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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8th
NEMA MIDGETS ONLY |
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Photos by John DaDalt |
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Photos by Mike Rothwell |
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NEMA MIDGETS - THOMPSON -
8/8/18 |
|
Pos.
|
#
|
Driver |
Hometown
|
Owner |
|
1 |
48 |
Todd Bertrand |
Danielson, CT |
Bertrand Motorsports |
|
2 |
21 |
Jim Chambers |
Atkinson, NH |
Mike Chambers |
|
3 |
47 |
Cole Carter |
Indianapolis, IN |
Bertrand Motorsports |
|
4 |
30 |
Paul Scally |
Raynham, MA |
Paul Scally |
|
5 |
1 |
Ben Seitz |
Bourne, MA |
Bertrand Motorsports |
|
6 |
74 |
Randy Cabral |
Kingston, MA |
Bertrand Motorsports |
|
7 |
87 |
Doug Cleveland |
Sudbury, MA |
Doug Cleveland |
|
8 |
18 |
Andy Lunt |
- - |
Christian Briggs |
|
9 |
39 |
Avery Stoehr |
Lakeville, MA |
Bertrand Motorsports |
|
10 |
50 |
Kevin Park |
Plainville, MA |
Pete Pernesiglio Sr. |
|
11 |
A1 |
Mike Horn |
Ashland, MA |
Jeff Horn |
|
12 |
7 |
Alan Chambers |
Atkinson, NH |
Mike Chambers |
|
13 |
9 |
John Zych Jr. |
Mendon, MA |
John Zych Sr. |
|
Bertrand King of NEMA at
Thompson's
Budweiser King of Beers 150 |
Todd Bertrand fended off 6 time NEMA champion Randy
Cabral in the early stages of last Thursday's NEMA event at
the Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (TSMP), and held off
Jim Chambers, who started deep in the field, after a late
race restart with five laps remaining in the event. It was
Bertrand's third win in a row at TSMP, including last year's
World Series, this year's Lites Icebreaker, and last
Thursday.
In the feature, Alan Chambers and Mike Horn
brought the field down to the green flag. At the drop of the
green, Horn jumped out into the lead, and Avery Stoehr in
the Bertrand 39 quickly advanced into second, with Bertrand
coming from sixth to third.
Bertrand made quick work
of Stoehr with a move in turns one and two, and passed Horn
on the next corner. Bertrand then began to set a torrid
pace, running the only 17 second laps of the feature event.
Further back, it was Stoehr, and Randy Cabral broke free of
traffic, but out front it was all Bertrand, who stretched
his lead out to over a straightaway at one point.
A
lap eight restart, saw Bertrand pull Stoehr coming off of
turn four, as Stoehr's car bobbled and he slipped back in
the field. Cabral would go to second, as Indiana's Cole
Carter advanced to third, with Chambers in tow in fourth.
By the halfway point, it was apparent that Cabral's
car was experiencing issues, as he began to slip back in the
field, coming to rest with five laps remaining. He later
pitted and it was determined that a fractured left rear
shock mount was causing the car to bottom out on the race
track. His crew made quick adjustments, and he was able to
complete the event.
On the restart, it was Bertrand
followed by Chambers and Carter, but Bertrand would again
pull away. Chambers would manage to get within five
carlengths at the finish, but Bertrand would take down the
win with Chambers second, Carter third, Paul Scally, Ben
Seitz, Randy Cabral, Doug Cleveland, Andrew Lunt, Avery
Stoehr, and Kevin Park.
"We started the day off 2nd
quick in practice, but the lap times were about 8 tenths of
a second off compared to the fastest times on a good day, so
I knew the track would change. Unfortunately, we only made
one practice because we were caught off guard with the rain
-- this ended up being a good thing because we didn't chase
the track," said Bertrand.
"We stuck to our gut for
feature setup with a similar package to what we won with at
the World Series. In hot laps before the race started, I
tested the car high and low and immediately knew we had a
really good piece. Having confidence in your car, especially
at the beginning, is where these races are often won or
lost. I knew if we got out front in clean air, we would be
hard to beat. The biggest challenge once your there, is not
knowing how fast everyone else is behind you. So you just
have to drive it like you stole it," he said. |
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