Tom Butler and Ed Ricard had the front row occupied, but that engagement with the lead didn't last for long. Just like last week, Woody Pitkat was moving through the field until eventually he couldn't move up anymore. He assumed the lead early, letting everyone else battle for position behind him. His lead would grow to the point where he was going to start lapping traffic. But his lead would be put on hold when a couple of late race cautions occured. The first of which occured on the 23rd lap, when Steve McQuillan spun in turn one, bringing the gold out and onto Pitkat's parade. On the restart, Pitkat assumed the lead once again, yet that would once again be short lived. Lap-25 was the lap of the second caution, when Billy Snow, Jr and Dillon Moltz got together in turn two. (Actually, it started in turn one, and then Snow ended up on the backstretch. Either way, it was a caution.) Again, Pitkat stormed into the lead, with some more tussling going on behind him. It didn't matter, however, that Ryan Posocco would eventually start to pull away from the rest of the crowd as well, because Pitkat crossed the line to take his second Late Model win of the season. Posocco would finish second, followed by Butler and Corey Hutchings.
Four sets of qualifying heats later (yes, because putting too much on the Late Models was enough), there happened to be a last chance qualifier. It was for the Late Models, and it was a quick 16-lapper. Michael Bennett took the early lead, and it wouldn't leave his grip over the entire duration of this race. He would cruise to the win. Finishing up the top-four were John Warren, Dillon Moltz, and Mike O'Sullivan.
Next, we jumped into the features for the regularly scheduled program. First up, we had the SK Lights. For the first week in a while, I didn't take time to determine how long the feature was. This, by what I remember, was probably bordering the twenty minute time limit. I'm hoping I'm right by saying that it was quicker. We'll start at the top of the race as usual, where Chris Bakaj took the lead. Of course, he'd have a couple of incidents that would almost hinder his chances of winning the race. The real action would start on lap-9 as Jason Moore and Tony Santangelo got together in the third and fourth turns, causing a caution situation. As the green came back out, Bakaj (and until I refer to his brother, I will not be trying to confuse you by adding first initals) reclaimed the lead. This lead would be put on hold on lap-10, when Ray Griffen, Jr's apparently started leaking something onto the track, causing unsafe conditions and becoming the caution car in the process. In an instant, the fine folks of the Super Clean Safety Team were on the scene, making sure that it was safe to continue racing. I might be wrong on this, but I believe I saw speedy dry being placed around the track. After the cars ran through it a couple of times, the race went back to green. Bakaj assumed the lead, but this time, it was only a lead that lasted for three laps. On lap-13, Aaron Goff and Joe Allegro, Jr got into each other and were the two cars to bring the gold out for the third caution of the event, making things happen on the frontstretch. The restart on lap-13 saw a new leader, as Glen Reen passed Bakaj. Chris Matthews would follow. It looked as though it was going to be a repeat of the July 13 feature. A caution on lap-15 would bunch the cars up together for a five-lap fight to the finish. The car of Josh Sylvester spun on the frontstretch, bringing out the final caution of the race. Restart time, and Reen would take control of the event. Matthews couldn't do a thing to stop Reen, and Reen would score his fourth win of the season. Matthews would finish second, Mark Bakaj third, and Raymond Grassetti fourth.
The next race would be the Limited Late Models, and they would definitely put on a show. Joey Ferrigno would be the first leader of the event, pulling away from Rick Lanagan by a good distance at one point in time. It seemed as though nothing and nobody would be able to stop him... Until lap-9. While still in the pilot's seat, Ferrigno's motor would go boom on the frontstretch, bringing the caution out for the first time. His car would come to rest in turn two, and believe it or not, he tried to get it started (but to no avail). Now with Lanagan as the leader, the cautions really started to fly... Four cautions within a span of four laps! Charlie Newman would bring out the caution on lap-13 after he spun in turn one (and I believe he just clipped the safer barrier in the process). This was followed by a lap-14 scene in which Shawn Thibeault spun in turn one as well. Green was shown to the field, one lap was completed, and there was much rejoicing... And then, the caution came back out. David Capriati would find himself in an accident on the backstretch, bringing the cars back down to a safer speed limit. But the green would fly one more time. Though on lap-18, there was a bit of a scenario. Newman would spin on the frontstretch, but he never tried to get it off of the infield grass. This set up chaos coming out of turn two, when Lanagan was spun around himself. The caution would come for Newman, and Lanagan would get his spot back. This would set the ball in Lanagan's court, as nobody dared to challenge him for the lead after that. He'd come to the line to pick up his fourth win of the season. The rest of the board would read as follows: Andrew Durand, Bill Davis, and Sean Foster.
