2nd for Randy
and 4th for Chris
at the Boston Louie Memorial on 8/28 |
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First NEMA Win for Chris,
3rd for Randy,
and 8th for Todd in his NEMA Midget Debut
at the 3rd Annual Wings and Wheels
Waterford, Saturday, August 14th |
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Todd Bertrand Set For
NEMA Midgets Debut
Brockton, MA – Todd Bertrand has picked the
right track to make his Northeastern Midget
Association debut. Todd, a vital part of the
NEMA Lites over the past three years, will be
stepping into the family #39 Saturday at
Waterford Speedbowl’s Wings and Wheels.
A NEMA Lites winner at Waterford in 2008,
Bertrand has posted two podiums in ‘Bowl action
this summer. He will be part of a busy pit that
includes the #47 of two-time defending champion
Randy Cabral and the #75 of Chris deRitis.
Anthony Nocella, a frequent winner in the Lites,
will be making his second NEMA start in the
Seymour car. |
Slated
to be a full-time NEMA competitor in 2011,
Bertrand, a winner at Monadnock this year, will
be reporting to pre-season soccer camp at
Western New England following the Waterford
race.
Cole Carter drove the car to two podiums earlier
this year. Ryan Newman is among the names that
have filled the seat. |
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2nd for Randy, 4th for Chris
and 5th for Todd
Monadnock, Saturday, July 31st |
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2nd for Randy & a DNF for Chris
Open Wheel Wednesday
Wednesday, July 28th |
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5th for Mike Stefanik in the
#48
Showdown of Champions
Wednesday, July 28th |
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Mike
Stefanik was the Champion in the Bertrand #48
Lite for the Showdown, a new addition to
Seekonk's Open Wheel Wednesday. Mike had
practice in the car both on the 7/21, the
origianal date for OWW before the rain came, and
on 7/28. Starting position were determined by
the drivers selecting frisbees off the hood of
Jack Arute's BMW which was used as the Showdown
pace car. Mike drew #5 out of the 9 Champions.
The Showdown was an incredible race with the
field of nine moving away as one group when the
green fell. Seekonk's wide corners made for
three wide and four wide action. Mike was up to
thrid (maybe even briefly to second) in the
first ten laps of the 20 lapper. After a debris
yellow, the field stretched out a bit on the
restart but not much. Mike finished in 6th and
had a great time as did all the Champions. |
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Saturday,
July 24th
Midgets: 3rd for Randy, 4th for Chris
Lites: Win for Randy, 3rd for Todd |
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During
the torrential rain that hit the Speedbowl at
about 4 PM, it looked like there would be little
chance of getting in the Shane Hammond Memorial
race on Saturday, July 24th. But after three
hours of pumping out the infield sections and
drying the track surface, the Bowl was declared
ready for racing. With rain expected later in
the night, heats were dropped for all classes
but the NEMA Midgets received one more short
practice/tire scrub session before the first
feature.
Chris in the #75 lined up 4th while Randy in the
#47 was on the 5th row in 10th. As thre green
fell, both moved up past
slower cars. Russ Stroehr in the #45 came
forward to challenge his brother Greg in the #26
for the lead. Randy came by the
#75 for third while Chris held off John Zych in
the #9 to score another solid fourth.
Randy and Chris have solid holds on 1st and 3rd
in the NEMA Midgets points standings.
In the Lites 27 lap feature, Todd and Randy has
a long way to go with Todd in 18th (last) and
Randy slotted in 14th. Two caution periods for
crashes (one becoming a red to clear the track)
closed up the field and helped the #48 and #4
work
up to the front. Randy blasted inside the #20 in
turn three on lap 21 for the lead while Todd
took 3rd from the #12 in
the last couple of laps.
The Lites Win gave Randy the chance to point to
the sky and salute his friend Shane.
With another podium finish, Todd has the best
finishing record in the Lites division. |
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1st WIN for Randy at Stafford
3rd for Cole and 4th for Chris
Extreme
Tuesday, July 6th |
The
NEMA Midgets, ISMA Supers, and Pro-4 Mods
returned to Stafford Motor Speedway for the 7th
Annueal CARQUEST Extreme Tuesday on a brutally
hot and dusty July 6th.
Diving inside car after car in turn four, Randy
sliced through the field until he got to the #3m
of Jim Miller. After 8 laps of
Miller holding just the right line needed to
keep the #47 back, lapped traffic entered the
mix on lap 26 of 30, and Randy nipped by as Jim
got caught up with the slower cars. Randy scored
his first-ever Stafford win, after second places
at the two previous visits. It was his third win
of the season, the second in a row, with the
fastest lap of the feature at a 17.842.
Cole Carter was back in the #39 and battling
with Chris deRitis in the #75 in the closing
laps. Cole dove low entering turn three on lap
30 and pulled ahead, just barely holding Chris
off for third place as the checkers flew.
