These Guys are Cats, With Their Nine Lives and Such…

(Author's Note: Sorry this is up so late! Sent this out around midnight on Monday and just forgot to post. Be on the lookout for some Tour information tomorrow!)

Stafford Speedway was about to have themselves one long and one crazy weekend. On top of two DARE Stock races - one of which was a makeup race from two weekends ago when only two of the five features ran - there was the longest race of the season for the SK Modifieds. It was the 7th annual CARQuest SK Modified 150. On top of all of it? The scoreboard didn’t want to work for the first race of the night. As they say, let the madness begin.

The action kicked off with the makeup race for the DARE Stocks. It began with Stephanie Berardi picking up the lead. Vince Gambacorta followed her pace, settling in behind her in second. The action kicked in behind them with action two wide for a few rows back. Cliff Saunders gained the advantage and fell in third. Soon enough, Gambacorta lost his spot in second as C. Saunders, Jeff Jolly, and Andrew Hayes all passed him, sticking him in fifth. The three drivers who ended up passing him started to battle for the second spot. Second wasn’t enough for Jolly, and after a quick battle with Berardi, moved into the lead. Hayes followed him along and found his way into the runner-up spot. As the race continued on, the laps ticked off. Yet with only two laps left to go in the event, the first caution occurred for Kyle Casagrande, who spun in turns one and two. It set up a critical restart that Jolly won. The battle for second started up with C. Saunders and Hayes, along with Tony Membrino, Jr. Suddenly, C. Saunders spun in turn two, losing his second spot. He was able to get going, but by the time he did so, there was one lap to go. By that time, Jolly had enough of a lead to cruise to his first win of the season. Hayes came in second, followed by Membrino and Josh Wood in that order.

The night of features was put on hold as the other four divisions had to qualify. It included about four false starts and enough wild action to pack into a single feature alone. It was clear that these people couldn’t wait until the features began to get rowdy. Yet by the time the last heat settled, everyone was calm, cool, and collected. Unfortunately, this wasn’t going to be the case for long.

After the heats and pre-night festivities, it was time for more feature action. Starting with the Limited Late Model feature. It started with Brian Clement not getting up to speed, giving Duane Provost as much access as he needed to take the lead. Jesse Hinze was forced to battle with Clement for second - it only took a lap for Hinze to make a move around him for the position. Clement’s rough night continued with two laps down as he ended up high in turn three and in distress long enough to force the first caution of the event. Other cars ended up with damage as the dust settled. What transpired out of the accident was a restart. And what happened out of the restart was Provost pulling back out front. Kevin Gambacorta and Hinze joined him. As they went into turns one and two on the very next lap, Gambacorta pulled off a move to take over as leader. Rob Dow sat in second. As for who once was the leader, Provost? Six laps into the race, he found himself spinning in turns three and four, along with Carla Botticello. It turned into caution number two as neither car was able to drive off before the yellow started to fly. Botticello ended up getting towed off the track; her night was done via way of wrecker. When the incident was cleared, the green came out. And Gambacorta went right back out to the front… With Dow following him intently. It only took a lap for the battle for the lead to happen., and it took even shorter than that for the lead to change hands to Dow. By the halfway point of the race, things began to pick up in terms of action. Dan Flannery spun in turns one and two, driving away without a caution with smoke showing (there was no problem). On the very next lap, Hinze got loose after a short battle with Andrew Durand for fourth, also in turns one and two. Again, no caution. The end of the race was less dramatic, as it ran caution-free to the end. In the end, it was Dow who won his second race of the season. Gambacorta wound up in second. Dave Yardley, III and Durand finished off the board respectively.

