Exciting motorsports action returned to the
Connecticut shoreline Saturday evening as Waterford Speedbowl hosted its
Four Cylinder Fury NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing program. Four
cylinder racecars were the highlight of the night, however Craig Lutz of
Miller Place, NY stole the spotlight with his first-ever victory in
thrilling fashion during the night’s SK Modified® race. Other NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series wins went to Ken Cassidy Jr. of Lisbon, who was
back in the winner’s circle during an extra-distance Mini Stock feature
and Jason Palmer of Berlin recorded his first Valenti Auto Mall Late Model
win of the season. The Northeast Mini Stock Tour race was won by Toby
Wells of Dublin, NH and Robin Berghman of East Providence, RI picked up
the victory in the visiting New England Pro Four Modified race. Hometown
driver Jordan Hadley won the X-Car feature.
Lutz needed a gritty performance over much of the 35-lap SK Modified®
feature to record an exciting first career victory that put the fans on
their feet for the finish. He spent the opening half of the race trying
to find a way around Diego Monahan. It was Monahan that led the 35-lap SK
Modified feature to the green flag with Jeff Gallup flanking his outside.
Two attempts to start the race were pulled back by officials before
Monahan prevailed on a clean try. Lutz, who started in third, got past
Gallup’s inside on the opening lap and immediately began to look for
racing room on Monahan.
Lutz tested the outside of Monahan to no avail, as Ted Christopher was
draped on Gallup’s rear bumper in a battle for third. The early laps
showcased several battles among a tight pack of cars racing in the top
ten. Christopher finally found room to Gallup’s inside in turn one on
lap-12, taking third with Tyler Chadwick following suit into fourth. The
action came to a halt on lap-13 when Ed Puleo got off course in turn four
to bring out the first of a string of caution flags.
After a quick spin on the restart at the rear of the field, Monahan got a
good restart but only recorded one more lap out front before a big pileup
in turn three on lap-14 collected several cars contending for a position
among the top-five. When the dust settled, Gallup and Kyle James were
done for the evening and Paul Kusheba, Rob Janovic Jr., Shawn Thibeault,
Glenn Griswold and others were also involved.
Lutz tried the outside of Monahan when the green flag returned, leaving
the door open for Christopher to snatch away second position as they raced
to lap-15. Puleo came together with Kusheba off turn two towards the tail
of the field, bringing suspension damage to Puleo’s machine. He was
stranded on the apron of the track to create another yellow flag.
Monahan had Christopher to his outside for the next restart with Lutz
tucked into third. Those three cars ran in tight formation for one lap
before Monahan spun from the lead out of turn two on lap-16. Christopher
was placed to the rear of the field for causing the incident, handing the
lead to Lutz.
Once out front, the toughest part of the race for Lutz was holding back
Keith Rocco the rest of the way. He held on during an initial assault by
Rocco, who got past Chadwick for second on lap-17. Rocco worked on Lutz
before pulling even with him on lap-23, only to see Lutz respond in turn
three and fight off the bid. Chadwick was able to scoot back by Rocco’s
inside, giving Lutz a brief breather. Chadwick couldn’t close on Lutz but
Rocco regrouped, battling his way back around Chadwick on lap-28 to set up
the final duel.
The two raced inches apart and even shared some contact during the final
laps. Rocco sailed in on the outside of Lutz on lap-31, once again
pulling even. At times Rocco was able to just inch ahead before Lutz
rallied back. The two crossed the stripe even as they took the white flag
and Lutz put forth a determined effort to keep Rocco’s final charge at
bay, pulling ahead out of the final corner to claim the checkered flag.
Rocco was forced to settle for second and Tyler Chadwick ran among the
front runners all race to finish third. Janovic and Thibeault bounced
back from their mid-race troubles to complete the top-five.
The spotlight was on the Mini Stock division as part of the night’s
special program. The division went for 50-laps, double their normal
distance, and Cassidy was superb. Following a caution on lap-6 that
involved two drivers battling for second position ahead of him, Cassidy
restarted within striking distance. He quickly came through the top-five,
overtaking Doug Curry for the lead on lap-10 with an inside pass. The
final 36 laps of the race were run without a caution flag and Cassidy
easily pulled away. Garrett Denton came on strong to finish in second and
Charles Canfield made a rare appearance in 2014 to finish in third place.
It was Cassidy’s third win in the past five races. He finished in second
position the previous two weeks.
In the night’s 50-lap Northeast Mini Stock Tour race, Wells padded his
point lead with the win. He took the lead from Justin Trombley on lap-11
and never looked back. Wells had to survive a host of restarts during the
race, which was plagued with incidents, including two in the final two
laps. Shawn Swallow finished second and Emerson Cayer was third. Wells
has won two of the three events in the Thirty Marketing Triple Crown for
the division. If Wells wins the final event of the three race promotion
in the series at Thompson Speedway’s World Series, he will receive a
custom firesuit courtesy of Thirty Marketing.
Palmer prevailed for the first time of the season in the night’s 30-lap
Valenti Auto Mall Late Model race. The second and final caution flag of
the race waved when leaders Anthony Ryan and Vin Esposito tangled battling
for the top spot on lap-16. Ryan had led from the start of the race but
was under heavy pressure from Esposito, the latter seeking a second
consecutive win. Exiting turn two Ryan went spinning and officials placed
Esposito to the rear of the field for his involvement. Palmer led the
rest of the way and finished ahead of point leader Keith Rocco, who was
driving a borrowed ride for the event. Esposito recovered to storm back
and finish in third.
Hadley sliced through the field during a non-stop 25-lap X-Car feature.
He took command on lap-9 from Rich Nye and became the third leader of the
race. Once in the lead, Hadley remained smooth through lapped traffic to
maintain a three car length advantage and closed out his second win of the
season. Nye finished in second and Zac Thomas was third.
Berghman led throughout the 25-lap New England Pro Four Modified feature.
Berghman, last year’s division champion, outperformed Norm Wrenn III on
the track to claim her first ever victory at the Speedbowl. Wrenn
finished in second and veteran racer Dan Meservey Sr. was third.
Laps for Lupus hits the track next Saturday at the Speedbowl. A track
walk will take place following practice and before the night’s racing. The
event raises awareness and charitable donations for the Connecticut
Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America. Those interested to walk or
make a pledge may contact the track office by email at info@speedbowl.com
for more details. A six-division NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing
program for the SK Modifieds®, Valenti Auto Mall Late Models, Street
Stocks, Mini Stocks and SK Light Modifieds, plus INEX Legend Cars is on
the card. Details for the upcoming event schedule are available online at
Speedbowl.com
(continued)
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