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Thompson, CT: Thursday Night Thompson Thunder
hosted a special 50-lap Super Late Model race with Derek Ramstrom
dominating the action by leading every lap on the way to the
checkered flag. Todd Ceravolo proved his mastery of restarts when he
edged out Ryan Preece for the win in the Sunoco Modified division.
Other NASCAR Whelen All-American Series winners included Tommy
O’Sullivan, Jesse Gleason, Brian Tagg, Cam McDermott, and Eric
Bourgeois.
Todd Ceravolo used restarts to his advantage to take the win in the
30-lap Sunoco Modified feature, and ends a four-race win streak by
Ryan Preece. Ceravolo held off a determined Preece on a lap 23
restart to take the lead for the third and final time of the night.
Kerry Malone jumped to the early lead, but it was all Preece on the
second circuit after he dropped to the bottom and drove to the front
coming out of turn two. Ceravolo drove by for second before caution
slowed the pace at lap four. In a surprise move, Ceravolo soared by
Preece for the lead when the race resumed. Woody Pitkat followed his
line for the second position with Preece all over his bumper in
third. On lap six, Preece challenged Pitkat in a side-by-side
battle. Pitkat had the advantage on the line, but the battle
continued until Preece took over the spot in turns three and four of
lap eight. Caution tightened the field back up again, and Ceravolo
commanded the field once again when racing resumed. Preece rode
Ceravolo’s bumper and the duo pulled away from the rest of the field
by a full second. By lap 16, Ceravolo had put a little breathing
room between himself and Preece, but on lap 19, he drove too high in
turn two and allowed Preece to close the distance back up. Caution
at lap 23 tightened the field up for a restart that saw Ceravolo
choose the outside lane. Ceravolo held off Preece and resumed his
position as leader. Preece, Pitkat, and Dennis Perry rounded out the
top-four. Ceravolo was dominant out front, and took the checkers
unchallenged.
Derek Ramstrom led every lap en route to the Super Late Model
victory. The 50-lap race was only brought to caution twice. Ramstrom
drove right out front at the drop of the green with Mike O’Sullivan
settling behind him in second. The duo pulled away from the rest of
the field, but caution at lap five would tighten them back up again.
O’Sullivan challenged Ramstrom on the restart, but Ramstrom held a
slight advantage when they came around to the line. Ramstrom pulled
ahead as O’Sullivan settled in behind him. Larry Gelinas challenged
Jim Banfield for the third position on lap nine, but Banfield shut
the door. Caution flew again at lap 10 for Michael Rivard who spun
into the grass in turn four. Ramstrom and O’Sullivan battled it out
once again when racing resumed, but Ramstrom pulled ahead coming out
of turn two with O’Sullivan and Gelinas nose-to-tail in his rear
view mirror. O’Sullivan pressured Ramstrom, but Ramstrom held
strong. On lap 30, Gelinas, who was running in third, pulled off the
track and onto pit road. Banfield inherited his position in the
field. Ramstrom could not be stopped and went on to take the
checkers in commanding style.
In the Late Model division, Tommy O’Sullivan scored his third
consecutive win and tenth of the season after taking the lead from
Mike Scorzelli on lap four and never looking back. Randy Tucker led
the field into turn one at the drop of the green, but Scorzelli took
the top spot before the lap was complete. Tucker was challenged by
O’Sullivan on the second circuit and immediately set his sights on
Scorzelli up front. On lap four, O’Sullivan challenged using the
bottom groove and drove by for the lead. Wayne Coury brought out the
caution on lap seven with O’Sullivan jumping right back out to the
lead when action resumed. Caution slowed the pace once again at lap
eight, but it didn’t alter O’Sullivan’s momentum as he drove
straight out to the lead once again. Scorzelli and John Falconi
rounded out the top-three. The field ran single file except for
Glenn Boss, who used the inside lane to get by Damon Tinio for the
fourth position. Boss wasn’t finished, however, and used the same
line to get by Falconi two laps later on lap 16. Falconi hit the
wall in turn three and brought out the third caution of the night on
lap 19. O’Sullivan drove out front at the drop of the green with
Boss driving underneath Scorzelli on lap 20 for the second spot.
