Waterford Speedbowl Saturday 9/1 Thunder on the Sound Results
Waterford, CT — Waterford Speedbowl was in action on Saturday of Labor Day weekend with its annual Thunder on the Sound event, presented by The Connecticut National Guard. Mother Nature interfered more than once, as rain soaked the racing surface on two separate occasions. Nine events were scheduled for the program in total with five feature races completed before rain began falling for the final time during the 16th annual Budweiser Modified Nationals SK Modified® 150. The remainder of the night’s races, including the SK-150, were postponed to later dates.
Taking victories in the races completed included Todd Bertrand of Suffield in a special tribute Northeastern Midget Association race. Keith Rocco of Meriden scored a career first win in the NEMA Lite series after making his first-ever start in the division. Cam McDermott of Scituate, RI took home the checkered flag in a rain-shortened NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Light Modified feature and in INEX racing action, Joe Mucciacciaro of Wolcott landed his first career Speedbowl win in the Legend Cars and Ken Morin Jr. of Old Saybrook was declared the winner of the Bandolero feature.
Bertrand withstood stiff challenges from Randy Cabral during the 30-lap NEMA Midget race, which was a tribute to Gene and Marilyn Angelillo, long-time car owners and contributors to the division. Bertrand used the fourth starting position to race his way into the lead on lap-5. He passed Paul Scally, who led from the drop of the green flag. Cabral arrived in second position behind Bertrand on lap-8, however Bertrand was able to hold off Cabral in a quickly paced race. Bertrand got the jump over Cabral on the final restart and kept him at bay until he was able to pull back ahead. Cabral finished in second while Mike Horn finished third.
Angelillo-piloted cars claimed over 100 victories and 14 championships over the years in NEMA. Each served the club in various roles, including Gene as president and Marilyn as secretary for several seasons. Russ Stoehr, racing in the famous Dumo’s Desire #45 entry fielded by the Angelillo’s for years, finished fourth.
Rocco was a surprise winner in the 25-lap NEMA Lite feature. Christian Briggs raced into the lead from the pole starting position, however it was Rocco who made all the moves during the race. He started deep in the field in 15th position and steadily climbed into contention over the opening 10 laps of the race. Following a caution on lap-6, Rocco moved into contention by racing into third behind leaders Briggs and Brandon Igo on lap-7. A lap later, Rocco passed Igo for second position and began to stalk Briggs, who continued to lead. He moved into the lead on lap-11, then withstood three final caution periods over the final half of the race. Rocco was making his first-ever start in the series and adapted quickly, commenting how much “fun” the division was to race in. Ian Cummens was able to take second position at the checkered flag, while Igo hung on for third.
The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Light Modified feature was interrupted by rain on lap-17, forcing the field to the pits for cover. During an extended rain delay the event was declared official, giving the win to McDermott who was the leader at the time. Alan Benincaso led the opening three laps before Tyler Jackson was able to take over through turns one and two. Defending division Paul French was able to get to Benincaso’s inside, moving to second position on lap-5. Once in the outside lane, Benincaso dropped back as Corey Barry and McDermott moved in to the top four on lap-6. Victoria Bergenty spun to bring out the first caution flag a lap later, resuming from the rear of the field.
Once racing got back underway, the top four resumed their position and ran in order until McDermott got to the inside of Barry for third position on lap-10. McDermott continued to flex his muscle, by getting around the outside of French for second on lap-14. McDermott immediately went on the offensive on race leader Jackson, making an inside move on Jackson in turn three a lap later to be scored as the new race leader on lap-15. Behind McDermott, French tried to find room under Jackson as the pair entered turn one. The two made the slightest of contact, with Jackson spinning around in turn one to bring out the caution flag.
McDermott resumed his lead on the restart as French held second ahead of Randy Churchill, making his first start of the season in the division. Barry was in trouble on lap-17, sliding to a stop in turn two after running among the top-five for most of the race. It was during the caution for Barry when rains began to fall and the race was halted, crediting McDermott with the win and French and Churchill rounding out the podium.
The 20-lap Legend Cars feature was another entertaining affair for the division which has staged great racing of late. First-year drivers Cory Dimatteo and Nicholas Sowa led the field to the green flag, with Dimatteo jumping into the race lead. Sowa tucked in line behind Dimatteo and tailed the leader over the opening laps. Before long, Sowa was looking for a way around Dimatteo while behind the top two Mucciacciaro was in a pack of cars moving into contention that included Paul Kusheba and Dylan Izzo. Mucciacciaro led that battle and moved up to second position when he found room to Sowa’s inside off turn four on lap-4. Once in second, Mucciacciaro made the move to Dimatteo’s inside entering turn three on lap-5 to take over command of the race, which was run without a single caution flag.