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Marvin Rifchin Trophy Race |
The WIN for Randy at Thompson
3rd for Cole and 13th for Chris
Thursday, July 1st |
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Holding
off a final corner challenge from Russ Stoehr in
the #45, Randy powered back to the line just a
couple of feet
ahead to take the win in the 2010 Marvin Rifchin
Trophy Race at Thompson. Coping with brake
problems and overheating,
Randy kept low and forced Russ to make a run on
the outside. Russ pulled just slightly ahead on
the exit of turn four but
lost the drag race to the checkers. Cole Carter
took the Bertrand #39 to a third place finish.
Facing a variety of problems,
Chris deRitis in the #75 wound up in 13th after
spinning into the wall on the main straight with
a flat left rear. |
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| Cole
Carter Returns To Bertrand Midget |
Brockton, MA - The Cole Carter-Bertrand
Motorsports relationship continues when Carter
drives the Bertrand #39 in Northeastern Midget
Association action at Thompson (Thursday, July
1) and Stafford (Tuesday, July 6).
Carter,
part of one of open wheel racing’s most storied
families, collected a fourth at last year’s
Thompson World Series for Bertrand. He was also
second at Seekonk Speedway’s Boston Louie.
He’ll be
part of NEMA’s busiest pit, a teammate of both
Randy Cabral and Chris DeRitis.
Following grandfather (Duane) and father
(Pancho), Carter has been driving family-owned
equipment since 2000. He was fourth in the 2005
national standings. |
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Todd 3rd, Chris
6th, Randy 9th, & Mike 10th
on Friday, June 25th at Lee USA |
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Mike
Ordway Jr. to Join Lee USA NEMA Field
on Friday, June 25th in the Bertrand #39 |
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Brockton, MA – Mike
Ordway Jr. will be in the Bertrand #39 for
Friday night’s Northeastern Midget Association
event at Lee USA Speedway. Ordway brings a
strong resume to the ride.
Pointing out the 2005 350-Super champion
“studies Lee USA Speedway like a quintessential
student,” owner Tim Bertrand called the second
generation driver “a great choice.”
The NEMA Lites will be on hand as well in what
will be the club’s only visit to Lee this
season.
Ordway will be a teammate of two-time defending
champion Randy Cabral and Chris DeRitis in what
has become NEMA’s busiest pit. USAC standout
Cole Carter and Sprint Cup regular Ryan Newman
drove the car to runner up finishes last year.
Equipped with a new Esslinger engine out of
Circle Performance in Brockton, MA, the 2006
ISMA Rookie of the Year joins a field bolstered
by the season debut of Jeff Abold (in a joint
effort by the Abold and Seymour families) and
Bobby Santos III (who is subbing for sister
Erica in the Breault 44). Jeff Horn, a Lee
winner last September, leads a NEMA rush to the
third mile that includes, in addition to Cabral
and DeRitis, Adam Cantor, Jim Miller, Lee Bundy,
Barry Kittredge and Greg and Russ Stoehr.
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A 7th for Todd on
Fast Friday
Second
Seekonk Fast Friday of 2010 - 6/18 |
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TWIN STATE SPEEDWAY
- FRIDAY, JUNE 11TH
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NEMA Firsts for Cabral, Honda |
NEMA RACE REPORT:
Claremont, NH - Randy Cabral ran a Twin State
Speedway win streak to three Friday night,
capturing the 25-lap Northeastern Midget
Association feature in convincing fashion. It
was the first-ever win for the Stewart Racing
Engines Honda.
Coming from the fourth starting spot, Cabral won
a pair of restarts inside two laps en route to
his 27th career victory.
Cabral bested pole sitter Jim Miller (Miller
3m), the only other leader, on an 11th lap
restart. Yellow, however, flew immediately when
Miller spun in turn two and Cabral did it again,
this time against Adam Cantor (Cantor 7ny).
The leaders quickly left behind a third place
battle between that eventually went to Chris
deRitis (DeRitis 75) over Jeff Horn (Horn A-1).
Russ Stoehr (Dumo’s Desire 45) was fifth.
“I really do like this place,” said Cabral, who
ran third before grabbing second from Horn in
turn one with seven gone. “It is so technical,
so much fun.”
The motor, he continued, actually “bogged” on
the restart enabling Miller to get a slight
edge. The car, however, “was running so well” he
was able to move around Miller through one and
two.
The win with Honda, which comes in the second
race, was “really significant,” offered Cabral.
He pointed out the team, notably his dad Glenn,
“put so much effort into it over the past year
and a half.”
Chris deRitis scored his best ever finish in
NEMA with the 3rd place posting.
In the Lites, Todd finished 2nd to continue a
fine run of top 4 finishes including one win.
