Chadwick goes back-to-back in SK Mods; Thomas, Stone and Cassidy back in Victory Lane
Waterford, CT — Waterford Speedbowl returned to action on Saturday with another round of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing on Night of Electricity, presented by Electrical Contractors Incorporated. Tyler Chadwick of Ledyard won his second consecutive SK Modified® race and third on the season. Groton’s Bruce Thomas Jr. and Lisbon’s Ken Cassidy Jr. won their third races of the year in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model and Norwich Bulletin Mini Stock divisions. Al Stone of New Haven rounded out the winners by taking his third consecutive Street Stock win, his fifth overall on the year.
Doug Coby raced to the lead on the initial lap of the 35-lap SK Modified® feature race coming from his second starting position. Joe Perry settled into second ahead of Joe Gada, Todd Ceravolo and Chadwick over the race’s opening circuits. The field quickly singled out and clicked off the early laps.
Just outside the top five, Tucker Reynolds Jr. challenged and took sixth position from Jeff Pearl on lap 12. The leaders began jostling for position, first with Chadwick finding his way around Ceravolo to fourth. Moments later, Gada slipped inside Perry for second and brought Chadwick and Ceravolo both by Perry on lap 13. That action was slowed when point leader Keith Rocco spun in turn four while battling in the back half of the top ten. Rocco, Pearl and defending champion Ron Yuhas Jr. were among those headed pit-side for adjustments during the caution.
Coby controlled the restart over Gada. Chadwick was able to slide by Gada and close to Coby’s bumper, leaving Gada behind in third. Ceravolo pestered Gada, finally making a strong move inside the teenager on lap 18 to take third spot and give chase on the top two. Nichole Morgillo spun between turns one and two collecting Kyle James to slow the race on lap 21. Reynolds and Yuhas visited pit road under caution and resumed from the rear.
Coby nailed the restart over Chadwick, enabling Ceravolo to come up to second. Chadwick fended off Jeff Paul for third while Rob Janovic took fifth from Gada a lap later. A hungry Ceravolo pressured Coby’s rear bumper over the next several laps in effort to put himself in position to capture his first win of the year.
The pivotal moment of the race came on lap 28. The battle out front heated up when contact sent Coby spinning into turn one. Ceravolo was penalized to the rear for his involvement, handing the lead to Chadwick.
Paul lined up to Chadwick’s outside for the restart. Paul couldn’t challenge, with both Janovic and Rocco making their way by into second and third by lap 31. Caution came out again that lap for a spin in turn four by Jimmy Smith.
Chadwick and Rocco teamed up on the restart to bump Janovic back to third. Chadwick was a car ahead of Rocco on lap 33 and as the final lap began, Rocco was on the leader’s rear bumper. Chadwick held back the charges of Rocco to record his third win of the season and second consecutive. Janovic was third ahead of Paul and Gada.
Joe Curioso led the first two laps in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model feature. Vin Esposito took over with an inside move on Curioso out of turn four to lead lap 3 of the 30-lapper. Brian Andronaco Jr. passed Curioso for second on lap 5 with Jason Palmer in tow. Caution waved on lap 7 when Rich Staskowski spun from the top ten in turn two.
Esposito led following the restart but was quickly challenged by Palmer who surged in from third. Palmer pulled under Esposito and ran two laps side by side before edging ahead off turn four to take the lead on lap 11. Thomas had moved up to third by then, and immediately went inside Esposito for second. After taking that spot, he wasted no time pulling below Palmer to take over the race lead exiting turn two on lap 12. With Thomas stretching his lead, caution slowed the pace on lap 19 for Andronaco who spun in turn four.
Thomas powered ahead on the restart. Tim Jordan raced to second over Palmer, who fell back into the grasps of Esposito for third. While Thomas and Jordan pulled out to a comfortable distance, Palmer and Esposito waged a several lap battle. Palmer continued to hold the spot when Staskowski spun again on lap 27 to stage a three lap battle for the win.
Thomas got the advantage on the restart to hold the lead into turn one. Palmer moved in to challenge Jordan on the low side of the track. That allowed Thomas to cruise to the 50th win of his career. Jordan and Palmer battled nip and tuck to the checkered flag for second. Jordan got the spot, however Palmer was disqualified during post-race inspection, moving Esposito to third. Ernie Bertrand and Andronaco rounded out the top five.
Greg Moran Jr. led the field to green for the 25-lap Street Stock main event. Moran led comfortably through lap 5 when Brandon Plemons challenged his outside. Moran kept Plemons at bay but opened the door for Stone to power by the inside of both into the race lead on lap 6. Stone raced out two lead by two lengths over Plemons. Norm Sears raced in third over point leader Walt Hovey Jr. Josh Galvin and Ronnie Oldham were locked in a battle for fifth as the race reached halfway on lap 13.
Out front Plemons was closing in on Stone, reaching his rear bumper by lap 15. Galvin and Oldham continued their war for fifth when Mark Cooper spun from seventh position just behind them. Caution waved for the first time on lap 16 for Cooper who was stalled just off the racing surface.
Stone grabbed the lead momentarily when racing went back under green, but Moran became stranded off turn two on lap 17 to keep the race slowed. Sears grabbed second from Plemons during the completed lap and was alongside Stone for the restart.
The next restart was much of the same. Stone jumped out over Sears. Plemons and Oldham battled for third, with Plemons taking that spot leaving Oldham to battle with Hovey for fourth. The final six laps were completed under green with Stone, the 2008 division champion, racing to the win. The win allowed Stone to continue to chip into Hovey’s point lead. Sears finished second ahead of Hovey, Oldham and Plemons.
