Patrick Emerling Dominates Annual NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Midweek Thompson 150
/Thompson, CT — A perfect Wednesday afternoon in the quiet corner of Connecticut brought the fans in droves for the annual NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Wednesday night showcase at Thompson Speedway. The Thompson 150 presented by FloSports headlined a seven division card of racing on Wednesday night that also included a fan-favorite visit for the New England Supermodified Series and the five track championship divisions that call Thompson home throughout the season.
The Street Stocks started off the evening’s feature racing with Scott Sundeen at the head of the pack. Sundeen powered up looking to nab his first win of the season followed by Al Stone III, ‘Leadfoot’ Larry Barnett and Corey Fanning nose-to-tail behind him. The lone caution on lap 12 for the spinning Tim Poulin set up a final showdown between Sundeen and Fanning with Corey Fanning powering through to the win with Ryan Waterman making moves to take second and Al Stone III holding on for third.
Following NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour qualifying the Mini Stocks took on the highbanks with Steve Michalski and Rick LaFlesh. LaFlesh got the jump into the lead as heavy-hitters Jared Roy and Kevin Moore battled for second just inches off LaFlesh’s back bumper. Roy sling-shot into the lead powering out of turn four under the halfway crossed-flags. Jared Roy would put the peddle down to return to his winning ways followed by Kevin Moore and Ryan Pomposelli.
Rookie Isaiah Newcomb brought the Thompson Sunoco Modifieds to the green flag with Jon Puleo quickly launching the head of the pack. By lap five, Todd Owen had charged up to second and began stalking the youngster with a few love taps on the bumper. Owen would charge under Puleo to lead lap seven with Puleo left to fend off Keith Rocco for second. Puleo would use the cross-over to lead lap 13 with Rocco and Owen getting physical for second. Content to run 1-2-3, the leaders waited for laps to wind down in their 30-lap main event and took it right down to the checkered flags with Jon Puleo taking his fifth win of the season followed by Keith Rocco and Todd Owen in victory lane.
Bobby Timmons and Jim Storace brought the New England Supermodified Series to green for their 30-lap main event. The heart-stopping move of the race would come on lap 4 as Ben Seitz and Dan Bowes took Storace three-wide, shooting off turn two and down the back straightaway with Bowes coming out with the lead. Coming from mid-pack, Jon McKennedy also rounded Storace to take third, made the long march to take on Seitz and dove underneath to take position on lap 21. With a straightaway lead Dan Bowes took the win just nine lightning-fast laps later followed by McKenney and Seitz at the line.
Fast time, Mayhew Tools polesitter Patrick Emerling brought the 26-car NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour field to green and quickly shot out front ahead of Craig Lutz. Dave ‘Sap’ Sapienza brought out the first caution on lap 20 with a flat right rear sending him in the spin-cycle in turn three. Emerling would maintain the lead under the return to green flag racing with a rear-view mirror full of Justin Bonsignore. The leaders would begin taking on lap traffic on lap 53 but remained settled in for the long-haul strategy. The second caution on lap 60 for the spinning Woody Pitkat off turn two saw the entire field jump pit-side for tires and adjustments in preparation for the second half of the Thompson 150 presented by FloSports.
Patrick Emerling again maintained his lead position by an impatient Justin Bonsignore began to show his hand, diving under Emerling in a look to the near future. Jake Johnson would slam into the turn one wall on lap 76 from mid-pack with an apparent mechanical failure to rerack the field once more. The subsequent restart saw top-5 runner Chase Dowling quickly fall through the field with obvious issues under the hood to swamp a great day for the Tinio Motorsports group as Emerling continued to dominate at the front. The final stretch would see Patrick Emerling dominant the Thompson 150 presented by FloSports for his fifth career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win and first at Thompson Speedway followed by Justin Bonsignore and Craig Lutz.
The AZ Roofing SK Light Modifieds and the Late Models wrapped up the Wednesday night racing action at Thompson. Cautions plauged the opening circuits of the SK Light feature, taking out point leader Tyler Chapman and rookie Steve Midford, leaving Meghan Fuller to battle Nick Hovey and John O’Sullivan. Nick Hovey would motor around Fuller for his first win of the season with John O’Sullivan coming home third. The Late Model 25-lap sprint would see Derek Gluchacki charge ahead of the field to take back-to-back wins followed by Nick Johnson and Matt Lowinski-Loh.
Thompson Speedway returns to oval racing action on Sunday, September 8 with the Back to School Bash! The Sunday special is headlined by continued track championship action for the Thompson Sunoco Modifieds, AZ Roofing SK Light Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks and Mini Stocks to ring in the school year at high-octane speed! Full schedule of events will be available soon.
