RGeeProductions
07-03-2008, 10:36 PM
Cabral Earns Emotional NEMA Win; Blewett Sweeps Sunoco Mod TwinsOliveira Tops in TIS Mod Marquee; Ramstrom Streaks in Pros
Cote, LaRose, & Taylor Also winners
A great crowd was on hand to witness the excitement of Thompson International Speedway’s annual July 4th holiday festivities. Jimmy Blewett of Howell, NJ, commemorated the event with a pair of Sunoco Modified victories. Randy Cabral of Plymouth, MA, enjoyed an emotional NEMA Midgets victory for one of his fallen comrades.
Derek Ramstrom of Worcester, MA, continued his domination of the Pro Stock ranks with his third-straight feature win. Leo Oliveira of Raynham, MA, celebrated with a victory in the biggest event of the season for the TIS Modifieds. Limited Sportsman competitor Ernie LaRose of Plainfield, CT, and Mini Stocker Tim Taylor of Wauregan, CT, each visited victory lane.
Randy Cabral of Plymouth, MA, put on a flawless performance en route to the Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) history books. Cabral took the lead from Erica Santos early and never looked back. Pole sitter E. Santos had run out to a sizeable lead in the early going of the 25-lap NEMA main event. The fan-favorite watched her lead dissipate when the first and only caution of the event flew on lap 10 for a spin by Adam Cantor.
The restart pitted Nokie Fornoro and Randy Cabral against E. Santos. She was up to the challenge on the restart to retain her lead. A great battle ensued for second between Fornoro, Cabral and Bobby Santos III. Cabral easily picked off Fornoro once green flag racing resumed. By lap 12, Cabral drove by E. Santos to take over the lead. B. Santos worked his way by Fornoro for third and began to run down his sister. Erica put up a brief fight but relinquished the second spot to Bobby on lap 15.
Over the final ten laps Cabral was able to maintain his sizeable advantage over the Santos siblings and Fornoro. Joey Payne made his first appearance inside the top five in the closing laps. That is the way they would run under the checkers.
In a touching tribute, Cabral left his car in turn three where his fallen friend, Shane Hammond, lost his life in April.
“I miss you Shane,” said Cabral in victory lane. “This win is for you.”
The win was meaningful for Cabral for a number of reasons. With the victory, his 16th career win, Cabral surpassed Hall of Famers Joey Coy, Al Pillion, and Mike Favulli on the All-Time Win list. He also tied Johnny Mann for the most wins at Thompson with six.
New daddy Jimmy Blewett of Howell, NJ, celebrated the birth of his son with two trips to victory lane on Thursday night. Blewett first carried the checkers in the make-up of the 25-lap event originally scheduled for Icebreaker Sunday back in April. He followed that up with a victory in the Sunoco Modified nightcap.
By virtue of their finish in April’s season opening Icebreaker event (on Saturday), Blewett and Icebreaker winner Bert Marvin started the 25-lapper from the front row. With Blewett taking the early lead from the outside pole, Marvin and Danny Cates tagged along for a three-car breakaway at the head of the field. Kerry Malone, Todd Ceravolo, and Josh Sylvester ran in the second pack while Pitkat and Rocco were making their way through the pack from deep in the field.
Marvin began to pressure Blewett for the lead and Ceravolo was able to take the fourth spot from Malone before the caution flew for a spin by Brad Van Houten. Blewett was able to retain his lead on the lap nine restart while Ceravolo moved into third spot ahead of Cates. Sylvester was shuffled back losing spots to Malone and Pitkat once back under green. Rocco and Cravenho took chase just outside the top five.
The top three began to stretch out their lead while the battle for fourth was heating up between Ceravolo, Malone, and Pitkat. The caution on lap 16 for an incident involving Eric Goodale and Carl Oberg slowed the action.