Up next? The SK Lights. Jay Goff was the first leader when he took the lead on the backstretch on the opening lap. Behind him, there was Heather DesRochers and Kyle Spencer, who fought for second for a good portion of three laps… Until DesRochers became the new leader. What was the reason? Goff spun in front of the whole field but just managed to keep the spin to a single car. It only took another lap for the first caution to occur. Four laps into the race, Earl Pelletier ended up slightly sideways - just enough to give Zachary Aszklar trouble. Aszklar went up in the turn four wall. David Webb also spun. All but Aszklar ended up able to drive off. During the caution, there was nerf bar issues with Joey Cipriano, who was in fourth when the caution came out, pulled onto pit road. His night was over. On the restart, a new leader emerged in Spencer. He pulled out and put a little bit of distance on the rest of the field. The field managed to cross the line to end the fifth lap when Ted Cain spun coming out of turn four. Once he spun, Victoria Bergenty had a bit of an issue and spun on the frontstretch. While she drove off, Stephen Greer ended up having to be towed off the track after he came to a stop not too far from where Bergenty spun (after slightly running into Bergenty after she spun). All of that translated into yet another caution. When the green came back out, the battle for the lead was on. It was a three-way fight for the lead between Spencer, DesRochers, with a side of Thomas Barrett, Jr in the mix. It took a lap before DesRochers regained the lead, but Spencer was still there. Unfortunately for him, DesRochers had help from Barrett and she ended up safely back into first. Barrett wasn’t done, however, and soon made a move of his own to take over the lead himself. While he began to take off and put some distance on the field, the caution came out again. Harry Wheeler ended up spinning in turn four, which ended up being the third caution at the halfway point. The restart was a short but not so careful one. Shayne Prucker spun in turns one and two, bringing out yet another caution. Joining him was Todd Clark, who seemed to drive into him. Both cars were brought to the infield on wreckers. On the restart, the fight for the lead resumed… It didn’t last long, as Barrett once again claimed the lead. He began to drive off, leaving DesRochers to fend off Spencer for second. The rest of the race was a joyride, and Barrett scored his fifth win of the season. Second was still a challenge, however. Spencer spun in turn four, leaving him off the podium. The winner of the battle for the rest of the top three was DesRochers, who held off Matt Galko for second. Pelletier, who came back from an early-race spin, finished fourth.

