RGeeProductions
10-03-2011, 01:54 PM
Rocco, Thomas, Stone and Christian claim NWAAS wins; Garbo and Morin also
winners
Rocco unofficially captures second consecutive SK Modified® title
Waterford, CT (October 1, 2011) – Waterford Speedbowl closed its Saturday
night racing season with a 6-division program Saturday evening. Picking
up victories on the night in NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing
included Keith Rocco of Wallingford, who won his 12th race of the year in
the SK Modifieds®. With the win, Rocco unofficially wrapped up his second
consecutive division title. Groton drivers Bruce Thomas Jr. claimed his
fifth win in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models and Ray Christian took
his first of the year in the Mini Stocks. Al Stone III of New Haven won
his second consecutive Street Stock feature, his seventh on the year.
Dave Garbo Jr. won another Legends Cars feature, while it was Farmington
native Dana Dimatteo adding the Saturday series championship to his Wild
‘n Wacky Wednesday series crown to unofficially sweep the division titles.
Ken Morin Jr. of Old Saybrook won the night’s Bandolero feature and
Taylor Martin of Windham, NH wrapped up the division’s Saturday series
championship. The remaining championships will be settled next weekend as
the track hosts its Finale Weekend for racing October 7th - 9th.
Glenn Pressel used his pole starting position to take the lead when the
35-lap SK Modified® feature got underway. Only one lap could be completed
before Joe Perry slid through the infield down the front chute, bringing
the race to caution.
When racing resumed Pressel again took off into the lead over Diego
Monahan. Shawn Solomito moved to third, while Jeff Pearl took fourth
position and Keith Rocco moved to fifth. Rocco became the aggressor
early, jumping to Pearl’s outside on lap-5 for fourth. After two laps
battling for the spot he moved ahead, racing up Solomito’s outside to
challenge for third. Rocco secured that spot dropping Solomito back to
fourth. Pearl followed suit to Solomito’s outside however before a pass
could be completed caution waved on lap-9 after Joe Gada had not heeded
the black flag.
Pressel powered to the lead when the green returned, with Rocco coming to
second position by Monahan’s inside. Pearl took third from Monahan as he
and Solomito slid back in the outside lane. Tyler Chadwick and Rob
Janovic Jr. teamed up to move into contention inside the top-five as the
race moved to lap-12. A battle between Monahan and Mark Bakaj ended when
Monahan spun in turn two, collecting Randy Churchill to return the race
under the yellow flag on lap-14.
Pressel had Rocco to his outside for the next restart but was up to the
task, gaining the lead into turn one. Rocco had to fight off Pearl before
tucking into second position. Pearl regrouped from third place, however
had Chadwick hounding him for that spot before long. Chadwick looked
strong as he powered outside Pearl for third, however couldn’t complete
the move before caution on lap-19 had Bob Georgiades spun backwards off
the apron of the track at the end of the front chute.
Pressel was again pitted against Rocco for a restart, getting a good one
to hold the lead into turn one. Rocco tucked into second with Pearl
third. Rocco spent three laps trailing Pressel before wrestling the lead
away with an inside move in turn four on lap-22. Rocco pressed into the
lead while Pearl filled the gap under Pressel to take second position.
Janovic snatched third away as the field raced in tight formation,
resulting with Frank Mucciacciaro spinning in turn three for the final
caution on lap-24.
Rocco nailed the final restart over Pearl to take command. Pearl lost
second to Janovic, then Chadwick moved to Pearl’s inside to claim third.
Kyle James was fifth and the top-five singled out for the stretch run to
the checkered flag. Janovic and Chadwick stayed in contention behind
Rocco but were unable to find racing room for a bid to win. Rocco took
his 12th win of the year, unofficially clinching his second consecutive
championship. Chadwick valiantly tried to find the momentum over the
final two laps to Janovic’s outside to claim second. That fell short and
the top-five remained in order at the finish.
Thomas took the lead on lap-1 in the 30-lap Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late
Model feature, coming from the second starting position past pole-sitter
Joe Curioso. Thomas had to survive an array of caution periods on the way
to his fifth win of the year. Multiple cautions came out over the first
10-laps of the race, including one which eliminated points contender Rich
Staskowski after he was involved in a wreck in turn four. The most
serious incident occurred on a lap-10 restart when Mike Sweeney and John
Materas went hard into the turn three wall, drawing the red flag.
Thomas was trying to cut into Jeff Smith’s point cushion, however had the
point leader lined up behind him over the remainder of the race. While
Smith was unable to challenge Thomas for the win, he was able to race
unscathed in second position for the majority of the event.
The final caution came out as Anthony Flannery gave chase to Curioso for
third, spinning in turns three and four to relinquish his top-five run.
Keith Rocco and Jason Palmer then raced side-by-side for several laps
battling for fourth, with Rocco able to take the spot away on lap-28. Up
front Thomas, Smith and Curioso cruised to the podium finishing positions.
Rocco was fourth, while Palmer dropped off the pace on the final lap,
bumping Jeff Paul to fifth.
