Championships Coming Down to the Wire at Thompson
Thompson, CT — Three events remain on the Thompson International Speedway schedule before division champions are crowned. Valuable track points will be awarded during Thursday night race programs through September 25th. Few expect a champion in any of the six NASCAR Whelen All American Series divisions to be determined before that date.
Kerry Malone, the veteran Sunoco Modified driver from Needham, MA, has a mere twelve point advantage over Todd Ceravolo going into the final three points races. Danny Cates is only twenty points off the leader and Jimmy Blewett, winner of the last two events, is but thirty points away from the top spot. With fifty points up for grabs to the winner, the race for the Sunoco Modified title is still very much up for grabs.
Ten points separate the top two competitors in the Thompson Pro Stock division. Fred Astle, Jr leads Norman Wrenn. However, both drivers find themselves part of an extremely tight battle involving five different drivers. Jay Macedonio, George Bessette and Michael O’Sullivan are all within twenty eight points of the leader.
Interestingly enough, the same point spread exists in both the Late Model and Limited Sportsman divisions. The leader in each has a twenty eight point lead and the top five in each are separated by only one hundred fourteen points. Jeff Zuidema holds an advantage over Marc Palmisano with 2007 champ Rich Gentes in third, Conrad Cote next and Mark Jenison rounding out the top five. It is Scott Sundeen leading Ed Puleo by twenty eight in the Limited Sportsman division with Larry Barnett, Joe Arena and Jesse Gleason in hot pursuit.
The competition on the track has become as close as the points race on the score cards in the Thompson Modified division. A slim edge of eight points exists between leader and defending champ, Kurt Vigeant and Glenn Boss. Only two points back from Boss are Shane Michalski, R. J. Marcotte and Richie Ferreira. The points race in this division is so tight, that it is a mere fifty eight point spread between first and fifth place.
It’s a big battle in the Mini Stocks. Danny Field leads defending title holder Mike Romano by only ten points. The difference between first and fifth place is only sixty two points. Steve and Scott Michalski along with Chuck Rogers make up the balance of the top five in the Mini Stock field.
Division championships are not limited to those drivers in the top five in the current points standings. With three more race dates that will award points towards division titles, it is very possible that a dark horse could emerge and take the top honors before the final checkered flag drops on Thursday, September 25th.
Racing begins with qualifying heats at 5:15 PM and feature event excitement starts about one hour later. Complete race day schedules are available on the Thompson International Speedway web page at www.thompsonspeedway.com.
Sources: Russ Dowd/Thompson International Speedway PR