RGeeProductions
07-21-2013, 12:11 PM
Waterford Speedbowl beat an early rain
shower before returning to NASCAR racing on Saturday evening after a
scheduled week off. The track’s INEX racing divisions were vaulted into
the spotlight, landing the Bandolero and Legend Cars race winners a
guaranteed starting spot in a national event for each division. Defending
Speedbowl Legend Cars champion Paul Kusheba of Monroe won a thrilling race
in a photo finish while Anthony Marvin of Colchester won the Bandolero
feature. In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing, Todd Ceravolo of
Gales Ferry continued his solid season by picking up his first victory of
the year in the SK Modifieds®. Al Stone of Durham won his second race of
the year in the Street Stocks while Lisbon’s Ken Cassidy Jr. picked up his
fifth Mini Stock victory. Randy Churchill Jr. of Oakdale rounded out the
night’s winners, scoring his fourth SK Light Modified race honors.
The 35-lap feature race for the SK Modified® division saw the return of a
familiar name to the winner’s circle at the track. Ceravolo, the 1997
track champion, took his first win since the 2010 season after running a
nearly flawless race. He was patient in the opening laps as the running
order settled in with Frank Mucciacciaro taking the race lead from pole
sitter Nichole Morgillo on lap-1. Joe Gada held third behind the top two
with Ceravolo rounding out the top four cars.
With Morgillo tailing Mucciacciaro, Ceravolo pulled out of line and made a
power move under Joe Gada taking third place on lap-5. The first caution
flag came out a lap later when a three-car battle for eighth position
resulted in Adam Gada sliding through the turn four infield kicking up
moisture and debris onto the race surface. Following a false restart
attempt, Morgillo slid into the turn one wall after a second attempt to
restart the race on lap-6 keeping the racing action at bay.
Ceravolo lined up outside of Mucciacciaro on the front row when the race
was able to restart cleanly. He spent two laps on the outside racing hard
for the lead before tucking in line behind Mucciacciaro who momentarily
fended off the challenge. A lap later, Ceravolo dove inside Mucciacciaro
in turn three to lead the way on lap-9. Once clear of Mucciacciaro,
Ceravolo pulled away to a large lead as the race stayed clean and green.
Behind Ceravolo action was red hot as Mucciacciaro held back the advances
of Tyler Chadwick, who took third from Joe Gada on lap-12. Keith Rocco
followed Chadwick to fourth position and the two resumed their torrid
battle for the win the last time the division raced. They joined
Mucciacciaro in a tight three-car battle for second position that endured
for several laps.
As the trio put on a spirited battle Ceravolo continued to pull further
ahead to over a full straightaway. On lap-23 Chadwick finally found
momentum to barrel underneath Mucciacciaro in turn three, bringing Rocco
with him as they advanced to second and third. With a limited number of
laps remaining a caution flag was looking to be the only way to slow
Ceravolo.
Rocco pestered Chadwick until he finally made the move to his inside down
the front chute on lap-27, taking away second. Over the final eight laps
Rocco tried to run down Ceravolo, however the lead was too much as another
yellow flag never came. As Ceravolo coasted to his 22nd career win at the
track in convincing fashion, Rocco wound up second and Chadwick third.
Mucciacciaro finished in fourth and Craig Lutz took home fifth.
Stone won for the 33rd time of his career in the 25-lap Street Stock race.
Once in front he dominated the race which ran without a yellow flag until
just three laps remained. Ryan Waterman moved to second on that restart
and gave Stone his only challenge of the race with a shot to his rear
bumper in turn one of the final lap. Stone hung on and drove away from
Waterman to the checkered flag. Waterman finished second and Phil Evans
put forth a season-best effort to take third.
Cassidy was the third leader of the race in the 25-lap Mini Stock feature.
He battled with the front runners to come through the field as Joe
Liskiewicz led the early going after starting in the pole position.
