Nothing Special About Tonight… Right?

Week four of the 2010 Stafford schedule saw the first regular night of the season - no extra distance features, no special divisions. Just the five weekly divisions that show up at the track doing their regularly scheduled features. Although things appear to be normal, things don’t always appear as they seem. So what happened when it was scheduled as a regular week of action?

Before anything got underway, there were two consolation races for the SK Modifieds and opening ceremonies, complete with members of the Boy Scouts. After that, it was down to solely feature racing.

First on the feature racing agenda, it was the Limited Late Models. As soon as the double green flags came out, the action picked up. Carla Botticello pulled out in front, with Rob Dow and Dave Yardley, III coming behind her. Botticello’s night ended as soon as it started as she ended up nose-first into the turn three wall. Joseph Nogiec, Kevin Gambacorta, Dan Flannery, and Marshall Usher all managed to drive away from the accident scene. No laps down, one caution, and one black flag for Dow for starting the caution. Business was picking up already, and a restart was approaching. Yardley and Jesse Hinze were now on the front row. And it was Yardley pulling ahead of Hinze. Shawn Thibeault and Duane Provost were behind the two of them. Yardley started to pull away from Hinze, but it wasn’t a huge gap and hope seemed to loom on the horizon. A bit deeper in the back, Flannery and Andrew Durand were fighting for fifth, and Flannery gained the position. Back to front, and Yardley was beginning to gain a lead over the rest of the field. The battle for spots was now for second, with four different drivers in the mix. Thibeault became the new second place driver, with Flannery now in third and Durand in fourth. Gambacorta was on Durand’s back bumper. On lap 10, a move for the lead was made by Thibeault, when he passed Yardley. Flannery joined him. As the leaders almost crossed the line, the caution came out for Durand, who found himself spinning in turn four. The leaders did not cross the line before the yellow returned, so the field returned to what it was before the lead change occurred. Yardley in first, followed by Thibeault and Flannery. Hinze was sent to the back via way of a black flag - overagression was the cause. On the restart, Yardley squeaked by Thibeault to get the lead again, but Thibeault was coming. Flannery and Dow were also in the mix. Flannery applied pressure for Thibeault for second, but Thibeault was also pressuring Yardley for the lead. With 11 laps on the board, Thibeault became the new leader for the race. Yardley was suddenly slipping backwards through the field, as cars started to pass him as he was on the outside. Robert Farrington, Jr spun in turns three and four with 14 laps on the board, bringing out the third caution of the race. Flannery and Thibeault continued their fight on the restart, as the two battled side by side for about a good lap until they both spun coming out of turn four. They ended up in the grass on the frontstretch and a caution came out. Gambacorta gained the lead. Dow was second. Gambacorta pulled away on the restart, but Durand moved into second and passed him going into turn three. With five laps to go, he became the new leader. Dow moved into second, but there was a good sized gap between first and second, and he had his hands full with Gambacorta. Gambacorta was now in second, with only three laps to go. With a huge gap still, it wasn’t enough. Durand picked up his first win of the year, with Gambacorta in second, Dow in third, and Flannery in fourth.

Next up, pit crews and Late Models. It started with Keith Rocco pulling away from Brian Chapin. Chapin was passed by Michael Bennett, John Kasper, and Ryan Posocco, bringing him to fifth. After two laps of being loose all over the track, Chapin eventually hit the safer barrier in turn one, with other cars recieving damage. The caution was out. When the race went back to green, Rocco returned to the lead, with Bennett still in second. It was a three-way battle for third; the winner of that fight being Dillon Moltz. Posocco was joining him in fourth. There was no change in position with the top five until they crossed the stripe to mark ten laps down, when Moltz passed Bennett for second. It only took two laps for Moltz to get on Rocco’s back bumper, and a fight for the lead was about to begin. Bennett was in prime position to benefit from anything that might happen, if anything did. With 16 laps on the board, Moltz made the move for the lead, and almost lost the car doing so. He got the car back under control and became the second leader of the event. Rocco was getting sent backwards through the field and found himself in fourth, behind Bennett and Posocco. Moltz's lead began to expand over the course of seven laps, and a bit further back, Bennett was being challenged by Posocco; Posocco wasn’t able to apply enough pressure in order to get the spot. He’d be able to get second with 26 laps down, when Bennett went through the grass and ended up parked in turn one with a front right tire issue. It all set up a late-race restart. It was also a side-by-side battle for about a turn before Moltz regained the lead. Rocco moved back into second, with Woody Pitkat and Posocco fighting for third. Meanwhile, it wasn’t a contest for the lead, as Moltz cruised to his second win of the season. Rocco finished second. Pitkat was third, while Posocco was fourth.

