Wild 'n Out. Results of 9/19.

The final Friday night chapter of racing at Stafford was written this past Friday. And rewritten. And possibly rewritten some more, because there were more climaxes than a Warner Brothers picture in every race that night. The final push towards the five track championships had their fair share of action. At the end of the night, just how close would the contenders be before the final races of the season?

Starting off the night was the Limited Late Models. And it was Michael Nadeau at the point at the start of the race, but the lead would only last two laps as Shawn Thibeault was able to make a move around him for the lead. Thibeault was able to expand his lead to a full straightaway during the long green flag session, but a caution for debris on lap-16 bunched the field up for the restart. Thibeault was back out front, but this green flag run was only two laps long as Charlie Newman spun in turn one to bring the caution out again. Chaos ensued on the restart as Sean Foster passed Thibeault for the lead. But Thibeault didn't back down, and as he attempted to make a move coming out of the final turn, the two made contact and sailed up high. This gave Andrew Durand the opportunity to cruise into the lead and take down the win; his third of the season. Ed Charette, Jr was second, followed by Bill Davis and Joey Ferrigno. It will be a two driver horse race for the division championship, as Davis leads Durand by 28 points going into the final weekend.

After them were the DARE Stocks. After an opening-lap caution, John Kasper took advantage of the restart and powered into the lead. But on lap-10, he would spin with two other cars to bring the caution out, giving the lead to Don Wood. Wood's time out front would not last long as Todd LaPorta passed him on the restart. A green-white-checkered situation set the stage for LaPorta leading the final two laps uncontested, sending him to victory lane for the first time in not only the season, but his career. The rest of the top four were Robert Thompson, Matt Chiarizio, and Tony Membrino, Jr. Norm Sears has a tiny advantage in the battle for the championship in this division. He's got a ten point lead over Scott Roy and a 48 point lead against Wood.

At this point in time, the schedule changed. The SK Lights were then sent out. It was Heather DesRochers ahead of Ted Cain as the green came out, but a caution with two laps on the board brought out the red flag. After extensive cleanup, the green came back out, and it was still DesRochers with the lead. She began to pull away from the field, and it seemed as though she would be the next first-time winner on the season. But a caution with two laps to go brought out the caution and bunched the field up. DesRochers still had the lead on the restart, but a push from Cain sent her into the infield grass and gave the lead and the win to Mark Bakaj. Joe Allegro, Jr was second, with Shawn Brule in third and Jay Goff in fourth. (Cain originally finished third, but he was penalized after the checkered flag came out.) Allegro has a four point lead over Chris Matthews for the battle for the SK Light championship. He also leads Mark Bakaj by 12 points and Raymond Grassetti by 14 points.

The fourth division on the program was the Late Models. And the action started early in this one. The early leader was Scott Cook with a pass from the outside lane that is more or less seen in the closing laps of the event, going three-wide. Rick Charette would follow, and he would pass Cook for the lead on lap-3. Leader number three was Dave Wray on lap-7, getting around Charette for the lead. With ten laps on the board, Joe Rzeszutek passed Wray and had a full straightaway lead at one point in time before lap-27 as a late race caution came out. On the restart, it was Rzeszutek back out front, with a whole new set of challengers, including Corey Hutchings. But Hutchings could not make the pass, as it was Rzeszutek taking his second win of the season. Second would be Hutchings, followed by Ryan Posocco and Brian Chapin. Posocco, by virtue of his third place finish, was able to clinch his fourth Late Model track championship.

Closing out the night were the drivers of the SK Modifieds. Corey Hutchings, coming off of his runner-up performance in the Late Models, took the lead on the drop of the green. He held the lead until lap-6 when Chris Jones powered past for the lead. But he would be followed by Woody Pitkat. On lap-8, Pitkat would be up to second, and he would make the move around Jones for the lead on a lap-10 restart. Throughout the midpoint of the race, Pitkat had extended his lead over the rest of the field, but a trio of late race caution kept the field close. Pitkat would hold off Keith Rocco through the cautions and the final four laps of the race as he picked up his fourth win of the season. Rocco finished second, followed by Zach Sylvester and Ted Christopher. In the battle for the championship in the SK Modified division, Rocco holds a 14 point lead over Christopher.

That would be it for the week. The next event on the schedule is the final event on the schedule. It's the Fall Final. Weather permitting, of course. The usual five weekly divisions will be on hand, with both the Whelen Modified Tour and the Camping World East Series in action as well. Two days of action, with eight races. This is going to be good.

(Last time I copy and paste from my sent e-mail folder. I crack down on lateness ASAP.)