Stephen Kopcik Returns to Speedbowl Victory Lane but in SK Modifieds®; Ryan Morgan Tops Late Model Field
WATERFORD – Stephen Kopcik jumped in the second SK Modified® for Ferguson Motorsports for the first time on September 3rd. In only his third start, he was able to park it in victory lane for the first time in the division. His one and only win at the shoreline oval came back in 2013 driving a Legend Car on Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday.
An extra distance feature event headlined day 3 of The Finale, and it was Adam Gada and Jeff Malave that set the pace in the early stages. Kopcik dove into the corner and was able to pick off both drivers about a dozen laps in pulling Malave by with him. At the halfway point, a massive pileup on a restart sent cars airborne in a mad dash across the infield. After the cleanup and racing resumed, Malave began to battle back and clear Kopcik on the outside. Kopcik would jump back into the lead 3 laps later and ride out the race in the lead, even after a caution with 4 to go.
2022 Champion Todd Owen, who had a tumultuous heat race earlier in the day, rebounded from a 16th place starting position to battle for the lead by races’ end. He had a taste of second place for a short while until Malave was able to get the better of him with 3 to go. Owen is now the 5th driver in Speedbowl history to have back-to-back championships.
The Late Models competed in a 50 lap special, the 2nd Annual Don Caddick Memorial race. Jordan Hadley and Ryan Morgan kicked off the event with speed, pulling away from the rest of the field. Jason Palmer and Ray Christian III both methodically worked their way from a mid pack starting position towards the front, when they split Morgan 3 wide together, and began challenging for the lead that Hadley held. Palmer lost control of his car, drawing a caution that setup Morgan and Christian to begin their attack. Contact with the top 3 would see Hadley go around and send Christian to the rear of the field with just 12 to go. Morgan was able to keep his car pointed in the right direction and coasted his way to the finish, earning his second win of the season.
Ray Christian had the Late Model championship locked up before taking the green flag, which is his first at the track in his career that began in the Mini Stocks in 2008.
Sami Anderson wasn’t going to be denied in the SK Lights this time out. She pulled into the lead on lap 3 by Ethan Durocher and survived several cautions having a near straightaway lead at one point. The field would stack up once sending a few cars into the pits, but Anderson and Durocher would go on a breakaway and become a 2 car show. Anderson was able to strong arm her way into the lead and secure her first career win.
Tom Abele Jr. only needed to take the green flag to earn the SK Light championship, which his race resulted in staying out of trouble for a 6th place finish to cap off his highly successful season in the division.
Rick LaFlesh and Marc Panaroni were the stars of the Mini Stocks in the early stages of the event, that kept being slowed by minor incidents around the track. There was a melee going into turn 1 with 7 to go, taking Panaroni out of contention. Charles Canfield was forced to start the race in the rear after a fuel issue during pace laps. He was able to put his car in a position to win, when new leader Sam Mesick and Canfield cleared LaFlesh for the top two spots. Canfield didn’t have enough car to be able to nose in front of Mesick, who dominated the final few restarts from the outside groove. Mesick scored the win, and rookie of the year, while Canfield was crowned champion.
Twenty-Seven Open Street Stocks took to the track and put on a very good show for those in attendance. A flat tire sent early leader Brian Norman into the outside wall early, which allowed Corey Fanning to make his way into the lead. He and Saturday night winner Tony Macrino took off from the rest of the field with Macrino hot on Fanning’s tail. Lapped traffic would play a role with just a few laps to go giving Fanning a clear shot to score the win, locking himself into the North East Street Stock Championship event held on October 29th.
While the points seasons are done, there’s still racing to be held at the Speedbowl! October 22nd will be the eighteenth running of Smacktoberfest, featuring the EXIT Realty Pro Trucks, an Open Competition Mini Stock race, Enduros, Spectator Drags, Trailer Race, Costume Contests, and more! More complete details, visit www.speedbowlct.com, keep up with us on Facebook at The New London-Waterford Speedbowl, or on Twitter @SpeedbowlCT.
