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| Providence Indoor "Coffee Cup" - March 10-11, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Two days of TQ Midget racing for the "Coffee Cup" Trophy were held in the Dunkin' Donuts Centers in Providence, RI on March 10 and 11. Chris survived many hits and some close calls to win a couple of qualifiers and make his way through the preliminaries and into the 100 lap "A" Main feature on Sunday. But a late restart pile-up in turn three eliminated the #66 and shook up Chris a bit also. But after a little help getting out of the car and a couple of minutes rest, Chris was AOK. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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7th for Ted Christopher in the NEMA #75 & 26th for Lou Cicconi Jr. in the ISMA #66 With Chris feeling ill, Ted and Lou stepped to finish out the season. . |
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 DAV FALL CLASSIC Sunday, October 9th A 9th for Lou Cicconi Jr. taking a run in the #75 |
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 Saturday, September 24th A 2nd for Chris |
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Boston Louie Memorial Classic Saturday, September 10th |
9th at NEMA "Boston Louie" | |||||
| A second start in the #75 NEMA Midget saw Chris finish in 9th after starting in 12th. In time trials (timed laps during the final practice) Chris had been 6th quickest. | ||||||
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Airborne Speedway Saturday, July 23rd - |
4th at the Airborne for Season's Best |
| ISMA Race Report: "Newcomer to the supermodified deRitis was pleased with fourth, his best finish to date. ‘My run went very well. Starting on the pole made it very interesting for me. I really wanted to get out in the lead as quick as possible. I knew I was probably going to fade back. Everyone was really quick and this being only my fourth race, made it pretty hard. Racing out with the big guys made it fun. Following them, learning their lines, seeing how far to drive into the turns, really taught me a lot. Halfway through the race I really started to get tired. But, I kept my composure up and got a fourth place finish. It was a lot of fun tonight and I learned a lot.” |
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Oswego Speedway Friday, July 22nd - |
25th at the Oswego ISMA RoC 50 |
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ISMA Race Report:
Only one lap was completed before a back of the pack melee
occurred affecting Rich Reid, Bob Magner, Johnny Benson, Bob
Bond and Chris deRitis. Chris was scored in 25th out of 26 entries. The wing system pressure leak has been discovered and repaired with the aid of a wading pool. The wing is now working as it should. |
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Open Wheel Wednesday Wednesday, July 20th |
17th at NEMA Seekonk OWW | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Back in the #75 NEMA Midget for a change of pace, Chris had early contact with another car that bent the front axle and the steering. The #75 was the first car to retire from the feature. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Stafford Speedway Tuesday, June 28th |
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| 20th at Stafford XTreme Tuesday after Wing and Fuel Problems | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Waterford Speedbowl Saturday, May 28th - |
11th at the ISMA Season Opener at
Waterford |
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The 2011 ISMA season opener was an incident
filled event that was shortened by 3 laps as fog rollied in and
made racing impossible. Chris had run in 6th in Heat 1. In the feature, Chris managed to miss the the tangles that caused multiple yellows and two red flags only to have a mechanical problem force the #66 to a stop on the outside of turn 4 on lap 25. The #66 was scored with an 11th place finish out of 22 starters. |
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| Saturday, Jan. 29 - Christopher 1st; Chris 20th |
| Atlantic City, NJ — There is a
certain pride that comes in winning the Gambler’s Classic
