Ben Seitz New Guard in NEMA |
Norfolk, MA: For several seasons, the Northeastern Midget
Association has enjoyed an influx of strong young talent. This year may have officially
signaled the changing of the guard as 24-year old Ben Seitz of Monument Beach, MA claimed
his first Northeastern Midget Association championship.
Until this season, Gene Angelillo had a stronghold on the NEMA crown; winning six
consecutive championships with three different drivers. While Angelillo was winning
championships, an up-and-coming Seitz was honing his skills-first in go-karts, then in
Legends cars and finally in the Midgets.
"I have a lot of respect for Gene and his team," said Seitz. "They have
raised the bar in NEMA. It is how we all measure ourselves. It is quite an accomplishment
just to compete at their level-never mind beat them."
In their third year of NEMA competition, Seitz and car owner Peter Valeri pulled out all
the stops. Armed with a brand-new Ford Gaerte-powered Beast chassis, the Valeri
Motorsports Team had high hopes for the 2004 season, starting with their first-career NEMA
win. It became obvious early that this team would be strong.
They accomplished their first goal right out of the box. Seitz and company claimed victory
in the opening event of the season at the Waterford Speedbowl on May 1, 2004. They would
go on to win two more races at the shoreline oval, where Seitz had gained valuable
experience in the Legends car.
"Going into the season we knew we had a chance at the championship," continued
Seitz. "After the first race we knew we would be good. We knew we had to work hard
but we definitely knew it was obtainable."
They turned in consistent performances week-after-week to earn the championship. Seitz
posted 11 top-five finishes in 12 starts. An amazing season found Seitz in victory lane
four times including a win at Lee USA Speedway on July 23, 2004 and again at Waterford on
August 14th in the Boston Louie Seymour Memorial and October 4th.
"The Boston Louie Seymour Memorial was a big race for us," said Seitz of his
most memorable moment of the 2004 season. "Me and Joey Payne slugged it out for the
win. We raced so hard throughout the whole race and we came out on top. It was
great!"
Other top finishes included two second-place finishes at Thompson International Speedway
on July 1 and Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, ME on August 7th. A pair of
third-place finishes came at Oswego on September 4th and Seekonk Speedway on October 4th.
A fourth-place finish at Adirondack International Speedway on May 29 was duplicated at
Stafford Motor Speedway on July 14th. The one and only finish outside of the top four came
in the June 12 event at Waterford when the #17 uncharacteristically suffered mechanical
woes relegating the team to a 20th-place finish.
On six different occasions during the season Seitz was named the Hard Charger award winner
for passing the most cars during the event.
"Peter Valeri works very hard and puts the best equipment under me," said Seitz
of his car owner. "He is a very intelligent business man. He always seems to take the
right steps and even when he doesn't he can turn it into a positive."
The alliance between Seitz and Valeri dates back to another championship run. In 2001,
Seitz drove his family-owned Legends car to a New England regional championship with
sponsorship from Valeri. In 2002, Seitz joined the NEMA ranks with Valeri as his car
owner. During their rookie season the duo earned five top-10 finishes and three top-fives.
In 2003, Seitz and company finished sixth in points accumulating four top-five and nine
top-ten finishes.
Since the beginning, Cape Cod Aggregates and owner Sam Lorusso have been an integral part
of the Valeri Motorsports team and Seitz since 2001. Their sponsorship played a major role
in their success this season.
"There are so many wonderful people that have helped me get to here," said
Seitz, "my parents Susan & Andy, my entire family, of course Peter Valeri and
everyone at Cape Cod Aggregates. My crew member Buck Gilbert was a great help to me all
season. He is a big part of it, too."
Seitz will be crowned the 2004 Northeastern Midget Association champion at the NEMA
Banquet on January 15, 2005 at Whites of Westport. |
