Waterford, CT (May 31, 2014) – Exciting motorsports action returned to the Connecticut shoreline Saturday evening as Waterford Speedbowl hosted its Four Cylinder Fury NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing program. Four cylinder racecars were the highlight of the night, however Craig Lutz of Miller Place, NY stole the spotlight with his first-ever victory in thrilling fashion during the night’s SK Modified® race. Other NASCAR Whelen All-American Series wins went to Ken Cassidy Jr. of Lisbon, who was back in the winner’s circle during an extra-distance Mini Stock feature and Jason Palmer of Berlin recorded his first Valenti Auto Mall Late Model win of the season. The Northeast Mini Stock Tour race was won by Toby Wells of Dublin, NH and Robin Berghman of East Providence, RI picked up the victory in the visiting New England Pro Four Modified race. Hometown driver Jordan Hadley won the X-Car feature.
Lutz needed a gritty performance over much of the 35-lap SK Modified® feature to record an exciting first career victory that put the fans on their feet for the finish. He spent the opening half of the race trying to find a way around Diego Monahan. It was Monahan that led the 35-lap SK Modified feature to the green flag with Jeff Gallup flanking his outside. Two attempts to start the race were pulled back by officials before Monahan prevailed on a clean try. Lutz, who started in third, got past Gallup’s inside on the opening lap and immediately began to look for racing room on Monahan.
Lutz tested the outside of Monahan to no avail, as Ted Christopher was draped on Gallup’s rear bumper in a battle for third. The early laps showcased several battles among a tight pack of cars racing in the top ten. Christopher finally found room to Gallup’s inside in turn one on lap-12, taking third with Tyler Chadwick following suit into fourth. The action came to a halt on lap-13 when Ed Puleo got off course in turn four to bring out the first of a string of caution flags.
After a quick spin on the restart at the rear of the field, Monahan got a good restart but only recorded one more lap out front before a big pileup in turn three on lap-14 collected several cars contending for a position among the top-five. When the dust settled, Gallup and Kyle James were done for the evening and Paul Kusheba, Rob Janovic Jr., Shawn Thibeault, Glenn Griswold and others were also involved.
Lutz tried the outside of Monahan when the green flag returned, leaving the door open for Christopher to snatch away second position as they raced to lap-15. Puleo came together with Kusheba off turn two towards the tail of the field, bringing suspension damage to Puleo’s machine. He was stranded on the apron of the track to create another yellow flag.
Monahan had Christopher to his outside for the next restart with Lutz tucked into third. Those three cars ran in tight formation for one lap before Monahan spun from the lead out of turn two on lap-16. Christopher was placed to the rear of the field for causing the incident, handing the lead to Lutz.
Once out front, the toughest part of the race for Lutz was holding back Keith Rocco the rest of the way. He held on during an initial assault by Rocco, who got past Chadwick for second on lap-17. Rocco worked on Lutz before pulling even with him on lap-23, only to see Lutz respond in turn three and fight off the bid. Chadwick was able to scoot back by Rocco’s inside, giving Lutz a brief breather. Chadwick couldn’t close on Lutz but Rocco regrouped, battling his way back around Chadwick on lap-28 to set up the final duel.
The two raced inches apart and even shared some contact during the final laps. Rocco sailed in on the outside of Lutz on lap-31, once again pulling even. At times Rocco was able to just inch ahead before Lutz rallied back. The two crossed the stripe even as they took the white flag and Lutz put forth a determined effort to keep Rocco’s final charge at bay, pulling ahead out of the final corner to claim the checkered flag. Rocco was forced to settle for second and Tyler Chadwick ran among the front runners all race to finish third. Janovic and Thibeault bounced back from their mid-race troubles to complete the top-five.
The spotlight was on the Mini Stock division as part of the night’s special program. The division went for 50-laps, double their normal distance, and Cassidy was superb. Following a caution on lap-6 that involved two drivers battling for second position ahead of him, Cassidy restarted within striking distance. He quickly came through the top-five, overtaking Doug Curry for the lead on lap-10 with an inside pass. The final 36 laps of the race were run without a caution flag and Cassidy easily pulled away. Garrett Denton came on strong to finish in second and Charles Canfield made a rare appearance in 2014 to finish in third place. It was Cassidy’s third win in the past five races. He finished in second position the previous two weeks.
In the night’s 50-lap Northeast Mini Stock Tour race, Wells padded his point lead with the win. He took the lead from Justin Trombley on lap-11 and never looked back. Wells had to survive a host of restarts during the race, which was plagued with incidents, including two in the final two laps. Shawn Swallow finished second and Emerson Cayer was third. Wells has won two of the three events in the Thirty Marketing Triple Crown for the division. If Wells wins the final event of the three race promotion in the series at Thompson Speedway’s World Series, he will receive a custom firesuit courtesy of Thirty Marketing.
Palmer prevailed for the first time of the season in the night’s 30-lap Valenti Auto Mall Late Model race. The second and final caution flag of the race waved when leaders Anthony Ryan and Vin Esposito tangled battling for the top spot on lap-16. Ryan had led from the start of the race but was under heavy pressure from Esposito, the latter seeking a second consecutive win. Exiting turn two Ryan went spinning and officials placed Esposito to the rear of the field for his involvement. Palmer led the rest of the way and finished ahead of point leader Keith Rocco, who was driving a borrowed ride for the event. Esposito recovered to storm back and finish in third.
Hadley sliced through the field during a non-stop 25-lap X-Car feature. He took command on lap-9 from Rich Nye and became the third leader of the race. Once in the lead, Hadley remained smooth through lapped traffic to maintain a three car length advantage and closed out his second win of the season. Nye finished in second and Zac Thomas was third.
