NEMA - NorthEastern Midget Association

Marvin
Rifchin
Trophy
Race

MAY 12TH WATERFORD

HEATS>

FEATURE>

Photos by
John
Dadalt

Greg Stoehr Grabs Rifchin Trophy

Waterford, CT – Absolutely dominating the second half of the race, Greg Stoehr captured the 30-lap Marvin Rifchin Trophy race Saturday night at the Northeastern Midget Association’s Diamond Anniversary Race at Waterford Speedbowl.

Grabbing the lead on a lap 13 restart, Stoehr, in the family 26b, went on to a 1.450 seconds win over Randy Cabral (Bertrand 47). John Zych (Zych 9), Russ Stoehr (Dumo’s Desire 45) and Todd Bertrand (Bertrand 39) completed the top five.

Stoehr assumed control when early leader Anthony Marvuglio (Bordeau 38) suffered a flat left front tire on caution. After a brief side-by-side battle with Cabral, he quickly assumed a commanding advantage in a car built over the winter to replace a car that was destroyed last summer at Waterford.

Daughter/crew chief Kathryn, Stoehr said, deserved a lot of the credit. Despite a sizzling performance in his heat, Stoehr wanted to make changes. It was Kathryn who said “no, leave it alone” and the result was “the best car I’ve ever had here.” His best lap was a 12.937.

The only scare came with three laps left when a car “checked up” in front of him heading into one.

“A flat tire is never a good thing,” said Stoehr, admitting he needed the second yellow. “I would not have minded finishing second to Anthony.”

“There’s no better feeling than leading laps in a race this big,” said Marvuglio who jumped into a commanding lead on the first restart with two laps gone. He said that a valve stem was cut and created a slow leak when he and early leader Paul Scally “got together.”

He was running consistent 12.9 seconds laps, including a race-best 12.910. “Keeping the car on the right side,” he had almost a half lap lead when the race was stopped in an incident that involved Jim Miller and Scally.

Starting seventh, Stoehr moved to fourth on the first restart, moved to third with six laps down and got by Scally for second just prior to the second yellow.

Over four generations, the Stoehr family has been part of NEMA’s history for almost five decades with grandfather Paul, sons Russ and Greg and grandchildren Bethany, Kathryn and Avery all on hand.
Among the honored quests were former driving champions Dave Humphrey, Johnny Mann, Butch Walsh and Lou Fray, former owner champion Pete Valeri, and former club presidents Mike Favulli and Dick Monahan. Also on hand were one-time scorer Dottie Mann, driver and public relations man Joe Bowen, photographer Bob Miour and starters Earl Grant and Billy Ryder. Ryder, in fact, threw the initial green flag.
It was the second straight runner-up finish for defending champion Randy Cabral who shares the point lead with John Zych Jr.
It was the 11th career win for Greg Stoher, the second at Waterford.
Nine of the 17 starters have at least one Speedbowl victory including sixth-place finisher Jeff Horn.

NEMA MIDGETS - Waterford - 5/12/12

Pos. # Driver Hometown Owner

1 26b Greg Stoehr Bridgewater, MA Greg Stoehr

2 47 Randy Cabral Plymouth, MA Tim Bertrand

3 9 John Zych Jr. Louisville, KY John Zych Sr.

4 45 Russ Stoehr Bridgewater, MA Dumo's Desire Racing

5 39 Todd Bertrand Suffield, CT Bertrand Motorsports

6 A1 Jeff Horn Ashland, MA Jeff Horn

7 93x Mike Horn Ashland, MA Jeff Horn

8 3m Jim Miller Weymouth, MA Jim Miller

9 16 Matt O'Brien Wilmington, MA Jim O'Brien & Sons
Engineering

10 87 Doug Cleveland Sudbury, MA Doug Cleveland

11 44 Joey Payne Fairlawn, NJ Ed Breault

12 2 Lee Bundy Kennebunkport, ME Lee Bundy

13
DNF 71 Seth Carlson Brimfield, CT Gene Feigel

14
DNF 38 Anthony Marvuglio E. Bridgewater, MA Tammy Bourdeau

15
DNF 30 Paul Scally Raynham, MA Paul Scally

16
DNF 99 Jim Santa Maria Burlington, CT Susan Santa Maria

17
DNF 7ny Adam Cantor Glen Cove, NY Allan Cantor

Fastest Lap of the Race: #38 - 12.910

HEAT 1: 26b-30-38-A1-9-71-2-3m(dnf)-99(dnf)

