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ANTHONY NOCELLA WINS VMRS 100 RACE AT SEEKONK SPEEDWAY
Being at the
Front at the End is All that Matters
by Denise
DuPont |
 Saturday
June 4th the Valenti Modified Racing Series (VMRS)
headed to Seekonk Speedway for the “VMRS Seekonk
100”. The return of the modifieds to the “Cement
Palace” brought with them some fast and exciting
racing. Modified racing at Seekonk usually clicks
off the laps fast, but this time a damp track made
for a longer race, more caution laps and pitting.
Anthony Nocella of Woburn, MA won his heat race,
started the race third, passed for the lead on lap
39 and went forward to win the VMRS Seekonk 100.
This was Nocella’s first 2016VMRS win, third career
victory in the series and doing it at his home track
made for a special night.
“We had a decent car in practice. It was not perfect
so we tried a few things for our heat and then we
had a real good car. So we were able to start up
towards the front,” explained Nocella. “We just
tried to keep it straight the first couple of laps
and let the leader lead a little and the race settle
out some. Then I took a shot and ended up second on
the restart.”
 Nocella
pulled into the second slot by lap 20 and settled in
there as the race ran thirty-eight green laps on the
tight oval. The first caution of the night occurred
on lap 38 when Kyle James from Ashaway, RI spun the
#8 modified around coming out of turn one. The stage
was now set for a restart with Nocella on the
outside of the then leader Dan Meservey from
Brewster, MA. Nocella was strong on the outside and
pulled by Meservey on the next circuit to be the new
leader. “Usually I do not like to lead the race,”
confessed Nocella. ”I just like to ride and save my
tires but I figured if I could get him and set my
car straight I could just race from there. And that
was what we did the rest of the race – just keeping
the car straight.
There were a lot more spins and cautions for the
VMRS race teams than is normally seen at Seekonk
Speedway. Whether the track was slick as it got
cooler, the fog rolling in or the tire compound,
nine cautions has to be close to, if not a record
for the series at the “Cement Palace”. One yellow
was thrown for a false restart where it appeared
that Nocella jumped the start. “I messed up on one
restart. I thought that the box started earlier and
obviously it did not.” Stated Nocella. “So I figured
that one out and after that it worried me some
because you do not want to miss a shift or do
something stupid. I have done that before here when
I was leading. So I just kept the car straight and
kept as much a distance from everyone as I could.
Doing that I just hoped I had enough for everyone at
the end.”
With sixty more circuits of racing to go, Nocella
created a plan and stuck to his strategy to the end.
“My crew gave me an almost perfect car. I thought if
I could save some tire to the end I could make it
work I would make it. The car was real good so I
thought that I would ride and set my own pace. The
car stayed pretty much perfect until they end. I was
starting to worry about getting a few heat cycle on
the tires after I saw a couple of guys pit and then
saw McKennedy coming through the field. So I just
worked to keep heat in them while keeping the car as
straight as I could.” And his plan worked as he took
the checked flags on lap 100 and captured the win.
 All
smiles in victory lane Nocella was rewarded for his
effort. “I want to thank the folks that run the
track. It is an awesome track and series.”
Jon McKennedy from Marshfield, MA ran a consistent
race crossing the finish line second after passing
Savary for the position with just 6 laps to go. But
the night was not a smooth one for McKennedy. He
started mid-pack and just after half-way started his
charge to the front. The quest was interrupted when
he was tapped from behind while racing hard for
position. McKennedy would have to start at the back
of the pack with the challenge of 39 laps and a
field of cars to pass. McKennedy addressed the
situation at hand. He pitted and came back though
the field to do what he needed to do to get back up
front and compete for the win. “It was just
unfortunate. We had a really good car and we were
running for the win. Half-way through the race I was
up in the top five biting my time when I was run
into and spun out. From there I had to pass the
whole field again where I got up to second. I had a
really good car but just not enough.”
With a second place notched in the books, McKennedy
knew the race was done but he just had to reflect on
the what-ifs. “I am just a little disappointed. I
thought that we had a good enough car to win.”
McKennedy expressed at race end. “We started
mid-pack and drove all the way up to fourth or fifth
and I was spun out on the front straightaway. I had
to restart in the back and pass everyone all over
again. I guess it was a good night. We passed about
thirty race cars and ended up second so it was a
decent night. It is just racing I guess.“
 Richard
Savary of canton, MA. also started the race
mid-field and made his way into the top five just
after half-way. He hung out with the lead pack lap
after lap waiting for his turn to move. But his car
was a tick off and a podium finish was his in the
end.
“I am happy to be out here on the track with the
front three cars.” Savary stated with a little bit
of disappointment. “I thought that it was a pretty
good race. We had the car a little bit too tight at
the end so I just moved down and let the leaders do
their thing on my outside. The car was real good at
the end and still turning and I thought I could get
the #92. I paced myself real well and when it was
time to give it a little something, the car just
would not turn as much as it needed to. I decided
then I was not going to get into anybody. I was just
going to try to run clean and keep it in one piece.”
Woody Pitkat finished fourth and Dave Schneider was
fifth with one of his best finishes. Chase Dowling,
Todd Patnode, Kyle James, Russ Hersey and Todd
Ananrummo rounded off the top ten finishers for the
VMRS Seekonk 100.
VMRS teams will return to racing on Saturday, June
18th for 100 laps of green racing at Oxford Plains
Speedway, Oxford, ME.
Notes from Seekonk
Speedway
Did you know that McKennedy
was making his way through the field with his target
set on you and the win?
Anthony Nocella
“My team was keeping track of McKennedy on the radio
for me. I figured that he would be coming back up
through the field once he pitted. But I just did
what I could and tried to stay up front of him a
little bit and make him at least work for it if he
was going to get by us.”
This was Anthony
Nocella’s third VMRS career win. Here is a summary
of his thought s on that.
Anthony Nocella
“This was my second win at Seekonk Speedway with the
series and my third win total. I got my first ever
win with the series here. Tonight’s win felt really
awesome. I use to run midgets here just to get us to
the track. We ran here a lot and received a bunch of
wins in them which makes me feel real comfortable
coming here. And it seems like the car is always
good here. And you have a lot more confidence when
you come here and you run good, which definitely
helps out. “
As the night went on fog
started to roll in across the track. What are your
thoughts driving a race in the fog?
Anthony Nocella
“The fog was OK to run in. I had to start cracking
my shield though because it started to fog up as the
air got a little heavy at the end. It was definitely
interesting driving in the fog but not too bad to
do”.
What are your next
modified race plans?
Anthony Nocella
“We plan to go to the Tri-Tack race at Monadnock
next weekend and hopefully if we are in one piece
after that we are going to try to go to Oxford
Plains Speedway with the MRS again. We are going to
try to run at least five or six more races with the
MRS series and then all the Tri-Track races. But you
never know we could get going and do more if we keep
going good.”
Jon McKennedy
“I am just picking a choosing races this year and
running a little bit of everything in all series. We
will see what happens as we go along.”
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Source:
Denise DuPont /
TheChromeHorn.com
Posted:
June 5, 2016 |
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