Speedway EXPO Pictorial

Here are some of the pictures I took while I was at Speedway EXPO today. Yes, they're more Stafford-centric, with a looksee into the future.

Keith Rocco's SK Modified.

Ted Christopher's SK Modified.

Norm Sears's Limited Late Model.


Jay Goff's SK Light.

The #92 Late Model. Currently on Stafford's site, the driver is TBA.

The Late Model that Ted Christopher will be driving for a few races this season.

Okay, so this was from the Lime Rock Park display. But this was cool looking.

SMS Display Info for Speedway EXPO

With Speedway EXPO set for this weekend at the Big E fairgrounds (West Springfield), Stafford announced which cars were going to be on display for the three-day event.

A total of six cars will bet set up for show spectators.

SK Modifieds: Ted Christopher, Keith Rocco
Late Models: Dillon Moltz
SK Lights: Jay Goff
Limited Late Models: Bill Davis, Norm Sears

They'll also have all of the necessary schedules and forms available, and officials will be there to answer questions regarding rules for the '09 season.

Times for the show are as follows.

Friday: 5pm -- 9pm
Saturday: 10am -- 9pm
Sunday: 10am -- 5pm

Pit Parties, Belts, and Hoses

When April and the Spring Sizzler roll around, the Sunday afternoon pit party will be in good hands. CARQuest and Stafford announced Tuesday that CARQuest Belts and Hoses will continue to sponsor the pit parties at the beginning and end of the season.

CARQuest and Stafford first joined forces in 1985 when CARQuest signed on as a track sponsor. In the last 23 years, the company has sponsored numerous races and events throughout the seasons.

A Do-It-Yourself LLM Entrant

The era of "do-it-yourselfers" in NASCAR is like a dying breed. These days, you have engine builders and chassis builders suppling the parts needed to race teams. This season, one driver won't need the help of a builder. Keith Minchella will be competing in the Limited Late Models, though with friend Vincent Balboni, they'll have everything built themselves.

Advantage? Building everything yourself saves money. And they'll have more knowledge about what's going on with the car.

Minchella had been registered to race in the 2008 season, but work obligations and his daughter racing in the kart series on Mondays changed those plans.

He's also raced all over New England, including Riverside, Thompson, Waterford, and Monadnock. But this season will be his first at Stafford.

Hey, Look... A Lot of News!

Yes, kids. Instead of a bunch of posts this weekend, here's one huge weekend post to get you through the Valentine's Day/President's Day weekend.

+ Contingencies are being renewed everywhere. There's the Davidson Company (1st place in the SKs in memory of Dave Rowe), Valvoline (1st place in SKs), and Bosch (top-3 in SK Lights).

+ Spec engine rules for the Limited Late Models have been released. To go along with this, Stafford will be allowing a new body type for Limiteds to go along with the new engine package. They'll also be adding T/A Engines to help out.

+ Well wishes go out to Scott Foster, Jr, after a snowmobile accident earlier this month. Internal injuries and six hours of surgery over last weekend is the report. Get well soon.

RoTY Program + Reliable Welding and Speed = 8 Years' Sponsorship

In 2002, Reliable Welding and Speed (owned by SK Modified driver Brad Hietala and wife Linda) joined forces with Stafford and started sponsoring the track's Rookie of the Year program. $700 and $500 in prize money was awarded to Tucker Reynolds, Jr (SKs) and Mark Lewis (Late Models).

2009 will mark year number eight in the Rookie of the Year program, with the Hietalas and Reliable Welding and Speed yet again on board.

The names that have won Rookie of the Year at Stafford since the sponsorship came into play have been familiar yet famous, especially in the SK Modified division. Both Woody Pitkat (2004) and Keith Rocco (2005) are past winners; both of which have been in contention to win the national championship for the Whelen All-American Series. Rowan Pennink (2006) found his way onto the Whelen Modified Tour, finishing 8th overall in the standings last season.

Nearly $11,000 has been awarded to nineteen different drivers since 2002. Four new winners will be added to the list when the season comes to a close this year, with another $2,200 going to the winners of each rookie class.

20 Years Removed and Still Eager to Race

To say that one of the newest entrants into the SK Light division is rookie is stretching the truth a bit. While John Montesanto hasn't raced a modified before, he has, however, had experience racing at Stafford before. Even though Late Models aren't exactly modifieds, this former competitor is ready to jump into the waters known as open-wheeled racing after a hiatus of near 20 years.

The decision to return to racing at Stafford came last year. Montesanto and team visited the track frequently, scoping out the competition and to hopefully get a car in the process. They ended up getting a car through Gary Bienkowski, who owned the #38 for the past two seasons. (That car finished sixth in the standings back in '07, and three finishes on the podium before a crash put the car out of commission last year.)

Post-Groundhog Day News

Some form of sickness kicked my arse last week. Feeling a bit better this week (and month), I'm giving myself a clean bill of health. On that note, two pieces of news to sink your teeth into as we're subjected to six more weeks of winter -- shadow or not...

+ The Memorial Day weekend event with the Whelen Modified Tour will not be losing its sponsor this year. TSI Harley Davidson has renewed its sponsorship with Stafford. For three years between 2005 and 2007, they sponsored a Camping World East Series race; last year, they tagged their name to the May WMT race (which, if you can remember, was run after hours because of a little rain squall).

+ In Rookie of the Year news, the Late Model division gains another open wheeled graduate. From the SK Light fields of '07 and '08, Alan Provost is moving on up to the land of the fendered machines. He will be joining a bright cast of characters as a contestant for the Late Model Rookie of the Year crown in '09. This will be Provost's first season of racing something that does not have open wheels. His racing resume includes Mod Lights at Whip City and go-karts.

Not really a piece of news, but something of interest for racing show fans: Frank Maratta's Auto & Cycle Show is this weekend. If you're looking for a preview of what you might expect to see at some of the short tracks around here, head over to the CT Expo Center in Hartford. Don't know if I'm going to this one. It's still hockey season, and I'm juggling around a schedule this weekend that doesn't look all that busy this. Who knows? This blogger could show up.

Only 81 days and change until the Spring Sizzler rolls around, and I'm positive that there'll be more news rolling around in the future. Stay tuned.

Welcome Back, Matt Gallo

The last time Matt Gallo was seen racing at Stafford, it was two years ago, and he was in the SK Light class. Last year, he was seen racing SK Modifieds at Waterford (winning on 9/13).

But Gallo's returning to Stafford in '09. He'll be bringing the Guida's Dairy #77 back to the half mile, but as part of the SK Modified rookie class.

Chalk up another driver who factored in the spec motor as part of the reason why they wanted to make the move up into the SKs. He also says that the competition is also something he's looking forward to.

It's also the same chassis that he had in the car when raced in the SK Lights. The team is also making another car for him as a backup.

8/7 WMT Race Gets Name Brands at Discount Prices

Okay, well... Maybe that's just a play on words. Either way, the Whelen Modified Tour race in August has picked itself up a sponsor.

It's now going to be called the 19th annual Town Fair Tire 150.

Stafford's partnership with Town Fair Tire doesn't just start with this race in the summer. They've been partners for ten years now, beginning in 1999. The marriage first started with the Pitstopper, then moving to billboards and midway displays. Two years ago, they sponsored Summer Heat and presented contingency bonuses to the SK Modified and Late Model divisions. Last year, they sponsored the Summer Blast-Off fireworks display.

Off of the track, they're the sponsor of NASCAR: New England on NESN.

Welcoming an Open-Wheeled Newcomer

The SK Light division at Stafford is welcoming a newcomer to the land of the open wheels when John Hanafin makes his Modified racing debut.

