Flannery sets a Speedbowl Record with win; Ternullo wins first, Caprio and Thomas each win second of year and Brouwer claims third victory of season
Waterford, CT — Anthony Flannery of East Hampton had the spotlight for Waterford Speedbowl’s Wild ‘n Wacky race program completed on Wednesday evening, making track history when he won the 20-lap Legends Cars main event. Flannery, age 15, became the first competitor to win seven races to begin a season in any division series over the track’s sixty year history. Middletown racer Joey Ternullo was the Bandolero winner, his first in the division. Michael Caprio of New Haven conquered the Super X-Car race and Glen Thomas Jr. of Groton checkered an exciting X-Car race. Bubby Brouwer of Waterford was the X-Modified race winner.
Veteran Carl Blandina led the Legends Cars field to green with teenager Dana Dimatteo challenging his outside during the opening lap. Blandina took control, bringing George Whitney into second place. Dimatteo found himself in third, but that didn’t last as Flannery moved to his outside to take over the spot on lap four. Those four rode in position for an additional lap when things began to heat up.
Whitney looked low under the leader but got crossed up, gathering his car back. That jostled Flannery and Dimatteo directly behind, allowing Ed Field to move up the inside of the pack down the back chute. Contact was made among the top five drivers sending Dimatteo spinning into turn three, collecting Dennis Pantani to bring out caution on lap six. A number of other competitors scattered, including national Legends Cars points contender Bayley Currey of Texas. Currey entered the race second in the Pro Series standings and ducked pit side for service under the yellow, resuming at the rear.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Flannery took over on the restart with Whitney coming through into second position. Blandina stayed in third with Nick Ladyga fourth and Currey flexing his muscle making it back to the fifth position by lap 11. Currey then ducked under Ladyga for fourth, bringing Dimatteo back up to fifth position behind. A quick caution waved again on lap 13 to reset the field.
Flannery resumed out front with Whitney and Currey making up the top three when the race reached five laps to go. Currey bombed under Whitney for second place, taking over that spot as the field came back to the stripe with two laps remaining. Flannery was unable to be caught going on to his record seventh win to start the season in the series. Overall, he has ten straight wins in the division including the Speedbowl’s Saturday race programs. Currey made his long haul worthwhile ending up second in his first track appearance. Whitney was third, Dimatteo fourth and Field was fifth.
Corey Dimatteo took the lead at the start of the 20-lap Bandolero feature race. Nick Sowa challenged the inside of Dimatteo with Ternullo racing tight in third behind the leaders through lap four. The leaders made contact battling up front, with Sowa doing a 360 spin exiting turn two but continuing on without caution.
At halfway in the event Ternullo continued to lead but Kaz Grala, winner of two events this season, had moved past Dimatteo into second position. Points leader Taylor Martin found herself coming through the field to fourth place well back of the lead trio with Ken Morin Jr. on her rear bumper in fifth.
Grala dove low under the leader in turn two to challenge on lap 14, but couldn’t complete the move. He pressured Ternullo relentlessly over the remaining laps, but the 11-year old Ternullo maneuvered lapped traffic like a veteran to keep Grala at bay with the white flag was in the air. Open track was ahead of the leaders, providing Grala a last chance to grab his third win of the year. He looked under Ternullo one final time exiting turn four, but Ternullo hung on for his first win. Grala was second, Dimatteo third, Martin fourth and Morin finished fifth.
Ken Downing III and Caprio battled hard at the front of the Super X-Car race over the opening portion of the 20-lapper, swapping some paint in the process. The pair traded the lead before Caprio took over comfortably on lap five. He survived two early restarts to remain in command of the race.
As Caprio checked out at the front, action was hot and heavy behind him on the beautiful summer night. Charles Beal moved into second past Downing with just six laps remaining looking to cut into Caprio’s lead. Beal sliced the distance in half over the next four laps as the race reached just two laps to go, but Caprio had built too big a lead to overcome. He raced to his second win of the season over Beal, while current division points leader Rob Corey and defending Super X champion John Yagmin both slipped by Downing in the final laps to claim third and fourth. Downing hung on for fifth.
A wild opening to the 20-lap X-Car race saw much of the 27-car field battling for position as cars spread out all around the three-eighths mile oval. The field was slowed on lap three for a single car accident involving Todd Nadeau, the only caution in the race.
When racing was able to settle in it was Jeremy Violette at the front of the field with Mike Trask waiting for an opportunity to challenge him for the lead in second. They pulled out to an advantage over the field battling behind. Further back several competitors were looking to advance their way through the heavy traffic and into contention. Onie Pierce raced in third ahead of Thomas and points leader Devin Widger. The top five worked heavy lapped traffic with Violette retaining his narrow margin over Trask. Thomas overcame a scary moment when he became crossed up on the front stretch in the traffic. He then moved to third position closing fast on the lead two, reaching them with just five laps remaining.
Thomas worked to the inside of Trask, taking over the second position with three laps to go. The top three competitors approached heavy lapped traffic once again in the final two circuits. Thomas used that traffic to make the race changing move, a daring maneuver between Violette and a lapped car in turns one and two. Thomas emerged as the leader and then withstood a final lap and a half of heavy traffic to take his second win of the year in thrilling fashion. Violette ran a great race for second, Trask was also impressive in taking third, with Widger maintaining his lead in the points by finishing fourth. Last week’s winner Brad Voglesong was fifth.
Rob Gallaer set the pace in the early laps of the 15-laps X-Modified race, holding back the charges of Brouwer and Ceravolo. Brouwer made a power move exiting turn two to become the new leader as the race reached halfway. He cruised to his second consecutive win. Gallaer was second ahead of Ceravolo.
For more information about Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday and the calendar of events, please visit www.speedbowl.com or contact track offices at 860.442.1585.
