RGeeProductions
08-04-2013, 09:53 AM
Action returned to the shoreline as
Waterford Speedbowl hosted another round of NASCAR Whelen All-American
Series racing Saturday evening. The competition rolled into August
keeping things hot on the race track during a wild night of motorsports.
Scoring a popular win included Diego Monahan of Quaker Hill in the
headline SK Modified division while Keith Rocco of Meriden tallied a
double, taking top honors in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models as well
as the visiting Pro Four Modifieds of New England. Bill Leonard of
Charlestown, RI claimed a Mini Stock feature that went down to the wire
and Corey Barry of Plainfield came from behind to win the SK Light
Modified race. Josh Galvin of Franklin picked up his second Street Stock
win of the season.
The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified feature was a test of
patience and perseverance as several incidents marred the division’s
35-lap feature. Monahan was in the safest place throughout – the lead –
as he showed the way through nine caution flags which involved most of the
field at some juncture, including several top runners. In total Monahan
survived 13 restart attempts, including some which were called back by
race officials, and held back all challengers. Championship point leaders
Keith Rocco and Tyler Chadwick both found themselves among the lead pack
only to meet misfortune during the wild event.
The race began with a false start from front row starters Monahan and Ed
Puleo. Monahan moved to the lead on the second attempt to begin the race,
bringing Jeff Gallup into second and Rob Janovic to third before Puleo was
able to settle into line fourth. The first caution waved when Wendell
Dailey lost an engine at the end of the back chute on lap-5, spinning in
his fluid to bring out the caution flag. The red flag was needed for a
lengthy track cleanup that ensued.
When the track was cleared, a good stretch of racing with lots of action
among the top ten cars brought the race to the next caution on lap-12 when
Rocco encountered his first issue, spinning off turn four amidst a tight
battle for position just outside the top-five. Rocco pitted and returned
at the rear of the field for the restart.
Monahan got away from Gallup when the race went back to green. Gallup
tucked in line behind but got crossed up in turn three on lap-13. As
Gallup broke sideways he collected third place Craig Lutz and Puleo to
bring out the next caution flag, jostling the running order behind
Monahan. Ceravolo was the next to challenge Monahan, bringing some heavy
hitters to the front behind him as Chadwick and Ted Christopher joined the
frey. Ceravolo got caught in the outside lane, watching Chadwick then
Christopher get by him as they completed lap-16. Christopher went for a
spin in turn three on lap-17, dropping him from the top three as the
caution flag returned.
Chadwick had his chance at Monahan for the restart however Monahan was
again up to the task. Ceravolo took second back from Chadwick on lap-19,
who was left to fight off a surging Rocco back up to fourth position. As
Ceravolo glued himself to Monahan’s back bumper, Chadwick and Rocco were
gridlocked in a side-by-side race for third. That came to a grinding halt
on lap-21 when contact in the back chute saw the two wreck into turn
three. Rocco emerged with a flat left rear tire while Chadwick’s car
needed more severe attention in the pit area after Tom Abele Jr. was
collected in the incident and made contact with Chadwick.
Monahan beat Ceravolo and Frank Mucciacciaro over the next two restarts
after more incidents outside the top-five kept the racing from to a
minimum. Chadwick was eventually eliminated on lap-26 after getting
caught up in another wreck, this time on the front chute. Rocco and Puleo
were both involved again, sending Rocco back to the pit area one more
time.
Two final hurdles were thrown at Monahan over the conclusion – on lap-28
Ceravolo and Kyle James looked to make it three-wide on the back chute as
they tried to unseat him simultaneously, in addition to a final restart on
lap-33 that set up a green-white-checkered finish. Monahan survived both
to go on to his first win in the division since 2007.
Rocco fired his way back into contention for the win and had the last shot
at Monahan on the final restart with two laps remaining. He lined up
outside of Monahan but couldn’t find any traction in the top groove of the
track to take the win away. Rocco finished in second after his up and
down evening while Ceravolo was able to finish third. Christopher battled
back to finish in fourth and Joe Gada rounded out the top-five.
