Seitz Comes Up Big In NEMA Seymour Memorial at Seekonk Speedway

Ben Seitz of Pocasset, MA, became the first repeat winner during the 2007 season for the Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) with his dominating performance on Saturday night at Seekonk Speedway. The victory came in the prestigious “Boston” Louie Seymour Memorial Coors Light Silver Cup Classic; making Seitz only the second driver to repeat in the event’s 11-year history.

Seitz, who made a three-wide move on the initial start, led every lap to score the victory. It was anything but clear sailing for Seitz who had to make the pass for the lead twice before it counted and then had to withstand a pair of cautions during the race to score the victory.

“The last restart with Nokie (Fornoro) and Joey (Payne) was a little nerve-racking,” said Sietz after the feature. “Those two guys are always tough.”

But Seitz was up for the challenge. He bested the wily veterans on both restarts to post his second Seymour Memorial event win. Seitz joins Joey Payne of Fairlawn, NJ, as the only repeat winners of the Classic.

Seitz’s previous ’07 win came on July 5, 2007 at the Thompson International Speedway. Other winners this season include Bertrand Motorsports teammates Lou Cicconi and Randy Cabral, Joey Payne, Nokie Fornoro, Erica Santos, and Jeremy Frankoski.

The “Boston” Louie Seymour Memorial Classic is an annual event hosted by the Seymour Family and a host of sponsors held in honor of legendary car owner Louie Seymour. Nicknamed “the man who traveled a million miles”, the transcontinental journeys of Louie a.k.a. “Boston’’ Louie found him in victory lanes throughout the country with such distinguished drivers as Ken Schrader. The accolades, most notably in United States Auto Club (USAC) events, brought notoriety not only to his team’s accomplishments but also open-wheel racing in the northeast. Always a fierce competitor, Louie may have been most admired for his unwavering commitment to his family, friends, and fellow competitors. Today his family continues his tradition as goodwill ambassadors to midget racing.

The Helping Hands of America time trials were held in the tradition of the Indy 500 with laps being clocked with packs of racers on the track. Randy Cabral was awarded the pole for his lap of 11:332 seconds. Greg Stoehr posted the second fastest lap at 11:351 seconds. Adam Cantor, Nokie Fornoro and Lou Cicconi rounded out the top-five in time.

Qualifying proceeded with heat races presented by Schrader Racing, Ferrara Spring, Crow Enterprizes, Precision Truck Parts and Oval Track Parts. The first of three heat races was won by Erica Santos of Franklin, MA. Other heat race winners include Seitz and Nokie Fornoro.

In the Santos Motorsports B-Main, Barry Kittredge rebounded from a host of early woes to score the victory. After having troubles before the initial start, it was clear sailing for Kittredge, who led every lap en route to the victory.

Jeremy Frankoski started from the pole position but it was Jeff Horn who jumped out at the start of the 29-lap main event presented by Marine Engines, Harrington Trucking and Wirtgen America. Before the completion of the initial lap a spin by Paul Scally brought out the yellow necessitating a complete restart. On the second attempt at a start, it quickly became a three-car battle for supremacy with third-place starter Seitz joining the battle with the front row starters. Barry Kittredge’s luck finally ran out when his car ended up on his side to bring out the red flag. The leaders heeded the red flag before the completion of lap one.

During the stop in the action, Bobby Santos III, who had returned to the reigns of the Seymour owned #29, was pushed into the pits. Santos was able to return to action. Rookie contender Mark Irving also encountered problems.

The third time was a charm as lap one went into the record books with Seitz as the leader. On the restart, Seitz screamed to the inside of the two-wide battle between Frankoski and Horn to establish himself as the leader. Frankoski settled in for second while Horn had his hands full with Joey Payne for third.

After two laps of side-by-side racing, Payne took over the third position on lap three. The best battle on the track was found just outside the top five and featured Greg Stoehr and Nokie Fornoro. Several laps of hard racing ended when Stoehr appeared to get out of shape and spun in turn two on lap eight. Lou Cicconi’s hard luck season continued as he brought his car to the infield during the caution period.

