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View Full Version : 09/18/11 - Abele Jr. earns first SK Modified® win at Waterford



RGeeProductions
09-18-2011, 02:30 PM
Smith, Meyer and Evans NASCAR winners,
Garbo Jr. and D’Addario also take victories

Waterford Speedbowl hosted an action
packed night of racing from six divisions under chilly temperatures,
featuring NASCAR SK Modifieds® 35-Laps, Late Models 30-Laps, Mini Stocks
25-Laps, Street Stocks 25-Laps, the INEX Legends Cars 20-Laps and Saturday
Showdown X-Cars for 20-Laps.

Earning victories on the night included a career-first for Tom Abele Jr.
as he bested the field of SK Modifieds®, Jeff Smith leapfrogged into the
championship points lead by virtue of a win in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall
Late Model feature, Chris Meyer visited the winner’s circle in the Street
Stocks while Phil Evans took the win in the Mini Stocks. Completing the
feature winners on the night were Dave Garbo Jr. in the Legends Cars and
Curt D’addario in the X-Cars.


The SK Modifieds® started their 35-lap feature with Nichole Morgillo and
Joe Gada leading the twenty-one car field to green. Five laps would be led
by Morgillo before the first yellow waved as newcomer William Schneider
spun in turn three, collecting Diego Monahan and Wendell Dailey.

On the ensuing restart Abele would move to the front outside Morgillo
through turns one and two, bringing Keith Rocco with him past Morgillo,
dropping her to third. Rocco went to work on Abele right away, wasting no
time sizing up the leader before diving to his inside into turn one with
seven laps complete. Rocco led through lap-14 when caution waved again as
Randy Churchill Jr. spun into turn three.

Rocco paced the field and was all alone in the lead by the time the pack
reached turn one on the restart. Abele fought off a big by Morgillo for
second to settle in behind Rocco once again. The car on the move belonged
to Todd Ceravolo, as he stormed his way into the top five and raced up
along the outside of Morgillo for third. Ceravolo continued his march to
the front powering outside Abele out of turn four on lap-16. He took
second spot and looked ahead to a gap that Rocco had placed over the field
behind. Rocco’s advantage was erased when Glenn Pressel spun off the back
chute on lap-19.

Rocco got the jump over Ceravolo into turn one when the green flag was
back in the air, however Rocco could not shake Ceravolo, who looked every
bit as strong as he did during the SK-150 two weeks prior. Ceravolo
closed in, trying an inside bid on the leader entering turn one on lap-22.
The two would made contact, sending Rocco spinning into wall head-on.
Rocco’s night was done, while Ceravolo was penalized to the rear for rough
riding.

Abele and Morgillo were back on the front row for the restart, with Mark
Bakaj and Shawn Solomito in row 2. Abele would pull out front into turn
one with Bakaj moving to second inside Morgillo. The final 13 laps were
run through the checkered flag with Abele and Bakaj putting on as fine a
battle for the win as fans could ask for.

The battle began with Bakaj closing in on Abele and making a power move to
his inside on lap-25 in turn one. Abele held a quick line just off the
preferred groove now occupied by Bakaj, holding onto his lead by no more
than a half car length over the next 4 laps. Fans were on the edge of
their seats as the two put on a classic display of hard clean racing.
Bakaj would not surrender, staying planted to Abele’s, inching his way
into the lead on lap-31. Abele was not done however, keeping his focus
and line to rally back and reclaim the top spot on lap-32.

Out of turn two on lap-33 Abele was finally clear of Bakaj, who could not
regroup for a final counter. Abele took down an exciting first career win
while Bakaj settled for second, a season-best. Morgillo placed a
career-best third, with Solomito and Jeff Pearl completing the top-five.

The Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models were led to green by Dennis
Botticello and Joe Curioso with Botticello taking the early lead. Behind
Botticello, Curioso and Smith would get in line and plan their race
strategy. The first yellow in the 30-lapper flew on lap-6 when Bruce
Thomas Jr. lost a tire, sending the points leader hard into the turn two
wall, ending his night early.

Botticello used a great jump into the lead to take Smith with him up to
second, with Rich Staskowski behind Smith in third. The best battle on the
track as the race reached lap-10 was behind fourth place Curioso, between
Anthony Flannery and Keith Rocco, with Flannery prevailing after multiple
laps side-by-side in the battle for fifth.

On lap-12, Smith would eventually get around Botticello with Staskowski
also able to move past Botticello into second on lap-13. Staskowski began
tracking down Smith when the second yellow came out as Flannery and
Curioso got together, causing a quick scatter of cars on lap-18.

When the green flew again Smith would roll out front as Staskowski and
Botticello battled side-by-side for second with Staskowski finally
settling into the spot. Botticello held third through lap-24 when
Flannery made his way by. Jason Palmer and Rocco also found their way by
to move into the top-five.

The final laps were run with the top-five lined up nose to tail. Rocco
was the only to make a move, jumping outside Palmer to take fourth. On
the final lap, Rocco challenged Flannery but fell short. At the stripe,
Smith would take his second win of the year and take over the points lead
after Thomas’ misfortune. Last week’s winner Staskowski finished second
with Flannery, Rocco and Palmer completing the top-five.

