A Regular Week Was Anything But

So, here we go! Another solid week of racing occured at Stafford this past Friday night. Sure, it was the first regular program of the season, but it didn't truly feel like a regular program. Sure, there happened to be fireworks in the sky, but there were more than fireworks in the sky and there were plenty of them on the track. First off, rain came and cleaned out all hope of trying to get qualifying in. The track was left with a features-only kind of night. Yet with that, we didn't get out until a later time (read as: after 11).

Coming up: One race has to end under the influence of a yellow/checker situation; though it's not what you think it is, someone gets the ax from the board in the Late Models, the SK Modifieds have their wildest feature of the season to date. I'm pretty sure that the title of this entry here sure does fit the mood, so with that all said, I'll say we get right into the important stuff. Like the features.

First up on the agenda: The DARE Stocks. The first eleven laps of the race ran fairly smoothly. Vince Gambacorta lead the first five laps, then gave way to Matt Chiarizio. On lap-8, there would be another lead change when Scott Roy challenged Chiarizio for the lead and won. Roy would now be out in front and would remain there as the caution came out on lap-12 for a two-car accident. Bill Dunn ended up on the frontstretch while Todd LaPorta wound up stopped in turn one, bringing out the yellow. (Other cars may or may not have been involved in the accident. The two drivers who are listed are the only two I remember and wrote down.) As the green came back out, Roy went back out in front and he would win his first feature of the season. (The track's summary says "several restart situations". Not true. It was one restart.) Finishing off the board were Dan Flannery, Chiarizio, and Norm Sears.

Your next feature to take to the track were the SK Lights. After a special 15-lap event on the 13th, they were back to a normal 20-lap feature. Usually, a good number of cars are wrecked and torn up by the time this event is over. Not this week. Starting at the top like we always do, we find that Harry Wheeler assumed the top spot early on in the race. He would have a half-straightaway lead at one point during the race, but both David Webb and Chris Matthews caught up fast. Matthews was able to pass Webb and then Wheeler by lap-16, but he was only out in front for two laps before two cautions came out on consecutive laps. On lap-18, Heather DesRochers became the victim of a one-car accident in turn one; and on the very next lap, it was Ted Cain spinning in turn four. And on both of those restarts, Matthews would have little to no contest. He would score his fourth win of the season, followed by Alan Provost, Wheeler, and Raymond Grassetti.

And now, a possible candidate for "Most Outrageous Race"... The Limited Late Models were next to show what they were made of. Let me tell you, this race does not end the same way the first two had. They didn't even get a full lap in under green before the caution came out. a spin/accident combination in turns three and four was reason for the yellow, courtesy of Shawn Thibeault and Carla Botticello. (It was more like a spin as both cars were able to drive out of there.) When the race went back to green, it was Darrin Havanec in the lead, and for three laps. On lap-3, the caution came back out for a multi-car spin in turn two. I couldn't tell you who was in that one (sorry), because everyone drove off. Havanec pulled back out to the lead on the restart, but again, the caution would come out. It was on lap-5, and again, it was for Botticello spinning in turn two. Another quick yellow, this was, and we were back to green with Havanec in the lead. But Ed Charette, Jr was coming, and not too long after the restart (the next lap), he passed Havanec for the lead. The caution would come back out on lap-8 when Michael Nadeau spun in turn four. After yet another yellow, the track was cleared quick enough to get the race back underway. A lap or two after the restart, Bill Davis would make his bid for the lead count by passing Charette. And this is where chaos starts. Four cautions in four laps would slow everything down. The madness started on lap-11, when Joey Ferrigno would have a problem and sail up to the wall in turn two. On lap-12, Charette and David Capriati spun in turns one and two. The restart on lap-12 didn't exactly work out, as there was a multi-car accident on the backstretch. The word on the street was that if another yellow came out, the race would stop there because of the time limit (that I didn't know was imposed). Wouldn't you know it -- on lap-14, the caution came out one final time. This time, it came out for Michael Chaves and Robert Dow, who wrecked on the frontstretch. So not only did the yellow fly, but the checkered flag came out with it. In front at the time of the final caution was Davis, and he would be the winner of the event. The rest of the board would be Charlie Newman, Havanec, and Charette.