On the restart, Seitz had to contend with Frankoski and Payne. Shane Hammond, Horn, Fornoro, Randy Cabral, Adam Cantor and the Santos siblings made up the top ten when racing went back to green. Seitz resumed his command of the event as Frankoski and Payne duked it out for the runner-up spot. Payne quickly moved into second. Fornoro used the outside groove to advance his position to fourth. Frankoski put up quite a fight but relinquished the third spot to Fornoro on lap 10. The action cooled when Andy Shaltz spun on lap 13.

Seitz was up to the challenge once again on the restart and set sail at the head of the pack with Payne and Fornoro taking chase. A charging Hammond, who had lost some positions on the previous green flag run, moved from the sixth position, passed Horn and Frankoski, to run in fourth. Cantor and Cabral still lurked outside of the top five.

Cantor finally broke into the top five on lap 17 moving Frankoski back to sixth. Cabral, looking to come along for the ride put his racer to the outside of Horn in a battle for seventh. Meanwhile, up front, Seitz was mired in heavy lapped traffic. On lap 20, Seitz was forced to go three wide around a group of lapped cars. The champ handled the traffic and the pressure with ease, never skipping a beat.

With four laps to go Seitz continued to lead Payne and Fornoro. Cantor had made his way by Hammond and into the fourth spot. Over the closing laps, Horn and B. Santos were locked in a heated battle for the eighth position. Stoehr had battled back from his earlier spin to find his place inside the top ten.

At the checkers, it was all Seitz. Payne had to settle for the second spot ahead of Nokie Fornoro. Cantor’s season continues on the upswing with another strong finish in fourth. Hammond rounded out the top five.

A mix of emotions ran high with the podium finishers in victory lane on Saturday night. The victory was a relief for Seitz and his team. “We needed this,” said Seitz. “We’ve been struggling.”

While NJ resident Payne was a bit more reflective. “I’m never happy with second but after the week we’ve had with losing John Blewett, we’ll take it.”

As always, the NEMA competitors provided a fitting tribute to Boston Louie and a great show for the Seekonk Speedway fans. In only four short days, the NEMA Midgets will return to the Seekonk Speedway on Wednesday, August 29, 2007, for the first of two make-up events.

For more information on Wednesday’s event log on to www.seekonkspeedway.com. For a comprehensive look at the Northeastern Midget Association log on to www.nemaracing.com.

Northeastern Midget Association “Boston” Louie Seymour Memorial Coors Light Silver Cup Classic Feature Finish-Seekonk Speedway-August 25, 2007: 1. Ben Seitz, Pocasset, MA; 2. Joey Payne, Fairlawn, NJ; 3. Nokie Fornoro, Stroudsburg, PA; 4. Adam Cantor, Dix Hills, NY; 5. Shane Hammond, E. Bridgewater, MA; 6. Bobby Santos III, Franklin, MA; 7. Jeremy Frankoski, Newark Valley, NY; 8. Randy Cabral, Plymouth, MA; 9. Jeff Horn, Ashland, MA; 10. Greg Stoehr, Bridgewater, MA; 11. Erica Santos, Franklin, MA; 12. John Zych Jr., Mendon, MA; 13. Doug Cleveland, Sudbury, MA; 14. Kyle Carpenter , Gloucester, MA; 15. Cory Cleary, Plymouth, MA; 16. Andy Shlatz, Enfield, CT; 17. Shawn Torrey, Marshfield, MA; 18. Steve Powers, N. Andover, MA; 19. Mike Lugelle, Hull, MA; 20. Mike Horn, Ashland, MA- DNF; 21. Rich Gerbe, Franklin Sq., NY- DNF; 22. Chris Leonard, Pelham, NH- DNF; 23. Paul Scally, Raynham, MA- DNF; 24. Lou Ciconni Jr., Aston, PA- DNF; 25. Mark Irving, Bellingham, MA- DNF; 26. Barry Kittredge, Marlboro, MA- DNF; DNS-Paul Luggelle, Holbrook, MA; Bobby Kuiken, Prompton Lakes, NJ; Kevin Park, Foxboro, MA.

Dale Wolbrink/NEMA PR