Results
SK Modifieds® (60 Laps): 1. 11FL-Stephan Kopcik[4]; 2. 4-Jeff Malave[3]; 3. 81-Todd Owen[19]; 4. 72-Adam Gada[1]; 5. 35-Andrew Molleur[16]; 6. 51-Rob Janovic Jr[2]; 7. 25-Anthony Flannery[5]; 8. 34-Max Zachem[10]; 9. 11CT-Eric Berndt[6]; 10. 6CT-Cory DiMatteo[9]; 11. 9-Paul Buzel[18]; 12. 66-Wendell Dailey[11]; 13. 15-Jeff Fialkovich[13]; 14. 47-Timmy Jordan[12]; 15. 82-Mike Christopher Jr[8]; 16. 10-Joseph Ternullo[7]; 17. 88-Joey Mucciacciaro[14]; 18. 22RI-Carl Kivisto[15]; 19. (DNS) 94-Bill Anderson
Late Models (50 Laps): 1. 31CT-Ryan Morgan[5]; 2. 17MA-Matthew Lowinski Loh[7]; 3. 2-Derryck Anderson Jr[1]; 4. 50RI-Michael Benevides[2]; 5. 94CT-Charles Bailey III[11]; 6. 35-Andrew Molleur[9]; 7. 37-Jordan Hadley[3]; 8. 93CT-Raymond Christian[6]; 9. 29-Joshua Hedges[8]; 10. 17-Jason Palmer[4]; 11. 68-Cory DiMatteo[16]; 12. 9-Keith Scalia[10]; 13. 32-Jason Williams[13]; 14. 12-Ed Ryan Jr[12]; 15. 67-John C Silva III[15]; 16. 4CT-Charles Bailey IV[14]
Mini Stocks (25 Laps): 1. 2CT-Sam Mesick[6]; 2. 25-Charles Canfield[5]; 3. 9-Rick LaFlesh[1]; 4. 94-Christopher Ivory[7]; 5. 6-Nicholas Pappacoda[3]; 6. 1CT-Jared Roy[14]; 7. 25CT-Al Stone III[16]; 8. 78-Mitchell Myjak[21]; 9. 49-Jesse Oloski[2]; 10. 22-Hailey Beal[11]; 11. 7-Dave Trudeau Jr[17]; 12. 12-Aiden Sullivan[12]; 13. 51-Mark Panaroni[8]; 14. 92-JT Suprenant[10]; 15. 01CT-Chuck McDonald[15]; 16. 28-Erica Canfield[19]; 17. 31-Tommy Silva[4]; 18. 91-Thomas Jones Sr[20]; 19. 81-Stacey Zentek[13]; 20. 83-Christopher Garside[9]; 21. 22CT-Tim Baker[18]
SK Lights (25 Laps): 1. 21-Sami Anderson[4]; 2. 16CT-Ethan Durocher[2]; 3. 78-Evan Bourgeois[10]; 4. 22-Isaiah Newcomb[7]; 5. 47-Zachery Sangermano[5]; 6. 07-Tom Abele Jr[6]; 7. 5-Jordan Churchill[19]; 8. 16-Nickolas Hovey[9]; 9. 1-Bob Charland[14]; 10. 51-John O’Sullivan III[8]; 11. 91CT-Brandon Plemons[17]; 12. 42-Stephen Kelogiannis[15]; 13. 4-Joe Liskiewicz[13]; 14. 12-Dennis Krupski[16]; 15. 52-Anthony Forino[18]; 16. 07K-Cole Kugler[20]; 17. 3-Keith Johannessen[21]; 18. X6-Geoff Nooney[3]; 19. 51CT-Matt Brewer[1]; 20. 76-Christopher Viens[12]; 21. 18-Tyler Barry[11]
Open Street Stocks (25 Laps): 1. 11-Corey Fanning[3]; 2. 13-Tony Macrino[4]; 3. 67-Aaron Plemons[10]; 4. 22-Austin Erickson[11]; 5. 52-Al Stone III[9]; 6. 19-Ryan Lineham[16]; 7. 7CT-Travis Jurcik[2]; 8. 74-Joe Arena[7]; 9. 66-Charles Beal[8]; 10. 83-RJ Surdell[17]; 11. 81-Ed Gertsch Jr[6]; 12. 11X-Bert Ouellette[5]; 13. 38-Jon Porter[14]; 14. 56X-Andrew Gillis[12]; 15. 22T-Timothy Poulin[13]; 16. 02-Nick Wood[19]; 17. 14X-Brandon Carroll[23]; 18. 13RI-Clay Petschke[21]; 19. 07-Josh Gerard[24]; 20. 55-Sean Riley[22]; 21. 33-Jake Coutu[18]; 22. 56-Ike Chima[27]; 23. 85-Cam Balman[25]; 24. 1-Zach Meade[20]; 25. 30-Jaysin Beal[15]; 26. 12-Brian Norman[1]; 27. (DNS) 0-Chad Baxter
Photo by TK Race Photos
