Long Island Motorsports News - Mike Fields Column

SHANE HAMMOND KILLED DURING NEMA FEATURE
RACING FINALLY OPEN IN THE NORTHEAST
By Mike Fields

April 6, Long Beach, NY--- On lap three of the Northeastern Midget Association feature, a red flag came out for a hellacious wreck, as Shane Hammond of Halifax, MA caught the back wheel of another car, and cart wheeled over the turn three wall, going halfway through a billboard, being seriously hurt. Rescue workers immediately called for the ambulance, as a fire extinguisher was hosing down the front of the car. Obviously, there was much care taken to stabilize Hammond during the 12 minutes it took to extricate him out of the car before being taken to Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam, CT, which is about a 12-minute drive.

After 19 minutes, NEMA officials decided to not continue their race right then on lap 3, as many of the drivers were shaken up by the wreck. Although there was no word released about Hammond's condition at the time, drivers and officials don't normally cancel a race under these circumstances unless the driver's condition is serious.

We were initially told in the press box by track officials that Shane had "multiple and serious injuries". Hammond was immediately transported to Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam, CT From there, he was scheduled to be air-lifted to an unspecified trauma center. However, Shane was declared dead at Day Kimball. We were informed that his mother, brother, and grandfather were with him. His grandfather is Jack Glouckner, a long-time midget car owner. Shane was 27 years old.

Connecticut State Police were on the scene after the wreck to take measurements and do a lengthy investigation of the incident. After an hour and three minutes, the car was loaded on to a flat-bed truck, covered with a tarp, and taken away from the track escorted by Connecticut Police. At that point, the track crew were able to begin the cleanup of the track in turn three. The red flag was withdrawn after 76 minutes. This was the third fatality at Thompson in the past four years. The first was Tour Tom Baldwin four years ago, followed by Tour racer John Blewett III last year, and now NEMA driver Shane Hammond.

*****

We came up to Thompson International Speedway for the Sunday portion of the Annual IceBreaker Weekend. The weather was cold enough to make us wonder if there was ice on the track if it could have been melted (or broken). We want to thank NASCAR for hosting the annual Media breakfast.

The track had a very good car count as 211 cars showed up to qualify, including 40 cars for the premier Whelen Modified Tour.

We also had a chance to talk to Whelen Engineering's Phil Kurze to ask about a possible TV contract. The short answer to our main question is "We're working on it." He further told us that there were network contractual situations to work through, as certain networks had the rights to broadcast each race.

The engines fired up at 12:00 Noon exactly for the Mini Stock division's 15-lap- feature. The 2007 Champion Mike Romano started 2nd behind Danny Field. 26 cars were on the track taking hot laps, with one trying to get his car started on pit road.

Field took the early lead with Romano ducking into the 2nd spot, while Rick Blanchard moved up into 3rd. Romano was putting pressure to the inside and outside of Field throughout the first half of the race, with Blanchard sitting in the catbird seat. Romano kept looking around Field, but didn't seem to have the power to get around. Coming around turn four for the checker, Blanchard made a last ditch effort to get under Romano for 2nd. It just wouldn't stick. Danny Field took his first checker of 2008 in a green-to-checker affair.

Next up were the Limited Sportsman for a 20-lap feature. 23 cars lined up on the backstretch for their hot laps. Jesse Gleason was on the pole, followed by Scott Cook, and Larry Barnett. Barnett immediately moved up to 2nd, as Cook started to fall back. Barnett went right to work, putting heavy pressure to the inside of Gleason. Several times Barnett seemed to have a run on Gleason. Barnett seemed to have the pass made in turn four on lap 6. Somehow, Gleason held him off.

Ed Puleo had the best seat in the hours in third, waiting for the front two to made a mistake. However, Scott Sundeen caught Puleo napping on lap 10, as he went around for 3rd. Meanwhile, Barnett kept the pressure on Gleason through the first 16 laps. The first caution of the day came on that lap for a spin in turn two. The order stayed the same on the restart, as Gleason kept the lead for his first win.

Twelve cars came out for the Thompson Modified 20-lap feature as there was a slight mist starting to fall on the track. Under hot laps, Tim Sullivan's #51 ended up against the turn two wall and had to be towed off. Glenn Boss had the pole, followed by RJ Marcotte and Richie Ferreira. The track was certainly in "hurry up" mode as the weather was going to be questionable for the rest of the day.

Boss shot to the lead, followed by Marcotte, and Wanderson Oliveira. Boss and Marcotte touched in turn two , before Marcotte fell back. Marcotte was bumping and banging to get back to 3rd before the first yellow fell on lap 6. On the green, Boss kept the lead, with Kurt Vigeant banging his was way through trying to move up. Still, Marcotte was 2nd, with Vigeant 3rd, and Shane Michalski 4th. Vigeant finally was able to make a clean pass under Marcotte for 2nd on lap 13. By now, Boss had a good 15-car lead coming down to the final laps. Glenn Boss handily took his first win of the season.

1952 NASCAR Modified Champion Frankie Schneider being honored by Thompson
(Dave Meredith/Meredith images)
(Above image is "thumb-nailed". Click image to enlarge)

While the track crew was cleaning up from the NEMA race, a ceremony was then held to celebrate the 60 years of NASCAR. Richard Buck (NASCAR Touring Series Director), Chad Little (NASCAR Modified Tour Director), Ed Cox (NASCAR Special Projects Director), Phil Kurze (Vice President of Whelen Engineering, Frankie Schneider (1952 Modified Champion), Donny Lia (2007 Whelen Modified Champion), and Richie Evans (deceased 9-time Modified champion. An award was given to Ed Cox from Thompson International Speedway for his 30-year commitment to the sport.

