...if a nice batch of rain came right through the state of Connecticut during the majority of your Friday? Stafford management decided to keep the racing intact and deemed the night suitable for racing. There was just one subplot, though: NO HEATS. All of the cars that were signed in were eligible for feature racing, five of them would leave feature winners, and a maximum of five different drivers would leave as the leaders of their respective division's point standings. So what really happened on the night of August 25? Let's answer the famous question "What would you do?" with each one of our features tonight.
...if you've only ran your third SK Light feature in your career?
The 20-lap SK Light feature started out strong for the first 19 laps with some wicked sweet action in all directions. But as the final lap started, Duke Place became the first victim of the grass treatment, spinning in turn 2. The restart on the same lap didn't go as planned either, as a false start bunched the cars together again. A green-white-checkered situation was in effect...and this is when some more chaos ensued. On the first attempt, Fred Nees spins on the frontstretch. Second attempt? Multi-car accident in turn 2, including Shelly Perry, Kyler Cafro, and a few others. Third attempt? Perry and Nees get together in the turn 4 vicinity and wind up in the frontstretch. Now, I didn't know the SK Lights had a time constraint like the DARE Stocks do, but time had expired and we had experienced a red/checked situation. The leader of the pack happened to be Matt Gallo, who in his third race of his career was named the winner of the event. Behind him at the time of the final caution was Tim Fogg, Place, and Wade Mattesen.
...if you're battling for the all-time Late Model win record?
This was actually one of the more temper-controlled 30-lap Late Model features I've seen to date. Instead of a caution filled-fest like the SK Lights were, this was pretty much calm. On lap-2, Johnathan Smith spun in turns 1 and 2, bringing out the first caution of the race. The next time the yellow would come out would be on lap-20 when Brad Boissonneault spun on the backstretch. Six laps later, the caution flew for the final time for debris in turn 1 (for what I could see; this may be different). At this time, Ryan Posocco was in the lead and he wouldn't let it go, even though Woody Pitkat was coming strong towards the end of the race. For all it was worth, Posocco scored his second win of the season with Pitkat in second, Todd Owen third, and Jim Peterson fourth. Posocco is only two wins away from capturing the all-time win record in the Late Model division.
...if you were in a battle for the points championship and wanting a third win in 2006?
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, there wasn't a lot to talk about. Lap-4 showed us a lot of speedy dry when oil was dumped all over the track. After that was cleaned up, a familiar face showed up in the top spot, and his name happens to be Andrew Durand. He took the lead on lap-3 and showed his muscle all the way through the race, even when a lap-12 came out for debris in turn 1. When all was said and done, Durand scored his third win of 2006. Following him to the line was Sean Foster, George Nocera, and Kevin Gambacorta.
...if you haven't won a feature since July of 2005?
The 40-lap SK Modified feature started out strong in terms of cautions when an unknown car spun in turn 2 on lap-3. On the restart, Willie Hardie took the lead from Lloyd Agor and was literally off to the races. This charge would come to a halt, however, when Jeff Johnson and Rowan Pennink spun on the frontstretch when lap-10 rolled around. The next two cautions would go hand in hand with each other. On lap-14, Johnson and Vincent Anglace would come together in turns 1 and 2, setting up one of those traditional double file restarts we all know and love. But Hardie decides to jump the gun on said restart and a false start occurs. This time, however, we're clean on the next restart and we're back to green flag racing...for four laps. Lap-18 brings us John Blewett III and Jeff Baral come into contact with each other in turn 4. And so this means that the next 22 laps would be run under green flag conditions. Hardie fought off a hard pressed Frank Ruocco--who had been coming off of a second place finish last week and was now trying not to do anything stupid as he was unofficially in the points lead as of the first lap--and successfully defended all challenges. Hardie and Ruocco would be the first two finishers at the finish line with Agor and Todd Owen coming after them. This, of course, would be Hardie's first win since July of 2005.
...if you were just trying to win your first feature win in general?
The final race was the 15-lap DARE Stock feature, and that probably went as quick as the Late Models. There were only two multi-car accidents, the first of which being on lap-4 and in turn 4. This set up the first and only lead change of the race. Barry Fluckinger drove past Jim Brice on the restart, but this lead would be destroyed on lap-5 when the second of two multi-car accidents took place on the backstretch. Again, Fluckinger charged past Brice on the restart, and again the lead would be called to a halt. Lap-12 showed us more liquid--possibly water--and bunched the field up for a third time for the final three laps. Brice was no match for Fluckinger on the final restart, and Fluckinger took down his first win of his career. Brice followed in second, and the top-4 ended with Norm Sears and Lori-Jo Rzeszutek.
