Owen Cruises to SK Modified® Victory; Monahan Scores Emotional Win

WATERFORD – Chase Cook and Kyle James led the 35 lap SK Modified® feature to green, in a side by side battle that took place until Cook got crossed up on lap 5. With the outside line now free, Eric Berndt and Anthony Flannery began putting the pressure on James and Berndt was the first to make the bottom shot move by the 09, with Flannery hot on his tail. Todd Owen would also clear James, while Berndt and Flannery battled for the top spot. The two would make contact on lap 15, sending both cars to the rear win minor damage, giving the race lead to Owen. Paul Buzel would get by James for the second spot on the restart as Flannery and Berndt tried working their way back through the field. With Owen on a Sunday drive, Flannery secured the runner up position, putting Buzel in third.

Action at the front of the Late Model field was intense right from the get-go with Charles Bailey III getting off to a commanding lead and Mike Benevedis in a breakout race securing the second position. Once Brody Monahan got by Benevedis for second, his sights quickly locked in on Bailey and ate away at his once straightaway lead. Corey Fanning would also wedge his way by Benevedis, allowing a returning Glen Thomas to throw his hat in the ring. A caution with 11 laps to go brought the field back to Monahan, but Fanning and Thomas would engage in a battle for second, with Fanning ultimately edging out Thomas. Monahan’s emotional win in memory of his late Grandfather Pat would be the feel-good story of the day.

Sami Anderson shot away from the SK Light field like a rocket at the drop of the green, giving her the top spot uncontested at first. Outside polesitter Isaiah Newcomb slowly chipped away at Anderson’s lead, but wasn’t able to make a move before the yellow flew for a single car spin. On the restart, contact would send Anderson to the infield giving Newcomb the lead. Newcomb held down the fort until just about halfway, where Evan Bourgeois would break into the race lead. Bourgeois would secure back to back victories, extending his point lead.

Bill Sylvia got off to a strong start in the Mini Stocks, ripping the high line while a battle for second between Charles Beal and Jared Roy slowed the inevitable. Beal cleared Roy and put on a brief side-by-side battle for the lead before taking command of the 18 car field. The race, contested green to checkered, had Chris Garside maneuvering his way forward into second before John Bavolacco stuck his nose underneath Garside with four laps on the board to roll into second place. Beal, in a zip code of his own, would score his second career Mini Stock win.

Nick Bulkeley was a force to be reckoned with in both INEX Legend Car feature events of the evening. He got to the lead early in the first event, holding off the multi-time winner Isaiah Newcomb, Riley Paul, Dylan Freeman, and outsider Chase VanHouton. Several cautions kept putting Bulkeley’s lead in jeopardy, and it wasn’t until lap 16 when Newcomb took over the top spot. Paul, VanHouton, and Freeman picked off Bulkeley putting him in fifth place. Newcomb would then cruise to the win, padding his point lead.

After hard contact in practice the week before Eddie Gomarlo started race two strong leading the first couple laps until Bulkeley rolled back into the top spot, not missing a beat from the first race. Paul, Newcomb, and Dylan Cote followed Bulkeley, breaking away from the field all jockeying for position. A caution with 10 to go bunched the field back up, and 2 laps later trouble at the front when Newcomb and Bulkeley got together sending both to the rear. The restart put Cote and Paul on the front row, and gave a hard charging VanHouton a chance to strike after starting deep in the field. Cote cleared Paul for the lead and ran away while VanHouton put the pressure on Paul for second. Contact between those two shuffled the field up a little and allowed Newcomb to rebound and break in the podium, passing Freeman in a three wide move. Cote’s third win of the season comes after a less than ideal run during the daytime.

Up next at the Speedbowl, Wild ‘n Wacky Wednesday Bill Roberts’ Championship Night. Then for Speedbowl Saturday Nights, the Sundail Cocktails 350 SMAC Super Modifieds return for their championship event. Keep up with the us at www.SpeedbowlCT.com, The New London-Waterford Speedbowl on Facebook, or @SpeedbowlCT on Twitter and Instagram.

