WATERFORD, Conn. — official series release by Kyle Souza — Ed Martin photo —
Sunday afternoon at New London-Waterford Speedbowl, modified racing fans were treated to an exciting day of racing where over fourty cars packed the pit area.When it was all set and done, Ron Silk took the No. 50 machine into Northeast Race Cars and Parts Tri Track victory lane. It was his first ever win on the series in the midst of a deal that came together in the last few weeks.
“I went down to their shop last week and put a seat in and we got it all ready. It was really a last minute deal,” Silk mentioned during post-race celebrations. He found himself just missing out on the redraw on Sunday, forcing him to begin his quest to victory outside the top ten.
After originally scheduled to roll off 9th, Ted Christopher found himself leading the field of twenty eight modifieds to the green flag following a redraw on the track just before the motors came to life.
He jumped out front early on with New London-Waterford Speedbowl SK Modified regular Keith Rocco and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour points contender Woody Pitkat quickly in tow from the bottom lane. Outside polesitter Eric Berndt, driving for Cerevalo Motorsports, dropped back on the initial start with what appeared to be an ill-handling car.
The first caution flag of the event flew on lap two when Dennis Perry spun his No. 6 into the wet infield down the fronstretch, but he was able to regain traction and continue at the tail end of the field. On the restart, Christopher went back to the point with Rocco second, but it was Doug Coby who made the biggest move. He charged from seventh into the top five and then charged by Berndt to fourth.
While everyone got single file in the front, Christopher approached lapped car Rich Parker on lap eighteen and had to avoid hitting the back bumper in turn three. Tony Hanbury, who was a guaranteed starter because of his Race of Champions Tour victory last month, spun in turn two drawing the second caution on lap twenty.
Rocco took his No. 68 into the pits under the caution finding a broken rocker arm that ended his day. He was joined in the pit area by Steve Masse and Berndt, who pitted for adjustments on ill-handling machines.
Even though the green flag flew quickly, Parker and Rob Summers spun in turn three drawing the caution for the third time. Christopher continued his quest for victory by going back to the lead on the lap 22 restart, but a fourth caution came down when Jeff Gallup, Perry and Kurt Vigeant spun in turn two. Todd Annarummo, series points leader coming into the event, elected to take his Luff Industries No. 12 into the pit area under the caution and was followed by Andy Suess, Berndt and Zane Zeiner.
A restart saw the field get single file, attempting to get into a rhythm until another caution flew for Zeiner, who had a flat tire in turn four. Matt “Money” Hirschman was forced to pit from sixth spot with a flat tire on that caution and he was joined by Masse and Annarummo, who continued to struggle.
Richard Savary made a move into second on the next restart but Doug Coby was one step quicker. He slid under Savary and grabbed the second position from him on lap 36, just before a caution for a single car incident with Vigeant. Points contenders Patnode, Pastreyak and Hirschman all elected to come down the pit lane under the caution and barely made it back out for the restart that ended up changing the complexion of the event.
Coby tried the outside of Christopher going into turn one but contact between the two sent Coby up the track and to a stop, drawing the caution once again, the seventh one of the afternoon. Race control deemed that Coby would be penalized one lap for an intentional caution, ending his chances.
Once the field got to the halfway point, Les Hinckley started making his move towards the front. Hinckley, who missed races this season with a back surgery, got under Pitkat on lap 43 when the two ended up making contact. Hinckley pulled off an impressive save, sliding through turn three and cutting the wheel back to the right and only losing a few positions.
The points championship chase took a hit when Annarummo made contact with Coby on the frontstretch. His No. 12 machine ended up front first into the wall and banged the car up, ending his chances of becoming champion.
Silk, the eventual winner, pitted on the lap 51 caution and set himself up for a charge. He restarted in the back when the race went green and Christopher rolled his way back to the lead. A ninth caution flag flew on lap 69 when Carl Mederios Jr. spun in turn two. The next three laps included three cautions, the most important of which changed the battle at the front of the field.