It was time for the open-wheeled portion of the show next - the SK Lights were up. Heather DesRochers and John Hanafin fought for the lead when the green came out. DesRochers became the leader, and people were battling for position behind her. Jay Goff and Earl Pelletier were fighting for second, with Pelletier losing the fight after getting sent through the grass. Third was also a hot commodity, as Zachary Aszklar held it briefly and Joey Cipriano took over not too long after. Meanwhile, DesRochers was uncontested as she had a half straightaway lead by lap 7. David Webb, who was fighting for a spot within the top ten, found himself in the grass in turn two. He got back going. Also making noise with Cipriano, who was now in second by lap 9. That wasn’t the only thing happening on lap 9, as Kyle Spencer spun in turn two, bringing out the first caution. When the race went back to green, DesRochers bolted back out in front. Cipriano, Goff, and Thomas Barrett, Jr were also in the mix. Things slowed down again when Hanafin spun in turn four on the same lap, putting the field under caution again. The lap wasn’t completed; the field returned to a somewhat-relative state to before the restart. Which meant it was another restart with the same order as last time. Goff was pushing DesRochers on the restart, putting DesRochers in first and Goff in second. Cipriano took little time to get second back. Further back in the field, Tony Santangelo spun coming out of turn four, and he just barely got the car fired up before the field came back. As the laps ticked away, Cipriano crept closer to DesRochers. Suddenly, a caution came out with five laps to go - this time, it was for Webb after spinning in turns one and two. When the race was back to speed, DesRochers took the top spot again, but it was all for naught. Cipriano passed DesRochers for the lead. That wasn't the only late race action - Aszklar spun in turns three and four, but was able to get the car going again before the caution came out. Barrett took over third from Goff, and was looking for second from DesRochers. Meanwhile, Cipriano became the youngest driver to win a feature race at Stafford with the win. DesRochers was second, with Barrett in third and Goff in fourth.

The fastest division of the night was next with the SK Modified division. Brad Hietala was the first leader of the race, but Ted Christopher and Sean Foster were right behind him - more Christopher than Foster. Woody Pitkat passed Foster for third, but Todd Owen passed Pitkat for the position now too long after. The yellow flew for Curt Brainard, who was a bit high up in turns one and two. He drove off but made his way onto pit road. For the first restart, Hietala and Christopher challenged each other for a bit, with Owen and Pitkat hanging around for a while. At turn four, Hietala got an edge and pulled out in front. Owen moved into second, with Christopher right there next to him. Dan Avery joined the party as well in fourth. Also in the mix - and now in fourth - was Frank Ruocco. Ruocco wasn’t finished, and passed Christopher for third by lap 8. And again, he was looking for more. With 13 laps on the board, Ruocco moved into second by getting around Owen. Speaking of Owen, he had Christopher pestering from behind. All of that changed on lap 17, when Raymond Grassetti spun in turn two. It set up a very interesting restart. As Ruocco made a pass for the lead, he spun in turns one and two, possibly with Hietala’s help, and it ended with multiple cars in the middle of the accident. The board changed significantly. Owen moved into first, with Christopher in second. The second row was occupied by Avery and Pitkat. Owen powered out in front on the restart, and there was a fight for spots behind him. Christopher was still in second, and third was between Pitkat and Avery. Right before the halfway point, Brit Andersen and Matt Gallo spun in turns one and two, and while they were going, Eric Berndt spun as well in about the same spot and also went right away. Meanwhile, Christopher and Pitkat made moves for first and second after Owen and Avery were slowed on the backstretch a little bit after halfway. Pitkat was willing to challenge Christopher for the lead, and was all over his back bumper. A move was finally made with seven laps to go, as Pitkat managed to get around Christopher for the lead. Ryan Preece went up in smoke with about six laps to go, putting him out of commission. What was a three-car race for fourth turned into a two-car show. Back to the lead, and it seemed as though Christopher had something for Pitkat, but he had nothing for him. Pitkat took his first win of the season, with Christopher in second, Chris Jones in third, and Owen to finish off the board.

Concluding the night were the DARE Stocks. It began Stephanie Berardi and Cliff Saunders fighting for the lead, with Berardi winning that fight. The twins - C. Saunders and Albert Saunders - were second and third and racing each other for the spot. Josh Wood joined the party in fourth. He managed to get around C. Saunders for third. The first caution came out with four laps on the board when Andrew Hayes spun and three other cars were involved in the accident. On the restart, Berardi and A. Saunders were going at it again for the lead. C. Saunders and J. Wood were right behind them. J. Wood joined the mix and made it a three-wide bid for the lead. Your new leader after the action? J. Wood. Berardi was busy with Stephen Daddio and Jeff Jolly. The two of them spun with almost half a race completed. The front row was now J. Wood and Jolly, but before a lap was completed, things got out of control. J. Wood hit the wall hard going into turn three, sending the hood right off of the car. The red flag came out because of accident cleanup. It was replaced by the yellow about three to five minutes later, and soon enough, there was a restart. A. Saunders and Jolly fought for the lead, with A. Saunders becoming the leader. But he spun in turns three and four, ultimately taking him out of the race. That put Jolly in the lead, but he was out with a black flag for overagression. Brothers Cory Casagrande and Kyle Casagrande were now first and second. Donald Cook was moved into third, with Tony Membrino, Jr in fourth. The distance was great enough that C. Casagrande picked up his first career win. K. Casagrande finished second, with Cook and Membrino finishing the board.

Next Friday night? It’s NASCAR Day! A five-division schedule is on tap for the night. Weather permitting.