RGeeProductions
04-06-2014, 12:19 AM
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park kicked off the 2014 race season Saturday night with Shawn Monahan of Waterford, Conn. and Steve Michalski of Brooklyn, Conn. earning the overall division wins in the all-new Segment Saturday portion of Icebreaker weekend. Woody Pitkat set fast time in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour qualifying for his first career Coors Light Pole Award. In other action, John Studley of Framingham, Mass. was victorious in the Lite Modified division, Roger Turbush won the New England Truck Series feature, and Scott Quinn won the Vintage Outlaw race.
Scott Sundeen took the early lead in the first of three segments for the Limited Sportsman division, but was slowed by a caution after one lap. Sundeen and Corey Hutchings took the field back to green, but it was all Hutchings at the line. Sundeen stayed on his bumper with Shawn Monahan a close third until yellow marked the end of the segment. On the final lap, Jeff Van Pelt and Chris Bisson tangled in the middle of turns one and two.
Todd Dean and William Wall took the field to green in the second segment with Wall taking the top spot. A battle for third took the attention of the crowd as Dean and Jason Chicolas battled side-by-side for the third spot. Chicolas took over the spot as a four-wide battle emerged further back in the field that resulted in Corey Hutchings coming across the start/finish line sideways before coming to a stop in the infield grass. Wall held on to the lead when racing resumed, but Ryan Waterman and Travis Jurcik were tight on his bumper. The battle for third turned up as Monahan got alongside Jurcik and took over the position. Wall held on to the lead until the yellow flag came out to conclude the second segment.
Scott Sundeen led the field to green in the final segment, but Shawn Monahan was the car out front as they came out of turn two. The two were side-by-side coming out of turn four with Sundeen holding on to the lead until turn one when Monahan drove out to a comfortable two car length advantage. The top-three – Sundeen, Monahan, and Chris Moose Douton – began to stretch out as the race approached three laps complete, but Sundeen reeled Monahan back in on the following lap. By lap six, Douton had moved in tight with the leaders and the top-three were nose-to-tail. Entering the third urn, Douton was able to slide by Sundeen on the bottom groove right before caution flew for a spin in turn four. Monahan didn’t waste any time getting in front of Sundeen when racing resumed as Douton dove underneath Sundeen in turn three for second. Monahan pulled away to a commanding ten-car length advantage over Douton as the field approached the final lap. Monahan never faltered and drove to the checkered flag.
Monahan’s victory in the final segment of the Limited Sportsman races ensured him the overall win for the division.
Leo DeFevers took the lead in turn two on the first lap of the first Mini Stock segment, but Dave Trudeau muscled his way around on lap two to settle in up front. A five-car wreck slowed the pace at lap five that collected DeFevers, Nick Anderson, and Alicia Thatcher among others. DeFevers jumped back out front when green flag racing returned as Dave Trudeau went off the pace and limped back to pit road. Steve Michalski kept the pressure on as he attached himself to DeFevers bumper, but the pressure didn’t keep DeFevers from taking the yellow flag out front.
Steve Dickey, Jr. took the lead at the start of the second Mini Stock segment, but Mike Viens was keeping the pressure on in second. On lap three, Dickey pulled away to a comfortable five-car length advantage. Behind the leader, Jeff Moffat used the outside lane to challenge Viens and take over the second position. Steve Michalski followed his lead and drove by for the third spot. Dickey was unstoppable out front and concluded the second segment out front.
Leo DeFevers took the lead at the start of the final Mini Stock segment with Joe Baxter and Steve Dickey, Jr. in tow. Steve Michalski was the man on the move, however, and quickly made his way into the top-three. Baxter dropped to the bottom of DeFevers heading into turn four and contact was made as DeFevers went spinning around and out of contention. Michalski drove to the front and took the checkers in the five-lap segment.
Steve Michalski’s final segment victory ensured his overall win the Mini Stock portion of the segment races.
John Studley led every lap of the 15-lap Lite Modified feature Saturday night. The Framingham, Mass. native led the field off of turn one at the drop of the green with Danny Gamache, Jr. and David Richardi rounding out the top-three. The field ran single file with the Studley and Gamache pulling out to a slight advantage over the rest of the field on lap six. Studley paced himself out front with Gamache closing in to his bumper at lap eight. Studley held strong despite the challenge, but couldn’t shake Gamache from his bumper before caution flew at lap 10. Studley wasted no time in driving out front when green flag racing continued with Gamache hanging out to second and Robert Palmer taking over third. Studley opened up a ten-car length advantage before a car spun on the backstretch and brought out the caution once again. Studley drove out front, but Gamache was delayed with a brief side-by-side battle with Palmer. Gamache drove out to second and set his sights on Studley, but Studley was strong and could not be knocked from the lead before taking the checkers.
