RGeeProductions
10-10-2011, 03:08 PM
Rocco doubles up in SK Mods and Late Models;
Stone, Colvin, French win NWAAS features
Smith, Puleo, Colvin, French win track championships
Waterford Speedbowl closed out its 2011
racing season on Sunday, running the final six feature events as part of
Finale Weekend. Scoring wins in 50-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
races were Keith Rocco of Wallingford who took down the win in both the SK
Modified® feature and Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model feature, Al Stone
of New Haven in the Street Stocks and Glenn Colvin of Clinton in the Mini
Stocks. Paul French of Andover won the 25-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American
Series SK Light Modified feature and Dave Garbo Jr. of Stonington won the
day’s 25-lap Legends Cars feature.
Claiming track championships from Sunday’s results included Colvin and
French in the SK Light Modifieds and Mini Stocks, respectively. Colvin’s
championship was his second in the division, joining his 2004 division
title. Jeff Smith of Old Lyme was the Bob Valenti Auto Mall champion and
Ed Puleo of Branford was the Street Stock division champion. Smith, Puleo
and French clinched their first titles at the track.
The 50-lap SK Modified® was brought to the green flag by Frank
Mucciacciaro and Glenn Pressel. The pair battled side-by-side for control
of the race for the first lap and a half before Muccicciaro came away with
the lead on lap-2, bringing Randy Churchill to second place by Pressel on
lap-3. Shawn Solomito and Jeff Pearl also made their way by Pressel who
slipped back in the outside lane. Tyler Chadwick raced to fifth position
and Rocco up to sixth and the top-six singled out.
Rocco immediately went to work outside Chadwick, taking fifth place on
lap-5. He then went outside Pearl a lap later, clearing fourth position
and was outside Solomito for third on lap-7. Chadwick jumped to Pearl’s
outside to claim fifth. Rocco was clear of Solomito and continued a march
towards the front racing to Churchill’s outside on lap-8, moving to
second. Caution waved on lap-10 when Todd Owen made hard contact in the
turn one wall. Jeff Pearl also spun across turn two and the field
regrouped.
Rocco lined up to Mucciacciaro’s outside for the restart, taking command
when the race went back to green. Caution was back out on lap-14 when
Pressel spun exiting turn two down the back chute. The running order
following the caution period shuffled out as Rocco, Chadwick, Rob Janovic,
Nichole Morgillo and Mark Bakaj making up the early top-five. Caution was
back out over the speedway when both Joe Perry and Chris Correll spun in
turn one on lap-18. When racing returned, only one more lap was completed
before a multi-car incident on lap-19 stacked up several cars in the back
half of the field in turn four.
Up front the order remained unchanged once racing picked up back up.
Chadwick was testing the grooves to the high and low side of Rocco but did
not pose an immediate threat. Kyle James then Solomito spun in tandem off
turn two on lap-24 to keep the racing action from an extended run.
Chadwick was getting pressure from Janovic for second position when racing
went back under the green flag. Ryan Preece was up to fifth position
after starting deep in the field, spending four laps Morgillo’s tail
before moving to her inside for fourth position on lap-29. Chadwick had
finally fought off Janovic for second when caution was back out for a two
car spin in turn two.
Rocco continued to set the pace over each restart. Chadwick ducked in line
in second position following the lap-29 restart, with Preece looking to
Janovic’s outside for third position momentarily. He couldn’t make a move
stick and dropped back to Janovic’s rear bumper. The final caution waved
on lap-34 when Perry spun again, this time on the back chute.
Rocco again got the jump over Chadwick to turn one. Janovic was again
challenging to Chadwick’s inside after the restart while Preece moved into
fourth place ahead of Morgillo. Pearl and Bakaj battled side-by-side for
sixth. On lap-36 Chadwick had again wrestled his second place position
from Janovic, while Preece was looking to Janovic’s outside on lap-37.
There was nothing doing for Preece and the top-five stretched out single
file. The race would finish without further delay and the top-five came
across the finish line in order, while Pearl won the battle for sixth.
The win was Rocco’s 13th of the year, a record for number of wins in the
division in a season.
The 50-lap Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model feature had Anthony Flannery
showing the way from his pole starting position. He opened up a sizeable
lead over the first twenty laps of the race. Behind Flannery, Jason
Palmer held second position and pulled out over a battle for third between
Joe Curioso and Dennis Botticello. The pair swapped that position twice
before Curioso moved past on lap-11. They ran in order through lap-22
when Beryl Herman spun in turn two to bring out the first caution period.
