Boy, What a Week

If you're a die hard race fan, you'd probably enjoy going to four events in four days. And at four tracks, too. But not all was scheduled on the appropriate day when threats of wet stuff came crashing down on Friday. This cancelled any plans of going to Stafford and therefore no regular entry for you this week. But no fear. Read on, faithful followers.

We'll start with Wednesday night and the second annual Seekonk (MA) Speedway Open Wheel Wednesday program. It was $10,000 to win and a grand total of 40 Modifieds tried their luck on the track. Of course, there happened to be a hint of controversy as I read that the Whelen Tour drivers got stuck racing in a heat together. Now what's up with that I don't know, but that really cheesed off a few people including last year's winner Donny Lia. He was in that eventful second heat along with a pack of Tour drivers including Chuck Hossfeld, Ted Christopher, Matt Hirschman, and even our Stafford representitive Frank Ruocco.

Before you say anything, let me tell you that I've read numerous opinions on this subject and I can't deny any and all words spoken. What I can tell you is this: When Hossfeld spun in the heat, Lia attempted to check up to avoid being a part of what was destined to be a wreck. When I say "destined to be", however, is when things really get going. Once Lia tried to check up, he got "run over" (using terminology from an article from Speed 51) by Ruocco. This was literally all that she wrote for Lia as he wasn't going to be around to defend his title from the previous year.

Of course, this is after running a consi with a field that was also packed with Whelen Tour drivers. How can you blame the luck of the draw? When you think it's fixed, of course. And people were really pointing fingers when True Value Modified Series driver Kirk Alexander won the race and the ten grand at the end of the night. Two more of the TVMS gang finished second and third, shaking the rattles of the WMS boys some more. Yet they calmed down some when Hossfeld became the only member of the crew to finish in the top-five, finishing fourth in a night deemed as controversial.

Another night that was in my mind was Friday and what little was run at Stafford. That night got rained out and was called off for good when a nice line of thunderstorms came across the state at around the four o'clock hour (Eastern Standard Time) and didn't wear off until about six o'clock. I was positive that the management was going to call the race earlier on in the day, but why push your luck when you've already got guys signed in and practicing? God only knows, and he won't tell answers. So we'll push this aside. We know now that another night has been called due to rain.

But things cleared up for Saturday when it was a Waterford night. And because of the previous night's rainout, Mom and I decided to go. Once again, prepare for a quick entry of "The View From Turn Four", the companion to "The View From Turn One". Now, this'll be a bit different than what I usually do for Stafford because I've used up all of my brain energy with going over Seekonk. But I can give you some winners. Sound good to you? Good! Here they are--the winners of the Bowl event of July 29th.

• SK Modifieds: Jeff Pearl
• Late Model: Tim Jordan
• Sportsman: Ron Oldham, Jr
• Mini Stock: Ken Cassidy
• Legends: Mark Bakaj (National Qualifier)

And who could forget all of the information regarding the night in question?

Other than that, I have nothing else to report on. Until Friday, can we all keep dry for a change? Thank you, and have a sweet rest of the weekend.

Wild 100, Other Features, and Seekonk News

(Dang. Exited the page before I could save and finish. But I've recovered nicely.)

Before we begin take two for the night, let me tell you some breaking news that occured pre-qualifying. Ted Christopher is back. Yes, you read this right. For the rest of the season, he'll be driving the #81 SK, previously driven by Chuck Docherty. I've read that Chuck would like to spend time with his family and put racing on the backburner, so good luck with any future endeavors you'll have in the future.

Now with that said, let's get to the features. Friday night was a crazy one, due to it being the SK Modified 100 and all. First on the schedule was the SK Light feature. For a change, they actually ran a clean, cautionless race. All 20 laps were completed before the cars started to slow down. And in the end, Brit Andersen took his first win of the 2006 season. At the time of the event, he finished ahead of Mike Lane, Chris Matthews, and Richie Pallai, Jr. In technical inspection, the finishing result became a mixed-up insane asylum. Mike Lane was disqualified for not having the minimum frame height requirement. I'm pretty positive that the team'll have that fixed before Friday night.

But let's put that aside, shall we? We do have the Limited Late Models to cover next. And for this race...my, oh my! I don't know what to say. On the second lap of the race, a car spun out in turn one. I can't give you a car number because I wrote down the wrong number. (Sorry.) Five laps later, Michael Chaves and Charlie Newman got together in turns one and two. Newman would be done for the night while Chaves would have a bit more to worry about. Then with four laps to go, Kevin Gambacorta spun in turn two. (He'd finish sixth, by the way.) Now here's where all of the craziness begins. It's the final lap and Chaves gets into Glenn Bartkowski in turn three. The caution comes out and the field is doubled up. On the restart, Sean Foster false starts yet benefits from a melee between then-leader George Nocera and Robert Dow. With both drivers out of the race, the night belonged to Foster. Even with a piece of sheetmetal dangling from the right side of the car (more importantly, a nice dragging piece), he still took home his second win of the year. Behind him was Paul Conte, Andrew Durand, and Corky Hinze.

