Results of July 24

Oh, what a night. Friday night was one of those nights where you had to be at Stafford at all costs. And the reason was... The sixth annual SK Modified 150. You may have taken a trip down memory lane before this event, looking back at past 150s. Like the events of the past, this one had all the makings of a memorable night. So what exactly happened? Here are the events of July 24, 2009.

This memorable night started off with the Limited Late Models. And that race started with Bill Davis with the lead for the first two laps. That was until Norm Sears decided to take over. Behind Sears was Kevin Gambacorta, but unfortunately, it wasn't for long. There were six laps completed when Gambacorta spun. Thankfully, he'd get the car going again. Michael Wray wouldn't get his car straight in time on lap-7, when he went around in turn two -- CAUTION. Back to green, and it was Sears still out in front. Dave Yardley, III and Andrew Durand were now sitting pretty behind him. They ran like that for a couple of laps until Durand had enough of riding in third and passed Yardley for second. Not only did Durand make a pass for second, he was also looking for the lead. He had caught up to Sears and was now within striking distance of Sears until lap-16, when a car went around in turns one and two -- CAUTION. This set up another restart, which belonged to either Sears or Durand. Take your pick. Yet it was Sears with the advantage. All of the pieces seemed to fit into place until Carla Botticello found her way into the picture, albeit not in the way she expected to step in it was she spun in turn four on the white flag lap -- CAUTION. You know what this set up? You guessed it. One of those lovely green white checker finishes. On the green flag, it was Sears putting himself back out in front. The last two laps proved to be the most memorable two laps of his life. He ended up picking up his first career Limited Late Model victory. Durand wound up in second with Shawn Thibeault and Dan Flannery following them into the top-four.

After those guys, what could happen next? Oh, the SK Lights and their feature. It all started with Kyle Spencer with the lead. On the move in the first seven laps of the race was Brit Andersen, but on lap-8, the only moving he did was to the back of the field after he spun on the backstretch -- CAUTION. A quick one, as he was able to get going and rejoin the field. Back up front, there was a restart, and it was Spencer back out front. Tommy Membrino, Jr and John Montesanto followed along for the ride in second and third respectively. This was how they ran up until lap-12, when Jay Goff and Harry Wheeler ended up in a frontstretch accident -- CAUTION. Cleanup was somewhat extensive, but the race went back to green with Spencer still out in front. This was only going to last for a lap, as on lap-13, Shawn Brule ended up spinning on the frontstretch -- CAUTION. Again, the race ended up getting back to green, and again, it was Spencer getting the lead. But again, they'd only get one lap in before multiple cars spun in turn one -- CAUTION. Could they have some inkling of luck when they went back to green? One word answer: Yes. It was Spencer back out front, but his reign out front was ending very shortly... It was lap-15 when the first lead change of the race took place, as Montesanto took over for Spencer. You know who else was coming? Andersen, recovering from his early-race spin. On lap-16, he passed Spencer for second, and was now all over Montesanto for the lead. He'd finally make the move on lap-19 and led the rest of the way to pick up his fourth win of the year. Montesanto had to settle for second. Spencer finished third, and Michael Gervais, Jr finished fourth.

The DARE Stocks were up next. After last week's caution-free feature, the least they could do is repeat. Did they get the job done? The race got underway with Andrew Hayes leading the way early, but all is and was not ultimately easy. Bill Dunn was coming, and fast. By lap-3, Dunn had caught up to Hayes and attempted a pass, but it wasn't meant to be. Hayes had control of the lead. As the laps ticked by, there wasn't much going with the top few cars, but business was about to pick up. Albert Saunders had been in third for much of the race, but he had passed Dunn for second and was looking for first. On lap-14, Saunders made the pass around Hayes for the lead. While Hayes started to move backwards through the field, the last two laps belonged to Saunders, as he became the first multi-race winner in the DARE Stock division this season. Dunn was second, with Tony Membrino, Jr and Don Wood finishing off the board. Back to back caution-free features for the DARE Stocks. I tell you, they get the job done without all of that messy stuff going on.

