Rocco wins third consecutive mid-season 100-lap SK Modified® race; Parent, Puleo and Cassidy take NWAAS checkered flags; Dimatteo and Morin win INEX races
Waterford, CT — Waterford Speedbowl hosted the Speedbowl.com 300 mid-season championship event Saturday evening on a beautiful summer evening at the shoreline. In all, six divisions were on hand with five competing in extra-distance length races. Scoring NASCAR Whelen All-American Series victories were Keith Rocco of Wallingford, who claimed his second consecutive and sixth overall win in the SK Modified® division on the year. Ray Parent Jr. of Tiverton, RI won the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model feature, Ed Puleo of Branford took the Street Stocks and Lisbon’s Ken Cassidy Jr. was the winner in the Mini Stock feature.
Dana Dimatteo was the benefactor of a last-lap tangle in the Legends Cars race, vaulting him to the checkered flag. Twelve-year old Ken Morin Jr. of Old Saybrook rounded out the winners on the night, taking down the Bandolero feature win.
The SK Modified field was led to the green flag for its 100-lap event by veteran Tucker Reynolds Jr. The first two laps saw Reynolds battle Tom Abele Jr. when Kyle James slipped from third position into the infield off turn four, eventually coming to rest at the apron of the track in turn two to draw the caution flag. Reynolds held the lead for the restart.
Tyler Chadwick moved by Abele on the restart, bringing Jeff Pearl with him. Behind Pearl, Rocco raced to the inside of Rob Janovic Jr. for fourth position. Chadwick and Pearl cleared the traffic to make it a three-car breakaway. Abele ducked in line behind Pearl and ahead of Janovic to make up the early top-five in the race. Janovic raced around the outside of Abele to take fourth position on lap-13. Rocco moved past Abele’s outside on lap-19, then watched as Janovic used the inside lane to get past Pearl on lap-23. Rocco duplicated the move on lap-25, dropping Pearl to fifth. Caution came out again on lap-30 when Brent Sweet and Wendell Dailey spun in turn two.
The caution period proved as Chadwick’s opportunity to pull alongside Reynolds, and when racing returned he used that as his chance to pull into the race lead. Rocco was outside Janovic for third, making the pass then immediately looking to race outside Reynolds who slammed the door out of turn two. Rocco made the move outside Reynolds again, with success on lap-35. Rocco moved to Chadwick’s bumper, finally diving underneath the leader in turn three on lap-42. Chadwick fought off the challenge to stay in the lead until caution came out on lap-48 for Diego Monahan who stopped on the track in turn one.
Rocco used the restart to finally move around Chadwick for good on lap-51. He withstood a final restart on lap-56, but got a great jump over Chadwick to regain his lead. The proved to be the race’s final restart and the final 44 laps wereticked off in rapid fire. Over that stretch Ted Christopher was on the move, climbing his way into the top-five on lap-70 when he got around Pearl.
Chadwick could not catch Rocco out front however, and the lead began to stretch out as the race hit its final 15 circuits. Rocco would go on to win by nearly 3.5 seconds over Chadwick. Janovic finished in third ahead of Reynolds, who hung to fourth position over Christopher. With his win, Rocco tightened the points race with Pearl.
The Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model feature was led to green by Parent, making just his second career start at the Speedbowl. He bolted out to the early lead in the 50-lapper. The race was first slowed on lap-5 when fluid was down on the speedway after an engine let go on Rich Duranti’s car. Back under green flag racing, Parent again moved out to the lead.
He stretched his advantage to five lengths ahead of Vin Esposito. Rich Staskowski moved past the inside of Esposito on lap-10 but could not cut into Parent’s lead. The field raced to lap-17 before the caution flag waved again for a two car incident in turn two.
The restart saw an exchange of positions up front. Bruce Thomas Jr. had made his way into third position before the caution flag, then used the restart to move to the inside of Staskowski for second position. Thomas wouldn’t let Parent out of his sights, racing to his inside as the pair went into turn three on lap-18. He inched his way into the race lead by lap-20 as Parent tucked in line behind the three-time division champion.