Unofficial Results

SK Modifieds® (35 Laps): 1. 81-Todd Owen[5]; 2. 25-Anthony Flannery[6]; 3. 9-Paul Buzel[3]; 4. 11CT-Eric Berndt[4]; 5. 09FL-Kyle James[2]; 6. 8-Chase Cook[1]; 7. 2-Troy Talman[8]; 8. 18-Tyler Barry[10]; 9. 72-Adam Gada[7]; 10. 15-Jeff Fialkovich[9]; 11. 84-RJ Marcotte[12]; 12. (DNS) 22RI-Carl Kivisto

Late Models (30 Laps): 1. 31-Brody Monahan[5]; 2. 1-Corey Fanning[4]; 3. 53-Glen Thomas Jr[7]; 4. 19CT-Michael Bennett[9]; 5. 38RI-Connor Souza[8]; 6. 50RI-Michael Benevides[3]; 7. 78-Emma Monahan[11]; 8. 17-Jason Palmer[6]; 9. 0-Joey LeMay[2]; 10. 67-John C Silva III[10]; 11. 94CT-Charles Bailey III[1]; 12. 32-Jason Williams[12]

SK Lights (25 Laps): 1. 78-Evan Bourgeois[4]; 2. 22-Isaiah Newcomb[2]; 3. 51-John O’Sullivan III[5]; 4. 47-Zachery Sangermano[3]; 5. 16-Nickolas Hovey[6]; 6. 21-Sami Anderson[1]; 7. 14-Kali Trapp[8]; 8. 98-Norm Sears[7]; 9. 09-Jeff Heath[9]; 10. (DNS) 41CT-Tyler Chapman

Mini Stocks (25 Laps): 1. 22-Charles Beal[3]; 2. 42-John Bavolacco[8]; 3. 83-Christopher Garside[5]; 4. 25-Charles Canfield[7]; 5. 1CT-Jared Roy[4]; 6. 88-Bill Sylvia[2]; 7. 19-David Dorr[9]; 8. 6-Nicholas Pappacoda[1]; 9. 20-Joe Bavolacco[6]; 10. 22CT-Brad Caddick[12]; 11. 73-Eric Julian[13]; 12. 16-Tim Dorr[14]; 13. 28-Erica Canfield[10]; 14. 91-Raymond Herman Sr[11]; 15. 81-Stacey Zentek[16]; 16. 12-Aiden Sullivan[17]; 17. 11-Jason Kokoszka[15]; 18. (DNS) 11X-Vin Esposito

INEX Legend Cars #1 (25 Laps): 1. 22-Isaiah Newcomb[8]; 2. 91-Riley Paul[7]; 3. 09-Brad Vanhouton[9]; 4. 05-Dylan Freeman[5]; 5. 27N-Nicholaus Bulkeley[3]; 6. 76-Edward Gomarlo[1]; 7. 77-Dennis Pantani[2]; 8. 86-Scott Limkemann[11]; 9. 89-Dylan Cote[6]; 10. 24-Rodney Dowless[10]; 11. 26-Sydney Cook[12]; 12. 04-Jaden Hamilton[13]; 13. 7X-Patrick Smith[15]; 14. 80-Steven Woytysiak[14]; 15. 65-Wade Oemcke[4]; 16. 15-Scott Kinsman[17]; 17. 2-Jordan Rosado[16]; 18. 29NY-Kendall VanHouten[18]

INEX Legend Cars #2 (25 Laps): 1. 89-Dylan Cote[8]; 2. 22-Isaiah Newcomb[10]; 3. 09-Brad Vanhouton[15]; 4. 91-Riley Paul[9]; 5. 05-Dylan Freeman[7]; 6. 27N-Nicholaus Bulkeley[6]; 7. 77-Dennis Pantani[5]; 8. 86-Scott Limkemann[4]; 9. 24-Rodney Dowless[16]; 10. 7X-Patrick Smith[3]; 11. 04-Jaden Hamilton[17]; 12. 26-Sydney Cook[2]; 13. 80-Steven Woytysiak[13]; 14. 15-Scott Kinsman[11]; 15. 65-Wade Oemcke[12]; 16. 76-Edward Gomarlo[1]; 17. (DNS) 2-Jordan Rosado; 18. (DNS) 29NY-Kendall VanHouten

(photos by TK Race Photos)