Rocco Scores First Speedbowl SK Victory
Waterford, CT — Keith Rocco recorded his first-ever Speedbowl SK Modified win Saturday evening, narrowly defeating Dennis Gada and Ron Yuhas Jr. With 10-laps remaining, Rocco slipped by Yuhas, battling right down to the wire with Gada before pulling ahead following a late-race restart. Ron Silk and defending champion Rob Janovic Jr. completed the top-5.
Other feature winners were Ed Reed Jr. (Late Model), Chris “Moose” Douton (Sportsman), Jeff “Soup” Civardi (Mini Stock), and, Dave Pinkham (True Value Modified Series).
In the closing circuits, Rocco survived a dramatic outside-bid by 6-time champion Gada, who was seeking his third victory of the season.
“I couldn’t give-in even a little, and had to hold my line,” said Rocco. “When you’re running at Waterford, and Dennis Gada is behind you, you have to work extra-hard. He’s the best at running the outside here.”
The 23-year old former Speedbowl Sportsman champion is well-aware of his family’s history at the shoreline oval. His father Ronnie was once a fan-favorite at Waterford, taking many Modified victories.
“This win means an awful lot to me,” he said. “My father won a lot of races here, and I’m proud to add my name to that list. He’s as excited about this as I am. You should have seen him in victory lane tonight. You would have thought he was driving that car. It’s just a good feeling to finally get a Speedbowl SK win.”
2003 SK champion Ed Reed Jr. placed his Late Model in victory lane, defeating divisional heavyweight Bruce Thomas Jr. by a commanding margin.
“It’s been a tough time for our team,” stated Reed, citing the crash of the week before that demolished the ride of his teammate & owner, Larry Goss. “We put new tires on my car tonight, and it made a huge difference. I knew we’d get here sooner or later, and it’s a good feeling realizing that I can still win races. With Larry’s car wrecked, it was a shot-in-the arm for us. Plus, the fact that I was able to beat Bruce (Thomas) makes it even sweeter.”
Veteran Chris “Moose” Douton annexed the Sportsman feature, and became the point leader. His plans for 2008 had called for a limited schedule, but Saturday night changed all that.
“I promised my wife that this was this was going to be an easy season, and that I’d take some time off during the summer,” said Douton, the 1997 & 99 champion. “I guess this kind of changes things being the point leader. I’m not so sure the wife is going to appreciate that, but going for a third title is looking pretty good at this point.”
Veteran Jeff “Soup” Civardi got out in front at the drop of the green and never looked-back in the Mini Stock feature, scoring his first win in two seasons.
“I was able to get the jump on Jeff Miller at the start, and that, along with the race going caution-free, was key tonight,” said the popular Civardi. “I was praying that there’d be no cautions, and luckily things went our way. Hey, I’m 50-years old and I’m competing against a lot of young kids, and it’s not getting any easier. You have to savor the wins at my age, because you never know when you’re going to get another one.”
Upon his initial visit to the Speedbowl, Dave Pinkham of Buxton, Maine went home a winner, celebrating the second True Value Modified Racing Series win of his career. In an event marred by a spectacular crash and red-flag period that saw Jimmy Blewett slam the wall upside-down during his first TVMS start, Pinkham was able to able to hold-off veteran Dwight Jarvis for the victory. Though shaken, Blewett was uninjured.
SK MODIFIED (35); 1. Keith Rocco, 2. Dennis Gada, 3. Ron Yuhas Jr., 4. Ronnie Silk, 5. Rob Janovic Jr., 6. Justin Gaydosh, 7. Don Fowler, 8. Tyler Chadwick, 9. Jay Miller, 10. Jeff Malave, 11. Jeff Paul, 12. Diego Monahan, 13. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., 14. Glenn Griswold, 15. Glenn Pressel III, 16. John Agor, 17. Mike Sweeney, 18. Rich Hammann, 19. Wendell Dailey, 20. Kevin Shea, 21. Shawn Monahan, 22. Jeff Pearl.
LATE MODEL (30); 1. Ed Reed Jr., 2. Bruce Thomas Jr., Ron Yuhas Jr., 4, Joe Curioso III, 5. Tim Jordan, 6. Vin Esposito, 7. Marc Curtis Jr., 8. Thomas Metcalf, 9. Rich Staskowsi, 10. Duane Noll, 11. Robert Leblanc, Jr. 12. Bob Andreozzi, 13. Dan Holben, 14. Mike Lindquist, 15. Dennis Stampfl.
SPORTSMAN (20); 1. Chris “Moose” Douton, 2. Al Stone III, 3. Walt Hovey, 4. Ronnie Oldman Jr., 5. Chuck Rogers, 6. Jim Procaccini, 7. John Puglisi, 8. Mark Cooper, 9. Ed Lamb Jr., 10. Jonathon Avery, 11. Josh Galvin, 12. Jack Aquilina, 13. Kevin Burr, 14. Nate Appell, 15. Sean Curtis, 16. Brandon Plemons.
MINI STOCK (20); 1. Jeff “Soup” Civardi, 2. Lou Bellisle, 3. Ken Cassidy Jr., 4. Chris Williams, 5. Mark Panaroni, 6. Phil Evans, 7. Raymond Christian III, 8. Randy Churchill Jr., 9. Jack Aquilina, 10. Ian Brew, 11. Jeff Miller, 12. Christina Cunliffe, 13. Kyle James, 14. Mark Caise, 15. Sean Caron, 16. Jackie Wolfram, 17. Ben Bargnesi, 18. Jeff Mehlenbacher, 19. Brad Caddick, 20. Bill Leonard.
TRUE VALUE MODIFIED SERIES (100); 1. David Pinkham, 2. Dwight Jarvis, 3. Les Hinckley, 4. Chris Pastyerak, 5. Vinny Annarummo Jr., 6. Sean Bodreau, 7. Rowan Pennink, 8. Rob Goodenough, 9. Mike Holdridge, 10. Vogel Kenny, 11. Jack Bateman, 12. Jim Dolan, 13. Dale Evonsion, 14. Joe Doucette, 15. Kevin Iarnnarelli, 16. Eddy Spiers, 17. Kenny White Jr., 18. Shelly Perry, 19. Todd Owen, 20. Andy Seuss, 21. Ed Dachenhausen, 22. Ted Christopher, 23. Jimmy Blewett, 24. Dennis Gada, 25. Steve Masse.
Sources: David Dykes/Waterford Speedbowl PR