Christopher threw it in hard under Masse in the battle for the lead, got loose and spun down to the infield in turn four. That gave Masse the lead, who took it right down to the wire with Silk. A restart with nineteen laps to go saw Silk drive deeper then Masse into one and slide by. He drove into the sunset and scored his first win on the Northeast Race Cars and Parts Tri Track Open Modified Series.
“My car was great on restarts all day, both top and bottom,” Silk said. “I knew if I could stay even with him and pin him down going into the corner we had a shot. This is a great series and there is a lot of money that has been raised for the racers. I am kind of speechless. I didn’t think we would have a shot to win; it feels great.”
Behind Silk and Masse was Matt Hirschman in third. With the third place finish, Hirschman found himself carrying the 2015 Northeast Race Cars and Parts Tri Track Series championship. His best two finishes included a win at Monadnock Speedway in June and the third on Sunday afternoon.
“I did this in two cars, it’s a nice accomplishment for everyone here,” Hirschman said. “This year hasn’t been getting me any breaks or going my way and this is a nice token. I’ve always liked the open shows where you bring guys from all over the place. We do a lot more traveling up in New York state but it is nice to make a few trips to this area and I look forward to it.”
Unofficially, Hirschman won the championship by five points of Annarummo, with Woody Pitkat in third spot.
The series now has a month off, before concluding the season with a non-points event at the Speedbowl on October 25. For more information, visit www.tritrackopenmodifiedseries.com
Race Results; Tri Track Open Modified Series; New London-Waterford Speedbowl September 13:
Ron Silk
Steve Masse
Matt Hirschman
Ryan Preece
Les Hinckley
Andy Jancowiak
Norman Wrenn
Ted Christopher
Chris Pastreyak
Woody Pitkat
Mike Holdridge
Richard Savary
Eric Berndt
Carl Medeiros Jr.
Andy Suess
Johnny Kay
Jeff Gallup
Zane Zeiner
Rich Parker
Kurt Vigeant
Anthony Nocella
Todd Annarummo
Doug Coby
Todd Patnode
Rob Summers
Dennis Perry
Keith Rocco
Tony Hanbury
QUALIFYING RESULTS REPORT; New London-Waterford Speedbowl Sunday September 13:
Heat One: Hometown Boy Notches Victory
Keith Rocco took his No. 68 modified to victory in the first qualifying heat on Sunday afternoon. The New London-Waterford Speedbowl regular started from the pole position and lead all twelve laps in route to victory.
Steve Masse finished second, with Ron Silk and Mike Holdridge completing the qualified cars through the first heat. Just missing out from making the big show through the heats were Carl Mederios Jr., Andy Jancowiak, George Sherman and Brian Chapin.
Heat Two: NASCAR Whelen Tour Star Coby Qualifies
Rich Parker and Zane Zeiner started heat two with a spin in turn one. Once the qualifier went back under green, Anthony Nocella smashed the first turn wall and drew the second yellow without a lap going up on the board. He ended up with extensive damage to the right front of his Nocella Paving No. 92.
The green flag flew for the third time and this time the field got one lap clicked up on the board before Zeiner spun in turn one and Norman Wrenn spun to avoid, ending up with a flat left front tire.
Doug Coby, driver of the Dunleavy Truck and Trailer Repair took the lead on the restart, but another caution slowed the field when Zeiner ended up riding the side of Brian McCarthy on the backstretch.
The final ten laps of the heat event saw Coby drive away with the victory, giving himself a guaranteed starting spot in the feature event. Todd Patnode, Jeff Gallup and Rich Parker were on the only cars trailing him to the checkers due to the carnage early on. All four drivers locked a position in the 100 lap event.