For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.
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For general Thompson Speedway inquiries, call (860) 923-2280, email oval@thompsonspeedway.com, or visit www.thompsonspeedway.com. You can follow Thompson Speedway on Facebook and Instagram at @ThompsonSpeedway or on Twitter at @ThompsonSpdwy.
Thompson 150 presented by FloSports
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park – Thompson, CT
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour – Thompson 150 presented by FloSports - (150 Laps)
(Finish Position, Car #, Driver Name, Laps Completed)
1. 1 Patrick Emerling 150
2. 51 Justin Bonsignore 150
3. 46 Craig Lutz 150
4. 79 Jonathan McKennedy 150
5. 54 Tommy Catalano 150
6. 89 Matt Swanson 150
7. 16 Ron Silk 150
8. 64 Austin Beers 150
9. 56 Trevor Catalano* 149
10. 58 Eric Goodale 149
11. 24 Andrew Krause 149
12. 32 Tyler Rypkema 149
13. 19 Anthony Sesely 149
14. 4 Tim Connolly 149
15. 82 Woody Pitkat 148
16. 7 Doug Coby 148
17. 00 Andy Jankowiak 148
18. 88 Roger Turbush 148
19. 84 Tyler Catalano* 147
20. 18 Ken Heagy 146
21. 36 Dave Sapienza 145
22. 60 Matt Hirschmann 145
23. 21 Steven Kopcik* 129
24. 22 Kyle Bonsignore 90
25. 44 Chase Dowling 87
26. 3 Jake Johnson 76
New England Supermodified Series – (30 Laps)
1. 25 Dan Bowles Epping, NH
2. 79 Jon McKennedy Chelmsford, MA
3. 11 Ben Seitz Bourne, MA
4. 47 Jim Storace Kingston, NH
5. 41 Russ Wood Pelham, NH
6. 13 Bobby Timmons Windham, ME
7. 51 Dave Duggan Milford, NH
8. 52 Vern Romanoski Strong, ME
9. 14L A.J. Lesiecki Bowling Green, OH
10. 45 Mike Mayberry Naples, ME
11. 24 David Sanborn Tilton, NH
DNS 97 Matt Swanson Harvard, MA
DNS 5 Rob Summers Manchester, CT
Thompson Sunoco Modifieds – (30 Laps)
1. 7 Jon Puleo Branford, CT
2. 09 Keith Rocco Berlin, CT
3. 81 Todd Owen Somers, CT
4. 22 #Isaiah Newcomb Plymouth, MA
5. 76 Tyler Barry Griswold, CT
6. 99 Derek Ramstrom Worcester, MA
7. 4 #Zach Leone Worcester, MA
AZ Roofing SK Light Modifieds – ($1,000-to-Win, 25 Laps)
1. 16 Nickolas Hovey Chaplin, CT
2. 2 Meghan Fuller Auburn, MA
3. 15 John O'Sullivan Norwich, CT
4. 34MA Daltin McCarthy Oxford, MA
5. 41CT Tyler Chapman Ellington, CT
6. 3 Steven Midford Ellington, CT
Late Models – (25 Laps)
1. 03MA Derek Gluchacki N. Dartmouth, MA
2. 6MA Nick Johnson Rehoboth, MA
3. 17 Matt Lowinski-Loh Thompson, CT
4. 91CT Jake Johnson Bellingham, MA
5. 9MA Brian Tagg Millbury, MA
Street Stocks – (20 Laps)
1. 11 Corey Fanning Mapleville, RI
2. 75 Ryan Waterman Danielson, CT
3. 52 Al Stone III Durham, CT
4. 73 Larry Barnett Moosup, CT
5. 36 Scott Sundeen Sutton, MA
6. 67 Aaron Plemons Uncasville, CT
7. 66 Tyler Cinamella Willimantic, CT
8. 7x Jason Chicolas Sutton, MA
9. 2 Tim Poulin Thompson, CT
10. 10 Hank Stott Medway, MA
11. 85 Michael Viens Seekonk, MA
12. 28 Austin Flanagan Warwick, RI
Mini Stocks – (15 Laps)
1. 1CT Jared Roy Moosup, CT
2. 82 Kevin Moore Moosup, CT
3. 19 Ryan Pomposelli Smithfield, RI
4. 9CT Richard LaFlesh Griswold, CT
5. 97 Dave Trudeau Mansfield, CT
6. 44 Steve Michalski Brooklyn, CT
7. 84 Bill Schoeler Warwick, RI
8. 91 Tom Jones Sr. Mystic, CT
9. 54 Dylan Cabral