 Bill was named Rookie of the
Year at Thompson Speedway |
Press Releases
(From Thompson and other web sites)
1998
| Bill was named Rookie of the
Year at Thompson Speedway |
Strictly Stock Feature winner (June 22,
2000 make-up)
Bill McNeil (44)
passing Mark DeCosta (3)
May 28, 2000
The battle for the runner-up spot raged for the final two laps with Scott Cook of Uncasville, CT, Lyle Wolfinger, and Bill McNeil Taftville, CT, doing battle. In the end it would be Scott Cook who followed Stone to the checkers. Tim "The Toolman" Taylor of Danielson, CT had an impressive run rebounding from an early race incident finishing eighth in the final rundown.
Strictly Stock: Ryan Stone, Branford, CT; Scott Cook, Uncasville, CT; Bill McNeil, Taftville, CT; Lyle Wolfinger, Moodus, CT; Kevin Mason, W. Warwick, RI
June 29, 2000
Thompson, CT: Thompson International Speedway finally played host to the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series divisions in Thursday Night Thompson Thunder after several weeks of bad weather. A full racing card featured both open-wheel and full-fendered excitement with the Sunoco Modifieds, NASCAR WRS Pro Stocks and all their support divisions. Winners on the evening included George Bessette, Bill McNeil, George Savary, Ted Christopher, Dennis Coates, Scott Bronczyk, and Lyle Wolfinger.
Thompson, CT: June 22, 2000. The racing at Thompson International Speedway was as hot as the temperature; that is until the rains came. The Twin 25-lap Pro Stock features that were to have highlighted the events of the evening were lost to the weather. Jerry Young, Jr. of Jewitt City, CT and Chuck Weimer III of Danielson, CT beat Mother Nature and their fellow competitors to take the Late Model and Mini Stock features, respectively. The Strictlys and Pro Stocks were relegated to heat race competition only. Pro Stock heat winners were A.J. Begin, Phil Rondeau, and Roger Godin. Strictly Stock heat races were won by Randy Waterman, Bill McNeil, and Ed Puleo.
Thirty-six Strictly Stocks took the green in the June 22nd Make-up feature. Randy Waterman of Danielson, CT showed the way through lap seven when on a restart Ed Puleo took the lead. Heavy hitters Bill McNeil, Ryan Stone, and Lyle Wolfinger were quickly making their way to the front from deep in the pack. The complexion of the race changed dramatically when Tim Taylor and Kevin Mason made contact on lap 17. The enduing pile-up eliminated several top ten contenders. Current point leader Ryan Stone suffered severe damage. The three-lap shoot out featured a battle between McNeil and Lyle Wolfinger. McNeil would hold on for the win.
Strictly Stock finish (June 22 Make-Up) Bill McNeil, Taftville, CT; Lyle Wolfinger, Moodus, CT; Ed Puleo, E. Haven, CT; Tim Taylor, Danielson, CT; Frank Kiser, Jr., N. Providence, RI; Bart Ramos, Putnam, CT; Mark DeCosta, Cranston, RI; John Bercham, W., Greenwich, RI; Kevin Bowe, Pawtucket, RI; and Todd Dean, Danielson, CT.
August 3, 2000
Thirty-four cars took the green in the 40-lap extra distance event for the Strictly Stocks. Local favorite Cliff Gaumond of Thompson, CT set the early pace up from his sixth starting position. Gaumond showed the way until lap 24 when Bill McNeil of Taftville, CT grabbed the top spot. Gaumond was shuffled back to sixth as the freight train of the top-five went past. On the ensuing lap McNeil got out of shape slipping back bringing Kevin Mason back with him allowing Ryan Stone to take the lead.
Strictly Stock Finish: Ryan Stone, Branford, CT; Tim Taylor, Danielson, CT; Larry Barnett, Ledyard, CT; Frank Kiser, Jr., N. Providence, RI; Cliff Gaumond, Thompson, CT; Scott Cook, Uncasville, CT; Kevin Mason, W. Warwick, RI; Mark Jenison, Brooklyn, CT; Ken Fecteau, Franklin, MA; Jeff Hesselton, Auburn, MA.
August 10, 2000
Ed Puleo of East Haven, CT took the lead from Bill McNeil when the green flag flew after a caution on lap 19. Puleo resumed the lead on the restart and went on to take the victory. The victory was a boost to the team. "I gave up on this car last week," said Puleo from victory lane. "We crashed pretty hard last week. My crew worked on the car until 2:00 a.m. this morning. It is put together with bubblegum." This was Ed "MacGuyver" Puleo's second win of the season. Tim Taylor recovered from an early spin to finish in the fifth position.
