NEW ENGLAND MOTORSPORTS SOUTH
By Lou Modestino
End of summer racing continued Wednesday night at Connecticut’s Waterford Speedbowl as another round of Wild ‘n Wacky racing hit the race track. Fans were treated to an action packed night, watching Angelo Belsito of Auburn, MA and Dave Yardley of Berlin each score repeat wins from a week ago in the INEX Legend Cars and Super X-Car features respectively. Brad Voglesong of Middletown rallied late to take the win in the X-Car division and Colchester’s Anthony Marvin won another INEX
Bandolero feature. Roubert Goulet of Southington and Christopher Lee of Uncasville shared honors in the night’s Wacky race.
The 2013 season was celebrated in the final installment of Thursday Night Thompson Thunder (TNTT) with Keith Rocco, Rick Gentes, Cam McDermott, Steve Kenneway, and Eric Bourgeois earning division titles. NASCAR Whelen All American Series winners included Woody Pitkat in the Sunoco Modified division, Tom Carey, Jr. in the Late Models, Glenn Griswold in the Lite Modifieds, Scott Sundeen in the Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman division, and Eric Bourgeois in the Mini Stocks. Toby Wells took down the victory in the North East Mini Stock 20-lap feature.
Tom Carey, Jr. hasn’t won at Thompson Speedway since 2003 when he ran in the then-titled NASCAR Busch North Series. But Carey has a lot of winning left in him.
Carey took the lead eight laps before the race conclusion on a restart and held off Keith Rocco for the win.
Chad LaBastie took the early lead, but an accident involving Damon Tinio brought the field under caution before the lap was complete. Marc Curtis, Jr. took his place at the head of the field for the restart. LaBastie, however, got a solid run in the high groove and took the lead coming out of turn two. The battle for second went three-wide into turn four with John Lowinski-Loh coming out in second and Rick Gentes in third. Gentes wasn’t about to settle in, however, and took over the second spot on lap three.
His momentum wasn’t over and Gentes drove by LaBastie effortlessly to take the lead on lap four. Glenn Boss was the man on the move and positioned himself on Gentes’ bumper by lap seven. Keith Rocco moved into third.
Gentes, Boss and Rocco were nose-to-tail as they started working their way through lapped traffic. On lap 15, Boss dropped to the bottom lane and got up alongside Gentes in a bid for the lead, but Gentes shut the door. On the following circuit, the battle for the lead went three-wide as Boss went low and Rocco went high. Contact was made between Boss and Gentes on the front stretch and caution came out. Rocco, Boss and Gentes were all sent to the rear for aggressive driving while Lowinski-Loh inherited the lead.
Tom Carey, Jr. could not hold back the determined Lowinski-Loh on the restart, but all eyes were on the rear of the field where Boss and Gentes made contact once again. Boss ended up in the turn three wall, and the incident ended Boss’ championship run.
Lowinski-Loh led Carey and Larry Gelinas into turn one on the restart before opening up a ten-car lead over the rest of the field, but Carey dove to the bottom coming out of turn four of lap 32 to take over the top spot. Lowinski-Loh’s championship hopes also came to an end when he got a right front flat on lap 34 and had to take his 20 machine to the pits. Carey maneuvered his way through lapped traffic with Rocco attached to his rear bumper, but Carey held on for the win.
Woody Pitkat took the lead at lap 12 and held off a determined Keith Rocco to take down the victory in the final Sunoco Modified division point race. Rocco’s second place finish earned him the 2013 division title.
Paul Newcomb and Ryan Preece were in a tight side-by-side battle for the lead when caution came out on the first lap for a spun car off of turn four. Newcomb assumed the top spot for the restart with Preece challenging on the bottom and Nick Boivin challenging up top. Newcomb maintained the lead, but Preece was able to get a run on the bottom groove to take over the lead on lap two. Preece pulled away as Rocco looked for a way around Newcomb. Sparks began to fly from Newcomb’s machine on lap five and officials reacted with a black flag for the 71 machine. Rocco patiently waited for him to pull in before setting his sights on Preece, who now held a full second lead over the rest of the field.
The race took a dramatic turn on lap nine when Preece spun in turn three and hit the outside retaining wall. Rocco inherited the lead with Woody Pitkat on the outside for the restart. Rocco drove to the front with Pitkat on his bumper. On lap 11, Pitkat went down to the inside into turn one and came out of turn two the new leader. Pitkat held on to the lead despite the pressure from Rocco on his bumper, but would have to hold off the point leader through another restart.
