Racefans and teams alike showed Wednesday that midweek racing is alive and well in Northeast Connecticut with a great crowd on hand to witness twenty-one top Tour-type Modified teams battle it out for the $5,000 prize waiting at the end of their 50-lap sprint. Stellar action in the SK Light Modified, Late Model, Limited Sportsman and Mini Stock ranks continue to prove that the respective track championship trophies continue to be up for grabs as remaining events begin to wind down.
Frank Hirt and Todd Douillard brought the SK Light Modified field down to take the green flag in the first of two 30-lap features for the open wheel class. Hirt slides back to allow Douillard the lead while Nathan Pytko and Nick Hovey move into position to stalk the leader in the opening laps. Just five laps down Alexander Pearl and point leader Tyler Chapman moved in towards the rear bumper of Douillard as the caution flag flew for a spun Jeff Davenport in turn three. Battle of the 16’s at the restart with Hovey getting the lead over Douillard and Pearl. Under caution once again for the spinning Davenport into the turn four wall, leader Nick Hovey blows a left rear tire and heads behind the wall to service.
On the restart it was Pearl versus Chapman with the #41CT letting loose on the outside groove like a rocket and quickly extending his lead. As Pearl began to grow ever closer, Chapman sailed hard into the turn three wall to ruin his Double Feature night to leave Alexander Pearl clear sailing to the win followed by Isaiah Newcomb and John O’Sullivan.
Steve Michalski faced off against Dave Trudeau to start off the 15-lap Mini Stock feature event. Trudeau would take over the lead in the first corner while Kyle Wing would lead lap one, looking for his second-consecutive four-cylinder win at the Big-T. Jerrod Roy would get the edge over Wing on the bottom groove as defending champion Kevin Moore went to work on Trudeau. Although Moore would move around Trudeau and Wing, he could only watch from a car-length back as Jerrod Roy took down his second win of the season with Wing rounding out the podium.
With the Limited Sportsman next to take the Thompson highbanks, Scott Sundeen set the pace under the green flag, but it was Aaron Plemons with the crossover who beat the field back to the line. Sundeen would get swirly on lap 4 to bring out the lone caution with his stalled machine. Plemons led the restart over Brett Gleason and a hard-charging Jason Chicolas on the outside with Chicolas working his way up to lead lap 9. After stalking close behind, Ryan Waterman would take over the lead on lap 12 and never looked back on his way to O’Reilly Auto Parts victory lane followed by Chicolas and point leader Corey Fanning.
Longtime Legends car standout Devin Deshaies and current American-Canadian Tour rookie point leader Andrew Molleur brought the Late Model field to the green flag. Deshaies would get the edge on the outside lane but Molleur did not back down on the bottom as Jake Johnson, Nick Johnson and Jordan Hadley moved in. After battling side-by-side throughout the first half of the 25-lap feature, Molleur took over and led lap 14 but point leader Nick Johnson quickly went underneath the young-gun to steal away the position. Nick Johnson would back up his first career win just one month ago with Andrew Molleur and Jake Johnson rounding out the podium.
The second SK Light Modified feature picked up right where they left off earlier in the evening as Meghan Fuller spun around at the line, tackled by another machine to call out the caution. With Nick Hovey and Nathan Pytko leading the restart, Hovey would take the lead while the rest of the field bobbed and weaved in 90-mile-an-hour chaos. A quickie caution for the spun and stalled Jeff Davenport and Danny Gamache in the bottom of turn one re-racked the field as Hovey duked it out with Isaiah Newcomb. Neck-and-neck at the line, Hovey would get the charge on the backstretch but Newcomb, Alexander Pearl and a revived Tyler Chapman drew up nose-to-tail.
Pearl would sweep underneath Hovey to steal the lead on lap 18 while Chapman moved in to create a three-wide melee along the front stretch as all three fought tooth and nail for the lead. Ultimately it was Alexander Pearl who kept the throttle pegged and swept the SK Light Modified Double Features, this time with Tyler Chapman and Nick Hovey on the podium.
After utilizing the American-Canadian Tour Plus/Minus handicap system, Ron Silk earned a +4 in heat one to claim the pole over George Bessette Jr. Silk took the early jump to the joyful fist-bumps of many a Thompson race fan with two-time 2023 Thompson winner Ronnie Williams glued to his rear bumper. Just ten-laps in, Williams and Silk dove in and around each other with Silk continuing to lead until Williams finally made it stick on lap 14. With Anthony Bello in tow just behind them in third, Silk and Williams continued to play games with each other at the head of the pack.
Using the crossover rocketing off turn two, Silk would regain the lead on lap 27 and started to pull away with Williams seeming to be content in second until the first yellow flag flew on lap 32 for Glen Steger’s spin in turn two. Silk would elect the outside groove above Williams before the caution struck again for the Paul Buzel machine planted into the turn three wall. Silk again took charge over Williams as Bello took the upper hand on the two-time winner to steal second with ten-to-go. In the end, it was all Ron Silk, bringing the #16 machine to Thompson Speedway victory lane to the tune of $5,000 followed by Bello and Williams. George Bessette Jr. would keep it up front to finish fourth with Matt Swanson rounding out the top-five.
The Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park oval will be back in action on Wednesday, August 16th with the return of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour! The nationally-renowned NASCAR Modifieds bring the thunder back to the hills of Eastern Connecticut along with the SK Light Modifieds, ACT-type Late Models, Limited Sportsman, and Mini Stocks for the third Wednesday night showdown of the 2023 season!
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.
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park – Thompson, CT
Twisted Tea Dash for Cash #2
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Thompson Outlaw Open Modifieds – Twisted Tea Dash for Cash #2 (50 Laps)
1. 16CT Ron Silk Norwalk, CT
2. 179 Anthony Bello Newtown, CT
3. 50W Ronnie Williams Ellington, CT
4. 1 George Bessette, Jr. Danbury, CT
5. 5CT Chris Pasteryak Lisbon, CT
6. 45 Brett Meservey Brewster, MA
7. 25 Matt Swanson Harvard, MA
8. 55CT Teddy Hodgdon Danbury, CT
9. 50M Carl Medeiros, Jr. Westport, MA
10. 5MA RJ Marcotte Millville, MA
11. 76 Kirk Alexander W. Swanzey, NH
12. 14 Marcello Rufrano N. Haven, CT
13. 28 Buddy Charette Woodstock, CT
14. 9 Tommy Barrett Millis, MA
15. 47 Joey Mucciacciaro Wolcott, CT
16. 58 Joey Gada Salem, CT
17. 17 Kevin Folan N. Attleboro, MA
18. 48 Glen Steger Copiague, NY
19. 7 Kurt Vigiant Oxford, MA
20. 88 Paul Buzel Trumbull, CT
21. 21 Jacob Perry Pawcatuck, RI
SK Light Modifieds – Feature #1 (30 Laps)
1. 7 Alexander Pearl Salem, CT
2. 22 Isaiah Newcomb Plymouth, MA
3. 15 John O'Sullivan Norwich, CT
4. 16MA Todd Douillard Palmer, MA
5. 2 Meghan Fuller Auburn, MA
6. 32 Tom Abele, Jr. Norwich, CT
7. 88 Danny Gamache Jr. N. Smithfield, RI
8. 16 Nickolas Hovey Chaplin, CT
9. 41CT Tyler Chapman Ellington, CT
10. 24H Frank Hirt Danbury, CT
11. 26 Rob Janovic Jr. Waterford, CT
12. 24 Nathan Pytko Oxford, MA
13. 07K Jeff Davenport
14. 27 Corey Caddick Stafford, CT
15. 28CT George Perreault Woodstock, CT
DNS 41 Steven Chapman Ellington, CT
SK Light Modifieds – Feature #2 (30 Laps)
1. 7 Alexander Pearl Salem, CT
2. 41CT Tyler Chapman Ellington, CT
3. 16 Nickolas Hovey Chaplin, CT
4. 22 Isaiah Newcomb Plymouth, MA
5. 15 John O'Sullivan Norwich, CT
6. 2 Meghan Fuller Auburn, MA
7. 16MA Todd Douillard Palmer, MA
8. 32 Tom Abele Jr. Norwich, CT
9. 88 Danny Gamache Jr. N. Smithfield, RI
10. 07K Jeff Davenport
11. 24 Nathan Pytko Oxford, MA
12. 26 Rob Janovic Jr. Waterford, CT
13. 28CT George Perreault Woodstock, CT
DNS 24H Frank Hirt Danbury, CT
DNS 27 Corey Caddick Stafford, CT
DNS 41 Steven Chapman Ellington, CT
Thompson Late Models – (25 Laps)
1. 6MA Nick Johnson Rehoboth, MA
2. 31CT Andrew Molleur Shelton, CT
3. 91CT Jake Johnson Rehoboth, MA
4. 64RI Devin Deshaies Burrillville, RI
5. 37 Jordan Hadley Waterford, CT
6. 17MA Matt Lowinski-Loh Milford, MA
7. 21MA Pete Yetman E. Greenbush, NY
8. 13 Tony Macrino Waterford, CT
9. 50RI Mike Benevides Westerly, RI
10. 42CT Manny Dias Danielson, CT
11. 12 Ed Ryan Preston, CT
Limited Sportsman – (20 Laps)
1. 75 Ryan Waterman Danielson, CT
2. 7x Jason Chicolas Sutton, MA
3. 11 Corey Fanning Mapleville, RI
4. 67 Aaron Plemons Uncasville, CT
5. 73 Larry Barnett Moosup, CT
6. 01 Brett Gleason Griswold, CT
7. 22T Tim Poulin N. Grosvenordale, CT
8. 52 Al Stone III Durham, CT
9. 84 Bert Ouellette Ellington, CT
10. 66 Tyler Cinamella Willimantic, CT
11. 10 Charles Stott Medway, MA
12. 36 Scott Sundeen Sutton, MA
13. 45 Tommy Shea Somers, CT
Mini Stocks – (15 Laps)
1. 1CT Jarred Roy Moosup, CT
2. 82 Kevin Moore Moosup, CT
3. 7 Kyle Wing Marshfield, CT
4. 97 Dave Trudeau Marshfield, CT
5. 84 Bill Schoeler Warwick, RI
6. 81 Glynn Roy Sterling, CT
7. 44 Steve Michalski Brooklyn, CT
8. 54 Mitch Bombard Willimantic, CT
9. 10 Keith Ballou Pascoag, RI
10. 22 Brad Caddick Wyoming, RI