HEAT 2: 44-45-93x-47-39-16-7ny-87-48(dnf)

HEATS>

FEATURE>

Photos by John Dadalt

Brandon Igo NEMA Lites Winner

Waterford, CT – Brandon Igo led every lap but winning the 30-lap Lites feature at the Northeastern Midget Association Diamond Anniversary Race Saturday night at Waterford Speedbowl was hardly easy. Igo, in fact, had to rely on his dirt track experience to capture his first NEMA win.

With eight laps remaining, Igo (Igo 45) and Carl Medeiros Jr. (Medeiros 50) came together in turn two. With the car sideways, Igo “stood on the gas and turned right. That’s where the dirt track experience came in,” said the one-time Whip City champion.

It ended a great effort for Medeiros who admitted to “running out of patience” looking to get inside Igo. Medeiros did spin, setting up a restart . On the green, Igo got the jump on Joey Mucciacciaro (Scally 4) and went on to finish 1.92 seconds ahead of Ian Cumens (Seymour 9) with Mucciacciaro third. Ryan Bigelow (Bigelow 13) was fourth and Randy Cabral (Cabral 35) came from 19^th to claim fifth.

After two false starts, Igo jumped into the lead. By the time Medeiros (who posted the fastest lap – 13.871) cleared a battle that also included Jake Smith, Cumens, Mucciacciaro and Anthony Nocella, Igo was almost a half lap in front.

Leaving behind Cumens and Mucciacciaro to battle for third and a Smith- Nocella duel for fifth, Medeiros cut into Igo’s advantage, catching him with 12 laps remaining. Three times Medeiros tried the inside before the effort ended with a spin.

“It was a hard hit,” said Igo of the contact with Medeiros. “The steering wheel was moving all over the place. I held the car down and took a hard one.”

Cumens, who started ninth, moved past Mucciacciro on the final restart but couldn’t get away and Igo breezed home. Medeiros would up sixth.

NEMA LITES - Waterford - 5/12/12

Pos. # Driver Hometown Owner

1 45 Brandon Igo Wilbraham, MA David Igo

2 9 Ian Cumens Lydell, PA Bobby Seymour

3 4 Joey Mucciacciaro Wolcott, CT Paul Scally

4 13 Ryan Bigelow E. Hampton, CT Randy Bigelow

5 35 Randy Cabral Plymouth, MA Glen Cabral

6 50 Carl Medeiros, Jr. Westport, MA Carl Medeiros

7 29 Anthony Nocella Woburn MA Matt Seymour

8 15b Avery Stoehr Lakeville, MA MC Racing LLC/
Russ Stoehr

9 93 Jake Smith Stroudsburg, PA Ted Smith

10 11 Alan Chambers Atkinson, NH Michael Chambers

11 31 Paul Bigelow Berlin, CT Randy Bigelow

12 51 Danny Cugini Marshfield, MA D. Cugini

13
DNF 39 R. J. Tufano West Haven, CT R. J. Tufano

14
DNF 52 Kevin Park Foxboro, MA Kevin Park

15
DNF 44 Christian Briggs Mattapoisett, MA Christian Briggs

16
DNF 46 Kenney Johnson Bethany, CT Jeff Johnson

17
DNF 81 Andy Barrows New Ipswitch, NH Dustin Anderson

18
DNF 99 Jim Santa Maria Burlington, CT Sue Santa Maria

19
DNF 26b Bethany Stoehr Bridgewater, MA MCI Racing/
Greg Stoehr

20
DNS 18 David Moniz Fairhaven, MA David Moniz

21
DNS 57 Dylan Duhaime Loudon, NH Shawn Duhaime

HEAT 1: 45-44-99-26b-4-9-39-51-52-35(dnf)-57(dnf)

HEAT 2: 93-29-50-81-46-13-11-31-15-18(dnf)

NEMA Guests
at the
60th Anniversary
Party

Marvin
Rifchin
Trophy
Race

Marvin Rifchin with Randy Cabral

Marvin Rifchin – A Fitting Tribute

All of auto racing, it seems, wants to claim the late Marvin Rifchin and with good reason. His membership in the NHRA, SEMA and New England Auto Racers Halls of Fame is testimony to the contributions Marvin made to the sport.

