RGeeProductions
10-15-2012, 01:52 AM
Pennink Celebrates Modified Racing Series Victory; O’Sullivan Claims Two Wins On World Series Weekend
Rowan Pennink’s victory in the Valenti Modified Racing Series 75-lapper highlighted an action packed night at Thompson International Speedway that offered 11 features of racing. John Studley, John Lowinski-Loh, Tommy O’Sullivan, Jesse Gleason, Eric Bourgeois, Glen Thomas, Jr., Chris Correll, and Dave Richardi all visited victory lane on World Series weekend. Eric Berndt won his second career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour pole for Sunday’s 150-lap tour race.
Rowan Pennink picked up his third victory of the season in the Valenti Modified Racing Series after taking the lead at lap Justin Bonsignore led from the pole before caution slowed the race for the first time at lap two. On the restart, Bonsignore drove back out front with Todd Owen right on his bumper. On lap four, Owen shot around to the lead with Bonsignore and Christopher in tow. Owen drove straight to the front when racing resumed after a caution on lap 11 with Chris Pasteryak getting underneath Bonsignore for second. Pasteryak attached himself to Owen’s bumper, and heading into turn one on lap 17, shot to the bottom and drove to the lead. Pasteryak put some distance over the rest of the field once out front while Christopher took over second. Louie Mechalides took that spot from Christopher when the Plainville, Conn. native pulled his ailing machine onto pit road at lap 34. Mechalides set his sights on Pasteryak, who was maneuvering through lapped traffic nearly a second in front of him. Caution flew at lap 40 with many cars electing to go down pit road, but Pasteryak was not one of them. Rowan Pennink joined Pasteryak on the front row for the restart, and took over the lead when the green flag dropped. On the next circuit, Brad VonHouten and Leo Oliviera made contact. Oliviera’s car climbed the outside retaining wall and traveled over 100 feet on that wall before coming to a stop in the middle of turns one and two. The race went under red flag conditions as safety and track personnel attended to Oliviera, who escaped unharmed, and his car. On the restart, Pennink jumped to the lead with Pasteryak and Richard Savary in tow. Lap 50 brought out the caution once again, and on the restart, Pennink drove straight to the front as Pasteryak held off a challenge for second. Jon McKennedy and Steve Masse rounded out the top-four. McKennedy used the bottom to get by Pasteryak on lap 54 while Masse followed his line on the following circuit. Pennink held off McKennedy through two more restarts, but it was getting harder for him to shake McKennedy, who was glued to his rear bumper as they hit five laps to go. Caution flew with two laps to go setting up a green-white-checkered finish, but even that was not enough to shake Pennink, who drove to the victory.
John Studley held off Cam McDermott to win the 20-lap Lite Modified feature Saturday night. Corey Barry took the early lead, but a wreck in turn one brought out the caution before the second lap could be completed. On the restart, Barry drove right back out front with Nick Salva in tow, but Zach Aszklar was on the move and took over the second position by lap four. Aszklar got a run on Barry on the restart, but could not quite complete the pass. The battle allowed Troy Talman to sneak by for the lead before caution flew at lap seven. Tony Membrino, Jr. challenged Talman, but couldn’t get enough momentum to get by. Aszklar did get a run, and took over second from Membrino before the lap was complete. Aszklar spun in turn two setting up a restart with Talman, Cam McDermott and Membrino leading the charge. Talman held on to his lead at the drop of the green with McDermott filling his rear view mirror. On lap 13, McDermott took the low groove to drive by for the lead on the backstretch before caution slowed his pace. Talman reclaimed the lead on the restart with John Studley knocking him from the point in turn four of lap 16. McDermott used the bottom of the racetrack to take second away from Talman on lap 17 and attach himself to the back of Studley’s bumper. Studley could not be shaken from the point, however, and drove on to the checkered flag.
John Lowinski-Loh put another notch in his belt by winning the 20-lap Thompson Modified feature Saturday night, and putting his season win total to ten in the division. John Lowinski-Loh took the lead after Brian Tagg got squirrelly on the start. Lowinski-Loh pulled ahead of Chad LaBastie by ten car lengths by the end of the second circuit, but was reeled back in by a caution at lap four. LaBastie stayed with Lowinski-Loh on the restart, and pulled ahead by a nose heading into turn three. Lowinski-Loh fought back, however, and held on to the lead as they crossed the start/finish line on lap five. The race went green the rest of the way with Lowinski-Loh dominating to the checkers.
