RGeeProductions
04-15-2012, 11:11 PM
Waterford Speedbowl returned to action
Saturday evening with another round of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
racing, treating to fans in attendance to a quickly paced and fiercely
competed event. Scoring dramatic wins included Keith Rocco of Meriden,
who rallied late in the 35-lap SK Modified® feature to come out with his
second win of the year and Ken Cassidy Jr. who won his third straight Mini
Stock feature to begin the season. Both used moves in the final laps to
score wins. Tyler Jackson of Milford picked up his first career win in
the SK Light Modified race and Chris Meyer of North Franklin found Victory
Lane in the Street Stock feature. In Saturday Showdown Series action, Dan
Butler of Waterford won the Super X-Car feature race and Scott Limkemann
of East Lyme scored the win in the accompanying X-Car event.
The 35-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified® feature got
underway with Tom Abele Jr. rocketing into the race lead over Nichole
Morgillo when the green flag unfurled. Tyler Chadwick raced inside
Morgillo, taking second position as the field thundered down the back
chute on the opening lap. Ed Puleo settled into fourth position and the
top cars singled out and clicked off some quick laps.
By lap-7, the top four remained unchanged with Diego Monahan racing to
fifth. Action further back had Keith Rocco looking for racing room at the
back half of the top-ten, locked in an entertaining battle with Rob
Janovic Jr. Out front, Abele’s lead grew to over a half straightaway
ahead of Chadwick. Things heated up on lap-11 when Keith Rocco finally
wheeled alongside Janovic for eighth position, clearing him and setting
sights on his twin brother Jeff Rocco. Keith got the upper hand on the
battle for seventh place on lap-13.
Monahan pulled out of line next, setting up Puleo to make an inside move
off turn four to take over fourth position in turn one on lap-14. A few
cars back, Keith Rocco was back on the outside groove racing alongside
Jeff Pearl for sixth. After a lap he had the position and was ready to
attack Puleo for fifth. Just behind, Janovic tried to fill a gap under
Jeff Rocco in turn three however the two made contact, resulting in Jeff
Rocco spinning to bring out the first caution flag of the event on lap-15.
On the restart, Abele was back out in front of Chadwick and Monahan
successfully made the move to third place. Morgillo dropped to fourth
position, and Keith Rocco was up to the fifth position ahead of Puleo.
The new running order settled in for another long stretch of green flag
racing, during which Morgillo and Keith Rocco put on a spirited battle for
fourth position. Morgillo held the spot which Rocco was valiantly trying
to pry away. He looked high on several laps only to be fended off by
Morgillo. Once Rocco was able to get a wheel alongside on lap-22 the two
raced side by side, closing to Monahan’s rear bumper. After four laps,
Morgillo still held the position and Rocco was forced to tuck back in line
in fifth. Headed into turn three on lap-27, Morgillo shot up the track
enabling Rocco to scoot to her inside, taking the spot on the bottom of
the track.
With the attention on the battles behind the leaders, Abele again rolled
out to a sizable lead over Chadwick, who was riding in second comfortably
over Monahan. Once clear of Morgillo, Rocco pulled up to Monahan for
third, racing to his outside on lap-29. Rocco cleared Monahan for third,
leaving him to battle Morgillo. Monahan and Morgillo made slight contact
entering turn one on lap-30, crossing up Monahan. He went for a slide
through the infield, coming to a stop on the apron of turn two to bring
out the final caution flag of the race. During the caution, Morgillo was
penalized for over-aggressive driving, resuming from the rear.
Abele and Chadwick lined up on the front row one final time, with Abele
edging ahead when the field went back to green. Chadwick dug deep,
throwing everything he had the leader’s way in the final five laps. Rocco
filled the hole under Chadwick, who eventually dropped back in the outside
lane. Rocco was clear in second on lap-32 and then sized up Abele. On
lap-33 the outside lane was available and Rocco seized the opportunity,
putting a wheel outside Abele. As the pair came around for the white
flag, Rocco was inching alongside and was outside the leader’s door. On
the final lap, the pair raced even down the back chute and as they entered
turns three and four, slight contact between the two allowed Rocco to
sprint to the checkered flag first. An impressive performance by Abele
fell just short as he finished in second. Janovic took third away from
Chadwick in the final laps, while Pearl finished fifth.
Cassidy was another to use late race heroics to score his third straight
win to start the season in the Mini Stocks. Cassidy positioned himself
among the leaders for the conclusion of their 25-lap feature. Sean Caron
was the third leader of the race by the time he took over command on
lap-3. Cassidy patiently battled his way through the top-five and lined
up third on the race’s final restart on lap-15. Cassidy took over second
to move in behind Caron on lap-20. He pulled outside on lap-21 and the
pair ran side-by-side over the final three laps in a dead heat coming to
the checkered flag. Cassidy beat out Caron by a half-car in a thrilling
finish.
