A Rollercoaster Ride Worth Fifty Miles

Okay! Welcome to the fabulous world of a Tuesday afternoon at downtown "Small Town" Connecticut! I've been pretty lazy and/or willing to put off my entry until Thursday, but I wanted to give myself some ample time so that I wasn't on my butt trying to get the latest entry done on the last possible day. So with that said, I'm doing it three days before the next event. Unfortunately, I'll have to do a second entry right after this one so I can tell you all about what happened on the penalty notice sheet. There were a couple of bad boys during this heated night. For now, sit down, relax, sip some soda or whatever it is you drink at whatever time you're here, and listen as I tell the tale of the SK Modifieds going 100 laps... Plus four other features in the Whelen All American Series.

We started the night out with some full fendered action; more specifically, the cars of the Limited Late Models. Last time, their 20-lap feature ended up having four cautions in the middle of the action. We'll fast forward through the first fifteen laps of the race, telling you in the process that the race began with Sean Foster taking the lead and dominating up until the first caution on lap-16. That was when Barry Thompson spun in turns three and four. On the restart, Foster had the lead and didn't look like he was going to lose it. It appeared as though he would cruise to the win on the final lap, but as the white flag came out, the yellow was put into its place as Darrin Havanec spun in turn four, bringing out the caution to set up what looked like to be a green-white-checkered finish. Unfortunately for the field, their first attempt at the situation came up about one-and-a-half laps short. On the backstretch, Rick Lanagan ended up with the worst damage of a three car mess, with the end result being his car up against the wall going the other way. I'm looking at pictures of the night right now, and the press release on the track's site also agrees with the pictorial evidence: Paul Conte wanted to go airborne. (Let me be happy to say that it wasn't too bad and he was able to not destroy the car.) So now, there was a second attempt at a restart which proved to be the key to winning the race. Foster once again took control, and Charlie Newman followed him around the now third-place Andrew Durand. Newman tried to make a comeback, but it would be too late. Foster crossed the line first, scoring his second win of the '07 season. Newman, Durand, and Michael Nadeau finished off the scoreboard for this event.

The Limiteds exited the track via turn one, and in their place walked crew members, bringing out tools and other necessary equipment for 30-laps featuring the Late Models. Would you believe me if I told you that the Late Models and Limiteds finished their races in seventeen minutes each? I cannot tell a lie. That's exactly how it went. Here's extensive proof of what took place. Ed Ricard led the first two laps of the race, but whatever lead he had was short lived when Doug Blowers spun in turn four, bringing out the first caution of the event. When the green came back out, Ricard led until lap-3. And then, there was a lead change. Woody Pitkat became the new leader. And things were going on behind him. On lap-12, the cars of JJ Hill, Bobby Leone, and Rick Charette end up giving the field the second caution of the event. Charette looked like he backed up into the turn one wall, and Hill and Leone got together. Again, the green came back out. And again, Pitkat took control. The lead would only last for a couple more laps, however, because it was caution time once again. Turn one would be the scene of a two-car accident, and the two cars involved in this one belonged to Ryan Posocco and Jim Peterson, who are still tied for the all-time win lead as of the 20th. On the restart, Pitkat gave himself the lead again, and this time, nobody seemed as though they could have anything for him. He put on a show for the fans on the frontstretch as he crossed the finish line, claiming his first win of the (Late Model) season. Yes, I honestly thought he won more races in a fendered car. Finished in the top-3 a couple of times, but never had a win. Okay, the rest of the top-four: Jim Mavlouganes, Tom Fearn, and Corey Hutchings.

And now, things shift around. The full fendered automobiles take a little rest, and we drop the help on the infield for a race. This is open-wheeled competition with the sophomore season of the SK Lights. You might have heard what happened two weeks ago... They get five laps back, but they also have a time limit of twenty solid minutes to finish their race. Last week, things didn't fare too well. They went fifteen minutes over. Could the Lights rebound from the bad luck night of the 13th? I think the first lap told the entire story. A false start on the opening green flag bunched everyone up so that about a dozen of them could wreck in turns three and four as the second attempt almost became a possibility. You had the top-three drivers in the point standings involved in that (Chris Matthews, Glen Reen, and Brit Andersen), and just about everyone who was starting in the back. Needless to say, the race was red flagged with no laps on the board. Some of the cars involved got their cars moving so they could continue on with the race, while others -- like Glenn Griswold -- weren't so fortunate and had to be towed off and into the infield. Restart time comes, and Josh Sylvester assumes the top spot. The lead would have to be pulled back to the Earth's surface on lap-2, when Fred Nees, Jr winds up on the frontstretch in a solo-car accident. Sylvester would re-take the lead on the restart, but he would have a contender on his heels: Alan Provost. On lap-16, the lead changed hands when Provost snatched the lead away from Sylvester, and that would become the move of the race. Provost notched his first win of the season and of his career. Sylvester would come in second, followed to the line by Aaron Goff and Mark Bakaj. Length of race: Twenty-two minutes. They came close, I tell you.

