Members of the NEMA Dick Gallagher Memorial Hall of
Fame PDF HERE
FULL IMPORT & DOMESTIC
REPAIRS AND SERVICE Jeff
Horn 182 Pond St. Ashland, MA
01721
508-881-4540 Hitch & Trailer Specialists
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Specializing in
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SERVING ALL MAKES of MIDGET & SPRINT CAR ENGINES Jon Andruk
ja@circleperformance.com 69 LOCUST STREET, BERKLEY, MA 02779 508-580-5844
NEMA
Announces 2021 Contingency Awards Presented by Seymour Performance Products
The Northeastern Midget Association has announced that
Seymour Performance Products (SPP ) will be presenting
contingency awards from some of the most prominent names in the
industry on a race by race basis to NEMA competitors. The NEMA
LITES kick off their season at the Thompson Motorsports Park
ICEBREAKER on April 11, and the combined group kicks off the
season at LEE USA Speedway on May 15th.
"We really
wanted to determine a way to give back more to the NEMA
community," said SPP owner, Bobby Seymour. "We partnered with
some of the best names in the motorsports industry to provide
generous contingency awards to our NEMA Midgets and NEMA LITES
teams on a weekly basis. This should drive excitement for our
competitors and also brand loyalty to our sponsors," he said.
"The entire club thanks Bobby, Matt and the SPP team, as
well as all of the contingency sponsors, for this great
initiative," said club President, Tim Bertrand. "We are excited
to increase engagement with the brands who have been so loyal to
motorsports, and also give back to our competitors," he said.
The following partners will
be providing cash and product to NEMA competitors:
NEMA LITES Feature Winner will receive a $50 gift
certificate from one of the participating sponsors, of their
choice.
2nd and 9th place finishers will receive a $50 gift
certificate from one of the participating sponsors, of their
choice.
The 3rd and 7th place in Lites will each be awarded $50 cash
from "The Friends of Mike Rivard"
The NEMA LITES Hard Charger will receive a $25 gift
certificate and $25 cash from MPD Racing.
The new "Future Stars" will be determined before the start
of the season. These participants will compete at each event
for an additional $50 cash award from Seymour Performance.
NEMA Midgets Feature Winner will receive a $50 gift
certificate from one of the participating sponsors, of their
choice.
2nd and 9th place finishers will receive a $50 gift
certificate from one of the participating sponsors, of their
choice.
The NEMA Midgets Hard Charger will receive a $50 gift
certificate from Valco Wheels.
At each event SPP, will
have a representative distribute cash and gift
certificates. Certificates will be redeemable at Seymour
Performance Products.
Brockton, MA -
NEMA announced that the
Northeastern Midget Association and Hoosier Tire East have
inked an exclusive, three year deal. Under the deal, NEMA
will have exclusive rights in the Northeast to the current
plated compounds (RR 7, 7.3, RF 5, LR, 5 and LF, 4, 5) and
will be the only series in the Northeast running these
particular tires.
Hoosier will also continue to be a
major contributor to the NEMA point fund, and in addition
have offered fixed pricing for the racer over the next three
years.
“NEMA has enjoyed a long history with Hoosier.
This sport is about supporting those who take care of you,
and supporting each other. We feel that we have the best
product in Hoosier and look forward to a long relationship
with them,” said NEMA President, Mike Scrivani.
As part of the arrangement,
Hoosier tire has selected long time NEMA supporter Seymour
Enterprises to be the exclusive dealer and service provider
to the Northeastern Midget Association.
CHECK THE MEMBERS ALERTS PAGEFOR THE LATEST HANDICAPS,
COMPETITION ADDENDA, RACE PROCEDURES, & NEMA FORMS
In
light of the horrible incident at Thompson Speedway on
Sunday, October 10th, and in support of Danny Kaminski,
the Northeastern Midget Association would like to
publicly acknowledge that we are supportive of
diversity of all types including the LGBTQ community and
will not tolerate any discrimination within our club.
JOHNNY COY JR.
In Memoriam
The Coy name is
synonymous in open wheel racing. Born in Haskell, New Jersey
and eventually taking residence in Merrick, Long Island,
Johnny Coy Jr. was cut from some of the finest racing cloth.
