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View Full Version : 08/21/11 - Pressel returns to SK Modified® Winner’s Circle At Waterford



RGeeProductions
08-21-2011, 05:13 PM
Staskowski, Galvin, Denton, French and Kusheba score other wins on night

Waterford Speedbowl returned to action
Saturday with a six-division NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing
program including the Legends Cars on Shriner’s Night. Picking up
victories on the evening included Glenn Pressel III of Gales Ferry who
scored his second career victory in the SK Modifieds®, Rich Staskowski of
Hope Valley, RI picked up his second win of the year in the Bob Valenti
Auto Mall Late Models and Josh Galvin of Franklin won for the third time
in the Street Stocks. A popular win went to rookie Garrett Denton of Hope
Valley, RI as the teenager won his first career feature event in the Mini
Stocks. Rounding out the winners were Paul French of Andover who won his
third SK Light Modified race of the year and Paul Kusheba of Monroe, who
took the victory in the night’s Legends Cars feature.

The 35-lap SK Modified® feature was led to the green flag by Randy
Churchill, however it was Pressel who moved into the race lead from the
opening lap. Behind Pressel, Tom Abele moved to second and Jeff Pearl to
third as the field worked lap-2. Tyler Chadwick raced into fourth
position with Keith Rocco on the move up to fifth. The top five in the
running order raced nose to tail until lap-6 when Chadwick and Pearl made
slight contact entering turn one. Rocco looked to take advantage by
diving under Chadwick down the backchute into turn three, however the move
couldn’t be completed sending Rocco spinning in turn three to bring out
the caution flag.

Pressel took command on the restart, with Abele being dropped back to
fourth as Pearl and Rob Janovic moved in. Behind them Doug Coby, in his
first appearance of the year in the division, got around Abele to take
fourth on lap-9. The top four ran single file as a run of green flag
racing settled over the field.

Pearl was with Pressel through halfway however as the race continued on
Pressel began looking stronger, pulling ahead of both Pearl and Janovic by
four lengths. Coby held down the fourth position ahead of Kyle James who
had emerged into the top five. The racing was slowed on lap-25 as Joe
Perry spun in turn three.

Pressel could not be matched on two ensuing restarts with Pearl and
Janovic swapping second position over them. After several laps battling
side-by-side Janovic eventually wrestled the spot from Pearl, however
Pressel could not be caught. He went on to his second win of the season in
convincing fashion. Janovic and Pearl finished second and third, while
Rocco rallied back to fourth position at the checkered flag ahead of Coby,
who held back Chadwick in the final laps for fifth.

The Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model feature was only slowed by one
caution during the 30-lapper, as the competitors received an abundant
stretch of green flag racing to compete for the top spots. Staskowski
started on the outside pole, edged ahead of pole-sitter Dennis Botticello
to lead the opening lap, eventually pulling ahead from Botticello for good
within the first three laps.

The battle behind Staskowski saw Botticello holding on to second place
temporarily, just ahead of three-time champion Bruce Thomas Jr. He raced
inside Botticello to take over the runner up spot on lap-5 just before the
lone caution flag waved for a four car incident at the back of the field
that jammed up turn one.

Staskowski got away on the restart then pulled out front with Thomas and
Anthony Flannery in tow. A three-car breakaway at the head of the pack
saw them move out to a straightaway advantage over the remainder of the
race. Behind them, Brian Andronaco Jr. eventually advanced into fourth
position and Jeff Smith into fifth.

The top three positions tightened up over the final laps with Flannery
appearing ready to contend for second with Thomas. As the final two laps
began, Thomas actually turned up the intensity on Staskowski, inching his
way closer to the leader and keeping Flannery at bay. Out of the turn
four on the final lap, Thomas was able to get his nose under Staskowski
but ran out of time to pose a serious threat for the win. Flannery,
Andronaco and Smith completed the top five behind them.

Charles Beal showed the way over the opening circuits in the 25-lap Street
Stock feature. Caution waved on lap-5 for Steve Barrett who spun in turn
two, with Chris Meyer in pursuit of Beal after the race was restarted.
Meyer raced to Beal’s outside, taking the lead on lap-6 then moving out to
a several length lead as the race stayed under the green flag.

Galvin was next to get around Beal, doing so a lap later. Ed Puleo was to
Beal’s outside next, taking third on lap-8. Those two began tracking down
Meyer slowly over the middle portion of the race. By lap-15, the three
leaders were all within contention for the race win with Al Stone
advancing to fourth position and gaining on the top three.

On lap-17 Galvin darted to Meyer’s outside, inching his way into the lead
a lap later. Puleo jumped outside Meyer after Galvin, taking second
position by lap-20. Stone reached Meyer’s bumper for the final five lap
stretch run looking poised to make it a four-car race for the win. With
two laps remaining caution waved, setting up a final dash for the
checkered flag. Galvin got a great restart, going on to his third victory
of the year but first since June 4. Puleo, Stone, Meyer and Mike Caprio
finished second through fifth.