And this concludes our segment entitled "What Would You Do?", where every answer was "Pull out the win." Until next Friday, when the September Series at Stafford starts up, gas pedal's on the right...
After my hiatus since May, I've decided on a new lease on life. I've re-emerged from the dark layers of hell with a new location for all things VFT1.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Urgent SK News
We interrupt your quiet Thursday evening with some major news coming out of the SK corner of the known universe. Ladies and gentlemen, it has been rumored (and possibly confirmed) that Ted Christopher is out of the DiPesa-owned 81. His possible replacement is the most recent name in the Whelen Modified Tour record book and top rookie in the 2006 season...James Civali. I'm guessing this had to do with Christopher's comment during his interview Friday night, calling the motor he was using a "Pettit air compressor". It blew up after turning the quickest lap of the feature, by the way.
And could Bob Potter be subbing for Bo Gunning? According to sources, Potter might strap into the 84 ride as Gunning's sitting out Friday night's race. Remember...after an incident in the SK Modified feature, Gunning decided to exit the infield after stirring up a dust cloud.
All of this will be answered tomorrow.
(News for this was collected at the Making Laps message board.)
And could Bob Potter be subbing for Bo Gunning? According to sources, Potter might strap into the 84 ride as Gunning's sitting out Friday night's race. Remember...after an incident in the SK Modified feature, Gunning decided to exit the infield after stirring up a dust cloud.
All of this will be answered tomorrow.
(News for this was collected at the Making Laps message board.)
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Tech Can't Stop 'Em Now
Sorry for being late once again. (I should just have my blogging party moved to Wednesdays so I can get everything organized. But nonetheless, I'm doing it for your enjoyment.) Okay, so we had an event on August 18. And all the features were run. I say we start the festivities and begin with the minutes of the evening. Sounding good? Great! Read on...
The first of the usual five features on the night was the DARE Stock 15-lapper. From the start, Jeff Hubbell powered himself in front of the field, and it appeared as though nobody could stop him. Nothing could stop him, either. No cautions were drawn in the making of this feature, and to Hubbell, this was a good thing. He dominated the race and took his first of the 2006 season. After him was Norm Sears, David Gambacorta, and Vince Gambacorta. (To the person who requested I write this: You get your wish.)
Next on the docket was the SK Lights for 20-laps of racing. Lap-2 showed the brunt of the race as Dennis Eschenbrenner and Chris Matthews nailed each other on the frontstretch. (They would both be done for the night.) Lap-8 proved to be a near disaster for Anthony Burr as he soon gets involved in his own private accident in turn two. Strange enough, he'd finish the race in a good way, as the rest of the race was green to the finish. Glen Reen--who had finished fourth the previous week--became the most recent first time winner in the 2006 season by taking down the win. Following him to the line included Brit Andersen, Burr, and Tony Santangelo.
The Late Models soon followed with 30-laps...of pure insanity with a special finish to be remembered for the rest of eternity. On the opening lap, Mike Quintiliano nailed the turn one wall on the driver's side and would finish the race in a not-so-good spot. Lap-9 was the second trouble spot, and the location for an accident with John Severns and Billy Snow as turns one and two. Everything seemed to be resolved in terms of driving styles until lap-16. Johnathan Smith spun in turn two and a quick caution ensued. On the restart, Charlie Christoforo (and possibly Snow) collects the frontstretch wall. About five laps are needed to clean up the mess, and we are back to racing...and another caution on lap-17. This time, we find Rick Lanagan in an accident in turn one while Doug Blowers spins in a nearby location on the racetrack. The chaos continues on lap-19 when Tony Lafo supins in turn two, and a lap later, Wayne Coury spins in turn four. Of course, the cautions don't seem to leave our sight and we've got a mess of things to come on lap-21. On the initial running, Blowers spins yet again, this time in turns three and four. Quick caution and a green later, we find ourselves in turns one and two when a multi-car accident takes place. And with this, the cautions end. But like I said earlier, there was insanity in all aspects of this race. And the second attempt at the restart on lap-21 was no different. Jim Peterson blazes from about fourth to first on lap-20 and charged his way to the win. Scott Foster, Tom Fearn, and Woody Pitkat finish behind him. Now what's going to be remembered for the rest of Stafford's Late Model history is that Peterson's win in the August 18th event ties him for the most Late Model victories since they were incepted with Chuck Zentarski.
