RGeeProductions
08-25-2013, 11:25 AM
Late Model Madness took over Saturday at
Waterford Speedbowl, the highlight of a five division NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series racing program. The Bob Valenti Auto Mall sponsored
Late Model division took center stage with a special 50-lap race,
dominated by Keith Rocco of Meriden. In other races, Tyler Chadwick of
Ledyard was back in Victory Lane for the fourth time on the year following
the SK Modified® feature, Chris Meyer of North Franklin took his second
Street Stock win and Garrett Denton of Hope Valley, RI ended a skid with
his fourth victory in the Mini Stocks. In INEX racing, Giovanni
Giarratana of Newington repeated his win from a week ago in the Legend
Cars.
Chadwick was served redemption after a win slipped away on the final lap
one week ago in a photo finish with Keith Rocco. He fought his way to the
front in the 35-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series feature this time
around, climbing through the top-five to become a contender over the
second half of the race.
After a false start on the initial green flag, Tom Abele Jr. jumped into
the lead by the time the field reached turn one on the second attempt. He
pulled ahead while the competition sorted out the running order, settling
in with Rob Janovic Jr. taking second position by lap-3. Joe Gada ran
third and Ted Christopher took fourth after contact between he and Ed
Puleo left both cars with damage and a piece of sheet metal hooked to the
rear bumper of his machine. The first yellow flag waved for Craig Lutz,
who spun off turn two and was unable to re-fire. During the caution
Christopher ducked to the pit area for service and did not return.
Abele raced back out front over Janovic after the restart but Todd
Ceravolo was the one with the eyes on him as he got by Gada then dove
under Janovic a lap later to snatch second position away by lap-12.
Behind Janovic and Gada, Chadwick was asserting himself to arrive in the
top-five. The next yellow flag was brought out on lap-14 when Jeffrey
Gallup got turned around in turn four, collecting John Montesanto who also
ended up in the infield.
Abele had a stiff challenge to his outside for the restart and Ceravolo
was up to the task, claiming the lead over Abele on the top of the track
as the two raced to lap-15. Chadwick picked up a position to rise to
fourth, then pressured Janovic before going to the outside of the track to
power into third on lap-19. Rocco followed suit to become a factor,
keeping Janovic pinned down low while he raced into fourth position on
lap-21. A lap later Gallup was in trouble in turn four again, coming to
rest just off the racing surface after spinning to necessitate the third
caution flag.
Ceravolo got a strong restart to retake the lead while Chadwick was able
to sail in underneath Abele to race away with second position. Chadwick
glued himself to Ceravolo’s rear bumper and went on to size up the leader
for several laps. He used a well-timed and daring cross-over move into
turn one to get underneath Ceravolo for the lead on lap-27. The two cars
made contact racing hard for the lead before the move paid off for
Chadwick, racing into the lead as the two came off turn two. Behind them
Rocco got by Abele to move into third to set up for a compelling
conclusion.
As Chadwick tried to pull away from Ceravolo, Rocco closed in on the
leaders. Abele continued to hold fourth and Kyle James got by Janovic to
move into fifth position as the laps quickly counted down. On lap-31,
Nichole Morgillo got bounced into the infield, sliding to a halt on the
apron in turn one to bring out the caution. After the restart, the field
had trouble coming around to complete a lap as Gallup and Lutz tangled in
a messy incident with Gallup’s car coming to rest atop of Lutz just shy of
the start-finish line.
Chadwick got a good restart the next time on Ceravolo who continued to
hold off Rocco for second. The race only progressed to lap-33 before
Montesanto took a hard trip into the front chute wall, sliding to a stop
just short of turn one to bring out the final caution flag and force
Chadwick into a final restart against Ceravolo with just two laps
remaining. He again got the jump back into the lead, leaving Ceravolo in
the grips of Rocco. Rocco was able to stay inside Ceravolo and ultimately
take the spot racing to the white flag. Ahead, Chadwick closed out the
win, his fourth of the year. Rocco could not make a final run to contend
for the win as he did a week ago and finished second. Ceravolo ended the
race third, with James fourth and Abele fifth.
