With a 50-lap INEX Asphalt Nationals qualifier race coming at
the track this Saturday, more than 25 Legends cars converged on
Waterford Speedbowl Wednesday night. Among those in the field
for the Wild n' Wacky Wednesday race were Long Island regulars
Greg DiCanio and John Beatty. North Carolina driver Steven Ross
walked away the victor in the race, while DiCanio and Beatty
finished 14th and 25th, respectively.
Beatty, who finished second in Riverhead Legends points in 2008
and currently sits ninth with one win to his credit, started the
race from 15th. DiCanio, who is currently 14th in Riverhead
points in spite of missing a race and who finished fifth in
points last year, rolled off from 19th.
Both drivers got off to a good start as Stan Carpenter took to
the lead, but a lap one incident spelled disaster for Beatty as
many cars got together on the backstretch, with a wheel hop
sending Beatty airborne. The red flag was displayed as, slightly
further back in the field, the car of Mike Beebe rolled several
times, coming to a rest on its wheels in turn three. Thankfully,
the driver walked away. Beatty's night was done, as his car had
suffered some damage. DiCanio, who had escaped the series of
events, fell into 16th for the restart.
Another caution came out on lap one after several cars at the
front of the field got together, and DiCanio was shuffled up to
14th.
When racing resumed, 2008 Sundance Vacations Speedway Legends
champion Roger Coss took the lead on lap two. Jason Palmer, who
has more than ten wins in the division so far this season,
worked his way to third on lap four and quickly grabbed second.
Using an inside pass, Palmer took the lead on lap seven. Ross,
who was racing for the first time at the Speedbowl, came to
second. The yellow came out on lap nine, and DiCanio was in
17th.
Up front, Palmer and Ross battled it out for the top spot,
swapping the lead several times. Ross grabbed the top spot prior
to the caution coming out on lap 15 for several cars that had
gotten together. DiCanio headed to the pits under caution, as
contact earlier in the race had bent his bumper, impairing his
ability to steer the car. With some help from Beatty and his
crew, DiCanio was able to return to the track in 20th.
DiCanio passed several cars on the restart, but it was negated
when the caution waved again before a lap was complete. DiCanio
sat in 18th for the restart, which took two attempts as
officials were not happy with the first restart. Coss pulled off
of the track with mechanical problems.
After the race got underway again, Palmer continued to apply
pressure to Ross. The race was red-flagged with two laps to go
when several cars got together and Carl Blandina got airborne
and then made contact with the wall between turns three and
four. DiCanio had worked his way up to 14th.
Ross and Palmer duked it out for the win in the
green-white-checkered finish, and Ross walked away victorious.
DiCanio was credited with 14th in the final rundown, while
Beatty was 25th.
Legends Feature Finish (20 laps): Steven Ross, Jason Palmer,
George Whitney, Tony Flannery, Justin Rau, Ryan Morgan,
Christian Pedersen, Angelo DiMatteo, Alessandro Vitelli, Gio
Giarratana, William Munro, Dennis Pantani, Stan Carpenter, Greg
DiCanio, Tom Pinson, Troy Talman, Angelo Belsito, Carl Blandina,
Arthur Maurero, Roger Coss, Richard White, Peter Portante, Mike
Blaskey, Ed Field, John Beatty, Mike Beebe.
Source: Tracy Chirico / INEX
Legends
Posted: July 16, 2009
