Scott Sundeen Crowned Limited Sportsman Champ
Wins 2nd Championship in a Row at Thompson Speedway
The Xtramart Limited Sportsman Series provided some of the most action packed racing of the night, with the top three in points separated by only ten points and the top two only separated by a single point coming into the event. The top three in the standings, Scott Sundeen, Larry Barnett and Corey Hutchings respectively, each saw their own issues early in the race with Sundeen and Hutchings both involved in an incident in turns 3 and 4 only two laps into the event and Barnett spinning on his own later on in the race.
All three competitors would make their way back to the front of the field before the end of the event with Sundeen and Hutchings making their way back to the top five by the time another caution slowed the field with only seven laps to go. Sundeen took the lead on the restart and engaged in an intense side-by-side battle with Hutchings until Hutchings found his championships hopes fade after being collected in his second wreck of the night, a hard hit into the turn two wall after contact with a hard charging Ryan Waterman.
The crash resulted in a green-white-checkered finish with Sundeen on point and his closest points rival, Barnett, in second. Sundeen would go on to win the race but with Barnett taking a second place finish he would fail to gain much in the points going into the season finale in October.
“Corey (Hutchings) was using me up so I figured that I had a faster car and I wasn’t going to settle for second place,” said Sundeen after the win. “I thought I ran him cleaner than he drives anyone. I know I can drive (Barnett) lap after lap side by side and I never have to worry about him and he doesn’t have to worry about me, but there are certain people I can’t stand being around. Larry (Barnett) is not one of them. I’ll race him any day of the week. I’ve never won the championships two years in a row and I’m not banking on it. I want to win races.”
| Position | Car | Driver | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36 | Scott Sundeen | 21 |
| 2 | 73 | Larry Barnett | 21 |
| 3 | 88 | Frank LeToile Jr | 21 |
| 4 | 11 | Jack Aquilina | 21 |
| 5 | 55 | Ed Puleo | 21 |
| 6 | 76 | Todd Dean | 21 |
| 7 | 25 | Randy Waterman | 21 |
| 8 | 31 | James Bendiak | 21 |
| 9 | 10 | Hank Stott | 21 |
| 10 | 53 | Dana Young | 21 |
| 11 | 18 | Steve Cole | 21 |
| 12 | 38 | Corey Hutchings | 19 |
| 13 | 75 | Ryan Waterman | 19 |
| 14 | 45 | Tommy Shea Sr. | 18 |
| 15 | 77 | Phil Jacques | 15 |
| 16 | 51 | Joshua Wood | 13 |
| 17 | 02 | Mike Palin | 11 |
| 18 | 81 | Jesse Gleason | 1 |
| DQ | 64 | Mike Malbaurn | 21 |
Race statistics
XTRAMART LIMITED SPORTSMAN SERIES FINISH (TOP-10): 1. Scott Sundeen (Sutton, MA); 2. Larry Barnett (Moosup, CT), 3. Mike Malbaum (Sterling, CT); 4. Frank LeToile, Jr. (Wethersfield, CT); 5. Jack Aquilina (Oakdale, CT); 6. Ed Puleo (Branford, CT); 7. Todd Dean (Danielson, CT); 8. Randy Waterman (Danielson, CT); 9. James Bendiak) Hopkinton, MA); 10. Hank Stott (Medway, MA)