After one hour and 34 minutes had elapsed from when the red flag came out from the fatal NEMA race, the Pro Stocks fired their engines for their 30-lap event. Norm Wrenn had the pole, with 2007 champion Michael O'Sullivan 2nd, and Jeff Connors 3rd. Long Islander Buzz Eriksen started 18th. Dave Macomber was also scheduled to start, but didn't make it out on the track.

Wrenn broke away for the lead, with O'Sullivan 2nd. Adam Norton moved up to 3rd. O'Sullivan glued himself to Wrenn's rear bumper, hoping Wrenn would have a miscue. Meanwhile, by lap 10, Eriksen couldn't make any headway from his 18th starting spot, when a caution flew for a spin. During the caution, Buzz made two trips into the pits, as the crew lifted the rear of the car to take a look underneath.

On the restart, O'Sullivan made the pass on Wrenn. It was now O'Sullivan, Wrenn, and Norton the top three. Another yellow on lap 13 now showed Eriksen up to 15th. After the field restarted, Adam Norton slapped hard into the turn one wall. When they got started, it was O'Sullivan, Wrenn, and Fred Astle Jr. the top three. Eriksen was now 10th. With 5 laps to go, O'Sullivan had a 7-car lead over Wrenn, who had separated himself from Astle. O'Sullivan went on for the win.

At that point, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour came out for their 150-lap race. Although James Civali had quick time, Bobby Grigas III redrew the pole, with Ronnie Silk, Jimmy Blewett, Todd Szegedy, James Civali, and Tony Ferrante Jr. the top six. All 39 cars that took time were put into the field, although the entry form stated that only 37 would be the official field. The final two cars of Glen Reen and Sean Patterson can thank Don Hoenig for his generosity for allowing all cars to start.

Grigas went right to the lead, followed by Silk, Szegedy, and Civali. Although Civali kept testing the inside of Szegedy, he couldn't make it stick. Ken Heagy and Joe Hartmann brought out the first caution on lap 8, as they spun in turn four. On the lap 12 restart, Silk briefly took the lead when he jumped the restart, then lost it immediately for a black flag. Silk had a 'pass through' penalty.

Civali inherited the lead, followed by Szegedy and Grigas. On lap 15, Eight cars spun and got together in turn four on lap 16, bringing out the next caution. Hartmann was then eligible for the 'Lucky Dog'. A number of cars took the opportunity to duck into the pits for service. After the restart, mayhem broke loose on the front stretch, as a number of cars went spinning.

Jim Storace and J.R. Bertuccio were in the pits for numerous laps during this caution. Bertuccio had to have a wrecker come to pit road to take him behind the wall. At this point, the only other car that was out of the race was Jamie Tomaino.

After a lengthy caution, Szegedy took the lead on lap 42, followed by Civali, Tony Ferrante, Jimmy Blewett, and Chuck Hossfeld. Lap 44 had another caution as Sean Patterson spun in four. Civali went to the pits, leaving Ferrante 2nd, Hossfeld 3rd, and Ed Flemke 4th.

When the field restarted on lap 52, Szegedy had the lead followed by Ferrante in 2nd, Flemke 3rd, and Reggie Ruggiero 4th. Lap 60 had Hossfeld and Bobby Grigas move around Ruggiero for 4th and 5th. Lap 66 brought out the next caution, as Sean Patterson spun by himself in turn two.

Many cars took advantage of the caution for pit stops. Ferrante beat Szegedy out of the pits, although Eric Beers was the first out of the cars that stopped. When the green flew, it was Flemke in the lead. But that only lasted one lap as Billy Pauch Jr. lost it by himself in turn three. Caught up in the melee that resulted was Tony Ferrante Jr., who was towed to pit road, and then behind the wall, after having a great run. Tony was out with a broken axle. Ronnie Silk, who was a lap down, was the recipient of the 'Lucky Dog'. The field took a few extra laps to make certain that the track was OK to run with the "moist" conditions.

Now under caution, the field was Flemke, Hossfeld, Grigas, and Hartmann the top four. With 93 laps complete, the track went red, as the track was too wet. Fans started bailing out, as did media members thinking that the race wouldn't restart. And they were correct, as with only about ten minutes of red flag time, the race was declared official. 53-year-old Ed Flemke Jr. was declared the winner, taking his first checker since 2004.

Afterwards, Chuck Hossfeld stated, "For the last 20 minutes, the track was gone. Officials made absolutely a great decision."

Mike Fields has written for the Area Auto Racing News, Raceway Media Magazine, as well as being a contributing author for the book Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul. He has also been a co-host of a weekly motorsports radio program, and a track announcer. Fields currently writes a weekly internet column, and is the editor/publisher of Long Island Motorsports News.

While not at his full-time job (babysitting his very rambunctious 5-year-old grandson), he is the owner of LMF Associates, in the nutrition and weight loss industry. He may be contacted by e-mail at MFields@LongIslandMotorsports.com or by phone at (516) 376-4028.

Modified graphic by Tom Coufalik of www.pcracers.net.

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