Rick Gentes won in the Outlaw Late Model feature after leading every lap of the 25-lap feature. Gentes jumped to the lead at the drop of the green flag and pulled ahead to a healthy margin over Gerry DeGasparre, Jr. and Charlie Rose. The field strung out and ran single file as the race went green and allowed Gentes to continue to put distance over the rest of the field. Gentes dominated the remainder of the race – never relinquishing his lead en route to the checkered flag.
Tommy O’Sullivan got sent to the rear for jumping the restart at the beginning of the Late Model race, but it didn’t stop him from showing everyone he had a car to win. O’Sullivan took the lead on a lap eight restart and never relinquished it en route to the victory. Damon Tinio took the early lead as Randy Tucker got squirrelly deep in the field. Tucker saved the car and kept the race under green as Tinio pulled ahead to a five car length lead over John Falconi. Ryan Waterman got sideways going into turn four on lap eight and spun bringing out the caution. Falconi used the outside groove to get a solid run on Tinio in turns one and two, but caution for an incident on the backstretch stopped his momentum. Tinio didn’t give Falconi a chance to get a run o him, and drove straight to the front of the pack. Caution tightened them up yet again with a shakeup on the restart. Falconi jumped out front out of turn four, crossed over in front of Tinio on the outside lane, which allowed O’Sullivan to take the lead on the inside. Tinio settled into second with Falconi in third by the halfway mark. O’Sullivan pulled away to a commanding lead. Tinio cut the lead down to five car lengths, but ran out of time and O’Sullivan took the victory.
After winning in the Late Model division, Tommy O’Sullivan jumped into an Outlaw Strictly Stock and dominated the 20-lap feature event. O’Sullivan held off his brother Mike O’Sullivan on the final restart to lead every lap of the race en route to his victory. O’Sullivan jumped out to the lead at the start and put a half-a-straightaway over Corey Hutchings and Paul Newcomb, Jr. The field strung out across the length of the 5/8th’s mile oval as O’Sullivan began to lap the field by lap eight. Caution came out for a car in the turn three wall at lap eight with O’Sullivan reclaiming the top spot on the restart, but another caution lined up O’Sullivan and Hutchings on the front row. Hutchings made a solid bid for the lead – running door-to-door with O’Sullivan through one and two. O’Sullivan and Hutchings battled it out until, coming around turn four, Hutchings spun and brought the caution out. O’Sullivan and his brother Mike O’Sullivan went back to green on the front row with Tommy O’Sullivan beating him into turn one. Once out front Tommy O’Sullivan pulled ahead once again by a half-a-straightaway.
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Rowan Pennink’s victory in the Valenti Modified Racing Series 75-lapper highlighted an action packed night at Thompson International Speedway that offered 11 features of racing. John Studley, John Lowinski-Loh, Tommy O’Sullivan, Jesse Gleason, Eric Bourgeois, Glen Thomas, Jr., Chris Correll, and Dave Richardi all visited victory lane on World Series weekend. Eric Berndt won his second career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour pole for Sunday’s 150-lap tour race.
Rowan Pennink picked up his third victory of the season in the Valenti Modified Racing Series after taking the lead at lap Justin Bonsignore led from the pole before caution slowed the race for the first time at lap two. On the restart, Bonsignore drove back out front with Todd Owen right on his bumper. On lap four, Owen shot around to the lead with Bonsignore and Christopher in tow. Owen drove straight to the front when racing resumed after a caution on lap 11 with Chris Pasteryak getting underneath Bonsignore for second. Pasteryak attached himself to Owen’s bumper, and heading into turn one on lap 17, shot to the bottom and drove to the lead. Pasteryak put some distance over the rest of the field once out front while Christopher took over second. Louie Mechalides took that spot from Christopher when the Plainville, Conn. native pulled his ailing machine onto pit road at lap 34. Mechalides set his sights on Pasteryak, who was maneuvering through lapped traffic nearly a second in front of him. Caution flew at lap 40 with many cars electing to go down pit road, but Pasteryak was not one of them. Rowan Pennink joined Pasteryak on the front row for the restart, and took over the lead when the green flag dropped. On the next circuit, Brad VonHouten and Leo Oliviera made contact. Oliviera’s car climbed the outside retaining wall and traveled over 100 feet on that wall before coming to a stop in the middle of turns one and two. The race went under red flag conditions as safety and track personnel attended to Oliviera, who escaped unharmed, and his car. On the restart, Pennink jumped to the lead with Pasteryak and Richard Savary in tow. Lap 50 brought out the caution once again, and on the restart, Pennink drove straight to the front as Pasteryak held off a challenge for second. Jon McKennedy and Steve Masse rounded out the top-four. McKennedy used the bottom to get by Pasteryak on lap 54 while Masse followed his line on the following circuit. Pennink held off McKennedy through two more restarts, but it was getting harder for him to shake McKennedy, who was glued to his rear bumper as they hit five laps to go. Caution flew with two laps to go setting up a green-white-checkered finish, but even that was not enough to shake Pennink, who drove to the victory.