A very entertaining 25-lap Street Stock feature had Jack Aquilina pacing
the field over the first half of the race. He moved out to the lead over
Joe Arena, who eventually got stuck in the outside lane allowing Tom Silva
to race into second on lap-6. Brandon Plemons found room to Arena’s
inside to claim third on lap-8, with Stone and Ed Puleo rising to the
top-five around Arena by lap-10. The yellow flag waved as Silva’s car was
dragging parts necessitating the stoppage.
Aquilina continued his lead once racing resumed. Stone looked to Plemons’
inside for second while Ed Puleo and Dave Trudeau made up the top-five as
the race reached halfway. Aquilina was under fire from both Stone and
Plemons on lap-15. Plemons drove around Aquilina’s outside into the lead
through turns one and two, while Stone looked to Aquilina’s inside off
turn two as they raced back to lap-16. After Stone was clear into second,
Puleo was to Aquilina’s inside to take over third.
Once in open track Stone was able to track down and pull to Plemons’
outside, taking the lead with a power move on lap-18. A lap later Bill
McNeil spun across the track out of turn two to bring the race to caution
for a final time.
The top three of Stone, Plemons and Puleo quickly singled out after the
final restart. They held their position over the remaining laps to the
checkered flag. Chris Meyer took fourth over the final run while Trudeau
held down fifth.
The 25-lap Mini Stock feature ran without caution for the second
consecutive week however there was no shortage of side-by-side action
throughout their feature. Doug Curry took the lead at the drop of the
green flag but as the field reached the back chute Jeffrey Cembruch raced
his way under Curry to be scored as the leader of lap-1.
Christian was already moving up, positioning himself behind Cembruch to
take second from Curry, then find room to Cembruch’s inside out of turn
four as they raced to lap-2. Christian took the lead and moved out to a
comfortable advantage, bringing Nick Pappacoda in his tracks to second
place. Point leader Glenn Colvin was on the move early, racing through
the top-five into third position as the race reached lap-5. Further back
in the pack Ian Brew and Ken Cassidy Jr. were cutting through early
traffic to emerge at the back half of the top-ten.
Up front the top three raced single file until Colvin caught and passed
Pappacoda for second on lap-9. Colvin sat eight cars behind the leader
when he took over second, spending the second half of the
green-to-checkered flag run trying to reel in the leader. Cassidy
continued a steady pace towards the front to keep hopes of defending his
division championship from a year ago alive.
Although Colvin was able to cut the difference to Christian in half, it
was Christian who went unchallenged to his first win of the year to end a
season of heartache. Colvin padded his lead in the championship standings
over Cassidy by finishing second. Chris Williams ran strong to claim
third while Pappacoda and Phil Evans completed the top-five. Cassidy was
sixth.
(continued)
winners
Rocco unofficially captures second consecutive SK Modified® title
Waterford, CT (October 1, 2011) – Waterford Speedbowl closed its Saturday
night racing season with a 6-division program Saturday evening. Picking
up victories on the night in NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing
included Keith Rocco of Wallingford, who won his 12th race of the year in
the SK Modifieds®. With the win, Rocco unofficially wrapped up his second
consecutive division title. Groton drivers Bruce Thomas Jr. claimed his
fifth win in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models and Ray Christian took
his first of the year in the Mini Stocks. Al Stone III of New Haven won
his second consecutive Street Stock feature, his seventh on the year.
Dave Garbo Jr. won another Legends Cars feature, while it was Farmington
native Dana Dimatteo adding the Saturday series championship to his Wild
‘n Wacky Wednesday series crown to unofficially sweep the division titles.
Ken Morin Jr. of Old Saybrook won the night’s Bandolero feature and
Taylor Martin of Windham, NH wrapped up the division’s Saturday series
championship. The remaining championships will be settled next weekend as
the track hosts its Finale Weekend for racing October 7th - 9th.
Glenn Pressel used his pole starting position to take the lead when the
35-lap SK Modified® feature got underway. Only one lap could be completed
before Joe Perry slid through the infield down the front chute, bringing
the race to caution.
When racing resumed Pressel again took off into the lead over Diego
Monahan. Shawn Solomito moved to third, while Jeff Pearl took fourth
position and Keith Rocco moved to fifth. Rocco became the aggressor
early, jumping to Pearl’s outside on lap-5 for fourth. After two laps
battling for the spot he moved ahead, racing up Solomito’s outside to
challenge for third. Rocco secured that spot dropping Solomito back to
fourth. Pearl followed suit to Solomito’s outside however before a pass
could be completed caution waved on lap-9 after Joe Gada had not heeded
the black flag.
Pressel powered to the lead when the green returned, with Rocco coming to
second position by Monahan’s inside. Pearl took third from Monahan as he
and Solomito slid back in the outside lane. Tyler Chadwick and Rob
Janovic Jr. teamed up to move into contention inside the top-five as the
race moved to lap-12. A battle between Monahan and Mark Bakaj ended when
Monahan spun in turn two, collecting Randy Churchill to return the race
under the yellow flag on lap-14.
