Gada And Yuhas Score At Speedbowl
Waterford, CT — Six-time champion Dennis Gada charged from a 20th-place starting spot, passed Jeff Pearl with 10-laps remaining and went on to win Saturday evening’s 35-lap SK Modified feature at the Waterford Speedbowl. It was the 59th career triumph for the 2008 Budweiser Modified Nationals winner. Following Gada was Ron Yuhas Jr, Keith Rocco, Pearl , and Frank Ruocco.
In other action, Ron Yuhas Jr. grabbed the first Late Model win of his career in taking down the hotly-contested 30-lap main event. Starting deep in the field, Yuhas, a veteran Modified competitor, took the lead from Ed Reed Jr. Defending champion Bruce Thomas Jr., who was after a third straight win, slipped past Reed for second. Marc Curtis and, Tim Jordan completed the top five.
[Photo Gallery] by Nick Vasquez
Other feature winners were Chuck Rodgers (Sportsman), Ben Bargnesi (Mini Stocks), and, Michael Gervais Jr. (Legends).
“The car was exceptional this week after spending a lot of late evenings in the garage,” said Gada reffering to the aftermath of his hard crash of the week before. “When the car is handling that good, it’s obviously easier to get to the front. It was a long race tonight with all the restarts. Facing-off against Jeff Pearl is never easy, but he’s one of the guys that you can trust. I’m not sure how our night would have gone without the late cautions. Luckily, the last one allowed a clear track to get out in the lead. Once there, I was able to gain my momentum”.
By virtue of his finish, Gada earned a guaranteed starting spot in race in next week’s Army National Guard True Value Modified Series 100. “We definitely plan on running the event,” he states. It’s a great series and one a driver doesn’t want to miss if the opportunity presents itself.”
Ron Yuhas Jr. and crew have spent the early weeks of the season playing “catch-up”. His convincing Late Model victory is proof that the team has arrived. “We’ve got the car dialed-in, although there’s always room for improvement,” he says. “Bruce Thomas Jr. sets the bar in this division, and if you’re able to run with him you know you’re doing something right. Like racing an SK at the Speedbowl, it’s super-competitive and you can never rest on your laurels. I’m sure it’ll just get tougher as the season progresses.”
Starting from the front row, Chuck Rogers won his first Sportsman feature since 2003. Josh Galvin, Walt Hovey, Chris “Moose” Douton, and, Ronnie Oldham Jr. followed. Bargnesi claimed his first-ever Mini Stock victory, holding off a last-lap challenge from defending track champion Ken Cassidy Jr. Following were Danny Field, Phil Evans, and, Randy Churchill Jr.
Taking the Legends main was Michael Gervais Jr. Topping the Legends “Young Lions” event was 13-year old Joey Cipriano.
LATE MODEL (30); 1. Ron Yuhas Jr., 2. Bruce Thomas Jr., 3. Ed Reed Jr., 4. Marc Curtis Jr., 5. Tim Jordan, 6. Joe Curioso III, 7. Vin Esposito, 8. Rich Staskowski, 9. Tom Metcalf, 10. Robert LeBlanc Jr., 11. Larry Goss, 12. Anthony Macrino, 13. Chris Bottge, 14. Dan Holben, 15. Allen Coates, 16. Steve Potter
SK MODIFIED (35); 1. Dennis Gada, 2. Ron Yuhas Jr., 3. Keith Rocco, 4. Jeff Pearl, 5. Frank Ruocco, 6. Tyler Chadwick, 7. Todd Ceravolo, 8. Jay Miller, 9. Jeff Paul, 10. Pete Pavone Jr., 11. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., 12. Kevin Shea, 13. John Agor, 14. Rich Hammann, 15. Rob Janovic Jr., 16. Matt Gallo, 17. Wendell Dailey, 18. Justin Gaydosh, 19. Steven Gaydosh, 20. Diego Monahan, 21. Clifford Fitzgerald Jr., 22. Mike Sweeney, 23. Don Fowler, 24. Shawn Solomito, 25. Bob Georgiades, 26. Michael Sabia Jr.
SPORTSMAN (20); 1. Chuck Rogers, 2. Josh Galvin, 3. Walt Hovey, 4. Chris “Moose” Douton, 5. Ronnie Oldham Jr., 6. Jim Procaccini, 7. Jack Aquilina, 8. Al Stone III, 9. Nate Appell, 10. John Puglisi, 11. Mark Cooper, 12. Ed Lamb, 13. Joe Bavolocco, 14. Brandon Plemons, 15. Kevin Burr, 16. Jonathon Avery, 17. Chris Meyer
MINI STOCK (20); 1. Ben Bargnesi, 2. Ken Cassidy Jr., 3. Danny Field, 4. Phil Evans, 5. Randy Churchill Jr., 6. Bill Leonard, 7. Kyle James, 8. Chris Williams, 9. Lou Bellisle, 10. Mark Panaroni, 11. Jeff Miller, 12. Jeff Mehlenbacher, 13. Jeff “Soup” Civardi, 14. Jack Aquilina, 15. Sean Caron, 16. Albert “Bo” Norman, 17. Raymond Christian III, 18. Christina Cunliffe, 19. Jackie Wolfram, 20. Nick Pappacoda, 21. Mark Caise, 22. Ian Brew
LEGENDS (20); 1. Michael Gervias Jr., 2. Jason Palmer, 3. Mark Esposito, 4. Mike Alcaro, 5. Shaun Buffington, 6. Ed Field, 7. Max Zachem, 8. Adam Norton, 9. Adam Gada, 10. Art Moran Jr., 11. Giovanni Giarrantana, 12, Joe Gada, 13. Dan Bisignano, 14. Kevin Nowak, 15. Joe Cipriano, 16. Art Moran III, 17. Paul Forbes, 18. Justin Holmes, 19. Carl Blandina, 20. Matt Maring, 21. Tom Gray, 22. Ryan Morgan, 23. Justin Rau, 24. Ben Erlandson, 25. Justin Doss, 26. Mike Fish, 27. Michael Blaskey, 28. Dave Stanton, 29. Dan McGouren.
Sources: David Dykes/Waterford Speedbowl PR