Still, the Midgets were the first love for the legendary tire maker (M&H) going back to the 1940s. He was a frequent visitor at NEMA events almost up to his passing in 2009. Line up NEMA’s owners, drivers and fans and if one doesn’t have a “Marvin Story” then he or she is, indeed, a recent arrival.

His knowledge and his generosity were surpassed only by his humility. While NEMA can’t claim a monopoly on that, it does regard Marvin Rifchin as a paramount figure in the club’s 60 years. It is most fitting that the Marvin Rifchin Trophy Race is part of NEMA’s Diamond Anniversary celebration Saturday night (May 12) at Waterford Speedowl.

NEMA CHAMPIONS HERO CARDS

Cabral, Stoehr Lead NEMA
to Speedbowl on May 12th

Brockton, MA – Randy Cabral has had enough of it. The Northeastern Midget Association three time and defending champion believes it is time for him to return to Waterford Speedbowl’s victory lane, a spot he has frequented more than anybody else in the club’s long history.

What better time than Saturday night when NEMA celebrates its 60th birthday with 60 laps of feature racing – 30 each for NEMA and the NEMA Lites – at the historic Connecticut shoreline oval. Cabral (Bertrand 47) is part of an expected strong NEMA field in pursuit of the coveted Marvin Rifchin Trophy.

President Mike Scrivani has compiled an impressive “guest list” for the party including former champions Dave Humphrey, Butch Walsh, Bob Pascale and Lou Fray. “This will be a celebration of midget history, past and recent,” reports Scrivani. “Winning this one is definitely going to be big.”

There have been 11 NEMA races since Cabral’s last (and eighth) win at Waterford. A fan favorite at Waterford, he made it very clear after finishing second at this year’s BLASTOFF, getting back to Victory Lane is “Priority One.”

Russ Stoehr (Dumo’s Desire 45), who has won five of the last 11 races, heads up the opposition. Stoehr was third at the BLASTOFF, his 10th podium over the same span.

The Cabral-Stoehr rivalry, takes place in a field of legitimate contenders. BLASTOFF winner John Zych (Zych 9) leads a group of Rifchin Trophy contenders that include Joey Payne (Breault 44), Jim Miller (Miller 3m), Barry Kittredge (Kittredge 8), Chris Leonard (Leonard 22), Adam Cantor (Cantor 7ny), Todd Bertrand (Bertrand 39) and Greg Stoehr (Stoehr 26). All have won at Waterford in the past.

Cabral’s owner Tim Bertrand points out The Speedowl “keeps coming up with surprises.” Defending Rifchin Trophy winner Mike Horn (Horn 93x), Anthony Marvuglio (Bordeau 38), Matt O’Brien (O’Brien 16), Paul Scally (Scally 30), and rookies James Santa Maria (Santa Maria 99) and Seth Carlson (Feigel 71) are in the mix as well.

Zych posted a 13.001 second laps at the Blast Off. Many believe speeds will exceed that on a most seasoned track. Waterford is generally acclaimed as one of the region’s premier Midget facilities. “In many cases,” says Greg Stoehr, “the best you run all year is at Waterford.”

While history is center stage, the five-year old Lites Division is the club’s future. Anthony Nocella is the man to beat in the Lites feature. A large field in expected including Nocella’s teammate Ian Cumens, Ryan Bigelow and Paul Bigelow, Paul Luggelle, cousins Avery and Bethany Stoehr, Christian Briggs, Brandon Igo, Kenny Johnson, Carl Medeiros Jr. and Andy Barrows.

“Guest List” Impressive for
NEMA Anniverary Fete

Brockton, MA - Six-time driving champion Dave Humphrey heads up the impressive “guest list” for the Northeastern Midget Association’s 60th birthday Saturday night, May 12 at Waterford Speedbowl. No fewer than a dozen “champions” will be on hand as NEMA celebrates with 60 laps of feature racing – 30 for each NEMA and the NEMA Lites. (See photo gallery below.)