His father, open wheel legend Johnny Coy thrilled midget,
TQ, Modified and sprint car competitors up and down the East
Coast winning championships in ATQMRA, ARDC and even a
NASCAR Midget chamionship. Eventually son’s Johnny Jr. and
Joey would become prominent drivers in their own right,
tearing up midget and TQ tracks in their career.
Johnny Jr. made a name for himself in the beginning, winning
a National TQ Championship in 1978 and a New Hampshire State
Midget Champion in 1980. One of the darker sides of his
career was depicted in scary photo sequence, flipping the
Ferguson Sesco down the front straightaway of Islip Speedway
with his helmet coming off.
Like many, Johnny tried
his hand in the NASCAR world with three career Cup starts to
his credit. In 1984 he made his debut driving for Jeff
Halverson at Dover, starting 33rd and finishing a
respectable 23rd. Two years later he earned his best finish
in the Cup series with a return with James Hylton to Dover
with a 17th place finish beating such legends as Labonte,
Allison and Dale Earnhardt. His Cup career came to an end
with a grinding crash at Rockingham in 1986.
After
NASCAR, it was back to his beloved open wheel racing,
eventually driving for NEMA Champion car owner, Carl Kibbe.
After a few years in midgets and TQ’s, Johnny hung
up the helmet to concentrate on son, Richie's racing.
Together the two formed a pretty formidable combination.
Winning races and championships in TQ’s, Midget’s,
Modifieds, Legends and Late Models with the father/son duo
finding their home back with NEMA.
The midget racing
world is a lot less bright today. Johnny was another good
guy of the sport. You could go to him with a question,
set-up help or driving advice, it didn’t matter. You always
got the same straight shooter. The only love that was bigger
than racing for Johnny was his love for his family and
granddaughter.
Our deepest condolences go to the
entire Coy family during this very difficult time.
Godspeed, Johnny. Thank you for the impressions you made on
this world. -
LEGENDS DAY TO HONOR THE STARS OF NEW ENGLAND MIDGET RACING
LOUDON, NH: The
popular annual Legends Day event will be held on November 7
at the North East Motor Sports Museum (922 Rt 106, Loudon,
NH 03307). Headlining the afternoon will be the stars and
VIPs of midget racing in New England. As always, Legends Day
will be a fun time and will include a free lunch.
This year's event's co-emcees intimately know New England
midget racing and the people who win midget races. Pete
Falconi has been the Northeastern Midget Association
announcer for many years. Dick Monahan has been deeply
involved in NEMA as well, enough to co-write the history of
midget racing in New England for the museum's book
History
of Auto Racing in New England. Both men appreciate the
value of fun.
Living honorees includes a list of
champion drivers. Russ Stoehr won six NEMA championships
between 1990 and 2010, Drew Fornoro won nine NEMA
championships, more than any other driver; Bobby Seymour won
the 1987 driver championship and has fielded midgets for
others to drive to wins for nearly his entire life. Rollie
Lindblad has built the broadest array of winning race cars
of anyone in New England. His construction includes winning
drag race cars, supermodifieds, super-late model cars and
midgets. His Badger midgets dominated NEMA competition for
many years.
Drew Fornoro leads the NEMA all time win
list with 85 victories and is followed by Dave Humphrey who
had 73 trips to victory lane. Bobby Seymour will represent
his family which includes brother Mike, a NEMA champion
driver, and his father "Boston" Louie whose cars won the
USAC Silver Crown Championship. Over a ten-year period,
Boston towed race cars more than a million miles from New
England to USAC races all over America. Bobby was with him
most of the time.
There will be a dramatic banner
unveiling in the museum's ceiling, adding to the banners
depicting the stars of the three prior Legends Day
celebrations. Deceased who will be honored in a special
banner include some of New England's all-time greatest
midget drivers: Johnny Thomson, Bob Blair, Bill Eldridge,
Joe Sostillio, Dave Humphrey and Joe Ciski.
A free
buffet beginning at 11:30 AM is included. The program will
begin at 1:00 PM and will be followed by the museum's Annual
Meeting which is open to all paid members. Become a member
at Legends Day and join the Annual Meeting where you can
have a say in how the museum is run.
Seating is
limited to 100 tickets so a sellout is likely, be sure to
get a seat. You can purchase tickets on our website by
clicking here. Tickets are $30 for museum members, $35 for
non-members. You may also call 603-783-0183 to purchase
tickets or send your payment to the North East Motor Sports
Museum, 922 Rt 106, Loudon, NH 03307. Questions can be
answered by emailing
nemsmuseum@gmail.com.