His expertise in racing comes from Seekonk Speedway, where he's made it to victory lane seven times in Street Stocks and once in a Late Model. But it's a dream of his to race Modifieds at the Connecticut track. The car he'll be using to hopefully make it to victory lane at Stafford was Alan Provost's, who sold the car to Hanafin. (Provost is moving up to the Late Models in '08.)

Sponsors for his car were lost since he's switching states, but he'll have sponsors of President's Landscape Design and Union Ironworkers Local #7.

Another Graduate

Before I start this one, let me state although the date of the press release is January 16, I was checking the site all weekend for news (yes, that sounds completely stalkerish, I know) and got nothing until today. I'm not blaming anyone for a possible date mix-up here.

With that said, the news of the day is that there's another graduate from the SK Lights.

Mark Bakaj is joining the SK Modified field this season, with one of the main factors for the jump being the new spec engine.

According to Bakaj, he ran at Thompson and Waterford with an SK engine in his car, and raced up north for an event as well, and says he feels comfortable racing with the SK engine's extra power.

Monadnock LM Champion Joins Stafford LM Field

The Late Model field at Stafford became a little more decorated on Friday. Another track champion will be racing at the half mile this season.

Adam Gray, the 2008 Late Model champion at Monadnock Speedway (and last one in track history), will be racing for the Rookie of the Year honors in Stafford's '09 season.

Last season at Monadnock, Gray won six races on his way to winning the Late Model championship. But the car he'll be bringing to Connecticut won't be the same car he won the championship with in New Hampshire. He'd have to change the Monadnock car to make it legal for Stafford. So instead of spending time making everything SMS legal, he'll be in a new car.

Gray won't be the only member of the Late Model class of '09. Alan Provost (up from SK Lights) and John Kaspar (up from DARE Stocks) will also be in contention for the Rookie of the Year title.

The Countdown Starts...

Standing there alone; the ship is waiting
All systems are go; are you sure
Control is not convinced, but the computer has the evidence
No need to abort; the countdown starts...

With this, the countdown begins for the Spring Sizzler and the 2009 racing season at Stafford.

Lyrics are courtesy of Peter Schilling's Major Tom.

The End of a Touring Era?

Here's a good piece from Shawn Courchesne of the Hartford Courant, in regards to short track touring series and their death from Connecticut tracks. It didn't just begin to dwindle with the sucking economy. This has been like this for a while now.

They've tried flash races. Didn't work.

They've tried massive weekend shows with numerous divisions. Yet it doesn't seem to work.

Who knows what might happen past 2009? The future of short track touring series is in serious Jeopardy.

[The Backstretch/Hartford Courant]

News Through Waterford

Waterford held its end of season awards banquet over the weekend, but not without some Stafford-related news.

+ After last season's championship with Keith Rocco, it seemed as though the Poulins were retiring from the racing scene. Well, maybe not. They'll be giving support by way of motor to Ted Christopher. Rocco will be in a car owned by John Rufrano.

+ Meanwhile, the Late Model field is ever expanding. Guy Beaudoin says that last year's Late Model champion at Thompson, Jeff Zuidema, will be running in the Late Model division at Stafford.

Yes, I know. Not a lot of news from their banquet.

A Whole Bunch of LM News

Welcome, 2009. If the offseason is any indication of what's to come, I'm pretty sure it'll be a happy new year. On Wednesday, it was announced that a former track champion was coming back, and a familiar face will be joining forces with the current Late Model champion.

First, it's the return of a champion. Clark Motorsports had won a Late Model championship in '07 with Corey Hutchings, and two years later, they've teamed up with a man who certainly knows his way around the half-mile. Jay Stuart will be returning to Stafford this season. Stuart states that since his last full season in '03, he wanted to return but just never found the right opportunity. He's bringing in sponsorship to a car that will already be sponsored by Arbitell Convenience Stores and Kennedy CDL Training. This is one driver/owner combination that should be taken very seriously, methinks.

To the other story, which includes the most winningest driver in the history of SMS. Combined, Ryan Posocco and Ted Christopher have won ten championships and 144 features at Stafford, but in '09, they'll be joining forces. Albeit for a partial season. The Kretschman team welcomes TC into the #18 machine in the upcoming season. The ride will be sponsored by motorsportsnewengland.com, and it will be out on the track for about four or five races (more if TC's schedule allows them).

A little more than three months until the Spring Sizzler, and already, the new year starts with a bang.

SMS Says No to CWES

Late news from the scheduling front... And a question for the readers. Anyone who wanted to see a repeat of what happened at the 2008 Fall Final in regards to the Camping World East Series, raise your hand. If there are any hands raised at this very second, put them down right now.

Stafford decided that they weren't going to host a CWES race in '09, with the economy and an unknown when it comes to who'll even be racing in the series playing factors into the decision.

Talk about a TKO.

Though I have to agree with the attendance factor during the Fall Final. To me, it looked like the size of the crowd back in October remained close to what it usually is when a major weekend arrives (read as: Spring Sizzler and Fall Final). And with God-knows-who deciding that they'll be strapping into a ride in that division, it usually means hit or miss. In this case, it's a miss.

With the exception of that '08 race, events like the CWES didn't really do it for me. There goes the streak, ending at 16 straight years with a CWES race on the schedule.

Happy Holidays

No racing news in this entry. Just well wishes.

Wherever you are tomorrow -- being with family and friends either close to home or out on the road, or with extended family in a place that's beyond your control -- have a safe and happy Christmas. Or Hanukkah. Or Kwanzaa.

Another Track Champion Moving Up

Even though it's been a slow winter, it doesn't mean that there's no news to report on.

It was already mentioned that one of this season's track champions was moving up for the '09 campaign (Sears). He won't be the only track champion who'll be making the jump up to the next division.

Another confirmation is Joe Allegro, Jr, the SK Light champion in '08. He'll be moving up to the SK Modified division in 2009. Even though the team is sans sponsorship (so far), the spec motor option was one of the factors towards the jump up from the SK Lights.

November News

A few things since I haven't gotten sleepy from the turkey I had Thursday and needed to get these up before the new year rolls around (=P):

-- Award winners from the banquet. I know, this was two weeks ago tomorrow and I just got to putting this information up. No undeserving winners there.

-- Ticket package prices are up. Was it $400 for early birds last season? I can't remember if the prices went up or not from last offseason. (Bad writer!)

-- In purse news, over $400,000 was given out to the teams for their efforts in the 2008 season. The money was for point funds, awards, and contingencies.

-- Driver rosters are starting to take shape for the new season. Yes, it's only November. They're not much now, but stay tuned to those to see who's returning, who's moving up to what division, and what new faces will be seen at the half-mile.

That's it for now. More news to come (hopefully) in the near future. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving.

We've Got a Schedule.

The schedule for the 2009 season was released today with a grand total of 24 racing events on tap for the upcoming calendar year. Here are some of the key dates (weekly extra distance races and weekends) that you want to circle.

38th Annual Spring Sizzler: April 24-26
Bi-Annual Late Model 100s: May 8 and August 21
36th Annual SK Modified 100: June 5
6th Annual SK Modified 150: July 25
37th Annual Fall Final: October 2-4

The Whelen Modified Tour will be at the track four times next year, with the following dates scheduled.

Spring Sizzler: April 26
19th Annual Connecticut Classic: May 22
19th Annual Stafford 150: August 7
Fall Final: October 4

The CARQuest Extreme Tuesday is back for its sixth go-round on July 7.

