The True Value Modified Series made it’s first-ever appearance at Waterford Saturday evening, jamming the pits with over fifty cars. In a scene recalling the modified open competition shows of yesterday, it was great to see so many competitors converge on the shoreline oval for a good old-fashioned 100-lap grind. Although rain-shortened to just over the halfway point, the race turned out to be a real treat, with 24-year old Bobby Grigas III taking his first-ever win in the series. The True Value Rookie of the Year contender led from flag-to-flag in edging out former Speedbowl regular Jimmy Dolan for the victory. Locals Jeff Pearl and Tommy Fox were among the top-10 finishers.
 
Equally impressive as the car-count in the series is the racing. A blend of Northern open wheel veterans and newcomers to the sport, these guys aren’t afraid to mix it up on the track. Side-by-side action is the norm, and the True Value guys rival any touring division in the Northeast competition-wise. As first-time visitors, many of the teams found the Speedbowl to be a really fast & challenging little joint to navigate and there were some wall-smacking casualties in both qualifying and the feature event. However, had Mother Nature cooperated and allowed the race to go its full distance, it’s a sure bet that the finish would have been a real nail-biter. The only negative of the entire evening was a small technical rules issue involving the eligibility of the Waterford SK-type cars to compete. Waterford management and the competition committee of the series quickly came to an agreement satisfying both parties, and the show went on without a hitch.  Kudos to everyone involved in bringing the show to Waterford. Hopefully the Bowl’ will become a regular stop on the tour in the future.
 
Former SK champion Jeff Pearl did particularly well against the invaders, as did veteran Tommy Fox, the latter having to overcome a rough heat to qualify in one of the two consolation events. Guaranteed Waterford starters Shawn & Diego Monahan also made their first-ever True Value Modified Series experience a positive, faring well against the more powerful tour-type competition while piloting their full SK-spec mounts. 
 
One of the bigger stories to come out of the Speedbowl on Saturday night was the fact that point leader Dwayne Dorr didn’t win the Sportsman feature, a thing that’s become almost a normal weekly occurrence in 2006. Instead, it was veteran shoe & all-around good guy Jim Procaccini breaking Dorr’s stranglehold on the division. Experiencing a positive season thus far, he’s been in the zone for a win several times, but instead had to settle for second behind the dominating Dorr team. It finally came together for the affable chauffer from Stamford, and to say the least, he sounded relieved in victory lane. When asked if he was checking out the competition in his rear-view as the laps wound down, his reply came in typically understated Procaccini-style. “I get all screwed-up when I watch the mirror, so I was looking ahead, I didn’t want to know how close they were. Where did Puglisi finish…. ?”
 
Richard Brooks looked to be on route to victory in the Mini Stock main event before a late-race tangle in the third turn ended his evening on the hook. Point leader Danny Field (who was running closely behind), emerged unscathed from the front-of-the-field scramble to score his 4th feature of the season. At press-time it was still unclear as to exactly what led to the demise of Brooks, and the videotape was being reviewed by officials.
 
Due to the long rain delay and the state-mandated evening curfew, the SK feature along with the Late Model main were both postponed. The Late Model race will be a part of this week’s card (which also includes Legends), making it a “two-for-one” deal with no increase in admission. The SK feature will take place on a yet-undetermined date later in this summer.
 
THIS & THAT: A welcome visitor to the press box Saturday night was none other than the Boss himself, Speedway Scene’s Val LaSieur. Listening to the good-natured banter between Val & his old buddy Pete Zanardi made the evening a real classic in more ways than one. These two have been in the game since Ben Hur was running for Rookie of the Year honors at the Coliseum. Also sighted taking in the True Value spectacle was New England Racing Hall of Famer Billy Harman, up from his home in Florida. And with that, it’ll wrap this one up.

Contact me at ddykes@originnet.net