Behind the leaders, Staskowski held third ahead of Jeff Smith and a battle for fifth place between Jason Palmer and Brian Andronaco Jr. The racing settled down over the middle stages of the race. Parent, however, was not done racing back to Thomas’ rear bumper by lap-40 for the final sprint to the finish. The race continued under green through the end, setting up the exciting finish. Parent peeked to the inside of Thomas out of turn four on laps-44 and 45 before finally being able to make the move stick as they entered turn one of lap-46. The two spent the final laps even, battling side-by-side to the checkered flag. As the leaders entered turn three on the final lap Parent drove in hard, coming out of turn four with the lead and the checkered flag. Thomas was second with Staskowski, Smith and Palmer completing the top-five.
The 50-lap Street Stock feature had Jack Aquilina out front for the opening laps before he gave way to Chris Meyer as the field completed lap-5. Behind Meyer, Al Stone and Puleo were also on the move, arriving in the top three behind Meyer by lap-7. Stone began dropping back with something amiss under the hood of his car. He had slipped back to fifth place before being black flagged to the infield. On lap-17 caution waved for Nate Appell, who spun in turn four.
With Puleo up to second for the restart, Meyer was able to hang on to his inside for one lap before Puleo powered ahead for good on lap-18. Meyer held second position ahead of a great battle for position between Josh Galvin and Mike Caprio who raced for third. Galvin eventually moved out ahead in the spot, trying to track down both Puleo, who led comfortably over Meyer.
The green flag remained out and the Puleo was never seriously challenged. He went on to a straightaway victory to claim his fourth checkered flag on the year and break a tie in the championship standings with Stone, who did not return to the race following his early troubles. Behind Puleo were Meyer, Galvin, Caprio and Steve Barrett.
A thrilling 50-lap Mini Stock race saw a hotly contested battle for the top-five positions for the duration of the event. Phil Evans led the early laps from the outside pole starting position. The first 34-laps were run without a yellow flag, however the action was far from dull.
Evans was challenged for much of that stretch by Sean Caron. They spent the majority of the first half of the race side-by-side, swapping the lead back and forth. Glenn Colvin, Cassidy, Charles Canfield and Chris Williams were all in the mix as well, jockeying for position.
By lap-20 the top six had little separation from the original start of the race. Hard but clean two-by-two racing for the top spots finally saw Caron edge his way ahead of Evans for good for the lead on lap-27. That gave the rest of the contenders opportunity to maneuver for position with Colvin racing inside Evans for second position, taking the spot on lap-29.
Colvin instantly dove outside of Caron for the lead while Cassidy was able to advance to third ahead of Evans. Colvin spent three laps outside Caron, finally pulling ahead of him into the lead. The great action was finally slowed on lap-34 when Canfield had something break in the right front on his machine, sending him hard into the outside retaining wall in turn two for the first caution flag.
Cassidy challenged Caron for second on the restart, taking the spot and pulling up behind Colvin. Caution waved for the final time on lap-39 for a melee in turn four that collected Ian Brew among others. The restart proved to be the deciding factor in the race. Cassidy raced even with Colvin in the outside lane before putting the nose of his car ahead to lead lap-41. He then took over sole possession of the lead on lap-43.
The race finished under green and Cassidy went unchallenged the rest of the way to the win. The win was Cassidy’s fourth on the year and his 29th career in the division, moving him atop the all-time standings. Behind Cassidy and Colvin, Ray Christian, Williams and Jeffrey Cembruch completed the top-five.
Dimatteo started the 30-lap Legends Cars feature in third position but quickly made his way to the race lead in the opening circuits. Carl Blandina spun out of second position on lap-3 in turn two to bring out the first of seven caution periods that plagued the event. Dimatteo would in fact lose the lead to Nick Ladyga, who ended up in a ferocious battle with Chase Dowling for much of the race.
The top-three swapped positions multiple times as the caution flags mounted, including four attempts at completing lap-24. The final restart had Dowling out front in his second Speedbowl start. Ladyga was directly behind as both drivers were looking for their first win at the track.
