Waterford Speedbowl 9/7 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Results

Waterford, CT — Waterford Speedbowl returned with NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing as the main attraction Saturday evening. A fast paced night of motorsports was completed placing five winners into Victory Lane. Leading the way was Kyle James of Ashaway, RI, winning his third SK Modified® race of the year after a spirited battle at the front of the pack. Keith Rocco of Meriden took home top honors in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model division, Josh Galvin of Franklin won his third Street Stock race of the season and Garrett Denton of Hope Valley, RI took his second Mini Stock victory in the past three events. Vernon’s Glenn Griswold rounded out the night’s winners, scoring his second consecutive SK Light Modified race win.

The 35-lap SK Modified® feature was a great battle among the top cars over the duration of the event as just two caution flags slowed the pace. Nichole Morgillo used the pole starting position to hold the lead early on, racing ahead of Ted Christopher at the drop of the green flag. Diego Monahan tried to dive under Christopher on the opening lap only to see his car ride up the track in turn four with the two making contact. Christopher was able to hold second but the field was only able to complete one more lap before Keith Rocco and Shawn Monahan got together in turn four, with Rocco spinning to bring out the first caution flag of the race.

Morgillo was back out in front beating Christopher through turns one and two following the restart. Monahan held third ahead of a pack of cars racing for position that included James. He broke out of the pack in the inside lane, taking fourth with Todd Ceravolo following into fifth. James was able to scoot by Monahan for third when the second and final caution flag of the event came out on lap-7 when Jeff Gallup went spinning off the front chute.

Morgillo jumped back ahead of Christopher through turns one and two on the restart, leaving him in the grasp of James who kept Christopher in the outside lane. James was able to take second from Christopher on lap-8 and Ceravolo was by Christopher into third a lap later. Back up front James was draped all over the rear bumper of Morgillo, looking for a way around. He looked to the outside, trying to get a wheel on Morgillo only to see her shut the door and the two make contact. James was back at it on lap-12 again trying outside of Morgillo, to no avail.

Ceravolo made a run for second on lap-16 when James continued to look to the outside of Morgillo. After James fought that bid off, he once again went on attack for the lead, finally able to pull alongside Morgillo on lap-18. After one lap there, he raced off turn four into the lead to complete lap-19. Christopher jumped back into the mix as he got by Ceravolo and Morgillo on the outside to follow James on lap-20. The top two cars began to pull away as Morgillo fended off Ceravolo and fifth place Craig Lutz. Lutz was able to get past Ceravolo to try his hand at unseating Morgillo from a podium finish.

Up front Christopher made a run at James. He was on James’ rear bumper on lap-22 applying pressure. James withstood the challenge and eventually pulled ahead by a car length. As the laps clicked off the scoreboard Christopher stuck with James, however was unable to mount a final rally. James raced to the checkered flag the rest of the way as Christopher finished just behind. Further back, a great battle that endured over the final 15 laps saw Morgillo hold back all challenges for third position to match her best finish of the year. Lutz finished in fourth and Ceravolo rounded out the top five. Rocco, the division point leader, battled back from his spin to finish in sixth.

Rocco won for the eighth time of the year in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model division, padding his lead in that division’s point standings in the process. He quickly arrived among the top-three cars and picked off second place Rich Staskowski on the inside of the track on lap-5, then ran down leader Jeff Smith. Rocco caught him and used the top groove to make his move, driving into the lead off turn four to complete lap-12. Rocco went on interrupted to the 30-lap victory in a race that ran from the green to checkered flags without a yellow flag. Smith finished in second and Staskowski was third.

Galvin was out front of a Street Stock race that saw the competition take its share of bruises over the middle of the 25-lap feature. He took the lead from Dan Darnstaedt following a restart on lap-8. Once the division got past halfway, the final laps were completed in quick fashion. Galvin moved to second in the standings after trouble set in for point leaders Corey Hutchings and Chris Meyer during the race. Phil Evans took second place and Al Stone finished third. Hutchings was able to recover to place sixth while Meyer did not finish.

Denton powered to his second victory in three weeks in the 25-lap Mini Stock feature, combining a fast car with a timely maneuver to get by leader Ken Cassidy Jr. midway through the race. Cassidy marched his way to the front of the field to take the lead on lap-5 and held it while Denton moved into second. Cassidy had a suspension failure set in on his car, slowly dropping him back through the field when Denton capitalized and moved out front. Cassidy pitted for repairs during the first caution flag on lap-17 and was able to return without losing any laps to the field. Denton got away from Ray Christian on a late restart to take the win, while Christian finished in second and Bill Leonard of held off a charging Cassidy to take third at the finish. Denton was able to close the gap on Cassidy in the battle for the championship. The two sit atop the division point standings.

Griswold was back in Victory Lane for the second straight race in the SK Light Modified division. He inherited the lead when the two leaders, Victoria Bergenty and Randy Churchill, tangled on lap-2. Griswold was unstoppable over five additional caution flags that slowed the event. He held back Churchill, who was able to dodge trouble the rest of the way to move back into second. Churchill, the point leader, finished second while Corey Barry ran a clean race and wound up placing third.