The NEMA winner will get away with the Marvin Rifchin Trophy, one of NEMA’s most coveted prizes.

Lou Fray (’70), Butch Walsh (‘73), Johnny Mann (’72,’74), Bobby Seymour (’87), Mike Seymour (’94), Russ Stoehr (’90, ’97, ’00-’02), Joey Payne (’03) and Randy Cabral (’08-’09,’11) join Humphrey (’67-’71, ’78) on the Drivers Championship list. Cabral, Stoehr and Payne will be competing.

The championship owners list includes Bob Pascale (1967-’69), John McCarthy (1970-’71, 73), Rollie Lindblad (’76) and Bruce Beane (’97) along with Carl Kibbe (’80, ’91,’93), Bobby Seymour (’87), Tim Bertrand (’08-’09, ‘11) and current club president Mike Scrivani Jr. (’78). Kibbe, crew chief for Avery Stoehr’s Lites car, Seymour, who owns two Lites cars, and Bertrand are active competitors.

Others on the list are former competitor and club president Mike Favulli, Joe Bowen, another former competitor and an early public relations man and scorers Dottie Mann and Louise Roberts, widow of the legendary Ray Roberts.

“We are really excited about this,” says Scrivani, pointing out the list continues to grow. “There are some real innovators on the list, people who made major changes in Midget racing history. Sixty feature laps on an especially good Midget track, the Rifchin Trophy and an amazing guest list – this will be a great party.”

“There is incredible motivation,” offers Mike Horn, the defending Rifchin Trophy winner. “We will be around guys who won dozens of championships and hundreds of races.”

Cabral (Bertrand 47), Stoehr (Dumo’s Desire 45) and Payne (Breault 44) have 19 Speedbowl wins among them. Others seeking a return to Waterford’s victory lane include Jim Miller (Miller 3m), Barry Kittredge (Kittredge 8), Chris Leonard (Leonard 22), Adam Cantor (Cantor 7ny), Todd Bertrand (Bertrand 39), Greg Stoehr (Stoehr 26) and Blast Off winner John Zych Jr. (Zych 9). Hoping to join the list, in addition to Horn, are Paul Luggelle, Anthony Marvuglio, Matt O’Brien, Paul Scally and rookies James Santa Maria and Seth Carlson.

Anthony Nocella (Seymour 29) has established himself as the man to beat in Lites competition at the Speedbowl but Ryan Bigelow, Paul Bigelow and Paul Luggelle know the way to victory lane as well. Other threats include Ian Cumens, cousins Avery and Bethany Stoehr, Christian Briggs, Brandon Igo, Kenny Johnson, Carl Medeiros Jr., Andy Barrows and Joe Mucciacciaro.


No. 1 - Mike (8) and Bobby (4) Seymour do battle with Rick Hart at Seekonk. No. 2 - Former club president and consistent winner Mike Favulli (80) and nine-time champion Drew Fornoro (Angelillo 45) at Lee in 1988. No. 3 - Lou Fray, in John McCarthy’s 47, leads Sonny Saunders at Thompson.

No. 4 - Dave Humphrey and John McCarthy, along with Don Mardirosian, remains one of NEMA’s greatest combinations. No. 5 - Two-time champion Johnny Mann is surrounded by the Dewey Cali team and starter Earl Grant after a win at Thompson in 1972. No. 6 - Rollie Lindblad, one of NEMA’s greatest innovators, celebrates with the late Armond Holley. This combination dominated in 1976.

No. 7 - Randy Cabral (Bertrand 47) and Russ Stoehr (Dumo’s Desire 45) have nine championships between them. No. 8 - Mike Seymour in victory lane at Hudson in 1963. The legendary Boston Louie Seymour is far left. No. 9 - A win at Westboro in the Scrivani 22 was part of Butch Walsh’s championship run in 1973.

Blackie LaMaccchia, Mike Scrivani Sr., Frank Ferrara and
a young Mike Scrivani Jr. behind Humphrey in the Midget.

NEMA’s Humphrey Won
With 11 Different Owners

Brockton, MA - There are a host of statistics justifying the place Dave Humphrey has in Northeastern Midget Association history. A six-time champion, Humphrey is part of the guest list that will assemble for the club’s 60th birthday party Saturday night, May 12 at Waterford Speedowl.

