RGeeProductions
05-18-2014, 11:48 AM
Action returned to the Connecticut
shoreline Saturday night as Waterford Speedbowl returned to racing. Six
divisions were on hand with repeat winners and new faces both reaching the
winner’s circle. Joe Gada of Salem mastered the SK Modified® field,
claiming his first win of the year. Joining Gada as new faces in Victory
Lane for 2014 were Groton drivers Bruce Thomas Jr., picking up the
checkered flag in Valenti Auto Mall Late Model race, and Ray Christian
III, winner in the Mini Stocks. Josh Galvin of Franklin won his third
Street Stock feature in a row and Corey Barry of Plainfield won his second
SK Light Modified race on the year. Mike Christopher Jr. of Wolcott
claimed another INEX Legend Cars feature to round out the night’s winners.
Gada was stellar in the night’s 35-lap SK Modified® feature. He started
the race from the pole position and left Nichole Morgillo behind exiting
turn two. Excitement picked up on the opening lap when several cars made
contact down the back chute, sending Shawn Thibeault through the infield
but continuing on without a caution flag.
Gada was out to a blistering pace while Ed Puleo quickly moved to second
position. Ted Christopher was already up to third and Keith Rocco was
charging through the top-ten and was hot on Christopher’s tail in fourth
just four laps in. Rocco was not content and immediately looked for
racing room on Christopher, making an inside move to jump to third on
lap-5. Ahead, Gada stretched his lead on Puleo as Rocco closed in. The
battle for second picked up on lap-10 with Rocco all over Puleo. After
several laps trying, Rocco could not unseat Puleo for the spot.
Christopher was all alone in fourth with Tim Jordan rounding out the top
five as the race reached halfway all under the green flag.
Over the second half of the race, Puleo began to slowly reel in Gada as
Rocco started to fade in third. Christopher was closing the gap back to
Rocco and Jordan continued in fifth. By lap-25 Puleo was two car lengths
back of Gada and three laps later he was on his rear bumper looking hungry
for his second win of the season. Puleo looked to the inside of Gada more
than once, but Gada was quick off the corners. Puleo tested Gada’s rear
bumper on a couple occasions, including lap-32 when both cars briefly got
sideways entering turn one.
Gada withstood Puleo’s efforts to win by a car length at the checkered
flag in a clean but well contested event. The win marked Gada’s second in
the division. His first victory came in 2013. Gada’s father Dennis is
one of the all-time best open-wheeled drivers in track history, claiming
seven division titles. The caution free race took 9 minutes and 33
seconds from start to finish. Puleo rebounded from a hard wreck last
Saturday to finish second and Rocco held back Ted Christopher for third.
Thomas won for the first time on the year to halt Rocco’s stranglehold in
the Valenti Auto Mall Late division. Rocco won the final five races in
2013 and the first five features to begin 2014. Thomas, one of the
division’s all-time best, finally found the answer to best Rocco in the
30-lap race. The feature got off to a rocky start as several cars came
together on the opening lap in turn three. Past champion Jeff Smith got
squeezed into the turn three wall and Rich Duranti spun in the middle of
the track, drawing the only caution flag of the race.
Thomas passed Anthony Ryan Jr. for the lead on lap-2 and never looked
back. Rocco quickly moved to second but was not able to seriously
challenge Thomas over the duration of the race, which ran without another
caution flag the full 30-laps after the opening yellow. Rocco finished
second and Ryan finished a career-best third.
Barry became the first driver to win multiple features in the SK Light
Modified division in 2014. He won for the second time in a special 28-lap
extra distance race sponsored by RH2 Way Radios. Barry trailed Chris
Ignazio for a long green flag stretch that was finally halted by a spin on
lap-21. Ignazio led from the drop of the green flag and was able to hold
Barry back, beginning to pull away when the caution flag was displayed.