It appeared as though nobody was wasting time. It was time to jump straight to the main event. It was the 7th annual CARQuest SK Modified 150. Where do we begin? The start. And Eric Berndt pulling out to the lead. Sean Foster found his way into second. And behind him, it was Chris Jones in third. That was how they ran - single file, of course. Nose to bumper throughout the course of the first eight laps. Second changed hands when Jones went around Foster for second. It was the first change for position through the first tenth of the race. The first caution came out with nine laps on the board when Ryan Preece spun in turn two. And not too long after the yellow came out, the field crossed the line to complete the tenth lap. (Yes. For this race only, yellow flag laps do in fact count.) There were 13 laps on the board when the green came back out. The man who was on the move during the early laps was Frank Ruocco, who found himself in fifth on the restart. He moved up to third in a matter of a few laps. Yet during a fight for second with Jones, Ruocco ended up getting out of shape and ended up through the grass (this being as the leaders were crossing the stripe to complete the 22nd lap). He lost quite a few spots in the process. This put Jeff Malave into the third spot. From the time he was officially scored as third, it took about thirteen laps to pass Jones for second. But there was still ground to make up as Berndt - who was still the leader - was building himself a lead. Unfortunately for him, the big lead he had built up was suddenly lost. With 42 laps on the board (if this was a regular-distance feature, it would have been over), Nichole Morgillo and Ruocco spun in turns three and four, bringing out what was only the second caution. During the extra-elongated yellow, Ruocco decided to remain close to the front of the field and restarted the event a lap down yet next to the leader, who was Berndt. The restart occurred on with 49 laps on the board. Berndt claimed his lead with the certain circumstances. Malave still sat in second and was willing to challenge Berndt for the spot. When Malave did make the move, he did. He crossed the line to complete the 53rd lap as the new leader of the race. Second and third also changed, however. Second belonged to Keith Rocco while third was now Ted Christopher. They would get a free shot at Malave after the caution came out with 57 laps on the board after Mark Bakaj spun in turn four. Three laps ticked off the board before the restart occurred with 60 laps on the board. And the challenge was on. Although Malave gained the lead once again, he was challenged by a duo of contestants. They were Christopher and Rocco. With the contestants, there was trouble. While Christopher gained the lead, Rocco ended up spinning behind him. Most of the field stopped dead in their tracks, while other drivers went through the grass in the corner to avoid the melee. Some drivers received damage to their cars. In any case, it was a caution with 62 laps on the board. It was deemed that the caution came out before Christopher took over the lead, and that was how it was written. Four laps after the initial caution, the race resumed with the green. Malave drove right back to the lead. Christopher was coming, however, and with 72 laps on the board, he moved into first. Malave was not backing down without a fight. A few laps later, he tried to pass Christopher for the lead. That didn’t end well. Christopher spun after contact. The field ducked and dodged all over the place, sending the race into caution mode. Under the caution, Malave ended up being black flagged, giving Berndt the lead back. With the lap-78 restart, Berndt repulled into the lead. Preece found his way into second. And back up into third was Ruocco (who was coming back through the field again after being involved in a few earlier incidents). Back up in front, Preece looked for the lead. He made the pass with 80 laps on the board, sending Berndt back into second. He lost that spot after Ruocco passed him for the position, and now it was Ruocco who was hunting Preece pulling ahead of Ruocco. There was a battle for third between Berndt and Jeff Baral... And Baral took over the spot. Meanwhile, Ruocco was ready to take the lead from Preece. He did, and became the new leader at the lap 98 point of the race. There was still a bit of worry whether he could keep the lead or not, because Preece and Baral were on his tail. They’d get a crack at him after a lap-102 caution cut the run short. Quite a few cars ended up in distress on the frontstretch, sending the race back under yellow. After the cleanup, the restart occurred with 109 laps down with a lead change - Preece passed Ruocco on the outside groove to take over the lead again. Only four laps passed until the next caution came out (113 laps down on the board). It was because John Montesanto was high in turn four after battling with Rocco for position. His car was taken off the track hammock style. 118 laps into the race, there was another restart. And again, Preece regained the lead. Second was now in possession of Baral, but the fight was still going. In fourth was Foster, who was about to join in on the battle for second… And he ended up spinning in turn four, bringing the caution out with 120 laps on the board. It was a quick caution, and the restart occurred with 124 laps on the board. Preece assumed the position once again, yet it was a short lead for him as Ruocco was coming. After taking over second on the restart, he passed Preece for the lead only a lap later. It seemed as though if Ruocco was going to keep the lead, but he was going to be pressured by Preece the whole time. Right behind them (in case anything happened between the top two cars) was Rocco, who had been involved in cautions earlier in the race himself. So far, there hadn’t been any cause for him to take over the lead. It was still a desperate battle between Ruocco and Preece. And the laps seemed as though they were slowly ticking down. Rocco joined in on the chaos, and with only eight laps to go, it was now a three-car fight for the lead (and win, if it went green the rest of the way). Behind all three of them, Baral was also coming. Still, it seemed as though it was going to be down to only three cars - Ruocco, Preece, and Rocco. On the last lap, Preece tried to make a daring move to pass Ruocco for what was going to be the win. But it was too little, too late and for the second time in the three years, it was Ruocco picking up the win. Preece finished second, followed by Rocco in third. In fourth was Baral.

Guess who was back after that? The DARE Stocks, who were now racing their regularly-scheduled feature. It was no repeat of the race they had earlier in the evening. It kicked off with Stephanie Berardi in the lead, followed by Cliff Saunders. Vince Gambacorta sat comfortably behind them. By the fourth lap, there was a change in the lead. Josh Wood ended up taking the lead, followed by Kyle Casagrande. The first caution came out with four laps as well when Kaitlyn Brice spun in turns one and two. On the restart, Wood put himself back out in front. K. Casagrande still sat in second. And the twins (C. Saunders and Albert Saunders) were also there as well. A quick battle for fourth, however saw Cory Casagrande pass A. Saunders for fourth. As the ninth lap was completed, the caution came out again. It was for Joseph McCallister, who was stranded in the grass in turn four after blowing up in smoke. The green came back out and again, it was Wood getting the lead. Brothers K. Casagrande and C. Casagrande were following behind him - but the problem was that both of them already had the maximum two wins apiece. That opened the door so that Wood could cross the line to pick up his second win of the season. K. Casagrande followed him to the line in second, with C. Casagrande in third and A. Saunders in fourth.