Other dates include four fireworks shows which fall on May 29, June 19 (kids get in free that night if an adult brings them), July 3, and August 28. The monster trucks come into town on July 25 and 26 for three shows. Swap meets will be held on March 29, June 28, and August 16 (a fall date is still being decided upon); while the Ty-Rods swap meets will be on April 5 and October 18. Also returning to the track will be the 24 Hours of LeMons race, coming July 11 and 12.

No sign of a Camping World East Series race. I'm pretty sure of it. I read the thing twice. I would assume that they would be coming back; I didn't hear of anything that may not bring them back.

Sorry for the lack of news this month. It will come this weekend, regardess of it being late.

Champion Story: DARE Stocks

The final story devoted to the 2008 track champions is up today. This one is about the DARE Stock champion, Norm Sears.

He began by winning the first two races of the season and creating a comfortable sized lead. But the lead was cut into after he finished 18th and 10th in the two races afterward. In true champion fashion, Sears ended up finishing no lower than 8th in 12 of the last 14 races to claim his third straight DARE Stock championship with a margin of only eight points.

Only two other people had won three straight championships previous to Sears -- Phil Rondeau and Ryan Posocco.

But Sears is looking forward to trying for a fourth. In '09, however, he'll be pushing for a Limited Late Model title.

Champion Story: Limited Late Models

The stories just keep on coming as attention is shifted to today's champion story. It's the story of Bill Davis, this year's Limited Late Model champion.

After winning at the Spring Sizzler, momentum was key. Save for two weeks where flat tires and mechanical problems lingered, strong finishes prevailed. Yet with Sean Foster also ran strong throughout the season. But a June 20 incident spaced Davis from Foster (Davis won that; Foster finished off of the board), and when Foster's luck continued to spiral the week afterward, Davis's momentum picked up with a third place finish. Foster finished on the podium six times in the last seven races, but Davis also had good runs week after week, leading Davis to celebrate at the end of the final feature.

Champion Story: SK Lights

The latest edition of the 2008 champion stories is out with the story on Joe Allegro, Jr, who won the SK Light championship this season.

His run started out on the poor side, after coming in last place in the Spring Sizzler event. And after three more finishes towards the end of the field, Allegro was 86 points behind the points leader only four races into the season.

It wasn't until the fifth race until his luck turned around. After finishing second in the fifth race, he never finished out of the top-10 for the rest of the season. He didn't hold possession of the points lead until the final weekend. And with everyone else in the title hunt having problems, it sealed the deal.

Overall, not bad for someone who hadn't won a race all year.

Champion Story: Late Models

I'm guessing that these shouldn't be classified as either a "press release" or a "quick story" but rather both of them.

Either way, the champion stories continue with this piece on Ryan Posocco's run for his fourth career Late Model championship.

Remarkable -- Posocco wound up off of the podium three times all season and won a division-high seven races.

More championship stories coming soon, I guess. Stay tuned.

Champion Story: SK Modifieds

Don't know if this would classify as a "press release" or a "quick story", but there is a link to a piece about Keith Rocco winning the SK Modified championship a little less than two weeks ago. Because news is obviously slow around these here parts, I'll take all of the releases that I can get and link you to them as the winter progresses.

Enjoy the contents of the link, which is found right here.

Rules and Banquets

A few things for your Thursday evening:

Rules are now out for the rest of Stafford's divisions. Apparently, they weren't as hyped up like the Limited Late Models since the LLMs were the only ones to have their own press release.

Here are the links for the rest of the rulebooks:

+ SK Modifieds
+ Late Models
+ SK Lights
+ DARE Stocks

Also, if you're looking for the award banquet form, you can find it right here. You must RSVP by Halloween, or you have no shot of attending.

Other than that, I've got nothing else for you. Light news tonight, and more news when I see it. (Or when I find something interesting to talk about.)

Off Topic: Aren't Bloggers Media?

The end of the racing season means that it's time to be on the downlow here. But here at VFT1, the winter just doesn't mean that stories about racing will be seen. No, this is when I start something new. I'm going off topic every once in a blue moon with stories that are true and I need to vent about them. (Or if they have some sort of relevance to the author of this blog.)

We'll start with this gem that came up through the internet this weekend:

A (former?) blogger for the NHL's Edmonton Oilers recently had his press credentials yanked from him since he was doing a live blog instead of the real reason as to why he showed up at the game in the first place. He was there to cover the game from the press box collect quotes at the end of the game from the team, but when the PR guys caught him live blogging instead of doing his "job", he was told to cease operations of said live blog.

The guy goes on to explain that the PR guys told him that he was no longer allowed to roam the press box, and that he'd be escorted straight out of the building if he didn't have a job to do. He continues to apologize to the PR guys, and it seemed to head straight downhill from there. The final word was that the Oilers don't like bloggers in their press box and they would not be welcome up there any time soon. The guy who was in dutch to begin with isn't going to be allowed back.

Oh, and if you wanted to know how much press this has gotten, it's gotten quite a lot of responses. For the record, these are all hockey sites. And there are many more where those came from.

I'm not going to point fingers at anyone or anything yet, but I'm guessing that running a live blog for a game is just a quick way of actually covering the game. Heck, my notes (which are for my blog), ultimately led into a helpful tool for the reason as to why I had press credentials at the track this season... Working for Long Island Motorsports. If I ended up buying a laptop before the end of the season, hooking it up to the outlets in the SMS press box, and started to work on my blog instead of an article for the site, would I have gotten my credentials revoked then and there? It goes unanswered until I end up trying something like that. (I probably never will. I'm el cheapo anyway.)

Ah, the joys of having an organization out there that believes that bloggers are just petty and obnoxious. Yeah, right.

Saw This Coming? Penalty in LLMs.

In the middle of all of the news that I've been printing, I forgot to mention this story. I'm not even sure how I'm supposed to discuss this one, because... Well, I'm not sure what words can describe it.

At some point in time after the Limited Late Model race on Saturday -- I'm assuming it was all done on that Saturday -- officials apparently found numerous things wrong with the car of David Capriati (which on the police blotter is marked down as "blatant disregard for SMS's technical rules").

So, what happened? A lot.

To start with, gone are all of the championship points he earned during the season. And with the points go the awards and monies won and earned as well. And the result of all of this? Indefinite suspension.

I'm not even sure what the "blatant disregard" was to begin with, so I'm staying away from finger pointing and the such.

EDIT: More on this story by Shawn Courchesne over on his blog.

2008 Champ Goes WMT

I take it that the command to start engines for a Whelen Modified Tour race wasn't good enough for Keith Rocco.

He adds his name onto what is the largest entry list of the season for Thompson, joining 41 other drivers at the World Series of Speedway Racing this weekend. He'll drive the #00 machine owned by Joe Brady.

This is confirmed through both The Republican out of Springfield and Thompson's WMT entry list.

The End of the Road. Results of Fall Final Weekend.

Two weeks ultimately separated the final Friday night of racing and the Fall Final because of rain and other scheduling conflicts, meaning that racing season was going to end later than usual. (The last time rain pushed the Fall Final back into the matter of mid or late October? 2006.) In store for two days of action were: Two sets of time trials, five weekly divisions going out for qualifying heats, five final features for the five weekly divisions, two main events, and one All-Star race to close out what was truly a memorable season at Stafford.

Saturday afternoon was strictly qualifying (and some features). The cars of the Camping World East Series time trialed first, and it was Brian Ickler who set the fast time there. Not only did Ickler set the fastest time, but he also set the track record at Stafford with a lap time of 19.376 seconds. Then it was time for Whelen Modified Tour time trials, and the fastest driver there was Mike Stefanik, who clocked in a lap time of 18.158 seconds.