Tucker tried to follow his line, but Scorzelli held him off and
remained in the third spot. Boss set his sights on O’Sullivan, but
could not get enough momentum to catch him and O’Sullivan drove on
to the checkered flag.
Jesse Gleason scored his third victory in dominating fashion when he
took the lead in the Limited Sportsman feature on lap two and went
unchallenged for the remainder of the race. Lloyd Anderson, Jr.
drove out front at the start of the action with Mark Jenison getting
sandwiched in a four-wide battle coming out of turn four. Gleason
was the beneficiary of the battle after he drove all the way to the
bottom to drive around it all and take over second. Jason Chicolas,
who was involved in the four-wide scramble, ended up in the grass on
the infield and brought out the caution. The field was lined up with
Anderson, Mike Palin, Kevin Bowe and Gleason leading the pack back
to green. Palin got the early jump, but Anderson came back on the
inside groove and took over the top spot. Gleason followed his line
and challenged for the lead heading into turn one and settled in as
the leader coming out of turn two. Bowe drove by for second with
Anderson falling back in line in third. On lap four, Anderson
challenged Bowe for the second spot and got by for the position
entering turn three. Larry Barnett took over third at lap seven with
Gleason leading Anderson by ten car lengths. On lap 10, Barnett
dropped to the bottom and got a run on Anderson, who lost the second
position on lap 11. Barnett tried to cut away at Gleason’s lead, but
Gleason only extended it as the laps ticked off. Gleason maneuvered
his No. 81 machine around lapped traffic with ease and drove to the
checkers unchallenged.
Brian Tagg celebrated his wedding anniversary in victory lane after
winning the 20-lap Thompson Modified feature, and scoring his first
win of the season. Tagg drove to the early lead with Jay Sundeen and
Danny Gamache, Jr. rounding out the top-three. John Lowinski-Loh was
on the move, and on lap four, dropped to the bottom groove and drove
by Chad LaBastie for the fourth spot. Lowinski-Loh took over the
third position from Gamache on the following circuit as Tagg
continued to dominate up front. Lowinski-Loh was attached to
Sundeen’s bumper by lap eight. The top-three – Tagg, Sundeen and
Lowinski-Loh – were nose-to-tail as the laps ticked off, but on lap
12, Lowinski-Loh made his move and drove by for the second position.
Tagg seamlessly drove by lapped traffic on lap 15, but he couldn’t
shake Lowinski-Loh, who was still attached to his rear bumper. On
lap 17, Lowinski-Loh dropped to the bottom entering turn two, but
dropped back suddenly and settled into third. Tagg held off Sundeen
to take the checkers.
Cam McDermott continued his dominance in the Lite Modified division
by taking the lead from Troy Talman at lap eight. Once out front,
the No. 5 machine was unstoppable. Talman took the lead from Nikki
Ouellette at the start of the feature as Shawn Brule and McDermott
put on a battle for the second position. Brule held the advantage as
McDermott had a difficult time clearing Brule on the bottom groove.
John Studley sat patiently behind in fourth, while McDermott took
over the second position on lap six. McDermott attached himself to
the rear bumper of Talman, and on lap eight, dropped down in turn
three and took over the lead in turn four. Talman wasn’t about to
give up, and tried a crossover move in turn two on lap nine, but got
too high and spun. The caution put McDermott and Studley
side-by-side for the restart with McDermott driving right out front
at the drop of the green. Studley and Brule rounded out the
top-three, but by lap 16 Talman, trying to make up lost ground, was
already pressuring Brule for the third spot. McDermott was
unstoppable and collected his 11th win of the season followed by
Studley and Talman.
Eric Bourgeois took the lead on a lap eight restart and never looked
back en route to the victory in the 15-lap Monster Mini-Stock
feature event. Steve Michalski and Joe Baxter battled it out
side-by-side for the first circuit of the feature with Michalski
holding onto the lead by inches. Caution put an end to the action
when Alicia Thatcher spun to the infield grass on the front stretch.
