Thompson, MRS Champions Crowned on World Series Opening Night

Thompson, CT — Night number one of the 60th Sunoco World Series presented by Budweiser started off the iconic Thompson Speedway season-ender with a bang as two champions were crowned and another championship, inside a championship, began.

After a nostalgic race with the Senior Tour Auto Racers (S.T.A.R.), the Thompson Late Models race was spearheaded by Mike Benevides and Brian Tagg. When the green flag waved following the heat race qualifications, Derek Gluchacki narrowly led by seven points over the defending champion Ryan Morgan with an 18-car field charging towards the start line. Early on in the race, Benevides played defensively, forcing Woody Pitkat into a three-wide turn with Nick Johnson coming out of turn two. This resulted in Johnson crashing into the wall and involving both Tagg and Donald Macrino in the incident.

At the restart, John Lowinksi-Low snatched the lead from Gluchacki, only for the young-gun to reclaim it on lap 3, with Morgan and Tom Carey III hot on his heels. On lap 14, the second yellow flag was raised due to the spinning 38MA of Seekonk Speedway regular, Connor Souza. The restart saw Gluchacki and Morgan neck-and-neck at the line, leading to a three-wide race in the first two turns involving both Lowinski-Low and Carey. Morgan managed to navigate through the chaos and maintained the lead, ultimately securing the World Series victory over Gluchacki and Tom Carey III. Ryan Morgan and Derek Gluchacki were tied for the top spot in the Late Model standings.

Upon further investigation and multiple scoring re-checks, it was discovered that Derek Gluchacki and Ryan Morgan both had two wins and two second-place finishes, despite initially awarding the championship to the wrong person in victory lane. The tie-breaker was decided by Morgan’s next highest finish of 5th on Icebreaker weekend, which was superior to Gluchacki’s next-best of 8th on August 17th. Consequently, Ryan Morgan is officially recognized as the 2022 Thompson Speedway Late Model champion.

The special $1,000 to win Open Mini Stock event on Sunoco World Series Friday presented by Budweiser brought 16 racers from across New England into the Thompson Speedway pit area for a chance at the end-of-the-year cash. The Mini Stocks were en route to go flag-to-flag until a late hit into the turn two wall for former North East Mini Stock Tour champion Desmond Skillings brought out the lone caution. Seekonk’s Mike Viens would run down the $1,000 win over White Mountain Motorsports Park champion Nick Anderson and Emerson Cayer.

The R&R Race Parts NH Street Stock Open kicked off with 25 cars roaring onto the speedway, each aiming to claim the $1,000 grand prize. Regular Open Street Stock participant, Christopher Buffone, caused the first caution due to a flat right front tire early in the race, and young Tanner Woodard also lost a tire, a left front, upon restart. Once green flag racing resumed, Chad Baxter zoomed ahead, followed closely by Rob Macrae and Chris Riendeau. Buffone’s night ended prematurely as he brought out another caution on lap 5 after crashing hard into the frontstretch wall.

Race control implemented single file restarts, giving Baxter an open field in front. Ryan Waterman, trailing behind Baxter, was determined and focused. He repeatedly overtook his competitors by pushing his boundaries out of turns two and four, often surpassing several cars on his way to the lead. In a similar fashion, Kris Watson commenced a strategic ascent through the ranks. Watson, the victor of the September’s $5,000 R&R Open Street Stock event at White Mountain Motorsports Park, maneuvered himself into second place and started pursuing Baxter.

On lap 41, Watson received help when Tyler Poulin stopped abruptly at the entrance to the frontstretch, causing the final caution. The double file restart allowed Baxter to opt for the inside lane, with Watson taking the outside. As the green flag waved, Watson quickly surged ahead, never appearing to let off the gas. Kris Watson eventually claimed the $1,000 R&R Race Parts NH grand prize. He was followed by Chad Baxter and Shane Gendron, who managed to sneak in late to secure third place.

The championship round of the Modified Racing Series capped off the Sunoco World Series Friday night event, sponsored by Budweiser. Thirty-two Tour-type Modifieds participated, with Craig Lutz gaining an early lead over Anthony Bello and Mike Christopher Jr. Ronnie Williams also started strong, swiftly moving up to third place and then second, bypassing Christopher Jr. in the Tommy Baldwin ride and Bello.