TQ-Midget race at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Just ask Ted Christopher. The former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion claimed his second career Gambler’s Classic title Saturday night. “When you think about this race and the history that is involved in indoor racing in Atlantic City, it really means something special to win it,” said Christopher of Plainville, Conn. “We only come here once a year and we, as a team, put a lot of effort into winning this race so I take a certain amount of great pride with this victory.” Christopher joins an elite group of Gambler’s Classic winners as he joins Lou Cicconi Jr and Joey Payne as the only two-time winners of the event. Christopher’s only Gambler’s Classic win came in 2009. Christopher visited AC Victory Lane last season, but that victory came in the preliminary main event. Chris dropped out of the the race with over-heating problems again. TQ-Midget Feature Finish, 40 Laps: 1. Ted Christopher; 2. Matt Janisch; 3. Billy Pauch; 4. Billy Wease; 5. Matt Roselli; 6. Ryan Greth; 7. Danny Johnson; 8. Mike Lichty; 9. Joe Lord Jr; 10. Chris Stockham; 11. Tim Proctor; 12. Shaun Carrig; 13. Mike Tidaback; 14. Dan Lane Jr; 15. Ian Cumens; 16. Paul Lotier Jr; 17. Christopher Allen Jr; 18. Tim Buckwalter; 19. Ryan Smith; 20. Chris DeRitis; 21. Jeff Kot; 22. Joey Payne; 23. Lou Cicconi Jr; 24. Timex Morgan; 25. Mike Stefanik; 26. Frank Fischer. |
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| Friday, Jan. 28 - Buckwaler
Claims Wild TQ- Midget Prelim; Chris 6th after Leading Laps 1 to 25 |
| ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - Crazy. That's how Tim Buckwalter, 22, of Douglassville, Pa., described Friday night's TQ-Midget 30-lap preliminary feature event at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Buckwalter claimed his first-ever indoor event in front of a large crowd that sat in absolute awe over the transgressions of a race that had many leaving the gates with absolute anticipation for Saturday night's 40-lap Gambler's Classic finale. When the race was all said and done, only four cars finished the distance after a lap 25 crash took out or left 15 cars to the pit area. And many of those sent to the pit area were the heavy hitters like then-race leader Chris DeRitis, Lou Cicconi Jr, Joey Payne, Mike Lichty and Ted Christopher, who survived the turn two crash but he was later black flagged as his left-front wheel was busted. "I guess I was at the right spot at the right time," Buckwalter said. "Somehow, we got through it and missed everything." Buckwalter is a guaranteed starter for Saturday night's main event along with Shaun Carrig of Little Falls, N.J.; Matt Roselli of Broadheadsville, Pa.; and Mike Tidaback of Little Falls, N.J. Christopher finished fifth in the main event as he watched from the pit area. DeRitis of Philadelphia, Pa., who led laps one through 25, admitted his car suffered over-heating problems which precipitated the multi-car incident. "The engine was registering 240 degrees and I knew 250 was the limit," DeRitis said. "When we restarted, I felt the engine burp and it started to spit some water out." DeRitis was dominant until the lap 25 mark. He got the edge over Ian Cumens at the start of the race and fought off several challenges from Cicconi, mainly on the five separate restarts that slowed the race. Mike Stefanik of Coventry, R.I.; Ian Cumens of Lyndell, Pa.; Cicconi of Aston, Pa; and Billy Pauch of Frenchtown, N.J., won heat events for the TQ Midgets. Luke Thomas of Wyoming, Del., and Mark Yoder of Ephrata, Pa. won the non-qualifier events. Ted Christopher of Plainville, Conn., set a record lap of 8.6352 seconds. Nineteen cars eclipsed the previous track record. TQ-Midget Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Tim Buckwalter; 2. Shaun Carrig; 3. Matt Roselli; 4. Mike Tidaback; 5. Ted Christopher; 6. Chris DeRitis; 7. Mike Lichty; 8. Lou CIcconi Jr; 9. Joey Payne; 10. Mike Stefanik; 11. Ian Cumens; 12. Billy Weese; 13. Chris Stockham; 14. Mike Iles; 15. Mike Osite; 16. Christopher Allen; 17. Ryan Smith; 18. Billy Pauch; 19. Paul Lotier Jr; 20. Ryan Greth; 21. Glen Reen; 22. Timex Morgan; 23. Tim Proctor; 24. Dan Lane Jr |
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The 2011 Season . The 2011 racing season is shaping up to be a very busy year for Chris deRitis. Races for the #66 Three Quarter Midget (seen here at the Providence "Coffee Cup" race in 2009) will be coming up very soon. The Atlantic City event at Boardwalk Hall will be run on January 28th and 29th. Then the Providence event at Dunkin' Donuts Center will be on February 5th. A freshened indoor rules motor is on its way into the chassis right now. Chris will be campaigning the full ISMA Supermodified Series next year. In partnership with Lou Cicconi Jr., two Drinan chassis are being prepared, the #66 for Chris and the #75 for Lou. Cicconni will oversee the maintenance and tuning of both team cars. The #75 NEMA Midget will be raced whenever there is no conflict with the ISMA events. Bertrand Motorsports will contintunue to prepare the car. ISMA and NEMA will race at the same venue 4 or 5 times in 2011 and Chris will run in both groups. Then 2 or 3 additional free-standing NEMA races will probably be squeezed in. |
