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Sept. 11, 2010 - Lee USA Speedway, NH - (Classic 100 -
Twin 50's)
Lee Classic 100 winner Chris Perley is flanked by 2nd
place Lou Cicconi and 3rd place Russ Wood in Victory Lane after a
double 50 lap event. - Photo By Jim Feeney
CHRIS PERLEY SWEEPS CLASSIC 100
AT LEE USA
Lee, NH – The
Classic, traditionally held at Star Speedway the week after the
Labor Day International Classic at Oswego, continued for the 45th
time Saturday, but it was held 15 miles away from that Epping, NH
venue at Lee USA. Chris Perley was the 2009 Classic champion and he
defended his title taking both 50-lap segments to win the overall
championship. Starting twelfth in the first 50, he traveled up
through a pack of talent to take the lead on lap 33.
In the second,
after a redraw of the top eight finishers from the first 50, Chris
was third on the grid, a unique starting spot for the man who has
dominated ISMA races for the past few years. By the time one lap was
complete, the 11 was out front and the cliché, “never looked back”
was never truer here as he sped to the second 50 win. The overall
“Classic” championship was determined by points and Perley made the
calculation easy. The title also earned him an extra $1500 bonus,
added to his double victories worth $3000 each for the Vic Miller
team. It was Perley’s 5th win and third consecutive of
the Classic event.
First 50 a wild one:
Twenty-five winged
supers headed to the line for the first segment of the 45th
annual Classic 100 after poignant ceremonies to mark the anniversary
of 9-11.
Dave Duggan took
the initial lead, but quickly handed it off to Rob Summers. Summers
took off leaving Duggan to contend with Bobby Santos, Mike Lichty,
Russ Wood and Justin Belfiore.
A quick slowdown
came on lap 16 when the 88 of Joey Scanlon stopped in front and was
pushed into the pits.
The field bunched
behind Summers on the restart allowing Santos to get alongside
Summers for a run at the lead. The pair dueled side-by side for
several exciting laps before Santos grabbed the point on lap 20.
Nearing the halfway
mark, it was Santos with a couple car lengths over Summers, Belfiore,
Wood and now Perley who was moving steadily forward.
A yellow, then red
dropped on lap 26 when Justin Belfiore came up hard on the slower
616 of Artie Rousseau and the two were into the first turn cement
wall. The impact put a gaping hole in the wall, which was repaired
before the action could restart.
After the delay,
Santos was ready to lead again in his first-ever run in the Booth
61. But, within three laps, Perley was knocking on his door having
passed by Summers and Wood.
There was nothing
stopping the Rowley Rocket now, even some heavy traffic. At race end
several lap cars separated him from the pack. Behind him, though,
some intense battling ensued between Santos, Summers, Cicconi,
Magner and Locke until a white flag accident saw Danny Lane and Ben
Seitz tangle and go off on the hooks. The redo of the white and
checkered didn’t change Perley’s position any but Wood took the
runner-up spot from Santos on the last lap. Bobby settled in for
third pressured by Cicconi and Summers for the top five.
It was Perley’s
second straight Lee USA win, having copped the Ollie Silva Memorial
75 just a month previous. “This whole race was about patience. We
still have 50 to go. And, we’re allowed to change one tire when we
get into the pits, but one tire isn’t going to carry it if you burn
everything else off. I played the waiting game and luckily I caught
the leaders. The cautions helped me out a little better. I just got
the front somehow. The car worked and it seems really good. It
probably slipped a little toward the end but a new right rear will
help that. Hopefully we’ll have something for the next 50.”
Wood was happy
picking up second with a skating car. “We were slipping and sliding
at the end and the traffic helped me. The 61 was fading a little. It
was weird. We pushed the first half of the race and the second half
I was really loose. I don’t know how we can correct that problem but
we’re going to make a couple changes for the second race. I know
Chris will be hard to beat. He’s starting third and we’re starting
seventh. We’ll just keep plucking away. This was fun for me. I
enjoyed it.”
The talented
Santos, jumping aboard the 61 for his first race in the potent
machine, said of his good run, “It was fun. We have a good car here.
I think we just got a little looser than we wanted to be, but I
think we have some good ideas to get it better for the second half.”
Bob Magner, Jeff
Locke, Mark Sammut, Eric Lewis and Mike Lichty finished up the top
ten.
Second 50
is all Perley:
The veterans of the
very first Classic, which was actually held at Lee Speedway, drew
the positions for the top 8 finishers in the second 50 lapper, which
saw Jeff Locke on the pole with Mark Sammut outside. The second row
consisted of Perley and Cicconi trailed in order by Santos, Magner,
Wood and Locke.
A couple slowdowns
started the second 50 when the 84 of Lichty was having problems
starting. Mike said later a shorting kill switch may have been the
cause. The car was also losing oil pressure. When he finally got
started, the race stopped again for the 109 of Bob Fitzpatrick who
was hooked. The field was down to 22 as Scanlon and Seitz were no
shows from the first event.