The first warning came out on the 41st lap due to Tommy Barrett’s halted ride in the third turn, troubled by steering problems in the #17 machine. The first restart saw Williams positioned outside of Lutz before a significant warning on the frontstretch caused Mike Collins to flip over Tyler Berry’s hood at the start/finish line. This incident also involved Kevin Iannarelli whose night was ruined due to contact. During the second restart, Williams took off with the lead, followed by Max Zachem around Lutz, before the final warning flag was raised on the 52nd lap due to RJ Marcotte’s spin in the fourth turn.

On the final restart, Ronnie Williams again pulled away on the outside lane over Max Zachem and never looked back, taking the win followed by Zachem and Eric Goodale at the line. With Jacob Perry’s massive finish over Kirk Alexander, the young Granite Stater would take down the 2022 Modified Racing Series championship with his 11th place finish.

The 60th edition of the Sunoco World Series, sponsored by Budweiser, will proceed tomorrow, Saturday, October 8th, with a thrilling Saturday face-off. The American-Canadian Tour and the Pro All Stars Series Super Late Models are set to compete in 75-lap races. This will occur alongside the Outlaw Open Modified Sunoco 100, with a prize of $10,000 to the winner. Other events include the New England Supermodified Series (NESS), the second round of the Weston’s Automotive Triple Crown Series for the Sunoco Modifieds, Track Championship for local Mini Stocks, the New England Pro-4 Modified Harry Kourafas Memorial 22, and qualifying for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Sunoco World Series 150, presented by Phoenix Communications.

The thrilling eight-division showdown on Saturday is priced reasonably at $35 for adults and $10 for children aged between 6 and 12. The Grandstand Gates will open sharp at 12:00 noon. Tickets for both two-day and three-day (Saturday & Sunday) can be purchased at the gate. The 60th Sunoco World Series, sponsored by Budweiser, will be live-streamed on Racing America’s pay-per-view, with the exception of Sunday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event, which will be exclusively broadcasted on FloRacing.

For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, [email protected], 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] or visit www.thompsonspeedway.com. You can follow Thompson Speedway on Facebook and Instagram at @ThompsonSpeedway or on Twitter at @ThompsonSpdwy.

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park – Thompson, CT

60th Sunoco World Series presented by Budweiser Night #1

Friday, October 7, 2022

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

Modified Racing Series – 75 Laps

1. 25 Ronnie Williams

2. 20 Max Zachem

3. 58 Eric Goodale

4. 25M Matt Swanson

5. 00 Craig Lutz

6. 2 Anthony Bello

7. 3 Jake Johnson

8. 7NY Mike Christopher Jr.