Charles Canfield was the pole sitter for the Mini Stocks 20-lap feature,
however, after two attempts to start the race something went awry on his
machine allowing Sean Caron to lead the mighty Minis in the third attempt
to begin the race. That one proved success and Caron would run out to
lead the first five laps before caution waved for a spinning Doug Curry.

As racing resumed, Caron and Ray Christian battled side-by-side for the
lead for 10 laps to thrill the crowd. After four lead changes over that
span, Phil Evans, who had patiently stalked both, made a move to the
inside of Christian allowing Caron to finally pull into the lead. Evans
and Christian would battle side-by-side for second allowing Caron to build
up a lead. That battle lasted through lap-21 when caution waved setting
up the pivotal restart.

Caron got loose under Evans and spun up into the field in turn two when
racing went back to green. The entire field avoided the spinning Caron,
however Caron would drop to the rear and Christian’s great run ended with
a flat tire under the yellow. Evans and three-time division Champion Ken
Cassidy Jr. brought the field back to green.

Evans got the advantage into turn one on the restart. He would hold off
one final inside charge by Cassidy coming to the finish line for the
checkered flag to take down his first win on the season. Rounding out the
top three would be last week’s winner Chris Williams, while points leader
Glenn Colvin and Nick Pappacoda completed the top-five.

(continued)

RGeeProductions
09-18-2011, 02:32 PM
The 25-lap Street Stock feature got underway with Joe Arena leading
briefly before Steve Barrett moved out front. Just three laps in caution
waved when points contender Al Stone went spinning in turn two. Barrett
led the restart as Meyer rolled into second position with Mike Caprio and
points leader Ed Puleo in tow. Meyer eventually caught and passed Barrett
on lap-9. With Myer out front and the top four of Barrrett, Caprio and
Puleo in his trail, the best battle on the track was for fifth between
Josh Galvin and Diego Monahan. Meyer held off the field for the win, which
would finish in order with Galvin taking fifth.

The 20-lap Legends Cars race had two red flags in the first four laps,
forcing a lengthy delay. The race was suspended and returned to the track
later in the evening to settle the field. When racing finally resumed,
Dave Garbo Jr. picked up another Saturday night victory, fresh off of his
National Qualifier a week ago. Paul Kusheba, Troy Talman, Joey
Mucciacciaro and Kyle Rogers chased Garbo to the checkered flag. Points
leader Dana DiMatteo suffered damage from an earlier incident but managed
a twelfth place finish.

The Saturday Showdown Series for the X-Cars was back on the track Saturday
evening for a 20-lap feature. Chris Garside made an early move to take
the lead, then watched as division veterans Brad Voglesong and Curt
D’Addario closed in. Lapped traffic played a factor as the leaders went
three-wide trying to navigate them, giving D’Addario the lead on lap-8.
D’Addario would pull away by a straightaway to pick up another win and add
to his division leading wins total. Garside would hold for second and Mike
Marvin would make a late charge into the third position.

Waterford Speedbowl Saturday 9/17 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Results:

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (35-laps): 1. Tom Abele
Jr., Norwich; 2. Mark Bakaj, Lebanon; 3. Nichole Morgillo, Yalesville; 4.
Shawn Solomito, Islip, NY; 5. Jeff Pearl, Salem; 6. Joe Gada, Salem; 7.
Joe Perry, Ashaway, RI; 8. Randy Churchill Jr., Oakdale; 9. Kyle James,
Ashaway, RI; 10. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 11. Todd Ceravolo, Gales
Ferry; 12. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry; 13. James Larsen, East Hartford;
14. Keith Rocco, Wallingford; 15. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., Milford; 16.
Tyler Chadwick, Ledyard; 17. Glenn Pressel III, Gales Ferry; 18. William
Schneider, Northport, NY; 19. Diego Monahan, Quaker Hill; 20. Dave Gada,
Bozrah; 21. Richard Duranti, Quaker Hill
Standings after twenty events: 1. Rocco, 878; 2. Pearl, 830; 3. Janovic,
819; 4. Chadwick, 773; 5. James, 756; 6. Abele, 749; 7. Pressel, 662;
8. Morgillo, 650; 9. Perry, 628; 10. Mucciacciaro, 478

NASCAR Whelen All-American Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models (30-laps):
1. Jeff Smith, Old Lyme; 2. Rich Staskowski, Hope Valley, RI; 3. Anthony
Flannery, East Hampton; 4. Keith Rocco, Wallingford; 5. Jason Palmer,
Berlin; 6. Dennis Botticello, Suffield; 7. Brian Andronaco Jr., Wilton; 8.
Joe Curioso, Mystic; 9. Mike Sweeney Jr., Meriden; 10. Mark Cooper,
Northford; 11. Richard Duranti, Quaker Hill, 12. Bruce Thomas Jr., Groton;
13. John Materas, Voluntown
Standings after eighteen events: 1. Smith, 825; 2. Staskowski, 805; 3.
Thomas, 804; 4. Flannery, 711; 5. Curioso, 710; 6. Andronaco, 690; 7.
Palmer, 649; 8. Esposito, 624; 9. Sweeney, 570; 10. Duranti, 482

