Waterford Speedbowl 8/18 5th Annual Wings & Wheels Results
Waterford, CT — Waterford Speedbowl beat back the early day rains to stage its 5th annual ‘Wings & Wheels’ event Saturday night. The International Supermodified Association plus NEMA Midgets and NEMA Lites joined the track’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing program on the night. Scoring wins included Vernon competitor Rob Summers in the 50-lap Supermodified feature race, while Anthony Marvuglio of East Bridgewater, MA and Avery Stoehr of Lakeville, MA each picked up first-career victories in the NEMA Midget and NEMA Lite races, respectively. In NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing, Kyle James of Ashaway, RI recorded his first win since 2010 after coming out on top of a wild SK Modified® race. Rich Staskowski of Hope Valley, RI captured his first checkered flag of the year in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models, Corey Hutchings of Salem took down his fourth victory of the year in the Street Stock division and Ken Cassidy of Lisbon won his 11th Mini Stock feature of 2012.
The 35-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified® feature was plagued by numerous caution flags during the race. Rich Brooks showed the way for the first five laps after starting in the pole position. Brooks led Jeffrey Gallup through lap-5 when Gallup made a bold move on the bottom of the track in attempt to take over the race lead. The two made contact, sending both spinning from the top two positions and bringing out the caution flag. During the caution, Keith Rocco pitted and turned the driver’s seat over to Doug Coby for the final 30-laps.
Joe Perry was the new leader for the lap-5 restart, holding on through lap-13 when caution returned as Diego Monahan and Jeff Rocco made contact between turns one and two with Rocco spinning while competing for a top-five position. Jeff Pearl had raced into second position and lined up next to Perry for the ensuing restart, racing hard in the outside lane once the race was back underway to take the lead. Pearl cleared Perry for good on lap-16 and led through two more caution periods that brought the race to lap-24.
On the lap-24 restart, Pearl got away from Kyle James to continue leading. Coby was on the move, climbing to third position on lap-28 behind Pearl and James. James looked outside Pearl on lap-30 as the leaders exited turn four, allowing Coby to immediately fill the gap inside of James. Pearl had two cars on his tail to hold back as James continued to threaten off Pearl’s right rear and Coby was glued all over Pearl’s back bumper. The battle among the three inside five laps remaining reached a crescendo just after they completed lap-32. The three cars made contact as they rounded turn one, with Pearl losing control and spinning. Coby also spun while James drove away into the race lead. Behind the spinning leaders, Diego Monahan and Ed Puleo both took hard trips into the turn one wall in the chaos.
When the dust had settled James was the new leader with Shawn Monahan to his outside. James pulled away on the final restart from Shawn Monahan, who swapped second position with Gallup over the final two laps. James won his first race since 2010 in the division, while Monahan took second over Gallup, who battled back from his early spin to claim his first podium finish in the division.
All eyes were on the stars and cars of the International Supermodified Association (ISMA) for their 50-lap feature race. Jeff Locke of Raymond, NH took the race lead from the outside pole starting position, holding the lead through the early laps as Summers was looking for a way around Dave Duggan of Milford, NH for second position. Summers raced past Duggan, then closed in on Locke to take the lead on lap-18. One caution period slowed Summers’ pace on lap-25 as pre-race favorite Lou Cicconi of Aston, PA suffered mechanical failure on the track. Summers was not challenged the remainder of the way, taking his second career victory in the ISMA series. Jon McKennedy of Chelmsford, MA raced his way to second position at the checkered flag while Tim Ice of Seville, OH finished third.
An emotional moment occurred in the 27-lap Shane Hammond Memorial Northeastern Midget Association (NEMA) race. The race, which honors the memory of fallen racer Shane Hammond, was won by his brother Anthony Marvuglio of East Bridgewater, MA. Marvuglio dominated the caution-free race, never looking back. The win was his first career in the NEMA Midget division, coming in his first full-season competing in the full blown midgets.
A special 27-lap NEMA Lite feature event run for the Shane Hammond Memorial event saw a first time winner as sixteen-year old Avery Stoehr took home a memorable win. A late race caution flag enabled Stoehr to line up behind leader R.J. Tufano, then used a daring three-wide maneuver with just one lap remaining to take over the lead. Stoehr threaded the needle between Tufano and a lapped car racing under the white flag with a move that dazzled the fans. Stoehr is the son of NEMA championship driver Russ Stoehr.
The Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model feature race put a fresh face in the winner’s circle for 2012. Staskowski claimed his first victory of the year in the division with a convincing win in the 30-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series race. He battled with Jeff Smith of Old Lyme over the first four laps, swapping the lead no less than three times. Once in control, Staskowski motored out ahead of the pack. One caution slowed his pace on lap-27 and he mastered the only restart he needed to at over Smith. Bruce Thomas Jr. of Groton was able to get by Smith for second position while Smith hung on for third.
The 25-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stock feature was marred by a lap-4 caution flag that involved nearly the entire field of cars. Hutchings drove through the mess, which occurred in turn two, to line up second to Phil Evans of Uncasville for the restart. Hutchings stalked Evans until making his move to the bottom of Evans, taking command before halfway. Once in the lead, Hutchings cruised to the win over Joe Arena of Bristol, and Evans. The win was Hutchings’ fourth on the season.
An exciting race was staged by the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stock division. Leaders Bill Leonard of Charlestown, RI and Ian Brew of Wood River Junction, RI spent the better part of 10 laps side-by-side battling for the race lead. As the race wound down to its final laps, the two stayed glued together until both spun exiting turn two on lap-23 while battling up front. The incident also collected Jeff Cembruch of Wallingford who was among the top runners in the race. The final restart pitted Sean Caron of East Hampton against Cassidy, the division’s hottest driver. Cassidy edged ahead in the outside lane to a half-car advantage, but couldn’t shake Caron the rest of the way to the checkered flag. Cassidy pulled out his record-tying 11th victory in the division in a single season by a slim margin over Caron. Ray Christian III of Norwich finished third.