Now you thought that was insane? You haven't read anything yet, considering the SK Modifieds had taken the track for their longest race of the season. On the very first green flag of the race, a false start occured thanks to Zach Sylvester. But breathe easy, because the next caution ould occur on lap-58 when Jeff Johnson spun on the backstretch. And then...what was probably the most dramatic caution of the event was on lap-61 when a battle for the lead between Bo Gunning, Lloyd Agor, and Frank Ruocco turned into a few parade laps under the banana. (The good news? It was a good night for one, a semi-good night for another, and...well, a not-so-good night for the third. And no, the results are not in the same order as the names I listed.) The not-so-good night was for Bo Gunning when he nailed the safer barrier on lap-77 along with Brad Hietala. As for the rest of the race, it went in a heartbeat. And at the finish, it was all Todd Owen. His second win of the year and it was in the longest race of the year. Following him was Willie Hardie, Jeff Malave, and Ruocco, who ended up having the best night out of those in the lap-61 incident.

Oh, but the insanity was not done yet. We still had the Late Models and their feature. Things were fine until lap-6 when Tony Lafo and Michael Bennett got together in turns three and four, bringing out the first caution. (Bennett would be involved in a later caution, which will be discussed in as much detail as I can later on in this race recap.) On the very next lap, we had the first of three multi-car scrimmages, this first one occuring in the turn one area. The next multi-car accident took place in the same area, just on lap-19. Then with only five laps to go, Wayne Coury Jr, Todd Owen, and Ryan Posocco ended up with beat cars--you guessed it, in the turn one corner of the track. You think that was it for the beat up rides? I think not, especially with a flip on the very next lap. Coming towards turn three on the backstretch, Bennett and Steve McQuillan get together with McQuillan's car ending up on its roof. The race was immediately red flagged for about five minutes as it took about that long for McQuillan to get out of his car and for the track safety team to get the car off the track. But once that was done, it was back to the same old, same old regarding the multi-car accidents. The final one was on lap-28 and was in turn four. With that said and done, it was all Woody Pitkat at the end. It was his sixth win of the season, followed to the line by Jim Peterson, Tom Butler, and Tom Fearn.

And finally, the night closed with the DARE Stocks. It wasn't too bad, considering us fans in the stands had to look at the two races previous to this one. On lap-2 and in turn two, there was a multi-car spin. Note I said spin, because it didn't look like anyone was beat up. On the ninth lap of the race, Robert Merril spun on the backstretch. Once again, no visible damage. But the non-viewable dents and bumps would come into play. On the restart, there was a multi-car accident on the backstretch. None of those cautions would faze Carla Botticello, because she took down her first win of the season. Norm Sears, Jeff Hubbell, and Tom Stirk followed her to the line.

And that's your night in a nutshell. But that's not all for this entry...there's some bonus news I must report to you about. You know Wednesday night's open wheeled Modified show at the Seekonk (MA) Speedway? Well, as of last night, I've found an updated entry list for the show with a few of our Stafford SK delegates, so to speak. I won't spoil any stories, but it's worth a look.

Now that's it. No more news until Thursday night. That's when I'll report back about what happened in Seekonk and tell you how the representatives from the half mile did. And then it's back to the computer over the weekend with the results from another regular night at Stafford. Until then, have fun.

Another Short Night (with Penalties)

Sorry for not getting this done when I had a chance to. I was waiting until the temperatures died down to something more comfortable for my tastes. (In other words: Tonight.) And now, for your reading enjoyment: The event from July 14th, 2006.

First up, we had the DARE Stocks. All was good and clean until lap-10 when Joseph Scata and a Rent-a-Racecar driver (who shall remain unidentified) got together on the frontstretch and spun out. This was the only caution of the race and it would be a quick final five laps. It seemed that nobody could catch David Gambacorta, and it was the truth as he took his second win of the season. Following him to the line was Jeff Hubbell, Vince Gambacorta, and Norm Sears. What's ironic about the first and third place finishers is that they're nephew (David) and uncle (Vince), and this was the first time the two of them have finished on the podium together.