Waterford Speedbowl Saturday 9/7 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series results and standings:

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (35-laps): 1. Kyle James, Ashaway, RI; 2. Ted Christopher, Plainville; 3. Nichole Morgillo, Meriden; 4. Ryan Lutz, Miller Place, NY; 5. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry; 6. Keith Rocco, Meriden; 7. Tyler Chadwick, Ledyard; 8. Shawn Thibeault, Plainville; 9. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 10. Jeffrey Gallup, Agawam, MA; 11. Tom Abele Jr., Norwich; 12. Joe Gada, Salem; 13. Diego Monahan, Quaker Hill; 14. Ed Puleo, Branford; 15. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., Milford; 16. Corey Coates, Ledyard; 17. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry; 18. Shawn Monahan, Waterford; 19. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill; 20. Adam Gada, Bozrah

Unofficial standings after 20 events: 1. Rocco, 936; 2. Ceravolo, 861; 3. Chadwick, 822; 4. Lutz, 748; 5. James, 717; 6. Janovic, 683; 7. D. Monahan, 679; 8. J. Gada, 651; 9. Christopher, 610; 10. Gallup, 602

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bob Valenti Late Models (30-laps): 1. Keith Rocco, Meriden; 2. Jeff Smith, Old Lyme; 3. Rich Staskowski, Hope Valley, RI; 4. David Farrington Jr., Jay, ME; 5. Jason Palmer, Berlin; 6. Christopher Garside, Waterford; 7. Ray Christian III, Groton; 8. Anthony Ryan Sr., Danbury; 9. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill; 10. Vin Esposito, Seymour; DNS – Tony Macrino, Waterford

Unofficial standings after 17 events: 1. Rocco, 850; 2. Palmer, 741; 3. Smith, 728; 4. Dillon Moltz, 603; 5. Garside, 596; 6. Staskowski, 596; 7. Mike Sweeney Jr., 562; 8. Duranti, 502; 9. Esposito, 488; 10. Bruce Thomas Jr., 448

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks (25-laps): 1. Josh Galvin, Franklin; 2. Phil Evans, Uncasville; 3. Al Stone III, Durham; 4. Monte Gibbs, Higganum; 5. Dan Darnstaedt, Durham; 6. Corey Hutchings, Salem; 7. Joe Arena, Bristol; 8. Norm Root Jr., Old Saybrook; 9. Dwayne Dorr, Ledyard; 10. Ronnie Oldham Jr., Old Saybrook; 11. Tim Morse, Waterbury; 12. Don Spence Jr., Oakdale; 13. Scott Sousa, Uncasville; 14. Ryan Waterman, Danielson; 15. Chris Meyer, North Franklin; 16. Chris Douton, Waterford; 17. Ed Gertsch Jr., East Haven; 18. Lloyd Anderson, Wauregan

Unofficial standings after 18 events: 1. Hutchings, 812; 2. Galvin, 783; 3. Meyer, 768; 4. Stone, 758; 5. Evans, 671; 6. Arena, 656; 7. Darnstaedt, 650; 8. Root, 633; 9. Waterman, 577; 10. Gibbs, 520

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stocks (25-laps): 1. Garrett Denton, Hope Valley, RI; 2. Ray Christian III, Groton; 3. Bill Leonard, Charlestown, RI; 4. Ken Cassidy Jr., Lisbon; 5. Ian Brew, Wood River Junction, RI; 6. Christopher Ivory, Oakdale; 7. Joe Liskiewicz, Preston; 8. Eric Burgeois, East Haddam; 9. Doug Curry, Groton; 10. Joe Fogarasi, Columbia; 11. Jeff Moffat, Smithfield, RI; 12. Nick Pappacoda, North Branford; 13. Jeffrey Lee, Uncasville; 14. Dale Sherman, Charlestown, RI

Unofficial standings after 19 events: 1. Cassidy 883; 2. Denton, 849; 3. Brew, 834; 4. Leonard, 761; 5. Christian, 740; 6. Ivory, 720; 7. Curry, 690; 8. Wayne Burroughs, 628; 9. (tie) Liskiewicz, Pappacoda, 564

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Light Modifieds (25-laps): 1. Glenn Griswold, Vernon; 2. Randy Churchill, Oakdale; 3. Corey Barry, Plainfield; 4. Paul French, Andover; 5. Victoria Bergenty, Plainville; 6. Chris Ignazio, Colchester; 7. Alan Benincaso, Westport; 8. Larry Goss, North Windham; 9. Paul Buzel, Trumbull; 10. Joe Fraulino Jr., East Hampton; 11. Jeff Fialkovich, Shelton

Unofficial standings after 12 events: 1. Churchill, 568; 2. Barry, 539; 3. Ignazio, 496; 4. Griswold, 467; 5. Fialkovich, 414; 6. Bergenty, 388; 7. Paul French, 365; 8. Benincaso, 306; 9. Goss, 296; 10. Buzel, 242

Sources: Brian Darling/Waterford Speedbowl PR