The yellow was key for Barry, as his tires cooled enough to overtake
Ignazio on the restart in the outside lane. Barry held on through two
additional restarts in the final laps after taking command. Ignazio
finished second and 15-year old Paul Buzel finished an impressive run with
a solid third place effort, a career best.
Galvin won his third consecutive Street Stock race and fourth on the year.
He was the third leader of the 25-lap race, clearing Travis Jurcik on the
outside on lap-15. Jurcik had led after taking over from Steve Barrett on
lap-5. Galvin worked through the field, taking second on lap-10 before
moving in on Jurcik. Once clear of Jurcik, restarts were Galvin’s biggest
hurdle, mastering three in the final ten laps. Galvin cruised to the
victory, surviving a late race bid by Chris Meyer after a restart with two
laps remaining. Ryan Waterman edged Meyer for second at the finish line.
Christian wired the field in the night’s 25-lap Mini Stock race, another
caution-free race. He took command over pole position starter Pete
Zaikarite on lap-1 and built a big cushion as the battle for second place
was hard fought behind him over the first half of the race. Five-time
champion Ken Cassidy Jr. made some impressive moves to race into the spot
on lap-13. Cassidy could not run down Christian without the benefit of a
caution flag however, finishing two car lengths behind Christian while
Garrett Denton finished third.
Christopher won for the fourth consecutive time in the INEX Legend Cars at
the track. He won his first career race at the track on April 19 followed
by the track’s first two Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday series races before his
25-lap victory on Saturday. Christopher received damage in a first lap
wreck, however that did not deter him from making a pit stop for repairs
before climbing back through the field. He took the lead from Cory
Dimatteo on lap-8. Christopher withstood a lengthy red flag delay with
just three laps remaining before closing out the win. Tim DePizzol made a
late surge to claim second and Keith Rocco was third at the finish.
The Speedbowl returns next Saturday night with a special Memorial Day
Weekend event. Super Saturday Showdown joins the NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series with the track’s Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday series, which
takes a break on May 21. Seven divisions of racing hit the asphalt for a
special $12.00 adult grandstand admission price, with all youth age 14 and
under receiving free admission when accompanied by an adult. On Sunday,
Memorial Day Madness offers thrills and spills with a demolition derby,
trailer race, and more capped off by an aerial fireworks display.
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (35-laps): 1. Joe Gada,
Salem; 2. Ed Puleo, Branford; 3. Keith Rocco, Berlin; 4. Ted Christopher,
Plainville; 5. Tim Jordan, Plainfield; 6. Kyle James, Ashaway, RI; 7.
Nichole Morgillo, Southington; 8. Paul Kusheba IV, Monroe; 9. Craig
Lutz, Miller Place, NY; 10. Diego Monahan, Quaker Hill; 11. Bert Marvin,
Colchester; 12. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 13. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr.,
Milford; 14. Jeff Gallup, Agawam, MA; 15. Shawn Thibeault, Plainville;
16. Brent Sweet, Monroe; 17. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry; 18. Tom
Pinson, Colchester; 19. Victoria Bergenty, Plainville
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Valenti Auto Mall Late Models (30-laps):
1. Bruce Thomas Jr., Groton; 2. Keith Rocco, Berlin; 3. Anthony Ryan
Jr., Danbury; 4. Tommy Barrett Jr., Millis, MA; 5. Joey Gada, Salem; 6.
Mike Sweeney Jr., Meriden; 7. Jeff Smith, Old Lyme; 8. Vin Esposito,
Seymour; 9. Chris Garside, Waterford; 10. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks (25-laps): 1. Josh
Galvin, Franklin; 2. Ryan Waterman, Danielson; 3. Chris Meyer, North
Franklin; 4. Steve Barrett, Preston; 5. Phil Evans, Uncasville; 6. Greg
Moran Jr., Preston; 7. Al Stone III, Durham; 8. Jake Bercham, West
Greenwich, RI; 9. Scott Sundeen, Sutton, MA; 10. Travis Jurcik, Chaplin;