Rocco cruised to his 6th win of the season in the 30-lap NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model division. He took
over from Jeff Smith following a restart on lap-7. Rocco swooped to the
outside, leading lap-8 and finally taking sole possession of the lead on
lap-10. Rocco was pulling away from a escalating battle for second
position when the final stoppage occurred on lap-13. He had a perfect
restart over Smith and moved ahead to the win as Smith battled to hold on
to second. Jason Palmer was finally able to work past Smith’s outside on
lap-23 after several laps trying, going on to finish second. Smith ended
up third after leading the first seven laps. Rocco boosted his lead in
the points by virtue of his win, coupled with a last lap penalty to Dillon
Moltz.
Barry’s ride to the winner’s circle was not an easy one in the NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series SK Light Modifieds. He had to overcome a
penalty on lap-3 of the 25-lap race which put him to the tail of the
field. Barry was cited for overaggressive driving after contact with
leader Larry Goss which resulted in an incident behind the lead two that
knocked point leader Randy Churchill out of the race. After the incident
Barry stormed his way back to the front. He benefitted by a final restart
on lap-14 to make his way back into contention over the second half of the
race. He raced to second position on lap-17 and then spent two laps
trying to get by Goss’s outside as the two resumed their earlier
confrontation. Barry was able to cleanly drive around Goss into the lead
on lap-20 and went on to the victory. Goss finished second and Chris
Ignazio took third.
Galvin was back in Victory Lane for the first time since April in the
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks. He trailed a three-way
tussle for the top spot early in the going that saw Dan Darnstaedt battle
Joe Arena and Chris Meyer. Galvin worked his way into the mix, taking the
lead on lap-11 by getting around Arena. Galvin led Arena by a car length
until a final restart with two laps remaining set up a final dash to the
checkered flag. Galvin would not be denied and went on to the win. Arena
finished second with former division champion Dwayne Dorr recording his
best finish in several seasons in third. Dorr recently returned to
competition in the division.
(continued)
Waterford Speedbowl hosted another round of NASCAR Whelen All-American
Series racing Saturday evening. The competition rolled into August
keeping things hot on the race track during a wild night of motorsports.
Scoring a popular win included Diego Monahan of Quaker Hill in the
headline SK Modified division while Keith Rocco of Meriden tallied a
double, taking top honors in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models as well
as the visiting Pro Four Modifieds of New England. Bill Leonard of
Charlestown, RI claimed a Mini Stock feature that went down to the wire
and Corey Barry of Plainfield came from behind to win the SK Light
Modified race. Josh Galvin of Franklin picked up his second Street Stock
win of the season.
The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified feature was a test of
patience and perseverance as several incidents marred the division’s
35-lap feature. Monahan was in the safest place throughout – the lead –
as he showed the way through nine caution flags which involved most of the
field at some juncture, including several top runners. In total Monahan
survived 13 restart attempts, including some which were called back by
race officials, and held back all challengers. Championship point leaders
Keith Rocco and Tyler Chadwick both found themselves among the lead pack
only to meet misfortune during the wild event.
The race began with a false start from front row starters Monahan and Ed
Puleo. Monahan moved to the lead on the second attempt to begin the race,
bringing Jeff Gallup into second and Rob Janovic to third before Puleo was
able to settle into line fourth. The first caution waved when Wendell
Dailey lost an engine at the end of the back chute on lap-5, spinning in
his fluid to bring out the caution flag. The red flag was needed for a
lengthy track cleanup that ensued.
When the track was cleared, a good stretch of racing with lots of action
among the top ten cars brought the race to the next caution on lap-12 when
Rocco encountered his first issue, spinning off turn four amidst a tight
battle for position just outside the top-five. Rocco pitted and returned
at the rear of the field for the restart.