Under caution, championship contenders Jeff Smith and Bruce Thomas Jr.
ducked to the pits for adjustments. Rocco joined them in the pits.
Heartbreak for Flannery set in as, while running pace laps under caution,
his car caught fire and came to rest in turn three, drawing the red flag.
Flannery’s afternoon was finished after running strong early.
The restart had Palmer and Curioso on the front row, with Palmer leading
the field back to turn one when things got back underway. The second
caution waved when Joe Mullen and Dillon Moltz spun in turn two on lap-26,
narrowly missing collecting Smith in the process.
Rocco made the heads up move following the ensuing restart. He moved to
second when he made a three-wide move under a Curioso-Botticello battle
for second position behind Palmer. Thomas used the hole made by Rocco to
move to third place on lap-29. The final yellow flag was brought out on
lap-32 when Moltz spun again in turn two.
Things heated up for the lead after the next restart. Rocco was to
Palmer’s outside, however Palmer was able to hold his line to keep the
lead. Rocco and Thomas both tested the water in the outside lane over the
next few circuits, staying tight behind Palmer.
On lap-37 Rocco made the outside bid, moving off Palmer’s right rear
through turns one and two. Thomas filled the gap on the inside below
Rocco, then dove under Palmer exiting turn two down the backstretch.
Thomas emerged with the lead in turn three and Rocco also got around
Palmer to line up behind Thomas in second. They raced nose to tail until
lap-43 when Rocco found room to Thomas’ inside down the front chute into
turn one. Rocco completed the pass, going on to his first division win at
the track. Thomas finished second while Palmer took third. Jeff Smith
used a fourth place finish to sew up his first career track championship
by 10-points over Thomas at the final tally.
The 50-lap Street Stock race saw Tommy Silva lead lap-1, however he turned
the race lead over to Josh Galvin who raced his way by in the outside lane
on lap-10. Stone was behind Galvin, racing by Silva’s outside to second
place on lap-11. The lead changed hands again when Stone continued to use
the outside lane to fast track his way by Galvin to take command.
Once in the lead, Stone had to master three restarts over the middle
portion of the race. The final waved on lap-26. Stone beat out Corey
Hutchings to turn one on the final restart to move back into the lead.
Josh Wood found room under Hutchings to move into second position on
lap-28. Behind them Brandon Plemons and Ed Puleo were locked in a battle
for fourth, eventually taken by Plemons.
The final stretch of racing had Stone on cruise-control out front, Wood
maintaining second, Hutchings lined up third with Plemons tracking down
the pair from fourth. Puleo remained comfortably in fifth. Plemons
slipped by Hutchings’ inside on lap-43, and the top five raced through to
the checkered flag. The win was Stone’s eighth on the year, however
Puleo’s fifth place finish enabled him to capture his first championship
at the track by 12-points over Stone.
The 50-lapper for the Mini Stocks had Sean Caron showing the way before
Nick Pappacoda took over from Caron on lap-16. Caron remained second,
while Charles Canfield, Jeffrey Cembruch and Ken Cassidy Jr. made up the
top-five. Caution waved for the first time on lap-20 when Christina
Kellerman spun in turn one to slow some great racing.
Caron was able to battle his way back to lead the next three laps after
the restart while outside Pappacoda. Pappacoda remained focused and
retook the lead on lap-24 and Canfield, Cassidy and Colvin each slipped by
Caron. Cassidy took second on lap-29 and two laps later raced by
Pappacoda into the lead on lap-31.
Following a lap-40 restart, Cassidy led Pappacoda however Colvin and Mark
Panaroni were asserting themselves into the mix. Pappacoda’s fine run
ended on lap-46 when he spun from second position in turn two.
After a final restart on lap-47, Panaroni charged up the outside of
Cassidy to take control. Panaroni led the sprint through the checkered
flag, while Colvin was able to sneak ahead of Cassidy with two laps to go.
That proved a pivotal move as Panaroni’s car failed to meet spec with an
illegal header on his machine. That gave the win to Colvin, his third of
the year. Canfield ended up in second, while Cassidy finished third. The
win solidified Colvin’s lead in the points, lifting him to his second
division title. Colvin also won the division in 2004.
