Waterford Speedbowl Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday 6/5 Results
Waterford, CT — Waterford Speedbowl hosted another round of Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday racing under ideal conditions and fans were rewarded with an outstanding night of motorsports. New winners were the order of the night as Nick Sowa of Middletown along with Matt Carlson of Griswold each recorded their first career victories in the Legend Car and Super X-Car divisions, respectively. Ken Morin Jr. of Old Saybrook returned to the winner’s circle in his first outing of 2013 in the Bandoleros while Larry Loomis Jr. of Moosup visited Victory Lane for the first time in several years in the X-Car feature. Victoria Finkbein won the night’s Wacky Race.
Sowa was the third leader of the 20-lap Legend Cars race, taking over on lap-8 from Angelo Belsito. There was plenty of action up front before that however. John O’Sullivan Jr. and Joey Ferrigno led the field to the green flag, and a false start by O’Sullivan brought the field back together for a second attempt to start the race.
The second start was a success and Ferrigno pulled ahead from the outside lane to lead lap-1. Belsito quickly moved to second position and spent two laps trailing Ferrigno before making a move to his inside to take the lead off turn two on lap-3. Sowa followed him to second position and Joey Ternullo raced to third by keeping Ferrigno trapped in the outside lane. The running order remained the same when the first caution waved on lap-6 as Joshua Zentek spun exiting turn four, coming to rest on the apron of the track at the start-finish line.
The restart saw action out of turn two before another lap could be completed. Two-time Bandolero champion Taylor Martin was making her first start of the year at the track and spun, making contact with the turn two wall as she climbed through the top-ten from a starting position at the back of the field. The caution returned with the race halted at lap-6.
Belsito resumed his lead when racing went back to green as Sowa tucked in line behind. Belsito was unable to keep his car glued to the bottom of the track, fighting a loose condition that had Sowa salivating. Sowa was inside Belsito for the lead on lap-8 ahead of a yellow flag for David Johnson, who spun on the front chute before quickly recovering. During the caution, Belsito gave up second position to pit for adjustments to his machine after relinquishing the top spot.
Sowa continued to show the way over the second half of the race, holding back Joey Ternullo who moved to second. Mike Christopher Jr. marched forward, taking fourth position before hounding Carl Blandina. Blandina spun into turn one on lap-15, collecting Frank Scimeca Jr. in the process to draw the final caution of the race.
Sowa jumped back out front on the final restart as Christopher got inside of Ternullo to take second. Meanwhile Belsito stormed back into contention, first getting around Ternullo then waiting for Christopher to slip up to emerge in second behind Sowa on lap-17. Belsito tried to unseat Sowa from the bottom groove to reclaim the lead he enjoyed in the opening laps, to no avail. Sowa was not rattled by the pressure and the young driver streaked to the first-ever win. Belsito settled for second while Christopher finished in third. The fastest lap of the race belonged to Ternullo on lap-3.
Fans were treated to a dandy of a race in the Super X-Car event. Their 20-lap feature was slowed by three caution periods which regrouped the field, building to the exciting conclusion. The final caution flag involved early leaders Dan Butler and Jon Porter, who wrecked with one another after a lap-15 restart. That moved Carlson and Mike Maskell to the front row to settle the race. They remained side-by-side over the final five circuits. Maskell inched into the lead and held the spot in the outside lane, but Carlson ran his line on the bottom and fought back. Maskell led at the white flag, but it was Carlson who ran smooth through turns three and four to take the career-first win in memorable fashion.
Loomis was in control during the 20-lap X-Car race. He used the early stages to wind his way through traffic after two early caution flags to ride among the top-three runners by lap-4. The race ran through the checkered flag the rest of the way and Loomis was stout during the long run. He kept his car in the outside lane and picked off lapped cars plus the lead duo of Jordan Hadley and Mike Trask. Loomis continued in the top groove and pulled away to the win, besting Trask and Michael Marvin at the finish.
The 20-lap Bandolero feature saw Morin line up on the front row in his first outing of 2013 by virtue of the luck of the draw. Morin wasted no time jumping into the lead, surging ahead of a battle for second position that endured over the entire race. The field lined up behind second place runner A.J. Eastman but nobody was able to successfully pull out of line to make a move. Morin enjoyed a one-car cushion straight to the checkered flag, his first of the year, ahead of Eastman and Jacob Perry. The race ran caution-free.