The 25-lap Mini Stock feature belonged to Denton from the drop of the
green flag. He made his way into the race lead, cementing his position as
a contender from the start. Following a lap-2 restart, division veteran
Phil Evans moved to second position behind Denton. He shadowed Denton
over the remainder of the race. Division points leader Glenn Colvin raced
to third with Ken Cassidy Jr. coming up to fourth before the race hit
lap-10.

Evans was in the neighborhood to pressure Denton over the second half of
the race, which stayed under the green flag through to the checkered flag.
The fourteen year old rookie was unflappable, including a final lap
challenge through turns three and four. Denton shook off the bid by Evans
to grab his first career checkered flag. Behind Denton and Evans, Colvin
held back Cassidy for third position, while Chris Williams finished a
distant fifth.

The 25-lap SK Light Modified feature saw the sparks fly as early as lap-3
when behind leader Bubby Brouwer and Bo Gunning, a three-way battle for
third position ended with Joey Cipriano against the turn three wall and
Greg Moran Sr.’s machine disabled with suspension damage, drawing the
caution flag.

Brouwer got away from Gunning on the restart, who fell back into the
clutches of Chris Correll. On lap-5 those two made contact headed into
turn one with Gunning spinning across the track collecting Tyler Jackson.
The red flag was brought out as Jackson’s car ended up perched atop
Gunning’s car against the turn one wall.

When racing was back to green, David Webb moved into second position to
challenge Brouwer. After several laps of testing the leader, Webb looked
low entering turn one on lap-13. The two made contact with Brouwer
spinning, returning the race under caution and sending both Brouwer and
Webb to the rear for the restart.

French inherited the lead, then went unchallenged to the win over the
final laps which were run without further interruption. Correll finished
in second, while Webb stormed back through the pack and raced around Corey
Larson on the final lap to claim third.

(continued)

RGeeProductions
08-21-2011, 05:17 PM
In Legends Car action on the night, Kusheba came out on top of a late race
tussle with Dylan Izzo in an entertaining battle for the win. Joey
Mucciacciaro held the race lead through lap-4 when Kusheba took over just
before a caution on lap-5.

The lap-5 restart was pivotal as several cars were collected in a hard
crash on the restart. With Kusheba leading back to the green flag,
Mucciacciaro’s car careened across the track from third place as the field
exited turn four, crashing into second place Giovanni Giarratana. That
triggered a chain reaction incident which also collected Dana Dimatteo,
Alessandro Vitelli and Angelo Belsito who all made heavy contact on the
frontstretch. The incident drew the red flags to separate the cars and
tend to the drivers. Dave Garbo Jr. was also eliminated from the event.

After the cleanup, Kusheba and Izzo, along with Troy Talman battled hard
for control of the race over the final 15-laps. Talman eventually faded
back leaving Kusheba and Izzo to go toe-to-toe for the win. The two
swapped the lead several times in a spirited duel. After Izzo reclaimed
the top spot briefly on lap-18, Kusheba seized command for good coming to
the white flag. Izzo, Talman, Ed Field and Kyle Rogers completed the
top-five.


Waterford Speedbowl Saturday 8/20 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Results:

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (35-laps): 1. Glenn
Pressel III, Gales Ferry; 2. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 3. Jeff Pearl,
Salem; 4. Keith Rocco, Wallingford; 5. Doug Coby, Middletown; 6.Tyler
Chadwick, Ledyard; 67. Kyle James, Ashaway, RI; 8. Tom Abele Jr.,
Norwich; 9. Adam Gada, Bozrah; 10. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry; 11.
Vinny Anglace, Beacon Falls; 12. Joe Perry, Ashaway, RI; 13. Joe Gada,
Salem; 14. Peter Pavone, Southbury; 15. Michael Gada, Baltic; 16. Greg
Moran Sr., Preston; 17. Nichole Morgillo, Wallingford; 18. Randy
Churchill, Oakdale; 19. Bo Gunning, Bethlehem; 20. Jimmy Smith,
Woodstock; 21. Jeff Rocco, Wallingford; 22. Paul French, Andover; 23.
Mike Sweeney, Meriden
Standings after seventeen events: 1. Rocco, 768; 2. Pearl, 722; 3.
Janovic, 697; 4. Chadwick, 688; 5. James, 678; 6. Abele, 638; 7.
Pressel, 590; 8. Morgillo, 556; 9. Perry, 512; 10. Frank Mucciacciaro,
414

