Waterford Speedbowl Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesdays 5/23 Results
Waterford, CT– Waterford Speedbowl was back Wednesday evening for the night’s Wild n Wacky racing program with a quickly paced program. Coming out on top with victories on the night included Matt Pappa of Nassau, NY who raced to another Legends Cars win, Jon Porter of Canterbury in nailed the win in the Super X-Cars, Wayne Shifflett of Preston scored victory for the second time in 2012 in X-Car action and Kristie Hamel of Jewett City, who won the night’s Wacky Race.
The 20-lap Legends Cars feature began with a newcomer and a veteran on the front row as Stephen Kopcik and Carl Blandina led the field to the green flag. Dennis Pantani spun in between turns three and four on the opening lap to bring out the caution flag before a lap was scored complete.
Kopcik briefly took the lead when racing resumed. Blandina hung tough in the outside lane trying to take the young driver on the outside. As they ran side-by-side Nicholas Sowa made a bold move inside both as they entered turn one on lap-2. The three wide maneuver worked and Sowa came away with the race lead. Dave Garbo Jr. and Pappa followed suit to race into second and third. The next lap saw Garbo make a hole inside Sowa to take the race lead. Pappa used the same opening to take second just before the second caution came out on lap-4 when Tim Heath came to rest against the wall in turn two after spinning.
On the restart Garbo picked up his lead into turn one over Pappa. The big mover was Dana Dimatteo, shooting from fourth position into second ahead of Pappa and Sowa. Caution was back out after just one more lap after Kopcik spun in turn one, backing up the track collecting Nicholas Lascuola.
Garbo got the jump on Dimatteo for the restart, bringing Pappa by Dimatteo into second. Garbo had trouble keeping his car down low, leaving Pappa opportunity to race underneath for the top spot. Pappa took over exiting turn four on lap-6. Dimatteo got to Garbo’s inside the next lap to challenge for second position and the two would battle for several laps.
The battle for second allowed Pappa to pull out to a multiple car length lead ahead of both Garbo and Dimatteo. Sowa held down fourth position to himself ahead of a battle for fifth between Cory Dimatteo and Pantani. The race would run through the checkered flag without further interruption. Pappa’s lead held up and he took his third win in as many Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday events. Garbo battled back to claim second ahead of Dimatteo. Sowa and Cory Dimatteo completed the top-five.
The 15-lap Bandolero feature only saw one lap complete before a three way battle for early control of the race resulted in Jacob Perry making contact with the wall before coming to rest in turn two. Perry pitted for repairs and resumed from the rear.
Once the race restarted, the field staged a great battle for the race win over the duration of the event. Corey Comeroski took the lead ahead of Derek Debbis, who got stuck in the outside lane over the opening laps. Alan Eastman Jr. took second position then attacked Comeroski, finally pulling to his inside on lap-5 in turns three and four. Urch and Rachel Forte moved up to second and third position hanging Comeroski out on the outside.
The top three broke away from fourth position, which Debbis took from Comeroski. The three leaders ran nose to tail into the closing laps of the event. With five laps to go, Urch began to pressure Eastman. He looked underneath the leader, however Eastman fought off two bids to his inside. Finally, on lap-13 Urch got a great run down the front chute into turn one. He found room under Eastman and took the race lead off turn two.
Forte lined up behind Urch to help him clear Eastman as they took the white flag. Over the final lap, the leaders reached a lapped car through turns three and four. Urch had Forte all over his rear bumper while Eastman regrouped and gained momentum through the final corners. Urch held back Forte and a surging Eastman to take the win.
In the 20-lap Super X-Car feature, Porter snapped the stranglehold Dan Butler had on the division. Butler had won four consecutive events in the division including all three Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday events this year however suffered a tough night on Wednesday. Porter dominated from the green flag, leading every lap and going virtually unchallenged to the checkered flag. He had built up a large lead by the time the caution flag waved on lap-16. Porter jumped back into the race lead ahead of John Yagmin. He led the final four laps to move on to Victory Lane. Yagmin had to hold back a charge from Mike Maskell over the remaining laps to score second.
Shifflett found Victory Lane for the second time in three X-Car races on the year. His route to the winner’s circle was the toughest of the night as he overcame a close call earlier in the event. The 20-lap feature began with Javier Rivera leading the first lap before a multi-car incident collected several competitors exiting turn two.
Following the restart, Randy Johnston and Mike Marvin moved to the top two spots. Their battle endured much of the race while behind them, Shifflett, Glen Thomas Jr. and Scott Limkemann moved up. On lap-9 contact between Shifflett and Thomas saw both cars out of shape down the front stretch with both drivers making nice saves to keep from wrecking. The contact resulted in the second caution flag as Thomas suffered damage in the contact and slowed on the track.
Shifflett surged ahead over the next green flag laps, rising into the race lead over Johnston. Marvin was battling Limkemann, who eventually powered into third position. He chased down Johnston, getting to his inside to take second. Shifflett was uncatchable out front and he raced to his second win of the season. Limkemann was second over Johnston, Thomas, who rallied back to finish fourth, and Marvin.
