Anthony Flannery’s Late Model career has been stuck in second gear.

Press release from the New London-Waterford Speedbowl

WATERFORD — Anthony Flannery’s Late Model career has been stuck in second gear.

For the last three years, Flannery has finished in second place in the New London-Waterford Speedbowl point standings. In 2018, Flannery will be looking to change his season-ending location —  his objective will be to finally climb to the top rung on the Speedbowl ladder.

“Sometimes that final hurdle is tough to get over,” Flannery said. “But our goal is to win the championship. Sure, we want to win as many races as possible. But if we can get that championship, no matter how many races we win, we’ll be happy.”

Flannery knows it won’t be easy to take that final step.

“The Late Models may not get as much recognition as some of the other divisions do, but some of the best drivers are in the Late Models,” Flannery said. “I hear a lot of people around New England are buying Late Models. Hopefully they can make it to the Speedbowl this season.”

Even though he fell one position short of the title, Flannery had a memorable 2017 season. He chalked up four wins, one second and two thirds and finished outside of the Top 5 once in nine races. Flannery finished only eight points behind four-time champion Keith Rocco.

“”The Late Model season went very well,” Flannery said. “And we also had a good season in our first year in the Modified Racing Series.”

Flannery will be busy in both divisions this season. He will be racing his Late Model at Waterford on a full-time basis.

“We have the same car we had last year,” Flannery said. “We’re also building a new car that we can use as a back-up, or maybe rent it out. Our goal is to have it ready for the American Canadian Tour 150 at the Speedbowl.”

That race will be taking place June 16. Another highlight on Flannery’s itinerary will be Full Fendered Throwdown presented by Belltown Motors on May 26. Three 20-lap races are scheduled for the Late Models, including two points races. A guaranteed jackpot of $2,000 will be presented to the overall winner. Tony Flannery, Anthony’s dad,  of Belltown Motors is the sponsor.

“Hopefully I can take some more of my dad’s money,” Flannery said.

Flannery expects his Late Model focus to be exclusively on the Speedbowl.

“Traveling is a hard thing for us,” Flannery said. “But I love racing at Waterford. There’s no reason to go anywhere else.”

Flannery will also be doing some moonlighting in the MRS with nine races on his schedule.

And we’ll only be leaving Connecticut once, and that’s to go to Loudon, Flannery said.

There’s a reason why Flannery can’t wait to get back to New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 23 and 24.

“That race last year was our highlight,” Flannery said. “We were running around 30th, and then we made a charge to the front with about 20 laps to go. We almost had a Top 5 finish and we finished seventh. And that was only our third MRS race and our first race at Loudon.”

Flannery is quick to point out the primary reason for his success — his race team, which was honored with the Speedbowl Pit Crew of the Year Award in the Late Model division at the annual season-ending banquet.

“That was awesome, because the guys work so hard,” Flannery said. “The people who come to the races only see my name. But without my team, I’d never even make it on the track. Winning the pit crew award makes finishing second a little easier to take.”

His crew members include Kevin “Harvick” Talbot, Mark Sweeney, Brian Sweeney, Tony Flannery, Yves Talbot, Rick Williams and Dave Etheridge. His sponsors include Belltown Motors, Belltown Recycling, NAPA Auto Parts of East Hampton, Leonard’s of Stafford Springs, Critical Sign and Larry’s Auto Machine.

“We think it will be a good season,” said Flannery, who will be doing double duty at the season-opening Blastoff on May 5 and 6th.

“I’m looking forward to it.” Flannery said. “We’ll be shaking our Tour car down at the Thompson Icebreaker and it should be ready for the Bowl. We want to get two good finishes on opening day to get the season rolling.”

This year Flannery is hoping that roll will take him all the way to the Late Model championship.