Pressel had Rocco to his outside for the next restart but was up to the
task, gaining the lead into turn one. Rocco had to fight off Pearl before
tucking into second position. Pearl regrouped from third place, however
had Chadwick hounding him for that spot before long. Chadwick looked
strong as he powered outside Pearl for third, however couldn’t complete
the move before caution on lap-19 had Bob Georgiades spun backwards off
the apron of the track at the end of the front chute.
Pressel was again pitted against Rocco for a restart, getting a good one
to hold the lead into turn one. Rocco tucked into second with Pearl
third. Rocco spent three laps trailing Pressel before wrestling the lead
away with an inside move in turn four on lap-22. Rocco pressed into the
lead while Pearl filled the gap under Pressel to take second position.
Janovic snatched third away as the field raced in tight formation,
resulting with Frank Mucciacciaro spinning in turn three for the final
caution on lap-24.
Rocco nailed the final restart over Pearl to take command. Pearl lost
second to Janovic, then Chadwick moved to Pearl’s inside to claim third.
Kyle James was fifth and the top-five singled out for the stretch run to
the checkered flag. Janovic and Chadwick stayed in contention behind
Rocco but were unable to find racing room for a bid to win. Rocco took
his 12th win of the year, unofficially clinching his second consecutive
championship. Chadwick valiantly tried to find the momentum over the
final two laps to Janovic’s outside to claim second. That fell short and
the top-five remained in order at the finish.
Thomas took the lead on lap-1 in the 30-lap Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late
Model feature, coming from the second starting position past pole-sitter
Joe Curioso. Thomas had to survive an array of caution periods on the way
to his fifth win of the year. Multiple cautions came out over the first
10-laps of the race, including one which eliminated points contender Rich
Staskowski after he was involved in a wreck in turn four. The most
serious incident occurred on a lap-10 restart when Mike Sweeney and John
Materas went hard into the turn three wall, drawing the red flag.
Thomas was trying to cut into Jeff Smith’s point cushion, however had the
point leader lined up behind him over the remainder of the race. While
Smith was unable to challenge Thomas for the win, he was able to race
unscathed in second position for the majority of the event.
The final caution came out as Anthony Flannery gave chase to Curioso for
third, spinning in turns three and four to relinquish his top-five run.
Keith Rocco and Jason Palmer then raced side-by-side for several laps
battling for fourth, with Rocco able to take the spot away on lap-28. Up
front Thomas, Smith and Curioso cruised to the podium finishing positions.
Rocco was fourth, while Palmer dropped off the pace on the final lap,
bumping Jeff Paul to fifth.
A very entertaining 25-lap Street Stock feature had Jack Aquilina pacing
the field over the first half of the race. He moved out to the lead over
Joe Arena, who eventually got stuck in the outside lane allowing Tom Silva
to race into second on lap-6. Brandon Plemons found room to Arena’s
inside to claim third on lap-8, with Stone and Ed Puleo rising to the
top-five around Arena by lap-10. The yellow flag waved as Silva’s car was
dragging parts necessitating the stoppage.
Aquilina continued his lead once racing resumed. Stone looked to Plemons’
inside for second while Ed Puleo and Dave Trudeau made up the top-five as
the race reached halfway. Aquilina was under fire from both Stone and
Plemons on lap-15. Plemons drove around Aquilina’s outside into the lead
through turns one and two, while Stone looked to Aquilina’s inside off
turn two as they raced back to lap-16. After Stone was clear into second,
Puleo was to Aquilina’s inside to take over third.
Once in open track Stone was able to track down and pull to Plemons’
outside, taking the lead with a power move on lap-18. A lap later Bill
McNeil spun across the track out of turn two to bring the race to caution
for a final time.
The top three of Stone, Plemons and Puleo quickly singled out after the
final restart. They held their position over the remaining laps to the
checkered flag. Chris Meyer took fourth over the final run while Trudeau
held down fifth.
The 25-lap Mini Stock feature ran without caution for the second
consecutive week however there was no shortage of side-by-side action
throughout their feature. Doug Curry took the lead at the drop of the
green flag but as the field reached the back chute Jeffrey Cembruch raced
his way under Curry to be scored as the leader of lap-1.
Christian was already moving up, positioning himself behind Cembruch to
take second from Curry, then find room to Cembruch’s inside out of turn
four as they raced to lap-2. Christian took the lead and moved out to a
comfortable advantage, bringing Nick Pappacoda in his tracks to second
place. Point leader Glenn Colvin was on the move early, racing through
the top-five into third position as the race reached lap-5. Further back
in the pack Ian Brew and Ken Cassidy Jr. were cutting through early
traffic to emerge at the back half of the top-ten.
Up front the top three raced single file until Colvin caught and passed
Pappacoda for second on lap-9. Colvin sat eight cars behind the leader
when he took over second, spending the second half of the
green-to-checkered flag run trying to reel in the leader. Cassidy
continued a steady pace towards the front to keep hopes of defending his
division championship from a year ago alive.
Although Colvin was able to cut the difference to Christian in half, it
was Christian who went unchallenged to his first win of the year to end a
season of heartache. Colvin padded his lead in the championship standings
over Cassidy by finishing second. Chris Williams ran strong to claim
third while Pappacoda and Phil Evans completed the top-five. Cassidy was
sixth.
(continued)