Roger Turbush of Riverhead, N.Y. took the lead on a late race restart in the New England Truck Series 20-lap feature and held off Duane Noll to take the win. Frank Dumicich, Jr. took the lead at the start of the feature after a brief battle with Jason Lafayette while Noll and Chris Turbush took over second and third. Dumicich was solid out front with Noll keeping a close distance behind. On lap nine, Noll looked low, but couldn’t make a challenge as they approached the lapped truck of Tyler Chapman. On lap 11, Noll dropped to the bottom and got alongside Dumicich. Caution came out on lap 12 with Dumicich still out front for the restart. Noll had the advantage when racing resumed, but it was anybody’s game coming out of turn two. Dumicich and Noll came to turn three side-by-side, but it was Dumicich who had the advantage and the lead at the line. Noll reclaimed the top spot on the following circuit as their side-by-side battle continued. Dumicich took the lead back and held on to a slight advantage on lap 17 before a little contact on the back stretch separated the two enough to allow Chris Turbush in for a challenge for second. Caution flew on lap 18 for a spin in turn three and put Dumicich and Noll side-by-side once again. Heading into turn one, Dumicich went up into Noll a little bit, but kept the lead. Coming off of turn two, the duo were still in the throws of a heated battle when Dumicich spun on the backstretch after contact from Chris Turbush. Noll took the lead with Roger Turbush on the outside front row for the restart. Roger Turbush drove to the lead with Noll keeping the pressure on in second. Noll made a last lap bid for the lead, but just fell short as Turbush took the checkered flag. Andy Lindeman finished third.
Scott Quinn of North Smithfield, R.I. held off a hard-charging Joe Baxter to win the 15-lap Vintage Outlaw feature Saturday night. Paul Surprenant took a dominating early lead as he pulled away by a second-and-a-half over the rest of the field. Paul Lapante reeled him in however, and was within three carlengths on lap five. Quinn got in the mix on the same circuit and dropped to the bottom to go by Lapante in turn four before caution slowed the pace on lap six. Quinn took the lead away from Surprenant on the restart and opened up a comfortable lead over Surprenant, who closed back in by lap eight. Joe Baxter applied the pressure to Surprenant, however, and took the position on lap 10. Baxter made a last lap effort coming off of turn four for the lead, but Quinn held on to take the checkers in a nail-biter finish.
(continued)
Scott Sundeen took the early lead in the first of three segments for the Limited Sportsman division, but was slowed by a caution after one lap. Sundeen and Corey Hutchings took the field back to green, but it was all Hutchings at the line. Sundeen stayed on his bumper with Shawn Monahan a close third until yellow marked the end of the segment. On the final lap, Jeff Van Pelt and Chris Bisson tangled in the middle of turns one and two.
Todd Dean and William Wall took the field to green in the second segment with Wall taking the top spot. A battle for third took the attention of the crowd as Dean and Jason Chicolas battled side-by-side for the third spot. Chicolas took over the spot as a four-wide battle emerged further back in the field that resulted in Corey Hutchings coming across the start/finish line sideways before coming to a stop in the infield grass. Wall held on to the lead when racing resumed, but Ryan Waterman and Travis Jurcik were tight on his bumper. The battle for third turned up as Monahan got alongside Jurcik and took over the position. Wall held on to the lead until the yellow flag came out to conclude the second segment.
Scott Sundeen led the field to green in the final segment, but Shawn Monahan was the car out front as they came out of turn two. The two were side-by-side coming out of turn four with Sundeen holding on to the lead until turn one when Monahan drove out to a comfortable two car length advantage. The top-three – Sundeen, Monahan, and Chris Moose Douton – began to stretch out as the race approached three laps complete, but Sundeen reeled Monahan back in on the following lap. By lap six, Douton had moved in tight with the leaders and the top-three were nose-to-tail. Entering the third urn, Douton was able to slide by Sundeen on the bottom groove right before caution flew for a spin in turn four. Monahan didn’t waste any time getting in front of Sundeen when racing resumed as Douton dove underneath Sundeen in turn three for second. Monahan pulled away to a commanding ten-car length advantage over Douton as the field approached the final lap. Monahan never faltered and drove to the checkered flag.
Monahan’s victory in the final segment of the Limited Sportsman races ensured him the overall win for the division.