On the restart it was all Michalski as Baxter got out run by Louis
Bellisle III for the second position. Bellisle’s progress was not
over and he challenged Michalski for the lead heading into turn
three on lap two. Bellisle went low, got side-by-side with Baxter,
and drove by as they entered turn four. Chad Baxter took over the
third spot. On lap six, Chad Baxter, battling a loose racecar, got
sideways in turn four and Trudeau, who had nowhere to go, got into
him and brought out the caution. Bellisle drove back out front on
the restart. Steve Michalski lost the battle for second to Eric
Bourgeois, but caution flew for the third time at lap eight when
Travis Jurcik hit the turn three wall. Bourgeois was the new leader
on the restart after getting by Bellisle at the drop of the green.
Once front, Bourgeois pulled out to a five-car length advantage as
Bellisle and Nick Anderson battled for second. Anderson dove to the
bottom coming out of turn four on lap 12, but Bellisle kept him at
bay. Bourgeois drove on to the checkers with Anderson edging out
Bellisle for the second spot.
SUNOCO MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH: 1. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry, CT;
2. Ryan Preece, Berlin, CT; 3. Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs, CT;
4. Dennis Perry, Pawcatuck, CT; 5. Kerry Malone, Needham, MA; 6.
Jason Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 7. Nick Boivin, Belchertown, MA; 8.
Moose Douton, Waterford, CT; 9. Wayne Arute, Meriden, CT; 10. George
Wilkinson, Pawcatuck, CT.
SUPER LATE MODEL FEATURE FINISH: 1. Derek Ramstrom, Worcester, MA;
2. Mike O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 3. Jim Banfield, S.
Glastonbury, CT; 4. Dick Houlihan, Bridgewater, MA; 5. Jake Vanada,
Berkley, MA; 6. George Bessette, Danbury, CT; 7. Colbey Fournier,
Berkley, MA; 8. Greg Nanigian, Braintree, MA; 9. Glenn Tyler,
Hampton Bays, NY; 10. Ron Laperche, Pascoag, RI.
LATE MODEL FEATURE FINISH: 1. Tommy O’Sullivan, Wilbraham, MA; 2.
Glenn Boss, Danielson, CT; 3. Mike Scorzelli, Malta, NY; 4. Randy
Tucker, Millis, MA; 5. Damon Tinio, Mendon, MA; 6. Wayne Coury,
Milford, CT; 7. Robert O’Connell, Jr., Wrentham, MA; 8. Jared
Materas, Palmer, MA; 9. Ryan Waterman, Danielson, CT; 10. John
Falconi, Oakham, MA.
THOMPSON MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH: 1. Brian Tagg, Oxford, MA; 2. Jay
Sundeen, Douglas, MA; 3. John Lowinski-Loh, Milford, MA; 4. Danny
Gamache, Jr., Woonsocket, RI; 5. Chad LaBastie, Uxbridge, MA; 6.
Denis Legere, Auburn, MA.
LITE MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH: 1. Cam McDermott, Scituate, RI; 2.
John Studley, Framingham, MA; 3. Troy Talman, Oxford, MA; 4. Shawn
Brule, W. Thompson, CT; 5. Eric LeClair, Easthampton, MA; 6. Joe
Boivin, Belchertown, MA; 7. Nikki Ouellette, East Granby, CT.
LIMITED SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH: 1. Jesse Gleason, Lisbon, CT; 2.
Larry Barnett, Moosup, CT; 3. Mark Jenison, Warwick, RI; 4. Corey
Fanning, Mapleville, RI; 5. Steve Kenneway, Lowell, MA; 6. Lloyd
Anderson, Jr., Wauregan, CT; 7. Jason Chicolas, Sutton, MA; 8. Mike
Palin, Dudley, MA; 9. Glynn Roy, Sterling, CT; 10. Tom Shea, New
London, CT.
MINI STOCK FEATURE FINISH: 1. Eric Bourgeois, East Haddam, CT; 2.
Nick Anderson, Oxford, MA; 3. Louis Bellisle III, Lisbon, CT; 4.
Steve Michalski, Brooklyn, CT; 5. Steve Violette, Canterbury, CT; 6.
Joe Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 7. Jim Helger, Rutland, MA; 8. Roger
Ducharme, Foster, RI; 8. Roger Ducharme, Foster, RI; 9. Brad Caddick,
Wyoming, RI; 10. Mike Viens, Seekonk, MA. |
