Thompson, CT — The Street Stocks got Sunday’s Back to School Bash at Thompson Speedway off to a rip-roaring start with polesitter Austin Flanagan quickly losing the lead under the green flag with an ill-handling machine. Flanagan’s fumble gave Ryan Waterman open range at the front of the pack as Al Stone III and Corey Fanning attempted to reel him in during their 20-lap feature. The lone caution flag flew just before the halfway point as Mike Viens went into the spin cycle in turn one. Although his early lead evaporated in an instant, Ryan Waterman again powered through on the restart to lead the Street Stocks under the checkered flag with Al Stone III and Corey Fanning joining the podium.
The Mini Stocks followed with Rick LaFlesh and Ryan Pomposelli leading the charge. A tight group of two-by-two drove the top four positions in the opening laps with Pomposelli and former division champion Kevin Moore swapping the lead in the early circuits. Jared Roy found himself strong on the outside around Moore but fighting Pomposelli on the low side saw the two slap doors with Roy getting loosened up and dropping back. The two most recent track champions battled hard, allowing Pomposelli the ability to grow his lead even more. Ryan Pomposelli went on to take his first career Mini Stock win at the Big-T followed by Jared Roy and Kevin Moore across the line.
Meghan Fuller and John O’Sullivan brought the AZ Roofing SK Light Modifieds to green for their 25-lap trophy dash on Sunday afternoon. The two put on a spirited battle but O’Sullivan had the dominant ride on the outside line, holding steadfast to the lead. Point leader Tyler Chapman looked to be shot out of a cannon, taking the lead away on lap five and planting his foot to the floor. He kept that foot flat on the floor pan to take his sixth win of the season in the caution-free sprint followed by brother Steven Chapman in second and John O’Sullivan holding off Meghan Fuller for third.
The 50-lap Thompson Sunoco Modified feature saw Derek Ramstrom and Isaiah Newcomb bring the field to green with Jon Puleo and Todd Owen tied to their rear bumpers. Owen quickly jumped around Ramstrom and shot under Newcomb to lead lap two leaving Puleo and Newcomb to mix it up for second. Puleo made his move and stalked Owen for several laps before making the jumping low in turn three, running Owen up and taking the lead position away. Danny Cates saw a strong return with a top-five run go up in smoke, slowing on the backstretch and parking his machine on lap 15.
The lone caution slowed the field on lap 30 as rookie Zach Leone spun off turn two while Todd Owen jumped pitside, swapping his right side tires front-to-back in hopes of making up the difference on Jon Puleo. Owen got past Newcomb to take second on lap 37 with Puleo holding strong to a two-second lead ahead. With a 3.479-second lead, Jon Puleo scored his sixth win of the season with Todd Owen finishing in second and leading rookie Isaiah Newcomb coming home third.
Utilizing the American-Canadian Tour Plus/Minus handicap system, Ryan Morgan and Devin Deshaies brought the Thompson Late Models to green for their $5,000 to win Back to School Bash 75. Morgan drove away with a mirror full of Brian Tagg as Deshaies fell under attack from Nick Johnson. Tom Carey III also broke out under Deshaies for fourth as ACT Tour regulars Erick Sands and Gabe Brown sat in the cat-bird seat. With plenty of laps ahead, the field spread into a single file line, watching the bumpers ahead of them and waiting patiently for any breaks that might come their way.
Second through seventh remained nose-to-tail before Carey peeked out under Johnson, then Tagg, to take second with Derek Gluchacki looking to try the same under Sands for sixth. The first caution came on lap 21 with Zach Robinson’s solo spin in turn four allowing several mid-packers to enter the infield pit road for adjustments. Morgan led the restart as the field settled out once again, but Carey stubbornly stuck to the inside groove to keep the pressure on. ‘TC3’ lead lap 27 with Morgan now having to face Nick Johnson before the second caution for the spinning and stalled Jared Materas once again in the turn four grass.
With Tom Carey III pulling away from the pack, Erick Sands powered around Ryan Morgan to take third on lap 33 before making the same power move around Brian Tagg on lap 40. The lap 48 caution saw a spoiled day for track championship hopeful Derek Gluchacki with a hard hit against the turn one wall leaving Tom Carey and Gabe Brown to put on a power-show up front. Although Brown was three car-lengths back, the two ran comparable lap times with Brown making up inches in the corner as the car got faster and faster in the final ten laps. Brown made it to within a fender-length away but time ran short as Tom Carey III nabbed the $5,000 Back to School Bash 75 with Brown taking second and Erick Sands holding on for third.
