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10/06/2013 |
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ANTHONY
NOCELLA WINS FIRST EVER
VMRS RACE AT THE "CEMENT PALACE"
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Second Year of VMRS Racing
Brings New Chapter to Nocella’s Career
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by
Denise DuPont
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The Valenti Modified Racing Series (VMRS) made their final2013 visit to
Seekonk Speedway Saturday, October 5th to a great D.A.V. Memorial crowd. And
once again as the Modified driver’s started their cars, the engine’s thunder
echoed off of the cement grandstands bringing the fans immediately too their
feet to the ground pounder song.
D. Anthony Vendetti definitely designed his “Cement Palace” to enhance a
race fan’s experience. The track is also built in a way that it is a
momentum track. Drivers do not have to push the gas hard to find themselves
suddenly caught up with the force of the track’s speed. With racing so fast
that if you blink you will miss a lead change or two.
Anthony
Nocella, of Woburn, MA., knows a thing or two about Seekonk Speedway after
years of success there in NEMA midgets. Now in his sophomore year racing
with the VRMS Nocella has taken his freshman learning experience up a notch
to run with the leaders. “This year we are learning the car a little more
and getting used to it. And also getting use to running better and up the
front more and figuring out what pace that you can run without killing the
tires. I think that that helped out a lot.”
The Nocella Race Team has also pulled together a stellar race plan for
the2013 season which has proven that they are a force to be reckoned with.
“It has been awesome. I think that this is the best car that I have ever had
here. The car has been fast here but we threw some new stuff at it to see if
it would work. The car was real good and we had a little bit of luck as we
went along. It was close there at the end but we work hard for the win. I am
proud of my crew, they worked real hard. It (Seekonk Speedway) is definitely
a good track. It was a great race and a lot of fun.”
At
the end of the race the top two cars pulled away from the field running
their own race. Nocella had a fast car but Masse has a few more years of
experience that he was using to his advantage to pass for the win. “I knew
that Steve (Masse) was going to be tough so I tried to go as hard as I could
especially during those last couple of restarts when my car was starting to
go away. I looked to see if I could get a little gap on him, but he was
definitely right there. During the last couple of laps I was just trying to
keep it low to make him work a little harder out on the outside to get by. I
thought it was a pretty good race. Everyone definitely ran pretty hard.”
As Nocella and Masse pulled away from the third place car, Masse tried
everything he could to pass for the lead. In the end lapped traffic
determined his fate and the final race outcome. “I gave the end of the race
my all. The lapped cars kind of screwed up my plan though. I burned up about
five laps there with about ten to go trying to get around a group of lapped
cars. It is just hard to pass here when your cars are equal. It is such a
momentum race track that it is hard to make a move when you have two equal
race cars. I cannot really complain with second. I will take it.”
“He (Anthony Nocella) had a fast car and I just could not get the win
tonight. I am glad that he did. I want to dedicate this race to my dad. He
got me started in racing and he has been pretty sick this past year. I know
that it is not a win but I want to dedicate the second place to
him.
It was a good race but there were way too many cautions for my liking. Other
than that it was a good race.”
Les Hinckley who won the Inaugural VMRS DAV Memorial race in 2004 definitely
showed on Saturday night why he has the place is MRS record book. He started
the race seventh than made his way up into the top three before he made the
decision to pit. A lap 69 caution came out and Hinckley knew he had to pit
to make adjustments to the car or he may not be running with the leaders at
the end. “We had a pretty good car. The re-draw put us back in seventh. The
car just was not handling well and I knew I had to pit. The crew told me to
hold off and when the caution came out they told me to come in. I had a
really good car but Anthony and Steve’s cars were just a little better than
mine. We are happy with the third place finish and with a car in one piece.”
Point
leader Rowan Pennink began the DAV Memorial eighth. He was the defending
2012 race winner and the team’s goal was to make it two for two if they
could but stay clean and finish the race. “We had a good race,” said Pennink
after the race. “The car was a little tight at the beginning. We came in and
the guys did a great job getting the car fixed up for me. There were a lot
of cars in the pits and they were able to get the adjustments done real
quick and I was the first one back out of the pits. When we got back out on
the track the car was a lot better. We were still a little bit too tight on
the long runs but the main thing was we were able to stay out of the wrecks
and come home with a top five finish which was what we were looking for
today.” Pennink finished the race fourth.
Staying on top of the chart for the 2013 VMRS Championship was Pennink’s
goal at Seekonk.
“There were a lot of cautions and there were wrecks happening right in front
of us it seemed like the whole race. We were fortunate enough not to be in
any of them. It was a good race and I think that we had a shot to run for
the win or at least a top three if we were a little bit freer. Bu all it all
it was a solid finish and a good points day.”
Veteran racer Dwight Jarvis completed the race with a solid fifth place
finish. Like Hinckley and Pennink, Jarvis pitted with about thirty to go.
His race car had some right front damage and he knew he needed to pit to
address the issue if he was going to be there at the end. ”Well, it was kind
of rough out there.” Jarvis is one that tells it like it is and his words
defined what a lot of racers were feeling. “But I had a good car. I bent the
right front tire rod on it and the wheel. So I came in and went a lap down.
Then I got the lap back. The crew did a heck of a job getting it back
together and I got back through the field and finished fifth.
The VMRS teams will return to racing on Saturday and Sunday, October 12th
and 13th for another 100 laps of green racing as the Chase for the Tenth
Year VMRS Champion continues at Lee USA Speedway for Oktoberfest Weekend. If
you cannot join us at the track, please join us follow the action on
http://www.thechromehorn.com
Notes from Seekonk Speedway
Todd Annarummo on his hard wreck
Todd Annarummo defined what actually happened to end his night
: “It just stinks there is nobody to blame it is just racing. I have nobody
to blame but myself, I missed the restart. If I had not missed that shift on
the restart all of this may not have happened.”
“I missed the shift and put myself in that position is what happened. I
missed an earlier shift on the restart and put myself back in second. When I
was trying to pass back for the lead when I was trying to roll up by Chris
(Pasteryak) I had my left front at his right rear and I touched him a little
bit and when I touched him his car broke loose. I had the forward momentum
when that happened and I climbed and hopped the wheel and the car just
snapped and went into the wall. I never even lifted.”
What went through his mind as the incident
unfolded?
Todd Annarummo
“The one memory that I have is thinking how bad is this going to hurt. And
then before that thought went all the way through my mind it already had
happened. And I thought “That was not too bad.” I then got on the radio and
told everybody that I was OK and I went on. I feel fine now. We spend a lot
on the safety gear – the seats, belt and the Hans Device. I am sure that I
am going to be sore tomorrow. But I feel pretty good right now.”
Here is what the other driver’s running in the
lead pack saw:
Anthony Nocella
I saw that hit. It was a hard hit. The car came right off the ground. I
could see that they were going a little hard (Chris Pasteryak and Todd
Annarummo) early in the race. They were kind of beating on each other really
good. So I gave them a little bit of room and stayed close but back.”
Steve Masse
“I just saw his car hook about 90 degrees to the right at full speed. In my
head I just said: “Ouch that has got to hurt!” I just saw him and it looks
like he is in good spirits and that is good.”
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Source: Denise DuPont / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted: October 6, 2013 |
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