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Saturday - June 9th - 6 PM
monadnockspeedway.com
840 Keene Rd -
Winchester, NH 03470
Tel: 603-239-4067
Rained
Out
Replacement date is September
1st
Rain
Wins Again in NEMA Competition
Groton, CT (June 10, 2007): The 2007 season of the Northeastern
Midget Association continues to be plagued by inclement weather.
On Saturday, persistent rains caused the postponement of the
long-awaited return of the Northeastern Midget Association to
Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, NH speedway. The event will be
rescheduled. The exact date has yet to be determined. An
announcement will be posted on the Club’s official site,
www.nemaracing.com, when a make-up date has been finalized.
It was also the second time that the weather has hindered the
presentation of the “National Midget Driver of the Year” night
for NEMA. The fate of the event has not been determined.
NEMA is two-for-two thus far this season with two completed
events and two rain-postponed events. Lou Cicconi, Jr. and Joey
Payne, Jr. are the only two to have visited victory lane.
The Northeastern Midget Association resumes competition on June
23, 2007 at the Waterford Speedbowl. The shoreline oval is known
for its action-packed Midget races. Earlier this season, Cicconi
topped his teammate Randy Cabral and Joey Payne in the season
opener. |
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After 10 Years NEMA
Returns to Monadnock
Payne Looks to Make it Two
Straight
Groton, CT (June 2, 2007): After a ten year hiatus, the Northeastern
Midget Association (NEMA) returns to Monadnock Speedway in Winchester,
NH this Saturday night, June 9th. Saturday night’s race at Monadnock
will also be the rescheduled National Midget “Driver of the Year”
promotional night for NEMA, which was originally scheduled for the
rained-out event at Seekonk Speedway on May 19th. This is one of five
events to be held at various tracks around the country. The awards group
will be adding a minimum of $300 cash along with product certificates to
the purse.
SEE STORY BELOW for more on NMDOTY
The National Midget Driver of the Year Award was started in 1999. The
award determines the top midget driver using a unique point system based
on several factors, car count, purse, and event prestige. The award was
founded and is directed by well-known midget racing publicist and
announcer, Bryan Gapinski. Recent winners of the prestigious award
include Aaron Fike, Bobby East and Brad Kuhn. NEMA’s own Sean Caisse,
now a NASCAR Busch East standout, was award the NMDoY Rookie honors in
2003. To learn more about the program visit
www.nmdoty.com. SEE STORY BELOW
Joey Payne of Fairlawn, NJ, is hoping to make his mark at Monadnock to
gain valuable points toward National Midget Driver honors. He is also
hoping to make it two-in-a-row in NEMA competition. Payne took down the
win in an usually rough-and-tumble Midget event at All-Star Speedway on
May 26, 2007.
“I started sixth and almost took the lead on lap two,” said Payne, of
the race that had an abundance of caution laps. “Anytime I'm close to
the lead there are a million yellows.”
Once out front, Payne had smooth sailing.
“My car started out a little free so I put some turns into my Shadow
Weight-Jackers and the car was right on from that point. It was a fun
race with Erica (Santos). She ran me hard but clean.”
Payne turned consistently fast laps in the 12.0 second bracket en route
to his victory.
“After six years of racing the Supermodified up there (under the old
Star Speedway banner) I think I can say I own that track,” said Payne
confidently. “I had one goal and that was to win the feature for
Marilyn. She is doing ok (after surgery) but still not strong enough
come racing. She is sorely missed. I dedicated my win to her.”
If history repeats itself, Payne has a good shot at winning at Monadnock
as well. During the late 80s when NEMA frequented the ¼-mile oval, Drew
Fornoro, in the Gene Angelillo machine, dominated with wins at the
speedplant during the 1982-1986 seasons. He also won during the final
two seasons that the Club visited the Speedway with triumphs in 1996 and
1997. Other winners at Monadnock in the modern era include Mike Seymour
and Russ Stoehr. The only active NEMA driver to win at Monadnock is
Nokie Fornoro.
Although Fornoro may have experience on his side, the adaptive young
talent of NEMA will undoubtedly help provide all the edge-of-your-seat
excitement that the fans have come to expect when the mighty Midgets
visit quarter-mile facilities. This is the type of track where Randy
Cabral of Plymouth, MA, in the Bertrand Motorsports #47 excels.
Defending champ Ben Seitz of Pocasset, MA, has been relatively quiet
thus far this season. Expect him to make some noise sooner than later,
maybe even this weekend at Monadnock.
The dark horses in the race have to be
Pete Pernesigilio of Lake Grove, NY, Erica Santos of Franklin, MA, and
Shane Hammond of E. Bridgewater, MA. These drivers have been running
extremely well during the start of the 2007 season. Each is knocking on
the door of victory lane. For Santos and Hammond, a triumph at Monadnock
would be a career first.
No one is more excited about the trip to Monadnock Speedway than Andy
Shlatz of Enfield, CT, who will make his much-awaited return to NEMA
competition at Monadnock. After a year of hard luck in 2006 and
financial concerns over the off-season, Shlatz is getting a late start
on the season. But with some help from his friends and some
encouragement from his 3-year old son, Shlatz is back and better than
ever.
“The Rafferty Motorsports Team is looking forward to getting its season
started this week,” said Shlatz. “It’s been a long winter and I am
excited about the opportunities this season will bring. With a lot of
help from Cantor Racing, I was able to put an awesome motor program
together,” said Shlatz. “This is the best motor we have ever had and I
owe a lot to the Cantors.”
Monadnock is a fitting place for Shlatz to make his 2007 season start.
For many years, he competed with much with success at the old High
Groove Speedway just down the road. The team is hoping the results will
be the same at this Winchester, NH facility.
The action gets underway, Saturday at 6pm as the Northeastern Midget
Association joins a full line-up of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
action including Super Stocks, Outlaw Pros, Late Models, Mini Stocks,
and 4-cylinder Enduros. The pit entry is $35. Adult general admission is
$20, senior and students pay $10 while children 12 and under are
admitted for only $2. To learn more about this upcoming event log on to
www.monadnockspeedway.com
or call 603-239-4067. |