11. Norm Root Jr., Old Saybrook; 12. Lloyd Anderson Jr., Wauregan; 13.
Jeff Jolly, Wallingford; 14. Brandon Fisher, Plainfield
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stocks (25-laps): 1. Ray Christian
III, Groton; 2. Ken Cassidy Jr., Lisbon; 3. Garrett Denton, Hope Valley,
RI; 4. Doug Curry, Groton; 5. Pete Zaikarite, Niantic; 6. Wayne
Burroughs Jr., Oakdale; 7. Joe Liskiewicz, Preston; 8. Ian Brew, Wood
River Junction; 9. Christopher Ivory, Oakdale; 10. Nick Pappacoda, North
Branford; 11. Dave Trudeau, Mansfield; 12. David Arute, Tolland; 13.
Dale Sherman, Charlestown, RI; 14. John Bowes, Willington; 15. Jeff Lee,
Uncasville
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Light Modifieds (25-laps): 1. Corey
Barry, Plainfield; 2. Chris Ignazio, Colchester; 3. Paul Buzel,
Trumbull; 4. Glenn Griswold, Vernon; 5. Randy Churchill Jr., Oakdale;
6. Paul French, Andover; 7. Joe Ferrigno, East Hartford; 8. Larry Goss,
North Windham; 9. Alan Tirrell, North Stonington; 10. Jeff Fialkovich,
Shelton; 11. Victoria Bergenty, Plainville; 12. Crystal Serydynski,
Johnston, RI; 13. Calvin Therrien, Vernon
INEX Legend Cars (25-laps): 1. Mike Christopher Jr., Wolcott; 2. Tim
DePizzol, North Franklin; 3. Keith Rocco, Berlin; 4. Cory Dimatteo,
Farmington; 5. Kyle Rogers, Waterbury; 6. Jordan Churchill, Lisbon; 7.
Scott Limkemann, East Lyme; 8. Peter DePizzol, North Franklin; 9.
Cornelius Flynn, Hampden, MA; 10. John O’Sullivan Jr., Salem; 11. Dylan
Izzo, Westport
Brian Darling
shoreline Saturday night as Waterford Speedbowl returned to racing. Six
divisions were on hand with repeat winners and new faces both reaching the
winner’s circle. Joe Gada of Salem mastered the SK Modified® field,
claiming his first win of the year. Joining Gada as new faces in Victory
Lane for 2014 were Groton drivers Bruce Thomas Jr., picking up the
checkered flag in Valenti Auto Mall Late Model race, and Ray Christian
III, winner in the Mini Stocks. Josh Galvin of Franklin won his third
Street Stock feature in a row and Corey Barry of Plainfield won his second
SK Light Modified race on the year. Mike Christopher Jr. of Wolcott
claimed another INEX Legend Cars feature to round out the night’s winners.
Gada was stellar in the night’s 35-lap SK Modified® feature. He started
the race from the pole position and left Nichole Morgillo behind exiting
turn two. Excitement picked up on the opening lap when several cars made
contact down the back chute, sending Shawn Thibeault through the infield
but continuing on without a caution flag.
Gada was out to a blistering pace while Ed Puleo quickly moved to second
position. Ted Christopher was already up to third and Keith Rocco was
charging through the top-ten and was hot on Christopher’s tail in fourth
just four laps in. Rocco was not content and immediately looked for
racing room on Christopher, making an inside move to jump to third on
lap-5. Ahead, Gada stretched his lead on Puleo as Rocco closed in. The
battle for second picked up on lap-10 with Rocco all over Puleo. After
several laps trying, Rocco could not unseat Puleo for the spot.
Christopher was all alone in fourth with Tim Jordan rounding out the top
five as the race reached halfway all under the green flag.
Over the second half of the race, Puleo began to slowly reel in Gada as
Rocco started to fade in third. Christopher was closing the gap back to
Rocco and Jordan continued in fifth. By lap-25 Puleo was two car lengths
back of Gada and three laps later he was on his rear bumper looking hungry
for his second win of the season. Puleo looked to the inside of Gada more
than once, but Gada was quick off the corners. Puleo tested Gada’s rear
bumper on a couple occasions, including lap-32 when both cars briefly got
sideways entering turn one.