Finally, it was time for the sixth (and last) race of the year. It belonged to the Late Models. After a quick dragrace, it was Adam Gray getting the lead. Tom Fearn managed to put himself into second. Woody Pitkat was also in the mix, and after getting around Gray for second, he turned his attention to the second leader of the race - Fearn. He closed in and took advantage of Fearn after Fearn got loose coming out of turn four before crossing the line to close off the sixth lap of the race. The lead change was made, and the new leader became Pitkat. It wasn’t long after the lead change that the first caution came out (eight laps in). John Kasper and Tony Lafo seemed to be glued to each other (in all fairness, they were stuck together). Either way, Kasper practically towed Lafo to pit lane. In the process, the caution came out. When they separated themselves, the caution ended and the restart occurred. It wasn’t a pretty sight for Gray, because he ended up spinning as soon as the green flew. He lost a few positions in the process. Back out front, the second spot had a new occupant in Mark St. Hilaire. He had a ways to go before he could catch up to leader Pitkat, who had built himself a nice lead. Unfortunately, he lost it as the second caution came out with 11 laps on the board for Sylvia Crunden, who had spun. A series of events occurred on the restart - case in point, St. Hilaire attempted to take over the lead. He did, but the caution came right back out when Don Acker, Jr was high in turns one and two. They were going to do the restart all over again. Was it going to be better? The answer was yes. Pitkat regained the lead, with teammate Corey Hutchings taking over second from St. Hilaire. Thankfully the restart was better, because they only completed two laps until the caution came out again (12 laps on the board) - the reason for the caution was because Jim Peterson and Tom Butler spun in turns one and two. This put the teammates on the front row when the restart happened. Pitkat pulled right back out to the front, with Hutchings following him. As Pitkat started to build yet another lead, second was now up for grabs. Scott Cook had challenged Hutchings for second, and before long, it was Cook getting the spot. Everything then seemed fine and dandy… That was until there was 18 laps on the board. Michael Bennett just shot right up the racetrack in turn three, spun, and hit the barrier. The caution came out immediately. But because the barrier was beat up a bit more than it should have, the red flag came out. The wait was on, but after 23 minutes, the yellow flag returned. Two laps of yellow later, it was back to green. On the restart, Pitkat returned to the front. Cook was right behind, with Ryan Posocco pressuring him from behind. With 19 laps on the board, the next caution occurred when Walt Wosko, Jr spun in turns three and four. It was going to be a quick caution and the green came out not too long after. Cook had problems on the restart, giving Pitkat full advantage to regain the lead. Posocco moved into second, followed by JJ Hill. This lasted all of… A lap. Again, the caution was coming out. This time, it was with ten laps left. Butler was the one who spun, and this time, he spun in turns one and two. He got going again after the yellow came out, and it was once again a quick caution. Were these guys getting any more than one lap done with the next restart? They were going to try to. Pitkat reclaimed the lead, followed by a side by side battle between Posocco and Hill. Hill picked up the second spot, now with Keith Rocco on his bumper. Rocco was ready to challenge Hill for second, and he ultimately picked up the spot - but not with Hill behind him, but rather, Posocco. They had nothing for Pitkat, however, and his large distanced lead was enough to give him the win. Rocco finished ahead of Posocco for second. Hill finished off the board.

Next week? Even more interesting than this one. How? The Whelen Modified Tour is back. They’ll have a 150-lap main event on their hands. It should be nice. It’s going to happen… Weather permitting.