Then it was time. The time of times! It was finally time to have the main attraction of the night. It was the 34th annual Coors Light SK Modified 100. A grand total of 28 cars started the feature, but only one could claim immortality... And a guaranteed spot in the SK-type portion of this year's North South Shootout at the Concord Motorsports Park. Who would win? The questions in the last entry would be answered in a total time of one hour, twenty-one minutes from the start of the race. The race would be Willie Hardie's from the opening green, even in the midst of three cautions between the first and 28th lap. The cautions would start coming like the plague on lap-14, when Shelly Perry brought out the first yellow flag with a spin in turn four. It was a minor incident; she drove off and it was a short caution. On the restart, Hardie took control again, but that lead only lasted three more laps as a second caution occured. Last year's winner of the event, Todd Owen, would be the next car to have problems on the night, almost as if he lost a tire and just sailed straight into the outside barrier. It would be assumed that the defending winner would not be able to defend the race successfully, handing over the title to another driver. But before we go too far ahead of ourselves, let's go back to the lap-17 restart. Again, you had Hardie taking the lead, and that would last for only four laps. Mark Anderson was the one who brought the caution out this time because he spun on the backstretch. This was a quickie caution, and the green would come back out probably less than a minute later with Hardie still in control. On lap-29, the car of Brad Hietala would experience heartbreak when he ended up in a solo-car accident in turn four. After cleanup commenced, the green came back out and it was Hardie leading the way. But now, however, Keith Rocco was coming up behind him and on lap-35, Rocco would help Hardie spin coming out of turn two. It was a four-car incident, including Jeff Malave, Richie Pallai, Jr, and Kenny Horton. Rocco would get black flagged for helping out with the caution, giving the lead to the all-time win leader period, Ted Christopher. But Christopher's lead was short lived. On the restart, Woody Pitkat stormed in front of Christopher and assumed the position of leader, even when there happened to be debris in turn four (this happening on lap-48). Pitkat went back into the lead, but it was only a lap until the next caution occured; this one being for Jim Larsen who spun in turn two. The next caution wouldn't come for a while, but there was still action. Christopher gained the lead back on lap-52, and Pitkat started to just slip back spot after spot until he really wasn't in contention anymore. Hope would seem lost for Pitkat until lap-79. Keith Rocco, who was black flagged earlier in the race, was now out of the race because his motor let loose in turns three and four, bringing out the caution. This allowed Pitkat to come to pit road and let his crew change tires. This would prove to be a very smart move for both him and his team. But at the moment, it was still Christopher out in front. The lead was erased once again when Larsen spun on lap-92 in turns three and four, setting up a crucial restart with Christopher still out in front. Pitkat was making a charge, however, and he would be back in contention on lap-95 when a series of problems occured. You had Hardie and Pallai spinning on the frontstrech, followed by Zach Sylvester in an accident in turns three and four, then Pete Pavone, Jr had his motor die on him on the frontstretch as the second restart bowed upon the field. The third test at the lap-95 restart would be a test of who would be able to get the better jump. The inside row had the advantage, but instead of Christopher pulling away, it was Pitkat going around TC. Another caution came out on lap-97 when Larsen was in a third caution along with Scott Bennett. So now, it came down to the final restart. Pitkat versus Christopher. Pitkat got the jump on Christopher, and while Christopher was falling back a couple of car lengths, it was Pitkat doing the daily double, winning both the Late Model feature and now the SK Modified 100. Christopher came in second, keeping Frank Ruocco in third and Kerry Malone in fourth.

Last, but certainly not least, there was a DARE Stock 15-lap feature to be run. Unlike the rest of the races on the program, this one actually went caution free. And there was only one leader in the entire event. Not bad for at least ten minutes of work. (Honestly, I don't think it was ten minutes. It might have been less than that. I didn't write a finish time to that.) What I can tell you was that the one and only leader to the event was Matt Chiarizio, who took down the win, his first of the '07 season and his career, on his birthday. Coming in behind him were Dan Flannery, Jim Brice, and Vince Gambacorta.

So, those are all the notes I have for you this week. I will do a special secondary entry so you can see who's not going to be at the track on Friday. Here's a little preview: The result is the last thing you'll ever think of. (Or it will leave you questioning why. Don't know yet.) But before I get started on that next entry, here's a treat I know you'll enjoy: How about double Late Model features? That's right! You know that event on July 13th that ended up being a four-feature night? Breathe easy, Late Model fans! You'll get the end of the July 13 feature, starting from lap-3 when the rains started to come in... And you'll get a regularly scheduled 30-lap feature as well. Just think -- it's like you get two features for the price of one! (Or one-and-a-half. I'm not quite sure about that as well.) So just keep this page up and I will be right back with the extra special police blotter from the SK 100.