Once in the lead Mucciacciaro could not shake Kusheba, who shadowed the leader from lap-8 to the checkered flag. Izzo moved to third and made it a three-car battle for the top spot over the second half of the race. Kusheba stayed in striking distance and turned up his pressure on Mucciacciaro over the final three laps. He got to Mucciacciaro’s back bumper in turn one over each of the final three laps, but was unable to find room to pull alongside. Mucciacciaro streaked to his first career win at the Speedbowl in another thrilling finish for the division. Kusheba settled for second with Izzo taking third. Behind them, Sowa and Dana Dimatteo rounded out the top-five positions.
The Bandolero feature was slowed by one caution flag on lap-3 when the division’s hottest driver, Derek Debbis, dropped off the pace with mechanical failure and came to rest on the apron of the track just off turn four. Rene Morgillo led the remainder of the way unchallenged following the race’s lone restart, appearing to go on to her first career victory in the division. Morgillo’s car failed post-race inspection however, giving the win to Ken Morin Jr. Behind Morin, Anthony Marvin and Andrew Morin completed the top three.
The Speedbowl returns to action next Saturday with the Valenti Modified Racing Series joining another round of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing. The Valenti Modified Racing Series was added to the event date weeks ago after being postponed from the track’s 5th annual Wings & Wheels show. Mother Nature continued to wreak havoc on the Speedbowl’s late season schedule, as the remaining four features from Saturday’s Thunder on the Sound card were postponed to upcoming weeks later in September. All the details on the adjusted upcoming September event schedules can be found on Speedbowl.com.
Waterford Speedbowl Saturday 9/1 Thunder on the Sound Results:
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Light Modifieds (25-laps): 1. Cam McDermott, Scituate, RI; 2. Paul French, Andover; 3. Randy Churchill Jr., Oakdale; 4. Victoria Bergenty, Plainville; 5. Chris Correll, Quaker Hill; 6. Tyler Jackson, Milford; 7. Chris Ignazio, Colchester; 8. Corey Larson, Bolton; 9. Alan Benincaso, Westport; 10. Larry Goss, North Windham; 11. Corey Barry, Plainfield; 12. Shayne Prucker, Stafford Springs
Northeastern Midget Association Angelillo Memorial (30-laps): 1. Todd Bertrand, Suffield; 2. Randy Cabral, Plymouth, MA; 3. Mike Horn, Ashland, MA; 4. Russ Stoehr, Lakeville, MA; 5. Adam Cantor, Dix Hills, NY; 6. Paul Scally, Raynham, MA; 7. Jeff Horn, Ashland, MA; 8. Greg Stoehr, Bridgewater, MA; 9. Jim Miller, Weymouth, MA; 10. Anthony Marvuglio, East Bridgewater, MA; 11. Jim SantaMaria, Burlington; 12. Matt O’Brien, Wilmington, MA; 13. Lee Bundy, Kennebunkport, ME; 14. Pete Pernesiglio Jr., Lake Grove, NY; 15. Doug Cleveland, Sudbury, MA; 16. Seth Carlson, Brimfield
NEMA Lites (25-laps): 1. Keith Rocco, Meriden; 2. Ian Cummens, Lydell, PA; 3. Brandon Igo, Enfield; 4. Christian Briggs, Mattapoisett, MA; 5. Bethany Stoehr, Bridgewater, MA; 6. Avery Stoehr, Lakeville, MA; 7. Randy Cabral, Plymouth, MA; 8. Danny Cugini, Marshfield, MA; 9. R.J. Tufano, West Haven; 10. Ryan Bigelow, East Hampton; 11. Scott Bigelow, East Hampton; 12. Jim SantaMaria, Burlington; 13. Eric Leduc; 14. Kevin Park; 15. Dylan Duhaime, Loudon, NH; 16. Carl Medeiros Jr., Westport, MA; 17. Paul Bigelow; 18. Kenney Johnson, Bethany
INEX Legend Cars Saturday Showdown Series (20-laps): 1. Joe Mucciacciaro, Wolcott; 2. Paul Kusheba IV, Monroe; 3. Dylan Izzo, Westport; 4. Dana Dimatteo, Farmington; 5. Nicholas Sowa, Middletown; 6. Joey Ternullo, Middletown; 7. Giovanni Giarratana, Newington; 8. Kyle Rogers, Waterbury; 9. Stephen Kopcik, Newtown; 10. Cory Dimatteo, Farmington; 11. Jordan Churchill, Lisbon; 12. Ed Field, Deep River; 13. Calvin Therrien, Vernon; 14. Kyle Hardwick, Chaplin; 15. Christopher Kearney, Ellington; 16. Scott McKnickle, Ledyard; 17. John O’Sullivan, Salem; 18. Richard Erlandson, Moodus
INEX Bandoleros Saturday Showdown Series (10-laps) : 1. Ken Morin Jr., Old Saybrook; 2. Anthony Marvin, Colchester; 3. Andrew Morin, Old Saybrook; 4. Derek Debbis, Oakdale; DQ – Rene Morgillo, Niantic
Sources: Brian Darling/Waterford Speedbowl PR