And after the qualfiying heats for the five weekly divisions, it was time to run some features. Winners from the features run on Saturday were Kyle Casagrande in the DARE Stocks, Chris Bakaj in the SK Lights, and Sean Foster in the Limited Late Models. The championships went to Norm Sears in the DARE Stocks, while Joe Allegro, Jr in the SK Lights, and Bill Davis in the Limited Late Models. The last race was the Paradiso-Muska DARE Stock shootout, where Sears came back from the tail end of the field to win.

Then it was Sunday, and racing started at around high noon with the Camping World East Series event. Eight cautions set up something that was nothing like what has been seen all season at Stafford, but it was something that could be talked about for quite some time. The final restart took place on lap-143, and one of the most dramatic finishes took place. Brian Ickler spun while coming to take the green flag, giving the lead to Ted Christopher before the field came to the start/finish line. Coming off of turn four to take the white flag, Peyton Sellers appeared to give a tap to the back bumper of Christopher's car and sent him spinning and facing the other way coming out of the turn. The yellow/checker came out, and Sellers thought he had won the race. It took a few minutes for CWES officials to determine that Sellers had indeed won the race. DEI teammates Trevor Bayne and Jesus Hernandez finished second and third respectively, while Austin Dillon finished fourth.

After the confusion and chaos with the CWES race, it was time for the SK Modified race. And it seemed as though the tradition of what was usually a bashfest would continue into the final weekend of play. And with two guys officially in contention to win the championship in Keith Rocco and Ted Christopher, would either driver fall into unlucky hands? If so, when? Those questions would be answered before the race was over, and in suprising fashion. It would all begin with Curt Brainard taking the lead when the race began, but it would be Richie Pallai, Jr taking the lead from Brainard on the second lap. A few cautions passed before Pallai would eventually lose the lead to Rocco on a restart. On the next lap, it would be Christopher who would pass Rocco for the lead. Again, more cautions, and still Christopher out front. But with only three laps to go, something would go wrong with Christopher's car, and he would slow down on the backstretch and ultimately spin before making it to pit road with three laps to go. This gave the lead to Woody Pitkat and, because of the fact that the car of Christopher was indeed broken, the opportunity to clinch the championship to Rocco. Although Pitkat was able to hold off Rocco over the final few laps, it would be Rocco taking the 2008 SK Modified championship. On the board, the top-four spots belonged to Pitkat, Rocco, Jeff Baral, and Brainard.

The next-to-last event on the schedule of the Whelen Modified Tour rolled off the grid next, with the championship still up for grabs there as of the start of the race. After the redraw on Saturday, it was Mike Stefanik and Ted Christopher sharing the front row. And for most of the race, it was Stefanik out in front (sans a pit stop under yellow in which two people on the lead lap didn't pit on, giving Rob Summers the lead; and one lap where Ryan Preece was trying to battle for the lead as well). Over the final few laps, it was a challenge from Matt Hirschman, but Stefanik held off the challenge to take down his first win of the season and the 20th all time at the half-mile. Rounding out the rest of the top-four were Hirschman, Chuck Hossfeld, and Todd Szegedy.

2008 at Stafford ended with the Late Model race which saw two leaders and only one caution; the caution being early in the race. Scott Cook pulled out in front when the green first came out, but he would give up the lead to Ryan Posocco on lap-10. It would feel like Posocco was in another time zone when he started to increase his lead over the final 20 laps of the event. His seventh win of the season came when he crossed the start/finish line over seven seconds in front of Jim Mavlouganes. Tom Butler finished third, while Joe Rzeszutek came in fourth. Posocco was able to officially celebrate the championship he had won during the final Friday night event of the season, as he clinched the championship back in September.

It starts up again in late April when the Spring Sizzler rolls into town. It's been one rollercoaster ride. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Next month, I'll make an entry about the banquet that'll take place in the middle of November (I think I read the 14th or something), and then a whole bunch of winter entries will also come. So for the final time, stay safe and I'll see you again in April of 2009.

This Kind of Thing is Always Painful to Write About.

This may be the toughest thing I have ever had to write in my life.

This story starts on July 21, 2008. I woke up that morning to my alarm clock as usual, and then proceeded to hop online for a little bit, as usual. But when I looked at my e-mail, it wasn't usual. I had gotten an e-mail from Mike Fields of Long Island Motorsports only mere minutes after I had gotten up for the day, asking for me to call him about my blog. He mentioned in both the e-mail and the phone call that I had placed the very next day that he had gotten word about my blog through Deane Mercier.

After a good talk with Mike, I accepted the task of writing for Long Island Motorsports, covering Stafford and writing up weekly stories. That Friday night, the night of the SK Modified 150, I found myself in the press box for the first time in my lifetime, speaking to Deane in person at some point in time before qualifying. Sure, it was a "get to know you" kind of thing, and it wasn't a long talk, but I met him and we talked and I quickly apologized for stranding a friend outside of the box.

He said that I could go in and out whenever I pleased, and I was on my way.

Unfortunately for myself, I had only talked to him possibly one or two more times after that first meeting; and when I look back at it, I now regret my decisions for not getting up to the press box on a weekly basis.

Today, the racing world learned that Deane had passed away on Monday.

Sure, I had only talked to him in a business perspective in regards to working for Long Island Motorsports. But during those few conversations I had, I came to find out that he was a very nice gentleman.

I'm sorry for not saying a lot for this. My mind is clearly elsewhere tonight. I think I'm speaking for a lot of people, however, when I say that the track's going to miss Deane when the Fall Final gets here this weekend. It won't be the same when you don't hear him on the PA system, chatting it up with Ben and Matt inbetween cautions.

Yet Another CWES Entry

We've got another name for the Camping World East Series entry list for this weekend's Fall Final.

The third name to jump in on the action in the month is Kevin Swindell, the 19-year-old son of Sammy Swindell, who is a three-time World of Outlaws champion.

This will be the second CWES race of Swindell's season. He raced in the event at Mansfield, Ohio back in August, starting seventh and finishing 13th. The car he will be racing in is a Gillette/Evernham Motorsports entry.

The press release this came from also talks about the other two drivers who had filed entries earlier this month (TC and Pitkat).

Who Wants to Race on a Monday?

Really, does this feel a little bit like the Sprint Cup or something? Took a glance at the homepage of the Stafford Speedway site to find this welcoming me there on a Monday evening:

No lie. That part in red there just looks weird. Doubly so if it actually happens. I've been to the track once on a Monday for the kart series thing in the '07 season, and to go to the track on a Monday to see this whole thing wrapped up might top that feeling.

Columbus Day may be one of the busiest days of the month for me... As a runner-up to the Monday that follows it.

More Triple Duty

The number of SK Modified drivers who are attempting to pull of the task of triple duty has doubled.

As of Friday, another driver has taken on the challenge.

Ted Christopher has become the latest entrant to pilot a Camping World East Series machine for the race on Fall Final weekend. He will be teaming up with Ted Marsh, who is no stranger to victory lane at the half mile.

In the one CWES race that Christopher had won back in 2000, he had been driving a car that was Marsh owned.

Are we going to see anybody else who may step up to the triple duty challenge?

Triple Duty

Here's an "almost a week away" story for you... Woody Pitkat's going to attempt triple duty at the Fall Final.

According to a press release released today (10/2), the Camping World East Series car that Pitkat will be running in was the same car he had raced in at Irwindale late last season, owned by Mike Olsen. Recently, both car and driver were at Stafford for a testing session.

Sponsorship was not hard to obtain: The Davidson Company and ECI/Cliff Nelson Motorsports agreed to help out. (Per the release.)

Fall Final Promo Video

Credit for the following promotional video goes to the Stafford Speedway YouTube page.

Only the SK Modifieds get the spotlight in the video, which is less than a minute, but it's a teaser video nonetheless.

