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All-Star Speedway -
September 8th
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Marilyn Angelillo was,
officially, the Northeastern Midget Association’s secretary for many
years. Unofficially, she was the club’s social director, points keeper,
publicity agent, organizer, sounding board, problem solver and, most
importantly, its conscience
Marilyn passed away Tuesday after a brave bout with cancer.
“Her contributions to our club over the years are many, far too many to
count,” said NEMA President Mike Scrivani. “Saying she will be missed
seems trite at this point, but Marilyn touched so many of us in positive
ways. Whatever the problem, she was there for us. It is a sad time.”
She came to NEMA with her husband Gene in 1980. It was Marilyn who named
the team “Dumo’s Desire” in memory of Gene’s father.
Working with Gene, she helped engineer a NEMA surge in the 1990s. She
fought fiercely for those competitors loyal to the club. Perfect
attendance trophies, she believed, were to be valued as much as
championships.
She had a number of awards including the coveted Johnny Thomson
Memorial.
In addition to her husband, Marilyn is survived by her daughter and
son-in-law Laura and Curt Kibbe, granddaughters Tiana and Brooke and
brother and sister-in-law James and Catherine Zukauskas. NEMA extends
its condolences to all her family and friends.
The family requests contributions be made in Marilyn’s memory to the
Harold Leever Cancer Center, 1075 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, CT (www.leevercancercenter.org)
or to NEMA.
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Route 27 - Epping, NH
THE CLASSIC
Sat. - Sept. 8th
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Seitz Caps Emotional
Week for NEMA at All-Star Classic
by Tim Bertrand |
Epping, NH (September 9, 2007): Ben
Seitz of Pocasset, MA, became the first North East Midget
Association three-peat winner during the 2007 season for the Helping
Hands of America/Wirtgen America series with a stunning performance
on Saturday night at the All-Star Classic. The victory came on the
heels of an extremely emotional week for the North East Midget
Association, when one of the club’s most beloved, Marilyn Angelillo,
passed away after a courageous battle with cancer.
Angelillo was, officially, the Northeastern Midget Association’s
secretary for many years. Unofficially, she was the club’s social
director, points keeper, publicity agent, organizer, sounding board,
problem solver and, most importantly, its conscience. Marilyn, along
with husband Gene, and the Dumo’s Desire crew amassed 14 owner
championships throughout the last three decades.
After it was decided that the NEMA All-Star Classic would still go
on, in honor of Marilyn, competitors rallied to support the event,
which was officially ended on the white flag lap. Joey Payne,
driving the Angelillo #45, was officially scored in second place,
but carried the checkered flag around the speedway in Marilyn’s
memory for one final lap.
The event started with a flurry of practice sessions, followed by
thunderstorms, and then the first heat race, which took place on
questionable track conditions. As conditions worsened, the cars were
called back to the pits and the heat was declared finished on lap
eight with rookie John Zych taking down his first ever heat race
win. The second heat went off 90 minutes later with Joey Payne
taking down the win in dominating style.
In the feature event, Pete Pernesiglio and Mike Lugelle brought the
field down for the green flag. After a few failed attempts,
Pernesiglio finally got the jump and sprinted into the lead. Randy
Cabral, who started fourth, tried the outside of Pernesiglio on lap
three, but the caution waved for Jeff Horn’s A1, which sat on the
grass off of the back straightaway after a spin off the track.
On the restart, Cabral’s car faltered, causing the field to split
him, as Pernesiglio rocketed into the lead once again. Behind him,
the action heated up, as from deep in the pack, Seitz, Payne, Bobby
Santos III and visiting Whelen Modified Tour driver & NEMA rookie
Ryan Preece all invaded the top five. By lap six, it was Pernesiglio,
followed by Preece, Seitz, Payne and Santos.
A lap nine restart changed the game, as Preece and Pernesiglio lined
up for the green with Pernesiglio getting the jump. Seitz and Payne
split Preece, as the race for the front began to heat up. Two laps
later Seitz challenged Pernesiglio, coming out on top for the lead.
On the next lap, Payne moved into second, and by the halfway point,
it was Seitz, followed by Payne, Preece and Bobby Santos III.