Strictly Stock Finish: Ed Puleo, E. Haven, CT; Bill McNeil, Taftville, CT; Kevin Mason, W. Warwick, RI; Scott Cook, Uncasville, CT; Tim Taylor, Danielson, CT; Lyle Wolfinger, Moodus, CT; Mark Jenison, Warwick, RI; Ryan Stone, Branford, CT; Frank Kiser, Jr., N. Providence, RI; Mark Decosta, Cranston, RI.
September 3, 2000
Top two point men Scott Cook of Uncasville, CT and Tim Taylor of Danielson, CT put on a show behind front-runners Stone, Barnett and Taftville, CT's Bill McNeil. The heated battled, fueled by only a two-point margin, saw the two run side-by-side for several laps. Taylor came away with the advantage while McNeil had assumed the runner-up spot. Stone, too, withstood a number of late race restarts to hold on for the win ahead of McNeil and Taylor.
Strictly Stock Feature Finish: 1.) Ryan Stone, Branford, CT; 2.) Bill McNeil, Taftville, CT; 3.) Tim Taylor, Danielson, CT; 4.) Ed Puleo, E. Haven, CT; 5.) Larry Barnett, Ledyard, CT; 6.) Scott Cook, Uncasville, CT; 7.) Ken Fecteau, Franklin, MA; 8.) Todd Dean, Danielson, CT; 9.) Jeff Hesselton, Auburn, MA; 10.) Norm Beauvais, Jr., Mapleville, RI.
September 10, 2000
Feature winners on the evening included Jim McCallum of Fall River, MA who brought home the Pro Stock checkers; while Jerry Young, Jr. in the Late Models, Bill McNeil in the Strictly Stocks, and Dennis Coates each scored their second feature wins of the season. Scott Quinn brought his Sunoco Modified in for his second straight feature victory.
The Strictly Stock championship bout went down to the 25th round with the number one and two point men battling on the track for the championship. At the checkers Bill McNiel pulled out the victory. Scott Cook finished one spot ahead of Tim Taylor, after the two waged a tremendous battle, allowing Taylor to take the championship by a mere two points.
Strictly Stock Finish: 1. Bill McNeil, Taftville, CT, 2. Norm Beauvais, Jr. Mapleville, RI, 3.Ed Puleo, E. Haven, CT; 4. Mark Jenison, Warwick, RI; 5. Larry Barnett, Ledyard, CT; 6. Ken Fecteau, Franklin, MA; 7. Todd Dean, Danielson, CT; 8. Michael Lindquist, 9.Scott Cook, Uncasville, CT; 10. Tim Taylor, Danielson, CT
May 31, 2001
Ceravolo, Zuidema & McNeil Treat Harley-Davidson to Hot Racing Action
In the nightcapper “Mean” Joe Greene led the Ltd. Sportsman event at the green flag. He would show the way in his Monte Carlo until lap 16 when Bill McNeil drove his Main Street Auto # 44 to the front of the pack. At the checkers it was Bill McNeil taking the win away from Greene. Bill took the top honors in the Limited Sportsman division this evening by winning the heat and the feature race.
June 14, 2001
Thompson, CT: Thompson Int’l Speedway kicked off Thursday Night Thompson Thunder with Ted Christopher taking down the Sunoco Modified feature win and Jeff Zuidema earning Pro Stock gold. David Blain found his way back to victory lane in his Late Model while Mini Stock winner Joe Lemay and Limited Sportsman winner Bill McNeil each made it two-in-a-row.Bill McNeil of Preston, CT turned what appeared to be a second-place finish into his second-straight Limited Sportsman victory.
Bill McNeil and Larry Barnett battled wheel-to-wheel for the final five laps of the Ltd. Sportsman feature to seemingly decide the outcome of the 20-lap event. When the checkers flew it was Barnett edging out McNeil for the victory; however, Barnett was found to be in violation of the rules; giving McNeil the win.
September 9, 2001
Bill McNeil continues to rack up victories
Bill McNeil of Preston, CT took down his fifth Limited Sportsman feature victory of the season. Two mid-race restarts set-up a great race for the lead between early leader Scott Sundeen and McNeil. McNeil was able to take over the lead from Sundeen on lap 12 while the action for the second spot heated up. A bobble on the white flag lap saw Barnett fighting to stay in the top-ten. At the stripe it was McNeil taking the win in the #44 over Poulin, Sundeen, Joe Saravia and Scott Cook. Barnett would later be disqualified in post race inspection.