Rulebook '09: Limited Late Models

The first of the five rulebooks for the 2009 Stafford season was released Friday. That rulebook belonged to the Limited Late Models.

They wanted to get the rules out as soon as possible. Getting them out before the 2008 season ended isn't a shabby idea. Like the press release says, having them out early gives teams plenty of time to fine tune the cars and get them race-ready in the spring.

Here's some of the new stuff that will be in the rulebook for the Limited Late Models next season:

+ Jacking bolts are to go on the front suspension.
+ The locale of the shocks are now on the outside of the frame rail.
++ Speaking of shocks, it's only Pro WB Series shocks.
+ Disc brakes are allowed on all four wheels.
++ You are allowed to use the XYG Tube metric snout.
+ Optional, but permitted: The use of a Ford 9" non-locking rear end.

You can find the rules in a .PDF file, found right here.

More news to come in the course of the next two weeks when it happens.

Fall Final Moved

Well, it didn't take long for Stafford to determine that they weren't going to race this weekend. So what happened? They moved their date to the weekend of October 10-12, like I said in my last entry last night.

So now, you get two weeks off before going back out to the track again. I'll be holding off on the commentary until then. Maybe. I'm not sure. News to come, however, when it gets here.

In Case of Rain...

And trust me, there will be lots of it this weekend. Stafford announced a make-up date if the entire schedule cannot be run in three days. (Heck, one day if they want to fit everything in on Sunday.)

The rain weekend is October 10, 11, and 12.

Now, I don't complain about rain dates, but in the event of a complete rainout this weekend, I might as well throw in the towel right here and now. This may be the first time that I have one of those tough choices ahead of me. Hockey season is right around the corner, and the opening two games of the season are also that weekend.

I'd love to see this entire weekend crammed in one day. I'd rather feel like a chicken with its head cut off rather than know that I'm going to pass up one exciting event (hockey) and go to something else that's just as exciting (Fall Final).

Ah, I don't know. There's still time for this to all unfold. Stay tuned, I guess.

Wild 'n Out. Results of 9/19.

The final Friday night chapter of racing at Stafford was written this past Friday. And rewritten. And possibly rewritten some more, because there were more climaxes than a Warner Brothers picture in every race that night. The final push towards the five track championships had their fair share of action. At the end of the night, just how close would the contenders be before the final races of the season?

Starting off the night was the Limited Late Models. And it was Michael Nadeau at the point at the start of the race, but the lead would only last two laps as Shawn Thibeault was able to make a move around him for the lead. Thibeault was able to expand his lead to a full straightaway during the long green flag session, but a caution for debris on lap-16 bunched the field up for the restart. Thibeault was back out front, but this green flag run was only two laps long as Charlie Newman spun in turn one to bring the caution out again. Chaos ensued on the restart as Sean Foster passed Thibeault for the lead. But Thibeault didn't back down, and as he attempted to make a move coming out of the final turn, the two made contact and sailed up high. This gave Andrew Durand the opportunity to cruise into the lead and take down the win; his third of the season. Ed Charette, Jr was second, followed by Bill Davis and Joey Ferrigno. It will be a two driver horse race for the division championship, as Davis leads Durand by 28 points going into the final weekend.

After them were the DARE Stocks. After an opening-lap caution, John Kasper took advantage of the restart and powered into the lead. But on lap-10, he would spin with two other cars to bring the caution out, giving the lead to Don Wood. Wood's time out front would not last long as Todd LaPorta passed him on the restart. A green-white-checkered situation set the stage for LaPorta leading the final two laps uncontested, sending him to victory lane for the first time in not only the season, but his career. The rest of the top four were Robert Thompson, Matt Chiarizio, and Tony Membrino, Jr. Norm Sears has a tiny advantage in the battle for the championship in this division. He's got a ten point lead over Scott Roy and a 48 point lead against Wood.

At this point in time, the schedule changed. The SK Lights were then sent out. It was Heather DesRochers ahead of Ted Cain as the green came out, but a caution with two laps on the board brought out the red flag. After extensive cleanup, the green came back out, and it was still DesRochers with the lead. She began to pull away from the field, and it seemed as though she would be the next first-time winner on the season. But a caution with two laps to go brought out the caution and bunched the field up. DesRochers still had the lead on the restart, but a push from Cain sent her into the infield grass and gave the lead and the win to Mark Bakaj. Joe Allegro, Jr was second, with Shawn Brule in third and Jay Goff in fourth. (Cain originally finished third, but he was penalized after the checkered flag came out.) Allegro has a four point lead over Chris Matthews for the battle for the SK Light championship. He also leads Mark Bakaj by 12 points and Raymond Grassetti by 14 points.

The fourth division on the program was the Late Models. And the action started early in this one. The early leader was Scott Cook with a pass from the outside lane that is more or less seen in the closing laps of the event, going three-wide. Rick Charette would follow, and he would pass Cook for the lead on lap-3. Leader number three was Dave Wray on lap-7, getting around Charette for the lead. With ten laps on the board, Joe Rzeszutek passed Wray and had a full straightaway lead at one point in time before lap-27 as a late race caution came out. On the restart, it was Rzeszutek back out front, with a whole new set of challengers, including Corey Hutchings. But Hutchings could not make the pass, as it was Rzeszutek taking his second win of the season. Second would be Hutchings, followed by Ryan Posocco and Brian Chapin. Posocco, by virtue of his third place finish, was able to clinch his fourth Late Model track championship.

Closing out the night were the drivers of the SK Modifieds. Corey Hutchings, coming off of his runner-up performance in the Late Models, took the lead on the drop of the green. He held the lead until lap-6 when Chris Jones powered past for the lead. But he would be followed by Woody Pitkat. On lap-8, Pitkat would be up to second, and he would make the move around Jones for the lead on a lap-10 restart. Throughout the midpoint of the race, Pitkat had extended his lead over the rest of the field, but a trio of late race caution kept the field close. Pitkat would hold off Keith Rocco through the cautions and the final four laps of the race as he picked up his fourth win of the season. Rocco finished second, followed by Zach Sylvester and Ted Christopher. In the battle for the championship in the SK Modified division, Rocco holds a 14 point lead over Christopher.

That would be it for the week. The next event on the schedule is the final event on the schedule. It's the Fall Final. Weather permitting, of course. The usual five weekly divisions will be on hand, with both the Whelen Modified Tour and the Camping World East Series in action as well. Two days of action, with eight races. This is going to be good.

(Last time I copy and paste from my sent e-mail folder. I crack down on lateness ASAP.)

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Sorry for the David Bowie mention. Only thing that came to mind. Anyway, before I get that final Friday night recap up on the blog, I have to tell you that Stafford's changing the schedule big time.

Or at least for the first two days.

All Friday afternoon activities are cancelled because of rain. And lots of it. So for anyone who's making the trip up early, the paddock gates are going to open at 7:00am EST. Everything is going to fit in two days of work. We think. There might be more things postponed, but as of right now, it's just everything on Friday. Stay tuned to this blog or the Stafford site for more details on how much is actually going to be postponed.

Some Saturday Headlines

First off, expect the recap of the final Friday night of racing to come this week. And with that, here come the headlines.

+ Jeffrey Earnhardt will be driving a Late Model during Fall Final weekend. He will be in the #92 ride, which is currently driven by Tom Fearn. According to the press release that was released on Thursday, Earnhardt "struggled a little bit with the track" last year during the Camping World East Series race, and the extra seat time could prove to be a helpful bonus.

+ One championship down; four to go. Ryan Posocco was the first driver to win a championship in 2008 after finishing third in Friday night's Late Model feature event. The third place finish gives Posocco four championships in the Late Model division.

