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www.50legs.org
STAR SPEEDWAY -
EPPING, NH
SATURDAY, MAY 13th |
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NEMA MIDGETS - STAR -
5/13/17 |
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Pos.
|
#
|
Driver |
Hometown
|
Owner |
|
1 |
39 |
Avery Stoehr |
Lakeville, MA |
Bertrand Motorsports |
|
2 |
21 |
Jim Chambers |
Atkinson, NH |
Mike Chambers |
|
3 |
7 |
Alan Chambers |
Atkinson, NH |
Mike Chambers |
|
4 |
71 |
Seth Carlson |
Brimfield, CT |
Gene
Feigel |
|
5 |
48 |
Todd Bertrand |
Danielson, CT |
Gill
Bertrand |
|
6 |
74 |
Randy Cabral |
Plymouth, MA |
Bertrand Motorsports |
|
7 |
47 |
Kyle Hamilton |
Plainfield, IN |
Bertrand Motorsports |
|
8 |
9 |
John Zych Jr. |
Mendon, MA |
John Zych
Sr. |
|
9 |
30 |
Paul Scally |
Raynham,
MA |
Paul Scally |
|
10 |
31 |
Ryan Bigelow |
East Hampton, CT |
Paul Bigelow |
|
11 |
99 |
Jim Santa Maria |
Burlington, CT |
Jim Santa Maria |
|
12 |
5b |
Bethany Stoehr |
Bridgewater, MA |
Greg Stoehr |
|
13 |
50 |
Lanson Fornoro |
- |
Pete Pernesiglio Sr. |
|
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NEMA LITES - STAR - 5/13/17 |
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Pos.
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#
|
Driver |
Hometown
|
Owner |
|
1 |
51 |
Dan CuginI |
Marshfield, MA |
Dan Cugini |
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2 |
12 |
Jim Chambers |
Atkinson, NH |
Jim Chambers |
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3 |
7 |
Jim Cataldo |
Sterling, MA |
Jim Cataldo |
|
4 |
45 |
Kyle Hamilton |
Plainfield, IN |
Bertrand Motorsports |
|
5 |
9 |
Ben Mikitarian |
Northborough, MA |
John Mikitarian |
|
6 |
88 |
Jeff Locke |
Raymond, NH |
Ken Locke |
|
7 |
35 |
Randy Cabral |
Plymouth, MA |
Glen Cabral |
|
8 |
30 |
Paul Scally |
Raynham,
MA |
Paul Scally |
|
9 |
16 |
Denis O'Brien |
Deerfield, NH |
Chris O'Brien |
|
10 |
38 |
Ryan Locke |
Raymond, NH |
Ken Locke |
|
11 |
21 |
Anthony Payne |
Fairlawn, NJ |
Mike Scrivani |
|
12 |
3 |
Chris Vose |
Gloversville, NY |
Chris Vose |
|
13 |
52 |
Kevin Park |
Foxboro, MA |
Kevin Park |
|
14 |
20 |
Jeremy Decourcy |
Rochester, NH |
Jeremy Decourcy |
|
15 |
19 |
Richard Coy |
Haskell, NJ |
Richard Coy |
16
DQ |
27 |
Kevin Iannarelli |
Maynard, MA |
Kevin Iannarelli |
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Avery Stoehr, Dan
Cugini Take NEMA Wins
on 50 Legs/PASS Night at Star
Speedway |
As most other Northeastern race tracks were
canceling their events for last Saturday evening, Bob
Webber's Star Speedway happened to be right in a pocket of
dry weather, and the show went off without a hitch. NEMA and
the NEMA Lites were part of a blockbuster racing card that
included the Pro All Star Series (PASS) and Star's weekly
divisions, including the 350 Supers. Avery Stoehr visited
victory lane for the second year in a row on opening day for
NEMA, this time with a new team in Bertrand Motorsports. In
the Lites, a heart breaking loss for Kevin Iannarelli
occurred after a mistake was made on rear wheel offsets,
resulting in a DQ and handing the win to Danny Cugini.
In the NEMA feature, after a track cleaning session due
to oil on the racing surface from a previous division, the
NEMA feature was ready to take the green. Avery Stoehr and
Alan Chambers brought the field down to the green flag.
After two called back start attempts by starter Bob
Blanchette, Avery Stoehr jumped out into the lead.
The feature would go wire to wire, with Stoehr leading every
lap. Brothers' Jim and Alan Chambers put on an incredible
battle for the second spot, with Jim coming out on top.
Chambers did start to cut into Stoehr's lead over the final
laps, but ran out of time, with Stoehr winning by a
straightaway. Seth Carlson, Todd Bertrand, Randy Cabral,
Kyle Hamilton, John Zych, Paul Scally and Ryan Bigelow
rounded out the top ten. Jim Chambers was the hard charger
in the event.
"It was a big weight off my shoulders
after the long off season moving to a new team to be able to
go out and win the first race even though going over I knew
the equipment and everything was top notch but whenever you
come into a totally different car it will make you wonder a
little bit," said Stoehr. "It was awesome to win for
Bertrand Motorsports after every year of racing against them
and being welcomed in and everyone helping out was awesome,"
he said.
In the NEMA Lites division, Kevin Iannarelli
battled his way to the front in the early stages of the
event. Iannarelli, who ran a blistering lap time of 12.6
earlier in the day in his heat race event, stretched out his
lead in the early stages of the race.
Further back,
Danny Cugini was slicing his way through the pack, and put
on a battle with Jim Cataldo for second spot before breaking
free from the pack. Behind them, Jim Chambers came from deep
in the field and would pass Cataldo in the late stages of
the race, and behind them, Kyle Hamilton and Ben Mikitarian
were battling for position in the top five.
