G2 Radios presents The Waterford Speedbowl Message Board

Waterford Speedbowl 5/19 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Results

Waterford, CT (May 19, 2012) – Waterford Speedbowl was back in action
Saturday night with another round of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
racing. Picking up victories on the night included Keith Rocco of Meriden,
who scored wins in both the SK Modified® and Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late
Model divisions, while Dan Darnstaedt of Westbrook won the Street Stock
race and Ken Cassidy Jr. of Lisbon continued his domination of the Mini
Stock division, winning his seventh race on the season. The INEX Legends
Cars and Bandoleros joined the NASCAR race program, with Farmington’s Dana
Dimatteo and Oakdale’s Derek Debbis winning the respective divisions.


The 35-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified® race was led to
the green flag by Diego Monahan, looking to rebound after three straight
weeks of hard wrecks. Monahan took control from the start as Jeff Rocco
moved to second position early on. Monahan and Rocco moved out to a
healthy lead ahead of a battle for third position among Jeffrey Gallup,
Joe Perry, Kyle James and Rob Janovic Jr. Multiple oil-downs and cleanups
in the previous race kept the action interesting in the opening laps as
several competitors had hair-raising moments.

The action stayed clean and green despite track conditions. Points leader
Jeff Pearl dropped off the pace on lap-7, then retired on lap-8 with
mechanical issues under the hood. Behind Monahan and Jeff Rocco, James
worked himself into third position, Janovic fourth and Keith Rocco to
fifth by the time the first caution flew on lap-13 when Tyler Chadwick
spun in turn four. While under the caution, heartache for Monahan saw his
car lose power and require a push to the pits. Monahan did not return,
continuing a string of misfortune.

The lead was handed to Jeff Rocco, who had James to his outside for the
restart. Rocco got the jump to turn one with Janovic taking over second
from James. Keith Rocco also looked to file in underneath James but
thought better of the move, settling in line in fourth position. On
lap-17 Rocco set James up high, then ducked low out of turn four to make a
power move into turn one underneath him. The move was taken away by
caution when Tom Abele Jr. spun exiting turn four, returning the race to
caution.

The restart attempt saw a lead change with the green flag back in the air.
Jeff Rocco missed a shift, nearly spinning out of first place. The
outside lane trucked ahead with Janovic and Keith Rocco into the top two
spots in a blur. Jeff Rocco settled back in third, ahead of James who had
nowhere to go and held fourth.

Over the next several laps Keith Rocco looked all over the new leader
Janovic. Rocco took up residence in an unusually high groove after
experimenting earlier in the race. He built momentum racing high,
eventually getting a nose outside Janovic before taking over down the back
chute on lap-25. Janovic began to fade under a lengthy green flag run,
having to hold back Jeff Rocco before Justin Strumpf spun in turn one on
lap-30 to bring out the caution.

Rocco mastered the last restart attempt to pull ahead of Janovic who got
in line in second. Janovic got to the leader’s rear bumper in turns three
and four on lap-32 however could not pull alongside. Rocco went on to the
win, his fifth on the year. Janovic was second, while Keith’s twin
brother Jeff ended a solid run in third place. Abele and Chadwick each
rebounded from spins to place fourth and fifth.

Rocco played the role of racing veteran in the 30-lap NASCAR Whelen
All-American Series Late Model feature. The race, which went caution
free, saw Anthony Flannery Jr. take the race lead in the opening circuits.
Flannery stretched his lead while Rocco worked through traffic, taking
second position on lap-3. Rocco patiently bided his time, closed in on
Flannery’s bumper and applied pressure around the halfway point. He back
off and settled in behind Flannery for several more laps sizing up the
leader, then made another closing run in the final five laps that saw him
execute a successful outside move to take the win in the late stages of
the race.

The 25-lap Street Stock feature belonged to Darnstaedt. He overcame an
opening lap fracas that collected nearly the whole field, then took the
lead from Norm Root Jr. on the outside following the race's second restart
just before halfway. Darnstaedt had to prevail over two final restarts
before nailing his first victory in the division since 2005. Darnstaedt
is a former Mini Stock champion at the track dating back to 1996.

Cassidy continued his hot start to 2012, winning for the seventh time in
eight NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stock events. Saturday’s
triumph came in a special 28-lap memorial race honoring former division
competitor Ron Fortune, who passed away during the week. Cassidy took the
lead on lap-11, passing early leader Charles Canfield on the inside. He
had to hold back a hard charging Jeff Cembruch over a final three lap
sprint to the checkered flag following the final caution flag. Cassidy
currently leads the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national standings
in Division IV racing.

Dimatteo survived a wild 20-lap Legends Cars race. He led for a good
portion of the race before succumbing to the hottest driver in the
division, Matt Pappa. Pappa made an inside move 15 laps in to the race.
Pappa had just completed the pass when, just in front of the lead pack, a
car at the tail of the field blew an engine oiling down the track. The
top-five all got collected and crashed in the liquid except Dimatteo, who
somehow kept control of his car. Dimatteo resumed his lead following the
restart to take his first win of the season.

