Chadwick returns to SK Modified victory lane in rough and tumble event; Cicconi & Pennink grab wins late, Stoehr makes magic in Midgets
Waterford, CT — The Speedbowl completed its 2nd annual Wings ‘n Wheels event in front of a packed house of fans on an ideal summer day on Saturday.
Justin Gaydosh of Newtown and Tom Abele Jr. of Norwich kicked off Wings ‘n Wheels on the front row of the SK Modified field for their 35-lap feature. The event proved to be a marathon of attrition and restarts.
Gaydosh moved out to the lead but the first of eight cautions waved on lap four when Dennis Charette spun out of the back half of the top five after contact entering turn one, collecting Josh Sylvester who was making his first Speedbowl appearance. Sylvester was done for the night.
Chadwick, of Ledyard, actually spun in turn one to bring out the second caution early in the event. He benefitted greatly by a series of multi-car incidents at the front of the field in the first ten laps, improving his position back to within striking distance.
The first of the key incidents occurred when Corey Hutchings challenged Gaydosh in the outside groove. The pair raced a little too hard for the lead, causing Hutchings to spin across the front stretch. He clipped Rob Janovic Jr., third in points, which blocked the track. The wreck also collected points leader Keith Rocco and 2007 division Rookie of the Year Glenn Pressel III, also making his first start of the year. The Janovic, Hutchings, and Pressel machines received extensive damage and retired from the event.
Dennis Gada and Yuhas were the new front row when racing resumed. But before a lap could be completed Gada lost a left rear tire, sending him spinning like a top into turn three wall.
The field finally got some competitive racing in when the action resumed. Yuhas pulled out to the lead with Chadwick becoming a serious factor. He moved to second around the outside of Jeff Pearl on lap 12. Jeff Paul followed Chadwick into third. Chadwick was all over the leader by lap 16. Further back, Rocco was looking to re-enter the top five after his earlier incident on the back bumper of Charette. Rocco found his way past on lap 19 after looking in both the high and low grooves.
Chadwick made a sparkling inside maneuver entering turn one on lap 25 to pull alongside Yuhas. He completed the pass to claim sole possession of lead as the field hit the stripe the next time around. Chadwick had to master one final restart to go on to his first win of the season, coming after taking a week off to regroup. Yuhas, Paul, Pearl, and Rocco completed the top-five.
Mike Ordway Jr. of New Hampshire jumped to the lead in the ISMA SuperModified 50-lap event. Ordway and Lou Cicconi, a past Speedbowl ISMA winner, pulled away from the field to a considerable advantage. Cicconi stalked Ordway through lapped traffic when caution waved on lap 27 when third place runner Ed Witkum Jr. made hard contact with the backstretch wall trying to navigate heavy traffic following a restart.
When racing resumed the pair continued to put on a stellar battle. Cicconi had the better car in the turns. Dan Lane closed in to become a factor in third. Lapped traffic played a major role over the final ten laps of the event. The pair split one on the frontstretch, with Ordway holding his advantage. Cicconi dove under Ordway off turn four with another lapped car on the horizon. The pair each raced hard to not get stuck behind the pick, and a three wide squeeze on the backstretch left Ordway with no choice but to back out and tuck in line.
Cicconi went on to win over Ordway and Lane.
Rowan Pennink of Pennsylvania was the early leader in the True Value Modified Racing Series 100-lap event before Ed Dachenhausen, a former Speedbowl SK Modified and Late Model competitor, took over on lap six with an outside move. Les Hinckley and Mike Stefanik, both crafty veterans of the open-wheel racing wars, progressed into the top three by the time the race reached lap 33. Series points leader Jon McKennedy raced in the tenth spot and began to turn up the wick just before halfway. Pennink never let the lead pack get out of site, dropping as low as fourth at one point.
Stefanik moved to second on lap 43, moving past the inside of Hinckley. Caution waved at halfway on lap 50 when Speedbowl regular Jeff Pearl and Andy Suess came together off turn four.
On the restart Stefanik powered to the lead in the outside lane after battling Dachenhausen for two laps side-by-side. Mike Holdridge and Kenny Horton, both with Speedbowl experience in SK’s, moved into the top five in fourth and fifth position with McKennedy behind in sixth. Dachenhausen lost power and dropped off the pace on lap 72, surrendering his second position and retiring from the event.
McKennedy found trouble under green flag racing, making contact with the front stretch wall ending his threat. Hinckley and Holdridge were among those collected in an incident in turn one after Holdridge cut a right rear tire.
Stefanik looked strong through the latter stages when signs of smoke started to show from his #66 machine. Pennink capitalized when the motor began to falter, Stefanik pulling low off turn four with seven laps remaining. Pennink went on to his first series win and is the eighth different winner in as many True Value Modified events held at the ‘Bowl. Pasteryak came back from a mid-race pit stop to claim second and Horton scored his best effort in the series finishing third.