As the
laps wound down, Cugini cut into Iannarelli's lead by a
carlength or two each lap, and with one to go was within two
carlengths. He would make a move to the bottom, but wind up
a half car length short at the line.
It appeared to
be Cugini's second straight second place finish, until it
was found in post race tech inspection that Iannarelli had
accidentally violated the club's maximum offset rule. Cugini
was awarded the victory, and was followed by Chambers,
Cataldo, Hamilton, Mikitarian, Jeff Locke, Randy Cabral,
Paul Scally, Dennis O'Brien and Ryan Locke.
"My Dad
and I did a lot of setup work and spent some time in the
shop to get the car done right, rolled it out of the trailer
and it was pretty quick. We made a couple of small changes
and the car was fast. When the feature started we hit a
couple gaps and made our way to the front chasing down the
27 pretty much the whole race. Lap traffic played a good
part in letting us reel him in. Crossed the finish line
under him in 2nd. Not the way we would have liked to win,
but we will take it," said Cugini.
NEMA moves on to
Wiscassett Speedway this Saturday evening 5/20 on Ames True
Value Night. |
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NEMA Announces New Opening Date,
Saturday, May 13 at Star Speedway |
Epping, NH -
With the cancellation of the New London Waterford Speedbowl
opening event, the Northeastern Midget Association will head
to the famed Star Speedway in Epping, NH on Saturday night,
May 13th. It has been a favorite stop for the midgets since
the 60's, in fact Star has hosted more NEMA events than any
other facility.
"NEMA is extremely excited to return
to Star Speedway and especially as part of their PASS
weekend, and further, to expand our 2017 schedule with the
Webber family," said NEMA President, Tim Bertrand. "Some of
the best races in the history of the club have gone down at
Star, and we look forward to making some more memories
together. Our car counts are looking strong for 2017, and
the club is on the upswing," said Bertrand.
"We
learned of the issues with Waterford, and extended the
opportunity to our friends at NEMA to participate in our
opening weekend," said Bob Webber Jr. "This show should be
an unbelievable bargain for the fans, with both the PASS,
NEMA and NEMA Lite cars on hand," he went on to say.
Some of the greats have gotten their first NEMA victory at
Star including Joey Coy, Mike Favulli and Billy Mann, as
well as modern day drivers like Randy Cabral, Jeff Horn,
Joey Payne, Bobby Seymour and Russ Stoehr. There will be
plenty of drivers gunning for their first on Saturday night
May 6th, including New Hampshire's Alan Chambers.
Russ Stoehr leads all active drivers with 10 wins at Star,
and Randy Cabral captured last year's Star race in
convincing fashion. Drew Fornoro is the all-time NEMA winner
at Star with 23, the first coming in 1982. The others in
double figures are Dave Humphrey (16) and Russ Stoehr.
Among the others to score their first win at Star were
three-time ('89, '91, '93) champ Joey Coy, Hall of Famer
Mike Favulli and 1984 champ Billy Mann. There are two sets
of brothers (Drew and Nokie Fornoro and Bobby Seymour) and
three father-son combinations on the win list. The later
category includes Johnny and Joey Coy, Johnny and Billy Mann
and Ronnie and Johnny Evans, the latter winning for Jimmy
O'Brien.
Additional announcements will be forthcoming
about NEMA's participation in the upcoming opener at Star,
over the coming week. |
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Kyle Hamilton to Do
Double Duty
for Bertrand Motorsports at
Star
Speedway NEMA Opener |
On the heels of the
Northeastern Midget Association announcing that it had inked
a deal with Star Speedway for the opening race for the NEMA
division, Bertrand Motorsports has announced that
24-year-old Kyle Hamilton of Plainfield, Indiana will do
double duty for the team on Saturday May 13th. He will run
the Bertrand Motorsports #45 in the Lite division and the
famed #47 in the NEMA division. Hamilton made two
appearances for Frank Manafort & Bobby Seymour in 2016,
finishing 2nd and 4th, respectively, in the NEMA Lite
series.
Hamilton is no stranger to the cockpit of
powerful open wheel cars. The 2009 USAC Ford Focus National
Champion and USAC National midget feature winner, also has
experience racing Silver Crown cars and non-wing Sprint
cars. Hamilton has driven for famed car owners such as Bob
East, Don & Mel Kenyon and Steve Lewis/9 Racing.
“I’m
excited to team up with Bertrand Motorsports. They have a
top notch program that demands respect from the competition
and I’m looking forward to joining forces at Star Speedway,”
Hamilton said.
“The competition in the NEMA series
is very high. The racers will run side by side with you and
keep everything clean. I felt like I was up to speed quickly
and can't wait to get back behind the wheel of a NEMA Midget
in 2017,” he went on to say.
Hamilton is also no
stranger to ¼ mile bullring tracks. The 2016 winner of the
“Rumble at Fort Wayne,” one of the most prestigious races of
the year, also has extensive track time at bull rings such
as Andersen, Grundy, and Toledo Speedway in Ohio.
“In my experience in the Midwest, my best finishes have come
at bullring tracks like Star Speedway, which is a good sign.
I have a lot of laps around tracks like that. Those tracks
provide intense, close racing. I am looking forward to the
opportunity to get back to the East Coast!,” said Hamilton.
Although most of his experience comes without a wing,
Hamilton has enjoyed his rides in NEMA’s winged warriors. “I
was amazed at how quickly the cars get through the center of
the corner and how much throttle you can use,” he said.
NEMA joins a blockbuster card at Star Speedway on May
6th, with the PASS Late Model Tour on hand, in addition to
the 350 Super Modifieds, and a full card of racing action.
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