Waterford Speedbowl Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesdays 5/2 Results
Waterford, CT — Waterford Speedbowl returned to its wild and wacky racing roots Wednesday evening, conducting the opening Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday event of the season. Scoring wins on the night included fourteen year-old Matt Pappa of Nassau, NY who picked up an impressive victory in Legends Cars action, while a pair of first-time winners took the Bandolero and X-Car features � Alan Eastman Jr. of Fishers Island, NY and Wayne Shifflett of Preston, respectively. Dan Butler of Waterford won the night’s Super X-Car feature race and veteran Onie Pierce of Norwich came out on top in the wacky musical race.
The 20-lap Legend Cars feature began with division newcomer Nicholas Sowa on the pole. Sowa jumped out to the race lead at the drop of the green flag with veteran racer Dennis Pantani hot on his tail. Pappa settled into the third position with Dave Garbo Jr. fourth in the early laps.
Pappa raced inside Pantani for second place on lap-3, creating a hole Garbo used to get by Pantani down the front stretch as the field began lap-4. Sowa looked good out front but Pappa and Garbo both closed on the leader in an apparent race to the head of the field between the two. Pappa looked in the low groove for racing room on Sowa, leaving Garbo opportunity to jump into the Speedbowl’s very capable outside lane. Garbo pulled even with Pappa through turns three and four and the pair spent the better part of the next lap side-by-side.
With Sowa occupying the bottom of the track, Garbo was able to race around Pappa, then pull outside Sowa into the race lead on lap-6. Pappa traded racing grooves and went to the top side to move around Sowa, not letting Garbo out of his sights. The top three singled out, while behind them 2011 track champion Dana Dimatteo was on the attack making his way through the top-five. Garbo opened a five-car lead on Pappa, who raced away from a battle that saw Dimatteo snatch third from Sowa. Sowa was back to fourth.
The race continued under green and in open track, Pappa began to close back in on Garbo. He pulled to Garbo’s rear bumper then raced inside the leader through turns one and two on lap-8. Down the back stretch, Pappa became the third leader of the event.
As the laps clicked away and the race moved past halfway, Pappa slowly rolled out to a multiple car length advantage. Garbo was alone in second ahead of Dimatteo, who raced comfortably in third. The best battle on the speedway in the second half of the race was for fourth as Sowa held back the charges of Belsito.
Pappa did not falter as the leaders worked light lapped traffic, leaving Garbo and Dimatteo’s hopes for victory in the hands of a caution flag to reset the running order. A caution would not come, and Pappa finished off a green-to-checkered flag run by the division. Pappa’s margin of victory was .410 seconds at the checkered flag. Garbo and Dimatteo chased Pappa to the stripe, finishing second and third. Sowa ran a great race in his brief Legends career to take fourth over Belsito.
The non-stop feature took just under six minutes to complete. Pappa turned the race’s fast lap on lap-9 at 16.744 seconds, good for a 80.626 mph lap.
Eastman vaulted to the lead on the opening lap of the 20-lap Bandolero feature after starting in third position. He raced inside pole-sitter and 2011 track champion Rachel Forte’s inside, pushing her back to third as Ken Morin Jr. ran second to Eastman.
On lap-5 the first caution flag was out just as Morin looked to make a move to Eastman’s inside. The yellow negated the move and put Morin to Eastman’s outside for the restart. Eastman restarted well, leaving Morin in the clutches of Forte who was on the hunt for second. She took that spot inside Morin with Jacob Urch also filling the gap, leading a line of cars by Morin who finally settled back in line in the sixth position. Laps later, Morin and Derek Debbis tangled racing together in turn one, returning the race to caution on lap-10.
Eastman again held strong over Forte on what proved to be the final restart. They moved out to a several car length lead ahead of an intense battle between Urch and Jordan Lamothe for third that endured over the second half of the race. That battle made it a two-car break away for the win between Eastman and Forte. While Forte was able to close to Eastman’s bumper over the final circuits, she could not mount a challenge to pull even. Eastman went on to his first career win. Forte settled for second, while the battle for third came down to the stripe with Urch narrowly edging Lamothe. Debbis finished fifth.
The 20-lap X-Car feature had trouble getting started, as three caution periods over the opening lap kept the action wild and wacky. The final 19 laps were run without further delay, with Brad Voglesong showing the way. Voglesong led until challenged by Pete Zaikarite with the pair running side-by-side for the lead. On lap-7 Zaikarite took control when Shifflett began making his move. He took second from Voglesong on lap-10, then pulled outside Zaikarite on lap-14. The two battled for the lead for two laps until Shifflett finally persevered and pulled on to the win. Voglesong, Glen Thomas Jr., Mike Trask and Onie Pierce finished behind Shifflett.
Butler battled Ed Ryan over the duration of the 20-lap Super X-Car race. The two held down the top two spots throughout, with Butler showing the way for most of it and Ryan looking for a way around. The two were lined up for a final restart on lap-19, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Butler got a great restart to charge to the finish line first ahead of Ryan. Peter Pollard, John Yagmin and Ken Downing finished third through fifth.
The 20-lap Super X-Car feature showcased a battle for the top spot between Butler and Ed Ryan over the duration of race. While Ryan occupied the pole starting position, it was Butler who raced into the lead when the race began. With Butler leading the way, the top four cars broke away before caution on lap-7 saw Jon Porter and Bill Reiman come together in turn three. Both cars headed to the pits for repair.
Butler resumed his lead on the restart, but Ryan gave chase, looking in the outside lane for an opportunity to contend for the lead. As Ryan tried to find a groove to position himself alongside Butler, the next caution waved on lap-12.
