Gada Takes Fifth of Season, Thomas Clinches Late Model Title at Speedbowl
Other feature winners were Bruce Thomas Jr. (Late Model), Walt Hovey (Sportsman), Kyle James (Mini Stock), and, Mark Bakaj (Legends).
Gada diced with Rocco for a number of circuits following a caution period caused when Tommy Fox got into leader Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., the latter spinning into the infield and collecting Jay Miller. Sent to the rear for contact with the leader, Fox came back to finish sixth.
“Tonight the car was OK, but not that great,” said Gada. “It was tight in the turns, and Rocco was running a very smooth line as usual. I really worked to get by him, but once out in front, I was able to stretch it out & get more comfortable.”
With the finish, Gada now trails Rob Janovic Jr. by 16 points in the battle for the championship.
“Tonight’s great, but we didn’t gain much on Rob,” stated the winner. “We have two more races left, and I need to gain eight spots, so it is doable. If I can win, and he finishes fifth or back, that’s all I’ll need for the championship. We’ll just have to see how it all turns out.”
Rocco, Janovic, Tyler Chadwick, and, Jeff Paul completed the top-5.
Bruce Thomas Jr. clinched the 2007 Late Model championship with a bang, winning his 11th feature victory of the season. Thomas stayed glued to the bumper of early leader Ron Yuhas Jr. until just past the halfway point, finally executing an inside move to the front.
“It’s just been a dream season, simply incredible,” Thomas said in victory lane. “I feel so lucky to have my crew and owner behind me all season long. They’ve worked really hard for this. This car was so easy to drive all year long, and it was because of them. It’s a team effort all the way with us.”
Tim Jordan, Ed Reed Jr., and, Rich Staskowski followed Yuhas.
Fresh off his “Double Down Shootout” victory the previous week, Walt Hovey once again flexed his muscles in the 20-lap Sportsman feature, recording a second consecutive win. Hovey held off current point leader Dwayne Dorr right down to the wire in one of the most closely contested features of the season.
“I can’t believe this. I’ve never won two in a row, much less two in a season,” stated an obviously ecstatic Hovey, who just recently returned to competition at the Speedbowl. “Last week were fast on the outside, and this week we won by being fast on the inside. Dorr was going to have to pass me down low if he was going to get by me at all tonight. My car just stuck down there after making some adjustments earlier today.”
Following Dorr was Jack Aqulina, Jim Procaccini, and, Al Stone III.
Kyle James recorded a career first in winning the 20-lap Mini Stock feature. Leading from flag-to-flag, the 3-year veteran kept division standouts Randy Churchill Jr. and Phil Evans at bay for the entire event.
“We changed the carb today, and it made all the difference in solving a problem we’ve had for a while now,” said James. “At the halfway point I was asking for no cautions, and luckily my prayers were answered. After loosing a few races during closing laps on restarts, I’ve learned to not take anything for granted.”
Rounding-out the top-5 behind Churchill and Evans was Danny Field and, Joe Godbout III.
Mark Bakaj passed early-leader Jason Palmer going on to win the 20-lap Legends main event over Chris Bakaj, Brian Ouimette, Michael Gervais Jr., and, Palmer.
SK MODIFIED (35); 1.Dennis Gada, 2. Keith Rocco, 3. Ron Janovic Jr., 4. Tyler Chadwick, 5. Jeff Paul, 6. Tom Fox, 7. Jeff Pearl, 8. Matt Gallo, 9. Brandon Hansen, 10. Mike Sweeney, 11. Glenn Pressel III, 12. Wendell Dailey, 13. Jay Lozyniak, 14. Joe Krawiec, 15. Kevin Shea, 16. Clifford Fitzgerald III, 17. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., 18. Jay Miller, 19. Ron Silk, 20. Don Fowler.
LATE MODEL (30); 1. Bruce Thomas Jr., 2. Ron Yuhas Jr., 3. Tim Jordan, 4. Ed Reed Jr., 5. Rich Staskowski, 6. Ernie Bertrand, 7. Duane Noll, 8. Dave Zemke, 9. Rich Duranti, 10. Terrance O’Brien, 11. Larry Goss, 12. Mark Bakaj, 13. Brit Anderson , 14. Jeff Pearl, 15. Phil Smith, 16. Steve Potter.
SPORTSMAN (20); 1. Walt Hovey Jr., 2. Dwayne Dorr, 3. Jack Aquilina, 4. Jim Procaccini, 5. Albert Stone III, 6. Norman Root Jr., 7. Chris “Moose” Douton, 8. Josh Galvin, 9. Ed Clark, 10. Mark Charette, 11. Joe Nogiec, 12. Edward Lamb Jr., 13. Dave Yardley III, 14. Mark “Bugsy” Bougue, 15. Chuck Rogers, 16. Dan Emery, 17. John Puglisi.
MINI STOCK (20); 1. Kyle James, 2. Randolph Churchill Jr., 3. Phil Evans, 4. Danny Field, 5. Joseph Godbout III, 6. Ken Cassidy Jr., 7. Lou Bellisle, 8. Glenn Colvin, 9. Ben Bargnesi, 10. Jack Aquilina, 11. Jeff “Soup” Civardi, 12. Chris Williams, 13. Nate Appell, 14. Barndon Plemons, 15. Nick Pappacoda, 16. Jeff Miller, 17. Albert “Bo” Norman, 18. Christina Cunliffe, 19. Chris Lee, 20. Mark Caise, 21. David Sylvia, 22. Chuck Rogers.
LEGENDS (20); 1. Mark Bakaj, 2, Chris Bakaj, 3. Brian Ouimette, 4. Michael Gervais Jr., 5. Jason Palmer, 6. Justin Rau, 7. Carl Blandina, 8. Max Zachem, 9. Ed Field, 10. Art Moran Jr., 11. Justin Doss, 12. Dan Bisignano, 13. Justin Holmes, 14. Joe Gada, 15. Ricky White, 16. Adam Gada, 17. Paul Forbes, 18. Brian Chambers, 19. Ben Erlandson, 20. Art Moran III, 21. Tom McVay, 22. Jeff Holmes.
Sources: Dave Dykes/Waterford Speedbowl PR