Liskiewicz showed the way until Garrett Denton took over with an inside
move on lap-6. Cassidy moved to third position then took advantage of a
lap-14 restart to take second position from Liskiewicz. Cassidy used an
inside maneuver to pull even with Denton on the bottom of the track on
lap-18 before powering ahead to lead lap-19. Denton hung tough to
Cassidy’s outside for three laps before Cassidy wore him out and went on
to his fifth win of the season and 48th career victory, the most all-time
in the division. Denton was second and Wayne Burroughs Jr. placed third.
Churchill avoided a big wreck between the two leaders on a lap-4 restart
in the 25-lap SK Light Modified race. The incident saw leader Corey Barry
and second place Glenn Griswold come together sending Griswold’s car hard
into the turn one wall. Churchill inherited the lead after the wreck and
moved out to a big lead as the race went the rest of the way caution-free.
Victoria Bergenty moved to second and tried to run down Churchill, but
came up short. Churchill bolstered his points lead with his fourth
victory of the year. Bergenty finished second and defending champion Paul
French was third.
Kusheba won a nail-biter in a thrilling 50-lap INEX Legend Cars feature.
He led easily over a long green flag run in the race before having to
survive two late caution flags. Dylan Izzo stormed into contention and
used the late caution flags to catch Kusheba. He lined up second for the
the final restart on lap-45 and when the race resumed, the two traded the
lead multiple times over the final five lap sprint to the finish. After
losing the lead to Izzo on lap-48, Kusheba rallied back to lead lap-49
inside of Izzo. The two raced even on the final lap right to the
checkered flag in a finish that had fans on their feet. Kusheba won by
inches over Izzo, .001 seconds, earning a guaranteed starting position in
the 2013 Legend Cars Asphalt Nationals. The event will be held at Lake
Erie Speedway in Pennsylvania and welcomes competitors from across the
country. After the race, an excited Kusheba confirmed he intends to
represent the Speedbowl and compete.
Marvin led the duration of the 20-lap INEX Bandolero race, which was good
for an automatic starting berth in the Asphalt Nationals event for that
class.
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (35-laps): 1. Todd
Ceravolo, Gales Ferry; 2. Keith Rocco, Meriden; 3. Tyler Chadwick,
Ledyard; 4. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., Milford; 5. Craig Lutz, Miller
Place, NY; 6. Joe Gada, Salem; 7. Tom Abele Jr., Norwich; 8. Kyle
James, Ashaway, RI; 9. Ed Puleo, Branford; 10. Rob Janovic Jr.,
Waterford; 11. Ted Christopher, Plainville; 12. Brett Gonyaw, Manchester;
13. Adam Gada, Bozrah; 14. Corey Coates, Ledyard; 15. Wendell Dailey,
Gales Ferry; 16. Tyler Jackson, Milford; 17. Nichole Morgillo,
Wallingford; 18. Diego Monahan, Quaker Hill; 19. Rich Duranti, Quaker
Hill; 20. Jeffrey Gallup, Agawam, MA
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks (25-laps): 1. Al Stone
III, Durham; 2. Ryan Waterman, Danielson; 3. Phil Evans, Uncasville; 4.
Joe Arena, Bristol; 5. Chris Meyer, North Franklin; 6. Josh Galvin,
Franklin; 7. Dwayne Dorr, Ledyard; 8. Corey Hutchings, Salem; 9. Norm
Root Jr., Old Saybrook; 10. Dan Darnstaedt, Durham; 11. Don Spence Jr.,
Oakdale; 12. Brandon Plemons, Uncasville; 13. Monte Gibbs, Higganum
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stocks (25-laps): 1. Ken Cassidy
Jr., Lisbon; 2. Garrett Denton, Hope Valley, RI; 3. Wayne Burroughs Jr.,
Oakdale; 4. Joe Liskiewicz, Taftville; 5. Ray Christian III, Groton; 6.