NEMA will celebrate with 60 laps of feature racing – the 30-lap Marvin Rifchin Trophy Race and a 30 lapper of the NEMA Lites. Among the other guests are driving champions Lou Fray (’70), Johnny Mann (‘72,, ’74) and Butch Walsh (’73).

Humphrey sits second (behind Drew Fornoro) on the NEMA win list with 73. He is unchallenged, however, when it comes to the number of owners he won with. The first came in Freeman Downing’s Falcon on July 5, 1965 at Seekonk. The last one also came at Seekonk in Carl Kibbe’s No. 14 on Oct. 12, 1986. Humphrey also won for car owners John McCarthy, Bob Pascale, Mike Scrivani Sr., Smokey Secundo, Jim Howie, Frank Fahey, Jerry Connors, Blackie LaMacchia and Ralph Miller.

The Humphrey/McCarthy (29 wins) remains a legendary combination. He won 16 driving the Pascale Offy and seven with the Kibbe team.

Pascale, McCarthy and Kibbe, all owner champions with Humphrey, will be at Waterford as well. Kibbe remains an active competitor on Avery Stoehr’s Lites car.

Rollie Lindblad is also on the guest list. Lindblad built the first Badger for McCarthy and Humphrey, the first Badger win coming with Humphrey aboard at Star Speedway on May 28, 1972. Humphrey, Lindblad, and McCarthy are all members of the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame, McCarthy honored for his promotional genius as club president and his role in the stock block revolution (Chevy II). Lindblad’s influence continues to be evident throughout the sport.

Humphrey’s 16 consecutive years with at least one victory remains a NEMA standard. His 18 years with at least one win ranks third and he was involved in the only time a championship battle wound up in a tie. The latter came in 1970, he and Fray deadlocked at season’s end. It came down to Thompson, Humphrey winning in the Scrivani car while Fray’s fifth was just enough to give McCarthy his first owner’s crown.

NEMA Celebrates Anniversary
at Speedbowl on May 12th

Brockton, MA – The Northeastern Midget Association will celebrate its Diamond Anniversary with 60 laps of feature racing Saturday night, May 12 at Waterford Speedbowl. NEMA and the NEMA Lites will each go 30 laps on the track many consider the premier Midget facility in the east.

It will also be the Marvin Rifchin Trophy Race. The “Marvin Trophy” memorializes one of NEMA’s greatest contributors and is one of NEMA’s most coveted prizes.

NEMA was formed at Thompson Speedway on March 8, 1953. Fred Meeker won the first race on Memorial Day of that year at Seekonk Speedway. The very next day, Bill Eldridge, was a winner at the Speedbowl. Eldridge went on to capture the first championship.

NEMA is one of the most innovative bodies in Midget racing, the five-year old Lites Division the most recent addition to the list of moves. “The Speedbowl is the ideal spot for this race,” said NEMA President Mike Scrivani Jr. “It has always been a special place for Midgets in general and NEMA in particular.”

Blast Off winners John Zych Jr. (NEMA) and Ryan Bigelow (Lites) will be after two straight, Zych giving every indication (a 13.001 lap) he’s got the Speedbowl layout figured out. “Everybody runs well at the Speedbowl,” he reports. “Usually, the best you run is at the Speedbowl.”

The return of Joey Payne (Breault 44) and Adam Cantor (7ny) adds to a group of experienced Speedbowl hands that also includes three-time and defending champion Randy Cabral (Bertrand 47), Russ Stoehr (Dumo’s Desire 45), Greg Stoehr (Stoehr 26), Jim Miller (Miller 3m), Todd Bertrand (Bertrand 39) and Barry Kittredge (Kittredge 8). All have won at the Speedbowl.

Anthony Marvuglio (Bordeau 38) , coming off a fifth at Blast Off, along with rookies Jim Santa Maria (Santa Maria 99) and Seth Carlson (Feigel 71), hope to join the list.

Anthony Nocella is the Lites Speedbowl win leader. Ian Cumens, Nocella’s teammate in the Seymour stable, Kenny Johnson, Bethany Stoehr, Christian Briggs, Brandon Igo and Carl Medeiros Jr. are other Lites standouts.

