RGeeProductions
10-19-2014, 12:31 AM
Thompson Battles Through Rain Delays To Get Complete Six Races On World Series Weekend
Pitkat Earns NWMT Pole; Masse Claims VMRS Win
Woody Pitkat won his second career pole for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour by setting fast time in a rain-delayed qualifying Saturday night at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park for the Sunoco World Series of Auto Racing. Steve Masse collected a convincing win in the Valenti Modified Racing Series while Toby Wells won the North East Mini Stock Tour feature. Phil Lausier won in the Pro Four Modified race while NASCAR Whelen All American Series victories went to Wayne Coury, Jr., Nick Anderson and George Rego.
Rain postponed qualifying procedures initially for two hours, but it got underway just after 5 p.m. with eleven cars taking time. A heavy rain cell delayed the conclusion until 7:30 p.m. when the rest of the field was able to complete qualifying laps. Pitkat put down a lap of 119.579 mph for the pole, which was his second this season and second at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
Steve Masse started on the pole and led every lap of the 75-lap Valenti Modified Racing Series feature. Masse put the car together last minute, and all his efforts paid off with his second win of the 2014 season. Justin Bonsignore wrapped up the championship.
“I put this car together in a week. I got the engine on Wednesday and I put it in Fridayand it’s an unbelievable engine,” said Masse.
Masse jumped to the lead at the drop of the green flag, but an accident in turn one slowed the action before the first lap was complete. Masse returned to the point when racing resumed with Woody Pitkat and Keith Rocco taking over second and third respectively.
The field strung out single file as they ticked off the laps, and by lap 15, Masse was at the tail end of the field. Pitkat was not intimidated by Masse’s torrid pace, and remained within three car lengths of him the entire time.
Masse excelled in lapped traffic and pulled away from Pitkat by the lap 25 mark, but Pitkat closed back in within a few car lengths by lap 30. Justin Bonsignore, who had moved into the third spot, was about ten car lengths behind Pitkat.
The race went under caution at lap 32 after a three-car accident in turn two that called for an extended clean up by track crews. On the restart, Masse took the outside groove and drove in front of Pitkat to resume his position in the lead. The top-three – Masse, Pitkat and Rocco – ran nose-to-tail over the next several laps as they pulled away from the rest of the field. Rocco dropped off by lap 38 as he started to slip back by a car length as Pitkat stayed right on Masse’s bumper.
The second caution flew on lap 49 when Tommy Barrett, Jr. spun coming off of turn four. The race went back to green fairly quickly, but Donnie Lashua brought the caution back out again on the start after hitting the outside retaining wall at the start/finish line.
Masse jumped to the front once again on the restart, but the man on the move was Richard Savary who shot past Pitkat for the second position. Eric Goodale and Rocco rounded out the top-five. Savary, like Pitkat before him, could not reel in Masse. On lap 62, Rocco made a move on Goodale for the fourth position and set his sights on Pitkat before cautioned closed the gap for him at lap 65. The accident, which involved championship contender Justin Bonsignore, brought out a red flag condition. Brian Schofield of Monson, MA, who hit the turn three wall, was removed from the car and transported to the hospital for further evaluation.
Masse jumped right back out front when racing resumed nearly an hour later with Rocco riding his bumper in second. The duo pulled away from Savary, who was now in third, and Rowan Pennink in fourth. The down time did not affect Masse at all, who pulled ahead to a three-car length advantage as the race hit the 70-lap mark. Caution flew just shy of the finish at lap 73 to set the stage for an exciting green-white-checkered finish.
Masse and Rocco charged to the green on the restart, but just as he had all night, Masse jumped to the front. Pitkat took over second while Savary got shuffled back to fourth. Masse did not look back and soared to the checkers unchallenged.
Toby Wells put an exclamation point on a successful season with a win in the North East Mini Stock Tour season finale Saturday night after already having clinched the series championship.
“I come to win every week we go racing,” said Wells in victory lane.
Nick Maniatis and Justin King brought the field to green with Maniatis taking the early lead. King didn’t give up that easily and challenged on the next circuit to take over the top spot. Maniatis locked onto King’s bumper, but couldn’t get a run on him as Matt Sonnhalter got into the mix as well. The top four – King, Maniatis, Sonnhalter and Glen Thomas – were nose-to-tail when caution flew at lap seven.
Maniatis had a slight advantage at the drop of the green and settled in out front coming out of turn two. King and Thomas rounded out the top-three.
An exciting battle emerged for the third spot as Toby Wells made a challenge on Thomas for third. He got up alongside Thomas and the two fought side-by-side. The battling duo came upon a lapped car to make it three-wide before Wells maneuvered his way through and moved into third. Wells was still on the move, however, and challenged King for second a few laps later. After taking over the position, Wells set his sights on Maniatis and was closing in before caution slowed the pace.
Maniatis jumped back out front, but a three-wide battle for second place didn’t end well for King, who lost several spots after turning around in front of Thomas. Maniatis and Wells brought the field back to green in a drag race into turn one. Wells looked to the outside and then the inside coming out of turn two before taking over the lead on lap 16. Caution flew before the lap was complete, however, and returned Maniatis to the head of the field.
Wells drove right back out front using the outside groove on the restart leaving Maniatis to battle with Thomas and Justin Larsen for the second positon. His night made a drastic turn for the worse when contact was made that sent Maniatis right into the turn one wall.
Wells and Thomas brought the field back to green, but it was short-lived as another two-car wreck in turn one brought the caution out yet again.
The restart went single file with Wells out in the lead. Once the race went green, Wells pulled ahead to a commanding ten car length lead over Thomas as he soared to the checkers and further solidified his championship-earning season.
