Drivers also happy to race again,
New London-Waterford Speedbowl gets back to the business of racing
Waterford — Because he won last week's race, Anthony Nocella was assigned to the back of the pack to begin Saturday's 100-lap feature which marked opening day at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl.
Nocella, from Woburn, Mass., started 18th in the Valenti Modified Racing Series event, in fact, a spot which gave him a little more patience, if possible.
“We definitely weren't going to lead the race the whole way. We definitely had to save ourselves,” Nocella said. “We just kind of tried to pace ourselves most of the race. I tried to save what I could there.”
Nocella took the lead on a restart on lap 71 and held on for the victory Saturday at a track he was happy to see reopen for the season with its Blastoff 2017 event. Nocella, 24, has frequented the venue since he was 15 years old and raced in the Midget Division.
“It's definitely an awesome place to run,” Nocella said. “We definitely thank these guys for putting the effort in to open the place up. We don't want to lose the track. It was pretty awesome (Saturday), pretty packed stands.”
The Speedbowl's opening was delayed following the March arrest of track owner Bruce Bemer, who was charged with soliciting a trafficked person. NASCAR rescinded its sponsorship of the Speedbowl's traditional racing series, but veteran driver and team owner George Whitney arranged to lease the track from Bemer and engineered the belated opening.
Nocella, who won the Valenti series opener at Stafford on May 19 and also last week's race in Groveton, N.H., won his third event of the season. Les Hinckley of Windsor Locks was second and Jeffrey Gallup of Feeding Hills, Mass., was third.
Approximately 120 cars raced in eight divisions.
Several cars led the 100-lap fea-
ture, including Keith Rocco, Hinckley and Gallup. With 29 laps to go, however, Nocella, without having to expend as much energy early, got the lead from Gallup on a restart while Hinckley pitted and went to the back of the field.
Nocella had a significant lead negated when the race was yellow-flagged again with 11 laps remaining, but he held on to the front for one final restart.
“It was too good, too early,” Hinckley said of his No. 06 car, which he said he believed to be the fastest car at the end of the race following the pit stop.
“We knew the best we could start was 18th. The guys (at the beginning) were pushing each other pretty hard,” said Nocello, who will compete for the $10,000 grand prize this week at Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway in the Open Wheel Wednesday Tri Track Modified 100. “I knew I had a good car once I got by. I had another restart; I tried to get a nice, clean restart there.”
Brett Gonyaw of Vernon won the first race on opening day at the Speedbowl, taking the 25-lap SK Light Modified race which featured five cautions. Duane Noll of Monroe, the defending points champion, won the trucks division.
Joey Ternullo of Middletown took the 25-lap Legends race and Al Stone III of Durham earned the first Speedbowl victory of the season in the Limited Sportsman race.
Rocco, from Berlin, won the 30-lap Late Model race.
There were two races remaining late Saturday, the Mini Stocks and SK Modifieds, in which Rocco was also the favorite.
The Mini Stock race was red-flagged with 20 laps remaining while the track's ambulance responded to a call in the grandstand.
For Ternullo, the Waterford opening was also a welcome event. He began racing at the Speedbowl when he was 9 or 10 in Bandoleros and moved up to the Legends Division.
“When I heard the news, I was heartbroken,” Ternullo said. “It's nice to see the fans back.” v.fulkerson@theday.com
“It’s definitely an awesome place to run. We definitely thank these guys for putting the effort in to open the place up. We don’t want to lose the track. It was pretty awesome (Saturday), pretty packed stands.” ANTHONY NOCELLA, WINNER OF VMRS 100-LAP FEATURE