A Night of Bad Luck and Exciting Things

(Note: Sorry this is out on Wednesday. Yes, I had this sent out Sunday night/Monday morning. No, I had no idea I was getting this out now. Yes, I have something else to get out tonight as well. With that being said, let's get to the recap.)

Friday the 13th. A day that has always been unlucky. (Trust me, I know what happens on days like this. I’ve had a bunch of bad luck myself at one time or another.) On this day, however, there was racing to be held at Stafford. It was a five division, six-race night of action. The SK Modifieds were scheduled to race two races - one of them being a make-up race from way back on July 16. A few questions were also going to be answered. What happened? Let’s find out together.

In order to start everything for the night, the SK Modifieds were lined up on the mini mile. This was an interesting storyline. In this division, anyway. Keith Rocco started the day two wins away from winning the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship outright. To win it outright, a driver has to win 18 races with fields of at least 20 cars. And it has to be done in the top division. At the three Connecticut tracks, the top division is a Modified. Rocco started the weekend with 16 wins with the stipulation in place. The scenario is this: If Rocco won the first race (22 cars started) and won the second race with at least 20 cars in it, he would be the 2010 national champion in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

The make-up race from July was the first race of the night. Eric Berndt was the first leader without question, driving himself straight into the lead early. Mark Bakaj and Sean Foster began the fight for second. Bakaj took the spot on the second lap. Behind them, a fight for third ensued between Foster and Chris Jones. Foster owned that spot. Jones was forced to settle for a fight with Woody Pitkat. Ted Christopher joined them and it was a trifecta for the fourth through sixth spots. Meanwhile, second was now owned by Foster, after passing Bakaj for the spot by the lap-10 mark. Bakaj was sent backwards through the field, as many drivers passed him. But so far, nobody had an answer for Berndt, who was leading by a half straightaway. His nice lead would be erased with 16 laps on the board as the first caution came out. It was for Jones, who spun in turns one and two. During this yellow, a good portion of the field came in to pit, including Keith Rocco, who was getting some new tires. Most of the cars left before the restart occurred. On the restart, it originally looked as though Foster had some sort of advantage. It wasn’t meant to be, however, and the lead was given back to Berndt. Second now belonged to Pitkat, while the madness was going on behind them. The caution came out again for a multi-car spin in turns one and two with 17 laps on the board. Christopher was black flagged and sent to the back of the field for overagression, while there was another visit onto pit road by Rocco. (I don’t usually chime in here with my two personal cents, but this was getting very interesting now.) It didn’t take long after the restart for another accident to happen. Another multi-car incident on the backstretch with 17 laps still on the board brought out the third caution of the event. It was time for take two with another restart. The battle for the lead became a three-car fight between Berndt, Pitkat, and Frank Ruocco, who moved into third on the restart. Of course, this fight wasn’t going to end easily. Ruocco became the new leader at the halfway point, but Pitkat followed him closely. Pitkat attempted to take the lead many times (via way of the outside groove), and with 24 laps on the board, Pitkat took over. Things were not over yet, and Ruocco was going to fight tooth and nail for the lead. (Does this remind you of a certain battle for the lead earlier in the season?) Ruocco reclaimed the lead not even two laps later. It didn’t look like Pitkat was willing to back down and over the course of the next few laps, he tried to retake the lead. Behind them, another battle was brewing - this was for third. It was between Todd Owen and Ryan Preece. With seven laps left to go, the spot was given to Preece... And he was coming to join the battle for first. With five laps to go, Preece wasn’t settling for second and the fight began for first with three cars once again. It was anyone’s race. With only two laps to go, however, things began to boil. Ruocco was sent high in the middle of the third turn, but he saved the car and settled into third. Behind that, a multi-car incident in turn three brought out the caution. The scoreboard read… Nothing in all four spots. It was determined that the caution came out before the leaders came across the line to start the final lap, so everyone returned to their original spots and it was now a two-lap race for the win. The restart was going to tell the story. The battle returned on the restart. Ruocco reclaimed the lead in over the course of the lap. On the final lap, it was still a battle for the win. And in the end, it was Ruocco taking his fourth win of the season. Pitkat finished second, with Preece in third and Jones in fourth.

