Stafford Spring Sizzler 4-24-05

Finishing
Order

Pit Shots

April 24, 2005

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Ben Seitz and Valeri Motorsports

*Spring Sizzler Finishing Order - 4/24/05*
*Pos.*	#	*Driver*	*Hometown*	*Owner*
1	17	Ben Seitz	Monument Beach, MA	Pete Valeri
2	45	Joey Payne	Pomona, NJ	Gene Angelillo
3	35	Randy Cabral	Plymouth, MA	Glen Cabral
4	12	Kyle Carpenter	Gloucester, MA	Brad Carpenter
5	44	Ed Breault	Lincoln, RI	Ed Breault
6	50	Pete Pernesiglio	Lake Grove, NY	Pete Pernesiglio
7	37	Shane Hammond	E. Bridgewater, ME	Jack Glockner
8	16	Matt O'Brien	Willmington, MA	Jim O'Brien
9	36	Glen Cabral	Plymouth, MA	Glen Cabral
10	22	Andy Shlatz	Enfield, CT	Alex Shlatz
11	11	Lee Bundy	Kennebunkport, ME	Lee Bundy
12	3m	Jim Miller	Weymouth, MA	Jim Miller
13	55	Mike Keeler	Danbury, CT	Kevin Keeler
14	7x	Steve Viets	-	-
15	48	Mark Buonomo	Waltham MA	Gill Bertrand
16	77	Mike Luggelle	Hull, MA	Mike Luggelle
17	99	Mike Ordway, Jr.	Freemont, NH	Chris Desrosiers
18	55L	Shawn Torrey	Marshfield, MA	Shawn Torrey
19	3	Tommy Spada	Kensington, CT	Gino Spada
20	15	Ryan Dolan	Acton, MA	Jay Dolan
21	58	Phil DiMario	Piermont, NY	Cantor Racing
DQ	7ny	Adam Cantor	Dix Hills, NY	Cantor Racing
DNS	2	Nokie Fornoro	Stroudsburg, PA	Don Berrio
Cap Cod Aggregates "Hard Charger" Award - Ben Seitz -

Seitz Starts Title Defense with NEMA Win at Stafford

Stafford, CT: Defending Northeastern Midget Association champion Ben Seitz of Monument Beach, MA kicked off the 2005 season with an impressive win in the Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford, CT on Sunday afternoon. Up from his ninth-place starting position, Seitz took the lead on lap 12 and despite a number of cautions and persistent challenges from Joey Payne and Adam Cantor retained his composure and his lead to claim the victory.

“It was all Ben out there today,” said car owner Peter Valeri after the race. “He drove his heart out for that win.”

The victory was the second consecutive opening day win for Seitz and his Cape Cod Aggregates Team.

Qualifying originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon was cancelled due to torrential rains in central Connecticut. The field for Sunday’s race was set by handicap from the final 2004 point standings. Pete Pernesilgio of Ronkonkoma, NY and Ed Breault brought the 22-car field to green for the official start of the 2005 season.

It became obvious right from the drop of the green flag that Seitz, Payne and Mark Buonomo would be hard to handle. Payne charged into second from his seventh-place starting spot on lap one while Seitz moved into third before the completion of lap two. Buonomo had rocketed from twelfth on the starting grid to claim fourth on lap two.

All the movement was happening behind leader Pernesiglio. The Long Island driver had a short reprieve when Payne and Seitz ran side-by-side for second. Payne proved to have a bit more in the early stages maintaining second and gaining on the leader.

It was fast and furious at the head of the field with Pernesiglio and Payne going wheel-to-wheel for the lead and Seitz and Buonomo doing the same for third. On lap six, Payne was the new leader followed by Buonomo, who had charged past Seitz, Pernesiglio and Cantor. On lap 10, the scene changed again as Buonomo’s march to the front included a pass on Payne. At the head of the field, Buonomo started to stretch his lead.

Buonomo’s day found a devastating end on lap 11 when he slammed the outside wall in turn one after contact with a lapped car. Buonomo had gone to the outside of two slower cars when contact was made. The Tim Bertrand owned #48 launched off the tire of the middle racecar and went airborne into the outside wall. Buonomo was able to walk away from the incident.

Payne inherited the lead when racing resumed. Again, the duel was between Payne and Seitz for the top spot. The second caution of the event cooled down the action up front when Andy Shaltz spun on the front stretch. On the lap 12 restart, it was Seitz’s turn to come out on top. He took over the lead from Payne and began to distance himself from a battle that was brewing between Payne and Cantor.

Cantor looked to make a run on Payne for second on lap 14 when a spin by Tommy Spada slowed the action once again. The battle resumed again when the race went back to green. At halfway, Seitz continued to lead Payne, Cantor, Randy Cabral and Breault. A three-car breakaway was developing; leaving Cabral all alone in fourth.

Cantor resumed his relentless pursuit of second place with ten laps remaining. The young driver tried the inside, then the outside, and finally made the pass for second before caution number four flew for debris. Cantor was not able to hold off Payne on the ensuing restart and had to settle back into third.

