(Press Release from Northeastern Midget Association)
John Zych celebrates victory in NEMA action Saturday at Wiscasset Speedway in Wiscasset, Me. (Photo: Northeastern Midget Association/Peter Taylor
WISCASSET, Me. – John Zych ended a multi race dry spell, as the Mendon, MA racer beat back 2017 champion, Randy Cabral, on a late race restart to take down his third victory in a row at Wiscasset Speedway. In the Lites division, Jim Chambers came from deep in the field to beat a strong field of competitors, with a late race pass on Jim Cataldo.
In the NEMA feature, Doug Cleveland and Bethany Stoehr brought the field to the green flag. Quickly, fourth place starter John Zych drove his JZ Motorsports entry to the top of the track and stormed into the lead. Further back, Avery Stoehr moved from his sixth place starting spot into second by lap three and set his sights on Zych. Over next ten laps, the distance between Zych and Stoehr stayed marginal, while further back, Cabral was on the hunt moving into the third spot, with Jim Chambers in tow.
On lap fifteen, disaster struck for Stoehr, as the rear axle failed, rocketing the car into the turn three wall. Stoehr was able to walk away from the incident, with a badly damaged race car.
On the restart, Zych and Cabral would line up side by side, and Cabral would make a valiant effort to stay with Zych on the outside. A lap later, Zych darted out into the lead again, and went on to take down the victory, unchallenged. Cabral would finish second followed by Jim Chambers, Lou Cicconi who returned after many years away from NEMA in the Bertrand 47, Alan Chambers, Mike Horn, Bethany Stoehr, Paul Scally, Doug Cleveland and Avery Stoehr.
“We have been chasing a gremlin since the end of last year that was battery related. Seems like we found the issue and corrected. We have been very fortunate at Wiscasset to have some success. I think our car performs well there and it is a track that I really like. Couldn’t ask for a better facility, ownership, staff and fans than those at Wiscasset. They are fantastic. We got off to a strong start and had to stay out front and try to save my tires as much as I could for the first half of the race,” said Zych. “The caution came out halfway and I was hoping the laps we ran early conserved enough of the tires to run hard knowing it was going to be really hard to stay out front. Once we restarted I knew it was going to be a battle with Randy who was starting second. We battled a little right after the restart and luckily I ran some of my fastest laps right after half way which allowed us to maintain a lead. The rest of the way I was just trying to run as fast and as consistent as possible knowing Randy was going to be there if I made any mistakes,” concluded Zych.
In the Lites event, it appeared that Jim Cataldo was on his way to a career first win, as he took an early lead and ran a number of flawless laps early in the event. As the laps wound on, Jim Chambers, John Zych, Paul Scally and Danny Cugini broke free of traffic, and gave hunt to Cataldo.
As the leaders were approaching lapped traffic, Cataldo looked low, then high, and Chambers was able to capitalize, making a masterful move to the front of the field. Zych was able to move by Cataldo for second, and would finish the race there.
Chambers would take down the victory, followed by Zych, Cataldo, Scally, Cugini, Ryan Locke, Avery Stoehr, Ben Mikitarian, Richie Coy, Randy Cabral and Kyle Valeri – however post race inspections found Cataldo to be over width and subsequently disqualified. The official race results are also under review due to an appeal made on a technical decision made on the second place team.
“The car was good all day long and the track was really racey. We made a small adjustment to the car for the feature and it ended up being perfect. I can’t thank Wiscasset and their crew enough, we always love to come up here, and the improvements they continue to make to their already awesome facility,” said Chambers.
NEMA picks back up its schedule this coming weekend at the Riverhead Raceway on Long Island.
NEMA Results at Wiscasset Speedway (Driver, hometown, team owner)
1. John Zych Jr., Mendon, Mass.; John Zych Sr.
2. Randy Cabral, Kingston, Mass.; Bertrand Motorsports
3. Jim Chambers, Atkinson, N.H.; Mike Chambers
4. Lou Ciconni, Aston, Pa.; Bertrand Motorsports
5. Alan Chambers, Atkinson, N.H.; Mike Chambers
6. Mike Horn, Ashland, Mass.; Jeff Horn
7. Bethany Stoehr, Bridgewater, Mass.; Greg Stoehr
8. Paul Scally, Raynham, Mass.; Paul Scally
9. Doug Cleveland, Sudbury, Mass.; Doug Cleveland
10. Avery Stoehr, Lakeville, Mass.; Bertrand Motorsports
NEMA Lites Results at Wiscasset Speedway (Driver, hometown, team owner)
1. Jim Chambers, Atkinson, N.H.: Jim Chambers
2. 76 John Zych Jr., Mendon, Mass; Frank Manafort
3. Paul Scally, Raynham, Mass.; Paul Scally
4. Dan Cugini, Marshfield, Mass.; Dan Cugini
5. Ryan Locke, Raymond, N.H.; Ken Locke
6. Avery Stoehr, Lakeville, Mass.; Mike Scrivani
7. Ben Mikitarian, Northborough, Mass.; John Mikitarian
8. Richie Coy, Haskell, N.J.; Richie Coy
9. Randy Cabral, Kingston, Mass.; Glen Cabral
10. Kyle Valeri, Monument Beach, Mass.; Peter Valeri
11. Meg Cugini, Marshfield, Mass.; Glenn Cugini
12. Kevin Park, Attleboro, Mass.; Kevin Park
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