From the historic to the so-so, the Limited Late Models were on hand to put on their 20-lap show. The first and only caution occured on lap-3 (as I was taking care of some business, my mom decides to write this for me) as Charlie Newman is involved in a solo accident in turn one. Since that was the end of the yellows for that race, the green stayed out for the remaining 17 laps. Mike Sweeney took the lead from Rich Hammann and never looked back, cruising to the win with ease. Paul Conte, Sean Foster, and Kevin Gambacorta finished 2nd through 4th respectively. (This was Sweeney's first win of the 2006 season.)
Finally, we come to our 40-lap feature for Jack Arute's child...Stafford's own SK Modifieds. Like the Late Models, we start the cautions on the very first lap. Scott Bennett spins on the backstretch, causing the banana to fly. Three laps later, John Blewett III spins in turns three and four, presenting the caution again. Things seemed to run normally (yes, even with the sudden spawn in yellows), but all of a sudden...our little friend known as the scoreboard goes "el busto" in our faces. All I can tell you is that some time between the 4th and 12th lap, Brad Hietala has a meet-and-greet with the backstretch wall. The next lap I remember clearly (the scoreboard is still lights out) is lap-33. This is because Blewett spins yet again, this time on the frontstretch. And the restart? Well, that doesn't prove to be driver's best friend. Right as the pack of cars starts to round turn one, a multi-car caution occurs. But since this was the final caution of the night, things start to look up. Woody Pitkat had the lead since lap-5 and didn't let it go, although Frank Ruocco wanted to change some plans. It didn't work. Pitkat lead 35 laps to win his second win of the season. Ruocco finished second, Chris Jones third, and Jeff Malave fourth.
The night in a nutshell is closed, but there's just one more thing that needs to be detailed: Bo Gunning. Although he wasn't involved in much going on, he did receive a week's vacation from the track. Apparently he was doing donuts in the infield and left said location during the feature. Therefore, he gets a week's time off to think about what he did.
Now that's it. I promise. Have a safe Thursday and enjoy what's going to be happening this Friday night: Another regular night full of features that will prove to be as exciting as the next. I hope.
The first of the usual five features on the night was the DARE Stock 15-lapper. From the start, Jeff Hubbell powered himself in front of the field, and it appeared as though nobody could stop him. Nothing could stop him, either. No cautions were drawn in the making of this feature, and to Hubbell, this was a good thing. He dominated the race and took his first of the 2006 season. After him was Norm Sears, David Gambacorta, and Vince Gambacorta. (To the person who requested I write this: You get your wish.)
Next on the docket was the SK Lights for 20-laps of racing. Lap-2 showed the brunt of the race as Dennis Eschenbrenner and Chris Matthews nailed each other on the frontstretch. (They would both be done for the night.) Lap-8 proved to be a near disaster for Anthony Burr as he soon gets involved in his own private accident in turn two. Strange enough, he'd finish the race in a good way, as the rest of the race was green to the finish. Glen Reen--who had finished fourth the previous week--became the most recent first time winner in the 2006 season by taking down the win. Following him to the line included Brit Andersen, Burr, and Tony Santangelo.
The Late Models soon followed with 30-laps...of pure insanity with a special finish to be remembered for the rest of eternity. On the opening lap, Mike Quintiliano nailed the turn one wall on the driver's side and would finish the race in a not-so-good spot. Lap-9 was the second trouble spot, and the location for an accident with John Severns and Billy Snow as turns one and two. Everything seemed to be resolved in terms of driving styles until lap-16. Johnathan Smith spun in turn two and a quick caution ensued. On the restart, Charlie Christoforo (and possibly Snow) collects the frontstretch wall. About five laps are needed to clean up the mess, and we are back to racing...and another caution on lap-17. This time, we find Rick Lanagan in an accident in turn one while Doug Blowers spins in a nearby location on the racetrack. The chaos continues on lap-19 when Tony Lafo supins in turn two, and a lap later, Wayne Coury spins in turn four. Of course, the cautions don't seem to leave our sight and we've got a mess of things to come on lap-21. On the initial running, Blowers spins yet again, this time in turns three and four. Quick caution and a green later, we find ourselves in turns one and two when a multi-car accident takes place. And with this, the cautions end. But like I said earlier, there was insanity in all aspects of this race. And the second attempt at the restart on lap-21 was no different. Jim Peterson blazes from about fourth to first on lap-20 and charged his way to the win. Scott Foster, Tom Fearn, and Woody Pitkat finish behind him. Now what's going to be remembered for the rest of Stafford's Late Model history is that Peterson's win in the August 18th event ties him for the most Late Model victories since they were incepted with Chuck Zentarski.
