New London-Waterford Speedbowl Thursday Night Thunder 6/11 Results
Waterford, CT (June 11, 2015) – New London-Waterford Speedbowl was back in action with its Thursday Night Thunder program Thursday evening. A fast paced night of motorsports thrilled the crowd and landed four race winners in the winner’s circle. Jordan Churchill of Lisbon claimed his second consecutive checkered flag in the INEX Legend Cars and Shane Peele of Wales, MA won his second Super X-Car race of the 2015 season. Mark Shepard of Griswold was a first-ever winner with an impressive performance in the X-Car division, and Nickolas Hovey of Chaplin was declared the winner of the INEX Bandolero feature.
Churchill waited for more than two seasons to claim his first ever INEX Legend Car victory, which came last Thursday evening. He followed that up with his second win just seven days later after another stellar outing. He went from third to first in the opening circuit of the 25-lap race, and quickly distanced himself from his competition by building a several car length advantage. Mike Blaskey earned a hard fought runner-up finish, and Mikey Flynn continued his steady improvement in the division to net third position. Behind Churchill, multiple competitors battled for top-five finishes. The race took just under eight minutes to complete and was cleanly run without a yellow flag.
Shepard was a first time winner with a sparkling performance in the night’s 25-lap four cylinder X-Car feature. He started the race sixth and methodically weaved his way to second position early in the going behind leader William Rheaume. Rheaume had led from the start, and Shepard powered into the lead on lap-9 in the non-stop race. Shepard padded his lead with a several car length cushion, and cruised to the win from there. Behind him a host of competitors rallied for podium finishes. In the end, Eric Finkbein Jr. grabbed the runner-up spot with a final lap maneuver. Chris Thomas was third.
Peele won for the second time of the year in full-sized eight cylinder Super X-Car action. He benefitted from a caution flag, the only one in the 25-lap race, on lap-15. Peele trailed early leader Shawn Gaedeke from the start. The restart enabled him to line up on Gaedeke’s outside, and he edged into the lead on lap-16 before finally pulling ahead on lap-17. Once in front, Peele cruised uninterrupted to the checkered flag. Ray Reed got by Gaedeke’s outside to place second, while Bill Reiman also got past Gaedeke to finish third.
The 20-lap INEX Bandolero feature win was awarded to Nickolas Hovey following post-race technical inspection. Hovey was locked in a battle on the track for second position much of the race, dueling with first year driver Hailey Desaulniers. Desaulniers tailed Hovey and tried to find a way around him, to no avail, in what appeared to be a battle for the runner-up position. After the cars were inspected following the race, the win was awarded to Hovey while Desaulniers was credited with second place. An early battle between Ethan Simmons and Anthony Marvin resulted in both cars spinning in turn three, lifting Hovey and Desaulniers into position for what turned out to be the decisive battle for the win.
The Speedbowl returns to oval track racing on Saturday with another NASCAR Whelen All-American Series motorsports program. Highlighting the racing card is double 30-lap feature races for the headline SK Modified® division. The Limited Sportsman, Mini Stocks and SK Light Modifieds round out the NASCAR racing, and the INEX Legend Cars will also compete in the five division program. More information including a detailed event schedule is available by visiting www.speedbowlct.com.
Unofficial New London-Waterford Speedbowl Thursday Night Thunder 6/11 Results:
INEX Legend Cars (25-laps): 1. Jordan Churchill, Lisbon; 2. Michael Blaskey, Waterbury; 3. Cornelius Flynn, Hampden, MA; 4. John O’Sullivan III, Salem; 5. Noah Korner, Canton; 6. Randy Johnston, Westerly, RI; 7. Dennis Pantani, Branford; 8. Scott Limkemann, Oakdale; 9. Cassandra Cole, Westbrook; 10. Connor Holderbach, Wolcott; 11. David Lespinasse, Milford; 12. Peter DePizzol, North Franklin; 13. Timothy DePizzol, North Franklin; DNS – Devin O’Connell, Madison; DNS – Joshua Zentek, East Haven
INEX Bandoleros (20-laps): 1. Nickolas Hovey, Chaplin; 2. Hailey Desaulniers, Windham; 3. Anthony Marvin, Colchester; 4. Ethan Simmons, Pawcatuck; 5. Andrew Morin, Old Saybrook; DQ – Ethan Durocher, Plainfield
X-Cars (25-laps): 1. Mark Shepard, Griswold; 2. Eric Finkbein Jr., Manchester; 3. Christopher Thomas, Waterford; 4. Dave Gargaro Jr., Cranston, RI; 5. William Rheaume, Uncasville; 6. Randy Johnston, Westerly, RI; 7. Wayne Shifflett, Preston; 8. Christopher Lee, Uncasville; 9. Bruce Sperry, Waterford; 10. C.P. Burdick, Deep River; 11. Jeremy Bourbeau, Ledyard; 12. Michael Olsen, Deep River; 13. Richard Mollo, Seymour; 14. Ray Herman, Waterford; 15. Tom Sheehan, Baltic; 16. Chuck McDonald, Groton; 17. Craig Tavernier, Moosup; 18. Kim Bickford, Griswold; 19. Nate Bryington, Webster, MA; 20. Eddie Loomis, Plainfield; DNS – Garrett Kuhn, Waterford
Super X-Cars (25-laps): 1. Shane Peele, Wales, MA; 2. Ray Reed, Norwich; 3. Bill Reiman, Southington; 4. Shawn Gaedeke, Southington; 5. Brian Norman, Clinton; 6. Kevin Moon, Exeter, RI; 7. Jaysin Beal, Ledyard; 8. Marc Shafer, Groton; 9. Kevin Finkbein, Manchester; 10. Frank Alessio, Colchester; DNS – Todd Taylor, North Stonington
Sources: Mike Serluca/New London-Waterford Speedbowl PR