9. 81 Todd Owen

10. 29 Spencer Davis

11. 47 Jacob Perry

12. 06 Sammy Rameau

13. 57 Keith Rocco

14. 45 Brett Meservey

15. 88 Woody Pitkat

16. 76K Matt Kimball

17. 48 Marcello Rufrano

18. 31 Andrew Charron

19. 55 Ryan Doucette

20. 21 Tyler Berry

21. 35 Andrew Molleur

22. 76 Kirk Alexander

23. 66NH Andy Shaw

24. 5A RJ Marcotte

25. 27MA Derek Robie

26. 02NY Allen Peterson

27. 43 Devin O’Connell

28. 02 Mike Collins

29. 16F Colbey Fourtnier

30. 27I Kevin Iannarelli

31. 17B Tommy Barrett

32. 81x Josh Zentek

R&R Race Parts NH Street Stock Open – 50 Laps

1. 35 Kris Watson Kenduskeag, ME

2. 0 Chad Baxter Pascoag, RI

3. 7MA Shane Gendron Tyngsboro, MA

4. 75 Ryan Waterman Danielson, CT

5. 4VT Chris Riendeau Springfield, MA

6. 68 Tanner Woodard Waterbury Ctr., VT

7. 4 Tommy O’Sullivan Wilbraham, MA

8. 12 Bo Norman Clinton, CT

9. 67 Aaron Plemons Uncasville, CT

10. 8 Crystal Serydynski Johnston, RI

11. 52 Ron Macrae Billerica, MA

12. 22T Tim Poulin Thompson, CT

13. 30 Andrew Morin Nashua, NH

14. 71 Donny Silva Hudson, ME

15. 19 Ryan Lineham Hope Valley, RI

16. 81 Josh Gerard W. Wareham, MA

17. 46 Jason Finkbein Manchester, CT

18. 7x Troy Waterman Danielson, CT

19. 38 Jon Porter E. Lyme, CT

20. 22 Scott Serydynski Jr. W. Greenwich, RI

21. 2 Christopher Buffone Belchertown, MA

22. 116 Jimmy Silva Millville, RI

23. 7 Paul Newcomb Plymouth, MA

24. 81G Jessie Gleason Lisbon, CT

DNS 43 Adam Petty Assonet, MA

Thompson Late Models – 30 Laps

2022 Track Champion – Ryan Morgan

1. 31CT Ryan Morgan N. Franklin, CT

2. 03MA Derek Gluchacki N. Dartmouth, MA

Tom Carey III, 5MA, New Salem, MA

4. 91CT Woody Pitkat Bellingham, MA

5. 17 Matt Lowinski-Low Milford, MA

6. 37 Jordan Hadley Waterford, CT

7. 68 Corey Dimatteo Farmington, CT

8. 30 Jacob Burns E. Greenwich, RI

9. 4CT Reese Bogue Groton, CT

10. 38RI Connor Souza Riverside, RI

11. 22RI Mark Jenison Warwick, RI

12. 11 Corey Fanning Maplewood, RI

13. 50RI Mike Benevides Westerly, RI

14. 2CT Doug Curry Bozrah, CT

15. 66MA Brett LeBlanc Uxbridge, MA

16. 9MA Brian Tagg Oxford, MA

17. 6x Nick Johnson Rehoboth, MA

18. 13 Donald Macrino Waterford, CT

Weston’s Automotive Triple Crown Series for Sunoco Modifieds – 30 Laps

1. 179 Stephen Kopcik Newton, CT

2. 3 Troy Talman Oxford, MA

3. 6CT Cory DiMatteo Farmington, CT

4. 82 Mike Christopher Jr. Wolcott, MA

5. 81 Todd Owen Somers, CT

6. 57 Keith Rocco Berlin, CT

7. 34 David Arute Stafford, CT

8. 7 Jon Puleo Branford, CT

9. 18 Tyler Berry Griswold, CT

10. 27A Adam Gada Bozrah, CT

11. 88 Mark Bakaj Lebanon, CT

12. 5 RJ Marcotte Millville, CT

13. 08 Nick Halkowicz Shelton, CT

14. 02 Paul LaPlante Scituate, RI

15. 62 Cody Rose Worcester, MA

16. 44 Darin Renihan Woodbury, CT

17. 26 Jason Sundeen Douglas, MA

18. 28 Rich Gautreau

19. 1x Tyler Leary Hatfield, MA

Mini Stock Open – 30

1. 85 Mike Viens Seekonk, MA

2. 55 Nick Anderson Oxford, MA

3. 88 Emerson Cayer Contoocook, NH

4. 63 Nick Maniatis Manchester, NH

5. 18 Jacob Rheaume Rochester, NH

6. 12 Joey Kendall Sterling, MA

7. 9CT Rick LaFlesh Griswold, CT

8. 1NH Kenny J. Marrier Newfields, NH

9. 82 Kevin Moore Moosup, CT

10. 84 Bill Schoeler Warwick, RI

11. 81CT Jared Roy Sterling, CT

12. 90 Desmond Skillings Antrim, NH

13. 97 Dave Trudeau Mansfield, CT

DNS 44 Steve Michalski Brooklyn, CT

DNS 7 Kyle Wing N. Windam, CT

DNS 44CT Russ Barboza Colchester, CT

-American-Canadian Tour Press Release
-Photo credit: Alan Ward