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Pitkat Earns NWMT Pole; Masse Claims VMRS Win
Woody Pitkat won his second career pole for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour by setting fast time in a rain-delayed qualifying Saturday night at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park for the Sunoco World Series of Auto Racing. Steve Masse collected a convincing win in the Valenti Modified Racing Series while Toby Wells won the North East Mini Stock Tour feature. Phil Lausier won in the Pro Four Modified race while NASCAR Whelen All American Series victories went to Wayne Coury, Jr., Nick Anderson and George Rego.
Rain postponed qualifying procedures initially for two hours, but it got underway just after 5 p.m. with eleven cars taking time. A heavy rain cell delayed the conclusion until 7:30 p.m. when the rest of the field was able to complete qualifying laps. Pitkat put down a lap of 119.579 mph for the pole, which was his second this season and second at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
Steve Masse started on the pole and led every lap of the 75-lap Valenti Modified Racing Series feature. Masse put the car together last minute, and all his efforts paid off with his second win of the 2014 season. Justin Bonsignore wrapped up the championship.
“I put this car together in a week. I got the engine on Wednesday and I put it in Fridayand it’s an unbelievable engine,” said Masse.
Masse jumped to the lead at the drop of the green flag, but an accident in turn one slowed the action before the first lap was complete. Masse returned to the point when racing resumed with Woody Pitkat and Keith Rocco taking over second and third respectively.
The field strung out single file as they ticked off the laps, and by lap 15, Masse was at the tail end of the field. Pitkat was not intimidated by Masse’s torrid pace, and remained within three car lengths of him the entire time.
Masse excelled in lapped traffic and pulled away from Pitkat by the lap 25 mark, but Pitkat closed back in within a few car lengths by lap 30. Justin Bonsignore, who had moved into the third spot, was about ten car lengths behind Pitkat.
The race went under caution at lap 32 after a three-car accident in turn two that called for an extended clean up by track crews. On the restart, Masse took the outside groove and drove in front of Pitkat to resume his position in the lead. The top-three – Masse, Pitkat and Rocco – ran nose-to-tail over the next several laps as they pulled away from the rest of the field. Rocco dropped off by lap 38 as he started to slip back by a car length as Pitkat stayed right on Masse’s bumper.
The second caution flew on lap 49 when Tommy Barrett, Jr. spun coming off of turn four. The race went back to green fairly quickly, but Donnie Lashua brought the caution back out again on the start after hitting the outside retaining wall at the start/finish line.
Masse jumped to the front once again on the restart, but the man on the move was Richard Savary who shot past Pitkat for the second position. Eric Goodale and Rocco rounded out the top-five. Savary, like Pitkat before him, could not reel in Masse. On lap 62, Rocco made a move on Goodale for the fourth position and set his sights on Pitkat before cautioned closed the gap for him at lap 65. The accident, which involved championship contender Justin Bonsignore, brought out a red flag condition. Brian Schofield of Monson, MA, who hit the turn three wall, was removed from the car and transported to the hospital for further evaluation.
Masse jumped right back out front when racing resumed nearly an hour later with Rocco riding his bumper in second. The duo pulled away from Savary, who was now in third, and Rowan Pennink in fourth. The down time did not affect Masse at all, who pulled ahead to a three-car length advantage as the race hit the 70-lap mark. Caution flew just shy of the finish at lap 73 to set the stage for an exciting green-white-checkered finish.
Masse and Rocco charged to the green on the restart, but just as he had all night, Masse jumped to the front. Pitkat took over second while Savary got shuffled back to fourth. Masse did not look back and soared to the checkers unchallenged.
Toby Wells put an exclamation point on a successful season with a win in the North East Mini Stock Tour season finale Saturday night after already having clinched the series championship.
“I come to win every week we go racing,” said Wells in victory lane.
Nick Maniatis and Justin King brought the field to green with Maniatis taking the early lead. King didn’t give up that easily and challenged on the next circuit to take over the top spot. Maniatis locked onto King’s bumper, but couldn’t get a run on him as Matt Sonnhalter got into the mix as well. The top four – King, Maniatis, Sonnhalter and Glen Thomas – were nose-to-tail when caution flew at lap seven.
Maniatis had a slight advantage at the drop of the green and settled in out front coming out of turn two. King and Thomas rounded out the top-three.
An exciting battle emerged for the third spot as Toby Wells made a challenge on Thomas for third. He got up alongside Thomas and the two fought side-by-side. The battling duo came upon a lapped car to make it three-wide before Wells maneuvered his way through and moved into third. Wells was still on the move, however, and challenged King for second a few laps later. After taking over the position, Wells set his sights on Maniatis and was closing in before caution slowed the pace.
Maniatis jumped back out front, but a three-wide battle for second place didn’t end well for King, who lost several spots after turning around in front of Thomas. Maniatis and Wells brought the field back to green in a drag race into turn one. Wells looked to the outside and then the inside coming out of turn two before taking over the lead on lap 16. Caution flew before the lap was complete, however, and returned Maniatis to the head of the field.
Wells drove right back out front using the outside groove on the restart leaving Maniatis to battle with Thomas and Justin Larsen for the second positon. His night made a drastic turn for the worse when contact was made that sent Maniatis right into the turn one wall.
Wells and Thomas brought the field back to green, but it was short-lived as another two-car wreck in turn one brought the caution out yet again.
The restart went single file with Wells out in the lead. Once the race went green, Wells pulled ahead to a commanding ten car length lead over Thomas as he soared to the checkers and further solidified his championship-earning season.
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