Waterford Speedbowl Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday 9/10 Results
Waterford, CT (September 10, 2014) – Waterford Speedbowl put the finishing touches on the 14th season of Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday, its popular mid-week motorsports program. A pair of drivers used the final week of racing to claim their first wins of the year, as Ed Ryan of Preston took the Super X-Car win and Nickolas Hovey of Chaplin won the INEX Bandolero feature. Mike Christopher Jr. of Wolcott had a record setting win in the INEX Legend Cars and Wayne Shifflett of Preston took the X-Car race win. The night’s two Mechanic Races were won by Charles Beal of Ledyard and Eric Finkbein Sr. of Manchester, while John Kelly of New London took the victory in the Officials Race to round out the night’s winners.
Christopher won again in the INEX Legend Cars, taking the final Wednesday night race of the year to cement a record setting season in the division. He made his way to the front in the early going of the 25-lap feature, trailing Joey Ternullo. He found room to Ternullo’s inside on lap-15, spending three laps side-by-side before a caution flag on lap-18. Ternullo held the advantage, putting Christopher in the outside lane for the restart. Christopher used the top of the track to power ahead for good on lap-20, going on to the win. Ternullo was second and David Johnson was third. Christopher’s victory marked his 23rd overall on the year between the division’s Wednesday and Saturday events, giving him the division single season record for wins. Christopher swept both series titles for the division, becoming the fourth driver to accomplish the feat.
Shifflett won his third X-Car race of the season after coming on to weekly competition midway through the year. He took the lead early but had to hold off two hard chargers over the second half of the 25-lap event. Eric Finkbein caught Shifflett and ran to his outside for several laps trying to overtake the lead, but was unable to make the pass. As the two battled, Jordan Hadley moved in to make it a three-car race for the win over the final eight laps. Hadley was able to get past Finkbein’s inside on lap-19 and tried to pry Shifflett’s car from the bottom of the track as the laps counted down. The top three cars ran nose to tail on the final lap and Hadley’s final corner rally came up short when Finkbein made contact with him, allowing Shifflett to get to the checkered flag first. Hadley held on for second and Finkbein was third. Zac Thomas finished sixth and won the division title.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Ryan got the handles on his car on point and dominated the 25-lap Super X-Car feature. He led comfortably over a long green flag run that brought the race to lap-22 when the third and final caution flag came out. Ryan had to contend with Dan Butler over the final sprint to the finish, winning for the first time of the year in the season’s final week. Butler was a close second and Dave Yardley was third. A tight championship battle that came down to the final race was taken by Ray Reed. He beat out Kevin Moon, who encountered trouble early in the race and was the first car out of the race.
Hovey was a first-time winner in the INEX Bandoleros, checkering the 15-lap feature. He led throughout, taking the lead on the opening lap from Ethan Durocher. Anthony Marvin tailed Hovey to the finish but was unable to pull alongside to make a bid for the win. Durocher wound up third. Marvin took his second consecutive division championship.
Next Wednesday, the Speedbowl celebrates its Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday season with a buffet banquet at the track. Champions will be crowned and season long honors will be handed out. Tickets will be $18.00 at the door for the event, which begins at 5:30pm. The event is open to race fans and the public to join.
Waterford Speedbowl Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday 9/10 Results & Standings:
INEX Legend Cars (25-laps): 1. Mike Christopher Jr., Wolcott; 2. Joey Ternullo, Middletown; 3. David Johnson, Arlingham, MA; 4. Cornelius Flynn, Hampden, MA; 5. Caterina LaBella, Plainville; 6. John O’Sullivan Jr., Salem; 7. Noah Korner, Canton; 8. Art Marrero, Baltic; 9. Michael Comforti, Uxbridge, MA; 10. Andrew Molleur, Shelton; 11. T.J. Thompson, Lisbon; 12. Cassandra Cole, Westbrook; 13. Scott Limkemann, East Lyme; 14. Jordan Churchill, Lisbon; DQ – George Whitney, Westbrook
Unofficial final standings (top-ten): 1. Christopher, 848; 2. Ternullo, 776; 3. O’Sullivan, 634; 4. Limkemann, 552; 5. Mike Blaskey, 525; 6. Thompson, 466; 7. Dennis Pantani, 422; 8. Josh Zentek, 434; 9. David Lespinasse, 432; 10. Flynn, 418
INEX Bandoleros (15-laps): 1. Nickolas Hovey, Chaplin; 2. Anthony Marvin, Colchester; 3. Ethan Durocher; 4. Branden Tymon, Shelton
Unofficial final standings (top-five): 1. Marvin, 854; 2. Jonathon Puleo, 731; 3. Hovey, 637; 4. Ken Morin, 561; 5. Durocher, 520
X-Cars (25-laps): 1. Wayne Shifflett, Preston; 2. Jordan Hadley, Quaker Hill; 3. Eric Finkbein Jr., East Hartford; 4. Randy Johnston, Westerly, RI; 5. Rick Mollo, Seymour; 6. Zac Thomas, New London; 7. Jeff Dombrowski, Oakdale; 8. Michael Olsen, Deep River; 9. Kim Bickford, Griswold; 10. Chris Lee, Uncasville; 11. Kyle McPherson, Waterford; 12. Rich Nye, Stonington; 13. Frank Shepard, Bozrah; 14. Josh Barrie, Voluntown; 15. Tom Sheehan, Baltic; 16. Chuck McDonald, Groton; 17. Craig Tavernier, Moosup; 18. James Stewart Jr., Central Village; 19. Mitch Bombard, Willimantic; 20. C.P. Burdick, Deep River; 21. Andrew Lee, New London; 22. Eddie Loomis, Plainfield; DQ – Ray Herman, Gales Ferry
Unofficial final standings (top-ten): 1. Thomas, 880; 2. Johnston, 741; 3. Hadley, 681; 4. Nye, 654; 5. Bombard, 650; 6. Dombrowski, 632; 7. Loomis, 613; 8. C. Lee, 608; 9. Olsen, 546; 10. Bickford, 528
Super X-Cars (25-laps): 1. Ed Ryan, Preston; 2. Dan Butler, Waterford; 3. Dave Yardley, Berlin; 4. Dan Moon, Exeter, RI; 5. Shane Peele, Wales, MA; 6. Mike Maskell, Quaker Hill; 7. Matt Carlson, Griswold; 8. Ray Reed, Norwich; 9. Bill Reiman, Southington; 10. Jim Boyle, East Windsor; 11. Steve Bray, East Hartford; 12. Shawn Gaedeke, Southington; 13. Marc Shafer, Groton; 14. Jimmy Griswold, Wallingford; 15. Todd Taylor, Waterford; 16. Jon Porter, Canterbury; 17. Scott Bellisle, Wauregan; 18. Kevin Moon, Exeter, RI
Unofficial final standings (top-ten): 1. Reed, 749; 2. K. Moon, 726; 3. Boyle, 683; 4. Reiman, 672; 5. Peele, 666; 6. Shafer, 638; 7. Yardley, 601; 8. Carlson, 588; 9. Gaedeke, 570; 10. Maskell, 544
Sources: Brian Darling/Waterford Speedbowl PR