Waterford Speedbowl 6/29 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Results
Waterford, CT — Waterford Speedbowl was back with a quick paced six-division racing program Saturday evening. Scoring NASCAR Whelen All-American Series victories included Keith Rocco of Meriden, who notched his fifth win of the year in the SK Modifieds®. Waterford’s Dillon Moltz won for the second time this season in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models, Brandon Plemons of Uncasville took the checkered flag in the Street Stocks and Bill Leonard of Charlestown, RI won for the second straight week in the Mini Stocks. In INEX racing, Giovanni Giarratana of Newington won the night’s Legend Cars feature. The Super X-Cars competed in a Saturday Showdown Series event won by Preston’s Ed Ryan.
Rocco knifed his way to the front in a hotly contested and action packed SK Modified® feature. He was on leader Diego Monahan’s rear bumper by lap-17 of the 35-lapper. Monahan started the race third and was behind an early battle for the top spot between pole sitter Frank Mucciacciaro and Craig Lutz. Those two spent most of the first six laps side-by-side until Monahan asserted himself from third. Headed into turn one Monahan shot underneath Mucciacciaro into turn one to wrestle away the lead on lap-8.
Action behind Monahan was red hot as Mucciacciaro, Lutz and Tyler Chadwick went three-wide for second position through turns three and four. Lutz was forced to back out before he ran out of racing room rounding turn four while Chadwick scooted into second past Mucciacciaro. Rocco was making his way through the top ten during the opening laps to emerge in fourth. He went outside of Mucciacciaro for third on lap-10 with eyes on running down the lead duo. Chadwick was looking to the outside of Monahan for the race lead by lap-12 as Rocco closed in. The torrid pace was finally slowed on lap-13 when Nichole Morgillo spun in turn one from a position in the top ten to draw the caution flag.
Monahan got a great jump over the field on the restart to lead things back to turn one. Rocco was inside of Chadwick, taking over second on lap-16 with Lutz advancing to third close behind. Rocco tested the outside looking for a run on Monahan, but had to contend with Lutz who threatened to fill the gap to his inside each time. The entertaining three-way battle for the lead lasted through lap-24 when Monahan and Rocco got some breathing room over Lutz. Behind them Kyle James got past Chadwick to move to third and then ran down Lutz.
Rocco continued to shadow Monahan’s every move, finally working him over with a crossover move out of turn four down the front chute on lap-26. Rocco set Monahan up high then dove low to pull even as they barreled into turn one. He cleared Monahan as they raced into turn three and survived a shot from behind by Monahan in turn three before leading lap-27. James came on strong, taking second away from Monahan leaving Lutz looking to duplicate the move. The two came together with Monahan unable to save his car, spinning out of contention off turn four to bring out the caution flag.
Rocco had James to his outside for the restart but got a good jump to resume his lead. James ducked to second position where he stayed. He pressed Rocco until the final two laps when Rocco pulled ahead to a two car length victory. Rocco added to his point lead with his fifth win of the year. James finished second and Lutz ran with the lead pack all race and wound up third. Rob Janovic followed up his win from a week ago with a fourth place effort and Todd Ceravolo continued his string of top-fives by finishing fifth.
Moltz romped to victory in the 30-lap Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model feature. The race, which ran caution free, saw Moltz jump out ahead of Jason Palmer at the drop of the green flag. Moltz rolled out to an impressive lead in the opening circuits. Keith Rocco moved to second position around Palmer on lap-6, however Moltz was already well ahead. Rocco chased Moltz for the duration but was never able to cut into his lead. Moltz survived a brush with the front stretch wall on lap-20 that did not slow his run to the checkered flag. The win was his second of the season but first since April 27. Palmer kept ahead of his challengers to finish third, with Jeff Smith and Anthony Flannery rounding out the top-five.
The 25-lap Mini Stock feature ended up with a wild conclusion that saw Leonard end up in the winner’s circle for the second consecutive week. Coming to the white flag, leaders Ken Cassidy Jr. and Ray Christian tangled exiting turn four. The two battled much of the second half of the race, trading the lead multiple times over the final laps. The two made contact headed for the white flag when Cassidy, in the outside lane, was bumped by Christian trying to hang on inside. Cassidy spun through the infield however the race stayed under green on the final lap. As the field came to the finish line Christian took the checkered flag first, however was penalized by track officials moments later for the contact with Cassidy. Christian was dropped to the end of the running order while Leonard was lifted to the victory.
Plemons won for the first time of the year in the 25-lap Street Stock race. The 2009 division champion led from the beginning and held back a mid-race charge by Corey Hutchings. When Hutchings tucked back behind Plemons into second, he could not muster a further challenge the rest of the way. Only one caution flag slowed Plemons on his way to the win. Hutchings finished second and Joe Arena was third.
Giarratana took over command in the INEX Legend Cars feature following a lap-5 restart. He moved through the pack while a battle for the lead ensued between several drivers. Three different drivers showed the way in the first five laps when 2012 track champion Paul Kusheba took over just ahead of a caution flag. Giarratana motored around Kusheba’s outside on lap-6, then held off Dylan Izzo after a final restart on lap-18. It was Giarratana’s first Saturday night victory and second overall victory of 2013. Izzo finished second and Angelo Belsito finished third.