Blewett was up for the challenge on the restart. Cates, meanwhile, took back the spot he had lost on the previous restart to run third. Pitkat marched into fourth ahead of Ceravolo, Malone, and Rocco.
With five laps remaining, Marvin began to look racy for the lead while Pitkat dogged Cates for third. Things cooled when the caution flew for a spin by Dave Nordman.
On the first attempt at a green-white-checker restart, Blewett looked like he was shot out of a cannon; taking over the lead from Marvin. The pass was negated when contact found Cravenho in the wall in turn two. During an ensuing caution period, Pitkat headed down pit road with a flat tire
The final lap served up some excitement. Leader Blewett bobbled exiting turn two; opening the door for a challenge by Marvin. The two made some contact sliding side-by-side through turn four. The crowd was on their feet as Blewett edged Marvin out for the victory. Marvin settled for second ahead of Cates, Ceravolo, and Grigas.
In victory lane, Blewett pulled the pill to invert the top-eight for the second feature event.
By virtue of the redraw, Keith Rocco started the second feature from the outside pole. The Wallingford, CT, driver handily took over the lead followed by Grigas. Blewett was the man on the move. Up from the eighth position, he was third by lap three. In the early going, Malone ran in fourth ahead of Cates, Ceravolo, Marvin, and Pitkat. Blewett began to show real pressure to Grigas for third allowing Malone to join the fray for second.
Marvin and Pitkat went side by side for the seventh position. Pitkat was able to use a lapped car to his advantage to take the spot away. Meanwhile Rocco had checked out to a sizable advantage.
Blewett was able to get by Grigas in turn three on lap 12. Once out front, Blewett could not seem to chip away at Rocco’s lead. Cates had chased down Malone before the first caution flew on lap 21 for a spin by polesitter Ricky Shawn.
Rocco had to contend with Blewett on the restart. “Showtime” was able to wrestle the lead away from Rocco; however, the caution flew again on lap 21 for a multi-car wreck that involved Cates, Marvin, Sylvester, Josh Steeves, and others, negating the pass for the lead.
In a repeat of the earlier restart, Blewett was able to jump out to the head of the pack. Malone had worked his way into third around Grigas with Ceravolo in tow. Apparent contact between Grigas and Ceravolo resulted in heavy contact with the outside wall for Grigas.
On the restart, Blewett retained his lead leaving Rocco to defend second over Malone. Malone got the edge for a lap before relinquishing the position to Rocco once again. In his bid for second, Ceravolo got out of shape losing fourth to Woody Pitkat.
In the closing laps, Blewett ran unchallenged to the checkers. Rocco capped off the night with a runner-up finish. Malone, Pitkat and Ceravolo completed the top five.
The TIS Modified division had their chance to shine on Thursday night with their annual 25-lapper and the brightest star was feature winner, Leo Oliveira of Raynham, MA. It took a trio of laps before Kurt Vigeant bolted into the top spot. The race went clean and green for 11-laps before the first caution flew for a spin by Jesse Berthiaume. On the restart, Glenn Boss and Leo Adams, who where running second and third, made contact exiting, turn two. Boss slowed with heavy damage. Adams, who tried to continue, ended up in the first turn wall.
With Vigeant on the point, Sullivan now restarted in second. Sullivan muscled his way into the lead on the restart. Vigeant had to settle in for second while the best battle was for third between R.J. Marcotte and Oliveira.
An incident involving Richie Ferreira and Cam McDermott brought out the caution once again. On the lap 16 restart, Vigeant made contact with the leader Sullivan, sending him hard into the outside wall. Vigeant was put to the tail-end of a dwindling field.
In the closing laps, Oliveira held the point with Marcotte making a bid on the lead. Marcotte made a serious bid at the lead but had to settle back into second. Less than a lap later, Marcotte went to work on leader Oliveira again. Marcotte got crossed up allowing Vigeant and Brian Tagg to reel in the second place car.
