Nocella Caps Off VMRS Championship Season With World Series Win

Photo by, Simply the Best, Crystal Snape 

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Photo by Simply the Best, Crystal Snape

 Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson, CT.

   What a better way to finish off a championship season than to win the Thompson Sunoco World Series for the Valenti Modified Racing Series, and that's just what Anthony Nocella (Woburn, MA.) did Sat. 10/14.

Starting in 11th position in a full 30 car field Nocella quickly settled in saving his equipment for the final drive.

   Eric Goodale (Riverhead, NY) and Donnie Lashua (Canaan, N.H.) brought the field to green and Lashua quickly captured the lead with Rookie of Year Jeffery Gallup (Feeding Hills, MA) latching on to second place.

By lap two Keith Rocco (Berlin,CT.) raced by Gallup and set his sights on race leader Lashua. With only three laps in the books Rocco closed the gap and got into Lashua entering turn one. That impatient move sent both cars violently into the wall destroying them.

   On the restart Gallup showed his strength by leading until a lap 6 tangle involving 5 cars in turn three. Goodale outran Gallup for the lead and led the next 26 laps while Rowan Pennink (Huntingdon Valley, NY) and Nocella turned up the power and raced to the front. Nocella took over the lead on lap 33 and never looked back pulling out to a comfortable lead while Goodale, Pennink, Gallup and 15 year old Sammy Rameau (Westminster,MA) batteled for the runner-up position. 

As the 50 laps ran out, Goodale held on to second place with Pennink a fraction of a second behind for third.

Forth thru tenth were Gallup, Rameau, Andy Shaw, Ron Silk, Anthony Flannery, Blake Barney and Rob Richardi Jr.

Photo by ,Simply the Best, Crystal Snape

   Making only his second start in a tour type modified, Ryan Doucette (Framingham,MA) came from last place, ran a clean steady pace to finish 12th on the lead lap.

   For Nocella, winning five feature events this season propelled him to his first Valenti Modified Racing Series championship.

He said "Winning at Thompson on World Series weekend it was pretty much the mission the whole week. We knew we had a great car. We had a great car in the heat race. We had nothing really to lose. The points were already done. That was my main goal was to go out there and win the race and be the only guy in victory lane for both trophies."

Summary.

Track-Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, 0.625 mi.

Race-Sunoco World Series- Valenti Modified Racing Series

Length- 50 green flag laps

Margin of Victory-2.264 sec.

Best Lap Time-19.211

Best Speed-117.120

Best Lap By-68-K.Rocco

Finnish

1----92-A.Nocella

2----16CT-E.Goodale

3----25-R.Pennink

4----4-J.Gallup

5----6MA-S.Rameau

6----66NH-A.Shaw

7----85-R.Silk

8----25CT-A.Flannery

9----14-B.Barney

10---12MA-R.Richardi Jr.

11---77-M.Mead

12---55-R.Doucette

13---76-M.Galko

14---16-C.Fournier

15---99-R.Savary

16---14M-J.Malave

17---00-C.Dowling

18---19-D.Schneider

19---83-M.Willis Jr.

20---47-K.Bouchard

21---35-A.Molleur

22---34-D.Ethridge

23---45-D.Meservey Jr.

24---13X-C.Sontag

25---22-R.Seidell Jr.

26---1-L.Hinckley

27---27-D.Robbie

28---17-D.Lashua

29---68-K.Rocco

30---3-T.Talman-DNS   

Story by James Snape

Photos by Crystal Snape