Heat Three: Berndt Impresses In No. 16
Kurt Vigeant and Eddie Leclerc brought heat three to the emerald flag and Leclerc backed up on the top all the way to the tail end of the field by lap three. A debris caution slowed the field on lap three, but the track quickly squared the issue away and the field went green.
Vigeant went back to the lead and Eric Berndt found himself on his tail. The No. 16, driven by Berndt found himself leading on lap seven and never looked back. He scored the victory in heat three, with Vigeant second, point leader Todd Annarummo third and Dennis Perry fourth, the final qualified car.
Chris Pastreyak, Rob Richardi, Andy Suess and Leclerc failed to qualify through the third heat event.
Heat Four: Seekonk Winner Savary Locks His Spot In Feature
Johnny Kay and Richard Savary brought the fourth heat to green and Kay was quick off the start, clearing Savary. Ryan Preece quickly made his presence known grabbing third and chasing down the top two while Jimmy Dolan was hanging on for dear life in fourth.
That ended quickly for Dolan, who ended up spinning in turn two drawing the first caution. Once the race went back green, Savary took the lead from Kay and was followed by Ted Christopher, who moved into second spot.
Savary held on for victory, with Christopher second, Preece third and Kay finishing the qualified cars. Rob Summers, Dan Meservey, Mike Benevides and Dolan completed the eight car field in round four.
Heat Five: Monadnock Winner Hirschman Wins Final Heat Race
Mike Douglas Jr. spun to draw the first caution in heat five on lap one with Matt “Money” Hirschman leading the charge. Tony Hanbury spun in turn two to draw the second caution, this time on lap two.
Once the race got going, Hirschman was committed to scoring the victory. He was followed by Woody Pitkat in second at the end of the heat and Hanbury grabbed the final qualified position.
Consi One: Zeiner Rebounds From Heat Misfortune To Qualify With Win
Carl Mederios Jr. lead the first of two consi events to the green at the Speedbowl on Sunday afternoon. Even though Mederios Jr. was able to jump out and lead lap one, Zane Zeiner quickly grabbed the lead from him on lap three and pulled the No. 50ma by four car-legnths before long.
With only three cars making the move up into the big show, the battle for that position at halfway was undoubtably the place to keep an eye. Just as Dan Meservey Jr. looked to make a charge to the inside of Joe Doucette, the caution flew for a spin by Andy Jancowiak in turn three. Even though it appeared the caution would be quick, it was found that Jancowiak’s No. 27 hit fluid all through the first and second turn down the backstretch, making it a long caution.
Even though the consi went green, it was quickly brought back to yellow when Dan Meservey spun in turn four on the restart. The ensuing green flag saw Zeiner go back to the point and eventually hold on to score the victory in the first consi event. Andy Suess and Carl Mederios Jr. closely followed, locking down the qualified positions. Jancowiak, Doucette and multiple others were forced to head to the B-main feature to attempt to qualify.
Consi Two: Pastreyak Qualifies With Victory
Chris Pastreyak, the winner at Lee USA Speedway earlier this season, found himself leading the consi to the green flag. At lap five, the first caution flew when Jimmy Dolan and Brian McCarthy ended up together in turn one.
At the halfway point of the second consi event Norman Wrenn found himself sliding by Rob Richardi and into a qualified position. When the final laps clicked off, Pastreyak advanced with his victory followed by Rob Summers and Norman Wrenn.
Ballard Trucks 25 B-Main:
Recent Southern modified standout Andy Jancowiak lead the Ballard Trucks 25 lap B-main feature to the green flag with Rob Richardi and Joe Doucette quickly fighting for second.
The race quickly moved to the halfway point without incident on the track, with lots of single file battling. The final laps saw Jancowiak drive away even more from his challengers, scoring the win and electing to advance to the feature event. Even though Jancowiak began the afternoon with a broken rocker arm, he rebounded and scored a huge win to advance.
Doucette, Richardi, Mike Douglas Jr. and Mike Benevides completed the top five, all failing to qualify.
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