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Seitz Returns to NEMA Winning Ways at Thompson

Thompson, CT (July 5, 2007): On Thursday Night, the Thompson International Speedway hosted the traditional Independence Day holiday visit for the Northeastern Midget Association. Like customary holiday fireworks, the mighty midgets were a burst of excitement with defending driving champion Ben Seitz of Pocasset, MA scoring a thrilling victory over Greg Stoehr of E. Bridgewater.

Seitz came on strong in the early laps of the 25-lapper but had to wait until late in the race to make his winning move. Greg Stoehr, who had paced the field with a stout racecar, looked like he was headed for victory. Seitz and Greg Stoehr put on a driving clinic as the duo fought for the lead while dicing through lapped traffic. The two swapped the lead several times before Seitz took the lead for good on lap 18. The grand finale featured a four-lap dash to the checkered flag with Seitz besting the field that went 30-cars strong. The victory was the first of the 2007 season for Seitz.

Adam Cantor led the field to green with Erica Santos in tow. On the opening lap, from deeper in the pack, Seitz, Randy Cabal and Joey Payne made it three wide on the frontstretch as they scrapped for position. Cabral gained the advantage of the three.

At the head of the pack, Stroehr made his move taking the lead from Cantor on lap two. Santos began to fade slightly losing positions also to Cabral and Tim Heath. Almost immediately, Stoehr gained a sizeable advantage.

The first caution of the event flew on lap five when Doug Cleveland came to rest in turn one. By the time the yellow had come out, Cabral was third. His teammate Lou Cicconi was on pit road with mechanical trouble. The restart order found Stoehr, Cantor, Cabral, Seitz and Heath inside the top five.

On the ensuing restart, Stoehr immediately jumped out to a large advantage. This time the lead was over Ben Seitz, who had rocketed into second on the restart past Cantor and Cabral. The action heated up for the third spot between Cabral and Cantor while Payne made his first appearance inside the top five.

Cabral got by Cantor before Jeremy Frankoski stalled on the backstretch to bring out the second caution on lap six. A second attempt to complete lap six ended with the yellow flying for a spin by Nokie Fornoro on the frontstretch. Fornoro was able to continue.

Stoehr and Seitz battled hard for the top spot on the restart. It looked as if Seitz would take over the lead but Stoehr battled back to retain his stance at the head of the pack. Cabral made a run at Seitz in second on lap eight but could not make the pass. Stoehr was again able to get a little distance while they duked it out.

The leader hit heavy lapped traffic again by lap 10. Payne had cleared Cantor on the earlier restart and went to work trying to shrink the large gap between himself and third running Cabral.

Stoehr and Seitz diced through lapped traffic with neither missing a beat. The top five remained Stoehr, Seitz, Cabral, Payne, and Cantor.

In the closing laps, Seitz began to cut into Stoehr’s lead. On lap 17, Stoehr drifted high in turn one opening the door for Seitz. He lost the lead, at least temporarily, to Seitz. Stoehr came storming back to retake the lead once again. After a hard battle between the two, Seitz was finally able to grab the top spot for good on lap 18. Stoehr immediately fell into the clutches of Cabral.

Troy Boissoneau spun on lap 21 to bring out the caution to set up a four-lap dash to the checkers. Seitz was easily able to maintain the point on the single-file restart while Stoehr turned back any challenge from Cabral for second. The best battle was for third between Cabral, Payne and Cantor. Cabral retained the third position with Payne wrestling the position from Cantor.

On the white flag lap, it appeared that Stoehr was catching Seitz; however, time ran out leaving Seitz to take the checkers for his first win of the season. Stoehr was happy with his run and his second place finish. Cabral settled for third. Payne appeared to lose power on the final lap relinquishing the position to Cantor as they streaked under the checkers.

Seitz and his Peter Valeri-led Cape Cod Aggregates Team were hungry for a victory.

“I almost felt bad beating Greg,” said Seitz. “He had a great car, but my team gave me a great car too and my team and I really wanted this win.”

The win was well-timed as the team will have momentum for NEMA’s busy month of racing ahead. The stop at Thompson was the first of the Connecticut Summer Swing for NEMA who will be at Stafford Motor Speedway on Tuesday for the running of the 4th Annual CARQUEST Extreme Tuesday which will also feature the ISMA Supermodifieds. For more information, log on to www.staffordspeedway.com or call (860)-684-2783.