Picture of your 2008 Late Model championship driver and crew is credited to the track website, and was not taken by me. Congratulations to the #48 team on a job well done.

Your Schedule

I thought the schedule wasn't going to change from last week. Am I assuming that I'm wrong in thinking that since the schedule (as of early Tuesday) isn't finalized yet? It just says 7:00 and "feature races". No order of features as of yet.

Maybe SMS just wanted to tweak the order around. I have zero idea. You and I will find out later this week when the schedule is finalized, I guess.

This is Your Free Week

No kidding.

Stafford takes an early precaution and postponed the September 12 program. Meaning that the next event will be on September 19 instead of tonight. For all of you who had plans for next week, you may want to cancel/postpone them.

I guess I will be seeing you next week. Stay safe and dry.

Quick and Crazy. Results of 9/5.

Until I figure out what the heck time management is (next week?), here's a copy of my stuff from this past week:

Only two Friday nights remained on the season at Stafford before the Fall Final. September 5 contained a regular program with the five weekly divisions in action. And with the championships in sight, anything could and did happen.

The night started with the Limited Late Models and their 20-lap event. It started with David Capriati taking the lead from the drop of the green flag. Two cautions came out on lap-4 and lap-5, when spins brought out the yellows. Corky Hinze spun on the backstretch on lap-4, while Shawn Thibeault spun in turns three and four on the very next lap. Both cautions also sent people to the back of the field as a result, as both Sean Foster and Andrew Durand were black-flagged for overaggressive driving. On the restart, it was still Capriati out in front. The first and only lead change of the race occured on lap-9 when Joey Ferrigno closed the gap. By lap-10, Ferrigno had made the pass and began to extend his lead. This would be a lead that would not be overcome as Ferrigno crossed the line to pick up his second win of the season. Bill Davis ended up finishing second, with Corky Hinze in third and Sean Foster in fourth. After the race, Hinze was disqualified because his car didn't meet the minimum weight requirement.

Up next on the docket was the 20-lap SK Light feature. Ted Cain was the leader for the first four laps until a caution came out for a spinning car in turn two. Another car spun in turn one on the restart, so a second attempt at a restart was done. That was smoother than the first, and on lap-5, Jay Goff took over as the leader. Goff led until lap-10, when Chris Matthews passed him for the lead. A caution for a spinning car on lap-14 brought the field back together for a crucial restart; one that Matthews controlled as the green dropped. Goff attempted to give chase to Matthews over the final five laps, but was not able to get close enough to challenge. It would be the seventh win of the year for Matthews. Goff finished second, with Alan Provost and Mark Bakaj rounding out the top-four.

The crews of the Late Models came out with warwagons and tires in tow, preparing themselves for the 30-lap feature. To start things off in this one, it was Mark St. Hilaire leading the way for the first eight laps. Woody Pitkat was coming, however, and on lap-9, Pitkat was able to get around St. Hilaire for the lead. Two separate spin incidents would bring out the caution on lap-16. The first of which was for a one-car spin in turn two, while the restart saw a four-car spin in turn one. On lap-17, after the successful attempt at a restart, debris was spotted in turn two, and that brought out the third caution of the event. At the lap-19 mark, Brian Chapin made the move around Pitkat for the lead. But the two made contact on lap-20, sending both cars spinning. This gave the lead to Ryan Posocco. Michael Bennett was second, and although he made an early challenge for the lead, Posocco began to pull away from Bennett over the last few laps. Posocco claimed his sixth win of the season. Bennett finished second, while Corey Hutchings and Dillon Moltz finished third and fourth respectively.

More crew help came out for the SK Modified 40-lap event. And that truly was the most chaotic race of the night. Early lead changes were the next big thing as Wade Mattesen led the first lap, Corey Hutchings led the next two laps, and then Woody Pitkat became the third leader in the first five laps by taking over the lead on lap-4. The green flag session lasted up until lap-18 when the caution came out for a one-car spin in turn four. Pitkat was once again out in front, and a semi-long green flag session brought the field to lap-31 for a two car accident. A real Chitwood-esque one, in fact. Corey Hutchings would go up and over Richie Pallai in turn two. Both drivers were okay. The next restart was crazier than anything else that went on this season. Pitkat would have a bit of a problem getting up to speed on the restart, now putting Frank Ruocco out in front. That lead would be short-lived, as something happened (and I use that term loosely) in three and four, ending with a multi-car accident bringing out the caution on lap-32. Both Ruocco and Pitkat had to come down pit road for service, among others, and that gave the lead to Keith Rocco. Three minor spin cautions over the last eight laps followed, and other than that, Rocco was able to take down his second win of the season. The rest of the top-four were Donny Travaglin, Doug Coby, and Todd Owen.

Closing out the night were the DARE Stocks with their 15-lap feature. No cautions, one leader. That one leader was Duane Provost. He got the lead on the start and proceeded to lead every single lap of the race to win his first race of the season. Norm Sears, Scott Roy, and Don Wood rounded out the board.

Friday night is the final Friday night of racing action at Stafford before the Fall Final in two weeks. All five divisions will be in action, and all will be done if the weather holds off. Looks good for now, so until then, stay safe and dry.

More Penalty Talk. SK Style.

Reading through the police blotter for the week, I came across something that (in my mind) doesn't make sense.

When did Richie Pallai hit someone under the caution?

I don't remember anything like that happening during the feature. What I do remember is seeing Woody's back bumper crunched in, courtesy of Frank Ruocco. (Speaking of that, when did he make contact with Pallai? Unless I was busy with something else...)

But like I said before, I do not remember seeing Pallai doing anything that should have given him a week's worth of probation. Someone made a mistake at the keyboard or something?

If anyone wishes to clarify this for me, feel free to do so.

DQ in the LLMs

Only one disqualification came out of the September 5 program.

Corky Hinze, who originally finished third, was disqualified because his car was too light -- it didn't meet the minimum weight measurememt. So he was dropped from third to 20th.

I'll get the weekly entry up tomorrow.

Final Friday Night Schedule

Not finalized, but here it is.

How many divisions will actually be qualifying? Another question could be about the order of features. It's only Sunday. But if you keep clicking on that link up there (^^) through the week, the answers will eventually pop up.

All DARE Stocks Teched?

Yes, that's what happened only mere minutes after the DARE Stocks concluded their 15-lap race tonight. I don't know what prompted the call to have all of the cars inspected, but that was the case. I don't have any evidence other than word of mouth, but I can tell you that it did happen.

More on this either later in the week or sometime next week, if I can find out exactly why the need for a full-field inspection.

Tons of Information

A few things for your Friday morning:

+ Stafford's schedule for today can be found here. Can't say I don't blame them with the order of features, but when are the SKs going to be the absolute last thing to go out? Hasn't happened yet this season. So will they be last next week? Time will tell.

+ The Fall Final will continue the whole sixty years of Modified champions thing in a big way. Bobby Allison will be honored during the pre-race stuff. I've got two words to say about this, but the second of the two words isn't for the kiddies. Here are two better words: Heck yes. Now this gets my attention. If the season's going out with a bang, what a way to kick off Sunday afternoon.

See you at the races later today. Should be a great night. Stay safe.

Back to School Extravaganza. Results of 8/29/08.

Jeez, how do I really lie to people? By getting this done two hours before Friday rolls around. Ah, I promise I won't screw up again. So let's get this started. Here is the recap of the 8/29 program. Friday night at Stafford was a five-division, regular night with fireworks in the nighttime sky. And while it may have appeared to be a regular night at the track, it was a long night. In this entry: Two first time winners, two red flags in two different races, and a lot more.

