Speedbowl 2008 Champions Honored
Waterford, CT — A full house of nearly 500 guests braved the snow and ice to jam Groton Inn & Suites this past Saturday night, January 10th as Waterford Speedbowl honored its 2008 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champions and Saturday Legends Car champion. Dennis Gada, Bruce Thomas Jr., Al Stone III, Ken Cassidy Jr., and Shaun Buffington were the evening’s guests of honor, each winning their respective division championships.
In addition to the champions the top 15 in SK Modified®, Late Model, Sportsman, Mini Stock, and Saturday Legends Car division points were recognized for their seasons. A slew of special awards and hardware was distributed including Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Driver, Pit Crew and Sportsman of the Year Awards for each division plus Vault Productions Awards, Fast Track Medical Response Systems Awards, and a special presentation in honor of Jay Miller.
Dennis Gada achieved Speedbowl history in 2008, now standing alone in the record books by securing his 7th track championship. All have come in the SK Modified® division. The impressive feat places Gada, a Salem native, ahead of other ‘Bowl legends Bob Potter (Modified/SK Modified®) and Phil Rondeau (Late Model) who earned 6 track championships apiece. A spirited battle for the SK Modified® track championship came down to the Finale between Gada, 2007 champion Rob Janovic Jr., and Keith Rocco (’04 Sportsman division champion). Gada’s fourth-place finish in the Finale clinched the title in a year highlighted by his trademark level of consistency. His 21 top-10 finishes in 23 events were a division high, and coupled with 3 wins enabled him to finish 8 points ahead of a surging Janovic who closed the season with 14 consecutive top-10 finishes. Gada finished 12 points ahead of Rocco, who amassed an impressive 7 wins throughout the 2008 season including the 100-lap Finale.
Bruce Thomas Jr. of Groton scored back-to-back Late Model championships and his 3rd overall track championship (’01 Mini Stock) by winning 10 of the 20 point events including all 3 extra distance Speedbowl Triple Crown events in 2008. He went on to defeat Tim Jordan (’06 Late Model Champion) by 70 points. Thomas doesn’t rule out plans to contend for the three-peat.
The Sportsman division championship was taken by Al Stone III, his first Speedbowl crown. Buoyed by an impressive early season string of 9 straight top-five finishes including 3 wins during that run, Stone never looked back en route to 6 total wins and 21 top-ten finishes in 22 races. Walt Hovey, despite missing the season opener, pushed Stone to the end and finished 56 points back. The division has been renamed the Street Stocks in 2009.
Lisbon native Ken Cassidy Jr. joined Thomas Jr. as a back-to-back champion in claiming the Mini Stock crown. His 2008 season began with 10 straight top-five finishes including 1 win, setting the tone early in the very competitive division. Randy Churchill kept up with the torrid pace and trailed by just 6 points over that same span, but Cassidy’s consistency in the second half prevailed in the end. Cassidy posted a division best 21 top-tens along with 4 wins in 22 starts to catapult him to the championship.
The Saturday Legends Car division title won by Shaun Buffington was a fierce see-saw battle to the final checkered flag between Buffington, Michael Gervais Jr. and Jason Palmer. The season-ending event during the Finale saw Palmer win over Gervais Jr. and Buffington in a tight finish on the track. But in the end, Buffington’s 3rd place finish in the Finale clinched the Saturday title by 2 points over Gervais Jr. (’07 Saturday champion) and 8 ahead of Palmer (’07 & ’08 Wednesday champion).
Tom “Sid” DiMaggio presented 3 special awards recognizing those who earned a spot in the Speedbowl record book. By virtue of his 7th track championship, Gada set a ‘Bowl record and earned special recognition. Ronnie Oldham (Sportsman) became the first driver in the division to win 2 feature events on the same night, and Ken Cassidy Jr. became the first driver in ‘Bowl history to win 4 consecutive season ending events from 2005-2008.
In a heartfelt presentation, the crew of Jay Miller accepted a plaque commemorating the popular and long-time ‘Bowl competitor’s first career Speedbowl victory to a standing ovation. Miller scored the SK Modified® win during the June 28th event. He lost his life just weeks after the victory.
Rookie of the Year Awards were presented to Rich Hammann (SK Modified®), Joe Curioso (Late Model), Mark Cooper (Sportsman), Ray Christian III (Mini Stock), and Joe Cipriano (Legends).
Most Improved Driver Awards went to Tyler Chadwick (SK Modified®), Vin Esposito (Late Model), Walt Hovey (Sportsman), Randy Churchill (Mini Stock), and Adam Gada (Legends).
Sportsman of the Year winners were Rob Janovic Jr. (SK Modified®), Jeff Smith (Late Model), Joe Nogiec (Sportsman), Ben Bargnesi (Mini Stock), and Michael Gervais (Legends).
Best Pit Crew accolades went to the teams of Keith Rocco (SK Modified®), Bruce Thomas Jr. (Late Model), Ed Lamb Jr. (Sportsman), Ken Cassidy Jr. (Mini Stock), and Jason Palmer (Legends).
Fast Track Medical Response Systems, recognizing dedication to the sport and excellence in safety, presented awards to Tom Fox and the Speedbowl tech staff, and SK Modified® owner/driver Jeff Pearl and his wife Jen.
The awards presentation concluded with Vault Productions’ video of the Finale SK 100 and was met with rave reviews. A full length DVD of the documentary will be available soon. To place an order or to learn more please email info@thebowlisback.com. For more information about the 2009 season, contact the track office at (860) 443-7443 or visit www.thebowlisback.com.
Sources: Waterford Speedbowl PR