Finkbein won the evening’s Wacky Race for the Super X-Cars, which participated in Musical Cars. She lined up with Peter Pollard for the final round. The two played cat-and-mouse until they made continued contact through turns three and four all the way to the final cone, located at the finish line. The contact was deemed too much by track officials, and Finkbein was awarded the win.
Waterford Speedbowl Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday 6/5 Results:
INEX Legend Cars (20-laps): 1. Nicholas Sowa, Middletown; 2. Angelo Belsito, Auburn, MA; 3. Michael Christopher Jr., Wolcott; 4. Joey Ternullo, Middletown; 5. Michael Blaskey, Waterbury; 6. Stephen Kopcik, Newtown; 7. David Johnson, Arlingham, MA; 8. John O’Sullivan Jr., Salem; 9. David Lespinasse, Milford; 10. Joshua Zentek, East Haven; 11. Joe Ferrigno, East Hartford; 12. Carl Blandina, Milford; 13. Frank Scimeca Jr., Bay Shore, NY; 14. Mike Beebe Sr., Old Saybrook; 15. Taylor Martin, Windham, NH; 16. Joey Mucciacciaro, Wolcott; DNS – T.J. Thompson, Lisbon
INEX Bandoleros (20-laps): 1. Ken Morin Jr., Old Saybrook; 2. A.J. Eastman, Fishers Island, NY; 3. Jacob Perry, Pawcatuck; 4. Anthony Marvin, Colchester; 5. Corey Comeroski, Lebanon; 6. Christian Eckes, Middletown, NY; 7. Jonathon Puleo, Branford; 8. Andrew Morin, Old Saybrook
Super X-Cars (20-laps): 1. Matt Carlson, Griswold; 2. Mike Maskell, Quaker Hill; 3. John Yagmin, Tolland; 4. Frank Alessio, Colchester; 5. Kevin Moon, Exeter, RI; 6. Bill Reiman, Southington; 7. Ken Downing III, Branford; 8. Ray Reed, Norwich; 9. Jim Boyle, East Windsor; 10. Robert Goulet, Southington; 11. John Brouwer Jr., Groton; 12. Eric Finkbein Jr., East Hartford; 13. Ed Reed Jr., Groton; 14. R.J. Cunningham, Clinton; 15. Justin Cook, Clinton; 16. Shawn Gaedeke, Southington; 17. Jimmy Griswold, Wallingford; 18. Marc Shafer, Groton; 19. James Maher, Shelton; 20. Dan Butler, Waterford; 21. Jon Porter, Canterbury; 22. Eric Finkbein Sr., Columbia; 23. Ray Phillips, Canterbury; 24. Peter Pollard, Old Lyme; 25. Patrick Broderick, Glastonbury
X-Cars (20-laps): 1. Larry Loomis Jr., Moosup; 2. Mike Trask, Plainfield; 3. Michael Marvin, Colchester; 4. Chris Thomas, Waterford; 5. Mitchell Bombard, Willimantic; 6. John Bowes, Willington; 7. Randy Johnston, Westerly, RI; 8. Wayne Shifflett, Preston; 9. Melissa Clavette, Bozrah; 10. Jordan Hadley, Quaker Hill; 11. Brad Voglesong, Middletown; 12. Nate Bryington, Webster, MA; 13. Onie Pierce, Norwich; 14. Scott Limkemann, East Lyme; 15. Zach Thomas, New London; 16. Eddie Loomis, Plainfield; 17. Kim Bickford, Griswold; 18. Mark Tourville, Groton; 19. Christopher Lee, Uncasville; 20. David Gargaro Jr., Cranston, RI; 21. Zach Ezzell, Plainfield; 22. Garrett Kuhn, Waterford; 23. Matthew Westover, Gales Ferry; 24. Robert Butler, Norwich; 25. Matthew Ryan, Groton; 26. Michael Lee, Uncasville; 27. Chuck McDonald, Groton; 28. Aaron Sypher-Piper, Clinton; DNS – C.P. Burdick, Deep River
Wacky Super X-Car Musical Car Race: 1. Victoria Finkbein
Sources: Brian Darling/Waterford Speedbowl PR