DARE Stocks: How do I explain this race? In the only way I could -- chaotic. Early and often. For a division that has seen few cautions in their races (the most in one race this season was four, back on 7/18), this one was a chart-topper in more ways than one. We'll start at the top of this one, with Melissa Blowers out on front early. And starting on lap-2, the cautions came often, when two spins brought out the first caution of the event. Three laps later, the big one of the night occured. It was a three-car accident in turn two, and it resulted in Todd LaPorta's car ending up on its roof. The race was red flagged almost immediately so the track crew could get the car back onto all four wheels and so that fence repairs could be made. After everything was cleaned up, the race resumed. On the restart, it was Norm Sears taking the lead from Blowers, but the caution came back out on lap-8 for a piece of debris and bunched the field right back up. Another restart, and another new leader. This time, it was Matt Chiarizio now in the lead. Two accidents on lap-9 and lap-10 brought the race up to the 20-minute time limit, bringing the race to a yellow/checker situation. This gave Chiarizio the win; his first of the season. Sears finished second, with Dan Flannery in third and Don Wood in fourth.

Late Models: This one wasn't too bad. Three early cautions and the rest of the race from green to checker. The leader in the very early part of the race was Scott Cook, who led through two restarts until he spun on lap-4, giving way to Michael Bennett. Bennett led the next two laps before Dillon Moltz passed him on lap-6. But Bennett would not give up, and he would retake the lead on lap-14. Moltz would pass Bennett again on the very next lap, and would begin to pull away as the laps ticked down. The rest of the race ran green to checker, with Moltz winning his fifth race of the season. Bennett finished second, with Ryan Posocco and Woody Pitkat rounding out the top-four.

SK Lights: Another chaotic race, though not as chaotic as the DARE Stocks were. A lot of first half cautions in this one. It all started with an opening lap caution, followed by a restart that saw Heather DesRochers out in front early, for the first three laps until Raymond Grassetti took over the lead after a lap-3 restart. Grassetti was the leader from lap-4 until lap-11 (after yet another restart) when a Bakaj (can't remember whom, sorry) moved out to the lead. Also under that caution was the second of two red flags in the entire evening, when one of the drivers involved in the three-car accident had to be taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. Bakaj was back out in front on the restart, with Grassetti still behind him. But a caution with 13-laps complete bunched the field back up and gave Grassetti a chance to make a move. On the restart, Grassetti made the pass for the lead. Bakaj gave one last effort coming out of turn four on the last lap, but got loose and collected Joe Allegro, Jr. Meanwhile, Grassetti took the victory; the first of his career. John Walmsley finished second, with the accident car of Allegro in third. Tony Santangelo finished fourth.

SK Modifieds: I have no words to describe this one. I'm not sure how I can describe it. But to the recap, it started with Corey Hutchings taking the lead from the outside pole on the original green flag, yet on lap-3, the lead changed hands as Curt Brainard took over. Keith Rocco would take the lead from Brainard on the very next lap, and had company in the form of Zach Sylvester behind him. Sylvester moved past Rocco for the lead on lap-10, but a caution bunched the field back up. It would be Rocco on the restart getting by Sylvester, and he would have a new challenge as Ted Christopher was also on his way up to the front. At the halfway mark, Christopher made the pass for the lead and had to endure three restarts before pulling away. Rocco tried to chase Christopher down, but it was too little, too late as Christopher picked up his fourth win of the season. Rocco finished second, followed by Jeff Malave and Sylvester.

Limited Late Models: Calm, for the most part. Two mid-race cautions, but nothing too serious. At the drop of the green, David Capriati took the lead and held it for the first seven laps. On lap-8, Shawn Thibeault passed Capriati for the lead. He would stay out in front until lap-12, as the caution came out for a car that had spun out. Upon the attempt on the restart, Capriati and Thibeault got together and spun, collecting other cars in the process and bringing the caution back out. This put Darrin Havanec out in front, and while the rest of the race was caution-free, he would lead the rest of the way to pick up his first career feature win. Sean Foster finished second, with Andrew Durand and Bill Davis rounding out the rest of the board.

And that shall be it for this one. Only three events left until the curtain drops on this season. Tomorrow night will be a regular week of racing with five divisions on tap. I'll give you the schedule ASAP, which will be next. So until then, stay safe and dry.

A Lot of Fall Final News.

Well, we're almost at the end of the season already. There's only a few more weeks left before the Fall Final gets here. So what does that mean? There's already a ton of news up on Stafford's site. At some point inbetween the last feature of the August 29 program and 3:00am EST on August 30, there are three links you're going to be familiar with from now until the last weekend arrives.

Want to know what the schedule looks like as of now? You got it right here. Also, entry lists for the Whelen Modified Tour and the Camping World East Series are already up and running. Not much now, but there will be more names on these lists in the course of the next month.

More news to come very soon. I mean, tomorrow. I'm planning on getting a lot done. I have a busy Labor Day weekend (telethon phone bank on Sunday night, which means television time), so I can't waste time I already shouldn't be. Expect an earlier entry than usual this week.

No Title Necessary. Results of 8/22.

Good day, all! I hope you had a great weekend a great week so far. And I know you had a great Friday, seeing as last week was the second of two Late Model 100s at SMS. So what do you find in this week's blog entry? Details on the LM 100 and the rest of the night in question. August 22, taken from what I wrote for Long Island Motorsports. (I swear I'll come up with some new material for next week.)

The program started off with the Limited Late Models and their 20-lap feature. The early leader of the event was Carla Botticello, who took the lead from the outside row on the drop of the green flag and started to stretch the lead out. Shawn Thibeault, who started on the pole, fell to second; he'd lose second to David Capriati on lap-7. Bill Davis was also making his way through the field, and he would make the pass Thibeault for third. The race ran under green until the caution came out with four laps to go as Thibeault didn't have enough power to get off of the track, setting up a dash to the cash. Botticello once again took the lead on the restart, and she was able to hold off Davis for her first win of the season. Davis would finish second, followed by Sean Foster and Andrew Durand.

Next up on the agenda was the 40-lap SK Modified feature. It started with Corey Hutchings leading the first 15 laps of the race before Todd Owen was able to make the move. Two laps after Owen took over, the caution came out and tightened the field back up. Again, it was Owen out in front, but the caution came back out on lap-20 for another accident. Keith Rocco was the new leader on lap-21, but the third caution of the race came out on lap-22 for two separate incidents; one of which needed extensive cleanup, bringing out the red flag in the process. Once the race went back to yellow, then back to green, Rocco was right back out in front. But behind him was Frank Ruocco, and Ruocco would make the pass for the lead on lap-33. Rocco tried everything he could to retake the lead, but it wasn't enough. It would be Ruocco's second win of the season, with Rocco in second, Ted Christopher in third, and Owen in fourth.

More modified racing was up next, with the SK Lights and their 20-lap feature. After a false start to begin the race, Mike Lane jumped out in front and led the first three laps of the race before a caution came out to slow the field down. On the restart, Chris Matthews took over the lead from Lane until another caution came out with nine laps complete. Again, a new leader on the restart; that being Alan Provost. He would lead the next three laps until yet another caution on lap-13. The restart provided yet another new leader as Mark Bakaj moved out into the lead. Matthews moved back into second, and he had the opportunity to make a move to reclaim the lead. But he couldn't make the pass, and it was Bakaj who won his third race of the season. Matthews would go on to finish second, followed by Joe Allegro, Jr and Provost.