Bill Leonard, Charlestown, RI; 7. Chris Ivory, Oakdale; 8. Nick
Pappacoda, North Branford; 9. Dale Sherman, Charlestown, RI; 10. Doug
Curry, Groton; 11. Jeffrey Lee, Uncasville; 12. Ian Brew, Wood River
Junction, RI
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Light Modifieds (25-laps): 1. Randy
Churchill, Oakdale; 2. Victoria Bergenty, Plainville; 3. Paul French,
Andover; 4. Chris Ignazio, Colchester; 5. Larry Goss, North Windham; 6.
Alan Benincaso, Westport; 7. Jeff Fialkovich, Shelton; 8. William
Benoit, Milford; 9. Corey Barry, Plainfield; 10. Glenn Griswold, Vernon;
11. Paul Buzel, Trumbull; DNS – Alan Tirrell, North Stonington
INEX Legend Cars (50-laps): 1. Paul Kusheba, Monroe; 2. Dylan Izzo,
Westport; 3. Dana Dimatteo, Farmington; 4. Giovanni Giarratana,
Newington; 5. Nick Ladyga, Voluntown; 6. Angelo Belsito, Auburn, MA; 7.
Nicholas Sowa, Middletown; 8. Michael Christopher Jr., Wolcott; 9. Carl
Blandina, Milford; 10. Kyle Rogers, Waterbury; 11. Joey Ternullo,
Middletown; 12. Cory Dimatteo, Farmington; 13. Peter Cirilli,
Farmington; 14. Raven Schrantz, Slatington, PA; 15. Sean Fitzmaurice,
Woodstock; 16. Nick Hadden, Vernon; 17. Keith Rocco, Meriden; 18. John
O’Sullivan Jr., Salem; 19. Timothy DePizzol, North Franklin; 20. T.J.
Thompson, Lisbon; 21. Stephen Kopcik, Newtown; 22. Joshua Zentek, East
Haven
INEX Bandoleros National Qualifier (20-laps): 1. Anthony Marvin,
Colchester; 2. Ken Morin Jr., Old Saybrook; 3. Derek Debbis, Oakdale;
4. Corey Comeroski, Lebanon; 5. Jacob Perry, Pawcatuck; 6. Andrew Morin,
Old Saybrook
Brian Darling
shower before returning to NASCAR racing on Saturday evening after a
scheduled week off. The track’s INEX racing divisions were vaulted into
the spotlight, landing the Bandolero and Legend Cars race winners a
guaranteed starting spot in a national event for each division. Defending
Speedbowl Legend Cars champion Paul Kusheba of Monroe won a thrilling race
in a photo finish while Anthony Marvin of Colchester won the Bandolero
feature. In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing, Todd Ceravolo of
Gales Ferry continued his solid season by picking up his first victory of
the year in the SK Modifieds®. Al Stone of Durham won his second race of
the year in the Street Stocks while Lisbon’s Ken Cassidy Jr. picked up his
fifth Mini Stock victory. Randy Churchill Jr. of Oakdale rounded out the
night’s winners, scoring his fourth SK Light Modified race honors.
The 35-lap feature race for the SK Modified® division saw the return of a
familiar name to the winner’s circle at the track. Ceravolo, the 1997
track champion, took his first win since the 2010 season after running a
nearly flawless race. He was patient in the opening laps as the running
order settled in with Frank Mucciacciaro taking the race lead from pole
sitter Nichole Morgillo on lap-1. Joe Gada held third behind the top two
with Ceravolo rounding out the top four cars.
With Morgillo tailing Mucciacciaro, Ceravolo pulled out of line and made a
power move under Joe Gada taking third place on lap-5. The first caution
flag came out a lap later when a three-car battle for eighth position
resulted in Adam Gada sliding through the turn four infield kicking up
moisture and debris onto the race surface. Following a false restart
attempt, Morgillo slid into the turn one wall after a second attempt to
restart the race on lap-6 keeping the racing action at bay.
Ceravolo lined up outside of Mucciacciaro on the front row when the race
was able to restart cleanly. He spent two laps on the outside racing hard
for the lead before tucking in line behind Mucciacciaro who momentarily
fended off the challenge. A lap later, Ceravolo dove inside Mucciacciaro
in turn three to lead the way on lap-9. Once clear of Mucciacciaro,
Ceravolo pulled away to a large lead as the race stayed clean and green.