After what seemed like a family reunion occured, it was time for some open wheeled action with the SK Lights. And it was more or less a dominant feature for Anthony Burr...with the exception of a few cautions, that is. Lap-17 proved to be a bad omen for some people. The first time the yellow came out, it was for Richie Pallai, Jr as he spun on the frontstretch. Of course, the restart on the same lap didn't help either. Shelly Perry and Michael Lane get together in turn two, causing a caution to occur. Restart number two provided a false start from Brit Andersen. But the third time's the charm and it was all Burr at the finish. Chris Matthews, Wade Mattesen, and Duke Place came across in second, third, and fourth respectively.

Then it was the Late Model feature which had more real cautions than any other division on the night. On the very first lap, JJ Hill spins in turn two. Then Bobby Leone goes around on the frontstretch on lap-9. And two laps later, a multi-car incident was put together on the backstretch. (I would have loved to give you some names, but it wasn't very possible. Too much dust, you know.) Yet the winner was someone who's been known to avoid all of the yellows at the right time. You may have heard of him...Woody Pitkat. His fifth win of the season was celebrated in front of Scott Foster, Tom Butler, and Todd Owen.

What could have been the quickest race of the night was next, courtesy of the Limited Late Models. The only caution in the event was on lap-3 when Pete Cayer experienced some "technical difficulties" when he spun in turn four. (NOTE: His car is sponsored by NBC 30. Hence the irony behind what's written in quotations.) This didn't faze Andrew Durand, though, as he had a reasonable margin of victory. Bill Davis, Sean Foster, and Kevin Gambacorta finished in a tail behind Durand. (You know what else is ironic? All three Gambacortas finished in the top-3 in their divisions. How impressive.)

To cap off the night, the SK Modifieds put a show on for the fans. What seemed to be a butt whooping from Bo Gunning almost wasn't going to happen. A multi-car accident on the frontstretch on lap-3 brings out the first yellow Gunning didn't want, and then things got nearly worse on lap-37 when Rowan Pennink spun on the backstretch. On the final restart of the race, Gunning almost lost the lead he had since the very start of the race thanks to a short yet hard fought move from Frank Ruocco. Yet it was all Gunning at the line. Ruocco beat out Willie Hardie for second, and Zach Sylvester rounded out the top four cars. This was Gunning's first win in nearly three years. To celebrate, he did a quick burnout before coming to Victory Lane. (Your penalties are included in that link.)

Your next event at Stafford is the 33rd annual SK Modified 100...something that I'll really enjoy as a fan of the SKs. As usual, I'll be reporting back with as much knowledge as my little notes can take me, and everything will be up before the week is over. So until tomorrow (as it's almost two in the morning on the East Coast), take care.

Slow Night, Isn't It?

Wow. Last night was the most interesting night in the history of my blog. It's because there weren't a lot of cautions period. And it was also due to a few drivers making a scene in more ways than one. Now let's get down to the action from the July 7th event, shall we? First, the DARE Stocks got things started with a caution free event. (Great...five minutes of a true snoozefest. Just plain wonderful.) Taking down the win was Stacey Botticello, the all-time DARE Stock leader in wins and two time winner in the season to date. Following her to the line were Raymond Grassetti, Norman Sears, and Jim Brice.

After this race, the cautions came out very slowly. In the SK Light feature, there was only one caution. That took place on lap-2 as Brit Anderson spun and had an accident in turns one and two. After that, it was a race to the checkers with Kyler Cafro leading Chris Matthews, Duke Place, and Shelly Perry to the start/finish line at the end. This was Cafro's first win of the season and of his career.

Then we get to the Late Models, who also had minimal caution periods in this race. The first caution came out on lap two thanks to Scott Foster and Tracy Brouillette created an accident site in turn three. On the very next lap, a multi-car crash takes place in turn two. (Those cars were unknown as there were too many to count and smoke was a barrier from seeing who was involved.) With the final yellow out of the way, Woody Pitkat ended up giving himself a birthday gift by winning the feature. He was followed by Todd Owen, Tom Fearn, and Scott Cook. (But Pitkat was not done after this feature. There was another batch of fireworks to come.)

The final feature for the full-bodied cars came courtesy of the Limited Late Models. Like the Late Models, there were only two cautions in the event. The fourth lap gave us a debris caution after the front bumper of (I believe) Andrew Durand ended up in turn one. Other than that, everything was fine...except for Pete Cayer spinning in turn two on lap-11. Then it became a nine lap race to the finish. Coming down to the line first was Kevin Gambacorta with Sean Foster, Mike Sweeney, and Robert Dow on his heels.

