 TBobby
Santos III of Franklin, MA, took over the reigns of the potent
Mystic Missile to score a victory in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
opener at Thompson International Speedway for the running of the
Icebreaker 150 on Sunday. Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, had to
use his prowess on restarts to score a victory in the Sunoco
Modified feature event on Sunday. Defending champion, Derek Ramstrom
of Worcester, MA, swept the twin bill for the Super Late Models
while Rick Gentes of Woonsocket, RI, scored Late Model honors.
Shawn Monahan of Waterford, CT, bested a strong field of Limited
Sportsman competitors to score the victory. Another champion, TIS
Modified ace Brian Sullivan of S. Windsor, CT, made a statement with
an opening day victory. Leo Defevers of Brooklyn, CT, opened Day Two
of the Icebreaker with a victory in the Mini Stock Division.
Bobby Santos III of Franklin, MA, set fast time in Coors Light
qualifying with a new track record on Saturday and redrew the pole
position. He set sail at the start of the race; led from the drop of
the green flag until heading down pit road for a scheduled stop at
lap 58. The young driver was able to work his way back into
contention by methodically moving through the field. Santos made the
winning move when he took the lead for the final time on lap 120. He
held off the chargers of Ryan Preece in the waning laps of the event
to score the victory. Preece came home second followed by Mike
Stefanik. Ted Christopher, who pitted out of sequence with the
leaders, came back to finish fourth ahead of Todd Szegedy.
Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, held back all challenges to score
the victory in Sunday’s installment of Sunoco Modified activity for
Icebreaker 2010. After a straight-up start from the finish of
Saturday’s 25-lapper, Keith Rocco started from the point for the
second race of the weekend for the Sunoco Modifieds. He immediately
had company on lap one from Christopher, who took over the top spot
before the completion of second circuit. Third running Ronnie Silk
had his hands full with Danny Cates and Kerry Malone. The first
caution of the event flew on lap three when Andy Gaspar made hard
contact with the inside wall. Christopher was able to maintain his
lead on the restart.
Rocco dogged Christopher while Silk, Malone, Rowan Pennink and Cates
ran nose to tail in the second pack of cars. A little deeper in the
back, Tim Sullivan, Woody Pitkat and Bert Marvin waged a battle of
their own.
Pitkat lost control of his mount in turn one spinning to the
infield. Sullivan was collected in the incident as well. Both were
able to continue but not before the caution flag flew again on lap
10. Under the caution, Pitkat was joined on pit road by Rowan
Pennink.
Christopher was on top of his game on the restart to retain his
lead. Rocco had double-barrel assault from Silk and Malone. Entering
turn one something appeared to break on the #79 shooting Malone
straight into the outside wall in turn one. Malone was able to walk
away from the viscous looking wreck.
Christopher led on the restart with Silk getting up alongside Rocco.
Silk drifted high exiting turn one taking Rocco with him. In the
exchange, Rocco lost positions to Silk and Cates. After a quick
caution, Rocco was able to move back into the third spot to
immediately give Silk pressure. The battle allowed Christopher to
gain a car-length advantage. Cates was very much a part of the
battle for the second position.
On lap 15, Rocco was able to get by Silk for the second spot. A spin
by Chris Jensen put Rocco to the outside of Christopher for another
shot at the top spot. But it was Christopher holding onto the lead.
Rocco continued to run in second while Cates began to show some
muscle to Silk.
On another restart on lap 17, Silk slid sideways through turn two
while running in the third spot. Several cars were collected
including Sullivan and Nichole Morgillo while others took evasive
action. Silk was able to maintain his momentum and therefore his
position on the race track with the line-up for the restart going
back to the last completed green flag lap.
Rocco appeared to falter slightly on the restart allowing
Christopher to get away from a three-car battle for second that now
included Rocco, Silk, and a fully-recovered Pennink. Rocco got
around Silk with five laps remaining and set his sites on
Christopher. Pennink was also able to get by Silk. Cates and Silk
were locked in a battle for the fourth spot. The two would swap the
position back and forth over the closing laps.
