2015 New London-Waterford Speedbowl Season Preview
The New London-Waterford Speedbowl will kick off their 2015 season this Saturday night. Bruce Bemer purchased the track last October at a foreclosure auction for 1.75 million dollars. Bemer has always enjoyed the sport of auto racing. He sponsored Bruce D’Alessandro in the modifieds at Riverside Park Speedway. Bemer looked into the sale when it onto the market last year. Bemer had planned to attend the foreclosure auction to keep it as a race track and not have it developed into something else.
During the offseason, Bemer hired Shawn Monahan to be the General Manager of the Speedbowl. Monahan is excited and ready to get the 2015 season ready to go.
” Can’t be more excited then we are. I am really excited that Bruce Bemer new track owner has chosen myself to represent the whole facility. I was born and raised there. I feel like I know a core group of people that make the place what it is. It’s always had a strong drive and a strong love behind it but with myself as general manager I think we can only get a little bit more excited about the opportunities and promotions that I can bring on board.” Monahan Said
Monahan wants people to choose the New London-Waterford over potentially going to a movie one night. ” They don’t have to be race fans. They just got to have something fun to do and that’s something we want to supply.”
One thing that Monahan knows that the core racers that love to go out there and enjoy it and people that root on their favorite driver. ” There is a lot of people I have talked to that weren’t race fans 5 or 10 years ago and they got dragged there by accident one night and they got bit by the bug and were looking to bite a whole lot of people with the bug.”
One driver planning to run in the Legends division at the Speedbowl is Caterina La Bella. La Bella enjoys running Legends cars. ” From what I am used to. Its a lot different. I like to learn how to drive different cars. It’s a lot to learn. That’s what I enjoy the most. I enjoy being with my family and learning from my family. ” La Bella Said
One change that will happen at the Speedbowl this season is Wild And Wacky Wednesday program will move over to Thursday nights. The Thursday night program will begin this upcoming Thursday May 7th. The program will feature Legends, Bandoleros, Super X Cars, and X Cars. The program will run every Thursday night until September 3rd.
The Friday Night Drags will also return beginning on May 22nd. The Connecticut Dragway Fest will be held on Sunday July 19th featuring Nostalgia Start Drags, a car show as well as Top Fuel Cacklefest and a Swap Meet. There will be a Motorcycle Mania event on Sunday August 9th with Motorcycle drags, as well as a motorcycle show and stunt show. The Friday Night Drags will conclude on Friday September 25th with the final drag racing event being held on Sunday October 4th.
There will be other touring series visiting the Speedbowl this season. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be the next stop for the Mr. Rooter 161 on Saturday night May 30th. Bobby Santos took down the win in the event last year. The Twisted Tea/Texas Roadhouse North East Mini Stock Tour will race on Saturday June 6th for a 50 lap feature. The Wings And Wheels program will return on Saturday night August 8th. It will feature the ISMA Supermodifieds, Valenti Modified Racing Series, NEMA and NEMA Lites along with the SK Modifieds and the SK Lights. The Wicked Cool Midgets will make their inaugural appearance on Saturday August 15th.
The N.E. Street Stock Tour will make their first appearance on Saturday August 29th. The Northeast Race Cars and Parts Tri Track Open Modified Series will come on Sunday September 13th. Championship night for the NASCAR Whelen All American Series divisions will be held on Saturday September 26th. The Granite State Pro Stock Series will conclude their 2015 season with their first ever appearance on Saturday October 24th for a 150 lap event.
There will be 7 divisions on hand with qualifying beginning at 5:30 P.M. with features rolling off at 7:00 P.M. The SK Modifieds will go 35 laps. The Late Models will have a 30 lap feature while the Limited Sportsman, Mini Stocks, SK Lights, and Legend Cars will have a 25 lap feature. The Mr. Rooter New England Truck Series will also be on hand.
Source: Matthew Wiernasz/Yankeeracer.com