Chris Meyer came out on top of a wild 25-lap Street Stock finish. Several
incidents over the final half of the event saw the top-five exchange hands
multiple times. Norm Root took the early race lead, however Josh Galvin
took control of the race over the middle stages of the race with a move
outside Root following a restart on lap-10. Galvin held the lead over two
additional restarts that brought the race to lap-22. Meyer lined up third
on that restart, which saw Dan Darnstaedt overtake Galvin for the lead.
Meyer got around Galvin before the final caution on lap-23 set up a
restart with Darnstaedt. Meyer distanced himself from the pack in the
outside lane on the restart to get away from the hard-nosed battles behind
and grab the win. Darnstaedt and Galvin completed the top-three.
Jackson took down his first career Speedbowl win in the 25-lap SK Light
Modified feature. Jackson ran strong in second position for the first
half of the race, led by Chris Correll. The event ran caution free
through the halfway point when, on lap-13, Correll’s car began smoking
heavily and dropping oil on the speedway. Caution came out to remove the
leader from the track, handing the lead to Jackson. Jackson had to hold
off a hard charging Shayne Prucker on the race’s only restart, then hit
his marks over the remaining laps to nail the victory. Prucker remained
on Jackson’s tail to the finish with both racing hard over the final laps.
Paul French finished third.
The 20-lap Saturday Showdown Series event for the Super X-Cars had Frank
Alessio out to the early race lead. Butler chased Alessio from the
beginning, staying with the leader as they pulled ahead of a battle for
position among most of the field. Two cautions for spins slowed the early
portion of the race, setting up a lap-9 restart which gave Butler the
opportunity to pull ahead of Alessio. Butler used the outside lane
following the restart to lead lap-10. From there, Butler didn’t budge
over three additional caution periods and restart attempts with Alessio.
Alessio could not find a way back around, giving Butler the win. Alessio
finished second, with Peter Pollard finishing third.
The X-Car race belong to Limkemann from the drop of the green flag. He
moved out to the early lead and was never seriously threatened during
their 20-lap Saturday Showdown Series feature. One caution slowed the
field on lap-2 before the field made quick work of the race. Limkemann
proved battle tested against lapped traffic, masterfully working the
slower cars to maintain his advantage. Wayne Shifflett chased Limkemann
much of the way, but could not muster a challenge. Randy Johnston
finished third.
The Speedbowl returns to action next Saturday night, April 21 for another
six-division NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event. The Bob Valenti
Auto Mall Late Models return from an off-week and join the SK Modifieds®,
Street Stocks and Mini Stocks. The track's INEX racing divisions, the
Legends Cars and Bandoleros, join the card as well. Details on the 2012
Speedbowl season can be found on www.Speedbowl.com.
(continued)
Saturday evening with another round of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
racing, treating to fans in attendance to a quickly paced and fiercely
competed event. Scoring dramatic wins included Keith Rocco of Meriden,
who rallied late in the 35-lap SK Modified® feature to come out with his
second win of the year and Ken Cassidy Jr. who won his third straight Mini
Stock feature to begin the season. Both used moves in the final laps to
score wins. Tyler Jackson of Milford picked up his first career win in
the SK Light Modified race and Chris Meyer of North Franklin found Victory
Lane in the Street Stock feature. In Saturday Showdown Series action, Dan
Butler of Waterford won the Super X-Car feature race and Scott Limkemann
of East Lyme scored the win in the accompanying X-Car event.
The 35-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified® feature got
underway with Tom Abele Jr. rocketing into the race lead over Nichole
Morgillo when the green flag unfurled. Tyler Chadwick raced inside
Morgillo, taking second position as the field thundered down the back
chute on the opening lap. Ed Puleo settled into fourth position and the
top cars singled out and clicked off some quick laps.
By lap-7, the top four remained unchanged with Diego Monahan racing to
fifth. Action further back had Keith Rocco looking for racing room at the
back half of the top-ten, locked in an entertaining battle with Rob
Janovic Jr. Out front, Abele’s lead grew to over a half straightaway
ahead of Chadwick. Things heated up on lap-11 when Keith Rocco finally
wheeled alongside Janovic for eighth position, clearing him and setting
sights on his twin brother Jeff Rocco. Keith got the upper hand on the
battle for seventh place on lap-13.
Monahan pulled out of line next, setting up Puleo to make an inside move
off turn four to take over fourth position in turn one on lap-14. A few
cars back, Keith Rocco was back on the outside groove racing alongside
Jeff Pearl for sixth. After a lap he had the position and was ready to
attack Puleo for fifth. Just behind, Janovic tried to fill a gap under
Jeff Rocco in turn three however the two made contact, resulting in Jeff
Rocco spinning to bring out the first caution flag of the event on lap-15.
On the restart, Abele was back out in front of Chadwick and Monahan
successfully made the move to third place. Morgillo dropped to fourth
position, and Keith Rocco was up to the fifth position ahead of Puleo.