Dimatteo sat third behind the two as the laps wound down. With the white flag in the air, Ladyga mounted one final challenge on Dowling. Down the back chute into turn three, contact was made with Dowling ending up against the third turn wall. Ladyga crossed the finish line first, however a penalty was imposed on Ladyga for contact giving the win to Dimatteo in a wild final lap. Behind Dimatteo, Alessandro Vitelli and Dave Garbo Jr. were scored as finishing in second and third.
A caution period on lap-2 of the Bandolero feature proved as the only one during their 20-lap feature. Taylor Martin asserted herself early following the caution, racing to the early lead. Behind Martin, Jordan Churchill and Morin raced in second and third in what became a three-car breakaway at the front of the field.
Morin and Churchill swapped positions while chasing down Martin. They reached her on lap-16. Morin had the momentum and raced underneath Martin down the back chute and had the lead as they raced off turn four to lap-17. Churchill was able to take second, with Martin hanging to his outside. Over the final circuits the leaders encountered lapped traffic, which did not trip up Morin. Martin made a last lap bid, racing around Churchill but unable to catch Morin who cruised to the win.
Earlier in the night, the Speedbowl drivers all went against the clock with time trials to help determine the starting lineups. Fast times on the day were recorded by Rocco in the SK Modifieds® (14.234 seconds), Thomas in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models (15.369), Stone in the Street Stocks (17.194) and Christian in the Mini Stocks (17.484). Giovanni Giarratana topped the charts in Legends qualifying (16.995) and Martin in the Bandoleros (19.330). Stone’s lap was a track record for the Street Stock division.
Waterford Speedbowl 7/2 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series results:
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (100-laps): 1. Keith Rocco, Wallingford; 2. Tyler Chadwick, Ledyard; 3. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 4. Tucker Reynolds Jr., Westbrook; 5. Ted Christopher, Plainville; 6. Kyle James, Ashaway, RI; 7. Jeff Pearl, Salem; 8. Nichole Morgillo, Yalesville; 9. Joe Gada, Salem; 10. Matt Gallo, Kensington; 11. Randy Churchill Jr., Oakdale; 12. Tom Abele Jr., Norwich; 13. Brent Sweet, Monroe; 14. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry; 15. Joe Perry, Ashaway, RI; 16. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., Milford; 17. Jeff Gallup, Agawam, MA; 18. Diego Monahan, Quaker Hill; 19. Glenn Pressel III, Gales Ferry; 20. Adam Gada, Bozrah; 21. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill
Standings after eleven events: 1. Pearl, 468; 2. Rocco, 462; 3. (tie) Chadwick, Janovic, 446; 5. James, 418; 6. Abele, 414; 7. (tie) Reynolds, Morgillo, 370; 9. Pressel, 367; 10. Perry, 330
NASCAR Whelen All-American Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models (50-laps): 1. Ray Parent, Tiverton, RI; 2. Bruce Thomas Jr., Groton; 3. Rich Staskowski, Hope Valley, RI; 4. Jeff Smith, Old Lyme; 5. Jason Palmer, Berlin; 6. Brian Andronaco Jr., Wilton; 7. Joe Curioso, Pawcatuck; 8. Keith Rocco, Wallingford; 9. Ernie Bertrand, Branford; 10. Bob Georgiades, East Hampton; 11. Mike Sweeney Jr., Meriden; 12. Anthony Flannery, East Hampton; 13. Dennis Botticello, Suffield; 14. Mark Cooper, Northford; 15. Larry Goss, North Windham; 16. Vin Esposito, Seymour; 17. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill
Standings after ten events: 1. Thomas, 469; 2. Smith, 457; 3. Staskowski, 451; 4. Andronaco, 429; 5. Curioso, 402; 6. Flannery, 383; 7. Esposito, 377; 8. Palmer, 373; 9. Sweeney, 306; 10. Cooper, 278
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks (50-laps): 1. Ed Puleo, Branford; 2. Chris Meyer, North Franklin; 3. Josh Galvin, Franklin; 4. Michael Caprio, New Haven; 5. Steve Barrett, Preston; 6. Nate Appell, Westbrook; 7. Brandon Plemons, Uncasville; 8. Charles Beal, Ledyard; 9. Jack Aquilina, Oakdale; 10. Thomas Stirk, West Haven; 11. Chris Kvaka, Stratford; 12. Al Stone III, New Haven
Standings after eleven events: 1. Puleo, 536; 2. Stone, 509; 3. Meyer, 481; 4. Galvin, 478; 5. Plemons, 432; 6. Barrett, 426; 7. Norm Root Jr., 353; 8. Beal, 336; 9. Appell, 328; 10. Kvaka, 268
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stocks (50-laps): 1. Ken Cassidy Jr., Lisbon; 2. Glenn Colvin, Clinton; 3. Ray Christian III, Preston; 4. Chris Williams, Niantic; 5. Jeffrey Cembruch, Wallingford; 6. Phil Evans, Uncasville; 7. Christina Kellerman, Stratford; 8. Ben Bargnesi, Norwich; 9. Garrett Denton, Hope Valley, RI; 10. Nick Pappacoda, North Branford; 11. Daniel McGouran, Westerly, RI; 12. Jeffrey Lee, Uncasville; 13. Joey DeGregorio, East Haven; 14. Ian Brew, Wood River Junction, RI; 15. Dale Sherman, Charlestown, RI; 16. Charles Canfield, New Haven; 17. Doug Curry, Groton; DQ – Sean Caron, East Hampton
Standings after eleven events: 1. Colvin, 508; 2. Cassidy, 468; 3. Williams, 440; 4. Evans, 429; 5. Brew, 428; 6. Christian, 424; 7. Cembruch, 419; 8. Kellerman, 364; 9. Canfield, 360; 10. Bill Leonard, 335
Legends Cars (30-laps): 1. Dana Dimatteo, Farmington; 2. Alessandro Vitelli, Woodbridge; 3. Dave Garbo Jr., Stonington; 4. Jimmy Heavlow, Galena, MD; 5. Carl Blandina, Milford; 6. Angelo Belsito, Auburn, MA; 7. Dylan Izzo, Monroe; 8. Troy Talman, Oxford, MA; 9. Joe Parker, Weymouth, MA; 10. Kyle Hardwick, Chaplin; 11. Calvin Therrien, Vernon; 12. Nicholas Lascuola, Brockton, MA; 13. Kyle Rogers, Waterbury; 14. Ed Field, Deep River; 15. Chase Dowling, Roxbury; 16. Giovanni Giarratana, Newington; 17. Michael Blaskey, Waterbury; 18. Nicholas Sowa, Middletown; 19. Taylor Martin, Windham, NH; 20. Anthony Pagliarulo, Graveland, MA; 21. Richard Erlandson, Moodus; 22. Zachary Latham, Meriden; 23. Paul Kusheba, Monroe; 24. Joey Mucciacciaro, Wolcott; DQ-Nick Ladyga, Voluntown
Standings after six events: 1. Dimatteo, 300; 2. Vitelli, 250; 3. Giarratana, 227; 4. Kusheba, 199; 5. Belsito, 186; 6. Izzo, 180; 7. Talman, 178; 8. (tie) Field, Garbo, 172; 10. Mucciacciaro, 170 Bandoleros (20-laps): 1. Ken Morin Jr., Old Saybrook; 2. Taylor Martin, Windham, NH; 3. Jordan Churchill, Lisbon; 4. Joey Ternullo, Middletown; 5. Corey Dimatteo, Farmington; 6. Rachel Forte, Douglas, MA; 7. Jacob Perry, Pawcatuck; 8. Rene Morgillo, Niantic; 9. Jordan Lamothe, Woodstock
Saturday Showdown Standings after five events: 1. Martin, 46; 2. Churchill, 35; 3. Dimatteo, 33; 4. Jacob Urch, 20; 5. Robby Jones, 19
Sources: Waterford Speedbowl PR