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Owen & Rocco Get Rabid in Last Lap Tangle for Thompson Sunoco Mod Win
Alan Ward Photo
Thompson, CT — The American-Canadian Tour got the second day of the Sunoco World Series off to a strong start with their Sunoco World Series 75. Brandon Barker and Tom Carey III lead the way to the green flag just before former Thompson Late Model champion Brian Tagg dove sideways across the frontstretch grass to call out the lone caution. The international roster of drivers kept it lean and green after that, even as several drivers fell out with mechanical issues throughout the 75-lap sprint. In the end, Tom Carey III backed up his September extra-distance win to claim his third career American-Canadian Tour win in the ‘Brookside Ride’ while former Seekonk Speedway champion Ryan Kuhn kept him honest, following just a car-length behind through the second half of the event to claim second. Polesitter Brandon Barker held on to take third over Quebec’s Jonathan Bouvrette.
Brett Meservey led the New England Pro-4 Modifieds to green for the annual Harry Kourafas Memorial 22-lap main event on Sunoco World Series Saturday. Meservey showed the way throughout the early circuits, his only trouble saw lap traffic stall his run around lap 12 as Rob Richardi, Jr. began creeping closer. Richardi made his presence known during the miscue for Meservey but Brett Meservey remained unshaken, taking the Harry Kourafas Memorial 22 over Richardi and Ryan Morgan in the #77 taking third.
New York’s Mike Scorzelli and Maine’s Dominic Curit led the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models to the start of their 50-lap main event with Curit getting the drive on the outside lane. Coming from the back of the pack, DJ Shaw, Wayne Helliewell and Corey Casagrande followed Curit’s play, driving hard on the outside groove into the top five. Making it look like child’s play, Shaw dove underneath Curit to lead lap 8 while Eddie MacDonald sat mired in mid-pack traffic, desperately hoping for a breaking point. Engine problems for Helliwell took him out of contention prior to the halfway point as MacDonald went to work on Casagrande for third. Although MacDonald broke free from traffic, the gap was too much without a caution to re-rack the field. DJ Shaw took down the Sunoco World Series win in dominant fashion with Eddie MacDonald taking second and Corey Casagrande coming home third.
The New England Supermodified Series returned to Thompson Speedway for the second time in 2024 to crown their season-long champion on Sunoco World Series Saturday. Ryan Battle led the way to green but it was Ben Seitz that beat the Dunstable driver back to the line. Seitz powered away with the lead as Battle fell under attack by open-wheel legend Russ Wood in the opening laps. Wood moved under Battle for second with Matt Swanson following suit the next time around but Seitz held strong to a half-track lead by lap 13. Ben Seitz took a dominant victory in the New England Supermodified Series with Russ Wood and Matt Swanson joining him in victory lane as the Series crowned Bobby Timmons III the 2024 champion.
Returning after their first Sunoco World Series feature on Friday, Derek Ramstrom and Tyler Barry led the Thompson Sunoco Modifieds to green for their track championship finale. Tempers from Friday seemed to boil over to Saturday with Ramstrom finding himself in the backstretch grass on lap one while Barry, Isaiah Newcomb and Keith Rocco played bumper cars at the head of the field. Friday night winner Todd Owen remained the only car riding the low lane looking for inches while Rocco made the crossover on Barry to lead lap 6. Barry began to backslide before himself and Rob Summers made contact in turn four sending both cars to the back of the pack on lap 11.
Keith Rocco felt division titan Jon Puleo pour the pressure on at the halfway point, just inches off his rear bumper with Todd Owen staying within striking distance in third. Puleo used the slide-job to take over the lead on lap 17 with Rocco using the same technique to lead lap. Staying in contention, Owen made the dive-bomb move on Rocco in the final corner of the final lap with the two making heavy contact down the frontstretch and across the line under the checkered flags. Todd Owen took the Sunoco World Series Saturday win over Keith Rocco with the two exchanging words in victory lane as 2024 Thompson Sunoco Modified champion Jon Puleo celebrated a third-place finish to finalize his championship run.
Following the wild Sunoco Modified main, Dave Trudeau and Steve Michalski started the Thompson Mini Stocks on the right foot. The top six cars drove under a blanket, two and sometimes three wide at the head of the pack before things went sour on lap 5 with Kevin Moore, Trudeau and Michalski getting together along the backstretch wall to call out the caution. The wilds continued as championship hopeful Ryan Pompselli got the black flag with an unsecured hood cited as the culprit. Pomposelli jumped into the infield pit road and Steve Michalski took out any aggression he might have had from the lap 5 scuff-up by ripping Pomposelli’s hood off allowing the young racer to rejoin the field. Jared Roy inherited the lead out front and never faltered, taking his sixth win of the season in a successful track championship defense. Tim Dorr and Kevin Moore rounded out the top three.
The Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series took over the infield for their Constantine Paving & Sealing 75 on Sunoco World Series Saturday. Stephen Kopcik and Joey Cipriano brought the 33-car field to green with Cipriano getting the opening lead as heavy hitters Patrick Emerling, Jon McKennedy and Woody Pitkat quickly formed on his six o’clock! McKennedy dove to the bottom to lead lap 7 with Cipriano quickly fading to Pitkat the next lap as the balance of the field fell into single file. A pair of cautions set pit strategy in motion for several teams but McKennedy, Emerling, Pitkat and Matt Hirschman kept their machines at the front of the pack in search of the $10,000 payday.
After each caution cycle, McKennedy continued to assert his dominance out ahead of Pitkat and Emerling while ‘Big Money Matt’ and Kopcik kept themselves in contention among the top runners. With laps winding down, Anthony Nocella and Ronnie Williams began entering the picture as George Bessett Jr. climbed into the top-10 after an earlier pit stop. With fifteen laps remaining, Hirschman began to gain considerably on McKennedy, pulling to within a car-length in the corners as the two held a straightaway lead over third-place runner Anthony Nocella. With four laps left Hirschman began to look low with lap traffic ahead under the two-to-go popsicle sticks from the chief starter. Jon McKennedy used the lappers to his advantage, holding onto the lead and taking the Constantine Paving & Sealing 75 for the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series over Matt Hirschman and Anthony Nocella. Stephen Kopcik held on for fourth and Matt Swanson stole fifth.
Thompson Speedway closes out the 2024 season with the finale of the 62nd Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing on Sunday, October 13. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Sunoco World Series 150 presented by FloRacing highlights the Sunday schedule with track championships decided for the Street Stocks and the AZ Roofing SK Light Modifieds along with special visits from the NEMA Lites and the Evolve Bank & Trust Pro Truck Challenge. Post Time is set for 1:30pm on Sunday, October 13.
For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.
For technical information concerning all PASS divisions, and for media or marketing questions, please contact passracing@roadrunner.com or visit www.proallstarsseries.com. Don’t forget to “Like” the Pro All Stars Series on Facebook or follow on Twitter @PASSSLM14 to keep up with breaking news as it happens.
For general Thompson Speedway inquiries, call (860) 923-2280, email oval@thompsonspeedway.com, or visit www.thompsonspeedway.com. You can follow Thompson Speedway on Facebook and Instagram at @ThompsonSpeedway or on Twitter at @ThompsonSpdwy.
62ndSunoco World Series Super Saturday
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park – Thompson, CT
Saturday, October 12, 2024
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series – Constantine Paving & Sealing 75 (75 Laps)
1. 79 Jon McKennedy Chelmsford, MA
2. 60 Matt Hirschman Northamption, PA
3. 92 Anthony Nocella Woburn, MA
4. 1 Stephen Kopcik Newtown, CT
5. 25 Matt Swanson Harvard, MA
6. 39 George Bessette, Jr. Danbury, CT
7. 07NY Patrick Emerling Mooresville, NC
8. 50 Ronnie Williams Ellington, CT
9. 31 Noah Korner Avon, CT
10. 57 Keith Rocco Berlin, CT
11. 5CT Chris Pasteryak Lisbon, CT
12. 00 Mike Christopher, Jr. Wolcott, CT
13. 36 David Sapienza Riverhead, NY
14. 8 Chris Finocchario Macdeon, NY