Behind Ceravolo action was red hot as Mucciacciaro held back the advances
of Tyler Chadwick, who took third from Joe Gada on lap-12. Keith Rocco
followed Chadwick to fourth position and the two resumed their torrid
battle for the win the last time the division raced. They joined
Mucciacciaro in a tight three-car battle for second position that endured
for several laps.
As the trio put on a spirited battle Ceravolo continued to pull further
ahead to over a full straightaway. On lap-23 Chadwick finally found
momentum to barrel underneath Mucciacciaro in turn three, bringing Rocco
with him as they advanced to second and third. With a limited number of
laps remaining a caution flag was looking to be the only way to slow
Ceravolo.
Rocco pestered Chadwick until he finally made the move to his inside down
the front chute on lap-27, taking away second. Over the final eight laps
Rocco tried to run down Ceravolo, however the lead was too much as another
yellow flag never came. As Ceravolo coasted to his 22nd career win at the
track in convincing fashion, Rocco wound up second and Chadwick third.
Mucciacciaro finished in fourth and Craig Lutz took home fifth.
Stone won for the 33rd time of his career in the 25-lap Street Stock race.
Once in front he dominated the race which ran without a yellow flag until
just three laps remained. Ryan Waterman moved to second on that restart
and gave Stone his only challenge of the race with a shot to his rear
bumper in turn one of the final lap. Stone hung on and drove away from
Waterman to the checkered flag. Waterman finished second and Phil Evans
put forth a season-best effort to take third.
Cassidy was the third leader of the race in the 25-lap Mini Stock feature.
He battled with the front runners to come through the field as Joe
Liskiewicz led the early going after starting in the pole position.
Liskiewicz showed the way until Garrett Denton took over with an inside
move on lap-6. Cassidy moved to third position then took advantage of a
lap-14 restart to take second position from Liskiewicz. Cassidy used an
inside maneuver to pull even with Denton on the bottom of the track on
lap-18 before powering ahead to lead lap-19. Denton hung tough to
Cassidy’s outside for three laps before Cassidy wore him out and went on
to his fifth win of the season and 48th career victory, the most all-time
in the division. Denton was second and Wayne Burroughs Jr. placed third.
Churchill avoided a big wreck between the two leaders on a lap-4 restart
in the 25-lap SK Light Modified race. The incident saw leader Corey Barry
and second place Glenn Griswold come together sending Griswold’s car hard
into the turn one wall. Churchill inherited the lead after the wreck and
moved out to a big lead as the race went the rest of the way caution-free.
Victoria Bergenty moved to second and tried to run down Churchill, but
came up short. Churchill bolstered his points lead with his fourth
victory of the year. Bergenty finished second and defending champion Paul
French was third.
Kusheba won a nail-biter in a thrilling 50-lap INEX Legend Cars feature.
He led easily over a long green flag run in the race before having to
survive two late caution flags. Dylan Izzo stormed into contention and
used the late caution flags to catch Kusheba. He lined up second for the
the final restart on lap-45 and when the race resumed, the two traded the
lead multiple times over the final five lap sprint to the finish. After
losing the lead to Izzo on lap-48, Kusheba rallied back to lead lap-49
inside of Izzo. The two raced even on the final lap right to the
checkered flag in a finish that had fans on their feet. Kusheba won by
inches over Izzo, .001 seconds, earning a guaranteed starting position in
the 2013 Legend Cars Asphalt Nationals. The event will be held at Lake
Erie Speedway in Pennsylvania and welcomes competitors from across the
country. After the race, an excited Kusheba confirmed he intends to
represent the Speedbowl and compete.
Marvin led the duration of the 20-lap INEX Bandolero race, which was good
for an automatic starting berth in the Asphalt Nationals event for that
class.