From the historic to the so-so, the Limited Late Models were on hand to put on their 20-lap show. The first and only caution occured on lap-3 (as I was taking care of some business, my mom decides to write this for me) as Charlie Newman is involved in a solo accident in turn one. Since that was the end of the yellows for that race, the green stayed out for the remaining 17 laps. Mike Sweeney took the lead from Rich Hammann and never looked back, cruising to the win with ease. Paul Conte, Sean Foster, and Kevin Gambacorta finished 2nd through 4th respectively. (This was Sweeney's first win of the 2006 season.)
Finally, we come to our 40-lap feature for Jack Arute's child...Stafford's own SK Modifieds. Like the Late Models, we start the cautions on the very first lap. Scott Bennett spins on the backstretch, causing the banana to fly. Three laps later, John Blewett III spins in turns three and four, presenting the caution again. Things seemed to run normally (yes, even with the sudden spawn in yellows), but all of a sudden...our little friend known as the scoreboard goes "el busto" in our faces. All I can tell you is that some time between the 4th and 12th lap, Brad Hietala has a meet-and-greet with the backstretch wall. The next lap I remember clearly (the scoreboard is still lights out) is lap-33. This is because Blewett spins yet again, this time on the frontstretch. And the restart? Well, that doesn't prove to be driver's best friend. Right as the pack of cars starts to round turn one, a multi-car caution occurs. But since this was the final caution of the night, things start to look up. Woody Pitkat had the lead since lap-5 and didn't let it go, although Frank Ruocco wanted to change some plans. It didn't work. Pitkat lead 35 laps to win his second win of the season. Ruocco finished second, Chris Jones third, and Jeff Malave fourth.
The night in a nutshell is closed, but there's just one more thing that needs to be detailed: Bo Gunning. Although he wasn't involved in much going on, he did receive a week's vacation from the track. Apparently he was doing donuts in the infield and left said location during the feature. Therefore, he gets a week's time off to think about what he did.
Now that's it. I promise. Have a safe Thursday and enjoy what's going to be happening this Friday night: Another regular night full of features that will prove to be as exciting as the next. I hope.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Wild Night With the Tour
Welcome to another installment of The View From Turn One. Tonight, we cover the action from the August 11th program, one that was fun-fueled for all its worth. I would like to point out ahead of time that it was the Whelen Modified Tour that came to the half mile that evening for the New England Dodge Dealers 150. During a rousing game of time trials, Tony Hirschman set the fastest time with an 18.359. After a top-8 redraw (or during that time), we had some Stafford divisions that were on the track for their features.
Our first feature of the night was the Limited Late Models. On the opening lap, a multi-car accident went down in turn two, causing all sorts of confusion and chaos to occur. That was cleaned up and the race went back to green. Yet as with most of the features, the banana came flying back out...this time on lap-18. Charlie Newman stalled in turns one and two, bringing another caution to the table. And the restart? Well, that wasn't very good to Andrew Durand. He spun in turn four, prompting the final caution of the event. The green-white-checkered situation was in place and that actually worked out in the end. Robert Dow saw the good side of the cause, and he effectively took down his first win of the 2006 season. George Nocera, Sean Foster, and Paul Conte followed him to the line.
