Results of 6/25 [or Why I Can't Think of a Proper Title]

The schedule for the weekend of June 25th, in terms of racing action, was nearly full… Especially in the New England region. The calm before the storm occurred on Friday night at Stafford, where a regularly-scheduled five-division program was scheduled to take place. Nobody knew what to expect, but if past weeks were a signal, things were about to heat up in a major way.

The DARE Stocks were first. It started with Vince Gambacorta pulling out in front early, with Andrew Hayes finding his way into second. Stephen Daddio managed to get into third. There was a hearty battle for fourth involving three cars, but that along with any other battles for position were put on hold after Kaitlyn Brice came to a stop up against the backstretch wall with only one lap on the board to bring out the first caution. When the green came back out, Gambacorta reclaimed the top spot. Hayes, once again, found himself in second. But Daddio was ready to challenge him for that spot. He was also challenged by Tony Membrino, Jr and a couple of other drivers, but the challenge was moot and Daddio slightly pulled away. Meanwhile, the lead belonging to Gambacorta came to an end when Hayes took over the lead. Daddio made a pass into second, and other cars joined in, sending Gambacorta back through the field. It was a while before the next caution came out with five laps to go in the event as debris sat in turn four. It was going to be a critical restart… One that Hayes took advantage of. Daddio and Kyle Casagrande fought for the second spot. K. Casagrande won the battle. Membrino passed Daddio for third. But the action slowed down once again with only two laps to go in the race as yet another caution occurred. This time, it was for Kristen Bonaiuto, who spun in turns one and two. It was a quick caution as the car quickly drove away from the caution scene and the race was ready to go back to action. It did with a new leader, however, in K. Casagrande. Hayes was dropped to second, with Membrino still in third. As the field was coming to take the white flag, Hayes tried to make a move around K. Casagrande for the lead. He became the new leader, but he wasn’t fully around K. Casagrande and the battle was still on. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but Hayes managed to hold off K. Casagrande for his first win of the season. K. Casagrande settled for second. Membrino was third, while Albert Saunders was fourth.

After that? The feature of the Limited Late Models. Duane Provost powered into the lead, but he had a challenge in Jesse Hinze, who in turn took the lead only two turns later in three and four. Rob Dow moved into second, while George Nocera, Jr managed to pull into third. After getting loose in turn four, Nocera lost the spot to Andrew Durand, who had Shawn Thibeault coming with him. Durand wasn’t done, and with eight laps down in the race, he passed Dow for second. Thibeault then passed Dow for third. Durand and Thibeault were ready for a fight themselves, and the battle for the second spot began. That ended with 11 laps on the board when Durand ended up spinning in the grass on the backstretch, bringing out the caution. Thibeault received a penalty for overagression on the track, mainly for helping bring out the caution. When the green flag returned, the fight for the lead was on between Hinze and Dow. Hinze regained the lead, with Dan Flannery now running in second and Kevin Gambacorta making a move around Dow for third. Flannery managed to take the lead away from Hinze - that pass happened just in time. The caution was coming out again with 13 laps on the board when an accident on the frontstretch (including Joe Nogiec and Dave Yardley, III) occurred. The fight for the lead began all over again on the restart, when Flannery, Hinze, and Gambacorta engaged in a dogfight. As they came to the line, Gambacorta became the new leader. The time frame in which he lead was short, as Flannery regained the lead not too long after the fact. And then, chaos ensued. Three different drivers fought for the lead, with Nocera ending up on the positive end of the spectrum, gaining the lead. The amazing action (which ended up being three and almost four-wide at times) was cut short with another caution for debris in turn four with four laps to go. If the action pre-caution was amazing, the action post-caution was predicted to be just as crazy. On the restart, Nocera didn’t get up to speed, giving the lead to Flannery. The back of Nocera’s car ended up on top of Gambacorta’s car, and it was like a game of bumper cars as cars were banging into each other. Good things were slowed down again; this time, with two laps to go as the yellow came right back out for a three-car accident on the backstretch. The cars involved were Paul Varricchio, Jr, Michael Wray, and Chris Cook. All of this set up a green-white-checker finish (other cautions pending). The action picked up on the restart as Flannery reclaimed the lead. Nocera moved into second, with Hinze and Dow fighting for third. Dow picked up the spot, but in front of him, Flannery claimed his fourth win of the season. Nocera finished second, with Dow in third and Hinze in fourth.

Up next, the Late Models. Corey Hutchings was the first leader of the event. Through the first five laps of the race, he had two different drivers sitting behind him in second - Keith Rocco was first, followed by Woody Pitkat. There was a point when Rocco was second when it looked like Hutchings almost lost the car, but he was able to control it before trouble ensued. Within the next five laps of the race, Pitkat managed to take over the lead from his teammate and build himself up a lead. A bit further back in the field, a battle for third took place between Scott Cook and Michael Bennett. With 12 laps on the board, Bennett took over the spot. It took three laps for Bennett to get to Hutchings and pass him for second. He still had a ways to go before he could catch up to Pitkat, however, who was still distancing himself from everyone else. The rest of the feature went caution-free, and Pitkat scored his fourth win of the season. Bennett, after almost getting loose dealing with lapped traffic, finished second. Hutchings ended in third, with Ryan Posocco finishing fourth.