Over the final laps, Rocco closed on Christopher but could not
muster up a challenge. Christopher headed under the checkers for the
victory. Rocco settled for second over Pennink, Cates and Silk
inside the top five.
Derek Ramstrom of Worcester, MA, completed the sweep of Icebreaker
Super Late Model action in a thriller on Sunday. Ramstrom and Mike
O’Sullivan went door-to-door to open the first lap of the 25-lap
event. A quick caution set up a repeat of the start; this time with
Ramstrom taking advantage to take over the top spot. The battle for
the third spot back was intense between Norm Wren, Dennis Maxfield,
Jim Banfield, and Steve Desmarais.
Mike Brightman came to rest in turn two after making contact with
the outside wall to erase the comfortable lead that Ramstrom had
acquired. After the restart, the two put on a great show for the
fans. O’Sullivan was able to get the advantage but with continued
pressure from Ramstrom. Norm Wrenn ran alone in the third followed
by a battle between Maxfield and Gelinas.
On lap 18, Ramstrom got along side O’Sullivan, who maintained the
advantage by mere inches. They ran side-by-side lap-after-lap with
O’Sullivan maintaining the lead at the stripe by inches with each
completed lap. Coming down for the final lap; however, Ramstrom used
the position of a lapped car to gain the advantage over O’Sullivan
and the win. O’Sullivan had to settle for the second position. Wrenn,
Maxfield and Dave Darling completed the top five.
Rick Gentes crossed under the checkers to complete the Late Model
main event in the second position. Following post race technical,
Gentes was awarded the victory. The Late Model division followed
suit of the sister division with yet another O’Sullivan taking part
in a fierce full-fendered battle. Pole sitter Tommy O’Sullivan and
defending champion Materas went door-to-door to bring the field to
green. They remained side-by-side until the #16 lost power on the
backstretch on lap three; leaving Materas all alone at the point and
the caution flag waving on lap four.
With O’Sullivan sidelined, Materas had marched out to a sizeable
advantage over the rest of the field. Rick Gentes had worked his way
into the second spot but didn’t appear to have anything for Materas.
During an extended green flag run, Materas was able to maintain a
10-car length advantage over Gentes. In the end, Materas crossed the
stripe for what appeared to be a convincing win. Materas was cited
for a rules infraction in technical inspection handing the win over
to Gentes. Jeff Hartwell was moved to the second position. Mark
Oliveira was originally scored in the fourth spot; however, his car
failed inspection as well. Wayne Coury, Sr., Jeff Hesselton, and
John Falconi rounded out the top five.
Brian Sullivan of S. Windsor, CT, began his TIS title defense with a
commanding victory in the TIS Modifieds. Sullivan led green to
checker to post the victory. In the later stages of the race R.J.
Marcotte appeared to apply some pressure to Sullivan but the leader
was up to the challenge. Shane Michalski came home third followed by
Keith McDermott and John Studley inside the top-ten.
Shawn Monahan of Waterford, CT, opened the 2010 season off with a
victory in the Limit Sportsman divisions. The 20-lapper for the
Limited Sportsman division featured a heated three-car battle for
the top spot between Monahan, Scott Sundeen and Larry Barnett. While
the top three jockeyed for position, the top three spots remained
unchanged when the checkered flag flew. Kevin Bowe and Joe Arena
rounded out the top five.
Leo Defevers of Brooklyn, CT led green green-to-checker to win the
season opener for the Mini Stocks. Defevers capitalized on his pole
starting position to take command of the main event. During the
stretch run, Defevers, Scott Michalski and Scott Jassaume ran out to
a three-car breakaway over the rest of the field that went 27-cars
strong.
Two cars deeper in the back served up some excitement of their own.