Next was the Late Models, and did they put on a show for the audience. Once again, we had an opening lap caution. Tom Fearn took a nice spin into the turn one wall, but he would recover from it and finish strong at the end of the race. (Technical inspection would say other things.) Lap-8 saw a multi-car accident in turns one and two which saw a few cars beaten and bruised. The final caution was on lap-21 when John Severns and Billy Snow spun in turns one and two. And then...it was a nice race to the finish. Quite a few cars had a shot of winning the race, and all four were former feature winners in the division. Yet Jim Peterson had the best of everyone, and he came to the line for his second win of the season. Rounding out the top-4 were Fearn, Woody Pitkat, and Todd Owen. Of course, if you read about Fearn spinning out in the opening lap, then you might have seen a comment regarding tech inspection. Well, Fearn was disqualified for having improperly mounted additional weight. His second place was stripped from him.
Then...oh, we had a blast with the SK Modifieds. It literally went down to the wire. On lap-4, Vincent Anglace took a nice spin through turn four. On the next lap, Anglace and Eric Berndt collided on the frontstretch. And if you thought that the frontstretch was a safe place, lap-13 proved this theory wrong. Brad Hietala nailed the frontstretch wall and stopped right in front of my usual grandstand seating area. After a nice cleanup detail and two more laps of racing, Lloyd Agor was involved in an accident on the backstretch. Again, that was cleaned up and one lap later, another caution. Woody Pitkat was taken out in turn three. The next (and final) caution didn't occur until lap-39 when one of the Xtra-Mart team cars (and I wrote Zach Sylvester's number, though I may be wrong on that) spun in turn four. This set up nine laps to the checkered, and it was a fierce race. On the very last lap (and in the very last turn), Kenny Horton overpowered Chris Jones and won the race with inches to spare. Ted Christopher and Bo Gunning came across in third and fourth, respectively.
The Tour race was next, and that generated quite a bit of controversy within itself. Without giving you every bit of trouble (due to the fact that I'm a little tired and I don't have full notes for the race), there was one big accident that took quite a bit of cleanup time. Some of the drivers involved in it were Jamie Tomaino and pole sitter Tony Hirschman. Yet in the end, it was all James Civali. He held off a hard-fought charge from Reggie Ruggerio to win his first Whelen Modified Tour feature. As Ruggerio spun in turn one in the final two laps of the race, this let Ken Barry, Chris Pasteryak, Matt Hirschman, and Mike Stefanik finish within the top-5.
With the longest race of the night out of the way, we get to the shortest race of the night: The SK Lights. I mean it was short when I mention the fact that there were no cautions during the duration of the 20-laps that were run. (Although there might have been a few incidents where the yellow might have come out. Brit Andersen took this into account when he finished the race in first place. As of the time I took my notes, I had Wade Mattesen, Chris Matthews, and Glen Reen as the next three cars. But like in the Late Model feature, let the tech inspection prove otherwise. Mattesen's car had an inoperative RPM rev limiter (whatever those are), and he was disqualified from the feature finish.
Finally, the DARE Stocks came out onto the track. (This was at around 11:30pm EST.) On lap-8, Rob Lawrence spins in turn two. On lap-11, there were multiple spinouts. Too many to count, exactly, and too many to pick which one brought out the caution. So in my opinion, whoever spun before and during the caution was to blame. Then on lap-14, we had a blast. The original lap-14 caution came out for Jesse Hinze when he spun in turns three and four. On the restart, Lori-Jo Rzeszutek and Duane Provost got caught up in an accident in turn four. this led us to the second green-white-checkered situation of the night. Raymond Grassetti didn't mind this, though, as he led the field to the checkers. David Gambacorta, Joseph Scata, and Jeff Jolly rounded out the top-4. Yet during the feature, a track official and a track officer came up to the grandstands near the handicapper's booth (this was in the pits, mind you) and took away a radio belonging to a crew member from Scata's crew. Now, the DARE Stocks are not allowed to have any two-way communications with anyone. They're only allowed to listen to the track officials in the scorer's stand. With the confiscated radio, Scata was disqualified from the feature finish.
Oh, that was a wild night, considering I didn't get home until near one in the morning. (As I sigh.) Okay, more action comes your way Friday night. It's a regular week for the local boys, and I'll cover all the ups and downs...probably from the pits again. Until then, have a nice rest of the week.