Rocco had a nose length advantage on the outside heading into turn one, but Pitkat came on strong in the corner and came out of turn two in the lead. Caution put a quick halt to the battle as the field lined up for yet another restart.
Pitkat shot to the front at the drop of the green with Rocco and Malone close behind. The top-five – Pitkat, Rocco, Malone, Matt Gallo and Dennis Perry – ran nose-to-tail over the next several laps, but ultimately, Pitkat, Rocco and Malone were able to pull away in a class all their own. Rocco stuck like glue to the back of Pitkat’s machine, and made a last-lap look on the bottom groove, but Pitkat was too strong and took the win.
Toby Wells drove Thompson Speedway like a veteran, but it was the New Hampshire native’s first trip to the 5/8th’s mile oval. Wells took the lead from Glen Thomas on a lap 12 restart and drove unchallenged to the checkered flag.
Mitchell Bombard led the first lap, but it was Cristofer King out front on lap two. Coming quick was Thomas in second on the bottom groove, but Wells managed to get by him on the outside before caution flew on lap five. King drove to the front as Thomas battled Danny Field for the second position. Thomas won that battle as he set his sights on King. Thomas took the lead coming out of turns three and four on lap seven and pulled ahead ten car lengths ahead of Wells.
Thomas and Wells were brought back together when caution set them up for a restart at lap 12. Thomas led them into turns one and two, but it was Wells ahead by a nose at the line to officially lead the lap. Thomas remained a fixture in his rear-view mirror as the duo pulled away by half-a-straightaway over the rest of the field. No one could catch them, however, as Wells drove to the checkered flag with Thomas in tow.
Glenn Griswold gave his father the best birthday present he knows how – a victory in the Lite Modified division. Griswold held off John Studley on a late-race restart to take the lead for the final time in his bid for his first season win. Cam McDermott, who finished fourth, won his second consecutive Lite Modified championship. Studley rocketed to the front at the drop of the green as McDermott went backwards in the field after apparently missing a shift. Griswold and Joe Boivin took over second and third respectively, but
McDermott was on the move and coming quickly. By the fifth lap, McDermott was up to third, but still a full second behind Studley and Griswold. Griswold closed in on Studley and was within two car lengths by lap 12 as they set a torrid pace that saw them lap the tail end of the field. Studley opened up a gap over Griswold by lap 15 as McDermott had closed in within two car lengths behind second place. Caution flew at lap 16 and tightened them up once again.
Studley had his hands full with Griswold at the drop of the green with Griswold taking the lead at the line. Griswold would have to do it all over again after caution set them up for a two-lap dash to the checkers. Griswold had a nose-length advantage over Studley coming off of turn four, but it was deemed a false restart and the field was tightened up again. Griswold drove out front again as Studley took the green off the pace. Griswold cruised on to the victory – his first of the season.
The Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman feature race was full of excitement with door-to-door racing up front for the entire race distance and point leader Steve Kenneway jumping hurdles with a cut right front tire en route to his 2013 division championship. Scott Sundeen took the victory after taking the lead from Jason Chicolas five laps before the race conclusion.
Lowinski-Loh led the first circuit, but only led by a nose on the second. Chicolas got a run for the lead before the caution flew and kept Lowinski-Loh out front for the restart. Chicolas inched ahead at the line at the drop of the green, but Lowinski-Loh retaliated and the duo went door-to-door to the line with Lowinski-Loh ahead by a mere inches. The tight battle continued, but caution slowed the pace once again at lap five.
Chicolas drove to the front on the restart with Corey Fanning taking the low line to challenge Lowinski-Loh for second. Unfortunately, Fanning’s bid for the position would have to wait as caution flew before the lap was complete. Lowinski-Loh took the lead on the restart – again by only inches – but Chicolas came on strong on lap seven as he got ahead of Lowinski-Loh by a nose-length. Scott Sundeen became a part of the picture when he overtook Lowinski-Loh for second on lap 10 allowing Chicolas to pull ahead by three car lengths. Caution, however, took away any breathing room Chicolas had.
Chicolas shot to the front on the restart when Sundeen dove to the bottom and prevented Fanning from taking over his second place position. Coming up through the pack, however, was Steve Kenneway, the man who entered the race as the point leader. On lap 15, Sundeen used the bottom groove – a lane that had been working so well for him all night long – to take the lead from Chicolas. The top four cars – Sundeen, Chicolas, Fanning, and Jesse Gleason – ran nose-to-tail as they approached the white flag. Sundeen began to pull away on the final lap and drove to the checkered flag. Chicolas was disqualified in post-race tech inspection.