Gada withstood Puleo’s efforts to win by a car length at the checkered
flag in a clean but well contested event. The win marked Gada’s second in
the division. His first victory came in 2013. Gada’s father Dennis is
one of the all-time best open-wheeled drivers in track history, claiming
seven division titles. The caution free race took 9 minutes and 33
seconds from start to finish. Puleo rebounded from a hard wreck last
Saturday to finish second and Rocco held back Ted Christopher for third.
Thomas won for the first time on the year to halt Rocco’s stranglehold in
the Valenti Auto Mall Late division. Rocco won the final five races in
2013 and the first five features to begin 2014. Thomas, one of the
division’s all-time best, finally found the answer to best Rocco in the
30-lap race. The feature got off to a rocky start as several cars came
together on the opening lap in turn three. Past champion Jeff Smith got
squeezed into the turn three wall and Rich Duranti spun in the middle of
the track, drawing the only caution flag of the race.
Thomas passed Anthony Ryan Jr. for the lead on lap-2 and never looked
back. Rocco quickly moved to second but was not able to seriously
challenge Thomas over the duration of the race, which ran without another
caution flag the full 30-laps after the opening yellow. Rocco finished
second and Ryan finished a career-best third.
Barry became the first driver to win multiple features in the SK Light
Modified division in 2014. He won for the second time in a special 28-lap
extra distance race sponsored by RH2 Way Radios. Barry trailed Chris
Ignazio for a long green flag stretch that was finally halted by a spin on
lap-21. Ignazio led from the drop of the green flag and was able to hold
Barry back, beginning to pull away when the caution flag was displayed.
The yellow was key for Barry, as his tires cooled enough to overtake
Ignazio on the restart in the outside lane. Barry held on through two
additional restarts in the final laps after taking command. Ignazio
finished second and 15-year old Paul Buzel finished an impressive run with
a solid third place effort, a career best.
Galvin won his third consecutive Street Stock race and fourth on the year.
He was the third leader of the 25-lap race, clearing Travis Jurcik on the
outside on lap-15. Jurcik had led after taking over from Steve Barrett on
lap-5. Galvin worked through the field, taking second on lap-10 before
moving in on Jurcik. Once clear of Jurcik, restarts were Galvin’s biggest
hurdle, mastering three in the final ten laps. Galvin cruised to the
victory, surviving a late race bid by Chris Meyer after a restart with two
laps remaining. Ryan Waterman edged Meyer for second at the finish line.
Christian wired the field in the night’s 25-lap Mini Stock race, another
caution-free race. He took command over pole position starter Pete
Zaikarite on lap-1 and built a big cushion as the battle for second place
was hard fought behind him over the first half of the race. Five-time
champion Ken Cassidy Jr. made some impressive moves to race into the spot
on lap-13. Cassidy could not run down Christian without the benefit of a
caution flag however, finishing two car lengths behind Christian while
Garrett Denton finished third.
Christopher won for the fourth consecutive time in the INEX Legend Cars at
the track. He won his first career race at the track on April 19 followed
by the track’s first two Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday series races before his
25-lap victory on Saturday. Christopher received damage in a first lap
wreck, however that did not deter him from making a pit stop for repairs
before climbing back through the field. He took the lead from Cory
Dimatteo on lap-8. Christopher withstood a lengthy red flag delay with
just three laps remaining before closing out the win. Tim DePizzol made a
late surge to claim second and Keith Rocco was third at the finish.
The Speedbowl returns next Saturday night with a special Memorial Day
Weekend event. Super Saturday Showdown joins the NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series with the track’s Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday series, which
takes a break on May 21. Seven divisions of racing hit the asphalt for a
special $12.00 adult grandstand admission price, with all youth age 14 and
under receiving free admission when accompanied by an adult. On Sunday,
Memorial Day Madness offers thrills and spills with a demolition derby,
trailer race, and more capped off by an aerial fireworks display.