The victory at the Speedbowl’s Blast Off after five years is another example of the Zych family’s dedication. John Jr. made the Lemoyne College basketball team as a “walk on,” (he was not a scholarship player), joining his father on the list of letter winners at the upstate New York college. He says “wanting to take on the toughest competition possible” is the greatest similarity of his two sports.

Lites Play Major Role
In NEMA Birthday Party

Brockton, MA - The Northeastern Midget Association has, from its very inception, been one of racing’s most forward-looking sanctioning bodies. Formed in 1953, NEMA has been part of major moves that have changed the sport.

NEMA celebrates its 60th birthday Saturday night, May 12 at Waterford Speedbowl with 60 laps of feature racing – 30 for the full Midgets and 30 for NEMA Lites. Blast Off winners John Zych Jr. (NEMA) and Ryan Bigelow (Lites) lead an expected bumper field back to the Speedbowl.

Randy Cabral, Russ Stoehr and Joey Payne, champions all, head up the NEMA contention seeking the Marvin Rifchin Trophy. “Although it is only three years old, the Rifchin Trophy is one of the coveted prizes in NEMA,” says President Mike Scrivani Jr. “Marvin did so much for so many of us.”

Scrivani believes the Rifchin Trophy, the Lites and an impressive list of innovators, including six-time champion Dave Humphrey, are a recipe for a “great party.” While the club’s glorious past will be in the spotlight, the Lites light the way toward a bright future.

Waterford actually hosted the second NEMA race (in 1953) and the second Lites race (2008).

“If the Speedbowl is a great Midget track, and it is” says NEMA veteran Bobby Seymour, “it is an even greater place for the Lites. There is all kinds of room there, so many different grooves, so many opportunities to pass. You can win from the front and you can win from the back. It’s wide open.”

Seymour, who has had great success at the Speedbowl as both a driver and an owner, brings a pair of contenders for Lites honors – Anthony Nocella and Ian Cumens. Other threats include Paul Bigelow, cousins Avery and Bethany Stoehr, Christian Briggs, Brandon Igo, Kenny Johnson, Carl Medeiros Jr., Andy Barrows and Joe Mucciacciaro. Cabral is a likely Lites starter as well.

Four Lites graduates will be in the NEMA field – Todd Bertrand, Anthony Marvuglio and rookies James Santa Maria and Seth Carlson. Also expected are Greg Stoehr, Jimmy Miller, Matt O’Brien, Lee Bundy, Paul Luggelle, Paul Scally, Barry Kittredge, Adam Cantor, Mike Horn, Chris Leonard and Chris deRitis.

Bobby Seymour has names for Waterford’s lowest and highest grooves. The lowest is the Bobby Santos III grove and he describes the outside as “where I liked to run.” Seymour’s success as a driver has continued as an owner. In the high groove, Seymour explains, up near the apex of the turn, “you are able to get the car straight sooner than usual” which makes the straightaways longer.
A 16-year old Santos “followed the conture of the turns” with a sensational win at the Boston Louie in 2002, the first of four Waterford wins for Santos, three in Seymour equipment.
Anthony Nocella continues the Seymour Waterford presence with at least one victory in each of the last three years. Both Nocella and Cumens expect to be driving NEMA “full” Midgets by midseason.

Jim Miller Looks Ahead
To NEMA Birthday Race

Brockton, MA – History, especially Northeastern Midget Association history, is not lost on Jim Miller of Weymouth, MA. Indeed, he looks toward NEMA’s Diamond Anniversary celebration Saturday night, May 12 with great anticipation.

In addition to 60 feature laps – 30 apiece for the full Midgets and the Lites, NEMA president Mike Scrivani Jr. is rounding up a strong cast of characters that have helped to make NEMA New England’s oldest sanctioning body. The club began in 1953.

It will also be the Marvin Rifchin Trophy race. “A victory in this one will be huge,” says Miller, a competitor since 1986 when he went into battle with a Chevy II-powered Bob Higman “half bar.” His NEMA history actually goes back to the early 1980s when he “helped out” on his uncle John Lane’s team.

