ISMA Supermodified season opener at Speedbowl Saturday
Memorial Day weekend tradition at shoreline oval continues May 26
Waterford, CT — In what has become an event circled by many on Waterford Speedbowl’s event schedule every year, the International
Supermodified Association (ISMA) will once again begin their championship season at the three-eighths mile Speedbowl in 2012. The 800-horsepower Supermodifieds are slated to visit the popular shoreline oval over Memorial Day weekend this Saturday, May 26.
The ISMA field that assembles at the Speedbowl is often one of the strongest of the season. 2012 appears no different with multiple feature winners as expected entries. Multiple-time ISMA Owner Champion Vic Miller and driver Chris Perley are slated to run a full schedule in 2012, starting with Waterford. According to Perley, atop the ISMA win list at the Speedbowl with four checkered flags, “The Speedbowl is a great place to race at. We always enjoy coming. There are two good grooves for racing”. Two of Perley’s wins came in the season opener and lifted him to the series title. Russ Wood achieved the same success in 2011 after winning last year’s opener.
Lou Cicconi trails Perley with three Speedbowl wins to his credit including the very first ISMA race held at the ‘Bowl in 2005. Cicconi is part of a new team in 2012 with, ironically, a former Perley driven car. Cicconi has a capable teammate in Ohio’s Tim Ice. Both are expected at the ‘Bowl. Ben Seitz, a multiple-time winner at the ‘Bowl in NEMA Midgets and Legends Cars, will be back seeking his first ISMA Speedbowl win. Seitz actually led late in last year’s opener at the Speedbowl until meeting misfortunte. Mike Lichty and former NASCAR driver Johnny Benson are back as teammates in the ISMA stables as well as series main stays Mark Sammut, Rich Reid, Jeff Locke, Jon McKennedy and Eddie Witkum. All are expected on Saturday plus a host of other entries.
Speedbowl owner and promoter Terry Eames always looks forward to ISMA’s opener. “We feel privileged to be the venue that kicks off the season for the Supers. It also means we hit an exciting stretch of our schedule, beginning with ISMA”. Memorial Day weekend puts the Speedbowl in action four out of five days, starting a string of events that also includes Four Cylinder Fury on June 2, Scout Night on June 9, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s return on June 23 and the mid-season 300 event on June 30.
The ISMA Supermodifieds will go 50-laps in distance and qualify by way of heats. They join the Speedbowl’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series race program Saturday. The SK Modifieds® (35-laps), SK Light Modifieds (25-laps), Street Stocks (25-laps) and Mini Stocks (25-laps) will resume their championship battles.
Pit gates open for the ISMA Supermodifieds at 12 noon on Saturday, followed by an open practice session from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. The Speedbowl’s local divisions will be allowed to enter the pits at their normal time of 2:00pm, with their practice getting underway at 3:00pm. Grandstands open at 3:00pm with qualifying beginning at 5:00pm and a special ISMA autograph session planned for approximately 6:30pm.
Main events are scheduled to begin at 7:00pm. More information including a detailed schedule of events for Saturday is available by visiting Speedbowl.com.
Sources: Brian Darling/Waterford Speedbowl PR