(continued)
Stone, Colvin, French win NWAAS features
Smith, Puleo, Colvin, French win track championships
Waterford Speedbowl closed out its 2011
racing season on Sunday, running the final six feature events as part of
Finale Weekend. Scoring wins in 50-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
races were Keith Rocco of Wallingford who took down the win in both the SK
Modified® feature and Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model feature, Al Stone
of New Haven in the Street Stocks and Glenn Colvin of Clinton in the Mini
Stocks. Paul French of Andover won the 25-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American
Series SK Light Modified feature and Dave Garbo Jr. of Stonington won the
day’s 25-lap Legends Cars feature.
Claiming track championships from Sunday’s results included Colvin and
French in the SK Light Modifieds and Mini Stocks, respectively. Colvin’s
championship was his second in the division, joining his 2004 division
title. Jeff Smith of Old Lyme was the Bob Valenti Auto Mall champion and
Ed Puleo of Branford was the Street Stock division champion. Smith, Puleo
and French clinched their first titles at the track.
The 50-lap SK Modified® was brought to the green flag by Frank
Mucciacciaro and Glenn Pressel. The pair battled side-by-side for control
of the race for the first lap and a half before Muccicciaro came away with
the lead on lap-2, bringing Randy Churchill to second place by Pressel on
lap-3. Shawn Solomito and Jeff Pearl also made their way by Pressel who
slipped back in the outside lane. Tyler Chadwick raced to fifth position
and Rocco up to sixth and the top-six singled out.
Rocco immediately went to work outside Chadwick, taking fifth place on
lap-5. He then went outside Pearl a lap later, clearing fourth position
and was outside Solomito for third on lap-7. Chadwick jumped to Pearl’s
outside to claim fifth. Rocco was clear of Solomito and continued a march
towards the front racing to Churchill’s outside on lap-8, moving to
second. Caution waved on lap-10 when Todd Owen made hard contact in the
turn one wall. Jeff Pearl also spun across turn two and the field
regrouped.
Rocco lined up to Mucciacciaro’s outside for the restart, taking command
when the race went back to green. Caution was back out on lap-14 when
Pressel spun exiting turn two down the back chute. The running order
following the caution period shuffled out as Rocco, Chadwick, Rob Janovic,
Nichole Morgillo and Mark Bakaj making up the early top-five. Caution was
back out over the speedway when both Joe Perry and Chris Correll spun in
turn one on lap-18. When racing returned, only one more lap was completed
before a multi-car incident on lap-19 stacked up several cars in the back
half of the field in turn four.
Up front the order remained unchanged once racing picked up back up.
Chadwick was testing the grooves to the high and low side of Rocco but did
not pose an immediate threat. Kyle James then Solomito spun in tandem off
turn two on lap-24 to keep the racing action from an extended run.
Chadwick was getting pressure from Janovic for second position when racing
went back under the green flag. Ryan Preece was up to fifth position
after starting deep in the field, spending four laps Morgillo’s tail
before moving to her inside for fourth position on lap-29. Chadwick had
finally fought off Janovic for second when caution was back out for a two
car spin in turn two.
Rocco continued to set the pace over each restart. Chadwick ducked in line
in second position following the lap-29 restart, with Preece looking to
Janovic’s outside for third position momentarily. He couldn’t make a move
stick and dropped back to Janovic’s rear bumper. The final caution waved
on lap-34 when Perry spun again, this time on the back chute.
Rocco again got the jump over Chadwick to turn one. Janovic was again
challenging to Chadwick’s inside after the restart while Preece moved into
fourth place ahead of Morgillo. Pearl and Bakaj battled side-by-side for
sixth. On lap-36 Chadwick had again wrestled his second place position
from Janovic, while Preece was looking to Janovic’s outside on lap-37.
There was nothing doing for Preece and the top-five stretched out single
file. The race would finish without further delay and the top-five came
across the finish line in order, while Pearl won the battle for sixth.
The win was Rocco’s 13th of the year, a record for number of wins in the
division in a season.
The 50-lap Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model feature had Anthony Flannery
showing the way from his pole starting position. He opened up a sizeable
lead over the first twenty laps of the race. Behind Flannery, Jason
Palmer held second position and pulled out over a battle for third between
Joe Curioso and Dennis Botticello. The pair swapped that position twice
before Curioso moved past on lap-11. They ran in order through lap-22
when Beryl Herman spun in turn two to bring out the first caution period.