Debbis took the over control of the race following a lap-8 caution period
during the 20-lap Bandolero feature. Early leader Jacob Perry actually
brought out the first caution when his car lost a tire after dropping back
to third. Once out front Debbis dominated, going on to a victory margin
of nearly a half-track.

The Speedbowl is back next Saturday night with the season-opening event
for the International Supermodified Association (ISMA). The
800-horsepower Supermodifieds will go 50-laps in distance, joining NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series races for the SK Modifieds®, SK Light
Modifieds, Street Stocks and Mini Stocks. Details for the event can be
found on Speedbowl.com


Waterford Speedbowl Saturday 5/19 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Results:

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modifieds® (35-laps): 1. Keith
Rocco, Meriden; 2. Rob Janovic Jr., Waterford; 3. Jeff Rocco,
Wallingford; 4. Tom Abele Jr., Norwich; 5. Tyler Chadwick, Ledyard; 6.
Ed Puleo, Branford; 7. Nichole Morgillo, Wallingford; 8. Adam Gada,
Bozrah; 9. Wendell Dailey, Gales Ferry; 10. Joe Gada, Salem; 11.
Jeffrey Gallup, Feeding Hills, MA; 12. Kyle James, Ashaway, RI; 13. Al
Stone III, New Haven; 14. Justin Strumpf, Selden, NY; 15. Joe Perry,
Ashaway, RI; 16. Diego Monahan, Quaker Hill; 17. Jeff Pearl, Salem; 18.
Mike Sweeney Jr., Meriden; 19. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill; 20. Rich
Brooks, Groton; DNS – Craig Lutz, Miller Place, NY; DNS – Frank
Mucciacciaro Jr., Milford; DQ – Justin Gaydosh, Newtown

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bob Valenti Auto Mall Late Models
(30-laps): 1. Keith Rocco, Meriden; 2. Anthony Flannery, East Hampton;
3. Bruce Thomas Jr., Groton; 4. Jason Palmer, Berlin; 5. Dillon Moltz,
Waterford; 6. Rich Staskowski, Hope Valley, RI; 7. Jeff Smith, Old Lyme;
8. Joe Curioso, Pawcatuck; 9. Brian Andronaco Jr., Wilton; 10. Mike
Sweeney Jr., Meriden; 11. Ed Gertsch Jr., East Haven; 12. Anthony Ryan
Jr., Danbury; 13. Rich Duranti, Quaker Hill

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Street Stocks (25-laps): 1. Dan
Darnstaedt, Westbrook; 2. Joe Arena, Bristol; 3. Ray Downing Jr.,
Westbrook; 4. Josh Galvin, Franklin; 5. Walt Hovey Jr., Chaplin; 6.
Greg Moran Jr., Preston; 7. Phil Evans, Uncasville; 8. Scott Young,
Willimantic; 9. John Blake, North Haven; 10. Chris Meyer, North
Franklin; 11. Corey Hutchings, Salem; 12. Bill McNeil, Preston; 13.
Norm Root Jr., Old Saybrook; 14. Ted Dupre, Westbrook; 15. Alan Hall
Jr., North Haven

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Mini Stocks (28-laps): 1. Ken Cassidy
Jr., Lisbon; 2. Jeff Cembruch, Wallingford; 3. Bill Leonard,
Charlestown, RI; 4. Charles Canfield, New Haven; 5. Ian Brew, Wood River
Junction, RI; 6. Wayne Burroughs Jr., Oakdale; 7. Ray Christian III,
Preston; 8. Doug Curry, Groton; 9. Garrett Denton, Hope Valley, RI; 10.
Joe Liskiewicz, Taftville; 11. Joe Fogarasi, Columbia; 12. Chris Ivory,
Oakdale; 13. Sean Caron, East Hampton; 14. Christina Kellerman,
Stratford; 15. Jeffrey Lee, Uncasville; 16. Ken Cassidy Sr., Lisbon

INEX Legends Cars Saturday Showdown Series (20-laps): 1. Dana Dimatteo,
Farmington; 2. Dylan Izzo, Monroe; 3. Paul Kusheba IV, Monroe; 4. Dave
Garbo Jr., Stonington; 5. Cory Dimatteo, Farmington; 6. Calvin Therrien,
Vernon; 7. Kyle Hardwick, Chaplin; 8. Kyle Rogers, Waterbury; 9.
Stephen Kopcik, Newton; 10. Scott McNickle, Ledyard; 11. Richard
Erlandson, Moosup; 12. Ed Field, Deep River; 13. Christopher Kearney,
Ellington; 14. Matt Pappa, Nassau, NY; 15. Giovanni Giarratana,
Newington; 16. Jordan Churchill, Lisbon; 17. John O’Sullivan, Salem

INEX Bandolero Saturday Showdown Series (20-laps): 1. Derek Debbis,
Oakdale; 2. Jacob Urch, West Suffield; 3. Jordan Lamothe, Woodstock; 4.
Corey Comeroski, Lebanon; 5. Ken Morin Jr., Old Saybrook; 6. Andrew
Morin, Old Saybrook; 7. Jacob Perry, Pawcatuck

####