Eric Bourgeois knew the championship was his to lose. With only six points separating Bourgeois from second-place driver Chad Baxter, Bourgeois wasn’t about to hold back in the final 15-lap Monster Mini Stock feature of Thompson’s Thursday Night Thunder. Bourgeois took the lead on lap two and never looked back on his way to the checkered flag and to being crowned division champion. Alicia Thatcher led the field into turn one, but Dave Trudeau led the first circuit after taking the top spot heading into turn three.
Bourgeois and Mike Viens took over second and third respectively. Bourgeois didn’t waste any time getting to the front when he dropped to the bottom groove and made a run on Trudeau coming off of turn four to take the lead on the second lap. Trudeau remained a fixture on his bumper for the next three circuits, but Bourgeois was able to pull away by a comfortable five-car length advantage by lap five and nearly half-a-straightaway by lap 10. Bourgeois went unchallenged for the remainder of the event as Chad Baxter made a last-lap run on Trudeau to take second place.
A quick paced and action packed racing program was the order of the night Saturday at Waterford Speedbowl as the track played host to its ‘Thunder on the Sound’ event, highlighted by the Budweiser Modified Nationals SK 150 feature event. Keith Rocco of Meriden was the night’s big winner, picking up the $5,000 payday along with the checkered flag in the Budweiser Modified Nationals SK 150.
In total, seven drivers notched victories on the evening. Joining Rocco in the winner’s circle included a first-time Speedbowl winner as Jay, ME competitor David Farrington Jr. picked up an impressive victory in the Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Model division.
Corey Hutchings of Salem won another Street Stock race while Ray Christian III of Groton and Glenn Griswold of Vernon each picked up their second wins of the season in the
respective Mini Stock and SK Light Modified divisions. In INEX racing Paul Kusheba of Monroe won an exciting Legend Cars event and Andrew Morin of Old Saybrook won his first ever race in the Bandoleros.
Keith Rocco and team have relentlessly pushed towards winning their 2nd Whelen All-American Series championship since the season’s start. With the addition of Revolutions Bowling and Lounge to their sponsorship line-up the motivation shifts a level higher.
We’re pleased to have Revolutions Bowling and Lounge on board the eighty-eight at Stafford (Motor Speedway).” explained Rocco. “Every team needs solid marketing partners and supporters. When they join your group, straight away they add to what you can do while bringing credibility to who you are.
“I’m glad for John & Maina Rufrano,” he continued. “As owners they have always gone above and beyond to make sure we can win races. This is good for everyone.”
Revolutions Bowling and Lounge is quickly becoming Connecticut’s premier bowling center. Located on Bidwell Road in South Windsor the facility is twenty-miles from the Stafford Motor Speedway.
Doug Nation, owner of Revolutions Bowling and Lounge explained, “We are excited to be a part of Keith Rocco’s legacy at the Stafford Speedway. We are thrilled by his continuing success and cannot wait to see what the future brings for the Revolutions Bowling #88 car.”
As part of NOMAD’s Entertainment Group which includes Nomad’s Adventure Quest, Red’s Tavern and Willow Brook Golf Course, the businesses can entertain all-ages.
Rocco continued, “When we won the Whelen All-American Series title in 2010 our entire group experienced how NASCAR takes care of its sponsors, teams and drivers. We want the opportunity to bring all our sponsors to Charlotte (North Carolina) for the Whelen All-American banquet. It’s something every business should live through.”
Since 2006 Keith Rocco has never finished outside the top four in Whelen All-American Series points. The Wallingford, Connecticut frontrunner drove to his seventh Track Championship last season and explained his team’s determination remains unchanged.
In Saturday night action at Seekonk Speedway track Champ and points leader Dave Darling won again, following the simple rule of staying out of trouble. Darling took over the lead from Kenny Spencer at midrace, on a lap 19 restart. They had dueled on a lap 18 restart and again following cautions on laps 20, 22, 24, 29 and 30. Darling was able to hold on to the lead each time. The final ten laps ran caution free and Darling led Spencer over the stripe. Dick Houlihan, Fred Astle and Kevin Casper followed.
Signs for the race were bad from the first billowing of the green, as Kevin Folan and Mike Brightman were together and up into the wall before the starting line. They had started side-by-side and something had knocked Folan loose and into Brightman and they locked together in a slide into the wall at the base of the starter’s platform. Brightman pulled away and drove smoking to the pits. Folan, with his right front corner collapsed, had to be hauled to the pits before completing a lap.
