WATERFORD, Conn. – Dana DiMatteo wasn’t going to be denied on Saturday night in the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series return to the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. DiMatteo passed Kyle Bonsignore to score arguably the biggest win of his racing career in the Belltown Motors/Fowler’s Auto Wrecking 100 presented by CBYD 811, collecting a smooth $10,000 in the process.
In front of a packed Waterford grandstands, which saw one of the best crowds the track has seen in the last decade or more, DiMatteo proved to be the dominant force in the final laps.
“It’s bittersweet,” DiMatteo said. “To come back home, in front of the home crowd with my family, my car owner… I’m just speechless. I have a lot of laps here. We were lacking a little bit of forward drive before we came in for the pit stop, but the last 15 or 20 laps it paid off. We just had more tire than everybody else.”
Driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing, Mike Christopher Jr. competed for the win late, finishing second, while Bonsignore settled for third. Driving for the Albernaz family, Bonsignore has top-five finishes in two of the last three Tri-Track events driving the No. 07.
NASCAR National Series winner Ryan Preece finished fourth, followed by Woody Pitkat. Driving for Boehler Racing, Andrew Molleur finished sixth, with Max Zachem, Matt Hirschman, Matt Swanson and Teddy Hodgdon completing the top-10.
Earlier in the day, Woody Pitkat, Eric Berndt, DiMatteo, Ryan Preece and Matt Hirschman won qualifying heats in the Pepsi Challenge, collecting $300 each. In the two consi races, also worth $300 in the Pepsi Challenge, Jeff Gallup and Jacob Perry were the award winners.
The Waterford event had 44 cars enter the pit area on Saturday with 30 taking the green flag for the 100-lap race.
The Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series will return to the track at Stafford Motor Speedway for the NAPA Fall Final on Saturday, September 24. The race will be the sixth of seven on the 2022 series schedule.