About the North East Motor
Sports Museum The museum is owned by the
Racing History Preservation Group, a 501-c-3 educational
non-profit organization that seeks to discover, preserve and
share the history of motorsports in the Northeast. The
10,000 square foot museum opened in 2017 on the grounds of
the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH. Call
603-783-0183 or visit
nemsmuseum.com to learn more.
SAT., OCTOBER 16th, 2021 NEMA MIDGETS & NEMA LITES
Seymour Performance
Products $50 Certificate 2nd in
Feature: Randy
Cabral #35
Friends
of Mike Rivard (Jackie Parker & Kevin
Park with the winners)
$100 Award
Heat 1 - Tiana Kibbe #94 Heat 2 -
Dylan Coutu #53
Future
Star
$50 from Seymour Performance
Brayden Egan #59
Hard
Charger Award
$50 DMI Certificate
Jake Trainor #29
Seymour Performance
Products $50 Certificate 9th
in Feature:
Jacob Perry #26
Photos by Tiana Kibbe
Trainor Sweeps Waterford Finale Cabral NEMA Champion
One of the Northeast's most promising up & coming
young talents, Jake Trainor, topped off a dream season,
winning the NEMA LITES Championship, and taking down both
the NEMA and LITES victories at the New-London Waterford
Speedbowl this past Saturday evening. Randy Cabral finished
4th in the NEMA feature, good enough for him to capture his
8th Championship, and the 10th overall for Bertrand
Motorsports.
In the NEMA Midgets feature, Trainor
jumped out into the lead from the outside pole. Once in
command, it was all Trainor, as Ben Seitz chased him in the
early portion of the feature, but had nothing for him.
Further back, eighth starter Randy Cabral was moving through
the pack, but only had enough speed to muster up a 4th place
finish, good enough to capture his 8th championship, as he
now sits 1 championship back from the all time championship
leader, Drew Fornoro.
Trainor went on to dominate the
remainder of the NEMA Midgets feature, and was followed by
Avery Stoehr, Seitz, Randy Cabral, Todd Bertrand, Joey
Payne, Paul Scally, Doug Cleveland, Matt O'Brien and Joey
Bailey.
In the NEMA LITES feature, Trainor blasted
from mid pack to take the lead in only four laps. Once at
the front of the field, he began to rip off laps as fast as
the LITES have seen in years at the Speedbowl, in the
13.9/14.0 range. Behind him, youngster Mike Pernesiglio was
having his best run of the season, running consistent laps
in second. As the race progressed, Randy Cabral would
overtake Pernesiglio, but Pernesiglio would hold on for his
first podium of the season. Trainor dominated the feature,
and swept the night enroute to victory. Cabral was second
followed by Pernesiglio, Richie Coy, Joey Bailey, Kyle
Valeri, Jeff Champagne, Avery Stoehr, Jacob Perry, and
Braden Eagen.
THE NEMA ANGELILLO MEMORIAL
Remembering Gene and Marilyn
Gene and Marilyn Angelillo were, for decades, the
backbone of NEMA. Starting in 1983 Gene amassed 107 wins and
14 owner's championships. He also was president of the club
for several years with Marilyn serving as secretary. The
majority of his success came with Drew Fornoro, with Joey
Payne, Jr. and Russ Stoehr also winning championships for
him. Racing royalty drove Gene's cars, including the late
Ted Christopher, who won for him at Waterford, Jimmy
Broderick, a Waterford champion, and Joe Gosek, a Classic
winner at Oswego.
They were a perfect partnership in
NEMA and in life. If Gene was the stern dad of NEMA, Marilyn
was the den mother, looking out for everyone, and every now
and then keeping Gene in line (not an easy task)!
Gene's legacy transcends more than NEMA. Along with way he
picked up an ARDC championship, and his #45 Dumo's Desire
midget raced everywhere from Florida to Arizona. Gene had
the means to field almost any type of race car, even on a
national level, but his heart was forever with NEMA and the
midgets.
While their accomplishments in NEMA are well
noted, their devotion to family was paramount in their
lives. If anyone could mellow Gene, it was his grandkids.