Brightman was able to return, but Bill Antonellis, who had been collected in the fray, was also out without finishing a circuit. The complete restart put the field into a six lap run to the next caution. Polesitter Mike Mitchell took the lead over outside pole Kyle Casper, and Casper gave chase. Elmer Wing took over third but Spencer wound it up and overtook Wing for position. Lap two saw wing pursued by Tom Scully, Jr. and Dick Houlihan with Darling coming on and Kevin Casper on the outside. Freddy, Ryan Vanasse, Rick Martin and Bob Hussey followed.
Darling had moved from ninth to sixth, behind Houlihan before the caution.
Under green, Mitchell came out first, but Casper came back and Spencer locked on to Mitchell’s rear bumper. Vanasse developed problems with his car, slowed dramatically and retired to the pits after eight laps.
Casper was working Mitchell’s outside, but now Darling was at their backs. Spencer was now on Darling’s tail with Scully, Houlihan, Brightman and Hussey in pursuit. Casper had his nose past Mitchell as Ken spencer came in underneath to take the lead out of turn two on lap 13. Scully followed under into second, but Wing was around in turn two. Casper, Spencer, Darling and Scully went in to the box for the restart and came out door-to-door withSpencer edging ahead him on the outside. Casper fell off and Spencer took the front as Darling made an underneath move on Casper but was denied.
Struggles over position lasted a few seconds between restarts, but during the time, the field established positions which followed through the final ten consecutive laps.
1) Dave Darling 2) Ken Spencer 3) Dick Houlihan 4) Fred Astle 5) Kevin Caser 6) Bob Hussey 7) Mike Brightman 8) Kyle Casper 9) Tom Scully Jr 10) Dave Silvia 11) Rick Martin 12) Mike Mitchell 13) John Berchem 14) Cory Cleary 15) Elmer Wing III 16) Daryl Stampfl 17) Billy Joerres 18) Ryan Vanasse 19) Kevin Folan 20) Bill Antonellis
Bobby Pelland III shook of the tough luck that has plagued him much of the season to take the final step in the Phil’s Propane Triple Crown for Late Models. Pelland spoiled the night for rookie Branden Dion, who led four fifths of the race from the pole position.
The first 36 laps ran fault free until Ryan Lineham spun on lap 36 and went immediately to the pits for repairs. Lineham had been working Dion’s bumper since replacing Mark Hudson in second on lap seven. He darted back onto the track as the field roared through the starting box under green and gave chase. Pelland now was dueling Hudson for second. Hudson survived challenges underneath on restarts on laps 39 and 40. But Pelland took over on lap 41.
Bill Bernard had been mired in fifth, sixth and seventh much of the race, caught behind slower cars, but caught some free air after the lap 42 restart He was past Dylan Estrella after the green, , then Hudson. He bickered with Branden for three laps then leapt in behind Pelland with five laps remaining to harry him to the finish line.
On lap 46, Estrella got sideways and Hudson went around, collecting Branden. Lineham went to the pits for repairs. Dion was off on the hook for the end of his evening.
This put Pelland and Bernard side-by-side for the restart. Estrella and Jeramee Lillie filled the second row and Gerry DeGasparre, Jr. had Derek Anderson alongside in the third for a four-lap shootout.
Pelland held the edge on the green as Lillie jumped under Bernard and they traded paint in turn four. On lap later, Hudson was around in turn four, bringing a lap 48 restart.
Pelland and Bernard lined up again, going door-to-door out of the box. Pelland gained the lead over Bernard and Lillie battled outside Dave Hutchins, Jr. Behind them, Estrella, Charlie Rose and Anderson engaged in a late-race three-wide over fourth.
Bernard was unable to get past Pelland, who flashed over the stripe one-third of a second ahead. Hutchins was third, just .05 ahead of Lillie. Estrella won the three-wide festival for fifth, just ahead of Rose and Anderson. DeGasparre was eighth, Lineham ninth and Tyler Thompson Tenth.
1) Bobby Pelland III 2) Bill Bernard 3) Dave Hutchins 4) Jeramee Lillie 5) Dylan Estrella 6) Charlie Rose 7) Derek Anderson 8) Gerry DeGasparre Jr 9) Ryan Lineham 10) Tyler Thompson 11) Mark Hudson 12) Chad LaBassite 13) Brandon Dion
Rick Martin hustled from the Pro Stock to the Sport Truck and roared out to join the queue waiting for the start just before the field rolled to begin the Sport Trucks 25-lap feature. The hustle got him ready to do the same on track and he hustled to the front with ten to go, then held off persistent Mike Cavallaro for his second win in as many weeks. Martin and Cavallaro had arrived in the leader zone in unison and Cavallaro made one pass over the stripe in front before Martin took over on lap 15.
