08/16/2004

NEMA’s Mighty Midgets Return To Seekonk August 21

Seekonk, MA -- The Northeastern Midget Association makes their return to Seekonk on Saturday 8/21 after a rain-induced hiatus of three years. The Cement Palace and the mighty midgets share a storied history that goes all the way back to the glory days of local short track racing. The then-quarter mile oval hosted nothing but Midgets on the weekly racing program from 1946 through 1948. NEMA, the sanctioning body for the touring open wheel stars, held its first ever event at Seekonk on Memorial Day weekend in 1953. Saturday’s race at the Route 6 oval will be the 58th NEMA sanctioned event at the track.

“NEMA has become a series with very traditional stops- race tracks with lots of history, like Star Speedway in New Hampshire, Waterford, Seekonk and Oswego are examples of classic northeastern speedways,” explains NEMA media coordinator Pete Zanardi. Today, the cars sport wings atop the roll cages for added speed and agility, and are safer than ever before.

The event will be the ninth of 13 races on the 2004 NEMA calendar. They’ll also be back in Seekonk for the season-ending DAV Memorial Festival of Racing in October. Two-time feature winner Ben Seitz of Monument Beach leads the championship standings heading into this weekend’s action. A New Jersey native now living on the Cape, Seitz will be piloting the Peter Valeri-owned Cape Cod Aggregates-Valeri Construction #17, with a Beast chassis and Gaerte engine.

Randy Cabral, the son of former Seekonk Mini-Modified driver Glen Cabral, won the last NEMA event at Seekonk in October of 2001, and currently rides second to Seitz in the standings. His family-owned orange #36, with CWC chassis and Fontana motor, won at Thompson on July 1. Defending series champion Joey Payne of Fairlawn, NJ currently rides third in points and has already waved the checkered flag this month, prevailing at Beech Ridge on August 7.

Fourth place point man Tim Heath of Lebanon, CT, who has one victory on the tour this season, and Pennsylvanian Nokie Fornoro, a six-time Seekonk winner, are also expected to contend for the checkers.

Eighteen-year old sensation Bobby Santos III of Franklin is slated to compete in the 35-lap event as well. One of the fastest rising stars in the open wheel ranks today, the third-generation racer finished ninth in the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series Coca-Cola 150 at Seekonk last month after starting back in 22nd. “I think this place is pretty neat,” Santos states. “I love Thompson, and I’ve had fun at Waterford in the Midget, too. The tracks are all different, but I enjoy racing at all of them. At Seekonk, it’s not about horsepower. It’s really a momentum track. I don’t think I ever get full throttle here. It’s all about momentum. The smooth driver is the one who wins at Seekonk.”

Santos also competes in the ISMA, USAC Silver Crown, and USAC Midget ranks. He’ll be driving the Wirtgen-sponsored #29 for Bobby Seymour. The car is powered by an Autocraft engine and utilizes a Hawk chassis.

Although he’s not running a full schedule, fans shouldn’t be surprised to see the #26 of Lakeville resident Russ Stoehr in the field as well. The three-time NEMA champion has three dozen feature wins to his credit on the tour, including a 1996 victory at Seekonk.

Source:  Mike Scrivani/NEMA PR
Posted:  August 16, 2004