Under caution, championship contenders Jeff Smith and Bruce Thomas Jr.
ducked to the pits for adjustments. Rocco joined them in the pits.
Heartbreak for Flannery set in as, while running pace laps under caution,
his car caught fire and came to rest in turn three, drawing the red flag.
Flannery’s afternoon was finished after running strong early.
The restart had Palmer and Curioso on the front row, with Palmer leading
the field back to turn one when things got back underway. The second
caution waved when Joe Mullen and Dillon Moltz spun in turn two on lap-26,
narrowly missing collecting Smith in the process.
Rocco made the heads up move following the ensuing restart. He moved to
second when he made a three-wide move under a Curioso-Botticello battle
for second position behind Palmer. Thomas used the hole made by Rocco to
move to third place on lap-29. The final yellow flag was brought out on
lap-32 when Moltz spun again in turn two.
Things heated up for the lead after the next restart. Rocco was to
Palmer’s outside, however Palmer was able to hold his line to keep the
lead. Rocco and Thomas both tested the water in the outside lane over the
next few circuits, staying tight behind Palmer.
On lap-37 Rocco made the outside bid, moving off Palmer’s right rear
through turns one and two. Thomas filled the gap on the inside below
Rocco, then dove under Palmer exiting turn two down the backstretch.
Thomas emerged with the lead in turn three and Rocco also got around
Palmer to line up behind Thomas in second. They raced nose to tail until
lap-43 when Rocco found room to Thomas’ inside down the front chute into
turn one. Rocco completed the pass, going on to his first division win at
the track. Thomas finished second while Palmer took third. Jeff Smith
used a fourth place finish to sew up his first career track championship
by 10-points over Thomas at the final tally.
The 50-lap Street Stock race saw Tommy Silva lead lap-1, however he turned
the race lead over to Josh Galvin who raced his way by in the outside lane
on lap-10. Stone was behind Galvin, racing by Silva’s outside to second
place on lap-11. The lead changed hands again when Stone continued to use
the outside lane to fast track his way by Galvin to take command.
Once in the lead, Stone had to master three restarts over the middle
portion of the race. The final waved on lap-26. Stone beat out Corey
Hutchings to turn one on the final restart to move back into the lead.
Josh Wood found room under Hutchings to move into second position on
lap-28. Behind them Brandon Plemons and Ed Puleo were locked in a battle
for fourth, eventually taken by Plemons.
The final stretch of racing had Stone on cruise-control out front, Wood
maintaining second, Hutchings lined up third with Plemons tracking down
the pair from fourth. Puleo remained comfortably in fifth. Plemons
slipped by Hutchings’ inside on lap-43, and the top five raced through to
the checkered flag. The win was Stone’s eighth on the year, however
Puleo’s fifth place finish enabled him to capture his first championship
at the track by 12-points over Stone.
The 50-lapper for the Mini Stocks had Sean Caron showing the way before
Nick Pappacoda took over from Caron on lap-16. Caron remained second,
while Charles Canfield, Jeffrey Cembruch and Ken Cassidy Jr. made up the
top-five. Caution waved for the first time on lap-20 when Christina
Kellerman spun in turn one to slow some great racing.
Caron was able to battle his way back to lead the next three laps after
the restart while outside Pappacoda. Pappacoda remained focused and
retook the lead on lap-24 and Canfield, Cassidy and Colvin each slipped by
Caron. Cassidy took second on lap-29 and two laps later raced by
Pappacoda into the lead on lap-31.
Following a lap-40 restart, Cassidy led Pappacoda however Colvin and Mark
Panaroni were asserting themselves into the mix. Pappacoda’s fine run
ended on lap-46 when he spun from second position in turn two.
After a final restart on lap-47, Panaroni charged up the outside of
Cassidy to take control. Panaroni led the sprint through the checkered
flag, while Colvin was able to sneak ahead of Cassidy with two laps to go.
That proved a pivotal move as Panaroni’s car failed to meet spec with an
illegal header on his machine. That gave the win to Colvin, his third of
the year. Canfield ended up in second, while Cassidy finished third. The
win solidified Colvin’s lead in the points, lifting him to his second
division title. Colvin also won the division in 2004.
(continued)