Over the final two laps, Oliveira extended his lead over Marcotte. Vigeant was able to take third from Tagg. Berthiaume rebounded from his early race incident to round out the top five.
Russ Dowd
Cote, LaRose, & Taylor Also winners
A great crowd was on hand to witness the excitement of Thompson International Speedway’s annual July 4th holiday festivities. Jimmy Blewett of Howell, NJ, commemorated the event with a pair of Sunoco Modified victories. Randy Cabral of Plymouth, MA, enjoyed an emotional NEMA Midgets victory for one of his fallen comrades.
Derek Ramstrom of Worcester, MA, continued his domination of the Pro Stock ranks with his third-straight feature win. Leo Oliveira of Raynham, MA, celebrated with a victory in the biggest event of the season for the TIS Modifieds. Limited Sportsman competitor Ernie LaRose of Plainfield, CT, and Mini Stocker Tim Taylor of Wauregan, CT, each visited victory lane.
Randy Cabral of Plymouth, MA, put on a flawless performance en route to the Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) history books. Cabral took the lead from Erica Santos early and never looked back. Pole sitter E. Santos had run out to a sizeable lead in the early going of the 25-lap NEMA main event. The fan-favorite watched her lead dissipate when the first and only caution of the event flew on lap 10 for a spin by Adam Cantor.
The restart pitted Nokie Fornoro and Randy Cabral against E. Santos. She was up to the challenge on the restart to retain her lead. A great battle ensued for second between Fornoro, Cabral and Bobby Santos III. Cabral easily picked off Fornoro once green flag racing resumed. By lap 12, Cabral drove by E. Santos to take over the lead. B. Santos worked his way by Fornoro for third and began to run down his sister. Erica put up a brief fight but relinquished the second spot to Bobby on lap 15.
Over the final ten laps Cabral was able to maintain his sizeable advantage over the Santos siblings and Fornoro. Joey Payne made his first appearance inside the top five in the closing laps. That is the way they would run under the checkers.
In a touching tribute, Cabral left his car in turn three where his fallen friend, Shane Hammond, lost his life in April.
“I miss you Shane,” said Cabral in victory lane. “This win is for you.”
The win was meaningful for Cabral for a number of reasons. With the victory, his 16th career win, Cabral surpassed Hall of Famers Joey Coy, Al Pillion, and Mike Favulli on the All-Time Win list. He also tied Johnny Mann for the most wins at Thompson with six.
New daddy Jimmy Blewett of Howell, NJ, celebrated the birth of his son with two trips to victory lane on Thursday night. Blewett first carried the checkers in the make-up of the 25-lap event originally scheduled for Icebreaker Sunday back in April. He followed that up with a victory in the Sunoco Modified nightcap.
By virtue of their finish in April’s season opening Icebreaker event (on Saturday), Blewett and Icebreaker winner Bert Marvin started the 25-lapper from the front row. With Blewett taking the early lead from the outside pole, Marvin and Danny Cates tagged along for a three-car breakaway at the head of the field. Kerry Malone, Todd Ceravolo, and Josh Sylvester ran in the second pack while Pitkat and Rocco were making their way through the pack from deep in the field.
Marvin began to pressure Blewett for the lead and Ceravolo was able to take the fourth spot from Malone before the caution flew for a spin by Brad Van Houten. Blewett was able to retain his lead on the lap nine restart while Ceravolo moved into third spot ahead of Cates. Sylvester was shuffled back losing spots to Malone and Pitkat once back under green. Rocco and Cravenho took chase just outside the top five.
The top three began to stretch out their lead while the battle for fourth was heating up between Ceravolo, Malone, and Pitkat. The caution on lap 16 for an incident involving Eric Goodale and Carl Oberg slowed the action.
Blewett was up for the challenge on the restart. Cates, meanwhile, took back the spot he had lost on the previous restart to run third. Pitkat marched into fourth ahead of Ceravolo, Malone, and Rocco.