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| 13th Annual
“Rumble in Fort Wayne” Indoor Midget Races
Friday, December 31st & Saturday, January 1st |
| Race Report from Katie Runkle |
| Friday
Night: - 1st place in time trials with a fast time of 8.078 sec. - Started 3rd in Heat #1 (10 laps), finished fourth, but didn't transfer. - Started on the pole for Semi-Feature #1 (10 laps) and won. - Started 11th in the main race, got up to 5th place and with 10 laps to go was spun out. With the engine was overheating Chris he pulled off for an 11th place finish that was technically a DNF. Saturday Night: - Chris was running 7.5 sec laps in practice when a fast time was around a 7.8 sec. - During the time trial, the bead came loose on the right front and the tire went down to 0 psi. for a qualifying lap at 9.99 sec. and 34th out of 35. - Started 8th in Heat #2 (10 laps) and finished 8th. - Finished 4th in Semi-Feature #1 (12 laps) and didn't make it into the feature. Had a great race time overall considering it was Chris' first time out in Indiana in a full midget indoor race! |
 Whites of Westport, MA - November 20th |
Joe Csiki Most Improved Driver Award
to Chris In addition to plaques for both 4th place in Owner Points and 4th place in Driver Points, Chris received the long standing Joe Csiki Award for his 2010 performance. |
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A DNF at the World Series - 4th in Points for NEMA 2010 |
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| A good run to a heat win
on Saturday was followed by a lap one incident and a DNF in
Sunday's feature at Thompson's World Series event that finished
up the NEMA season. From third on the grid, Chris moved up to catch and pass Erica Santos in the #44 for a smooth win in the 8 lap heat. With high speeds and banked turns, Thompson is certainly the track that will stress a Midget to the limit. Chris's 18.035 sec. lap during the heat was a couple of ticks faster than the pole for the Whelen Modified race. Starting eighth for the 25 lap feature, Chris had the right rear suspension fail during on the first lap in turn four. Sent into a spin and sliding up the track in front of eight following cars, the #75 was clipped in the rear by the #78 of Brian Cleveland that suffered extensive damage. The remaining cars just missed the nose #75 and avoided spinning. Damage to the #75 was limited to the rear push bumper. Chris and the Cicconi/deRitis team placed fourth in the NEMA drivers and owners 2010 points standings for a great year with the #75. ' |
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5th at the DAV Fall Classic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| From a 7th place on the grid, Chris battled up to 3rd during the first part of the 25 lap feature. A blistered right rear tire slowed the #75 during the final eight laps, and Chris fell back to 5th at the checkers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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17th at the Angelillo Memorial A tough night for both the #47 and #75 at the Angelillo Memorial special 35 lapper on Sept. 11th. Both cars broke rockers....first time in 3 years, and first time EVER two have broken on the same night for the Bertrand Motorsports team. Randy broke an intake rocker which allows the motor to keep running but Chris broke an exhaust rocker and wound up with a DNF in 17th place. Probably bent a few valves and messed up the cam also. Randy had the lead from 10th on lap 1. He proceeded to lap up to 6th place, then broke the rocker arm on lap 20. When the first caution showed on lap 27, he still had a half lap lead. Randy finished 6th running on 3 cylinders. |
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4th at the Boston Louie Memorial on 8/28 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Chris Scores First NEMA Win! at Waterford Wings and Wheels on Saturday, August 14th |
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| Photos by John DaDalt | |||||||||