Finally underway
Locke and Sammut were passed by Perley before one lap clicked off.
Santos had moved up quickly to take over third from Sammut with
Cicconi hot on their tail.
On lap 10, Santos’
fine run expired when the 61 stopped suddenly and was pushed pitside
not to return.
On the restart,
Perley pulled away from Locke, Magner, Cicconi and Sammut. Russ
Wood, Eric Lewis, Summers and Bob Bond were in the mix heading
forward.
On lap 24 Summers
flew the yellow when he brushed the wall in three after contact with
Oswego Classic winner Bob Bond. Summers was hooked and into the pits
for good.
The restart lineup
showed Perley, three lap cars, then Magner who had taken over
second, trailed by Cicconi, Wood, Locke and Bob Bond.
There were no other
yellows to slow the fast-paced action as Perley moved flawlessly
around the Lee oval. Magner was second but was being reeled by
Cicconi as Wood, Bond and now Sammut battled for top spots. Mike
Lichty, fighting for points as the two races carried ISMA points,
stayed behind Sammut with Locke and Vern Romanoski.
As the white flew
for Perley, half a track away from the others, Cicconi snuck up and
stole second from Magner who suddenly was fading backwards. On the
last lap, Wood snuck up on Cicconi and took the runner-up spot.
Cicconi, Sammut and Magner finished up the top five in some wild
last laps of racing.
After at a fizzled
attempt at victory flag carrying he tried doughnuts in turn 1,
Perley pulled the car into victory lane for his second win of the
night.
“The car is just
unbelievable. The first race it was great. I didn’t think it could
get any better but it this race it was just awesome. We usually
don’t start up front that much. I really didn’t want to bide my
time on this one since we started up front. I figured we’d just get
it and try not to run my own tires off. The car just stuck with it.
What an awesome car. Vic Miller’s cars are so good. They top
everything. With R&R motors powering them it’s just an awesome
package.
“I have a great
crew backing me. And awesome sponsors with Ed Shea, Perley’s Marina,
NEMRS, Blink’s Fried Doe, Malco Products of New England and
Barrett’s Transportation. I hope the fans enjoyed this. It’s the
first time they’ve tried this format. I liked it.”
“We’re going to
Disneyland,” shouted out Perley when handed the $1500 cash bonus
which went to the drivers. Wood and Cicconi received $900 and $600
respectively.
With separate
points being calculated to determine the overall Classic top three,
ironically, it was the three finishers standing in victory lane.
Both Wood and Cicconi collected bonus cash for their paired
finishes.
Cicconi smiled and
said, “Well, I got second. I was watching the 41 car. He passed me
early. I knew he was going to come back to me because he was going
too fast. I reeled him in and eventually I got second.”
Russ Wood, who was
third finisher of the race, collected the second place overall bonus
“Not a bad night – a second and a third. We weren’t too bad but
Chris was awesome. Those guys are unbelievable. Nobody is going to
beat them when they are on. It was fun out there. Looked like there
was some good racing. We were sliding at the end but it wasn’t a bad
weekend for us. We’ll take it.”
Bob Magner who has
recently returned to the Holbrook 41 commented on his fourth. “This
place is horrendous. I guess unless you are the master Chris Perley,
it’s hard to be smooth here. My car was really good. I could roll
into the center of the corner. The car was awesome but I was trying
to be careful and not spin tires on the way out. At the end, it was
driver error. I forgot to pump the fuel from the back end. I
probably put myself in the way to get passed by all those cars at
the end. To come away with a fifth and sixth, I’m happy. The car’s
in one piece and this is the best we’ve been in a long time.”
Mark Sammut was
content with fifth after recent weeks. “It was okay, the car wasn’t
great but considering where we started in the first, we ended up
eighth. And, unfortunately we started outside pole in that one but
the car just wasn’t as fast as the guys at the start. At the end,
the car was better but I was already behind them then. To finish and
eighth and a fourth is not too bad. Obviously we would have liked to
do better. But, we can go home in one piece and work on it for
Berlin.”
Bob Bond, Mike
Lichty, Vern Romanoski, Jeff Locke and Justin Belfiore finished the
top ten. Belfiore, amazingly after his hit in the first race, was
able to race the second with no nose wing, an old tire and a
somewhat banged up machine.