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks (25-laps): 1. Chris
Meyer, North Franklin; 2. Steven Barrett, Preston; 3. Michael Caprio, New
Haven; 4. Ed Puleo, Branford; 5. Josh Galvin, Franklin; 6. Diego Monahan,
Quaker Hill; 7. Al Stone III, New Haven; 8. Brandon Plemons, Uncasville;
9. Joseph Arena, Bristol; 10. Ted Dupre, Westbrook; 11. Nate Appell,
Westbrook; 12. John Stuart, Preston; 13. Jack Aquilina, Oakdale; 14. Eric
Bourgeois, Moodus; 15. Alan Hall Jr., North Haven; 16. Shawn Monahan,
Waterford; 17. Walt Hovey Jr., Chaplin; 18. Tommy Silva, Gales Ferry; 19.
Norm Root Jr., Old Saybrook; 20. Paul Gaedeke, Southington; 21. Charles
Beal, Ledyard
Standings after nineteen events: 1. Puleo, 918; 2. Stone, 869; 3.
Galvin, 858; 4. Meyer, 836; 5. Plemons, 742; 6. Barrett, 714; 7.
Appell, 602; 8. Caprio, 599; 9. Beal, 516; 10. Root, 367

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stocks (25-laps): 1. Phil Evans,
Uncasville; 2. Ken Cassidy Jr., Lisbon; 3. Chris Williams, Waterford; 4.
Glenn Colvin, Clinton; 5. Nick Pappacoda, North Branford; 6. Garrett
Denton, Hope Valley, RI; 7. Ian Brew, Wood River Jct, RI; 8. Ray Christian
III, Groton; 9. Christina Kellerman, Stratford; 10. Douglas Curry, Groton;
11. Dale Sherman, Charlestown, RI; 12. Joey DeGregorio, East Haven; 13.
Daniel McGouran, Westerly, RI; 14. Jeffrey Lee, Uncasville; 15. Sean
Caron, East Hampton; 16. David Sylvia, Preston; 17. Jeffrey Cembruch,
Wallingford; 18. Charles Canfield, New Haven
Standings after nineteen events: 1. Colvin, 864; 2. Cassidy, 834; 3.
Williams, 776; 4. Evans, 758; 5. Brew, 724; 6. Cembruch, 707; 7.
Christian, 640; 8. Kellerman, 612; 9. Pappacoda, 600; 10. Canfield, 594

Legends Cars (20-laps): 1. David Garbo Jr., Stonington; 2. Paul Kusheba
IV, Monroe; 3. Troy Talman, Oxford, MA; 4. Joseph Mucciacciaro, Wolcott;
5. Kyle Rogers, Waterbury; 6. Nicholas Lascuola; 7. Angelo Belsito; 8.
Joseph Parker, Weymouth, MA; 9. Taylor Martin, Windham, NH; 10. Daniel
Stolte, Northbridge, MA; 11. Richard Erlandson, Moodus; 12. Dana DiMatteo,
Farmington; 13. Ed Field, Deep River; 14. Danny Field, Deep River; 15.
Kyle Hardwick, Chaplin; 16. George Whitney, Westbrook; 17. Nicholas Sowa,
Middletown; 18. Calvin Therrien, Vernon; 19. Carl Blandina, Milford; 20.
Peter Cirilli, Farmington; 21. Dylan Izzo, Westport
Standings after ten events: 1. DiMatteo, 465; 2. Kusheba, 398; 3. Talman,
336; 4. Garbo, 328; 5. Vitellil, 320; 6. Rogers, 306; 7. Field, 304; 8.
Izzo, 302; 9. Mucciacciaro, 298; 10. Belsito, 286

X-Cars (20-laps): 1. Curtis D’Addario, Columbia; 2. Chris Garside,
Waterford; 3. Mike Marvin, Colchester; 4. Jeremy Bourbeau, Taftville; 5.
Brad Voglesong, Middletown; 6. Scott Limkemann, East Lyme; 7. Shawn Stula,
Colchester; 8. Wayne Shifflett, Preston; 9. Pete Zaikarite, Niantic; 10.
Lawrence Loomis, Plainfield; 11. John Bowes, Willington; 12. Chris Ivory,
Oakdale; 13. Onie Pierce, Norwich; 14. Christopher Lee, Uncasville; 15.
Richard Mollo, Seymour; 16. Chuck McDonald, Groton; 17. Kim Bickford,
Griswold; 18. Kristie Hamel, Jewett City; 19. Patrick Williams, Middletown
Saturday Showdown Series standings (top-five): 1. Marvin, 36; 2.
Williams, 34; 3. Garside, 28; 4. Bourbeau, 27; 5. Thomas, 24

Brian Darling