The SK Lights took to the track next. It started with a dragrace down the frontstretch, leading to Earl Pelletier claiming the lead. Kyle Spencer, who was in second, had Zachary Aszklar on his bumper. Unfortunately for Spencer, his good run ended with a spin through the frontstretch grass with seven laps on the board, bringing the caution out for the first time. Because Aszklar sent Spencer into the grass, he received the black flag and was put to the back of the field. This put John Hanafin on the front row along with Pelletier. On the restart, Hanafin moved out into the lead, leaving Pelletier to fend off Matt Galko for second. Galko won the fight for the spot, and he was looking for the lead… Which he got with nine laps down. Joe Cipriano had found his way into second. Thomas Barrett, Jr moved into second, and the SK Light youth movement was on. While the three of them extended their lead on the rest of the field, the caution came out with 12 laps on the board. It was for an accident in the turn four area involving Shayne Prucker, Neil Provost, Jr, and Rick Williams. Meanwhile, another accident occurred in turns one and two after the fact - cars from that accident also had to be towed off the track. (Those who were able to drive away from the second accident were able to get their spots back.) When the race went back to green, the fight between the three young drivers was on. It was also halted after one lap of action when a caution with seven laps to go. The caution was for Tony Santangelo, who was slowed down in turn three. That set up a restart where Galko and Cipriano fought for the lead. Galko won the battle, but the war was put on hiatus after… Yes, a caution. This time, it was with six laps to go. It involved Victoria Bergenty and Todd Clark, who were involved in an accident in turn four. On the restart, it was Galko reclaiming the lead. Again, Cipriano and Barrett were clinging onto him. It took Galko about a lap to distance himself slightly from the rest of the top-three drivers. And it took a little longer for all three drivers to separate themselves from the rest of the field. No battles occurred over the last laps, and it was Galko winning his second race of the season. The rest of the podium belonged to the youngsters; Cipriano finishing second and Barrett in third. Pelletier ended up fourth.

Concluding the night was the SK Modified division. It began with Mark Bakaj and Tom Bolles fighting for the lead. Bolles managed to get the lead and left Bakaj to battle for the second spot with Zach Sylvester. With three laps on the board, Z. Sylvester became the new second-place driver. A bit further back, the fight for fourth through sixth took place. Jeff Malave ended up getting fourth; Frank Ruocco took over fifth. Back to front, and a challenge for the lead was underway between Bolles and Z. Sylvester. Z. Sylvester couldn’t find a way around Bolles, who kept his lead pat. Meanwhile, the battle for fourth ended with Ruocco picking up the spot. Action would be slowed down with 12 laps on the board, as Woody Pitkat had a problem with the car and was left stranded on the access road on the backstretch. The caution came out and he (along with others) found themselves on pit road looking for repairs. When the green came back out, the fight for the lead was on. Z. Sylvester emerged as the new leader, but Bolles was coming again. The lead swapped hands again, back to Bolles, on the exact same lap. Two laps later, with 14 on the board, a two-car incident occurred coming out of turn two. Again, it signaled a caution, and again, the restart came out not too long after. It featured another caution as the field went into turn one. Matt Gallo spun around and the caution came right back out. After cleanup to take care of fluid dumped on the track, the race went back to green. Bolles maintained the lead. Ruocco and Z. Sylvester fought for second; Ruocco picked up the spot. Then the fight was on for first between Bolles and Ruocco. It was back and forth for the two drivers. Ruocco had the lead, but it the fight for it between anyone was put on hold as the caution came out with 17 laps on the board. What was it for? The cone in turn four that was actually out on the track instead of in its shelter zone in the grass. When it was put in its place, the restart happened. And the fight continued between Ruocco and Bolles. Ted Christopher, Z. Sylvester, and Keith Rocco joined in, and it was a five-car fight for the top spots. Halfway through the way, the fight for the actual lead was over as Ruocco pulled away from Bolles. The rest of the top-five cars ran single file, with some sparks flying. Everything seemed calm. Almost. Christoper passed Bolles for second, and with 26 laps on the board, Bolles ended up going through the backstretch grass. The caution came out for the incident. And there was the ensuing restart. Christopher applied pressure on Ruocco, but it was still Ruocco with the lead. The racing action lasted a lap, as Bolles spun in turns three and four with 27 laps down. Once again, there was a caution. It was a quick caution, however, and they were back to green within laps. It was also a dragrace down the straightaway. Again, Ruocco held his ground and kept the lead from Christopher. Just as Ruocco was building the lead, the caution came out again (with 29 laps down) when Adam Skowyra hit the backstretch wall heavily. The caution had come back out. Once everything had been cleaned up in regards to the accident, the race resumed under green-flag conditions. The way the restart happened was the same as the past few restarts - Ruocco in the lead, Christopher pressuring him. Would there be more of it? It would wait after the restart if it did. With nine laps to go in the race, Bolles and Josh Sylvester spun in the grass, on the backstretch. Bolles went, J. Sylvester didn’t; the caution came right back out. It was the exact same plotline. Ruocco was still leading. Christopher was still second, and Rocco was still third. And after two laps of racing, the yellow came back out for Bolles, who spun in turn four with seven laps to go. There was another fight for the lead on the restart, but Ruocco still had control. Christopher still held onto second. All of a sudden, Christopher ducked down to the inside groove. With a patented move to the inside groove, Christopher became the new leader. But it was short-lived, and in a hurry. As the field came down to take the two-to-go mark, Rocco made a daring move that proved to be money. He emerged as the new leader, and the move was enough to give him his third straight win and sixth of the season. Christopher finished second. Z. Sylvester ended up third, while Ruocco finished fourth.

It's the 4th of July weekend coming up, and that means that there'll be another round of fireworks abound for the track. Friday night, five divisions will be on hand and the fireworks are coming after dark. This is weather permitting.