BIG NIGHT FOR COMPETITORS AND FANS AT THOMPSON
THOMPSON, CT — Thursday Night Thompson Thunder will be filled with action and tension this Thursday night at the Thompson Speedway. The action will come from the exciting eight-division program and the tension will be on the shoulders of the competitors in Thompson’s five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions and the three visiting Touring divisions that will make up the program.
Thursday night’s lineup will feature the Valenti Modified Racing Series in a 75-lap main event. The first appearance of the VMRS came on May 19th. The rains came early and forced a cancellation for the night. Little did anyone know that in three subsequent attempts to present the VMRS, Mother Nature would step in each time to act as a spoiler.
Only seven races remain on the VMRS calendar for the 2013 season and Rowan Pennink and Tommy Barrett, JR. top the point chase. Close behind are Richard Savary, Louie Mechalides and Chris Pasteryak. Thompson’s race could play a major role in determining the winner of the 2013 VMRS crown.
The New England Truck Series has also fallen victim of rains at Thompson and they will try for the third time to run their race event. Duane Noll holds the top spot in the points with rookie Tony Lafo close behind. Glen Noll sits third in the standings with Pete Cayer in fourth spot.
The third Touring Series may the one that guarantees good weather. The Outlaw Antique Modifieds have had two successful events at Thompson this year and are being counted on to bring a near-perfect night for racing.
Joining these three Tours will be all five of Thompson’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions. Each of these competitors will feel the pressure of the points battles that have produced incredibly close numbers as the regular season draws to an end.
With only two more Thursday night races on the schedule, the battles for division championships is boiling down to a typical Thompson fight for a top five finish. In the Sunoco Modified division, Woody Pitkat holds a four point advantage over Kerry Malone and Keith Rocco; both of whom are tied for second. Todd Ceravolo is only eighteen points off the leader and Dennis Perry trails Ceravolo by a mere eight markers. Defending champion Ryan Preece sits sixth in the standings only two points behind Perry.
Late Model competitor Glenn Boss has a two point bulge over Rick Gentes going into the final two events. John Lowinski-Loh is twenty four behind the leader and is followed by Marc Curtis and Damon Tinio. Gentes is second on Thompson’s all-time win list with some 71 wins and Boss is 4th on the list with 56 visits to victory lane.
The Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman division has Steve Kenneway out in front by a margin of eight points over Jason Chicolas. Bill McNeil and Larry Barnett are in a tie for third and defending champ Scott Sundeen in fifth place in the standings.
The Lite Modified division has defending champ Cam McDermott looking to claim another title. He leads John Studley by twenty points and is over eighty points ahead of third place Dylan Menditto, Glenn Griswold and Joseph Boivin. The margin that Monster Mini Stock former champ Eric Bourgeois has over defending champ Chad Baxter is only twelve points while Baxter’s advantage over his brother Joe is only six points. Joe Baxter is in a tie with another former champ Mike Viens with Dave Trudeau only two markers behind them.
Thursday night’s race program will get underway with qualifying races for the VMRS and the N.E. Trucks. Those events get underway at 5:30 PM and once completed the eight feature event races will commence. The full night’s schedule is available at www.thompsonspeedway.com.
Sources: Russ Dowd/Thompson International Speedway PR