Hamel was the winner of the night’s Wacky Race, a Musical Car race for the Super X-Car division. She bested Eric Finkbein in the final round to take a popular victory.
The Speedbowl continues to gear up for a blockbuster Memorial Day weekend of action. On Saturday the 800-horsepower ISMA Supermodifieds continue a Memorial Day Weekend tradition at the Speedbowl. Saturday’s 50-lap ISMA joins four NASCAR Whelen All-American Series races, highlighted by the Speedbowl’s SK Modified® division. Qualifying gets started at 5:00pm with main events at 7:00pm Saturday. A special ISMA autograph session is scheduled for approximately 6:30pm, providing fans opportunity to meet the stars of the series. Adult grandstands admission is $33.00 on Saturday with youth admitted for $10.00. Kids age 5 and under are free.
Sunday evening’s Memorial Day Madness is presented by 97.7 WCTY radio and offers thrill seekers a night of smashing and extreme action. Local motorcycle stuntman Luke Emmons, one of the nation’s finest extreme motorcycle riders, will put on a performance in his native Connecticut. The always popular Demolition Derby, wild Trailer, ski car race plus more surprises are all part of the evening’s fun. One of the region’s first fireworks displays of the year will light up the sky to conclude the program. Gates open at 5:30pm and the smashing begins at 7:00pm. Adults grandstands admission is $16.00, youth 6 through 14 just $6.00 and age 5 and under are free on Sunday.
Waterford Speedbowl Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday 5/23 Results:
Legends Cars (20-laps): 1. Matt Pappa, Nassau, NY; 2. Dave Garbo Jr., Stonington; 3. Dana Dimatteo, Farmington; 4. Nicholas Sowa, Middletown; 5. Cory Dimatteo, Farmington; 6. Dennis Pantani, Branford; 7. Nicholas Lascuola, Brockton, MA; 8. Joey Mucciacciaro, Wolcott; 9. Joey Ternullo, Middletown; 10. Daniel Stolte, Northbridge, MA; 11. Jordan Churchill, Lisbon; 12. Jordan Lamothe, Woodstock; 13. David Johnson, Arlingham, MA; 14. Tim Heath, Lebanon; 15. Christopher Kearney, Ellington; 16. Angelo Belsito, Auburn, MA; 17. Carl Blandina, Milford; 18. Stephen Kopcik, Newtown
Bandoleros (15-laps): 1. Jacob Urch, West Suffield; 2. Alan Eastman Jr., Fishers Island, NY; 3. Rachel Forte, Douglas, MA; 4. Derek Debbis, Oakdale; 5. Corey Comeroski, Lebanon; 6. Jacob Perry, Pawcatuck
Super X-Cars (20-laps): 1. Jon Porter, Canterbury; 2. John Yagmin, Tolland; 3. Mike Maskell, Niantic; 4. Ed Ryan, Preston; 5. Frank Alessio, Colchester; 6. Ken Downing III, Branford; 7. Jim Boyle, East Windsor; 8. Kevin Moon, Exeter, RI; 9. Ken Cassidy Sr., Lisbon; 10. Taylor-Marie Moran, Preston; 11. John Brouwer Jr., Groton; 12. R.J. Cunningham, Clinton; 13. Matt Carlson, Griswold; 14. Steve Bray, East Hartford; 15. Paul Turcotte, East Hartford; 16. Daryl Stratford, Manchester; 17. Dan Butler, Waterford; 18. Eric Finkbein, Colchester; 19. Peter Pollard, Old Lyme; 20. Ralph Caddick, Hope Valley, RI
X-Cars (20-laps): 1. Wayne Shifflett, Preston; 2. Scott Limkemann, East Lyme; 3. Randy Johnston, Westerly, RI; 4. Glen Thomas Jr., 5. Michael Marvin, Colchester; 6. Craig Miner, Higganum; 7. Mike Trask, Plainfield; 8. Javier Rivera, Willimantic; 9. Brad Voglesong, Middletown; 10. Melissa Clavette, Bozrah; 11. Mitchell Bombard, Willimantic; 12. C.P. Burdick, Deep River; 13. Henry Lavallee, Uncasville; 14. Christopher Lee, Uncasville; 15. Chuck McDonald, Groton; 16. Nate Bryington, Webster, MA; 17. Chris Thomas, East Hampton; 18. Michele Cicio, Baltic; 19. Zach Ezzell, Plainfield; 20. Eddie Loomis, Plainfield; 21. Kim Bickford, Griswold; 22. Kristie Hamel, Jewett City; 23. Onie Pierce, Norwich; 24. Josh Barrie, Voluntown; DNS – Pete Zaikarite, Niantic
Wacky Super X-Car Musical Car Race: 1. Kristie Hamel, Jewett City
Sources: Waterford Speedbowl PR