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| NEMA RACE REPORT BY PETE ZANARDI Waterford, CT – Chris deRitis played with the best Saturday night before going on to a convincing Northeastern Midget Association win at Waterford Speedbowl’s Wings and Wheels. The 22-year old Pennsylvanian beat back challenges from defending champion Randy Cabral and had to retake the lead from Russ Stoehr before claiming his first-ever NEMA victory. deRitis (Cicconi/deRitis 75) passed Russ Stoehr (Dumo’s Desire 45) with 10 laps remaining. He went on to win over Stoehr, Cabral (Bertrand 47), Greg Stoehr (Stoehr 26b) and Jeff Abold (Abold 29). Leading all but two laps, deRitis made the winning pass inside Stoehr heading into turn three. “Russ drove it in high and I went right under him,” explained deRitis. “I barely lifted.” “My mistake, I got in too high and he scooted under me,” said Stoehr who took the lead on a controversial restart with 12 laps remaining. deRitis, the 2009 Rookie of the Year, twice beat back early restart challenges from stable mate Cabral. “I knew if I made a mistake it was over,” said deRitis. “I knew I couldn’t mess up.” The two “came together” on the third restart. The incident clearly angered Cabral who had stormed from eighth to second before the second lap was complete. “There was contact,” admitted deRitis who was concerned with Cabral’s post-race anger. “I was just trying to find the groove. I thought that was it, that everybody was going to go by.” “They ran into each other,” offered Stoehr. “I drove off the bottom, took the lead and waited for a yellow that never showed.” Cabral, who never doubted deRitis’ win, settled into third. deRitis, who had a fast lap of 12.977 (104.030 mph) quickly erased Stoehr’s lead before making the winning pass. |
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4th in
the Extra Distance Race at Monadnock Speedway Saturday 7/31 |
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the first stop at Monadnock on May 29th, the July event was
planned as an extra-distance, 30 lap show without any heats.
Several yellows and a red marred the start of the feature, but
when the race got going Chris had moved from his sixth place
stating spot up to third. In the final laps the #26b of Greg
Stoehr managed to slip by on the inside. Chris's fourth place score puts his hold on 4th place in the NEMA points standings at 852 over Adam Cantor at 824. |
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A DNF at Open Wheel Wednesday Tues. 7/28 - Seekonk Speedway |
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| At the return to Seekonk
after the rainout on 7/21, Chris had another solid run in 4th
going when the motor went off and Chris rolled it into the inflield to present further damage. |
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 4th at the Hammond Memorial Sat. 7/24 - Waterford Speedbowl |
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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 lined up in the second row, outside positon. At the green Chris quickly jumped up to third as the #30 fell back. While the#77 battled with John Zych in the #9, Russ Stoehr in the #45 and Chris' teammate Rancy Cabral in the #47 were working their way to the front. After a couple of mid-race cautions, Russ moved by to challenge his brother Greg in the #26 while Randy took over third place. Chris fiinished in fourth about 6 car lenghts behind Randy. Chris continues with his string of Top 3 to Top 6 finishes which has been marred only by the hard crash at Thompson. |
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 4th at Stafford Extreme Tuesday - 7/6 |
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| After a big push to
repair the damage to the #75 from the Thompson crash the
previous Thursday, the Bertrand Motorsports team cars rolled
into Stafford Motor Speedway on a brutally hot July 6th. With
fresh rear suspension and axle parts, the #75 showed good speed
in the practice sessions and had a good run in the heat. In the fourth starting spot for the 30 lap feature, Chris broke free on the first attempt at a start when the #9 of John Zych failed to go. But the start was called off and Chris slotted in third for the retry. At the green, Chris held his position and Cole Carter in the #39 battled Erica Santos in the #44. Randy Cabral #47 started to slice through the field, passing car after car on the low side in turn four. Using lapped traffic on lap 26, Randy slipped into the lead by a determined Jim Miller #3m who had held Randy off for eight circuits. Cole caught Chris on the last lap and powered by on the low side in turn three to grab 3rd place. Chris chased him down the main straight right up to the checkers to record a fourth place finish. With both the #7ny of Adam Cantor and the #26b of Greg Stoerh DNFing at Stafford, Chris makes up a bunch of points and moves into third in the standings. |
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A DNF &
a 13th at
Thompson Thursday Night - 7/1 |
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| It was a tough Thursday
night for the #75 at Thompson International Speedway in