Monahan got away from Gallup when the race went back to green. Gallup
tucked in line behind but got crossed up in turn three on lap-13. As
Gallup broke sideways he collected third place Craig Lutz and Puleo to
bring out the next caution flag, jostling the running order behind
Monahan. Ceravolo was the next to challenge Monahan, bringing some heavy
hitters to the front behind him as Chadwick and Ted Christopher joined the
frey. Ceravolo got caught in the outside lane, watching Chadwick then
Christopher get by him as they completed lap-16. Christopher went for a
spin in turn three on lap-17, dropping him from the top three as the
caution flag returned.
Chadwick had his chance at Monahan for the restart however Monahan was
again up to the task. Ceravolo took second back from Chadwick on lap-19,
who was left to fight off a surging Rocco back up to fourth position. As
Ceravolo glued himself to Monahan’s back bumper, Chadwick and Rocco were
gridlocked in a side-by-side race for third. That came to a grinding halt
on lap-21 when contact in the back chute saw the two wreck into turn
three. Rocco emerged with a flat left rear tire while Chadwick’s car
needed more severe attention in the pit area after Tom Abele Jr. was
collected in the incident and made contact with Chadwick.
Monahan beat Ceravolo and Frank Mucciacciaro over the next two restarts
after more incidents outside the top-five kept the racing from to a
minimum. Chadwick was eventually eliminated on lap-26 after getting
caught up in another wreck, this time on the front chute. Rocco and Puleo
were both involved again, sending Rocco back to the pit area one more
time.
Two final hurdles were thrown at Monahan over the conclusion – on lap-28
Ceravolo and Kyle James looked to make it three-wide on the back chute as
they tried to unseat him simultaneously, in addition to a final restart on
lap-33 that set up a green-white-checkered finish. Monahan survived both
to go on to his first win in the division since 2007.
Rocco fired his way back into contention for the win and had the last shot
at Monahan on the final restart with two laps remaining. He lined up
outside of Monahan but couldn’t find any traction in the top groove of the
track to take the win away. Rocco finished in second after his up and
down evening while Ceravolo was able to finish third. Christopher battled
back to finish in fourth and Joe Gada rounded out the top-five.
Rocco cruised to his 6th win of the season in the 30-lap NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model division. He took
over from Jeff Smith following a restart on lap-7. Rocco swooped to the
outside, leading lap-8 and finally taking sole possession of the lead on
lap-10. Rocco was pulling away from a escalating battle for second
position when the final stoppage occurred on lap-13. He had a perfect
restart over Smith and moved ahead to the win as Smith battled to hold on
to second. Jason Palmer was finally able to work past Smith’s outside on
lap-23 after several laps trying, going on to finish second. Smith ended
up third after leading the first seven laps. Rocco boosted his lead in
the points by virtue of his win, coupled with a last lap penalty to Dillon
Moltz.
Barry’s ride to the winner’s circle was not an easy one in the NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series SK Light Modifieds. He had to overcome a
penalty on lap-3 of the 25-lap race which put him to the tail of the
field. Barry was cited for overaggressive driving after contact with
leader Larry Goss which resulted in an incident behind the lead two that
knocked point leader Randy Churchill out of the race. After the incident
Barry stormed his way back to the front. He benefitted by a final restart
on lap-14 to make his way back into contention over the second half of the
race. He raced to second position on lap-17 and then spent two laps
trying to get by Goss’s outside as the two resumed their earlier
confrontation. Barry was able to cleanly drive around Goss into the lead
on lap-20 and went on to the victory. Goss finished second and Chris
Ignazio took third.
Galvin was back in Victory Lane for the first time since April in the
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks. He trailed a three-way
tussle for the top spot early in the going that saw Dan Darnstaedt battle
Joe Arena and Chris Meyer. Galvin worked his way into the mix, taking the
lead on lap-11 by getting around Arena. Galvin led Arena by a car length
until a final restart with two laps remaining set up a final dash to the
checkered flag. Galvin would not be denied and went on to the win. Arena
finished second with former division champion Dwayne Dorr recording his
best finish in several seasons in third. Dorr recently returned to
competition in the division.
(continued)