As for Keith Rocco and the national championship? He'd have to wait to start the celebration. In the first race for the SKs, he finished 7th.

After the impressive action of the first SK feature, the normality began with the originally scheduled action of the night. The Limited Late Models were next. Duane Provost pulled out into the lead, with Carla Botticello following him. Behind them, the field ran single file. Jesse Hinze, who sat in third, was all over Botticello’s bumper. And behind that battle, Andrew Durand and George Nocera, Jr were well underway in a fight for fourth. For the first half of the race, everything was fine and dandy. Unfortunately, trouble occurred with eight laps on the board. Provost blew up in smoke coming down the frontstretch, losing not only the lead also what looked to be his engine. He spun in turns one and two, collecting a few cars in the process. This brought the first caution of the race out. Speedy dry was dumped on the track, cleaned up, and the race was able to resume. The restart didn’t start well. Michael Wray hit the first turn wall at a ton (no, not where the safer barrier is). Other cars were collected as well, and the caution turned to a red flag situation. During this, there was a driver versus driver altercation which ended up with someone belonging to the Wray camp giving Joe Nogiec a piece of his mind. Officials had to restrain him. The yellow returned, followed by the green, and the restart occurred. With nine laps on the board, there was a lead change. Botticello had to surrender the lead to Durand, who became the third leader of the event. This green flag run lasted all of three laps as Michael Chaves spun on the frontstretch and came to a stop close to victory lane (not how he wanted to get there). It was a quick caution, and there was another restart. Durand returned to the lead with Shawn Thibeault close to his side. Thibeault attempted a move on the inside to take the lead, and it was mission accomplished with four laps to go. The lead that he had obtained had begun to expand. It was a yellow-checkered finish as Thibeault picked up his second win. Behind him was Durand finishing second. Kevin Gambacorta would finish third, while Dave Yardley, III ended up in fourth. (The yellow was for Chaves, who wrecked in turns three and four.)

Next up would be the Late Models. In the beginning, Adam Gray was the first leader. Mark St. Hilaire was all over his bumper; looking to make sure that third-place Scott Cook didn’t take the spot away from him in the process. Three laps into the race, second now belonged to Cook, while Tom Fearn took over third. St. Hilaire was trying to make sure he didn’t freefall back through the rest of the field as Corey Hutchings and Keith Rocco were trying to get around him. They’d get a second crack at it with four laps down when a multi-car incident occurred in turn three. All cars were able to clear the accident scene. St. Hilaire pulled onto pit road during the caution period, surrendering his fourth-place run in the process. On the restart, Gray maintained his lead. Behind him, things went haywire. Fearn spun in turn four and nearly collected half of the field. The caution came out immediately. Dirt was kicked up onto the track and the cleanup process took place. When things were cleared, the green came back out and action picked up again. Gray still had the lead, but Hutchings wanted it as well. He officially took over halfway through the sixth lap of the race. Ryan Posocco moved into second, punting Gray into third. As they came down the backstretch on the very next lap, Tracy Brouillette got out of shape. He collected Duane Noll, sending him for a ride down to the CARQuest sign in turn three. Noll hit the wall hard, putting the field under yet another caution; only six laps into the event. After cleanup commenced, things were back to green. A three-wide fight for the lead occurred, with Hutchings still holding onto things. Gray followed in second, with third now a fight between Cook and Posocco - and you could give third to Cook. It only took two laps before the caution came out again; this time, it was a multi-car accident in turns one and two putting the field under yellow with eight laps over. On the restart, it was the same old, same old. Hutchings powered his way back into the top spot. Cook now joined the party in second. Gray and JJ Hill fought for the third spot… With Posocco also involved. Posocco moved around Gray for fourth. Deeper in the field, Fearn found his way into the safer barrier in turn one (cause: a tire down?), giving the field yet another caution. It was only ten laps into the race. The restart occurred with Hutchings once again finding the lead. Other than Gray passing Posocco for fourth, barely anything was going on. Gray and Posocco passed Hill for position; Hill was sent backwards and out of the top-five. The field finally made it to the halfway point, and it was the first time in a while that more than two laps were run before a caution came out. And that’s when the next caution came out - this time, it was for Jim Peterson, whose car seemed to catch fire without a known cause or reason. He stopped in turns three and four with no fire in sight. After it was determined that everything was okay, it was back to green. Again, the leader was Hutchings. Again, second place belonged to Gray. Now in third, however, was St. Hilaire; Posocco was pressuring him for the spot. St. Hilaire’s good run was halted with 19 laps on the board when he was shuffled back behind Rocco and in sixth. Meanwhile, both Cook and Rocco managed to get around Posocco for fourth and fifth respectively. They had six laps to get anywhere near Hutchings and Gray, however. It wasn’t going to happen barring a late-race caution. Back up front; Hutchings was giving the rest of the field a run for their money. He had a nice-sized lead over Gray for the lead. It was more than enough, and it was his second win of the year. Gray finished his nice run in second. Third belonged to Cook, while Posocco managed to squeak by a last-lap incident on the backstretch to finish fourth.

