Frankoski, who favored the outside, and Preece, using the inside, began their moves from mid-pack. Frankoski claimed runner-up honors over the determined Preece on the final lap.
William Wall and Adam Cantor completed the top five while Cicconi had an impressive run coming from last to sixth.
Point leader Randy Cabral (Bertrand 47) fought a slow leak in the right rear tire after hitting the wall early and finished eighth. With neither Payne nor Santos racing, he gained further distance in the drivers point standings. Preece’s finish, however, did allow Bob Santos Jr. to gain slightly on Tim Bertrand in the owners rankings.
NEMA’s busy schedule continues with a Friday night Aug. 12 date at Lee USA Speedway. The NEMA Lites will be at Lee as well.
NOTES: Stoehr was the third winner at Monadnock this year. Payne and Santos won previously…NEMA has now run 12 features with six more left … It was the second time this year Cabral had a two-race win streak stopped at Monandock … Payne and Santos III were both at the Oswego Classic.
RESULTS: 1. Greg Stoehr, 2. Jeremy Frankoski, 3. Ryan Preece, 4. William Wall, 5. Adam Cantor, 6. Lou Cicconi, 7. Jeff Horn, 8. Randy Cabral 9. Erica Santos, 10. Mike Keeler, 11. Aaron Wall, 12. Nokie Fornoro, 13. Barry Kittredge, 14. Doug Cleveland, 15. John Zych Jr., 16. Brian Cleveland, 17. Andy Shlatz, 18. Lee Bundy, 19. Paul Luggelle, 20. Abby Martino, 21. Matt O’Brien.
Sources: Pete Zanardi/NEMA PR