Another candidate for "Most Outrageous Race" would be the SK Modifieds, who took to the track not too long after everything was squared away with the Limited Late Models. I hate to admit it, but where's smoke, there's (proverbial) fire; and the SKs showed that it was very much the case in this feature. We start with Doug Coby holding down the fort as the leader of the event for the first two laps before the first yellow came out for a four-car accident in turn three. Those involved were Corey Hutchings, Billy Bolton, Willie Hardie, and Brad Hietala. (Technically, people did drive away from the scene.) Back up front, it would be Coby back out and into the lead; but he would end up losing the lead after a caution in turn two and on the backstretch on lap-7, which also involved Richie Pallai, Jr, Glenn Griswold, and Brett Gonyaw. This gave the lead to Woody Pitkat, and his reign in the front officially began. It came to a quick halt on lap-11 as Bo Gunning apparently blew up in turn two, sending the field back under yellow. Pitkat would be back out in front on the restart, but again it would be short-lived when a multi-car accident in turn three put the field back into a caution state of mind on lap-12. On lap-15, Kenny Horton was stuck up high in turn four; and on lap-19, it was Wade Mattesen in the same predicament, but in both turns three and four. Another lead change occured on the lap-19 restart: Keith Rocco took over for Pitkat; yet for Pitkat, things would start to take a turn for the bad later on. At the lap-25 mark, Ted Christopher would now assume the lead after passing Rocco. The next caution would come on lap-27 for Pitkat, who spun in turns three and four. Now at this time, while Christopher was still up in front, controversy ensues. Christopher spins in turns three and four on lap-29, giving the lead back to Rocco. But Jeff Malave was black flagged for turning TC around, and they'd both have to go to the back of the field. So now that Rocco was back out in front and things were all sorted out, would things start to calm down? Not in the slightest bit. Bolton would spin again on lap-32 in turn two; Coby would spin (again) in turns three and four on lap-35; and then a four car accident took place on the frontstretch on lap-37. Those drivers involved in the four-car wreck (not all of those involved had serious damage) were Kirk Zervas, Todd Owen, Woody Pitkat, and Coby. Two laps later, with Rocco still out front, Bolton spun one more time in turn four to set up a two lap race to the finish. At this time, Christopher had caught back up to the front, yet he couldn't find a way to get around Rocco for the win. Rocco won his first win of the season, followed by Christopher, Jimmy Blewett, and Tom Bolles.

At long last, the Late Models took their turn. Scott Cook held the early lead before rendering it over to Corey Hutchings after the first few laps. (I'm not sure when the lead change was. Excuse me.) The first caution took place on lap-8 when Scott Foster, Jr and Tom Fearn spun in turn one and two. On the very next lap, it was another two-car spin; it was in turn two and it involved Duane Noll and Walt Wosko, Jr. Another lead change occured on lap-13 when Michael Bennett got around Hutchings, but the joyride would come to a stop on lap-18 when the caution came out for dirt in turn two. (Yellows for dirt on the track have been like frequent flyer miles lately.) Going back to green, Dillon Moltz was coming, and on lap-20, he made the move around Bennett. That would be the pass for the win, as Moltz took down the win; his second of the season and in a row. Bennett would finish second, followed by Mike Mordino and Ryan Posocco. But the board would not stay like that after Tech, and Mordino was disqualfied because his car did not meet the minimum frame height requirement.

And here we are. Since tomorrow is Friday, it's race day then! And to kick off the weekend, we're going to have a special occasion. The Late Models are going to have their first 100-lap event of the season. I'm sure you'd like the schedule, so if you click that link, you'll go there. I'll be back next week with news on the Extreme Tuesday event going on in two weeks, and if the weather cooperates, I'll be including a little thing about my second trip up to New Hampshire for the combination Whelen Modified Tour/Nationwide Series event. But for now, let's focus on Friday's event. Until then, stay safe and dry; and I hope to see you at the track.