Speedbowl Results 6-16-18
Owen Holds Off Janovic for First Win; Puleo Stays Undefeated in SK Lite Modifieds; Porter Grabs Second Sportsman Win; Canfield Finds Redemption in Mini Stocks
WATERFORD — Todd Owen was the winner of the SK Modified® feature. Jonathan Puleo won the SK Modified® Light feature. Jon Porter was the feature winner in the Sportsman. Charles Canfield won the Mini Stock feature. Scott Payea was the ACT 150 feature winner.
Todd Owen didn’t just drive the winning car in Saturday’s 40-lap SK Modified race at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl Saturday. He also built it.
That made it a particularly satisfying win for Owen, who held off Rob Janovic Jr. on every restart to post his first victory of the season.
Jonathan Puleo, meanwhile, continued to be the Speedbowl’s hottest driver. He held off a frantic comeback bid from Wayne Burroughs over the final two laps to win his third consecutive SK Lite Modified race.
Jon Porter muscled his way back into the winner’s circle for his second 30-lap Sportsman win of the season while Charles Canfield bounced back from a disqualification the week before to win the 25-lap Mini-Stock feature.
Owen dominates SKs
Owen said his SK Modified win is a special one.
“This is my first win in a car that I’ve built from scratch,” Owen said, “ and it feels great. It’s a credit to my crew chief Butch Shea and all the people in my crew for their hard work.”
Owen needed to work hard to hold the lead after he passed Andrew Molleur to whistle his way to the front on the opening laps. There were several restarts over the final 20 laps and Owen had to dig down deep to survive every one of them.
“My car would take a couple of laps to come in,” Owen said. “After the first few laps, the car was good. But before that, it would be a battle. “
Owen suffered severe damage to his primary Waterford car, so he was forced to use the No. 81 car that he had built for Thompson Speedway.
“The car was good,” Owen said. “The restarts were tough because I was going against so many good cars. The more laps I put on the car, the better it was.”
Janovic finished second for the second consecutive race.
“I think our car might have been better than his, but it wasn’t better enough to get the lead,” Janovic said. “Todd is a veteran and he knows what to do.”
He kept the glued to the bottom groove to maintain his lead.
“It’s a great Father’s Day present,” Owen said.
Puleo stays perfect
Puleo knew what to do in his late restart in the SK Lite Modified feature. It took him a half-lap to do it, but he pulled away from Burroughs with five laps to go to grab win No. 3.
“Wayne raced me hard, but he also raced me clean,” Puleo said. “He raced with class and I won’t forget it.”
Few will forget the blistering start Puleo has had to the 2018 season.
“When the season started, all I wanted to do was log laps,” Puleo said. “But my team gave me a great car. All I have to do is drive it.”
Porter prevails
Jon Porter was slowed down by a leaking transmission in practice, but when the feature got underway, the car was its old self — and so was Porter.
He grabbed the early lead from Jason Chicolas and held off point leader Shawn Gaedeke down the stretch to put his second win of the season on the board.
Gaedeke made it interesting over the final few laps, but Porter was able to hang on to his lead.
“I know I said this the last time I finished second, but if there were a couple more laps, I could have been the winner,” Gaedeke said. “I had a good car.”
Canfield’s redemption
Charles Canfield dominated for 50 laps in the long-distance Mini-Stock feature, but there was one lap he didn’t dominate — post-race inspection. He was disqualified from the win.
He came out breathing fired Saturday, buzzing past Andrew Krzemiski with 19 laps to go on his way to victory lane. It was Canfield’s first win of the season.
“I love the outside at this track, and if they give me the outside, I’m going to take it,” Canfield said. “And we did it with legal power.”
Doug Curry, for the second straight race, came along strongly at the end of the race. He settled for second place, but he held on to his point lead.
“My car was good,” Curry I said. I didn’t want to see that last caution with five laps to go or I might have had something at the end.”
Payea’s payoff
Defending American-Canadian Tour champ Scott Payea made a vicious outside move against Jimmy Hebert with 45 laps to go to win the special ACT Summer Showdown 150. Eddie MacDonald rallied for second and Hebert finished third. Payea was able to extend his lead in the 2018 standings.
Racing resumes Saturday at the Speedbowl with a seven-division show, including the SK Modifieds, the SK Lites, the Late Models, the Mini Stocks, the Sportsman, the Legends, and the Pro 4 Modifieds.
25-lap Mini-Stocks: 1. Charles Canfield, East Haven; 2. Doug Curry, Groton; 3. Ian Brew, Wood River Junction, R.I.; 4, Nick Pappacoda, North Branford; 5. Andrew Krzeminski, Hadden; 6, Sean Caron, East Hampton; 7. Jake Christian, Norwich; 8. Dale Sherman, Charlestown, R.I.; 9. JT Suprenant, Central Village; 10. Matt Brown, NA.
40-lap SK Modifeds: 1. Todd Owen, Somers; 2. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 3. Dylan Izzo, Monroe; 4, Andrew Molleur, Shelton; 5. Nicholas Salva, Prospect; 6. Justin Albernaz, Rehobeth, Mass.; 7. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry; 8. Matt Galko, Meriden; 9. Kyle James, Ashaway, R.I.; 10. Bill McNeil, Old Lyme.
30-lap Sportsmen: 1. Jon Porter, East Lyme; 2. Shawn Gaedeke, Groton; 3. Jason Chicolas, Sutton, Mass.; 4. Jordan Hadley, Quaker Hill; 5. Bo Norman, Clinton; 5. Phil Evans, Uncasville; 7. Norm Root, Old Saybrook; 8. Adrien Paradis, Plainville; 9. Chuck Harrison, Woodstock; 10. Dave Paradis, Auburn, Mass.
25-lap SK Lite Modified: 1. Jonathan Puleo, Branford; 2. Wayne Burroughs, Oakdale; 3. Brett Gonyaw, Vernon; 4. Chris Gombos, Naugatuck; 5. Geoff Nooney, Southwick, Mass.; 6. John O’Sullivan. Old Saybrook; 7. Keith Caruso, Millbury, Mass.; 8. Jake Taylor, Jewett City; 9. Bert Ouellette, Ellington; 10. Nick Anglace, Naugatuck.
Sources: Mike Serluca/New London-Waterford Speedbowl PR