Sean Caron took the lead in the early going of the 25-lap Norwich Bulletin Mini Stock feature. Cassidy raced in second over point leader Danny Field and Ian Brew by lap 10. The top four raced in close quarters looking for a lane to advance their position. Caron held the low groove with Cassidy taking a peek to the outside. That gave Field the opportunity to dive under Cassidy for second.
The race remained caution free past halfway with Field slightly edging ahead of Cassidy, who remained glued to his outside. The pair battled directly behind Caron who was unable to pull away out front. Cassidy was back ahead in second by inches when caution finally waved on lap 17 for Bill Leonard who spun off turn four.
Second position was key for Cassidy on the restart. Starting alongside Caron enabled him to race with and eventually inch ahead of Caron over the final laps. The two put on a dazzling battle for the win with Cassidy finally taking over for good out of turn two of the final lap. He went on to his third win of the year. Caron was second. Brew took third by a bumper over Field in a photo finish. Nick Pappacoda completed the top-five.
The Speedbowl returns to action with the final Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday of the season this Wednesday, while Saturday is the 2nd annual Thunder on the Sound, presented by the Connecticut National Guard. The Modified Racing Series will return to the shoreline oval for a 100-lap race. In total, eight divisions will see action in the holiday weekend event. More details are available on Speedbowl.com
Saturday 8/28 Results and standings:
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (35-laps): 1. Tyler Chadwick, Ledyard; 2. Keith Rocco, Wallingford; 3. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 4. Jeffrey Paul, Ledyard; 5. Joe Gada, Salem; 6. Jeff Pearl, Salem; 7. Doug Coby, Milford; 8. Tom Abele Jr., Norwich; 9. Ron Yuhas Jr.; 10. Tucker Reynolds Jr., Westbrook; 11. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry; 12. Joe Perry, Ashaway, RI; 13. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., Milford; 14. Jimmy Smith, Woodstock; 15. Nichole Morgillo, Yalesville; 16. Kyle James, Ashaway, RI; 17. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry;
Unofficial Standings after nineteen events (top-ten): 1. Rocco, 902; 2. Yuhas, 837; 3. Chadwick, 771; 4. Janovic, 766; 5. Paul, 713; 6. Pearl, 634; 7. Abele, 600; 8. J. Gada, 572; 9. Diego Monahan, 516; 10. James, 512
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models (30-laps): 1. Bruce Thomas Jr., Groton; 2. Tim Jordan, Plainfield; 3. Vin Esposito, Seymour; 4. Ernie Bertrand, North Branford; 5. Brian Andronaco Jr., Wilton; 6. Dennis Stampfl, Norwood, MA; 7. Joe Curioso, Pawcatuck; 8. Rich Staskowski, Hope Valley, RI; 9. Jimmy Rosenfield, Middleboro, MA; 10. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill; 11. Jeff Smith, Old Lyme; 12. Jeff Paul, Ledyard; DQ – Jason Palmer, Berlin
Standings after events (top-ten): 1. Jordan, 523; 2. Smith, 475; 3. Staskowski, 453; 4. Esposito, 451; 5. Bertrand, 442; 6. Palmer, 438; 7. Thomas, 419; 8. Paul, 409; 9. Andronaco, 397; 10. Dennis Botticello, 310
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks (25-laps): 1. Al Stone III, New Haven; 2. Norm Sears, Andover; 3. Walt Hovey Jr., Chaplin; 4. Ronnie Oldham, Westbrook; 5. Brandon Plemons, Uncasville; 6. Nate Appell, Westbrook; 7. Chris Meyer, N. Franklin; 8. Norm Root Jr., Old Saybrook; 9. Mathew Burr, Quaker Hill; 10. Kevin Talbot, Moosup; 11. Mark Cooper, Northford; 12. Jack Aquilina, Oakdale; 13. Greg Moran Jr., Preston; 14. Scott Young, Willimantic; 15. Ed Puleo, Branford; 16. Josh Galvin, Franklin; 17. Chris Kvaka, Stratford
Standings after eighteen events (top-ten): 1.Hovey, 820; 2. Stone, 801; 3. Puleo, 730; 4. Galvin, 720; 5. Plemons, 715; 6. Sears, 696; 7. Appell, 570; 8. Appell, 570; 9. Moran, 552; 10. Oldham, 545
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Norwich Bulletin Mini Stocks (25-laps): 1. Ken Cassidy Jr., Lisbon; 2. Sean Caron, East Hampton; 3. Ian Brew, Wood River Junction, RI; 4. Danny Field, Deep River; 5. Nick Pappacoda, North Branford; 6. Steve Violette, Canterbury; 7. Mark Panaroni, Ivoryton; 8. Louis Bellisle III, Griswold; 9. Greg Moran Sr., Preston; 10. Chris Williams, Waterford; 11. Ben Bargnesi, Norwich; 12. Chuck Rogers, Quaker Hill; 13. Charles Canfield, New Haven; 14. Bill Leonard, Wood River Junction, RI; 15. Christina Kellerman, Stratford; 16. Jeff Cembruch, Wallingford; 17. Dale Sherman, Charlestown, RI; 18. Alan Hall Jr., North Haven; 19. Ronnie Young, Plainfield
Standings after eighteen events (top-ten): 1. Field, 829; 2. Cassidy, 805; 3. Caron, 745; 4. Bellisle, 684; 5. Williams, 627; 6. Brew, 625; 7. Moran Sr., 605; 8. Canfield, 536; 9. Violette, 532; 10. Pappacoda, 506
Sources: Waterford Speedbowl PR