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (35-laps): 1. Joe Gada,
Salem; 2. Ed Puleo, Branford; 3. Keith Rocco, Berlin; 4. Ted Christopher,
Plainville; 5. Tim Jordan, Plainfield; 6. Kyle James, Ashaway, RI; 7.
Nichole Morgillo, Southington; 8. Paul Kusheba IV, Monroe; 9. Craig
Lutz, Miller Place, NY; 10. Diego Monahan, Quaker Hill; 11. Bert Marvin,
Colchester; 12. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 13. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr.,
Milford; 14. Jeff Gallup, Agawam, MA; 15. Shawn Thibeault, Plainville;
16. Brent Sweet, Monroe; 17. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry; 18. Tom
Pinson, Colchester; 19. Victoria Bergenty, Plainville
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Valenti Auto Mall Late Models (30-laps):
1. Bruce Thomas Jr., Groton; 2. Keith Rocco, Berlin; 3. Anthony Ryan
Jr., Danbury; 4. Tommy Barrett Jr., Millis, MA; 5. Joey Gada, Salem; 6.
Mike Sweeney Jr., Meriden; 7. Jeff Smith, Old Lyme; 8. Vin Esposito,
Seymour; 9. Chris Garside, Waterford; 10. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks (25-laps): 1. Josh
Galvin, Franklin; 2. Ryan Waterman, Danielson; 3. Chris Meyer, North
Franklin; 4. Steve Barrett, Preston; 5. Phil Evans, Uncasville; 6. Greg
Moran Jr., Preston; 7. Al Stone III, Durham; 8. Jake Bercham, West
Greenwich, RI; 9. Scott Sundeen, Sutton, MA; 10. Travis Jurcik, Chaplin;
11. Norm Root Jr., Old Saybrook; 12. Lloyd Anderson Jr., Wauregan; 13.
Jeff Jolly, Wallingford; 14. Brandon Fisher, Plainfield
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stocks (25-laps): 1. Ray Christian
III, Groton; 2. Ken Cassidy Jr., Lisbon; 3. Garrett Denton, Hope Valley,
RI; 4. Doug Curry, Groton; 5. Pete Zaikarite, Niantic; 6. Wayne
Burroughs Jr., Oakdale; 7. Joe Liskiewicz, Preston; 8. Ian Brew, Wood
River Junction; 9. Christopher Ivory, Oakdale; 10. Nick Pappacoda, North
Branford; 11. Dave Trudeau, Mansfield; 12. David Arute, Tolland; 13.
Dale Sherman, Charlestown, RI; 14. John Bowes, Willington; 15. Jeff Lee,
Uncasville
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Light Modifieds (25-laps): 1. Corey
Barry, Plainfield; 2. Chris Ignazio, Colchester; 3. Paul Buzel,
Trumbull; 4. Glenn Griswold, Vernon; 5. Randy Churchill Jr., Oakdale;
6. Paul French, Andover; 7. Joe Ferrigno, East Hartford; 8. Larry Goss,
North Windham; 9. Alan Tirrell, North Stonington; 10. Jeff Fialkovich,
Shelton; 11. Victoria Bergenty, Plainville; 12. Crystal Serydynski,
Johnston, RI; 13. Calvin Therrien, Vernon
INEX Legend Cars (25-laps): 1. Mike Christopher Jr., Wolcott; 2. Tim
DePizzol, North Franklin; 3. Keith Rocco, Berlin; 4. Cory Dimatteo,
Farmington; 5. Kyle Rogers, Waterbury; 6. Jordan Churchill, Lisbon; 7.
Scott Limkemann, East Lyme; 8. Peter DePizzol, North Franklin; 9.
Cornelius Flynn, Hampden, MA; 10. John O’Sullivan Jr., Salem; 11. Dylan
Izzo, Westport
Brian Darling