Rocco was masterful in the 50-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bob
Valenti Auto Mall Late Model event. Bruce Thomas Jr. led the opening laps
after an incident on the first lap involving infrequent runners Ray Parent
and Anthony Flannery became entangled in turn three created a yellow flag.
Rocco moved from fourth to second quickly after the restart, following
Thomas for two laps before finding room to his inside on lap-5 headed
through turns three and four. Rocco took command at the start-finish line
and raced ahead to a safe margin ahead of the pack.
As Rocco showed the way, David Farrington Jr. hunted down Thomas and spent
several laps looking for racing room to challenge for the position as the
field was settled in to a long green flag run. Jeff Smith and Jason
Palmer were locked in a war for sixth position while further back Vin
Esposito and Parent were dueling for eighth as some great battles raged on
the track. Smith nearly spun on lap-21, getting into Palmer in the
process creating a hair-raising moment for the two along with Esposito who
quickly closed on the two. Parent was there to make it a four-car battle
for the sixth spot.
Farrington was able to methodically work underneath Thomas by lap- but
couldn’t chip away into Rocco’s lead any further. The two cars hit a pack
of lapped traffic by lap-35, which was no hurdle to Rocco and he continued
his torrid pace, actually increasing his lead in the process. Farrington
continued comfortably in second with Thomas holding third. Further back
Rich Staskowski and Ray Christian III rounded out the top-five. The long
spell of green flag racing ended on lap-46 when Smith spun in turn two,
setting up the finish.
Rocco bolted ahead of Farrington on the restart. Thomas was safely back
in third but fourth on back got interesting as Christian was challenging
Staskowski. Parent asserted himself trying to rally to a top-five,
however got into Staskowski in turn three on lap-48. Both cars went
spinning and collected Smith, Rich Duranti and Chris Garside to bring out
the last caution, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Rocco again
was strong and powered ahead, closing out his seventh win in the division
on the year. Farrington ran a great race to finish second and Thomas
placed third. Christian was fourth and Esposito fifth. Rocco also leads
the championship points for the division.
(continued)
Waterford Speedbowl, the highlight of a five division NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series racing program. The Bob Valenti Auto Mall sponsored
Late Model division took center stage with a special 50-lap race,
dominated by Keith Rocco of Meriden. In other races, Tyler Chadwick of
Ledyard was back in Victory Lane for the fourth time on the year following
the SK Modified® feature, Chris Meyer of North Franklin took his second
Street Stock win and Garrett Denton of Hope Valley, RI ended a skid with
his fourth victory in the Mini Stocks. In INEX racing, Giovanni
Giarratana of Newington repeated his win from a week ago in the Legend
Cars.
Chadwick was served redemption after a win slipped away on the final lap
one week ago in a photo finish with Keith Rocco. He fought his way to the
front in the 35-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series feature this time
around, climbing through the top-five to become a contender over the
second half of the race.
After a false start on the initial green flag, Tom Abele Jr. jumped into
the lead by the time the field reached turn one on the second attempt. He
pulled ahead while the competition sorted out the running order, settling
in with Rob Janovic Jr. taking second position by lap-3. Joe Gada ran
third and Ted Christopher took fourth after contact between he and Ed
Puleo left both cars with damage and a piece of sheet metal hooked to the
rear bumper of his machine. The first yellow flag waved for Craig Lutz,
who spun off turn two and was unable to re-fire. During the caution
Christopher ducked to the pit area for service and did not return.
Abele raced back out front over Janovic after the restart but Todd
Ceravolo was the one with the eyes on him as he got by Gada then dove
under Janovic a lap later to snatch second position away by lap-12.
Behind Janovic and Gada, Chadwick was asserting himself to arrive in the
top-five. The next yellow flag was brought out on lap-14 when Jeffrey
Gallup got turned around in turn four, collecting John Montesanto who also
ended up in the infield.