15. 55CT Teddy Hodgdon Danbury, CT
16. 88 Woody Pitkat Bellingham, MA
17. 13 Max Zachem Oakdale, CT
18. 19 Jeffrey Battle Dunstable, MA
19. 28 Buddy Charette Woodstock, CT
20. 81NY Mark Stewart Wading River, NY
21. 55x Jacob Perry Kannapolis, NC
22. 8NY Tyler Barry Griswold, CT
23. 15 Jake Johnson Rehoboth, MA
24. 48 Glen Steger Copiague, NY
25. 51CT Joey Cipriano Plymouth, CT
26. 11 Corey DiMatteo Farmington, CT
27. 76 Brett Meservey Brewster, MA
28. 3 Tyler Rypkema Owego, NY
29. 81 Todd Owen Somers, CT
30. 07 Kyle Bonsignore Mooresville, NC
31. 78 Walt Sutcliffe East Haven, CT
32. 55 Ryan Doucette Framingham, MA
DNS 47 Joey Mucciacciaro Wolcott, CT
American-Canadian Tour – (75 Laps)
1. 5MA Tom Carey III New Salem, MA
2. 72MA Ryan Kuhn East Bridgewater, MA
3. 0NH Brandon Barker Windham, ME
4. 41QC Jonathan Bouvrette Blainville, QC
5. 04VT DJ Shaw Center Conway, NH
6. 47NH Gabe Brown Center Conway, NH
7. 03MA Derek Gluchacki Dartmouth, MA
8. 7MA #Jeremy Sorel Westfield, MA
9. 25NH Jesse Switser W. Burke, VT
10. 31CT Ryan Morgan North Franklin, CT
11. 27NH Cam Huntress Rochester, NH
12. 36NH Erick Sands Derry, NH
13. 45NH #Kasey Beattie St. Johnsbury, VT
14. 9MA Brian Tagg Oxford, MA
15. 33QC Remi Perreault St. Paul, QC
16. 31VT Stephen Donahue Graniteville, VT
17. 15QC Christopher Bedard Levis, QC
18. 77NH Bryan Wall Jr. E. Kingston, NH
19. 21QC Alexendre Tardif Notre Dame des Pins, QC
20. 18VT #Kaiden Fisher Shelburne, VT
Pro All Stars Series Super Late Models – (50 Laps)
1. 60 D.J. Shaw Center Conway, NH
2. 71MA Eddie MacDonald Rowley, MA
3. 7CT Cory Casagrande Stafford Springs, CT
4. 32Q Alex Quarterley Westfield, MA
5. 18 Michael Scorzelli Feura Bush, NY
6. 54 Johnny Clark Hallowell, ME
7. 19 Rusty Poland Naples, ME
8. 5 Dominic Curit Saco, ME
9. 17 Kevin Folan North Attleboro, MA
10. 27NH Wayne Helliwell, Jr. Dover, NH
New England Supermodified Series – (40 Laps)
2024 NESS Supermodified Champion: Bobby Timmons
1. 11 Ben Seitz Bourne, MA
2. 41 Russ Wood Pelham, NH
3. 97 Matt Swanson Harvard, MA
4. 47 Jim Storace Kingston, NH
5. 13 Bobby Timmons Windham, ME
6. 51 Vern Romanoski Strong, ME
7. 14 Ryan Battle Dunstable, MA
8. 22 Mark MacIver Stafford, NH
9. 5 Rob Summers Manchester, CT
10. 53 Dave Duggan Milford, NH
New England Pro-4 Modifieds – Harry Kourafas Memorial (22 Laps)
Top-5 Finishers of 16 Cars Present
1. 5 Brett Meservey
2. 0 Rob Richardi, Jr.
3. 77 Ryan Morgan
4. 88 Josh Badam
5. 12 Avery Stohr
Thompson Sunoco Modifieds – (30 Laps)
2024 Thompson Sunoco Modified Champion: Jon Puleo
1. 81 Todd Owen Somers, CT
2. 09 Keith Rocco Berlin, CT
3. 7 Jon Puleo Branford, CT
4. 22 #Isaiah Newcomb Plymouth, MA
5. 2 Danny Cates Chaplin, CT
6. 76 Tyler Barry Griswold, CT
7. 99 Rob Summers Manchester, CT
8. 40 Mike Mitchell Cumberland, RI
9. 4 #Zach Leone Worcester, MA
10. 55 Derek Ramstrom Worcester, MA
11. 22x Tom Sekulski Nesconcet, NY
12. 27 Chase Cook Norwich, MA
Mini Stocks – (15 Laps)
2024 Thompson Mini Stock Champion: Jared Roy
1. 1CT Jared Roy Moosup, CT
2. 16 Tim Dorr Gales Ferry, CT
3. 82 Kevin Moore Moosup, CT
4. 9CT Richard LaFlesh Griswold, CT
5. 78 Eric Bourgeois Oakdale, CT
6. 7 Kyle Wing Windham, CT
7. 19x David Dorr Gales Ferry, CT
8. 73 Eric Julian Willimantic, CT
9. 84 Bill Schoeler Warwick, RI
10. 81 Glynn Roy Moosup, CT
11. 19 Ryan Pomposelli Smithfield, RI
12. 39 Derek Farnham Bethel, VT
13. 05 Randy Churchill Jr. Waterford, CT
14. 44 Steve Michalski Brooklyn, CT
15. 97 Dave Trudeau Mansfield, CT
16. 40 Nadine Coates Wrentham, MA