The Bertrand crew worked
on six cars that raced the Twin State event. |
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A 4th for
Todd on Fast Friday
First
Seekonk Fast Friday of 2010 - 6/4 |
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The NEMA LITES
Midgets hit Seekonk Speedway Friday, June 4th
for the first of four appearances on the "Fast
Friday" program.
With a solid showing of 17 cars
on hand, the Lites had one round of
practice before the heats. Todd started 8th in
Heat 2 and ran up into 6th.
The #48 gridded in 11th for the twenty lap
feature. Running with the Randy Cabral in the #4
and Anthony Nocella in the #29, Todd worked his
way forward. Side by side with the #29 for much
of the race, Todd moved by the #18 of pole
sitter David Moniz in the final laps to
score a 4th place finish. |
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Lites
Heat > |
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Lites
Feature > |
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The Win for Todd
in the Lites,
A Rainout for the Midgets
The
Monadnock Opener - 5/29 |
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(NEMA RACE STORY - WINCHESTER, NH) Wheeling the
Tim Bertrand #48, Todd Betrand defeated a large
field of NEMA Lites entries at New Hampshire’s
Monadnock Speedway on Saturday evening to score
his first feature victory of the season.
Following a mid-race restart, Betrand chose the
outside in overtaking the leaders, cruising to
the 20-lap win. Completing the top-3 was Anthony
Nocella and Paul Lugelle.
“The cautions kept-coming tonight,” stated
Betrand in victory lane. “I took my time in this
one. The car was great – we were really
hooked-up. It also helped us that the track was
in such good shape. The last lap was a little
tough when I saw those two cars get-together. I
saw the smoke, and was lucky to get through-it."
In the Midgets, Randy ran the #47 to a second in
Heat #2. The rain came just before the NEMA
midgets hit the grid. NEMA now plans to run
double features at the next Monadnock event on
July 31st. |
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The New Graphics!
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Bertrand
Motorsports Rockets into the 2010 Racing
Season
The
Budweiser Blastoff Weekend - 3/27-28 |
Waterford, CT -
2008/2009 NEMA Champion Randy Cabral
took his K&N Engineering/Stewart Racing
Engines Honda powered #47 to a 4th place
"maiden voyage" on Sunday, March 28th at
the Waterford Speedbowl. Very pleased
with the new engine package, Cabral was
amongst the fastest cars all weekend -
turning a blistering 12.920 second lap
during the day on Saturday.
"We are every bit as competitive as any
car on the track at this point from an
engine perspective," Said Cabral. "Our
K&N Engineering/Stewart Engines 47 was
fast all weekend - and on Sunday we were
simply battling a free car on loose
track conditions. We have a lot here to
work with for the remainder of the
year."
Cabral's teammates - Todd Bertrand had
an outstanding run in his K&N
Engineering #48 Ford Focus car on
Saturday night, finishing 2nd after
leading 15 laps of the NEMA Lites
feature, and Chris deRitis turned the
fastest lap of the NEMA feature of
13.222 enroute to a 5th place finish in
the #75 car maintained by Bertrand
Motorsports.
"We had a great weekend. It felt great
to be back at the track, and felt we had
an outstanding opening weekend," said
team owner Tim Bertrand. "We believe
that between the three cars, we'll have
a great 2010." |
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Top NEMA Rookie
Chris deRitis
Gets Lou Cicconi
NEMA Midget Ride
with Tim Bertrand
the Crew Chief |
Brockton, MA – Chris
deRitis, the Northeastern Midget Association’s
2009 Rookie of the Year, will be driving Lou
Cicconi’s #75 Esslinger-powered Drinan chassis
in 2010. The three-year old car will be housed
at Bertrand Motorsports, Tim Bertrand serving as
Crew Chief.
The car will be ready for NEMA’s opener March
27-28 at Waterford Speedbowl. “We tested there
in October and it was damn cold,” said Chris’
father Dan. “Chris turned times that compare
favorably with those set by the fastest cars
during the warm months.”
DeRitis, 22, made his
full-midget debut last summer in the Chris
Desrosiers’ Power Point car, finishing fifth in
points with eight top tens in 14 starts. He had
a fourth at the Speedbowl.
“Power Point is a great team and we enjoyed it
very much,” continued deRitis. “We now look
forward to input from both Lou & his Dad and Tim
& his Dad.”
Bertrand, no stranger to Esslinger or Drinan, is
NEMA’s two-time defending owner champion.
Cicconi drove the car a couple times in 2008.
The move continues the tight relationship
between Cicconi and deRitis. “Lou got us
involved with the TQs,” deRitis said, “and he
was instrumental in Chris’ ride with Power
Point.”
Young deRitis brought a strong ACTQMRA resume to
NEMA beginning with a Rookie of the Year effort
in 2006. He was second in points in 2007, third
in 2008. Dan was the 2008 owner champion.
