RGeeProductions
09-17-2009, 10:30 PM
Christopher Grabs Two-in-a-Row in Mods at Thompson
O’Sullivan, Gentes, Monahan, McDermott & Michalski Also Visit Victory Lane
The season is winding down at Thompson Speedway but the excitement is still ramping up. With tight point races in all divisions, Thursday night’s feature events had major championship implications. Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, scored his third Super Late Model victory of the season to bring the chase to the championship to single digits. Cam McDermott had a good point night as he scored his second win of the season in TIS Modified competition.
Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, hustled his way from the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH, after qualifying for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event to win his sixth Sunoco Modified feature event of the season at Thompson and his second in a row. Christopher edged out fellow Modified Tour competitors Rowan Pennink, Keith Rocco, and Woody Pitkat to take down the victory.
Rick Gentes of Woonsocket, RI, returned to his winning ways in the Late Models while Sean Monahan of Waterford, CT, scored the victory in the Limited Sportsman division. Steve Michalski of Brooklyn, CT, earned his second Mini Stock victory of the season.
Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, ended a busy day with a trip to victory lane. Christopher drove by pole sitter Dave LaCroix in the first turn of the first lap. Rocco and Pitkat followed through. The cars of Christopher, Rocco and Pitkat ran a distance ahead of Rowan Pennink in fourth.
Pitkat began to apply heavy pressure to Rocco for the second spot as they completed the fifth lap. Christopher could not gain any breathing room on Rocco. Pennink had begun to run the lead trio down. A bit deeper in the pack, Tim Sullivan and Danny Cates were locked in a heated battle for the sixth spot. Despite their battle they were reeling in fifth-place runner Kerry Malone.
Up front, Rocco had caught the back bumper of Christopher. Pitkat dogged Rocco for second and Pennink had caught the battle for the top spot. At halfway, Cates had gotten by Sullivan for sixth. He immediately began to apply pressure to Malone for fifth. Cates dove low in turn three to grab the fifth position away. The top three remained nose to tail as Pennink faded back.
A slugfest between Andy Gaspar, Ricky Shawn, and Harry Rheaume ended with Gaspar limping down the backstretch. The leaders came up on the slow car rapidly but all were able to take the low groove around safely. Ultimately, Gaspar would end up stopped on the backstretch to bring out the caution. Malone headed to pit road under the caution.
Christopher picked the low groove for the restart on lap 19. The move paid off as Christopher, who edged ahead on the restart. Pitkat appeared to miss a shift faltering a bit on the restart.
Rocco made a bold move in turn one to take the lead from Teddy. Christopher duplicated the effort in turn two to regain the top spot. The battle allowed Pitkat to regain the ground he lost to the leaders on the restart. Cates was now part of the mix as well. On lap 22, Cates got into Pitkat sending him spinning to the infield. His teammate Malone was also collected. Cates was put to the rear for his involvement in the incident.
On the restart, Christopher resumed the lead but it was Pennink rocketing into the second spot ahead of Rocco. A spin by Rheaume brought out the caution to negate the pass for second. They would do it all again on the second restart attempt on lap 22.
It was a dogfight at the head of the pack between Christopher, Rocco and Pennink with the green flag flying once again. Bert Marvin had quietly made his way into the fourth position. Pitkat was back in the top five with five laps remaining; but a caution for a single-car incident involving Wayne Arute put Pitkat back to sixth.
An attempt at a single file restart was thwarted when a spin by Sullivan brought out the caution once again. Again, Christopher got a slight advantage over Rocco for the top spot. Pennink was once again looking racy for the second spot. With two laps to go, Pennink sent his #31 in the low groove in turn four to take over the second spot. Pitkat was able to get by Marvin for fourth.
At the checkers, Christopher took down the victory over Pennink. Rocco had to settle for third over Pitkat and Marvin. With the finish, Rocco gained two points over his nearest competition, Pitkat. Rocco has a four-point advantage over Pitkat going into the final point race next Thursday.
Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, edged ever-closer to another championship with his Super Late Model victory. Right from the drop of the green flag there was excitement in the Super Late Models. Pole sitter Larry Gelinas immediately had his hands full with Dennis Maxfield. The two went fender-to-fender for a number of laps. As the lead duo battled O’Sullivan and Norm Wrenn lurked behind.
On lap seven, Maxfield was finally able to gain the advantage. Gelinas immediately fell to the challenge of O’Sullivan. A great run by O’Sullivan on lap 11 gave him the advantage and the lead over Maxfield. Derek Ramstrom was making his way to the front taking spots from Rick Fuller and Norm Wrenn. He got by Gelinas on lap 17 to take over the third position.
Up front, O’Sullivan had run out to a six-car length advantage over Maxfield while Ramstrom was quickly closing the gap. Gelinas ran along in the fourth spot followed by a battle for the fifth position between Wrenn, Fuller, and George Bessette.
With five laps to go Ramstrom had caught Maxfield and the leader entered lapped traffic. Maxfield and Ramstrom were able to cut down the lead substantially when O’Sullivan was forced high on the track by a lapped car. The incident was hardly a glitch as O’Sullivan quickly gained his composure and once again stretched his advantage.
O’Sullivan had nearly a half straightaway lead as he streaked under the checkers for his third win of the season. Ramstrom could not muster up a serious challenge on Maxfield for second. Gelinas and Norm Wrenn completed the top five. With this victory on Thursday night in the Super Late Model division, Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, cut Derek Ramstrom’s point lead to a mere four points heading into the final point race.
Rick Gentes of Woonsocket, RI, scored his fourth win of the season in impressive style. Gentes took the lead after halfway and ran uncontested to the checkers. Corey Hutchings came from the fifth position to set the pace early in the Late Model main event. While Hutchings had quickly run out to a sizable margin in the opening five laps, point leader John Materas was coming on strong; reeling in the leader. Gentes joined the fray before the completion of lap 10 to make it a three-car freight train at the head of the field. The most recent winner, Tommy O’Sullivan, was beginning to run down the leaders.
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O’Sullivan, Gentes, Monahan, McDermott & Michalski Also Visit Victory Lane
The season is winding down at Thompson Speedway but the excitement is still ramping up. With tight point races in all divisions, Thursday night’s feature events had major championship implications. Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, scored his third Super Late Model victory of the season to bring the chase to the championship to single digits. Cam McDermott had a good point night as he scored his second win of the season in TIS Modified competition.
Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, hustled his way from the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH, after qualifying for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event to win his sixth Sunoco Modified feature event of the season at Thompson and his second in a row. Christopher edged out fellow Modified Tour competitors Rowan Pennink, Keith Rocco, and Woody Pitkat to take down the victory.
Rick Gentes of Woonsocket, RI, returned to his winning ways in the Late Models while Sean Monahan of Waterford, CT, scored the victory in the Limited Sportsman division. Steve Michalski of Brooklyn, CT, earned his second Mini Stock victory of the season.
Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, ended a busy day with a trip to victory lane. Christopher drove by pole sitter Dave LaCroix in the first turn of the first lap. Rocco and Pitkat followed through. The cars of Christopher, Rocco and Pitkat ran a distance ahead of Rowan Pennink in fourth.
Pitkat began to apply heavy pressure to Rocco for the second spot as they completed the fifth lap. Christopher could not gain any breathing room on Rocco. Pennink had begun to run the lead trio down. A bit deeper in the pack, Tim Sullivan and Danny Cates were locked in a heated battle for the sixth spot. Despite their battle they were reeling in fifth-place runner Kerry Malone.
Up front, Rocco had caught the back bumper of Christopher. Pitkat dogged Rocco for second and Pennink had caught the battle for the top spot. At halfway, Cates had gotten by Sullivan for sixth. He immediately began to apply pressure to Malone for fifth. Cates dove low in turn three to grab the fifth position away. The top three remained nose to tail as Pennink faded back.
