Sports
Romfo loses battle, wins war
Matthew Semisch
09/09/2014
Heading into Sunday’s Championship Night event at Bottineau’s Thunder Mountain Speedway (TMS), Chris Romfo knew he had every reason to be optimistic.
This was all down to him defeating long-time rival Steve Beckedahl in Aug. 17’s penultimate sport stock feature race of the 2014 TMS season. Because of that win, Romfo entered Sunday’s event leading the TMS sport stock standings with just that day’s racing left to go.
Romfo’s 374-369 lead over Beckedahl going into Sunday wasn’t insurmountable when the day started, but luck needed to be on Beckedahl’s side in order for Romfo to lose his grip on the season-long points title.
Either something would’ve had to go disastrously wrong with Romfo and his car, or Beckedahl would’ve had to finish six spaces above Romfo in Sunday’s sport stock feature race.
Neither of those things happened. Beckedahl won Sunday’s sport stock featue race, but as Bottineau’s Romfo finished only one spot behind his rival from Landa, that was enough to give Romfo the championship.
“I was happy just winning,” a visibly relieved Romfo said after Sunday’s sport stock feature. “I didn’t really care where I finished tonight so long as I finished in the top two or three, because I knew I’d be good to go then.
“This (rivalry) has been going on with me and Steve for really the last two or three years, but it never gets old, and it especially doesn’t right now.”
Romfo finished the 2014 TMS season atop the sport stock leader board with 428 points, three ahead of Beckedahl with 425. Kevin Smith of Boissevain, Manitoba finished third with 390, while Bottineau racers Kendra Meyer and Brady Soland rounded out the top five with 363 points and 361, respectively.
Lance Schill of Langdon came into Sunday’s racing already having wrapped up the TMS Wissota Midwest modifiers points title, having done so back on Aug. 17. Schill wasn’t on hand on Sunday, though, due to prior commitments.
Where the sport stock chase was concerned, though, Romfo suggested after Sunday’s sport stock feature that his triumph this season wasn’t all about the car. He said that Beckedahl’s car had the better motor, although Romfo is looking to upgrade over the winter ahead of the start of the 2015 racing season.
“That’s been the difference between me and Steve,” Romfo said. “Steve’s got a great motor in his car that builds more horsepower than a normal one like mine does.
“I’ve just been getting by with quite a lot less horsepower and quite a lot less torque than Steve gets out of his car, but I’m going to be changing that for next year and I’m hoping next year will be even better and that we’ll be back running strong again next season.”
When asked what it will take for Romfo to defend his title next year, he said that changes will need to be made but that the wheels there are already in motion.
“We have a lot of things we want to do through the winter to get the car faster, and we’re getting it closer to where we want to be,” he said. “We’ve already got plans in place and will be putting in a new motor, so we should be running a lot stronger next year.
“That’s our homework for the winter: To make sure we do what we want to do coming up next season.”
NOSTDAHL WINS FINAL MODS FEATURE
Bottineau drivers swept Sunday’s feature races, as Shawn Nostdahl won the event’s Wissota mods feature.
Following a somewhat messy feature race in which three of the seven racers failed to finish, Nostdahl picked up the checkered flag. Jarett Lovcik of Rugby finished second while Bottineau’s Norm Reitan took third place.
Nostdahl finished 10th in the season-long mods point standings, but he was pleased to be able to finish with a win
“We’ve had a pretty tough-luck season, so it’s been good to come in here and end it with a win,” Nostdahl said.
TMS is now set to round out the 2014 racing calendar with a special two-day doubleheader event scheduled for Sept. 27-28.