The Speedbowl is a special spot for Miller. He scored his first victory there in 1999, an event that remains vivid for him. “It was one of those nights,” he recalls. “I got out front quickly. I was looking all over for shadows, trying to determine if anybody was around me.” He drove a Gaerte-powered Beast Chassis he had purchased from Russ Stoehr.

Miller joins a sizable number in the Speedbowl NEMA winners club. Randy Cabral and Russ Stoehr have 15 Waterford wins between them. Cabral and Stoehr were second and third behind John Zych Jr. at this year’s Blast Off. Joey Payne, Todd Bertrand, Adam Cantor, Jeff Horn, Barry Kittredge, Chris Leonard and Greg Stoehr, all likely entries, have also won at Waterford.

He joins a chorus that sings praises to the Speedbowl – “one of the best Midget tracks in the East” –and says speeds in the 12 second bracket are “absolutely probable.” Because it’s a difficult place to play catch up, hammer down is the only acceptable strategy. “Lately,” he says, “there’s a surprise every time we go there.”

The Rifchin Trophy is a major motivation. “A tremendous man,” Miller says of the owner of M&H Tire who left behind a host of friends in auto racing including NEMA. “Everybody has a story about Marvin helping them,” says Miller.

Miller captured the 800th race in NEMA history at Oxford Plains on Aug. 17, 2001.
He says the first time he sat in a Midget was when his father Roy, a sign painter, was “putting numbers on the cars. I was very young.”
Miller, who has nine NEMA podium finishes, recalls a third place in an All Star Midget Series race at Florida’s fifth-mile Punta Gorda Speedway in 1989. “I was banging on the steering wheel trying to get Mel Kenyon and Sam Isenhauer to move over,” he says.

NEMA’s Birthday Party
Motivates Mike Horn

Brockton, MA – Mike Horn will come to the Northeastern Midget Association’s 60th birthday celebration at Waterford Speedbowl Saturday, May 12 with plenty of motivation. The second-generation racer hopes to get away with his second straight Marvin Rifchin Trophy.

The Rifchin Trophy, a coveted prize, is just part of the excitement as NEMA marks its Diamond Anniversary with 60 feature laps, 30 each for NEMA and the NEMA Lites. Tire maker (M&H) Marvin Rifchin was a major contributor to NEMA and, Horn reports, “winning a trophy that honors him was very special.”

Last year’s win at Thompson was emotional. No word comes to Horn to describe a repeat win. Rifchin and the Horn family, like many in NEMA, were very close.

NEMA President Mike Scrivani Jr. is putting together an impressive “guest list.” Already confirmed are past champions Dave Humphrey, Johnny Mann and Butch Walsh. “We expect to announce others soon,” says Scrivani.

History is not lost on Horn, the son of open cockpit veteran Jeff Horn. He, of course, treasures the memories of his dad’s success driving for Bay Hayes and the continuing friendships with folks like Humphrey. One of his dad’s wins came at the ‘Bowl.

“I’m fascinated by what happened in the past,” he says. “I’m really interested in what makes people successful. Having those people around in addition to honoring Marvin makes you want to step it up a notch.”

The Speedbowl has not been kind to Horn. “I haven’t had the best luck there,” he reports, claiming “some of that is due to my own decisions and some of it due to the mistakes of others.” He’ll come with a fresh motor (Esslinger) determined to “do better.”

Blast Off winner John Zych Jr. is one of a number of active drivers that have won at the Speedbowl. In addition to defending champion Randy Cabral (eight wins) and Russ Stoehr (7), Joey Payne, Todd Bertrand, Barry Kittredge, Chris Leonard, Jim Miller and Greg Stoehr will be looking to return to the ‘Bowl’s victory Lane. Anthony Marvuglio and Paul Scally have had strong runs there as well.

Anthony Nocella and Ian Cumens hope to put Team Seymour back in the ‘Bowl’s Lites Victory lane. Blast off winner Ryan Bigelow will be looking to make it two in a row. Other Lites hopefuls are Kenny Johnson, Christian Briggs, Bethany Stoehr, Carl Medeiros Jr. and Brandon Igo.

Mike Horn has great admiration for the teams “that just keep working on what they have. They just keep making little changes here and there rather than running out and buying new stuff all the time”
Horn is part of the Bertrand Motorsports “family” that also includes Zych.