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (35-laps): 1. Todd
Ceravolo, Gales Ferry; 2. Keith Rocco, Meriden; 3. Tyler Chadwick,
Ledyard; 4. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., Milford; 5. Craig Lutz, Miller
Place, NY; 6. Joe Gada, Salem; 7. Tom Abele Jr., Norwich; 8. Kyle
James, Ashaway, RI; 9. Ed Puleo, Branford; 10. Rob Janovic Jr.,
Waterford; 11. Ted Christopher, Plainville; 12. Brett Gonyaw, Manchester;
13. Adam Gada, Bozrah; 14. Corey Coates, Ledyard; 15. Wendell Dailey,
Gales Ferry; 16. Tyler Jackson, Milford; 17. Nichole Morgillo,
Wallingford; 18. Diego Monahan, Quaker Hill; 19. Rich Duranti, Quaker
Hill; 20. Jeffrey Gallup, Agawam, MA
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks (25-laps): 1. Al Stone
III, Durham; 2. Ryan Waterman, Danielson; 3. Phil Evans, Uncasville; 4.
Joe Arena, Bristol; 5. Chris Meyer, North Franklin; 6. Josh Galvin,
Franklin; 7. Dwayne Dorr, Ledyard; 8. Corey Hutchings, Salem; 9. Norm
Root Jr., Old Saybrook; 10. Dan Darnstaedt, Durham; 11. Don Spence Jr.,
Oakdale; 12. Brandon Plemons, Uncasville; 13. Monte Gibbs, Higganum
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stocks (25-laps): 1. Ken Cassidy
Jr., Lisbon; 2. Garrett Denton, Hope Valley, RI; 3. Wayne Burroughs Jr.,
Oakdale; 4. Joe Liskiewicz, Taftville; 5. Ray Christian III, Groton; 6.
Bill Leonard, Charlestown, RI; 7. Chris Ivory, Oakdale; 8. Nick
Pappacoda, North Branford; 9. Dale Sherman, Charlestown, RI; 10. Doug
Curry, Groton; 11. Jeffrey Lee, Uncasville; 12. Ian Brew, Wood River
Junction, RI
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Light Modifieds (25-laps): 1. Randy
Churchill, Oakdale; 2. Victoria Bergenty, Plainville; 3. Paul French,
Andover; 4. Chris Ignazio, Colchester; 5. Larry Goss, North Windham; 6.
Alan Benincaso, Westport; 7. Jeff Fialkovich, Shelton; 8. William
Benoit, Milford; 9. Corey Barry, Plainfield; 10. Glenn Griswold, Vernon;
11. Paul Buzel, Trumbull; DNS – Alan Tirrell, North Stonington
INEX Legend Cars (50-laps): 1. Paul Kusheba, Monroe; 2. Dylan Izzo,
Westport; 3. Dana Dimatteo, Farmington; 4. Giovanni Giarratana,
Newington; 5. Nick Ladyga, Voluntown; 6. Angelo Belsito, Auburn, MA; 7.
Nicholas Sowa, Middletown; 8. Michael Christopher Jr., Wolcott; 9. Carl
Blandina, Milford; 10. Kyle Rogers, Waterbury; 11. Joey Ternullo,
Middletown; 12. Cory Dimatteo, Farmington; 13. Peter Cirilli,
Farmington; 14. Raven Schrantz, Slatington, PA; 15. Sean Fitzmaurice,
Woodstock; 16. Nick Hadden, Vernon; 17. Keith Rocco, Meriden; 18. John
O’Sullivan Jr., Salem; 19. Timothy DePizzol, North Franklin; 20. T.J.
Thompson, Lisbon; 21. Stephen Kopcik, Newtown; 22. Joshua Zentek, East
Haven
INEX Bandoleros National Qualifier (20-laps): 1. Anthony Marvin,
Colchester; 2. Ken Morin Jr., Old Saybrook; 3. Derek Debbis, Oakdale;
4. Corey Comeroski, Lebanon; 5. Jacob Perry, Pawcatuck; 6. Andrew Morin,
Old Saybrook
Brian Darling