The "assistance of the pit crew" portion of the program kicked off with the Late Model feature. Again, it was a very interesting feature. Out front early was Adam Gray, but in second was Michael Bennett, and he wasn't going to back down without a fight. He challenged Gray for the lead and was successful in passing him on lap-6. He began to stretch himself out from the rest of the field. While that was happening, Gray was slipping backwards, as numerous drivers passed him (including JJ Hill, Ryan Posocco, and Dillon Moltz). Posocco and Hill would fight for position among the top-five cars until lap-16, when they touched and ended up spinning in turn one -- CAUTION. Bennett found himself on the front row with Moltz on the restart, which originally favored Bennett as he moved back into the lead. But only three laps later, on lap-19, Moltz made the pass for the lead. Bennett suddenly found himself in second. On lap-21, you had two cars getting in an accident in turn one. That didn't work out well -- CAUTION. This set up a restart, which belonged to Moltz. Second would now belong to Jim Peterson, who got around Bennett for the position. Everything seemed pretty normal. That was the case until lap-28, when Tony Lafo hit the wall in turn one and proceeded to stop somewhere along the backstretch -- CAUTION. This set up a two-lap fight for the victory. And those two laps belonged to Moltz. It wasn't one of those wins where a driver just pulls away from the rest of the field, but it was a win. And it was his fourth win of the season. The rest of the board was Peterson, Bennett, and Woody Pitkat.

Closing out the night was a race that, in past years, drivers would call exciting. It was time for the SK Modified 150. It was truly a "hold onto your seat" kind of race. Let's get right to it. Matt Gallo assumed the leader position early, but it was safe to say that there were other people coming. And fast. Who was coming? For starters, there was Frank Ruocco, who was coming from the tenth starting spot. At lap-20, he had put himself into second, and on the very next lap, found a way around Gallo for the lead. With the new leader came more quick cars making their way to the front of the field. Another car that was making a charge that of Eric Berndt. Berndt would find himself in third with a third of the race in the record books. Gallo's good night started to take a sharp decline on lap-57, when he spun in turn four -- CAUTION. It set up the first restart of the race three laps later. (If you don't know, caution laps in this race counted. So each restart was literally a crucial one.) And this was also where Berndt made the move for second. But it was still Ruocco out front. The two of them would begin to put on a pretty entertaining battle for the lead. Berndt tried both grooves, with little success. Also around this point in the race, a third driver had been coming towards the front of the field. Cue Todd Owen. On the first restart of the race, Owen had been sitting in fifth. He'd have to wait a little bit, however, because on lap-71, Willie Hardie was in a solo-car incident in turns three and four -- CAUTION. Another restart was on our hands, and Berndt provided another challenge for Ruocco, which Ruocco had won. In the next nine laps, the top-three cars were now Ruocco, Berndt, and Owen. This would be your running order until lap-93, as Mark Bakaj spun in turn two -- CAUTION. The caution ran for six solid laps. A restart presented itself just shy of the 100-lap mark. And on the restart, Owen would take over second, putting Berndt back to third. Now it was Owen who was starting to challenge Ruocco for the lead. Yet even with Owen now behind him, Ruocco was just too good. The next time the field saw the yellow, it was lap-108, and it was for Kenny Horton, who had spun in the grassy part of the frontstretch -- CAUTION. The green came back out on lap-111, with Ruocco still holding off the challenge of those behind him, but a single lap ticked off the board when Gallo spun again, this time in turn two -- CAUTION. Another three laps had passed for the caution period, and on lap-115, the race was back to green. Berndt had reclaimed second from Owen, and had resumed the fight to take the front spot from Ruocco. Again, Ruocco was proving to be too much and slightly pulled away. Not by much. Lap-125 saw Keith Rocco, who was in the top-10 at the time, seemingly blow up going into turn one -- CAUTION. Was there liquid? Would there have to be speedy dry thrown onto the track? No, there wasn't liquid, and that's the reason why the race went back to green three laps later. On the restart, Owen took second away from Berndt, yet Owen was not able to make any sort of move around Ruocco for the lead. This was the running order at the lap-132 mark, when three cars got together in turn one (including Ted Christopher and Doug Coby) -- CAUTION. It wasn't a long yellow; only lasted for three laps as all the cars involved were able to drive away. And the green came back out with Ruocco still out front, and still being challenged. Berndt's good run would end on lap-138 when he spun coming off of turn two -- CAUTION. The restart took place on lap-140, meaning it was going to be a dash for ten laps. And wouldn't you know it... Another challenge from Owen on the restart. And again, Ruocco held off Owen. The final ten laps ran down under green flag conditions, and when it was all said and done, it was Ruocco holding off Owen to pick up his first win of the season and second SK Modified 150. Owen finished second, with Tom Bolles unofficially finishing third and Woody Pitkat in fourth. (In technical inspection, Bolles was weighed and the car was found to exceed the maximum weight percentage on the left side. Therefore, he was disqualified.)

A pretty interesting evening that closed before all of the unpleasant weather rolled around. Just in time, too -- SKs were in the middle of tech by the time the rain arrived.

Next Friday night isn't just the last night of July. It'll also be another five-division show for you. No special additives. I promise. All of this is weather permitting.