Zych Tops Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park NEMA Return

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

John Zych Jr. came from deep in the pack to take down his second win in a row last Wednesday evening when the Northeastern Midget Association joined the Whelen Modified Tour at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. A grim forecast didn’t stop Thompson’s staff from forging forward, in what turned out to be a blockbuster evening at the Speedway.

When the green flag flew, Danny Cugini blasted out into the lead from his front row starting spot. Cugini’s Toyota Racing #51 looked very strong in the early stages, pulling away to a half straightaway lead at times. When the caution flew, Cugini lined up beside Todd Bertrand in the Bertrand Motorsports #39. Cugini jumped back out into the lead, until another caution flew. On the next restart, Bertrand got the jump, and pulled along with him John Zych Jr. who had come from the tenth spot. Bertrand continued to lead for four laps, when his machine started to falter, and Zych shot into the lead. Bertrand retired from the event a few laps later with a faulty spark plug wire.

During the next caution period, Randy Cabral pitted from an earlier incident in the race, and a nerf bar that was badly wearing into his right rear tire. On the green flag, Zych rocketed into the lead and was never seriously challenged. Seth Carlson put on a strong run late in the race to finish second, and Jim Chambers rounded out the podium. Avery Stoehr finished fourth, followed by Danny Cugini, Randy Cabral, Bobby Santos III, Paul Scally, Todd Bertrand and Pete Pernesiglio Jr.

“Starting 10th I wasn't very optimistic about getting to the front. Once the race started I knew I had to go in a hurry to be able to have a chance at catching the guys up front. The few cautions that we had probably helped bunch us back up. It was a pretty intense battle after the last restart with the top 4 or 5 cars. We were able to break free and once we took the lead the clean air and space to run the line I wanted allowed us to break away and run our fastest laps,” said Zych.

NEMA picks back up this Saturday at Star Speedway where Sammy Swindell will highlight the race card for Bertrand Motorsports.

NEMA FEATURE FINISH: 1. John Zych (Mendon, MA); 2. Seth Carlson (Brimfield, MA); 3. Jim Chambers (Atkinson, NH); 4. Avery Stoehr (Lakeville, MA); 5. Dan Cugini (Marshfield, MA); 6. Randy Cabral (Kingston, MA); 7. Bobby Santos (Franklin, MA); 8. Paul Scally (Raynham, MA); 9. Todd Bertrand (Danielson, CT); 10. Pete Pernisiglio (Lake Grove, NY); 11. Bethany Stoehr (Bridgewater, MA); 12. Jim Santa Maria (Burlington, CT); 13. Kevin Parks