Leo DeFevers took the lead in turn two on the first lap of the first Mini Stock segment, but Dave Trudeau muscled his way around on lap two to settle in up front. A five-car wreck slowed the pace at lap five that collected DeFevers, Nick Anderson, and Alicia Thatcher among others. DeFevers jumped back out front when green flag racing returned as Dave Trudeau went off the pace and limped back to pit road. Steve Michalski kept the pressure on as he attached himself to DeFevers bumper, but the pressure didn’t keep DeFevers from taking the yellow flag out front.
Steve Dickey, Jr. took the lead at the start of the second Mini Stock segment, but Mike Viens was keeping the pressure on in second. On lap three, Dickey pulled away to a comfortable five-car length advantage. Behind the leader, Jeff Moffat used the outside lane to challenge Viens and take over the second position. Steve Michalski followed his lead and drove by for the third spot. Dickey was unstoppable out front and concluded the second segment out front.
Leo DeFevers took the lead at the start of the final Mini Stock segment with Joe Baxter and Steve Dickey, Jr. in tow. Steve Michalski was the man on the move, however, and quickly made his way into the top-three. Baxter dropped to the bottom of DeFevers heading into turn four and contact was made as DeFevers went spinning around and out of contention. Michalski drove to the front and took the checkers in the five-lap segment.
Steve Michalski’s final segment victory ensured his overall win the Mini Stock portion of the segment races.
John Studley led every lap of the 15-lap Lite Modified feature Saturday night. The Framingham, Mass. native led the field off of turn one at the drop of the green with Danny Gamache, Jr. and David Richardi rounding out the top-three. The field ran single file with the Studley and Gamache pulling out to a slight advantage over the rest of the field on lap six. Studley paced himself out front with Gamache closing in to his bumper at lap eight. Studley held strong despite the challenge, but couldn’t shake Gamache from his bumper before caution flew at lap 10. Studley wasted no time in driving out front when green flag racing continued with Gamache hanging out to second and Robert Palmer taking over third. Studley opened up a ten-car length advantage before a car spun on the backstretch and brought out the caution once again. Studley drove out front, but Gamache was delayed with a brief side-by-side battle with Palmer. Gamache drove out to second and set his sights on Studley, but Studley was strong and could not be knocked from the lead before taking the checkers.
Roger Turbush of Riverhead, N.Y. took the lead on a late race restart in the New England Truck Series 20-lap feature and held off Duane Noll to take the win. Frank Dumicich, Jr. took the lead at the start of the feature after a brief battle with Jason Lafayette while Noll and Chris Turbush took over second and third. Dumicich was solid out front with Noll keeping a close distance behind. On lap nine, Noll looked low, but couldn’t make a challenge as they approached the lapped truck of Tyler Chapman. On lap 11, Noll dropped to the bottom and got alongside Dumicich. Caution came out on lap 12 with Dumicich still out front for the restart. Noll had the advantage when racing resumed, but it was anybody’s game coming out of turn two. Dumicich and Noll came to turn three side-by-side, but it was Dumicich who had the advantage and the lead at the line. Noll reclaimed the top spot on the following circuit as their side-by-side battle continued. Dumicich took the lead back and held on to a slight advantage on lap 17 before a little contact on the back stretch separated the two enough to allow Chris Turbush in for a challenge for second. Caution flew on lap 18 for a spin in turn three and put Dumicich and Noll side-by-side once again. Heading into turn one, Dumicich went up into Noll a little bit, but kept the lead. Coming off of turn two, the duo were still in the throws of a heated battle when Dumicich spun on the backstretch after contact from Chris Turbush. Noll took the lead with Roger Turbush on the outside front row for the restart. Roger Turbush drove to the lead with Noll keeping the pressure on in second. Noll made a last lap bid for the lead, but just fell short as Turbush took the checkered flag. Andy Lindeman finished third.
Scott Quinn of North Smithfield, R.I. held off a hard-charging Joe Baxter to win the 15-lap Vintage Outlaw feature Saturday night. Paul Surprenant took a dominating early lead as he pulled away by a second-and-a-half over the rest of the field. Paul Lapante reeled him in however, and was within three carlengths on lap five. Quinn got in the mix on the same circuit and dropped to the bottom to go by Lapante in turn four before caution slowed the pace on lap six. Quinn took the lead away from Surprenant on the restart and opened up a comfortable lead over Surprenant, who closed back in by lap eight. Joe Baxter applied the pressure to Surprenant, however, and took the position on lap 10. Baxter made a last lap effort coming off of turn four for the lead, but Quinn held on to take the checkers in a nail-biter finish.
(continued)