“No doubt he proved himself in ’09,” said
Bertrand, part of a very successful team with
two-time driving champion Randy Cabral. “Chris
is a talented driver and it is a good car. I am
looking forward to an exciting season.”
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NEMA Champ Bertrand Installs Honda Power for
2010 |
Brockton, MA - Two-time Northeastern Midget
Association champion Bertrand Motorsports will
march to a different beat in 2010. Honda will
power the #47 when Randy Cabral begins his quest
for a third straight driving title in the season
opener at Waterford Speedbowl
on March 27-28.
“It is, of course, a major change and challenge
for us,” says owner Tim Bertrand of the enhanced
Dual Overhead Cam Honda “K series” motor.
Engineered by Stewart Racing Engines of
Indianapolis, it is found under the hood of the
Honda CRV SUV.
Over the past 50 years no Midget group in the
country has been more forward thinking than
NEMA. Bertrand, after a third straight owners
crown, sees a movement that could be the equal
of the “stock block” revolution of the 1960s
when, among others, the Falcon, Pinto and Chevy
II motors were dominant.
“It utilizes a block and a head directly out of
a street car and has incredible reliability,”
says Bertrand of the new motor. He points out
Greg Stoehr’s similarly powered Circle
Performance Mazda #26b has already provided an
example of stock block reliability.
“There have been no failures attributable to any
major component in better than 1000 miles of
both racing and testing,” Stewart says of its
“USAC/NEMA” motor.
The Bertrand endeavor will bring added luster to
the 2010 season, a 15-race (six tracks) journey
that will run into October. Only Albany-Saratoga
Speedway, back for the first time since 1977, is
not well known. There are few secrets left at
Waterford Speedbowl and at, Monadnock, Lee USA
Speedway, Seekonk and Thompson Speedways.
“We fully expect to run well with the Honda but
we also expect a very competitive season,” says
Bertrand. “Considering the equipment and the
talent, the mix of veterans and youngsters, and
the speeds we achieve, this is as good as NEMA
has been in a while.”
The owners championship went to the final laps a
year ago. “However it may appear, nothing is
easy in NEMA,” says Bertrand.
The competition includes motors. Honda will be
doing battle with some established powers.
Esslinger was the number one winner in ’09 but
Gaerte, Autocraft, Mopar and Mazda sat in
Victory Lane as well.
Bertrand is quick to point out that he is still
committed to the Esslinger Engineering, as a
second and possibly third car will still carry
that power plant. “This was a great opportunity
for Randy and our team to expand our horizons
with a new opportunity, but we will still
regularly run the Esslinger power plant in our
team cars,” said Bertrand.
He again plans on a series of guest drivers for
the #39. Last year, Ryan Newman and Cole Carter
were among the nationally known drivers
competing for Bertrand in NEMA races. |
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NEMA 2009 BANQUET - WHITE'S OF WESTPORT -
NOV. 21st
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THE 2009 CHAMPIONS
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Bertrand Motorsports
Announces
K&N Engineering,
Inc.
as Corporate
Sponsor for '09-'10 Seasons |
Team owner Tim Bertrand announced a relationship
with K&N Engineering for the 2009 season, as the
team’s Corporate Sponsor. The team’s three NEMA
midgets, along with the team’s NEMA Lite Ford
Focus powered midget, and two Micro-Sprint cars
will all carry the K&N Logo in 2009 and 2010.
“We’re extremely excited to be welcomed as a
part of the K&N racing family,” said Tim
Bertrand. “To associate ourselves with a brand
leader such as K&N, and be able to take
advantage of the latest technology advancements
in this field is very exciting to us.”
K&N Engineering, of Riverside, California, is
the inventor and leading innovator of reusable
cotton gauze filter technology for automotive
applications. From humble beginnings as a family
run business over 40 years ago, K&N Engineering,
now a truly global company with offices in the
U.K. and the Netherlands, continues to exist as
a family owned business with an enthusiast
mindset and a direct connection with motor
sports that carries over throughout all levels
of management and manufacturing.
Today, K&N exists as both the sales and brand
leader for performance filters, and maintains a
stocking catalogue of over 3,500 part numbers,
including an extensive line of both factory
replacement drop-in filters, FIPK (Fuel
Injection Performance Kit) applications, and its
line of innovative Performance Gold oil filters.
www.knfilters.com
“We’re looking forward to working with Tim and
the Bertrand team. The many avenues of exposure
that this relationship gives us – asphalt, dirt,
NEMA and NEMA Lites, as well as the opportunity
to be associated with the team’s drivers such as
Ryan Newman and Randy Cabral is a great
opportunity for K&N,” said K&N’s Corporate Race
Accounts Manager, Bob Harris. |
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