With five laps remaining, Marvin began to look racy for the lead while Pitkat dogged Cates for third. Things cooled when the caution flew for a spin by Dave Nordman.
On the first attempt at a green-white-checker restart, Blewett looked like he was shot out of a cannon; taking over the lead from Marvin. The pass was negated when contact found Cravenho in the wall in turn two. During an ensuing caution period, Pitkat headed down pit road with a flat tire
The final lap served up some excitement. Leader Blewett bobbled exiting turn two; opening the door for a challenge by Marvin. The two made some contact sliding side-by-side through turn four. The crowd was on their feet as Blewett edged Marvin out for the victory. Marvin settled for second ahead of Cates, Ceravolo, and Grigas.
In victory lane, Blewett pulled the pill to invert the top-eight for the second feature event.
By virtue of the redraw, Keith Rocco started the second feature from the outside pole. The Wallingford, CT, driver handily took over the lead followed by Grigas. Blewett was the man on the move. Up from the eighth position, he was third by lap three. In the early going, Malone ran in fourth ahead of Cates, Ceravolo, Marvin, and Pitkat. Blewett began to show real pressure to Grigas for third allowing Malone to join the fray for second.
Marvin and Pitkat went side by side for the seventh position. Pitkat was able to use a lapped car to his advantage to take the spot away. Meanwhile Rocco had checked out to a sizable advantage.
Blewett was able to get by Grigas in turn three on lap 12. Once out front, Blewett could not seem to chip away at Rocco’s lead. Cates had chased down Malone before the first caution flew on lap 21 for a spin by polesitter Ricky Shawn.
Rocco had to contend with Blewett on the restart. “Showtime” was able to wrestle the lead away from Rocco; however, the caution flew again on lap 21 for a multi-car wreck that involved Cates, Marvin, Sylvester, Josh Steeves, and others, negating the pass for the lead.
In a repeat of the earlier restart, Blewett was able to jump out to the head of the pack. Malone had worked his way into third around Grigas with Ceravolo in tow. Apparent contact between Grigas and Ceravolo resulted in heavy contact with the outside wall for Grigas.
On the restart, Blewett retained his lead leaving Rocco to defend second over Malone. Malone got the edge for a lap before relinquishing the position to Rocco once again. In his bid for second, Ceravolo got out of shape losing fourth to Woody Pitkat.
In the closing laps, Blewett ran unchallenged to the checkers. Rocco capped off the night with a runner-up finish. Malone, Pitkat and Ceravolo completed the top five.
The TIS Modified division had their chance to shine on Thursday night with their annual 25-lapper and the brightest star was feature winner, Leo Oliveira of Raynham, MA. It took a trio of laps before Kurt Vigeant bolted into the top spot. The race went clean and green for 11-laps before the first caution flew for a spin by Jesse Berthiaume. On the restart, Glenn Boss and Leo Adams, who where running second and third, made contact exiting, turn two. Boss slowed with heavy damage. Adams, who tried to continue, ended up in the first turn wall.
With Vigeant on the point, Sullivan now restarted in second. Sullivan muscled his way into the lead on the restart. Vigeant had to settle in for second while the best battle was for third between R.J. Marcotte and Oliveira.
An incident involving Richie Ferreira and Cam McDermott brought out the caution once again. On the lap 16 restart, Vigeant made contact with the leader Sullivan, sending him hard into the outside wall. Vigeant was put to the tail-end of a dwindling field.
In the closing laps, Oliveira held the point with Marcotte making a bid on the lead. Marcotte made a serious bid at the lead but had to settle back into second. Less than a lap later, Marcotte went to work on leader Oliveira again. Marcotte got crossed up allowing Vigeant and Brian Tagg to reel in the second place car.
Over the final two laps, Oliveira extended his lead over Marcotte. Vigeant was able to take third from Tagg. Berthiaume rebounded from his early race incident to round out the top five.
Russ Dowd