The NEMA Midget field got off to a rough start when several cars were collected in a turn three melee that collected Adam Cantor, the previous NEMA event winner on July 25 at the ‘Bowl, as well as Nokie Fonoro.
Russ Stoehr and Randy Cabral put on an entertaining duel at the front when racing got underway. Cabral was able to challenge for the first few circuits following the restarts, but Stoehr was able to prevail over the longer runs. Stoehr went on to win his first 2009 event.
Fonoro rebounded from the lap one incident to end up third, a herculean effort after scrambling to make the show following a heat race crash.
Next Saturday the Speedbowl returns to action with a full NASCAR Whelen All American Series race program. The SK Modifieds highlight the card with another 35-lap main event. The Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models will return after 2 weeks off for 30-laps with the Street Stocks, Norwich Bulletin Mini Stocks, and Legends Cars each competing in 20-lappers.
The event celebrates Waterford Week festivities, with all Waterford residents receiving free grandstands admission with proof of residency. For more details, including event schedule and pricing, please visit www.speedbowl.com or contact the track office at 860.442.1585.
Unofficial Speedbowl 8/15 finishers, hometown:
SK Modifieds (35-laps): 1. Tyler Chadwick, Ledyard; 2. Ron Yuhas Jr., Groton; 3. Jeff Paul, Ledyard; 4. Keith Rocco, Wallingford; 5. Jeff Pearl, Salem; 6. Don Fowler, Clinton; 7. Justin Gaydosh, Newtown; 8. Dennis Charette, Southington; 9. Mike Sweeney, Middletown; 10. Tom Abele Jr., Norwich; 11. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry; 12. Joe Gada, Salem; 13. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., Milford; 14. Jeffrey Gallup, Agawam, MA; 15. Corey Hutchings, Salem; 16. Dennis Gada, Salem; 17. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 18. Joe Perry, Ashaway, RI; 19. Glenn Pressel III, Gales Ferry; 20. Shawn Solomito, Islip, NY; 21. Josh Sylvester, Lebanon; 22. Jeff Rocco, Wallingford; DNS – Rob Summers, Vernon
Updated standings following 8/15 event (top-ten): 1. Rocco, 618; 2. Yuhas, 610; 3. Janovic, 566; 4. Paul, 560; 5. Gada, 548; 6. Pearl, 528; 7. Tyler Chadwick, 464; 8. Hutchings, 434; 9. Dailey, 406; 10. Mucciacciaro, 392
ISMA SuperModifieds (50-laps): 1. Lou Cicconi; 2. Mike Ordway Jr.; 3. Dan Lane; 4. Dave McKnight Jr.; 5. Russ Wood; 6. Ben Seitz; 7. Mike Lichty; 8. Chris Perley; 9. Eric Lewis; 10. Jeff Locke; 11. Jef Holbrook; 12. Jeff Abold; 13. Mark Sammut; 14. Justin Belfiore; 15. Bobby Haynes Jr.; 16. Dave Sanborn; 17. Artie Rousseau; 18. Mike Keeler; 19. Rob Summers; 20. Mike Ordway; 21. Eddie Witkum Jr.; 22. Brandon Bellinger; 23. Vern Romanoski; 24. Jerry Dinnen; 25. Dave Shullick Jr.; 26. Jamie Timmons
True Value Modified Racing Series (100-laps): 1. Rowan Pennink; 2. Chris Pasteryak; 3. Kenny Horton; 4. Rob Goodenough; 5. Jacob Dore; 6. Jon McKennedy; 7. Jim Dolan; 8. Mike Douglas; 9. Jack Bateman; 10. Rob Janovic Jr.; 11. Jeff Pearl; 12. Andy Seuss; 13. Eddy Spiers; 14. Karl Fredrickson; 15. Mike Stefanik; 16. Butch Perry; 17. Mike Holdridge; 18. Les Hinckley; 19. Steve Masse; 20. Ed Dachenhausen; 21. Dwight Jarvis; 22. Todd Annarummo; 23. Jeff Malave; 24. Shelly Perry; 25. Joe Doucette; 26. Rob Summers
NEMA Midgets (25-laps): 1. Russ Stoehr; 2. Randy Cabral; 3. Nokie Fonoro; 4. Will Wall; 5. Chris DeRitas; 6. Paul Scally; 7. Abby Martino; 8. Neal Blatt; 9. John Zych; 10. Paul Luggelle; 11. Lee Bundy; 12. Erica Santos; 13. Howie Bumpus; 14. Greg Stoehr; 15. Adam Cantor; 16. Jeff Abold; 17. Chris Leonard
Sources: Waterford Speedbowl PR