Randy Churchill came from the eleventh spot while Mike Viens was
making his way toward the front up from his 22nd starting position.
In the end, it was all Defevers with a commanding win of Sc.
Michalski and Jassaume. Churchill and Eric Bourgeois rounded out the
top five. The hard-charging Viens finished a solid sixth.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour 150-Lap Event
Finish (Unofficial Top Ten): 1. Bobby Santos, III, Franklin, MA;
2. Ryan Preece, Berlin, CT; 3. Mike Stefanik, Coventry, RI; 4. Ted
Christopher, Plainville, CT; 5. Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, CT; 6.
Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, PA; 7. Chris Pasteryak, Lisbon,
CT; 8. Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, CT; 9. Eric Goodale, Riverhead, NY; 10.
Eric Beers, Northampton, PA.
Sunoco Modified 25-Lap Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Ted
Christopher, Plainville, CT; 2. Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 3.
Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, PA; 4. Danny Cates, Chaplin, CT;
5. Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, CT; 6. David Salzarulo, Monson, MA; 7. Bert
Marvin, New London, CT; 8. Woody Pitkat, Stafford, CT; 9. Glenn
Griswold, Vernon, CT; 10. John Catania, Agawam, MA.
Super Late Model 25-Lap Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Derek
Ramstrom, Worcester, MA; 2. Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 3.
Norm Wrenn, Nashua, NH; 4. Dennis Maxfield, Fitchburg, MA; 5. Dave
Darling, Seekonk, MA; 6. Larry Gelinas, Buxton, ME; 7. Jim Banfield,
S. Glastonbury, CT; 8. Steve Desmarais, Somerset, MA; 9. George
Bessette, Danbury, CT; 10. Daryl Stampfl, Norwood, MA.
Late Model 20-Lap Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Rick Gentes,
Woonsocket, RI; 2. Jeff Hartwell, E. Putnam, CT; 3. Wayne Coury,
Sr., Milford, CT; 4. Jeff Hesselton, Auburn, MA; 5. John Falconi, N.
Grafton, MA; 6. Mark Jenison, Warwick, RI; 7. Phil Rondeau, Baltic,
CT; 8. Jeremy Sadowski, Voluntown, CT; 9. Michael Scorzelli, Malta,
NY; 10. Eddie Mistrella, New Hyde Park, NY.
TIS Modified 20-Lap Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Brian
Sullivan, S. Windsor, CT; 2. R.J. Marcotte, Millville, MA; 3. Shane
Michalski, Woodstock, CT; 4. Keith McDermott, Scituate, RI, 5. John
Studley, Framingham, MA; 6. Brian Tagg, Oxford, MA; 7. Jay Sundeen,
Douglas, MA; 8. Tyler Poulin, Pascoag, RI; 9. Ryan Morgan, Mystic,
CT; 10. Denis Legere, N. Reading, MA.
Limited Sportsman 20-Lap Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Shawn
Monahan, Waterford, CT; 2. Scott Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 3. Larry
Barnett, Moosup, CT; 4. Kevin Bowe, Pawtucket, RI; 5. Joe Arena,
Bristol, CT; 6. Joe Coates, Eastford, CT; 7. Jesse Gleason, Lisbon,
CT; 8. Moose Douton, Waterford, CT; 9. Jason Chicolas, Sutton, MA;
10. Scott Fanning, Mapleville, RI.
Mini Stock 15-Lap Feature Finish (Top Ten): 1. Leo Defevers,
Brooklyn, CT; 2. Scott Michalski, S. Killingly, CT; 3. Scott
Jassaume, Danielson, CT; 4. Randy Churchill, Oakdale, CT; 5. Eric
Bourgeois, E. Haddam, CT; 6. Mike Viens, Seekonk, MA; 7. Chad
Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 8. Dwayne Dorr, Ledyard, CT; 9. Trevor
Michalski, S. Killingly, CT; 10. Chuck Rogers, Quaker Hill, CT. C |