Out came the SK Lights for their feature. Zachary Aszklar was the first leader of the race, but it was less than a lap before Earl Pelletier took it from him. Jay Goff was behind both of them and in third. Four laps in, however, the battle began for the lead. The lead pack was about ten cars big. With five laps on the board, Aszklar reclaimed the lead. Erica Santos found herself in a battle for second with Pelletier, but Pelletier kept the spot. His second-place run ended with eight laps on the board when he spun in turn two. Dylan Liseo also spun, but he stopped on the backstretch. Both cars were able to get going, but the caution came out. When the restart happened, it was Matt Galko pulling into the lead. Joey Cipriano moved into second, sending Aszklar into third. That third place run didn’t last long as Thomas Barrett, Jr moved into the spot. He was almost thankful that he passed Aszklar before crossing the stripe, because Ted Cain spun coming out of turn four. The caution came out with the race close to halfway done, if not halfway already. When things calmed down, it was back to green. This was a prime opportunity for Cipriano to take the lead. Galko was right next to him, however, and there was a challenge for the lead - a quick one, though, and Cipriano maintained it. Galko attempted yet another pass, but that too failed. As a third attempt for a pass was being made, Aszklar spun in turns one and two. For the third time in the race, the caution came out… Thirteen laps in. Cipriano pulled right back into the lead on the restart, followed by… Nobody, yet. Steve Greer spun in turn one and the caution came out before the lap was completed. It was close to the same story on the restart. Cipriano originally took the lead. But a new leader emerged before the lap ended - Barrett. His tour as the leader only lasted a lap as the caution came out with six laps to go. As Galko took the lead, Cipriano went up and over Barrett. Other cars (pretty much a majority of the field) were involved in the accident in one way or another - everyone drove away. Galko’s lead continued on the restart, driving away from Tony Santangelo, who was now in second. Coming up through the field was Pelletier, who earlier in the race was somewhere in turn two. He was battling Goff for the third spot, now, all while trying to catch up to Santangelo for the runner-up spot. Santangelo pulled away from Pelletier, however, but didn’t have enough for Galko. It was Galko’s second win of the season. Santangelo was second, followed by Pelletier in third. Goff finished off the board in fourth.

