WATERFORD — After settling for consolation prizes — second-place finishes — a week ago in the season opener, both Ed Ryan Jr. and Sam Mesick, who won championships a year ago, were itching to get back into winning form. And they delivered. Both drivers captured victories Wednesday during Week 2 of Wild and Wacky Wednesday competition at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl.
Mesick, the 2020 X-Car champ. took the lead from Cameron Liebal on lap No. 5 and went on to nail down a dominating win in the 25-lap feature.
Ryan Jr., the 2020 Super X-Car champion, started eighth in the field but blistered by Dominic Abbatiello with nine laps to go to capture the 25-lap Super X-Car feature.
Also grabbing wins were Devin Deshaies in the 25-lap Legends race and Joel Newcomb in the 20-lap Bandolero event.
Ryan Jr. was the driver to beat last week in the Super X-Car division, leading for the first 19 laps. His car lost power down the stretch, however, and had to settle for second behind winner Bill Reiman.
A week later, Ryan’s car was flawless. He dive-bombed underneath Abbatiello on lap 16 to extract the win.
“The car was good everywhere,” Ryan Jr. said in victory lane. “I saw that the 20 car (Abbatiello) was getting loose, so I capitalized on it.”
Abbatiello held on for second and Marc Shafer, one of the early leaders of the race, was third.
Mesick only needed five laps to go from sixth place to first. in the X-Car race. Liebel moved into the lead after a first-lap crash knocked out Matt Westover and Victoria Finkbein, but Mesick was on the attack and quickly gained the lead.
Mesick only needed five laps to go from sixth place to first. in the X-Car race. Liebel moved into the lead after a first-lap crash knocked out Matt Westover and Victoria Finkbein, but Mesick was on the attack and quickly gained the lead.
“We were off our game last week,” Mesick said. “We didn’t do too much to the car over the winter and it came back to bite us last week. So we worked on the car all week and the car was a rocket.”
Liebel finished second — his best Speedbowl finish ever — and Christian Herman, last week’s winner, was third.
Deshaies had the dominant car in the Legends last week, but was involved in a late wreck. He stayed out of trouble Wednesday and was able to hold off a hard-charging Luke LeBrun Jr., who was making his first Speedbowl appearance.
“The car felt good,” Deshaies said. “I just had to race smart.”
LeBron was coming on strongly over the final five laps.
“This car had good long run speed,” LeBron said. “Maybe if the race was longer, I could have made a move.”
Joel Newcomb made the race-winning move early, moving from third to first on the opening lap. Front-row starters Melania Shilosky and Richard Helger drifted high in Turn 2, and Newcomb was able to torpedo underneath both of them to take the lead.
“They both went up high, and I was able to make the move underneath,” Newcomb said.
Shilosky was second for the second straight week and newcomer Nick Morabito was third.
Racing continues Saturday with the start of the SK Modified Fast Five Series, The SKs will be competing in a 50-lap feature, with $3,000 going to the winner. The SK Lite Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, Trucks and Open Street Stocks also will be in action. Qualifying starts at 4 p.m.
Shilosky was second for the second straight week and newcomer Nick Morabito was third.
Racing continues Saturday with the start of the SK Modified Fast Five Series, The SKs will be competing in a 50-lap feature, with $3,000 going to the winner. The SK Lite Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, Trucks and Open Street Stocks also will be in action. Qualifying starts at 4 p.m.
25-lap Super X-Car Feature: 1. Ed Ryan Jr., Preston; 2. Dominic Abbatiello, North Branford; 3. Marc Shafer, Groton; 4. Will Rheaume, North Franklin; 5. William Rheaume, North Franklin; 6. Sean Skinner, Oakdale; 7. Devin Tate, Preston; 8. Bill Porter, Canterbury; 9. Donald “Bud” Kuehne, Clinton; 10. Keith Brown, Griswold.
25-lap X-Cars: 1. Sam Mesick, East Lyme; 2. Cameron Liebal, Oakdale; 3. Christian Herman, North Branford; 4. CP Burdick, Deep River; 5. Kaylee Symonds, Andover; 6. Tim Burgess, Norwich; 7. Jason Seachrist, Gales Ferry; 8. Robert Carlson, Cromwell; 9. Thomas Jones Sr., Norwich; 10. William Lauber, West Haven.
25-lap Legends: 1. Devin Deshaies, Oakland RI; 2. Luke LeBrun, Newton, Mass.; 3. Jacob Burns, Bristol RI; 4. Zachary Martinez, North Kingston RI; 5. Nick Morabito, Miller Place N.Y.; 6. Connor Holderbach, Wolcott; 7. Isaiah Newcomb, Plymouth, Mass.; 8. Dennis Pantani, Branford; 9. Paul Newcomb, Plymouth, Mass.; 10. Brody Monahan, Waterford.
25-lap Legends: 1. Devin Deshaies, Oakland RI; 2. Luke LeBrun, Newton, Mass.; 3. Jacob Burns, Bristol RI; 4. Zachary Martinez, North Kingston RI; 5. Nick Morabito, Miller Place N.Y.; 6. Connor Holderbach, Wolcott; 7. Isaiah Newcomb, Plymouth, Mass.; 8. Dennis Pantani, Branford; 9. Paul Newcomb, Plymouth, Mass.; 10. Brody Monahan, Waterford.
20-lap Bandoleros: 1. Joel Newcomb, Plymouth, Mass.; 2. Milania Shilosky, Colchester; 3. Ben Morabito, Miller Place, NY; 4. Ethan Dion, Oakdale; 5. Brad Strickland, Uncasville; 6. Richard Helger, Tiverton, RI; 7. Trenton Starkweather, Chaplin; 8. Aiden Sullivan, East Hampton; 9. Darren Krantz Jr., Huntington NY; 10. Michael Lefort, West Warwick RI.