NASCAR Whelen All-American Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models (30-laps):
1. Rich Staskowski, Hope Valley, RI; 2. Bruce Thomas Jr., Groton; 3.
Anthony Flannery, East Hampton; 4. Brian Andronaco Jr., Wilton; 5. Jeff
Smith, Old Lyme; 6. Vincent Esposito, Seymour; 7. Jeffrey Paul, Ledyard;
8. Jason Palmer, Berlin; 9. Dennis Botticello, Suffield; 10. Joe
Curioso, Pawcatuck; 11. Larry Goss, North Windham; 12. Beryle Herman,
Middletown, NY; 13. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill; 14. Mark Cooper,
Northford; 15. Mike Sweeney, Meriden
Standings after fifteen events: 1. Thomas, 690; 2. Smith, 688; 3.
Staskowski, 660; 4. Curioso, 596; 5. Esposito, 594; 6. Flannery, 591;
7. Andronaco, 553; 8. Palmer, 519; 9. Sweeney, 464; 10. Duranti, 392

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks (25-laps): 1. Josh
Galvin, Franklin; 2. Ed Puleo, Branford; 3. Al Stone III, New Haven; 4.
Chris Meyer, North Franklin; 5. Michael Caprio, New Haven; 6. Brandon
Plemons, Uncasville; 7. Tommy Silva, Gales Ferry; 8. Charles Beal,
Ledyard; 9. Steve Barrett, Preston; 10. Nate Appell, Westbrook; 11.
Paul Gaedeke, Southington; 12. Bill McNeil, Niantic; 13. Kevin Burr,
Waterford; 14. Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington; 15. Alan Hall Jr., North
Haven; 16. Thomas Stirk, West Haven; DNS – Joseph Arena, Bristol
Standings after sixteen events: 1. Puleo, 771; 2. Stone, 757; 3. Galvin,
713; 4. Meyer, 697; 5. Plemons, 640; 6. Barrett, 602; 7. Appell, 514;
8. Caprio, 489; 9. Beal, 468; 10. Norm Root Jr., 353

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stocks (25-laps): 1. Garrett
Denton, Hope Valley, RI; 2. Phil Evans, Uncasville; 3. Glenn Colvin,
Clinton; 4. Ken Cassidy Jr., Lisbon; 5. Chris Williams, Waterford; 6.
Charles Canfield, New Haven; 7. Ian Brew, Wood River Junction; 8. Nick
Pappacoda, North Branford; 9. Ray Christian III, Groton; 10. Sean Caron,
East Hampton; 11. Brian Norman, Clinton; 12. Dale Sherman, Charlestown,
RI; 13. Doug Curry, Groton; 14. Joey DeGregorio, East Haven; 15. Daniel
McGouran, Westerly, RI; 16. Christina Kellerman, Stratford; 17. Jeffrey
Lee, Uncasville; 18. Jeffrey Cembruch, Wallingford
Standings after sixteen events: 1. Colvin, 732; 2. Cassidy, 694; 3.
Williams, 653; 4. Cembruch, 603; 5. Evans, 623; 6. Brew, 598; 7.
Christian, 552; 8. Canfield, 550; 9. Kellerman, 514; 10. Pappacoda, 503

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Light Modifieds (25-laps): 1. Paul
French, Andover; 2. Chris Correll, New London; 3. David Webb, New
Milford; 4. Richard Brouwer, Waterford; 5. Corey Larson, Bolton; 6.
Paul Tommasino, Meriden; 7. Alan Benincaso, Westport; 8. Richard
Schlegel, Griswold; 9. Bo Gunning, Bethlehem; 10. Tyler Jackson, Milford;
11. Greg Moran Sr., Preston; 12. Joe Cipriano, Waterbury; 13. Chris
Ignazio, Colchester; DNS – Victoria Bergenty, Plainville

Standings after four events:1.French,211; 2.Correll,172; 3.Brouwer,160;
4.Larson,156; 5.Moran,142; 6.Benincaso,140; 7.(tie)Webb,Gunning,130;
9.Bergenty,114; 10.Schlegel,108

Legends Cars Saturday Series (20-cars): 1. Paul Kusheba IV, Monroe; 2.
Dylan Izzo, Westport; 3. Troy Talman, Oxford, MA; 4. Ed Field, Deep
River; 5. Kyle Rogers, Waterbury; 6. Dana Dimatteo, Farmington; 7. Kyle
Hardwick, Chaplin; 8. Arthur Marrero, Baltic; 9. Christopher Kearney,
Ellington; 10. Calvin Therrien, Vernon; 11. Richard Erlandson, Moodus;
12. Giovanni Giarratana, Newington; 13. Joey Mucciacciaro, New Britain;
14. Alessandro Vitelli, Woodbridge; 15. Angelo Belsito, Auburn, MA; 16.
Peter Cirilli, Farmington; DNS - Nicholas Sowa, Middletown; DQ – Dave
Garbo Jr., Stonington
Saturday Series Standings after eight events: 1. Dimatteo, 382; 2.
Vitelli, 320; 3. Kusheba, 302; 4. Giarratana, 273; 5. Talman, 250; 6.
(tie) Izzo, Belsito, 248; 8. (tie) Field, Mucciacciaro, 240; 10. Rogers,
236

Brian Darling