Our first feature of the night was the Limited Late Models. On the opening lap, a multi-car accident went down in turn two, causing all sorts of confusion and chaos to occur. That was cleaned up and the race went back to green. Yet as with most of the features, the banana came flying back out...this time on lap-18. Charlie Newman stalled in turns one and two, bringing another caution to the table. And the restart? Well, that wasn't very good to Andrew Durand. He spun in turn four, prompting the final caution of the event. The green-white-checkered situation was in place and that actually worked out in the end. Robert Dow saw the good side of the cause, and he effectively took down his first win of the 2006 season. George Nocera, Sean Foster, and Paul Conte followed him to the line.
Next was the Late Models, and did they put on a show for the audience. Once again, we had an opening lap caution. Tom Fearn took a nice spin into the turn one wall, but he would recover from it and finish strong at the end of the race. (Technical inspection would say other things.) Lap-8 saw a multi-car accident in turns one and two which saw a few cars beaten and bruised. The final caution was on lap-21 when John Severns and Billy Snow spun in turns one and two. And then...it was a nice race to the finish. Quite a few cars had a shot of winning the race, and all four were former feature winners in the division. Yet Jim Peterson had the best of everyone, and he came to the line for his second win of the season. Rounding out the top-4 were Fearn, Woody Pitkat, and Todd Owen. Of course, if you read about Fearn spinning out in the opening lap, then you might have seen a comment regarding tech inspection. Well, Fearn was disqualified for having improperly mounted additional weight. His second place was stripped from him.
Then...oh, we had a blast with the SK Modifieds. It literally went down to the wire. On lap-4, Vincent Anglace took a nice spin through turn four. On the next lap, Anglace and Eric Berndt collided on the frontstretch. And if you thought that the frontstretch was a safe place, lap-13 proved this theory wrong. Brad Hietala nailed the frontstretch wall and stopped right in front of my usual grandstand seating area. After a nice cleanup detail and two more laps of racing, Lloyd Agor was involved in an accident on the backstretch. Again, that was cleaned up and one lap later, another caution. Woody Pitkat was taken out in turn three. The next (and final) caution didn't occur until lap-39 when one of the Xtra-Mart team cars (and I wrote Zach Sylvester's number, though I may be wrong on that) spun in turn four. This set up nine laps to the checkered, and it was a fierce race. On the very last lap (and in the very last turn), Kenny Horton overpowered Chris Jones and won the race with inches to spare. Ted Christopher and Bo Gunning came across in third and fourth, respectively.
The Tour race was next, and that generated quite a bit of controversy within itself. Without giving you every bit of trouble (due to the fact that I'm a little tired and I don't have full notes for the race), there was one big accident that took quite a bit of cleanup time. Some of the drivers involved in it were Jamie Tomaino and pole sitter Tony Hirschman. Yet in the end, it was all James Civali. He held off a hard-fought charge from Reggie Ruggerio to win his first Whelen Modified Tour feature. As Ruggerio spun in turn one in the final two laps of the race, this let Ken Barry, Chris Pasteryak, Matt Hirschman, and Mike Stefanik finish within the top-5.
With the longest race of the night out of the way, we get to the shortest race of the night: The SK Lights. I mean it was short when I mention the fact that there were no cautions during the duration of the 20-laps that were run. (Although there might have been a few incidents where the yellow might have come out. Brit Andersen took this into account when he finished the race in first place. As of the time I took my notes, I had Wade Mattesen, Chris Matthews, and Glen Reen as the next three cars. But like in the Late Model feature, let the tech inspection prove otherwise. Mattesen's car had an inoperative RPM rev limiter (whatever those are), and he was disqualified from the feature finish.
Finally, the DARE Stocks came out onto the track. (This was at around 11:30pm EST.) On lap-8, Rob Lawrence spins in turn two. On lap-11, there were multiple spinouts. Too many to count, exactly, and too many to pick which one brought out the caution. So in my opinion, whoever spun before and during the caution was to blame. Then on lap-14, we had a blast. The original lap-14 caution came out for Jesse Hinze when he spun in turns three and four. On the restart, Lori-Jo Rzeszutek and Duane Provost got caught up in an accident in turn four. this led us to the second green-white-checkered situation of the night. Raymond Grassetti didn't mind this, though, as he led the field to the checkers. David Gambacorta, Joseph Scata, and Jeff Jolly rounded out the top-4. Yet during the feature, a track official and a track officer came up to the grandstands near the handicapper's booth (this was in the pits, mind you) and took away a radio belonging to a crew member from Scata's crew. Now, the DARE Stocks are not allowed to have any two-way communications with anyone. They're only allowed to listen to the track officials in the scorer's stand. With the confiscated radio, Scata was disqualified from the feature finish.