The new running order settled in for another long stretch of green flag
racing, during which Morgillo and Keith Rocco put on a spirited battle for
fourth position. Morgillo held the spot which Rocco was valiantly trying
to pry away. He looked high on several laps only to be fended off by
Morgillo. Once Rocco was able to get a wheel alongside on lap-22 the two
raced side by side, closing to Monahan’s rear bumper. After four laps,
Morgillo still held the position and Rocco was forced to tuck back in line
in fifth. Headed into turn three on lap-27, Morgillo shot up the track
enabling Rocco to scoot to her inside, taking the spot on the bottom of
the track.
With the attention on the battles behind the leaders, Abele again rolled
out to a sizable lead over Chadwick, who was riding in second comfortably
over Monahan. Once clear of Morgillo, Rocco pulled up to Monahan for
third, racing to his outside on lap-29. Rocco cleared Monahan for third,
leaving him to battle Morgillo. Monahan and Morgillo made slight contact
entering turn one on lap-30, crossing up Monahan. He went for a slide
through the infield, coming to a stop on the apron of turn two to bring
out the final caution flag of the race. During the caution, Morgillo was
penalized for over-aggressive driving, resuming from the rear.
Abele and Chadwick lined up on the front row one final time, with Abele
edging ahead when the field went back to green. Chadwick dug deep,
throwing everything he had the leader’s way in the final five laps. Rocco
filled the hole under Chadwick, who eventually dropped back in the outside
lane. Rocco was clear in second on lap-32 and then sized up Abele. On
lap-33 the outside lane was available and Rocco seized the opportunity,
putting a wheel outside Abele. As the pair came around for the white
flag, Rocco was inching alongside and was outside the leader’s door. On
the final lap, the pair raced even down the back chute and as they entered
turns three and four, slight contact between the two allowed Rocco to
sprint to the checkered flag first. An impressive performance by Abele
fell just short as he finished in second. Janovic took third away from
Chadwick in the final laps, while Pearl finished fifth.
Cassidy was another to use late race heroics to score his third straight
win to start the season in the Mini Stocks. Cassidy positioned himself
among the leaders for the conclusion of their 25-lap feature. Sean Caron
was the third leader of the race by the time he took over command on
lap-3. Cassidy patiently battled his way through the top-five and lined
up third on the race’s final restart on lap-15. Cassidy took over second
to move in behind Caron on lap-20. He pulled outside on lap-21 and the
pair ran side-by-side over the final three laps in a dead heat coming to
the checkered flag. Cassidy beat out Caron by a half-car in a thrilling
finish.
Chris Meyer came out on top of a wild 25-lap Street Stock finish. Several
incidents over the final half of the event saw the top-five exchange hands
multiple times. Norm Root took the early race lead, however Josh Galvin
took control of the race over the middle stages of the race with a move
outside Root following a restart on lap-10. Galvin held the lead over two
additional restarts that brought the race to lap-22. Meyer lined up third
on that restart, which saw Dan Darnstaedt overtake Galvin for the lead.
Meyer got around Galvin before the final caution on lap-23 set up a
restart with Darnstaedt. Meyer distanced himself from the pack in the
outside lane on the restart to get away from the hard-nosed battles behind
and grab the win. Darnstaedt and Galvin completed the top-three.
Jackson took down his first career Speedbowl win in the 25-lap SK Light
Modified feature. Jackson ran strong in second position for the first
half of the race, led by Chris Correll. The event ran caution free
through the halfway point when, on lap-13, Correll’s car began smoking
heavily and dropping oil on the speedway. Caution came out to remove the
leader from the track, handing the lead to Jackson. Jackson had to hold
off a hard charging Shayne Prucker on the race’s only restart, then hit
his marks over the remaining laps to nail the victory. Prucker remained
on Jackson’s tail to the finish with both racing hard over the final laps.
Paul French finished third.
The 20-lap Saturday Showdown Series event for the Super X-Cars had Frank
Alessio out to the early race lead. Butler chased Alessio from the
beginning, staying with the leader as they pulled ahead of a battle for
position among most of the field. Two cautions for spins slowed the early
portion of the race, setting up a lap-9 restart which gave Butler the
opportunity to pull ahead of Alessio. Butler used the outside lane
following the restart to lead lap-10. From there, Butler didn’t budge
over three additional caution periods and restart attempts with Alessio.
Alessio could not find a way back around, giving Butler the win. Alessio
finished second, with Peter Pollard finishing third.
The X-Car race belong to Limkemann from the drop of the green flag. He
moved out to the early lead and was never seriously threatened during
their 20-lap Saturday Showdown Series feature. One caution slowed the
field on lap-2 before the field made quick work of the race. Limkemann
proved battle tested against lapped traffic, masterfully working the
slower cars to maintain his advantage. Wayne Shifflett chased Limkemann
much of the way, but could not muster a challenge. Randy Johnston
finished third.
The Speedbowl returns to action next Saturday night, April 21 for another
six-division NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event. The Bob Valenti
Auto Mall Late Models return from an off-week and join the SK Modifieds®,
Street Stocks and Mini Stocks. The track's INEX racing divisions, the
Legends Cars and Bandoleros, join the card as well. Details on the 2012
Speedbowl season can be found on www.Speedbowl.com.
(continued)