Thompson, CT. During practice, a problem cropped up with the
fuel pump drive. In the heat, Chris pulled off into the infield
with the motor not running cleanly again. Starting near the back of the field in the feature, Chris had the motor running strongly and was making his way forward, passing the #44 of Erica Santos on the low side. Then the car was into the wall on the front straight with a flat left rear. Celebrating teammate Randy Cabral's win in the Bertrand #47 was the happy point of the night. After a tow back to the parking area, the rear suspension and axle was pulled apart to assess the damage and get a jump on returning the #75 to racing shape for the Xtreme Tuesday race at Stafford Motor Speedway coming right up on 7/6. |
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6th at
Lee USA Friday Night - 6/25 |
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| After two solid rounds
of practice, Chris fought a heavy push that developed in the
heat. The shots in the second row below on the left show he was
still turning left half way down the Lee backstraight. A trip
into the well lit trailer for some adjustments restored the
handling of the #75. In the feature Chris passed his way up to a 6th place finish, moving by the #3m of Jim Miller in the final laps. Bertrand Motorsports stable mates Randy Cabral and Mike Ordway Jr. in the #39 placed 9th and 10th battling problems with their machines. |
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TWIN STATE SPEEDWAY - FRIDAY, JUNE 11TH . |
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| First NEMA Podium Finish for Chris | ||||||||||||
| Chris posted a third
place finish on NEMA's single stop at Twin State Speedway on the
2010 schedule. This was Chris' first Top 3, podium finsh in the NEMA Midget events and a chance to join Bertrand Motorsports teammate Randy Cabral in Victory Circle. To take 3rd, Chris raced around Russ Stoehr #45 and Jeff Horn #A-1, two of NEMA's multi-win veterans. |
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Rain Instead of a Feature
at Monadnock Speedway The Monadnock Opener Weekend - 5/29 |
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| After a brief shower in
the afternoon, the NEMA Midgets and Lites managed to run their
practices and heats at NEMA's first trip to Winchester, NH for
2010. But the rain came again just as the Midgets were about to
line up and the event was called about 9 PM. The plan is to run twin 25 lap features at the next visit to Monadnock on July 31st. Heat pictures are below. |
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Chris &
the #75 Open the 2010 NEMA Season at the Waterford Speedbowl Budweiser Blastoff Weekend - 3/27-28 |
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| In the earliest opening
of the NEMA season ever, the Midgets and LItes headed for the
Waterford Speedbowl on March 27th and 28th. In preparation,
Chris and the new ride for 2010, the Ciconni/deRitis #75, had
tested at Seekonk Speedway two weekends prior and had cut laps
in the 11.0s - fast lap in a 2009 Seekonk NEMA feature had been
a 11.007. The low temperatures and an extended program with 14 different divisions made Saturday a long, tough day. Three rounds of practice were shortened to two rounds as sessions ran long with spins and dropped oil. The single NEMA heat got off at about 7:15 PM for a quick 10 laps. Running well in the top six, the #75 began smoking as some oil leaked on the header insulation. With the header tucked out of sight in the right side body pod, NEMA officials couldn't see what was happening and threw the black flag in the interest of safety. After clean-up, a change of oil lines, and cutting some vents in the side pod, the #75 was pushed started for a short test at 10 PM after all the night's features were completed. Everything looked good for Sunday's feature race. After Waterford's Sunday morning Pit Party which allows the fans to come on down into the infield to see the cars up close, the NEMA midgets remained in place to be pushed off for a set of warm up laps at 11:40. A short break for the opening ceremonies offered a final preparation period for the Bertrand Motorsports crew headed by Tim Bertrand. The NEMA cars pushed off for the 25 lap feature at 12:15 under overcast skies. Starting in 8th (the NEMA handicapping system places a driver in a new car towards the back for a couple of events), Chris fell into line behind Bertrand Motorsports teammate Randy Cabral in the #47. Randy and Chris both moved by the #7ny of Adam Cantor and the #26b of Greg Stoehr to take fourth and fifth positions. The cold track conditions made most of the cars way too free. Up front Chris Leonard charged to a popular first time win holding off Russ Stoehr in the #45 and Erica Santos in the #44. The caution-free race was completed in 5 minutes and 40.75 seconds for the fastest ever 25 lap NEMA race at Waterford. Chris turned the fastest lap of the NEMA feature of 13.222 enroute to a 5th place finish and a solid start for the new ride. |