SUMMARY:
Heat 1: Bob Santos,
Bob Bond, Russ Wood, Jeff Locke, Bobby Haynes, Eric Lewis, Craig
Rayvals, Artie Rousseau, Brandon Bellinger
Heat 2: Dave
Duggan, Joey Scanlon, Lou Cicconi, Bob Magner, Danny Lane, Mark
Sammut, Vern Romanoski, Billy Gove, Bob Fitzpatrick
Heat 3: Rob
Summers, Justin Belfiore, Chris Perley, Mike Lichty, Ben Seitz, Jon
Gambuti, Rich Reid, Eric Emhoff
Feature 1: 1. Chris
Perley (11), 2. Russ Wood (29), 3. Bob Santos (61), 4. Lou Cicconi
(10), 5. Rob Summers (35), 6. Bob Magner (41), 7. Jeff Locke (37),
8. Mark Sammut (78), 9. Eric Lewis (28), 10. Mike Lichty (84), 11.
Vern Romanoski (5), 12. Craig Rayvals (94), 13. Dave Duggan (51),
14. Bobby Haynes (44), 15. Jon Gambuti (14), 16. Brandon Bellinger
(02), 17. Ben Seitz (17), 18. Danny Lane (97), 19. Bob Bond (25),
20. Justin Belfiore (98), 21. Artie Rousseau (616), 22. Joey Scanlon
(88), 23. Bob Fitzpatrick (109), 24. Eric Emhoff (2), 25. Rich Reid
(92) (01 dns)
Feature 2: 1. Chris
Perley (11), 2. Lou Cicconi (10), 3. Russ Wood (29), 4. Mark Sammut
(78), 5. Bobby Magner (41), 6. Bobby Bond (25), 7. Mike Lichty (84),
8. Vern Romanoski (5), 9. Jeff Locke (37), 10. Justin Belfiore (98),
11. Jon Gambuti (14), 12. Danny Lane (97), 13. Eric Lewis (28), 14.
Dave Duggan (51), 15. Rich Reid (92), 16. Brandon Bellinger (02),
17. Rob Summers (35), 18. Bobby Haynes (44), 19. Bobby Santos (61),
20. Eric Emhoff (2), 21. Craig Rayvals (04), 22. Bobby Fitzpatrick
(109) (17, 88 dns)
Scroll down for more racing
action photos from ISMA at Lee Speedway By Jim Feeney:
On lap 15 of the
first segment of the ISMA Lee Classic Chris Perley 11 dives under
Lou Cicconi 10, on his way to the front and his first win of the
night. Cicconi would get a fine fourth place finish. - Photo By Jim
Feeney
Bob Magner 41
puts a low move, going into the fourth turn, on Jeff Locke 37 as the
fight for a top ten finish in the first 50 Of the ISMA Lee Classic.
Magner got sixth and Locke seventh. - Photo By Jim Feeney
Around lap 30 of
the first 50 lapper Chris Perley 11 closes in on then leader Bobby
Santos III 61. A few laps later Perley was able to make the pass and
go on to the win. Santos finished third. - Photo By Jim Feeney
Teammates Rob
Summers 35 and Russ Wood 29 fight for many laps for a podium finish
in the first 50 lapper. Wood moved up to get a third place finish.
Summers was fifth. - Photo By Jim Feeney
On lap 46 Lou
Cicconi 10 makes the pass down the front straight on Rob Summers 35
to take fourth place in the first 50. Summers was just behind, at
the end, in fifth. - Photo By Jim Feeney
In the waning
laps of the first 50 lapper, Russ Wood 29 was in a tough battle with
Bobby Santos III 61. Wood was able to take second place away from
Santos on the last lap. - Photo By Jim Feeney
Chris Perley 11
took off from his third starting spot with Lou Cicconi, who started
fourth, trying to keep up. At the finish of the second 50 they would
end up one and two. - Photo By Jim Feeney
On the last lap
of the second segment of the Classic Mark Sammut 78 passes Bob
Magner 41 to finish fourth. Magner was fifth. - Photo By Jim Feeney
In both 50-lap
segments of the ISMA Lee Classic teammates Rob Summers 35 and Russ
Wood 29 raced side by side for a number of laps. Here in the second
50 Wood was able to go on to a third place finish. Summers was not
so fortunate, as he was involved in a lap 24 accident. - Photo By
Jim Feeney
Lou Cicconi 10
and Bob Magner 41 battled for position for several laps in the
second 50 of the ISMA Lee Classic. Cicconi was able to win the
battle and finish second. Magner finished fifth. - Photo By Jim
Feeney
Russ Wood 29 fights
Mark Sammut 78 for position in the early laps of the second 50-lap
race. Wood got by Sammut and moved up to finish third. Sammut was
able to get a fourth place finish. - Photo By Jim Feeney
With an ailing
race car after a hard crash in the first 50 lap segment, Justin
Belfiore 98 came back in the second 50 to fight his way to a top ten
finish. Here if makes a move on Dave Duggan 51. Belfiore was tenth
at the finish and Duggan 14th. - Photo By Jim Feeney
'Double' is no trouble for Chris Perley as he gets
the double checkers as he crosses the finish line at Lee USA
Speedway. Perley won both of the 50 lappers for the Classic event. -
Photo By Jim Feeney
An animated Chris Perley stands atop his #11 Vic
Miller owned supermod after he returns to ISMA victory lane for the
third time this season. - Photo By Jim Feeney
Scroll Down For Candid Photos From ISMA At Lee USA Speedway By
Jim Feeney:
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More 2010 Race Results and
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