Thompson Speedway closes out the 2024 season with the 62nd Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing starting on Friday, October 11 through Sunday, October 13. The annual three-day festival of stock car racing on the Thompson highbanks will feature a taste of everything the Northeast has to offer including high-stakes regional racing courtesy of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, American-Canadian Tour and Pro All Stars Series along with track championship finales and more! The full schedule of events for the 62nd Sunoco World Series will be released by the ACT and PASS offices 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.
For technical information concerning all PASS divisions, and for media or marketing questions, please contact passracing@roadrunner.com or visit www.proallstarsseries.com. Don’t forget to “Like” the Pro All Stars Series on Facebook or follow on Twitter @PASSSLM14 to keep up with breaking news as it happens.
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.
Back to School Bash!
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park – Thompson, CT
Sunday, September 8, 2024
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Late Models – $5,000-to-Win Back to School Bash! (75 Laps)
1. 5MA Tom Carey, III New Salem, MA
2. 47NH Gabe Brown Center Conway, NH
3. 36NH Erick Sands Derry, NH
4. 6MA Nick Johnson Rehoboth, MA
5. 31CT Ryan Morgan North Franklin, CT
6. 9MA Brian Tagg Millbury, MA
7. 21MA Pete Yetman Peru, MA
8. 17CT Matt Lowinski-Loh Thompson, CT
9. 14 Zach Robinson Putnam, CT
10. 91CT Derek Ramstrom Worcester, MA
11. 45NH Kasey Beattie St. Johnsbury, VT
12. 03MA Derek Gluchacki N. Dartmouth, MA
13. 73CT Jared Materas Westfield, MA
14. 64RI Devin Deshaies Harrisville, RI
DNS 3 Jeramee Lillie Coventry, RI
Thompson Sunoco Modifieds – (50 Laps)
1. 7 Jon Puleo Branford, CT
2. 81 Todd Owen Somers, CT
3. 22 #Isaiah Newcomb Plymouth, MA
4. 76 Tyler Barry Griswold, CT
5. 99 Derek Ramstrom Worcester, MA
6. 4 #Zach Leone Worcester, MA
7. 40 Mike Mitchell Cumberland, RI
8. 2 Danny Cates Chaplin, CT
AZ Roofing SK Light Modifieds – (25 Laps)
1. 41CT Tyler Chapman Ellington, CT
2. 44CT Steven Chapman Ellington, CT
3. 15 John O’Sullivan Norwich, CT
4. 2 Meghan Fuller Auburn, MA
5. 47 Zachary Sangermano Plainfield, CT
6. 16MA Todd Douillard Palmer, MA
7. 3 Steven Midford Ellington, CT
8. 07 Austin Goff Stafford Springs, CT
9. 8 Ryan Souliere N. Smithfield
10. 12x Robert Schultz Ocean, NJ
11. 63 David Flammia Waterbury, CT
Street Stocks – (20 Laps)
1. 75 Ryan Waterman Danielson, CT
2. 52 Al Stone III Durham, CT
3. 11 Corey Fanning Mapleville, RI
4. 73 Larry Barnett Moosup, CT
5. 67 Aaron Plemons Uncasville, CT
6. 36 Scott Sundeen Sutton, MA
7. 38 Jon Porter E. Lyme, CT
8. 10RI Ryan Lineham Warwick, RI
9. 28 Austin Flanagan Warwick, RI
10. 2 Tim Poulin Thompson, CT
11. 6 Scott Souza Uncasville, CT
12. 66 Tyler Cinamella Willimantic, CT
13. 10 Hank Stott Medway, MA
14. 85 Michael Viens Seekonk, MA
15. 46x David Paradis Auburn, MA
Mini Stocks – (15 Laps)
1. 19 Ryan Pomposelli Smithfield, RI
2. 1CT Jared Roy Moosup, CT
3. 82 Kevin Moore Moosup, CT
4. 9CT Richard LaFlesh Griswold, CT
5. 81CT Glynn Roy Sterling, MA
6. 84 Bill Schoeler Warwick, RI
7. 44 Steve Michalski Brooklyn, CT
8. 73 Eric Julian Willimantic, CT
9. 13 #Edmond Cousineau Palmer, MA
10. 97 Dave Trudeau Mansfield, CT
