Eric Berndt made winning for the first time in 2023 twice as nice Saturday at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl.
After getting his first victory of the season last week, Berndt, of Cromwell, rolled that momentum to a second consecutive victory in the 35-lap SK Modified feature Saturday at the Speedbowl.
It was Berndt’s 24 career victory in the division at the Speedbowl.
Tim Jordan of Plainfield was second and Stephen Kopcik of Newtown third.
Jordan and Jon Puleo, with one win each, are the other winners this year in the division at the Speedbowl. Jordan holds a one point edge over Berndt in the division standings, with Puleo in third, seven points off the lead.
Ray Christian III of Uncasville won the 30-lap Late Model feature. Tyler Chapman of Mystic was second and Josh Hedges of New Bedford, Mass. third.
Corey Fanning of Mapleville, R.I. won the 25-lap Street Stock feature. Ed Gertsch Jr. of East Haven was second and Shawn Gaedeke of Groton third.
Christopher Garside of Groton topped the 25-lap Mini Stock feature. Joe Bavolacco of Stratford was second and Nick Pappacoda of North Branford third.
Isaiah Newcomb of Plymouth, Mass. topped the 25-lap Legends feature. Dylan Cote of Griswold was second and Nicholaus Bulkeley of Cherry Valley, Mass. third.
Brody Monahan was declared the winner of the the 25-lap Truck Feature after first place finisher Ed Ryan and second place finisher Randy Burr were both disqualified following post race tech. Andrew Pellegrini of North Grosvenordale was moved to second place and Kyle Gero of Uncasville to third.
Any super fan have further info as to the truck tech and what the top two finishers were bounced for?
Timmy Jordan is just an embarrassment in the podium interview. they started what 11 or 12 cars ..finished with 7 or 8??? in a FEATURE NO LESS !!. He starts mumbling about the handicap after being asked about his run “thru the filed” after a pitstop during podium interviews . came close to also wrecking Berndt who has too much class to badmouth anyone. look people felt bad he got sent into the fence by another hack Glen Reen. yeah they have both won a couple features but at the end of the day their presence means nothing. PS Reen owes his win to KRR. Melissa Fifield could have driven that thing to victory at Stafford . as for her replacing Jordan I cant say that ….he DOES get better lap times with HIS big dollar LFR and he only has a 2 barrel and half the horsepower …LOL .and of course the classless crew in the streets mocking the winner who got pearl harbored in the parking lot last week by the same thugs. why are they allowed to be there ? barred for the season would be a legit penalty .. I too am curious about the truck DQ. I CAN say Monahan must have been flummoxed as his times were similar to last week and suddenly the top two were hauling the mail.. perhaps Kopcick being in the house helped.. perhaps he brought a special briefcase with some top secret shocks?? .Finally the 4 cyl enduro was the most exciting race of the night and I was home by 10:30 and watched the girls fight on TV instead of the fights in the ;parking lot
So does Kopcik work on both 11’s and the 47? Glad the 88 mini driver is ok after crashing on the way home.
WENT TO THE FIGHTS,
Just for the record as far as the comment about Jordan winning “a couple features”. Jordan has 12 SK Modified wins at the Speedbowl to go with 22 Late Model wins and five Mini Stock wins and sits 25th overall on the track’s all-time list.
Great racing Again!! 10 cars, or 40 cars, the best racing in the state! I have no idea what happened in truck tech, but apparently it was beyond the grey area, and 2 trucks got dq’d… And why are guys picking on Tim Jordan?? Yes he’s a whiny cry baby sometimes, but the guy is a good driver, he’s a champion, and he’s earned the respect of all the top SK racers in the state. It was a nice cool evening, with Great racing!
Is it my imagination or is Todd Owen struggling this year.
Shawn ..25th all time wow he`s ready for the hall of fame….means nothing !!! so you agree he can comment about “slower” cars impeding his progress and that’s why THEY got wrecked??? with single digit numbers on the track?? ….Hes a moron !!!
WENT TO THE FIGHTS,
I didn’t say anywhere that I agreed or disagreed with anything I said. I made reference to one single (moronic) part of your comment when you said he’s won a couple features. The guy has 34 wins in the top two division at the track. Just pointing out that you’re way off in trying to infer he’s stumbled into a couple wins over his career. Never said he should be in the Hall of Fame, just pointing out how far off base you were with that single part of your comment.
my point is he`s a local hack and if He`s 25th all time or 125 all time or THE all-time. you don’t finish second in a feature with a dozen cars starting and single digits finishing complain you were held up, cars got wrecked and the handicapping system at the track is somehow flawed against YOU . If I owned this car I would send him home . MY GOD its one of the dumbest things I have ever heard someone say in a podium interview. he`s racing at the bowl its NOT Stafford, its NOT Thompson..those deserving respect have won at all three tracks. local hack BUT BETTER than Melissa Fifield in an LFR tour car ..I WILL give him that LOL. thanks for your coverage Shawn..
I apologize if any of the info in the following Speedbowl update is old news.
Shortly after using my VISA card(!) to pay for my $22 admission ticket, I received a text message with a link to my receipt. I immediately noticed that the spectator areas of the property were tidier than in recent years. In particular, the very old small grandstands in turns one and four have been removed and partially replaced by some new bleachers and several picnic tables.
I also noticed a new “no frills” scoreboard on he backstretch, a beer/alcohol trailer (a 25 oz. can of beer for $9) near turn one, and Matt Buckler’s personalized golf cart parked outside the Flannery bus (i.e. race control). Unfortunately, Matt was nowhere to be seen; hopefully, he’s OK.
The very cool/cold weather probably kept some fans away; I’d estimate that the main grandstands were 1/3 full. The racing was just OK, although SK events at the Bowl are always a treat (even with a disappointing11 car field).
My guess is that the Bowl will try to put its best foot forward for the two Monaco Tri-Track Series dates. Let’s hope that those events breath some life into the track’s 2023 racing season.
Jeez rafter, that scoreboard was put up when Monahan was GM. And I figured by now every race fan around here knows Buckler has been dealing with some serious health issues.
Thanks for the information rafter fan,
The late model numbers were real good last weekend and stayed good this past weekend after dismal numbers of 9 and 10 the first two events. Surprising especially since Seekonk was supposed to have their big act tour race. Palmer having a unusual bad start to the season. Christian as fast as ever. PJ Evans looking fast in only a handful of starts. Always cool to see the second generation drivers making their starts.
Hillary – I’ve been to the Bowl many times since Monahan was the GM and the scoreboard I saw Saturday looked new to me. And, the Buckler reference was intended to inform folks about his special golf cart and his absence on Saturday night. I believe he was seen at the Bowl earlier this season(?).
Well Rafter it might be time to find a new eye doctor😀. That scoreboard has been there a few years now. Buckler was at the track for the super modified night. First time he had been back in quite some time. Feel bad for him because you know there’s no place he’d rather be than a race track every weekend.
The capsule’s race summaries 2024 provides are always interesting and the atmospherics by the Rafter just as good. They were things noticed with no promises of absolute accuracy. Take it for what it was and you’ll be fine.
Repeats of same would be appreciated by all I’m sure.