Dan Leach had led the first fifteen in dominant fashion, able to come away from several restarts quickly and take the front. But on a lap 13 restart, he had Cavallaro at his back with Martin on Mike’s bumper. Daryl Church fell back from the outside pole making the trio 1-2-3 through the lap and then Cavallaro went to the outside. Leach, going for his first win, moved up to fend him off and Martin, ever the opportunist, leapt in underneath. He was through so quickly he left Leach and Cavallaro still door-to-door and they continued to race until Mike eased him back to third. Scott Dion and Chase Belcher moved in behind them for fourth and fifth.
Cavallaro was able to drop Leach to third, and then Dion moved past with less than 5 remaining, leaving Leach to hold off Belcher for fourth.
1) Rick Martin 2) Mike Cavallaro 3) Scott Dion 4) Dan Leach 5) Chase Belcher 6) Anna Gregoire 7) Casey Sanchez 8) Brandon Dion 9) Nick Uhrig 10) Rob Murphy 11) Dave Haywood 12) John Paiva 13) Lenny Guy 14) Bill Schoeler 15) Rob Rainville 16) Mike Duarte 17) Jamie Salley 18) Jim Hawkins19) Russ Borges 20) Joey Wakefield 21) Daryl Church 22) Barry Shaw Jr DNS) Bill Clarke DNS) Nick Lascoula
Ed Gannon III had to disappoint his own nephew to win his first Street Stock feature of the season, as he started behind polesitter and nephew, Street Stock rookie Austin Blais, just up from SYRA and making a name for himself. Blais jumped to the lead at the outset as Gannon got by Craig Pianka and into second. Gerard Berthelette vaulted to third behind him. Scott Serydynski, Pianka and Rey Lovelace followed. But Serydynski spun out of turn four.
On the lap six restart, Gannon was past Blais after a brief side-by-side. On the next lap, Lovelace came up to debate this issue, to be replaced by Paul Lallier on lap 14. Lallier hounded Gannon to the finish, winding up a couple of seconds back. Bobby Bettencourt got by Lovelace for third going into lap fourteen, leaving Rey in fourth. Scott Bruneau completed the top five.
As Lallier clung to second through the second half of the 25-lapper, Bettencourt moved in behind Lovelace as Lallier moved him back on a lap 12 restart after Dan Solomon spun Manny Dias and both retired to the rear of the field. Out of the box, Gannon continued in the lead while Lallier relieved Lovelace’s grip on second. Bettencourt was coming on underneath Bruneau and Crystal was getting under Blais to Bruneau’s bumper. By lap 14, it was Gannon, Lallier, Bettencourt, Lovelace, Bruneau and Serydynski. Bettencourt was knocking on Lallier’s back door but could not pass. Lovelace pulled in behind Bettencourt and Crystal began working under Bruneau.
1) Ed Gannon III 2) Paul Lallier 3) Bob Bettencourt 4) Ray Lovelace 5) Scott Bruneau 6) Crystal Serydynski 7) John Hanafin 8) Scott Serydynski 9) Gerard Berthelette 10) Austin Blais 11) Jimmy Belmont 12) Manny Dias 13) Craig Pianka 14) Randy Moretti 15) Ian Savard 16) Andy Johnson 17) Dan Solomon 18) Doug Rioux19) Chris DeMoura 20) Ray Negley 21) Steve Potter.
In the Fast Friday action at the Seekonk Speedway Albert Wisialko took his first career win in Legends, working the right choice while approaching lapped traffic. Wisialko and TJ Thompson were dueling over the lead on lap 18 of the 25-lap feature, when they encountered John Bellucci as they entered lap four. As they pulled along behind, entering turn four, Thompson wavered in his decision on how to go around the lapped vehicle.
Wisialko decided and dived for the bottom of the track. Thompson seemed to make a move to go around on the high side, then saw the room that Wisialko had left and turned down. He nearly collided with Bellucci and wavered getting underneath. This was all Wisialko needed to hammer down and pull into the lead on his own. Thompson pursued, with the field of Chris Robbins, Andrew Carpenter and Jesse Jakubajtys following.
1) Al Wisialko 2) TJ Thompson 3) Chris Robbins 4) Andy Carpenter 5) Jesse Jakubajtys 6) Curt Snow 7) John Bellucci 8) Nick Lascoula 9) Joe Putnam 10) Joey Parker 11) Matt Carpenter.