Following them would be Stafford's full-bodied entry level division: The DARE Stocks. Now, they've been racing pretty clean this season. Five of their races have gone without a caution, regardless of what happened on the track. On this night, however, there happened to be one incident that was deemed "caution appropriate". But first, let's get to the basics. It was Duane Provost taking the early lead, but Kyle Nosal would become the second leader of the race around lap-2. While Nosal was in the lead, however, the first and only caution of the event occured. This was on lap-8, when Carla Botticello and Robert Thompson were involved in a two-car accident coming out of turn two (and winding up on the backstretch). Nosal would regain the lead on the restart, and he wasn't challenged by anyone as he scored his first career win. Following him to the line were Barry Fluckiger, Jim Brice, and Dan Flannery.
Once the DARE Stocks were done, we were back to the fast and -- as of last week -- the furious. Before the start of the make-up Late Model feature, at about 6pm, the SK Modifieds were called into their own exclusive driver's meeting. I was told that they were there by themselves for a reason. That reason had to do with what happened last week. You know, the suspensions and whatnot? Okay, I'll let that slide for now. But I do have some highlights for you. The feature started with Willie Hardie taking the lead in the early stages of the race. Lap-6 saw Kerry Malone spin in turns three and four, with a little help from Frank Ruocco. He would be black flagged for overaggression on the race track, yet his night would just sink lower from there. Meanwhile, the restart on la;p-6 was a false one; yet the third attempt was perfect and the race resumed. Around lap-11, Woody Pitkat would take over as the race leader. Now coming through the field was Ted Christopher, who would be a key factor in this race. All was nice, calm, and serene until lap-24 when quite a few cars ended up in an accident in turn one. On the restart, it was still Pitkat leading with Christopher now assuming second. Two laps would pass until the next caution, as the spinning car of Ruocco in turn three would slow the cars down once again. Either during the caution or soon after the green came back out, a piece of debris was spotted in turn two, but it wasn't revealed until the lap-26 restart occured. Again, the yellow was back out. It wasn't a long caution. Pitkat maintained control on the restart, still with Christopher on his tail. This chase didn't last long, however, and on lap-32, the yellow came out once again. This time, it was for the cars of Shelly Perry, Todd Owen, Wade Mattesen, and Scott Bennett, who were all involved in a backstretch incident. The restart was picture perfect, and Pitkat and Christopher once again duked it out. But there would be a minor problem as the leaders were in three and four and were about to get the white flag: They ran into a lapped car... That of Ruocco. Both of the leaders were able to get by, but Christopher seemed to lose some momentum, letting Pitkat cruise to the win. Christopher would finish second, followed soon after by Eric Berndt and Malone.
The last race of the night was that of the Late Models, who were now running their regularly-scheduled feature. And to tell you the truth, this was more like a game of cat-and-mouse with too many cats and twice as many mice. The first leader of the race was Rick Charette, and he'd lead until lap-8ish or so until Scott Foster, Jr took over. Foster would only lead for three laps before Ryan Posocco became the third different leader of the race. The first caution of the race would occur on lap-12 as JJ Hill and Bobby Leone were involved in a turn two and backstretch accident. Posocco would continue to lead on the restart, but Woody Pitkat (who had already won the two races he was a part of already) was coming up and eventually took second. The two of them would pull away from the rest of the field until lap-18 when Doug Blowers spun in turn two. On the restart, it was the Posocco and Pitkat show once again, but the show would only last for a single lap as on lap-19, Mark St. Hilaire brought out the caution for a solo-car accident. The show would revive itself as the green came back out, but Pitkat would lose ground to Posocco as the laps ticked down. Posocco's lead would be erased on lap-29 when John Warren and Tony Lafo collided with each other on the frontstretch. Of course, this set the stage for a green-white-checkered situation. They got the green down... They got the white down... Yet for some reason, the checkered was not in their reach the first time around. As Posocco and Pitkat were still battling for the lead, Dillon Moltz spun in three and four on the white flag lap, causing the field to try the last three laps over again. Pitkat tried as hard as he could to get the lead away from the clutches of Posocco, but it was no use. Posocco would break the winning streak of Pitkat at Stafford and take down his second win of the season. The win would also break the tie he had with Jim Peterson for the all-time career Late Model lead. Finishing off the top-four were Pitkat, Corey Hutchings, and Peterson.
Now that I've just killed my chances at getting this out on Wednesday (it's early Thursday morning as I'm finishing this up and I had something to do Wednesday evening), I have some news for you. No, it's not the entry list for next week's Whelen Modified Tour appearance. I'm surprised that it's not up for public viewing yet. What I do have for you is the order of features for Friday night. It's a regular week, so no double dipping and absolutely no special rules. Ladies and gentlemen, the order is as follows:
- Late Model 16 LCQ (if needed)
- Limited Late Models (20 minute time limit)
- SK Modified 21 Means 21 (if needed)
- Late Models
- SK Lights (20 minute time limit)
- SK Modifieds
- DARE Stocks
So as you can tell, it's going to be greatness all around. So I'll see you sometime over the course of next week with news, highlights, and results from this upcoming program. Until then, keep safe, and enjoy all of your Thursday. (Because as far as I know, I'll be sleeping during the entire duration of the morning.)
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