And then the night came to a dramatic close with the SK Modified feature. This was also the race that provided the most cautions in the entire night's program, starting with a lap-30 spin by John Blewett III in turn two. Four laps later, another spin. This time, it was in turn four and the culprit was Scott Bennett. If you thought that was it for the accidents and spins for the lap, I would have to tell you that you would be mistaken. The first time they tried a restart, Kenny Horton got turned into the frontstretch wall (closer to turn one). The second time, Jim Larsen spun inbetween turns one and two. Third time was a charm, yet the yellow waved again on lap-39 with Bo Gunning spinning and getting into an accident on the frontstretch and ending up in the turn one area. (This was when he was battling for the lead.) Trying to restart the race on lap-39 failed but take two was much better. That was the last time a yellow flew as the last eleven laps ran under green flag conditions. Yet all eyes were on Woody Pitkat as he was the one to finish all 40 laps first. Chris Jones, Jeff Baral, and Todd Owen were the next three cars to finish the race.

Also of importance: A nice multi-car crash took place on the backstretch on the last lap of the SK Modified feature. Involved in the accident was Jim Larsen, Mark Anderson, and Rowan Pennink. Oh, and did I mention that Chris Jones didn't use his familiar red #39? Well, believe it or not, he was borrowing a backup ride. Give credit to Frank Ruocco.

Next week, I will be trying something new. I'll be attempting to provide live coverage of the night's event as I will not be at the track. (But I'm sure you all knew that already.) More at the track coverage will be Saturday (July 15) for the Whelen Modified Tour race in a special edition of The View From Turn One. Until then, I bid you good driving.

Major Disqualification News

The disqualificationfest is upon us for the July 4th race program. (Just found this out right now, so give me two seconds to compose myself as I was literally freaking out during the original reading.) All right...this is what has changed since the last time I read the site:

• Joey Ferrigno's win from the first Limited Late Model feature was taken away because his car didn't meet the minimum wheel specifications. This makes Michael Chaves the winner of the first race.
• Glenn Bartkowski's third place finish from the second Limited Late Model feature was taken away because his car didn't meet the minimum weight requirement. This makes Ed Lofland the new third place finisher.
• Kenny Horton's second place finish from the SK Modified feature was taken away because his car didn't meet the minimum weight requirement. This makes Keith Rocco the new second place finisher and Todd Owen climbs up to the podium in third.

Well, I'll give you more information when I can after Friday's program. (Like I mentioned earlier today, I will be going. A pit visit is still up in the air. More will come that afternoon before I head out for the night.)

The Tour Without a Sight in My Eyes

Today's entry will be pretty strange, mind you. Let me explain to you right now that due to finanicial issues from the weekend, I was not able to attend the race yesterday at the track...yet by the time Mom, brother, and I left the shoreline with family, it was safe to assume that we did get there for a few minutes of figuring out where everyone was in the SK feature.

Here is what I can give you, though: a minor rundown with the winners (tech and other information pending).

SK Light: Chris Matthews
DARE Stock: Jeff Jolly
Limited Late Model #1: Joey Ferrigno
Limited Late Model #2: Sean Foster
Late Model: Tom Butler
SK Modified: Eric Berndt
Whelen Mod Tour: John Blewett III

I'll be at the track Friday for those of you who may believe that I'm going to slack off again. Be expected to miss out on me next week (7/14) because...I'm doing my own personal make up date with the Whelen Modified Tour. I'll be in Loudon, New Hampshire the entire day of the 15th so I can see Happy Hour and final practice for the Cup, the Tour race, and the Busch Series race. Go me!

A Caution-Filled 100 and Other Features

(First off, I apologize once again. I've barely had any time to get this up and posted, but I figured I'd do it today seeing as I have all the time in the world to get it done. Second off, I'm trying a new style as I'm going to e-mail it to someone for a website.)

Two nights ago, Stafford Motor Speedway had a Friday night full of racing with the Late Model 100 and three other divisions with regular-distanced events. More later with why only four divisions took a green flag in the night in question.

Before we move on to the regularly scheduled features, I have the dumb move of the night. This takes place after the Limited Late Models have finished their qualifying event and the SK Modifieds are starting to take the track for their first wave of heats. Now, apparently they (Limiteds) go eight laps and then the checkered waves. I thought they went a full ten laps and I'm guessing half of the field did as well. You see some of the back runners making a right hand turn from the frontstretch to go into the paddock area and the eventual leaders are still on the track, now heading for the backstretch. They were probably embarassed as you see them peeling off onto pit road for how the cars are usually supposed to exit the track after qualifying.

