New London-Waterford Speedbowl Thursday Night Thunder 6/4 Results
Waterford, CT (June 4, 2015) – Motorsports returned to the New London-Waterford Speedbowl Thursday for the track’s fifth Thursday Night Thunder program of 2015. Race winners included a first time victor for the Legend Cars, with Lisbon’s Jordan Churchill claiming the checkered flag. Anthony Marvin of Colchester returned to the Bandolero division Victory Lane, and past champions Ray Reed of Norwich and Randy Johnston of Westerly, RI won the respective Super X-Car and X-Car feature races.
Churchill landed a popular first-ever victory in the INEX Legend Cars. One of his best performances in the division netted him the win in a 25-lap race that ran without incident or yellow flag. Churchill started the race third, but saw Devin O’Connell power into the lead early on. Churchill followed into second, and tailed O’Connell until the middle of the race. He was able to apply pressure and work to the inside of O’Connell and race to the lead on lap-17. Churchill closed out the win, turning his fastest time of the race on the final lap, denying O’Connell his first Speedbowl victory. O’Connell settled for second position and former champion Joey Ternullo battled the competition hard all race long and finished a well-earned third.
Marvin was back in the winner’s circle after a dominating performance in the 20-lap INEX Bandolero feature. He took off from a pole starting position and quickly built a lead over the competition in a race that ran caution free for the second consecutive week. Nickolas Hovey, winner a week ago, was able to make his way to second position early in the race, but was unable to catch Marvin by the finish. Ethan Durocher was third.
Reed checkered his third 25-lap Super X-Car race of the year. He raced his way into the top spot, using both the inside and outside grooves of the track. He bested early race leader Shawn Gaedeke on a lap-11 restart, taking command and cruising to the win from there. A late caution flag put Shane Peele to Reed’s outside for a final challenge. Peele, last week’s race winner, was unable to unseat Reed over a final four lap dash to the finish. He finished in second and Gaedeke ended up third.
Johnston picked up his first four cylinder X-Car win of 2015. The past division champion rocketed into the lead following a caution flag, the only of the race, with just one lap completed. He built a huge lead over the field over the remainder of the 25-lap race. The final sprint to the checkered flag saw Johnston cruise to a commanding win by nearly a half track advantage. A great battle for second place over the closing laps went to Eric Finkbein Jr. He slipped by Christopher Lee, while Wayne Shifflett also cleared Lee on the final lap to finish the race third.
Saturday, the Northeast Mini Stock Tour and the NEMA Lite divisions join the Speedbowl’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions for a seven division motorsports program. The visiting four cylinder Mini Stock class will race in a 50-lap feature and has provided a large turnout of racers the past several seasons when they visit the shoreline oval. The NEMA Lites often turn out in force to put on exciting open wheel racing. The SK Modifieds®, Late Models, Limited Sportsman, Mini Stocks and SK Light Modifieds join Saturday’s racing card. More information including a detailed event schedule is available by visiting www.speedbowlct.com.
Unofficial New London-Waterford Speedbowl Thursday Night Thunder 6/4 Results:
INEX Legend Cars (25-laps): 1. Jordan Churchill, Lisbon; 2. Devin O’Connell, Madison; 3. Joey Ternullo, Middletown; 4. Michael Blaskey, Waterbury; 5. John O’Sullivan III, Salem; 6. Andrew Molleur, Shelton; 7. Cassandra Cole, Westbrook; 8. Noah Korner, Canton; 9. Tim DePizzol, North Franklin; 10. David Lespinasse, Milford; 11. Cornelius Flynn, Hampden, MA; DNS – Robert Poloski, Chicopee, MA
INEX Bandoleros (20-laps): 1. Anthony Marvin, Colchester; 2. Nickolas Hovey, Chaplin; 3. Ethan Durocher, Plainfield; 4. Ethan Simmons, Pawcatuck; 5. Hailey Desaulniers, Windham; 6. Andrew Morin, Old Saybrook
X-Cars (25-laps): 1. Randy Johnston, Westerly; 2. Eric Finkbein Jr., Manchester; 3. Wayne Shifflett, Preston; 4. Christopher Lee, Uncasville; 5. Christopher Thomas, Waterford; 6. William Rheaume, Uncasville; 7. Mark Shepard, Griswold; 8. Eddie Loomis, Moosup; 9. C.P. Burdick, Deep River; 10. Bruce Sperry, Waterford; 11. Jeff Dombrowski, Oakdale; 12. Michael Olsen, Deep River; 13. Richard Mollo, Seymour; 14. Craig Tavernier, Moosup; 15. Tom Sheehan, Baltic; 16. Kim Bickford, Griswold; 17. Ray Herman, Waterford; 18. Dave Gargaro Jr., Cranston, RI; DNS – Aaron Sypher-Piper, Clinton
Super X-Cars (25-laps): 1. Ray Reed, Norwich; 2. Shane Peele, Wales, MA; 3. Shawn Gaedeke, Southington; 4. Bill Reiman, Southington; 5. Todd Taylor, North Stonington; 6. Kevin Moon, Exeter, RI; 7. Brian Norman, Clinton; 8. Marc Shafer, Groton; 9. Jaysin Beal, Ledyard; 10. Mike Maskell, New London; 11. Kevin Finkbein Jr., Manchester; 12. Caroline Douton, Waterford; 13. Dan Butler, Waterford
Sources: Mike Serluca/New London-Waterford Speedbowl PR