Oh, that was a wild night, considering I didn't get home until near one in the morning. (As I sigh.) Okay, more action comes your way Friday night. It's a regular week for the local boys, and I'll cover all the ups and downs...probably from the pits again. Until then, have a nice rest of the week.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Oh, What a Night...
Sorry for being so late, but I was just drawn into an addiction! (It's not what you think; I swear.) I've got some incredible news for you, so...do you want to hear it? You do? Good! Just sit back and enjoy a night that was filled with more action than you can shake a stick at. Relive the night of August 4, 2006.
We begin with the DARE Stocks and our first wild feature of the evening. The race was quick except for one caution. That was on lap-3 when Michael Nordman and Robert Thompson were involved in an accident somewhere in the turn 1 area. When that was cleared, the remaining some-odd cars in the field ran from green to checkers. At the time I wrote what I did originally, Dan Flannery came across the line first on his birthday, followed by Vince Gambacorta, Rob Lawrence, and Lori-Jo Rzeszutek. Yet post race inspection was another story, and both Flannery and Gambacorta were disqualified for having illegal rear suspensions. This put Lawrence as the winner, Rzeszutek in second, then Norm Sears and Carla Botticello after them.
When the SK Lights came out afterward, I thought it was going to be another one of those boring moments when the race was caution free. Chris Matthews had crossed the line first (as of press notes) with Brit Andersen, Duke Place, and Glen Reen coming in second, third, and fourth respectively. Once again, the magic of post race inspection loomed upon the competitors and disaster struck...on Matthews. For not meeting the frame height requirement, he was eliminated from the race and Andersen became the winner.
Could this night get any crazier? I think it could, and it sure as heck did. This was because the Late Models had taken to the track for their regular feature. The second lap proved to be part of the case. A multi-car accident had occured in turns 1 and 2. (Like I said, things could get crazier. No exeption, eh?) Lap-18 continued the carnage when Brad Boissonault stalled in turn 4. Four laps later, Jim Peterson's involved in an accident in the same spot as the last caution took place. NASCAR officials felt it was appropriate that he serve a three-lap penalty. I'm not sure why this was the move on NASCAR's part, but Peterson did serve the penalty and everyone (well, mostly everyone) was happy. During this span of three laps, however, there was yet another caution. This took place on lap-19 when yet another multi-car accident occured in the turns 1 and 2 area. (Suffering the worst damage was Bobby Leone.) When the dust and sort cleared, Ed Ricard came out on top. Tom Fearn, Mark Lewis, and Scott Foster rounded out the top-four. (The good news? No post-race incident.)
And then...a quick race for the Limited Late Models. Only thing that happened here of significant noteworthiness was an accident featuring Darrin Havanec and Ky Jensen on lap-10 (in the turns 3 and 4 area). Neither one finished outside of the top-15, although there were only 19 cars taking the green flag to begin with... Anyway, nothing else prevailed except for George Nocera who took down the win. Andrew Durand tried his hardest to make a move, but nothing would faze Nocera. Durand finished second, Bill Davis came in third, and Kevin Gambacorta was fourth. (Again, no disqualifications in tech. Yet this would change in a flash.)
Rounding out the night was Stafford's own SK Modifieds. And did they put on a show. The show started on lap-5 when a spin on the frontstretch from Kirk Zervas and Vincent Anglace brought out the caution. Then all was quiet on the home front until lap-24. During a battle for the lead in turn 4, Kenny Horton and Frank Ruocco got together. (They'd both finish in the top-ten when the checkered came out and some post-race drama came about.) Two more laps come flying through the book and again there's a caution. Scott Bennett ends up in turn 1 (and went on to finish 18th.) Now that all of the cautions were sifted through, the last 14 laps were run under green. John Blewett III powered past Jeff Baral on lap-29 to preserve the win for the #12 team and they would capture their first win of the 2006 season. Ted Christopher, Baral, and Curt Brainard were the next three cars to finish behind Blewett. But remember...there was still tech inspection, and that wasn't a godsend for Christopher. According to Monday's press release, his care had an illegal flywheel and he was stripped of his second place finish.