Then it was time for the main event: The second of two Late Model 100s on the season. It began with an opening lap caution which involved five cars, but once everything was cleaned up, the race really got underway. On the restart, it was Scott Cook out in front; but only for eight laps. The first lead change of the event came on lap-9 when Dillon Moltz took over. Moltz led through three caution periods for three different spins, but he would be challenged by Woody Pitkat on lap-62. Pitkat moved into the lead, but Moltz would not back down. He would retake the lead on lap-68, and would be out in front until lap-93 as the caution came out a spinning car on the frontstretch, and then again on the very next lap for a multi-car spin in turns one and two. This set the stage for a dramatic finish. Michael Bennett made the jump out front on the restart, coming up to the lead from third; but he went up high on lap-97, and Moltz retook the lead. Ryan Posocco followed, but he couldn't find a way around Moltz over the course of the last two laps of the race. Moltz took the win; his fourth of the season. Posocco would finish second, followed by Pitkat in third and Bennett in fourth.

Closing out the program was the 15-lap DARE Stock feature. In front early was Victoria Bergenty, who led the first three laps of the race before giving the lead to Todd LaPorta. But the caution would fly with two laps to go, setting up a green-white-checker finish. On the restart, both Scott Roy and Don Wood made the move around LaPorta, and Roy was able to hold Wood off to pick up his second win of the season. Wood would finish second, with Laporta in third and Flannery in fourth.

Stafford will have another five division program on Friday. No need for that "weather permitting" disclaimer I have on the end of every entry that has a schedule attached to it, because there's no chance of rain whatsoever. And there are fireworks to kick off the Labor Day weekend, so that's always good. So sit back and enjoy what's coming up tomorrow. Stay safe (and dry?), and I will see you tomorrow.

No More Gripes.

Just a quick "it's early Friday and I've got something I need to say" kind of thing.

You remember the last entry I did, griping about the schedule and how the SK consolation event (if needed) was going to go right before the feature? Well, someone realized that a mistake would be made. And it's now corrected. There is now the consi out in front, followed by the Limiteds and the Late Model 16 (again, if needed). Then it's the SK consi.

I wanted to make sure that everything was straightened out now before I looked right before I went out the door in the afternoon.

Schedule Gripe.

Yesterday, I was nice enough to post the schedule for Friday night's event. Tonight, however, I shall not be as nice as I was a little over 24 hours ago.




I'm sure you can see that little circle around what is an unlikely but still possible back-to-back marathon for the SK Modifieds. In the event that there are enough cars to run a consolation, it will be run right before the feature? I don't think that's such a good idea. I would have put at least one feature inbetween the consi and the feature -- perhaps something like the Limited Late Models. But that's just my opinion.

It's a gripe. Obviously. But a necessary gripe. I don't do these kinds of things often.

Late Model 100 Schedule

The schedule is (partially) out for Friday's Late Model 100. It doesn't contain the order of features, but that'll certainly be there in due course. Also known as later in the week. Other than that, no new news to report on this week, since there wasn't really any news. I'll catch you either Friday, weather permitting, or when news does come up through the woodwork. Stay safe and dry, and I'll talk to you at some point in time.

Rain Wins.

Well, practice was concluded at Stafford. And that's all they got done. When the rain came, the decision was made to stop racing tonight. So no on-track activity beyond practice.

Trying again next week with the second of two Late Model 100s. For now, stay safe and dry.

Quick Results of 8/8/08.

I hate to give you a link for something like the results, but I'm afraid that's what's going to happen this week. You see, for the past few days, I haven't been feeling up to par (and I don't have any idea why this is the case). So unfortunately, here's a link to the release from the track.

I hope to be better for this upcoming week. Again, truly sorry.

Results of 8/8/08 -- Weekly Features
Press Release of 8/8/08 -- NE Dodge Dealers 150 (WMT)

And here is the schedule for tomorrow night. As usual, weather permitting.

The Eye of the Storm. Results of 8/1.

So, I liked this title so much, I decided to reuse it for my blog this week. (The week's almost over. What the...?) But enough of that. Let's get to the stuff that's coming up in this entry. We've got two first-time feature winners. There's a time limit that expired. And a preview of what's coming up tomorrow -- weather permitting. With that said, it's time to jump right into things before I'm writing this on race day.

SK Lights: A wild race started things off with a bang. Three leaders with more than enough cautions to shake a stick at. It was Kyle Spencer out in front early, leading through the start of the race up until a caution on lap-18. Tony Santangelo would take the lead from Spencer on the restart, but a caution on the very next lap would erase that quick lead. And there would be more cautions as well... On the next lap, and on the lap after that. By this point in time, they were already close to the twenty minute time limit and the end of the race. But the race was not over by a long shot. As the race officially hit the 20-lap mark, Spencer was involved in a four-car accident, putting him out of contention. On the restart, both Santangelo and Mark Bakaj got together in turn four, bringing out another caution. This put Earl Pelletier in the lead as time had expired. The yellow and checkered flags flew at the same time, declaring him the winner and giving him his first career victory at Stafford.

Late Models: Another crazy race, but without the extensive drama of the last few laps. Although there was drama towards the end, regardless. Scott Cook was the leader for the first lap of the race before he was tapped and spun out in the backstretch, collecting a few other cars. Tom Fearn would get black flagged for spinning him out. This gave the lead to Tom Butler, who would lead up to lap-5 when he was passed by Ryan Posocco. He was joined by Mike Quintiliano, who along with Posocco, pulled away from the field until lap-27 as the caution came out. Dillon Moltz would pass Quintiliano on the restart for second, but Quintiliano would not back down without a fight, and he eventually got around Moltz. But nobody was able to find a way to challenge Posocco for the win. It would be his fifth win of the season. Quintiliano and Moltz would be second and third respectively, with Michael Bennett in fourth.

DARE Stocks: Two cautions, two leaders, one lead change. That was all that came of this race. But in the end, and just like the SK Lights, a first-time winner emerged afterward. The first of the two leaders was Matt Chiarizio, and he would lead up to a lap-7 caution. That was when Kyle Casagrande passed on him the restart. Another caution would come out on lap-11, but it wouldn't seem to faze Casagrande as he led the rest of the way to pick up his first career feature win. Following him to the line was Dan Flannery, Norm Sears, and Robert Thompson.

SK Modifieds: A repeat performance of what had happened in the race prior to this one (two cautions, and two leaders). But not exactly the same ending. Jimmy Blewett took the lead from the pole on the drop of the green and commanded the field up to a caution on lap-19. This bunched the field back up, but Blewett reclaimed the lead on the restart. The man on the move during the green flag run was Ted Christopher, who worked his way up through the field to get to the top-3 as the second of two cautions came out on lap-30. On lap-31, Christopher made the pass for second, and with five laps to go, he passed Blewett for the lead. The last laps of the race belonged to Christopher as he scored his third win of the season. Blewett would finish second, followed by Keith Rocco and Jeff Malave.

Limited Late Models: The final race of the night, but one without the major drama. Michael Nadeau held the lead from the green to lap-12, as Rob Dow passed him for the lead. (Dow had passed Shawn Thibeault for second on lap-9.) He would have to endure four second-half cautions, however, to protect his lead; and protect he did, not looking back as he won his second race of the season. Sean Foster would finish second, with Corky Hinze third and Joey Ferrigno fourth.

And that shall be it for this. Tomorrow should be a doozy in terms of events. Take five parts weekly racing, mix in one part touring series and blend well before serving. Yes, it's time for the Whelen Modified Tour to return to the track for the third of four appearances in their season. According to the schedule, there will be no qualifying heats for the five weekly divisions. So that means when time trials are over, we're cutting straight to awards and opening ceremonies before the first feature (which will be the SK Lights if everyone's qualified). I have nothing more to say after this, so until tomorrow, stay safe and dry.