Abele had a stiff challenge to his outside for the restart and Ceravolo
was up to the task, claiming the lead over Abele on the top of the track
as the two raced to lap-15. Chadwick picked up a position to rise to
fourth, then pressured Janovic before going to the outside of the track to
power into third on lap-19. Rocco followed suit to become a factor,
keeping Janovic pinned down low while he raced into fourth position on
lap-21. A lap later Gallup was in trouble in turn four again, coming to
rest just off the racing surface after spinning to necessitate the third
caution flag.
Ceravolo got a strong restart to retake the lead while Chadwick was able
to sail in underneath Abele to race away with second position. Chadwick
glued himself to Ceravolo’s rear bumper and went on to size up the leader
for several laps. He used a well-timed and daring cross-over move into
turn one to get underneath Ceravolo for the lead on lap-27. The two cars
made contact racing hard for the lead before the move paid off for
Chadwick, racing into the lead as the two came off turn two. Behind them
Rocco got by Abele to move into third to set up for a compelling
conclusion.
As Chadwick tried to pull away from Ceravolo, Rocco closed in on the
leaders. Abele continued to hold fourth and Kyle James got by Janovic to
move into fifth position as the laps quickly counted down. On lap-31,
Nichole Morgillo got bounced into the infield, sliding to a halt on the
apron in turn one to bring out the caution. After the restart, the field
had trouble coming around to complete a lap as Gallup and Lutz tangled in
a messy incident with Gallup’s car coming to rest atop of Lutz just shy of
the start-finish line.
Chadwick got a good restart the next time on Ceravolo who continued to
hold off Rocco for second. The race only progressed to lap-33 before
Montesanto took a hard trip into the front chute wall, sliding to a stop
just short of turn one to bring out the final caution flag and force
Chadwick into a final restart against Ceravolo with just two laps
remaining. He again got the jump back into the lead, leaving Ceravolo in
the grips of Rocco. Rocco was able to stay inside Ceravolo and ultimately
take the spot racing to the white flag. Ahead, Chadwick closed out the
win, his fourth of the year. Rocco could not make a final run to contend
for the win as he did a week ago and finished second. Ceravolo ended the
race third, with James fourth and Abele fifth.
Rocco was masterful in the 50-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bob
Valenti Auto Mall Late Model event. Bruce Thomas Jr. led the opening laps
after an incident on the first lap involving infrequent runners Ray Parent
and Anthony Flannery became entangled in turn three created a yellow flag.
Rocco moved from fourth to second quickly after the restart, following
Thomas for two laps before finding room to his inside on lap-5 headed
through turns three and four. Rocco took command at the start-finish line
and raced ahead to a safe margin ahead of the pack.
As Rocco showed the way, David Farrington Jr. hunted down Thomas and spent
several laps looking for racing room to challenge for the position as the
field was settled in to a long green flag run. Jeff Smith and Jason
Palmer were locked in a war for sixth position while further back Vin
Esposito and Parent were dueling for eighth as some great battles raged on
the track. Smith nearly spun on lap-21, getting into Palmer in the
process creating a hair-raising moment for the two along with Esposito who
quickly closed on the two. Parent was there to make it a four-car battle
for the sixth spot.
Farrington was able to methodically work underneath Thomas by lap- but
couldn’t chip away into Rocco’s lead any further. The two cars hit a pack
of lapped traffic by lap-35, which was no hurdle to Rocco and he continued
his torrid pace, actually increasing his lead in the process. Farrington
continued comfortably in second with Thomas holding third. Further back
Rich Staskowski and Ray Christian III rounded out the top-five. The long
spell of green flag racing ended on lap-46 when Smith spun in turn two,
setting up the finish.
Rocco bolted ahead of Farrington on the restart. Thomas was safely back
in third but fourth on back got interesting as Christian was challenging
Staskowski. Parent asserted himself trying to rally to a top-five,
however got into Staskowski in turn three on lap-48. Both cars went
spinning and collected Smith, Rich Duranti and Chris Garside to bring out
the last caution, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Rocco again
was strong and powered ahead, closing out his seventh win in the division
on the year. Farrington ran a great race to finish second and Thomas
placed third. Christian was fourth and Esposito fifth. Rocco also leads
the championship points for the division.
(continued)