The 20-lap race for the Super X-Car division was taken by Ryan in impressive fashion. He rode the outside lane to success, steadily making his way by the top three cars before overtaking Matt Carlson on the 16th lap. Ryan pulled away from the field over the final laps. Frank Alessio finished second and Bill Reiman was third.
Picking up the ‘Rough & Tumble’ driver of the race award in the respective divisions were Rocco in the SK Modifieds®, Palmer in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models, Chris Meyer for a hard earned fourth place finish in the Street Stocks and Dave Trudeau for a well deserved third place finish in the Mini Stocks. The Legend Cars winner was Kyle Rogers and Bill Reiman earned the honors in the Super X-Car feature.
The Overdrive Radio 300 mid-season championship event takes the track next Saturday at the Speedbowl. All five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions will be in action. The six-division program is highlighted by the only 100-lap feature for the SK Modifieds® of the season. The Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models, Street Stocks and Mini Stocks will each race for 50-laps. The SK Light Modifieds and INEX Legend Cars join the program and compete for 25-lap features. All the divisions will qualify under the clock as time trials will set the starting lineup. Detailed event information is available online at Speedbowl.com
Waterford Speedbowl Saturday 6/29 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Results:
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (35-laps): 1. Keith Rocco, Meriden; 2. Kyle James, Ashaway, RI; 3. Craig Lutz, Miller Place, NY; 4. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 5. Todd Ceravolo, Gales Ferry; 6. Jeffrey Gallup, Agawam, MA; 7. Tyler Chadwick, Ledyard; 8. Adam Gada, Bozrah; 9. Diego Monahan, Quaker Hill; 10. Joe Gada, Salem; 11. Corey Coates, Ledyard; 12. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., Milford; 13. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry; 14. Ed Puleo, Branford; 15. Nichole Morgillo, Wallingford; 16. Tom Abele Jr., Norwich
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models (30-laps): 1. Dillon Moltz, Waterford; 2. Keith Rocco, Meriden; 3. Jason Palmer, Berlin; 4. Jeff Smith, Old Lyme; 5. Anthony Flannery, East Hampton; 6. Chris Garside, Waterford; 7. Mike Sweeney Jr., Meriden; 8. Nick Ladyga, Voluntown; 9. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks (25-laps): 1. Brandon Plemons, Uncasville; 2. Corey Hutchings, Salem; 3. Joe Arena, Bristol; 4. Chris Meyer, North Franklin; 5. Josh Galvin, Franklin; 6. Ryan Waterman, Danielson; 7. Dan Darnstaedt Sr., Durham; 8. Norm Root Jr., Old Saybrook; 9. Monte Gibbs, Higganum; 10. Al Stone III, Durham; 11. Phil Evans, Uncasville; 12. Lloyd Anderson Jr., Wauregan; 13. Don Spence Jr., Oakdale
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stocks (25-laps): 1. Bill Leonard, Charlestown, RI; 2. Wayne Burroughs Jr., Oakdale; 3. Dave Trudeau, Mansfield; 4. Glenn Colvin, Clinton; 5. Ian Brew, Wood River Junction, RI; 6. Garrett Denton, Hope Valley, RI; 7. Doug Curry, Groton; 8. Christopher Ivory, Oakdale; 9. Joe Liskiewicz, Preston; 10. Sean Caron, East Hampton; 11. Ed Field, Deep River; 12. Nick Pappacoda, North Branford; 13. Dale Sherman, Charlestown, RI; 14. Eric Bourgeois, Salem; 15. Ken Cassidy Jr., Lisbon; 16. Ray Christian III, Groton; 17. Jeffrey Lee, Uncasville
INEX Legend Cars (20-laps): 1. Giovanni Giarratana, Newington; 2. Dylan Izzo, Westport; 3. Angelo Belsito, Auburn, MA; 4. Kyle Rogers, Waterbury; 5. Cory Dimatteo, Farmington; 6. Michael Christopher Jr., Wolcott; 7. Joe Ferrigno, East Hartford; 8. Joshua Zentek, East Haven; 9. John O’Sullivan Jr., Salem; 10. Dana Dimatteo, Farmington; 11. Art Marrero, Baltic; 12. Paul Kusheba IV, Monroe; 13. Ryan Lutz, Miller Place, NY
Saturday Showdown Series Super X-Cars (20-laps): 1. Ed Ryan, Preston; 2. Frank Alessio, Colchester; 3. Bill Reiman, Southington; 4. Matt Carlson, Griswold; 5. Eric Finkbein Sr., Columbia; 6. Ken Downing III, Branford; 7. Ray Reed, Norwich; 8. Shawn Gaedeke, Southington; 9. Dan Butler, Waterford; 10. Jon Porter, Canterbury
Sources: Brian Darling/Waterford Speedbowl PR