Berghman led throughout the 25-lap New England Pro Four Modified feature. Berghman, last year’s division champion, outperformed Norm Wrenn III on the track to claim her first ever victory at the Speedbowl. Wrenn finished in second and veteran racer Dan Meservey Sr. was third.
Laps for Lupus hits the track next Saturday at the Speedbowl. A track walk will take place following practice and before the night’s racing. The event raises awareness and charitable donations for the Connecticut Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America.
Waterford Speedbowl Saturday 5/31 Four Cylinder Fury Results:
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (35-laps): 1. Craig Lutz, Miller Place, NY; 2. Keith Rocco, Berlin; 3. Tyler Chadwick, Ledyard; 4. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 5. Shawn Thibeault, Plainville; 6. Ted Christopher, Plainville; 7. Paul Kusheba IV, Monroe; 8. Tim Jordan, Plainfield; 9. Joe Gada, Salem; 10. Frank Mucciacciaro Jr., Milford; 11. Ed Puleo, Branford; 12. Diego Monahan, Quaker Hill; 13. Brent Sweet, Monroe; 14. Al Stone III, Durham; 15. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry; 16. Tom Pinson, Colchester; 17. Jeff Gallup, Agawam, MA; 18. Kyle James, Ashaway, RI; 19. Glenn Griswold, Vernon; 20. John Bergenty, Plainville
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Valenti Auto Mall Late Models (30-laps): 1. Jason Palmer, Berlin; 2. Keith Rocco, Berlin; 3. Vin Esposito, Seymour; 4. Bruce Thomas Jr., Groton; 5. Tommy Barrett, Millis, MA; 6. Anthony Ryan, Danbury; 7. Mike Sweeney Jr., Meriden; 8. Joe Gada, Salem; 9. Nick Sowa, Middletown; 10. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill; 11. Ken Morin Jr., Old Saybrook
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stocks (50-laps): 1. Ken Cassidy Jr., Lisbon; 2. Garrett Denton, Hope Valley, RI; 3. Charles Canfield, New Haven; 4. Joe Liskiewicz, Preston; 5. Doug Curry, Groton; 6. Ian Brew, Wood River Junction, RI; 7. Ed Field, Deep River; 8. Wayne Burroughs Jr., Oakdale; 9. Chris Ivory, Oakdale; 10. Dale Sherman, Charlestown, RI; 11. Dave Trudeau, Mansfield; 12. Nick Pappacoda, North Branford; 13. John Bowes, Willington; 14. Pete Zaikarite, Niantic; 15. David Arute, Tolland; 16. Jeff Lee, Uncasville; 17. Ray Christian III, Groton
Northeast Mini Stock Tour (50-laps): 1. Toby Wells, Dublin, NH; 2. Shawn Swallow, Stark, NH; 3. Emerson Cayer, Contoocook, NH; 4. Dave Trudeau, Mansfield; 5. Nicholas Anderson, Oxford, MA; 6. Justin King, Derry, NH; 7. Charles Canfield, New Haven; 8. Chad Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 9. Michael Viens, Seekonk, MA; 10. Joe Baxter, Pascoag, RI; 11. Pete Zaikarite, Niantic; 12. Mark Panaroni, Ivoryton; 13. Nik Coates, Turner, ME; 14. Ricky Labrecque, Antrim, NH; 15. Justin Larsen, Peru, ME; 16. Darren Jacobs, Springfield, MA; 17. Loren Smith, Allenstown, NH; 18. Matt Sonnhalter, East Thetford, VT; 19. Alicia Thatcher, Blackstone, MA; 20. Richard Walski, hometown unavailable; 21. Chuck McDonald, Groton; 22. John Bowes, Willington; 23. Mitch Bombard, Willimantic; 24. Justin Trombley, Winter Harbor, ME; 25. Ian Brew, Wood River Junction, RI; 26. Jamie Swallow, Stark, NH; 27. Louis Maher, North Brookfield, MA; 28. Aaron Poulin, hometown unavailable; 29. Jacob Rheaume, Rochester, NH
Pro Four Modifieds of New England (25-laps): 1. Robin Berghman, East Providence, RI; 2. Norm Wrenn III, Amherst, NH; 3. Dan Meservey Sr., West Chatham, MA; 4. Phil Lausier, Hudson, NH; 5. Dan Fresh, Holliston, MA; 6. Randy Clark Jr., West Yarmouth, MA; 7. Casey Ouellette, East Granby; 8. Tom Royer, Swanzey, NH; 9. Mark Charette, Wolcott; 10. Bill Lucchesi Jr., Danbury; 11. Derek Robbie, Bellingham, MA
Wild ‘n Wacky X-Cars (25-laps): 1. Jordan Hadley, Quaker Hill; 2. Richard Nye, Stonington; 3. Zac Thomas, New London; 4. Randy Johnston, Westerly, RI; 5. Jeff Dombrowski, Oakdale; 6. Mitch Bombard, Willimantic; 7. Eddie Loomis, Plainfield; 8. Eric Finkbein Jr., East Hartford; 9. Matt Westover, Gales Ferry; 10. Chris Lee, Uncasville; 11. Chuck McDonald, Groton; 12. Michael Olsen, Deep River; 13. C.P. Burdick, Deep River; 14. Ray Herman, Gales Ferry; 15. Josh Barrie, Voluntown; 16. Richard Mollo, Seymour; 17. Mike Shaw, Oakdale; 18. Kim Bickford, Griswold; 19. Tom Sheehan, Baltic; 20. Garrett Kuhn, Waterford; DNS – Kyle McPherson, Waterford