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| Top NEMA Rookie Chris deRitis Gets Cicconi Ride for 2010 | |
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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. Chris's teammate will be 2008 &
2009 NEMA Champion Randy Cabral in the Tim Bertrand #47. 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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Chris Sets
Lap Record in Time Trials at Atlantic City TQ Race - Jan
29-30,'10 15th in The Gambler's Classic Feature After Hose Failure |
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Race Reports
at AARN site Here -
At the Atlantic City Gambler's Classic,
Chris once again had a fast car but poor luck in Saturday's
Feature. In Friday night's time trials Chris recorded a scorching 8.9098 seconds lap to best the field and set the track record for the Boardwalk Hall indoor circuit. The night's race action included a Consolation win for Chris and a 21st place feature finish. On Saturday, Chris took a TQ heat win as did mentor and builder of Chris' #66, Lou Cicconi Jr. In the 40 lap Gambler's Classic finale, Chris was running well, up to 4th and then back to 6th, when a water hose failed, and the sprayed water triggered a multi-car wreck on lap 19. The race was red flagged as track personnel rushed to extinguish a wild fire at the car of Mike Tidaback. Chris was scored with a 15th place finished while Cicconi took the win after charging into first on lap 11. Cicconi became only the second driver in the eight year history of the race to have won the Gambler's Classic twice. |
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| The Coffee Cup at Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, RI - Fri.-Sat. 12/4-5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On December 4th and 5th, Chris
was behind the wheel of the #66 Risque Racing TQ midget at
the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, RI for the indoor
auto races promoted by Len Sammons and Area Auto Racing
News. The state of the art #66 is the creation of Chris'
racing mentor "Liquid" Lou Cicconi Jr.
With 48 entries battling for 24 starting positions in the features, the field was filled with top competitors from TQ, ISMA, NASCAR, and INDY racing. GO HERE for the AARN race reports posted on the NEMA site. In Friday time trials the #66 posted a terrific sixth place lap of 8.57 seconds. Running right behind "Liquid" Lou's #57 and settling in for a great finish, Chris had the cooling fan in front of the radiator become unplugged. The car overheated and Chris retired and missed Friday's feature. In Saturday's heat, Chris had nice top four finish - while racing hard with Friday's feature winner Mike Lichty in the #1 and Saturday's eventual winner Mike Stefanik in the #36. That put Chris mid-pack in the starting field of 24 for the 40 lap feature. Success in indoor racing depends to a great degree on luck in being at the right place at the right time to miss the big pile ups that keep happening. With almost no place to go, any two car tangle quickly turns into a 5, 6, 7, 8 or more car pile. Only a few laps into the feature Chris got caught up in a turn three tangle but suffered no damage. Back to racing but at the end of the field, Chris was battling in traffic when the right front wheel of the TQ on the inside clipped the #66 and sent the cooling fan housing flying. With the fan motor and blade dancing around at the end of the wiring, Chris stopped to have the loose parts removed by the track crew. However, the officials did not let the #66 continue and pushed it off through the exit tunnel. Even though Chris was afraid of overheating again without the fan, he had at least wanted to give it a shot. Chris was disappointed with the results but pleased with the weekend's on track performances. |
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The 2009 NEMA Awards Banquet -
Sat. 11/21 NEMA ROOKIE of the YEAR |
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| Chris poses with
NEMA President Mike Scrivani after receiving the NEMA Ed Clotheir Rookie of the Year Award at the NEMA Banquet at White's of Westport in Westport, MA on November 21st. At right, Chris shows off the trophy for his 5th place in the 2009 Drivers Points. |
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