Waterford Speedbowl 6/23 Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday Results:
Legends Cars (20-laps): 1. Anthony Flannery, East Hampton; 2. Bayley Currey, Austin, TX; 3. George Whitney, Westbrook; 4. Dana DiMattteo, Farmington; 5. Edward Field, Deep River; 6. Carlo Blandina, Milford; 7. Giovanni Giarratana, Newington; 8. Michael Blaskey, Bethany; 9. Kyle Rogers, Waterbury; 10. Troy Talman, Oxford; 11. Peter Cirilli, Farmington; 12. Joey Mucciacciaro, Wolcott; 13. Matthew Carpenter, Auburn, MA; 14. Nick Ladyga, Voluntown; 15. Jake Spiller, Ashburnham, MA; 16. Tom Pinson, Colchester; 17. Peter Portante, Plainville; 18. Dennis Pantani, Branford; 19. Richard White III, North Stonington; 20. Mike Beebe Sr., Old Saybrook; 21. David Garbo Jr., Stonington
Point Standings after seven events: 1. Flannery, 385; 2. Field, 306; 3. Dimatteo, 296; 4. Giarratana, 286; 5. Blandina, 274; 6. Pantani, 216; 7. White, 212; 8. Mucciacciaro, 204; 9. (tie) Garbo, Spillers, 198
Bandolero’s (20-laps): 1. Joey Ternullo, Middletown; 2. Kaz Grala, Westborough, MA; 3. Corey DiMatteo, Farmington; 4. Taylor Martin, Windham, NH; 5. Kenneth Morin Jr., Old Saybrook; 6. Andrew Carpenter, Auburn, MA; 7. Tyler Chalue, Dudley, MA; 8. Garrett Denton, Hope Valley, RI; 9. Jordan Lamothe, Woodstock; 10. Jordan Churchill, Lisbon; 11. Chace Wood, Danielson; 12. Nicholas Matera, Warwick, RI; 13. Daniel Stolte, Northbridge, MA; 14. Rachel Forte, Douglas, MA; 15. Nicholas Sowa, Middletown
Point Standings after seven events: 1. Martin, 353; 2. Chalue, 281; 3. Grala, 274; 4. Forte, 256; 5. Ternullo, 229; 6. Chris Lomartire, 222; 7. Carpenter, 220; 8. Denton, 218; 9. Morin, 214; 10. Dimatteo, 204
X-Cars (20-laps): 1. Glen Thomas Jr, Groton; 2. Jeremy Violette, Canterbury; 3. Mike Trask, Plainfield; 4. Devin Widger, Plainfield; 5. Brad Vogelsong, Middletown; 6. Michael Marvin, Colchester; 7. Onie Pierce, Norwich; 8. Dan D’Addorio, Columbia; 9. Rich Hurne, Groton; 10. Randy Johnston, Westerly, RI; 11. Wayne Shifflett, Preston; 12. Bruce Hall, Ledyard; 13. Daniel Madore, Sterling; 14. Christopher Garside, Waterford; 15. Jeffrey Lee, Uncasville; 16. Arthur Phillips, Norwich; 17. Scott Limkemann, East Lyme; 18. Jeremy Bourbeau; 19. Kim Bickford, Jewett City; 20. Christopher Ivory, Oakdale; 21. Michele Cicio, Baltic; 22. Geoffrey Burdick, East Lyme; 23. David Lloyd, Mystic; 24. C.P. Burdick, Deep River; 25. Robert Butler, Plainfield; 26. Patrick Williams, Middletown; 27. Todd Nadeau, North Franklin
Point Standings after seven events: 1. Widger, 322; 2. (tie) D. D’addario, Voglesong, 279; 4. Thomas, 276; 5. Johnston, 274; 6. Shifflett, 252; 7. Violette, 244; 8. Trask, 242; 9. Madore, 210; 10. Hall, 204
Super X-Cars (20-laps): 1. Michael Caprio, New Haven; 2. Charles Beal, Ledyard; 3. Rob Corey, South Windsor; 4. John Yagmin, Tolland; 5. Ken Downing III, Branford; 6. Mark Boisvert, Uxbridge, MA; 7. Mike Maskell II, Quaker Hill; 8. Frank Alessio, Colchester; 9. James Consalvo; East Hartford; 10. Taylor-Marie Moran, Preston; 11. Peter Pollard, Old Lyme; 12. Jim Boyle, East Windsor; 13. Richard Avino, New Haven; 14. Rodney Iannotti, Hope Valley; 15. Shawn Butler, Jewett City; 16. Shawn Perkins, Groton; 17. Paul Sheldon, Guilford; 18. Steve Larose, Griswold; 19. Jon Porter, Canterbury; 20. Robert Carlson, Rockfall; 21. RJ Cunningham, Clinton; 22. Kevin Moon, Exeter, RI; 23. Dan Moon, Exeter, RI
Point Standings after seven events: 1. Caprio, 280; 2. Corey, 276; 3. Beal, 271; 4. Maskell, 262; 5. Moran, 247; 6. Downing, 239; 7. Alessio, 236; 8. (tie) Boisvert, Perkins, 230; 10. Consalvo, 226
X-Modifieds (15-laps): 1. Richard Brouwer, Waterford; 2. Rob Gallaer, Sherman; 3. Rick Ceravolo, Groton; 4. Paul French, Andover; 5. Brenden Shea, Mystic; 6. Rich Schlegel; Griswold
Point Standings after five events: 1. Brouwer, 259; 2. French, 241; 3. Ceravolo, 233; 4. Shea, 216; 5. Schlegel, 198; 6. Gallaer, 180; 7. Steve Skenyon, 84; 8. Corey Larson, 78; 9. Brian Dimartino, 36
Sources: Waterford Speedbowl PR