Dennis Gada was the 7th different driver in his family to win a race at the Speedbowl. Like his 3 older brothers, he got his start in the Super Stock division. He would score a pair of wins in 1987 before moving to the SK Modifieds in 1990.
Gada proved a quick study in the open-wheel division earning Rookie of the Year honors in 1990 and finishing 2nd to his brother Dave in the final point standings. He earned his first SK Modified win at Waterford in 1991, then won again in 1994 and 1996.
But it was in the second half of the 1997 season when he took over for Jimmy Broderick as the driver of Harry Wyant’s #3 SK Modified when Dennis began one of the more dominant runs in Speedbowl history. Dennis would win 41 races from 1998-2003 and led the division in wins each season. In 1999, he won a record 5 straight features and an unprecedented 9 SK Modified races that season. He also became the first driver to win 5 straight championships (1999-2003). The last season of the streak also included the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series New England Region Championship. He streak was broken by Ed Reed Jr in 2004.
Harry Wyant retired after 2004 and Dennis ran for the Schumann family in 2005 winning 1 race and finishing 3rd in the championship standings. Then as driver/owner, he won two more SK Modified Championships in 2006 and 2008 and won a division best 7 races in 2007. He won his last 2 races in 2009, giving him 62 in the division for his career which was a Speedbowl record at the time.
Dennis won the $5,000 to win Budweiser Modified Nationals twice (2003, 2008) and the 100 lap SK portion of the Pepsi 300 three times (2002, 2003, 2007). He finished no worse than 3rd in championship points every year from 1998-2008 and nobody won more SK Modified races at Waterford during that span.
After hanging up the helmet, he would concentrate on his son Joey’s racing career, while sporadically getting behind the wheel every once in a while. With so much success on the track for over 2 decades, Dennis Gada is one of the greatest drivers to ever compete at the Waterford Speedbowl.
STATISTICAL SNAPSHOT
| TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS | 1999-2003, 2006, 2008 SK Modified Champion |
| CAREER WINS | 64 – (62 SK Modified, 2 Late Model) |
| SPEEDBOWL RECORDS | 7 SK Modified Championships (tied with Keith Rocco) |
| 5 consecutive SK Modified Championships (tied with Keith Rocco) | |
| 5 consecutive SK Modified wins (tied with Keith Rocco) | |
| 14 consecutive seasons with a SK Modified win | |
| 7 seasons leading SK Modifieds in wins | |
| 6 consecutive seasons leading SK Modifieds in wins | |
| SPEEDBOWL FIRSTS | First driver to win 5 consecutive Speedbowl Championships |
| First driver to win 7 Speedbowl Championships | |
| OTHER NOTABLE STATS | won 2 SK Modified races on the same day (November 4, 2006) |
| 7th member of the Gada family to win a feature race | |
| 3rd member of the Gada family to win a Speedbowl Championship | |
| AWARDS & HONORS | 1990 SK Modified Rookie of the Year |
| 1996 SK Modified Pit Crew of the Year | |
| 1999 SK Modified Pit Crew of the Year | |
| 2000 Speedbowl’s 50 Favorite Drivers | |
| 2001 SK Modified Most Popular Driver | |
| 2003 NASCAR Weekly Racing Series New England Region Champion |
DENNIS GADA
SPEEDBOWL PHOTO ALBUM