Marilyn and Gene absolutely adored daughter Laura, and
grandkids Tiana, Cami, and Brooke. Marilyn left us in 2007,
Gene in 2010. Laura kept the team going for one more year,
winning a last championship for Gene and Marilyn with Russ
Stoehr.
Tyler Rivard #52 NEMA
LITE at Wiscassett on 9/8/18
Mike Rivard, from Woonsocket,
RI, passed away from COVID on December 29, 2020. He was the
owner of the tire company, The Tire Doctor, out of
Blackstone, MA. He was a lifelong racer in karts, supers,
and drag racing, but his favorites were the Midgets.
Following his passion, he traveled the country to watch
races.
In the past decade, he and his company became
a race sponsor at several events including the Boston Louie
Memorial. He raced his own #37 dirt Midget everywhere from
the Northeast to Indiana and in 2018 and 2019, Mike along
with Kevin Park competed in the NEMA LITES Series with
Mike's son, Tyler, behind the wheel.
"Whenever Mike
was around, I can guarantee everyone was laughing and having
a great time. He could light up the room," remembers Bobby
Seymour.
For the entire 2021 NEMA LITES season, we
are honoring Mike by raising $100 per event for one lucky
driver in Mike's name.
NEMA would like to extend a
special thanks to his friends:
Kevin Park
Paul MacFee
Jackie Parker
Bobby Seymour
-
NEMA's 1000th Race - Star Speedway - 8/23/14
CARLSON - CABRAL - ZYCH
Recognizing
Some NEMA Milestones
Spring, 2016 -- The Northeastern Midget
Association will open the season at Star Speedway on May 21.
It will be the 1018th point-paying race in the club's
63-year history.
Passing unheralded was the club's
1,000th race at Star Speedway on August 23, 2014. Randy
Cabral was the winner, besting John Zych Jr. and Seth
Carlson.
New England's oldest and most enduring
touring division, NEMA was formed in the late spring of 1953
at the Thompson clubhouse. Fred Meeker was the first NEMA
winner at Seekonk Speedway on May 30, 1953. New England Auto
Racing Hall of Famer Bill Eldridge won the next afternoon at
Waterford.
The NEMA Lites open at Thompson Speedway's
Icebreaker on April 9. There have been 106 races for a
division that started with an exhibition run at New
London-Waterford in 2008. The 100th Lites race was won by
Danny Cugini at Lee on July 17 of last year.
With two
victories last year, Randy Cabral is now tied with Nokie
Fornoro in fourth place on NEMA's all-time win list with 47.
He has 16 seasons with a least one victory tying him with
Bobby Seymour on that list. They have come consecutively,
equaling a NEMA standard set by National Midget Hall of
Famer Dave Humphrey. Most of Cabral's wins have come in Tim
Bertrand's No. 47 but it all started when an upstart Cabral
captured the 2000 Boston Louie in a family car.
Star
Speedway, with 103 races going back to 1968, is the leader
among tracks hosting NEMA events. Randy Cabral tops active
NEMA competitors with four Star wins including three of the
last four. John Zych Jr. has also won at Star.
NEMA
is clearly one of the most competitive open cockpit
divisions in the country. Over the past six years, there
have been 23 different NEMA winners and in all but one of
those seasons, at least one "first-timer" appeared. Over
that span John Zych Jr., Todd Bertrand, Avery Stoehr and
Seth Carlson have become top contenders. Danny Cugini and
Jim Chambers were first time winners in 2015. Bertrand,
Stoehr and Cugini are all products of the NEMA Lites. The
Lites have had 20-different winners in the past three
seasons, champion Anthony Payne and Megan Cugini among the
2015 first timers. Designed with competiveness in the
forefront nine years ago, the Lites are a true success
story.
Nominations are now being accepted for the
New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame. The nomination form
and procedure are available on the New England Antique
Racers' website - www.near1.org. Please disregard the posted
deadlines.
Those with NEMA connections already
enshrined are Gene Angelillo, Chuck Arnold, Burt Brooks, Ray
Brown,Joe Csiki, Bill Eldridge, Frank Ferrara, Drew Fornoro,
Dave Humphrey, Johnny Kay, Wen Kelly, Rollie Lindblad, John
McCarthy, George Monsen, Al Pillion, Billy Randall, Marvin
Rifchin, Mike Scrivani Sr., Louie Seymour, Hank Stevens, Ed
Stone and Bentley Warren.
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