Need a plumber?
Driver Ed Puleo (left) and car owner Vin Beedle
Well if it’s a Saturday evening and you’re sitting in the grandstands at the Waterford Speedbowl the subliminal messages about who to talk to about getting that leaky faucet or clogged drain fixed abound.
Just the way Vinny Beedle likes it.
Two years ago Beedle decided to go all-in at the Waterford Speedbowl and that effort has shown.
Anybody that has been around the Speedbowl over the last couple years knows that the branding for Connecticut’s Mr. Rooter plumbing outfit owned by Beedle has become to the most common logo around the track.
Beedle, of Guilford, made a big splash in 2010 when he poured a hefty sponsorship effort behind then Street Stock division championship contender Ed Puleo.
Last year Puleo drove the Mr. Rooter colors to a Street Stock championship at Waterford and in the process forced Beedle to pay up on a promise.
After years competing in Street Stocks and similar divisions, Puleo of Branford, was ready to make the jump to an SK Modified.
Sitting at the 2010 Waterford Speedbowl banquet after the team finishing third in the Street Stock division standings, Beedle and Puleo made a deal.
“I said right there and then that we were going to get a championship,” Beedle said. “My promise to him was that if we got the championship we would go after his next goal because I believe in goals and he always wanted to be fully involved in an SK [Modified] program. And of course we achieved that last year,
and that’s what we did. We got him the best equipment we could get him and we’re doing fairly well.”
Puleo is eighth in the SK Modified standings this year, 77 points behind leader Tyler Chadwick.
Beedle owns Puleo’s SK Modified team and the two partner in ownership of the Limited Sportsman division team that Puleo competes with now on Thursday nights at Thompson International Speedway.
“His passion makes it a lot easier for me that’s for sure,” Puleo said. “He actually pushes me to race more than probably most people would. He wants to get out early to get to the tracks all the time. It makes it a lot easier when the guy behind you wants to do it as much as he does. I don’t ever have to worry about disappointing him because he just loves being a part of it.”
Puleo said the toughest part of the season has been getting used to not being in contention to win every week as he had been the past few years at Waterford in his Street Stock.
“It’s been fun but it’s been tough to go from where we were to where we are,” Puleo said. “I have to keep telling myself that it’s going to take some time when you’re running against guys that have been doing it for such a long time. But it’s been fun and we learn a lot every week. Of course I’d like to learn a lot quicker because I’m a competitive person.
“I’m not goin to lie, it can be frustrating. I wouldn’t be a competitor if I said it wasn’t. At first we had to make a huge gain because we were so far behind and it was easy to make that huge gain. Now that we’re splitting hairs to get the little bits it just seems like an eternity to get those extra couple tenths of a second out of it. It gets frustrating because you think you’ve got it. But you’ve got to keep digging and keep trying and understand it all.”
Beedle is also involved with sponsorship with the Waterford Speedbowl directly and with Mini Stock driver Glen Colvin, Street Stock driver Josh Galvin and Late Model driver Bruce Thomas Jr.
And before the season started Beedle decided to jump in headfirst when it came to the return of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to Waterford for the first time since 2006.
Saturday the track welcomes the division back with the running of the Mr. Rooter 161 at the Speedbowl. Beedle’s Mr. Rooter company will also sponsor Whelen Modified Tour driver Ron Silk in the event on Saturday.
“I believe in advertising and I believe in racing,” Beedle said. “We have to support our tracks. By bringing that Tour to our track, it’s very key to the success and future of the track. That’s my belief. And at the same time my company gets the exposure.
“It’s going to be a great event. It’s going to bring the exposure to the track. We would have loved to have raced in it, but I’m going to work with another team as a sponsor for that race. We’re looking forward to that. I think it’s putting Waterford back on the map where it needs to be.”
Beedle is also behind making the return of the division a special fund raiser night for the Hole In The Wall Gang Camp.
The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, was founded in 1988 by late actor, philanthropist and racing enthusiast and participant Paul Newman. The camp serves as a haven for seriously ill children. It was built in 1987 by The Simon Konover Company.
Both Simon Konover and Beedle’s Mr. Rooter franchise will hold employee nights at the track Saturday with fund raisers involved to help the Hole In The Wall Gang Camp.
“It’s going to be a great event for all those involved and I think it’s going to be a jam packed night at the track,” Beedle said. “I can’t wait to be there.”
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