Following a lap-13 restart, Butler and Ryan ran side-by-side for a lap until Ryan slid out of shape, allowing Butler to pull back ahead. Three more laps were completed before Taylor-Marie Moran spun out of turn four creating another yellow situation.
Ryan again made a valiant effort outside Butler when the race went back to green. Butler held, however only two more lap were completed when, just as the leaders began the white flag lap, a spin in turn three set up one final showdown between Butler and Ryan.
Ryan threw one last charge at Butler on the green-white-checkered finish. On the final lap, Ryan went outside Butler in turn three, getting sideways in the outside lane. As Ryan controlled his car from spinning, Butler raced to the checkered flag first. Ryan held for second while Peter Pollard finished third over John Yagmin and Ken Downing.
The 20-lap X-Car feature had trouble getting started, as three caution periods over the opening lap kept the action wild and wacky. The final 19 laps were run without further delay, with Brad Voglesong showing the way from outside of the front row. Pete Zaikarite, the 2011 division champion, raced into second position on lap-2 giving chase to Voglesong. On lap-4, Zaikarite pulled inside Voglesong and the pair ran side-by-side for the lead. Zaikarite finally seized control on lap-7 just as Shifflett began flexing his muscle as a contender.
Shifflett took second from Voglesong on lap-10, tracking down Zaikarite before pulling outside on lap-14. The two battled for the lead for three laps until Shifflett finally persevered, streaking ahead down the backstretch on lap-17. Once in the lead, Shifflett went the rest of the way uninterrupted to his first win in the division. Voglesong finished second, while Glen Thomas Jr. ran a great race to take third. Pole-sitter Mike Trask finished fourth, with Onie Pierce fifth.
The night’s wacky race featured the X-Cars competing in a musical cars race. Each round featured one competitor becoming eliminated until the final two standing � Voglesong and Pierce � were left in a final showdown. The final caution flag waved with the two a half-lap from their goal, the remaining cone at the start-finish line. Pierce prevailed in the drag race to reach it, then masterfully timed his braking, skidding to a perfect finishing position just ahead of Voglesong.
Waterford Speedbowl Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday 5/2 Results:
Legends Cars (20-laps): 1. Matt Pappa, Nassau, NY; 2. Dave Garbo Jr., Stonington; 3. Dana Dimatteo, Farmington; 4. Nicholas Sowa, Middletown; 5. Angelo Belsito, Auburn, MA; 6. Dennis Pantani, Branford; 7. Carl Blandina, Milford; 8. Nicholas Lascuola, Brockton, MA; 9. Cory Dimatteo, Farmington; 10. Daniel Stolte, Northbridge, MA; 11. Stephen Kopcik, Newtown; 12. Jordan Churchill, Lisbon; 13. John O’Sullivan, Salem; 14. Joey Ternullo, Middletown; 15. Christopher Kearney, Ellington
Bandoleros (20-laps): 1. Alan Eastman, Fishers Island, NY; 2. Rachel Forte, Douglas, MA; 3. Jacob Urch, West Suffield; 4. Jordan Lamothe, Woodstock; 5. Derek Debbis, Oakdale; 6. Ken Morin Jr., Old Saybrook; 7. Jacob Perry, Pawcatuck; 8. Andrew Morin, Old Saybrook; 9. Corey Comeroski, Lebanon; 10. Rene Morgillo, Niantic
Super X-Cars (20-laps): 1. Dan Butler, Waterford; 2. Ed Ryan, Preston; 3. Peter Pollard, Old Lyme; 4. John Yagmin, Tolland; 5. Ken Downing III, Branford; 6. Eric Finkbein, Colchester; 7. Frank Alessio, Colchester; 8. Kevin Moon, Exeter, RI; 9. Ken Cassidy Sr., Lisbon; 10. Jim Boyle, East Windsor; 11. Matt Carlson, Griswold; 12. Mike Maskell, Quaker Hill; 13. Jon Porter, Canterbury; 14. James Maher, Shelton; 15. Taylor-Marie Moran, Preston; 16. Daryl Stratford, Manchester; 17. Paul Turcotte, East Hartford; 18. Bill Reiman, Southington; 19. Raymond Reed, Norwich; 20. Steve Bray, East Hartford; 21. John Brouwer Jr., Groton; DNS – R.J. Cunningham, Clinton
X-Cars (20-laps): 1. Wayne Shifflett, Preston; 2. Brad Voglesong, Middletown; 3. Glen Thomas Jr., Groton; 4. Mike Trask, Plainfield; 5. Onie Pierce, Norwich; 6. Shawn Stula, Colchester; 7. Larry Loomis, Moosup; 8. Craig Miner, Higganum; 9. Josh Barrie, Uncasville; 10. Henry Lavallee, Uncasville; 11. Michele Cicio, Baltic; 12. Nate Bryington, Webster, MA; 13. Chuck McDonald, Groton; 14. Mitchell Bombard, Willimantic; 15. Robert Butler, Norwich; 16. Zach Ezzell, Plainfield; 17. Ashlea McDonald, Groton; 18. Christopher Thomas, East Hampton; 19. Kristie Hamel, Jewett City; 20. Christopher Lee, Uncasville; 21. Melissa Clavette, Bozrah; 22. Richard Mollo, Seymour; 23. Dan D’addario, Columbia; 24. Michael Marvin, Colchester; 25. Scott Limkemann, East Lyme; 26. Javier Rivera, Willimantic; DNS – Randy Johnston, Westerly, RI; DNS – Kim Bickford, Griswold; DQ � C.P. Burdick, Deep River; DQ – Pete Zaikarite, Niantic
Sources: Waterford Speedbowl PR