Coming up next, it was the DARE Stocks. Stephanie Berardi pulled out in front and became the first leader of the race. Donald Cook and Albert Saunders raced for the second spot. Within the second lap, A. Saunders won the battle. In the very next lap, he raced Berardi for the lead. A. Saunders won the battle again; this time, he became the new leader. On the next lap, the caution came out for dirt that kicked up onto the racing surface in turn four. It was a quick caution and the restart happened in a couple of laps. The leaders fought for about a lap before A. Saunders returned to the front. Andrew Hayes found a way around Berardi for second… And so did Tony Membrino, Jr; that pass was for third. The three drivers pulled away from the rest of the field by the halfway point. With five laps to go, Hayes applied a bit of pressure on A. Saunders for the lead, and was successfully able to make the pass when they came to the line for four laps to go. Membrino had a chance to pass A. Saunders for second. As they went into turn three, that pass was good as well. Unfortunately, the caution came out with two laps go. Cory Casagrande was a bit too high in turn four and that brought out the caution as he remained stranded. It appeared as though something had broke on the car, and that was the reason why he was up high in the turn. On what was deemed to be a critical restart, Hayes went right back to the front. A. Saunders looked to take second from Membrino, and that was what happened. Kyle Casagrande joined the party, but he was in third after getting around Membrino. Back in front, it was Hayes getting his second win of the season. A. Saunders finished second. The rest of the top-four were K. Casagrande in third and Jeff Jolly in fourth.

The last race of the night was the regularly scheduled SK Modified race. If the race at the top of the program was exciting, then the race at the end of the program should have been just as great. A chain reaction started things off at the beginning of the race. Tom Bolles didn’t get started (he started on the pole) and everyone on the inside tried to find a way to maneuver around him. It failed. A multi-car incident occurred and the first caution came out with no laps on the board. Let’s try that again, shall we? Okay! It was a much better restart. Bolles came up to speed this time and was officially the first leader. Mark Bakaj was coming behind him and nearly had a chance to pass him. However, that failed and he dropped back a bit behind. Ted Christopher was coming as well and passed Bakaj for second by the fifth lap. He had a ways to go to catch up to Bolles, however, as the lead was a half straightaway‘s distance. As the laps ticked by, Christopher was catching up to Bolles. The lead that Bolles had began to shrink. By lap 15, Christopher caught up to Bolles - and a new leader emerged. Meanwhile, Sean Foster and Frank Ruocco were stranded in the grass on the frontstretch, setting up the second caution with 15 laps down. Both cars were able to drive off, but they both ended up going on pit road to check on the extent on any damage that trip through the grass may have caused. The race went back to green with Christopher still in the lead. Bolles tried to glue himself onto Christopher’s bumper, but to no avail. This gave Todd Owen motive to get around Bolles for second. He’d have to try again. Once the pass was made, the caution came out for Donny Travaglin and Chris Jones, who spun in turn one. With 19 laps down, there was another caution. They drove off and before you knew it, there was another restart… And another caution. Bolles seemed to have slowed down, with Keith Rocco getting in behind him. The whole thing started a chain reaction with half of the field involved. The caution came right back out. Things got crazy when the restart happened. The battle for the lead contained Christopher, Rocco, and Owen. Rocco moved into second, leaving Owen to do battle with Ryan Preece for third. The winner of that battle was Preece. Things seemed to calm down after that, giving people some breathing room (albeit a little, if any). A challenge for the lead ensued with ten laps to go. Rocco tried the inside groove with no success. He still kept himself close to Christopher, however, just in case he wanted to try anything else in the closing laps. Was there going to be anything else? Yes. Somewhat. But not close enough. On the final lap, Rocco tried one last move. That move worked. It was enough to give Rocco his eighth win of the season. (It was also his 17th win with at least 20 cars, putting him one win away from perfection.) Christopher finished second, with Preece getting his second straight third-place finish of the night. Owen finished in fourth.

Next week is going to be another good program. You have the second of two Late Model 100s of the season. Add in two races for the Limited Late Models, and we’ve got enough racing to make you excited. It happens weather permitting.