Waterford Speedbowl Saturday 8/18 Results:
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (35-laps): 1. Kyle James, Ashaway, RI; 2. Shawn Monahan, Waterford; 3. Jeffrey Gallup, Feeding Hills, MA; 4. Tom Abele Jr., Norwich; 5. Jeff Rocco, Wallingford; 6. Joe Gada, Salem; 7. Keith Rocco, Meriden; 8. Tyler Chadwick, Ledyard; 9. Rich Brooks, Groton; 10. Jeff Pearl, Salem; 11. Adam Gada, Bozrah; 12. Joe Perry, Ashaway, RI; 13. Al Stone III, New Haven; 14. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry; 15. Diego Monahan, Quaker Hill; 16. Ed Puleo, Branford; 17. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 18. Nichole Morgillo, Wallingford; 19. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models (30-laps): 1. Rich Staskowski, Hope Valley, RI; 2. Bruce Thomas Jr., Groton; 3. Jeff Smith, Old Lyme; 4. Ryan Morgan, Mystic; 5. Dillon Moltz, Waterford; 6. Jason Palmer, Berlin; 7. Glenn Boss, Danielson; 8. Anthony Flannery, East Hampton; 9. Robert Leblanc Jr., Norwalk; 10. Mike Sweeney Jr., Meriden; 11. Vin Esposito, Seymour; 12. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill; 13. Anthony Ryan Jr., Danbury
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks (25-laps): 1. Corey Hutchings, Salem; 2. Joe Arena, Bristol; 3. Phil Evans, Uncasville; 4. Christopher Meyer, North Franklin; 5. Josh Galvin, Franklin; 6. Brandon Plemons, Uncasville; 7. Walt Hovey Jr., Chaplin; 8. Bill McNeil, Preston; 9. Norm Root Jr., Old Saybrook; 10. Tim Morse, Southbury; 11. Charles Beal, Ledyard; 12. Dan Darnstaedt, Durham; 13. Ted Dupre, Westbrook; DNS – Clifton Hinds, Middletown
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stocks (25-laps): 1. Ken Cassidy Jr., Lisbon; 2. Sean Caron, East Hampton; 3. Ray Christian III, Norwich; 4. Joseph Fogarasi, Columbia; 5. Chris Garside, Waterford; 6. Joseph Liskiewicz, Preston; 7. Glenn Colvin, Clinton; 8. Garrett Denton, Hope Valley, RI; 9. Doug Curry, Groton; 10. Jeff Cembruch, Wallingford; 11. Jeffrey Lee, Uncasville; 12. Floyd Chesbro, Griswold; 13. Christopher Ivory, Oakdale; 14. Nick Pappacoda, North Branford; 15. Ian Brew, Wood River Junction, RI; 16. Bill Leonard, Charlestown, RI; 17. Wayne Burroughs Jr., Oakdale
Northeastern Midget Association (27-laps): 1. Anthony Marvuglio, East Bridgewater, MA; 2. Todd Bertrand, Suffield; 3. Russ Stoehr, Lakeville, MA; 4. Randy Cabral, Plymouth, MA; 5. Mike Horn, Ashland, MA; 6. Adam Cantor, Plymouth, ME; 7. Jeff Horn, Asland, MA; 8. Seth Carlson, Brimfield; 9. Jim Miller, Weymouth, MA; 10. Erica Santos, Franklin, MA; 11. Jim Santamaria, Burlington, VA; 12. Doug Cleveland, Sudbury, MA; 13. Paul Luggelle, Holbrook, MA; 14. Paul Scally, Raynham, MA; 15. Greg Stoehr, Bridgewater, MA; 16. Phil DiMario
NEMA Lites (27-laps): 1. Avery Stoehr, Lakeville, MA; 2. R.J. Tufano, West Haven; 3. Ian Cummens, Lydell, PA; 4. Dylan Duhaime, Loudon, NH; 5. Bethany Stoehr, Bridgewater, MA; 6. Randy Cabral, Plymouth, MA; 7. Carl Medeiros Jr., Westport, MA; 8. Jake Smith, Stroudsbourg, PA; 9. Danny Cugini, Marshfield, MA; 10. Brandon Igo, Enfield; 11. Paul Bigelow, Kensington; 12. Scott Bigelow, East Hampton; 13. Ryan Bigelow, East Hampton; 14. Kenney Johnson, Bethany; 15. Logan Rayvals, Brockville, Ont., CA; 16. Paul Luggelle, Holbrook, MA; 17. Lancon Fornoro
International Supermodified Association (50-laps): 1. Rob Summers, Vernon; 2. Jon McKennedy, Chelmsford, MA; 3. Tim Ice, Seville, OH; 4. Jeff Locke, Raymond, NH; 5. Mike Lichty, Innerkip, Ont., CA; 6. Eddie Witkum, Westford, MA; 7. Mike Ordway Sr., Fremont, NH; 8. Russ Wood, Pelham, NH; 9. Dan Bowes, Rowley, MA; 10. Dave Duggan, Milford, NH; 11. Tim Jedrezek, Independence, OH; 12. Johnny Benson, Cornelius, NC; 13. Mark Sammut, London, Ont., CA; 14. B.J. MacDonald, Pipersville, PA; 15. Craig Rayvals, Brockville, Ont., CA; 16. Lou Cicconi, Aston, PA
Sources: Waterford Speedbowl PR