Over the second half of the event, Payne maneuvered across every
inch of the racing surface to find a line around Seitz, but couldn’t
get the advantage. Santos and Preece battled for the third spot,
swapping the spot a number of times with Santos gaining the
advantage.
A restart with three laps to go was Payne’s last shot at an
emotional victory, but Seitz used a defensive line, in order to shut
down Payne’s chance to take command. Santos steadily rode in third,
as Preece took up a battle with 20th place starter Greg Stoehr for
fourth.
At the checkers, a close margin saw Seitz cap off the win over
Payne, Santos, Stoehr and Preece. Pete Pernesiglio wound up
finishing sixth, followed by rookies Jeff Abold & Jeremy Frankoski,
Erica Santos and B.J. Macdonald.
An emotional victory lane ceremony took place with both the #17 and
#45 teams of Seitz and Payne.
“We really wanted to win this one,” said an emotional Payne. “The
effort and emotion of tonight’s run is dedicated to Marilyn. It’s
been a tough time for the team and she will be missed more than
words can express. I am sure she will still be watching over us at
the track every week.”
“The club dedicates this race and our team dedicates this win to
Marilyn,” said Seitz. “We’re all at a loss for words around her
dedication to this club and how she’ll be missed.”
The win propelled Seitz, Peter Valeri, and the Cape Cod Aggregates
team into both the owners and drivers points standings lead over
Payne, Angelillo and Dumo’s Desire team. |
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All-Star Speedway -
Sat. Sept. 8th |
| Pos. |
# |
Driver |
Hometown |
Owner |
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1 |
17 |
Ben Seitz |
Pocasset, MA |
Pete Valeri |
| 2 |
45 |
Joey Payne |
Fairlawn, NJ |
Gene Angellilo |
| 3 |
98 |
Bobby Santos
III |
Franklin, MA |
Robert
Santos Jr. |
| 4 |
26b |
Greg Stoehr |
Bridgewater, MA |
Greg Stoehr |
| 5 |
48 |
Ryan
Preece |
- |
Tim
Bertrand |
| 6 |
80 |
Pete Pernesiglio |
Lake
Grove, NY |
Peter Pernesiglio |
| 7 |
29 |
Jeff Abold |
Pennellville, NY |
Bobby Seymour |
| 8 |
99 |
Jeremy Frankoski |
Newark Valley, NY |
Power Point
Racing |
| 9 |
44 |
Erica Santos |
Franklin, MA |
Ed Breault |
| 10 |
49 |
B.J.
MacDonald |
Dublin, PA |
B.J.
MacDonald |
| 11 |
7ny |
Adam Cantor |
Dix Hills, NY |
Cantor Racing |
| 12 |
47 |
Randy Cabral |
Plymouth, MA |
Tim Bertrand |
|
13 |
9 |
John Zych
Jr. |
Mendon,
MA |
John Zych |
|
14 |
35 |
Cory Cleary |
Plymouth, MA |
Glen Cabral |
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15 |
77 |
Mike Lugelle |
Hull, MA |
Mike Lugelle |
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16 |
33 |
Shawn Torrey |
Marshfield, MA |
Shawn Torrey |
| 17 |
30 |
Paul
Scally |
Raynham,
MA |
Paul
Scally |
18
DNF |
4 |
Nokie
Fornoro |
Stroudsburg,
PA |
Mike
Jarret |
19
DNF |
A1 |
Jeff Horn |
Ashland,
MA |
Jeff Horn |
20
DNF |
P30 |
Mike
Horn |
Ashland,
MA |
Mike
Horn |
21
DNF |
5 |
Mike Keeler |
Danbury, CT |
Larry Cheetham |
22
DNF |
78 |
Steve
Powers |
N.
Andover, MA |
Linda
Cleveland |
23
DNF |
28l |
Paul Luggelle |
Holbrook, MA |
Paul Luggelle |
24
DNS |
21 |
Barry Kittredge |
Marlboro, MA |
Barry Kittredge |
25
DNS |
37g |
Shane Hammond |
E. Bridgewater, MA |
Jack
Glockner |
26
DNS |
47b |
Lou
Ciconni Jr. |
Aston,
PA |
Tim
Bertrand |
27
DNS |
22 |
Chris
Leonard |
Pelham,
NH |
Dave
Leonard |
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