The fifth and final caution flew on lap 22 setting up the final face-off for the lead. With the green in the air, Payne lined up to the outside of Seitz. The two went into turn one side-by-side. They remained that way throughout the lap. Seitz inched ahead just as the two crossed the start/finish line and then set sail. Over the final five laps, Cantor again pressured Payne but he had to settle in for third. Kyle Carpenter had been reeling in fourth-running R. Cabral but ran out of laps.

At the checkers, Seitz was victorious over Payne, Cantor, R. Cabral and Carpenter. In post race technical inspection, Cantor’s 7NY had a weight rule infraction resulting in a disqualification. R. Cabral was declared the third-place finisher over Carpenter and Breault. Pernesiglio, Shane Hammond, Matt O’Brien, Glen Cabral and Andy Shaltz rounded out the top ten.

“We had a great car today,” said winner Seitz. “Joey (Payne) and Adam (Cantor) were real strong. We had very evenly matched cars. I am proud that we came out with a win. This was a great way to start out the season for our team and our sponsor Cape Cod Aggregates.”

Next stop for the Northeastern Midget Association is Star Speedway in Epping, NH on May 14, 2005.

RAIN FORCES REVISIONS TO TECH-NET SPRING SIZZLER
Full Sunday Schedule Announced

(STAFFORD SPRINGS , CT) Rain washed out qualifying and the Saturday events for the 34th Annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST. Track drying efforts continued through the morning and officials washed out Saturday's action at mid-afternoon.

Sunday's schedule for the "Greatest Race in the History of Spring" was revised to compensate for the Saturday washout. "We will start practice at 10:00am," explained Speedway CEO and General Manager Mark Arute. "Our fans will get all of the racing that they expect. Sunday's new schedule adds our
DARE Stocks and Limited Late Models to the program and now Sunday will include 6 feature events highlighted by the 200 lap Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST that will go off at approximately 3:15 pm."

The only casualty with the compressed Sunday schedule is the CARQUEST pit Party originally planned for Sunday morning. "With a 10:00am start of activities on-track there was just no available time for the Pit Party,"Arute explained.

NEMA Heats Up
with Sizzler Opener

Manchester, CT: The Northeastern Midget Association will kick off the 2005 season this weekend at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, CT. This is the first time that the Club will be part of what the Speedway bills as the “greatest race in the history of Spring.”

“We are honored to be part of the excitement of the Spring Sizzler,” said Club President Mike Scrivani. “There is so much prestige with this event. To be included is a testament to our teams and to the caliber of the racing that we provide to the fans.”

The NEMA Midgets will showcase their talent in a 30-lap feature on Sunday, April 24, 2005 during the 34th Annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler® presented by CARQUEST. Qualifying for the Midgets will be held on Saturday afternoon with 8-lap heat races.

On Sunday, April 24th, NEMA will take part in the very popular Tech-Net Pit Party. The main grandstands open at 11:00 AM when fans are invited on to the racetrack to get up close and personal with the cars and drivers. Racing will get underway at approximately 1:00 PM. The Midgets are expected to go off third in the feature rotation (subject to change).

The weekend activities will actually begin on Friday, April 22 with a practice day for all divisions competing. The pit area will open at 10:00 AM with practice beginning at 1:00 PM and running through 6:00 PM. Grandstands will be open to the public free of charge on Friday.

For a complete schedule of events visit www.staffordspeedway.com or call the Speedway office at (860) 684-2783.

Last weekend, teams took advantage of the perfect weather and an open practice session at Stafford to prepare for the Spring Sizzler. Ben Seitz of Monument Beach, MA was on hand to shake down his car in preparation for his title defense.

During the 2004 season, after a 20-year hiatus, the mighty Midgets made a triumphant return to Jack Arute’s Stafford Motor Speedway. Nokie Fornoro of Reeders, PA took down the win on Wednesday, July 14, 2004. The event was worth the wait as Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT and Mark Buonomo of Waltham, MA treated the fans to a tremendous battle behind the leader throughout much of the race.

Edge-of-your-seat excitement is the order of business once again when the teams roll into Stafford for the Spring Sizzler this weekend. Two-day adult general admission tickets are $35.00. Kids ages 6-14 gain entry for $5.00 while kids 5 & under are free.

The 2005 season promises to be one of the most competitive seasons on record for the Northeastern Midget Association. Joey Payne of Fairlawn, NJ and his Gene-Angelillo led team will be hot to regain their dominance of the tour but they will have to contend with defending champion Ben Seitz. Mark Buonomo will run full-time in pursuit of the championship behind the wheel of the potent Tim Bertrand owned Midget. The combination of Randy Cabral of Plymouth, MA and Bobby Seymour should prove to be exciting as well. This talent-laden Club has plenty of teams that can win week-in and week-out. Race fans will not want to miss a single lap.

Photos by
Norm Marx

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