A slugfest between Andy Gaspar, Ricky Shawn, and Harry Rheaume ended with Gaspar limping down the backstretch. The leaders came up on the slow car rapidly but all were able to take the low groove around safely. Ultimately, Gaspar would end up stopped on the backstretch to bring out the caution. Malone headed to pit road under the caution.
Christopher picked the low groove for the restart on lap 19. The move paid off as Christopher, who edged ahead on the restart. Pitkat appeared to miss a shift faltering a bit on the restart.
Rocco made a bold move in turn one to take the lead from Teddy. Christopher duplicated the effort in turn two to regain the top spot. The battle allowed Pitkat to regain the ground he lost to the leaders on the restart. Cates was now part of the mix as well. On lap 22, Cates got into Pitkat sending him spinning to the infield. His teammate Malone was also collected. Cates was put to the rear for his involvement in the incident.
On the restart, Christopher resumed the lead but it was Pennink rocketing into the second spot ahead of Rocco. A spin by Rheaume brought out the caution to negate the pass for second. They would do it all again on the second restart attempt on lap 22.
It was a dogfight at the head of the pack between Christopher, Rocco and Pennink with the green flag flying once again. Bert Marvin had quietly made his way into the fourth position. Pitkat was back in the top five with five laps remaining; but a caution for a single-car incident involving Wayne Arute put Pitkat back to sixth.
An attempt at a single file restart was thwarted when a spin by Sullivan brought out the caution once again. Again, Christopher got a slight advantage over Rocco for the top spot. Pennink was once again looking racy for the second spot. With two laps to go, Pennink sent his #31 in the low groove in turn four to take over the second spot. Pitkat was able to get by Marvin for fourth.
At the checkers, Christopher took down the victory over Pennink. Rocco had to settle for third over Pitkat and Marvin. With the finish, Rocco gained two points over his nearest competition, Pitkat. Rocco has a four-point advantage over Pitkat going into the final point race next Thursday.
Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, edged ever-closer to another championship with his Super Late Model victory. Right from the drop of the green flag there was excitement in the Super Late Models. Pole sitter Larry Gelinas immediately had his hands full with Dennis Maxfield. The two went fender-to-fender for a number of laps. As the lead duo battled O’Sullivan and Norm Wrenn lurked behind.
On lap seven, Maxfield was finally able to gain the advantage. Gelinas immediately fell to the challenge of O’Sullivan. A great run by O’Sullivan on lap 11 gave him the advantage and the lead over Maxfield. Derek Ramstrom was making his way to the front taking spots from Rick Fuller and Norm Wrenn. He got by Gelinas on lap 17 to take over the third position.
Up front, O’Sullivan had run out to a six-car length advantage over Maxfield while Ramstrom was quickly closing the gap. Gelinas ran along in the fourth spot followed by a battle for the fifth position between Wrenn, Fuller, and George Bessette.
With five laps to go Ramstrom had caught Maxfield and the leader entered lapped traffic. Maxfield and Ramstrom were able to cut down the lead substantially when O’Sullivan was forced high on the track by a lapped car. The incident was hardly a glitch as O’Sullivan quickly gained his composure and once again stretched his advantage.
O’Sullivan had nearly a half straightaway lead as he streaked under the checkers for his third win of the season. Ramstrom could not muster up a serious challenge on Maxfield for second. Gelinas and Norm Wrenn completed the top five. With this victory on Thursday night in the Super Late Model division, Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, cut Derek Ramstrom’s point lead to a mere four points heading into the final point race.
Rick Gentes of Woonsocket, RI, scored his fourth win of the season in impressive style. Gentes took the lead after halfway and ran uncontested to the checkers. Corey Hutchings came from the fifth position to set the pace early in the Late Model main event. While Hutchings had quickly run out to a sizable margin in the opening five laps, point leader John Materas was coming on strong; reeling in the leader. Gentes joined the fray before the completion of lap 10 to make it a three-car freight train at the head of the field. The most recent winner, Tommy O’Sullivan, was beginning to run down the leaders.
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