Waterford, CT (September 17, 2014) – Waterford Speedbowl management held its Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday awards ceremony on speedway grounds Wednesday evening, celebrating the popular mid-week racing series 14th season of motorsports. The banquet recognized several competitors for their achievements on and off the race track during the season, which concluded September 10.
Nearly 200 guests were in attendance to honor the champions and top drivers in the INEX Legend Cars and Bandoleros, plus X-Car and Super X-Car divisions. Special awards were also presented to the top rookie drivers, most improved drivers, and pit crews of the year along with a sportsmanship award winner for each division.
Wolcott’s Mike Christopher Jr. scored the championship trophies in the INEX Legend Cars division and put forth a near perfect season to capture the title. He completed his second season in the division after claiming Rookie of the Year honors last year. After failing to record a win in 2013 Christopher won fifteen times out of seventeen total races on the season, a record for the division on Wednesdays. Christopher is a second generation racer, a common theme among the year’s Wednesday champions.
Zac Thomas continued a family tradition of winning races and championships on the way to the X-Car division title. Thomas, from New London, is in his second full season competing and like Christopher was also Rookie of the Year in his class last season. Thomas won four races and was a consistent front-runner during his title run to control the championship standings for much of the season. He joins family members Bruce Thomas Sr. and Bruce Thomas Jr., both of Groton, with Speedbowl titles.
Ray Reed of Norwich was another driver to continue the success of a long-time racing family by winning the Super X-Car championship. Reed checkered three races to come out on top of a tight season-long battle in the title chase, which wasn’t settled until the final laps. Reed’s father Ed Reed Sr. was a long-time competitor at the track, and his brother Ed Reed Jr. was a popular driver, winning titles in both the SK Modified® and Late Model divisions in recent years.
Colchester’s Anthony Marvin successfully defended his title from a year ago in the INEX Bandolero division. Marvin equaled his victory total from last year, adding six more wins to his young racing resume on his way to the title. Marvin is yet another with a family legacy in the local racing scene. His father Bert Marvin was a multi-time winner and top driver in the SK Modified® ranks around the state.
The Wacky Race champions for 2014 were Christopher Lee of Uncasville and Peter Pollard of Old Lyme. The two regularly participated in the often unpredictable weekly wacky races the track holds, a fan favorite.
Rookie of the Year honors recognizing the top first-year drivers in their respective divisions were given to Cassandra Cole of Westbrook in the Legend Cars, Rich Nye of Stonington in the X-Cars, Shane Peele of Wales, MA in the Super X-Car class plus Nickolas Hovey of Chaplin in the Bandoleros.
The Most Improved Driver awards acknowledged competitors who showed the greatest progression of skills over the past season behind the wheel. Legend Cars accolades went to T.J. Thompson of Lisbon while Eddie Loomis of Plainfield took the X-Car honors, Shawn Gaedeke of Southington won the Super X-Car award and Ethan Durocher of Plainfield took the award in the Bandoleros.
Sportsmanship Awards were given out to Andrew Molleur in Legend Cars, Wayne Shifflett of Preston for X-Cars and Marc Shafer of Groton in Super X-Cars. Each driver was recognized for their support of the Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday program through a level of professionalism representing their division and Speedbowl on and off the track.
Pit Crew of the Year awards honored the men and women behind the scenes that kept their cars on the track competing at a high level throughout the season. Recipient’s included Scott Limkemann’s Legend Cars team as well as the Mitch Bombard’s X-Car team, Kevin Moon’s Super X-Car team and Marvin Racing in the Bandoleros (drivers Anthony Marvin and Nickolas Hovey).
All specialty awards were voted on by a panel made up of track management and race department staff members. A buffet dinner plus an evening of music and entertainment accompanied the event.