All of that aside, though: Feature time! First actual feature to run was the DARE Stocks. The chaos started on lap-6 with an accident in turn one. This ended up with Kyle Nosal in the #83 in the wall near the safer barrier. (That got a workout in the race previous to this one.) Three laps later, two cars got into an accident inbetween turns one and two. One of them was the #88 of Duane Provost and another car whose driver will remain a mystery as I didn't see the car number. After that, the race went clean until the final lap when the #09 of Ray Grassetti stalls in turn two. At that moment, the race was red/checkered because the DARE Stocks have a time limit to finish the race and they had reached that deadline. Your winner of the race happened to be Lori-Jo Rzeszutek, the second female winner in the division this season and the third female winner all-around. The rest of the top four were Norm Sears, David Gambacorta, and Carla Botticello. (NOTE: During tech inspection, Botticello's car was involved in a special look-see for something illegal. No word yet on if officials found anything.)

Next up was the SK Light feature. Right when the green came out for the first time, it would immediately be put out by the yellow. The #97 of Duke Place went up and over the #11 of Tony Santangelo in the turn one area. Both cars were done for the night. For the next 13 laps, the green would remain out. Yet on lap-14, there was a spin in turn one thanks to the #70 of Brit Andersen. And the following lap, a three car melee would ensue with Andersen involved again. (The other two cars were the #0 of Dennis Eschenbrenner and the #42 of Kyler Cafro.) Finally the race would finish and Richie Pallai, Jr would stand out on top. (His car is owned by one Jack Arute, Jr. You may know that last name from somewhere...) Following him to the checkered flag was Chris Matthews, Wade Mattesen, and Tim Fogg.

Next was a fireworks display that lit up the night sky, then it was time for the main event: 100 laps for the Late Models. This was the one race everyone wanted to see and, believe it or not, included me. Everyone saw a lap-19 accident on the backstretch involving the #36 of Brad Boissonneault and the #62 of Bobby Leone. Both cars were basically done then and there. If you thought that would be it for the cautions, then you'd be wrong. The insanity continued on the very next lap with a turn three accident involving many cars, all of them unknown. Then on the re-restart, JJ Hill in the #41 spins in turn one and the #82 of Rick Lanagan is sent through the frontstretch grass after the yellow has been flung out. Take three: Leader John Warren in the #55 has trouble on the restart, sending him all the way back to the back of the pack and back behind the wall. (He would go on to finish 26th.) The next time the yellow would come out would be on lap-89 with the second-place #44 of Scott Foster, Jr in a frontstretch crash that only involved him. Yet there were other cars with problems before him: Woody Pitkat (#48), Tom Fearn (#92), and Mike Quintiliano (#7). The cautionfest would continue on lap-92 when JJ Hill becomes a repeat caution offender in a turns 1 and 2 accident. Then on what could have been the final lap of the race, another caution is out in turn four. It was a red car and I really can't give out a number as I couldn't tell who was stranded in the grass. Anyway, the race ended up going to a green-white-checkered finish with Ryan Posocco's #3 winning the entire thing. Other finishers were Jim Peterson, Mark Lewis, and Tom Butler.

The final race of the night was the SK Modified feature. On the second lap of the race, Woody Pitkat's #52 stops in the middle of turns 3 and 4, bringing out the first caution. Two laps later, a two-car accident takes place in turn four. And the very next lap, there was a multi-car pile up in turn one. So right away there was three cautions in the first five laps of the race. This would quit until lap-24 when the #96 of Curt Brainard and the #6 of Chris Osella get together in the turn 4 and frontstretch area. (There could have been other cars involved, but I couldn't tell.) Another two laps pass and three cars are involved in another turn 4 caution. Those involved were the #30 of John Cleary, the #47 of Scott Bennett, and another car. (Apparently I screwed up on my notes and wrote an entirely different car number than the third car involved. So I can't give you a number on that one.) And then, the final caution occured on lap-32 when Scott Bennett brings out another caution in turns 1 and 2. With the cautions out of the way, Todd Owen's #90 held off a hard-pressed challenge from Frank Ruocco's #91 for the win. The other two to cross the finish next were Willie Hardie and Jeff Baral.

At this time, it was ten minutes to midnight and the Limited Late Models hadn't run their feature yet. Stafford decided to stop the event there and move the final feature onto the July 4th program--along with the Whelen Modified Tour and five other weekly features--so that those who were waiting out the caution-filled night wouldn't have to fall asleep during the race. I don't blame the management...I was getting tired as well.

So, that's the night of June 30th for you. Like mentioned in the above sentences, the next race is July 4th and gates are opening at 11:30 in the morning (Eastern Standard Time). This is weather permitting, of course. See you then...