So that's it and all for the events of August 4, 2006. To be a car who had been disqualified for one reason or another, it must have been dreadful. But I'm sure all of them can put the past aside and focus on Friday night's program, which features the Whelen Modified Tour and 150-laps of racing excitement. A few of the Stafford regulars will test their luck in time trials and (if they succeed) the big event. I'll be there with all of the results in next week's blog. So until then...gas pedal's on the right...
We begin with the DARE Stocks and our first wild feature of the evening. The race was quick except for one caution. That was on lap-3 when Michael Nordman and Robert Thompson were involved in an accident somewhere in the turn 1 area. When that was cleared, the remaining some-odd cars in the field ran from green to checkers. At the time I wrote what I did originally, Dan Flannery came across the line first on his birthday, followed by Vince Gambacorta, Rob Lawrence, and Lori-Jo Rzeszutek. Yet post race inspection was another story, and both Flannery and Gambacorta were disqualified for having illegal rear suspensions. This put Lawrence as the winner, Rzeszutek in second, then Norm Sears and Carla Botticello after them.
When the SK Lights came out afterward, I thought it was going to be another one of those boring moments when the race was caution free. Chris Matthews had crossed the line first (as of press notes) with Brit Andersen, Duke Place, and Glen Reen coming in second, third, and fourth respectively. Once again, the magic of post race inspection loomed upon the competitors and disaster struck...on Matthews. For not meeting the frame height requirement, he was eliminated from the race and Andersen became the winner.
Could this night get any crazier? I think it could, and it sure as heck did. This was because the Late Models had taken to the track for their regular feature. The second lap proved to be part of the case. A multi-car accident had occured in turns 1 and 2. (Like I said, things could get crazier. No exeption, eh?) Lap-18 continued the carnage when Brad Boissonault stalled in turn 4. Four laps later, Jim Peterson's involved in an accident in the same spot as the last caution took place. NASCAR officials felt it was appropriate that he serve a three-lap penalty. I'm not sure why this was the move on NASCAR's part, but Peterson did serve the penalty and everyone (well, mostly everyone) was happy. During this span of three laps, however, there was yet another caution. This took place on lap-19 when yet another multi-car accident occured in the turns 1 and 2 area. (Suffering the worst damage was Bobby Leone.) When the dust and sort cleared, Ed Ricard came out on top. Tom Fearn, Mark Lewis, and Scott Foster rounded out the top-four. (The good news? No post-race incident.)
And then...a quick race for the Limited Late Models. Only thing that happened here of significant noteworthiness was an accident featuring Darrin Havanec and Ky Jensen on lap-10 (in the turns 3 and 4 area). Neither one finished outside of the top-15, although there were only 19 cars taking the green flag to begin with... Anyway, nothing else prevailed except for George Nocera who took down the win. Andrew Durand tried his hardest to make a move, but nothing would faze Nocera. Durand finished second, Bill Davis came in third, and Kevin Gambacorta was fourth. (Again, no disqualifications in tech. Yet this would change in a flash.)
Rounding out the night was Stafford's own SK Modifieds. And did they put on a show. The show started on lap-5 when a spin on the frontstretch from Kirk Zervas and Vincent Anglace brought out the caution. Then all was quiet on the home front until lap-24. During a battle for the lead in turn 4, Kenny Horton and Frank Ruocco got together. (They'd both finish in the top-ten when the checkered came out and some post-race drama came about.) Two more laps come flying through the book and again there's a caution. Scott Bennett ends up in turn 1 (and went on to finish 18th.) Now that all of the cautions were sifted through, the last 14 laps were run under green. John Blewett III powered past Jeff Baral on lap-29 to preserve the win for the #12 team and they would capture their first win of the 2006 season. Ted Christopher, Baral, and Curt Brainard were the next three cars to finish behind Blewett. But remember...there was still tech inspection, and that wasn't a godsend for Christopher. According to Monday's press release, his care had an illegal flywheel and he was stripped of his second place finish.
So that's it and all for the events of August 4, 2006. To be a car who had been disqualified for one reason or another, it must have been dreadful. But I'm sure all of them can put the past aside and focus on Friday night's program, which features the Whelen Modified Tour and 150-laps of racing excitement. A few of the Stafford regulars will test their luck in time trials and (if they succeed) the big event. I'll be there with all of the results in next week's blog. So until then...gas pedal's on the right...
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