Spring Sizzler '09, or Cue the Welcome Back Kotter Tune

(Apologies for just copying the stuff I used elsewhere. I'll think of new material next time.)

Months of waiting finally came down to the opening of the racing season at Stafford Motor Speedway. With temperatures reaching the mid-80s, the 2009 Spring Sizzler was just that. A sizzler. Two days of action, with the five weekly divisions and the Whelen Modified Tour to boot.

SATURDAY
The weekend started off with qualifying for the Whelen Modified Tour. 36 cars attempted time trials for 33 spots. Setting fast time was Ted Christopher, who clocked in an 18.150 (or 99.174 mph). Upon the redraw, which took place later in the afternoon, Ryan Preece (third fastest time) and Mike Stefanik (second fastest time) would find themselves on the front row. Christopher would redraw fourth.

Heats for the weekly divisions rolled off next, with a few cautions interspersed inbetween the racing action. It seemed like there was a caution for every heat race that took place. But all was well with the world and feature racing started without a hitch.

SK Lights: The theme at the start of the season is usually "welcome back", and the first official race of the year was no exception to the theme. Brit Andersen returned to the track in SK Light competition in style. He took the lead from Earl Pelletier on the third lap of the race, and, other than a quick lead loss to Tony Santangelo which he quickly regained and a few cautions, held off all competitors to take down the win. Santangelo unofficially finished second, but in tech, it was found out that he had staggered brake calipers and was scored last. Ted Cain moved up to second, followed by Pelletier and Jay Goff.

Limited Late Models: Only two cars in the division switched over to a new body style with wing this season. One of them, Andrew Durand's, also sports the new spec engine that Stafford allowed the drivers to use. Both the new body style and engine were put to good use in the second feature of the afternoon. The first leader of the event was Michael Chaves, who lead for the first ten laps until Durand powered by him. Also coming was 2008 division champion Bill Davis, and a caution with three laps to go set the stage for a duel. It took a lap before Durand was finally clear of Davis, and it was Durand who won his first race of the season. Davis finished second, with Dennis Botticello unofficially finishing third. (Tech revealed that the car exceeded the maximum left side weight percentage, and he was scored last.) Carla Botticello moved to third, with Jesse Hinze finishing fourth.

DARE Stocks: It was the only feature of the weekend that saw only one leader. Don Wood led all fifteen laps as he claimed his first win of the season. It wasn't all easy for him, as he had Jeff Jolly on his back bumper over the course of the last five laps. But Jolly would finish second behind Wood, with Bill Dunn in third and Albert Saunders in fourth.

SUNDAY
With the hotter of the two days came the second day of racing action. There were still two weekly divisions to be run, along with the main event -- the Whelen Modified Tour race. And there was the pit party, which is always a crowd-pleaser.

SK Modifieds: A pair of multi-car accidents made the end of the first feature of day two look more like a heat race rather than an actual feature. The accidents, taking place on the first lap of the event and on the thirtieth, cut the field by more than half and took out some of the more familiar front-runners. They also set the stage up for a first-time winner in the SK Modified division. After the red flag on the lap-30 accident, Richie Pallai, Jr became the fourth different leader of the event. Brad Hietala was second, but during one battle for the lead, Hietala got loose, which gave Pallai a comfortable-sized lead with three laps to go. Pallai would record his first career SK Modified victory. Ted Christopher would finish second, followed by Jimmy Blewett and Todd Owen.

Whelen Tour: Luck was what set the tone for the ending of the main event. On lap-121, Ted Christopher ended up on pit road because of a cut tire. Seven laps later, he found himself going through the grass during a backstretch accident, and all hope of him winning back-to-back races had started to look unlikely. Yet he made his way through the field, and by lap-182, Christopher had passed Todd Szegedy for the lead. It would not only be the pass for the lead, but it would also be the pass for the win. It was the second straight win for Christopher on the Tour. Szegedy would finish second, with Ryan Preece third, and Mike Stefanik in fourth.

Late Models: It took the Late Models five attempts to get the race done on a green-white-checkered scenario, as the latter stages of the race became caution-filled. At one point in time, Corey Hutchings and Tom Fearn -- the leaders at the time -- made contact, sending Hutchings spinning in the turn-four grass and Fearn to the back of the field via way of penalty. The new front row consisted of Scott Cook, the new leader, and Dillon Moltz on the outside. Two more cautions kept the field bunched together, but when everybody was cool-minded, Moltz was able to power past Cook for the lead. The final two laps went by caution-free, and Moltz picked up the win. Cook was second, with Ryan Posocco in third and Jim Mavlouganes in fourth.

Friday, weather permitting, Stafford will be hosting the first Friday night event of the season. Five divisions in action. Should be a great time if Mother Nature cooperates with us.