John Studley held off Cam McDermott to win the 20-lap Lite Modified feature Saturday night. Corey Barry took the early lead, but a wreck in turn one brought out the caution before the second lap could be completed. On the restart, Barry drove right back out front with Nick Salva in tow, but Zach Aszklar was on the move and took over the second position by lap four. Aszklar got a run on Barry on the restart, but could not quite complete the pass. The battle allowed Troy Talman to sneak by for the lead before caution flew at lap seven. Tony Membrino, Jr. challenged Talman, but couldn’t get enough momentum to get by. Aszklar did get a run, and took over second from Membrino before the lap was complete. Aszklar spun in turn two setting up a restart with Talman, Cam McDermott and Membrino leading the charge. Talman held on to his lead at the drop of the green with McDermott filling his rear view mirror. On lap 13, McDermott took the low groove to drive by for the lead on the backstretch before caution slowed his pace. Talman reclaimed the lead on the restart with John Studley knocking him from the point in turn four of lap 16. McDermott used the bottom of the racetrack to take second away from Talman on lap 17 and attach himself to the back of Studley’s bumper. Studley could not be shaken from the point, however, and drove on to the checkered flag.
John Lowinski-Loh put another notch in his belt by winning the 20-lap Thompson Modified feature Saturday night, and putting his season win total to ten in the division. John Lowinski-Loh took the lead after Brian Tagg got squirrelly on the start. Lowinski-Loh pulled ahead of Chad LaBastie by ten car lengths by the end of the second circuit, but was reeled back in by a caution at lap four. LaBastie stayed with Lowinski-Loh on the restart, and pulled ahead by a nose heading into turn three. Lowinski-Loh fought back, however, and held on to the lead as they crossed the start/finish line on lap five. The race went green the rest of the way with Lowinski-Loh dominating to the checkers.
Rick Gentes won in the Outlaw Late Model feature after leading every lap of the 25-lap feature. Gentes jumped to the lead at the drop of the green flag and pulled ahead to a healthy margin over Gerry DeGasparre, Jr. and Charlie Rose. The field strung out and ran single file as the race went green and allowed Gentes to continue to put distance over the rest of the field. Gentes dominated the remainder of the race – never relinquishing his lead en route to the checkered flag.
Tommy O’Sullivan got sent to the rear for jumping the restart at the beginning of the Late Model race, but it didn’t stop him from showing everyone he had a car to win. O’Sullivan took the lead on a lap eight restart and never relinquished it en route to the victory. Damon Tinio took the early lead as Randy Tucker got squirrelly deep in the field. Tucker saved the car and kept the race under green as Tinio pulled ahead to a five car length lead over John Falconi. Ryan Waterman got sideways going into turn four on lap eight and spun bringing out the caution. Falconi used the outside groove to get a solid run on Tinio in turns one and two, but caution for an incident on the backstretch stopped his momentum. Tinio didn’t give Falconi a chance to get a run o him, and drove straight to the front of the pack. Caution tightened them up yet again with a shakeup on the restart. Falconi jumped out front out of turn four, crossed over in front of Tinio on the outside lane, which allowed O’Sullivan to take the lead on the inside. Tinio settled into second with Falconi in third by the halfway mark. O’Sullivan pulled away to a commanding lead. Tinio cut the lead down to five car lengths, but ran out of time and O’Sullivan took the victory.
After winning in the Late Model division, Tommy O’Sullivan jumped into an Outlaw Strictly Stock and dominated the 20-lap feature event. O’Sullivan held off his brother Mike O’Sullivan on the final restart to lead every lap of the race en route to his victory. O’Sullivan jumped out to the lead at the start and put a half-a-straightaway over Corey Hutchings and Paul Newcomb, Jr. The field strung out across the length of the 5/8th’s mile oval as O’Sullivan began to lap the field by lap eight. Caution came out for a car in the turn three wall at lap eight with O’Sullivan reclaiming the top spot on the restart, but another caution lined up O’Sullivan and Hutchings on the front row. Hutchings made a solid bid for the lead – running door-to-door with O’Sullivan through one and two. O’Sullivan and Hutchings battled it out until, coming around turn four, Hutchings spun and brought the caution out. O’Sullivan and his brother Mike O’Sullivan went back to green on the front row with Tommy O’Sullivan beating him into turn one. Once out front Tommy O’Sullivan pulled ahead once again by a half-a-straightaway.
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