Late Model 100 and Other Features

So much to talk about and not much time to do it in! I admit to wanting to start this yesterday, but I had spent too much time doing things that, in most people's minds, may have been personal. I come here strictly on business, however; ready to get this going. In this week's edition: The biggest race of the night was (in my opinion) anything but, because a race previous stole the stage as the most dramatic. I think it's time to open up the floodgates and release the hounds. Or, in other words, open up the notes and give you the (somewhat late) tale of the Late Model 100 and the rest of the features.

We'll start with the Limited Late Models. They went over the line with the time limit in the race previous to this one. I assure you that nobody had to play the time limit card with this race. This story can't start where the last one left off, because we were starting anew and starting from the point in time in the previous feature might not work out in the end. Michael Nadeau held down the fort for the first four laps, but a caution four laps in the race bunched the field back up; the caution was for Lauren Cooper who spun in turn four. Again, it was Nadeau out in front. But this duration was for only three more laps as Sean Foster wrecked on the frontstretch to bring out the caution for the second time. The final caution occured on lap-12 when Jeff Hubbell spun on the backstretch. Not too long after the restart, Joey Ferrigno worked his way around Nadeau, bringing both Kevin Gambacorta and Bill Davis with him. Gambacorta and Davis battled with each other, giving Ferrigno all of the comfort room in the world... Or at least as much as necessary so he could take down the win. Gambacorta won the battle for second, with Davis and Nadeau coming in third and fourth respectively.

There was a slight diversion from the features so the Late Models could run in their 16-lap last chance qualifier kind of event. There was only one caution in the entire event; brought to you on the very first lap of the event and in the first turn. Those involved (either directly or indirectly) were Mike Connelly, Rick Charette, John Warren, and Kyle Nosal. (I have him written down, but why isn't he on the finishing order?) Other than that, you had two leaders: Doug Blowers, Jr, who lead the first eight laps, and Michael Bennett, who lead everything else to pick up the win. Rounding out the top-four were Dillon Moltz (who wound up being disqualified from the original heat race, hence the transfer into the 16), Blowers, and Mike Quintiliano.

The open-wheeled portion of the night now rolled around, beginning with the SK Lights. We started with Harry Wheeler out in front, and like the first two races, there was an early caution that forced the field to slow down. The first caution for this race was on lap-2 after Kyle Spencer and Tommy Membrino, who spun coming out of turn two. On the very next lap, the caution came out for debris. When lap-4 rolled around, Joe Allegro, Jr moved past Wheeler for the lead. But again, the caution came out. And it came out on lap-6, when Shawn Brule spun in turn two. Back to green, and it was Allegro still out in front. This next green flag run lasted from the restart until lap-12 when Membrino spun once again; this time, in turns three and four. Three laps later, Ted Cain and Rick Burwood brought out the caution yet again via a two car accident in turn four. The last yellow occured only three laps later as Brule stalled up in turn three (don't know exactly what happened). On the restart, Mark Bakaj took over the lead and held off the challenge of Allegro to win his second race of the season. Chris Matthews and Neil Provost, Jr rounded out the rest of the top-four.

In a performance that will once again recieve the "most chaotic race of the evening" award, we bring forth the SK Modifieds. Where should I start with this one? At the top. The leader for the first four laps of the race was Doug Coby, before giving way to Woody Pitkat on lap-4. And that's when everything begins. On lap-5, Kenny Horton spun in turn two. The onsuing restart was the only restart that led to a false start in the whole night, so they had to do it all over again. Thankfully, the attempt was successful and Pitkat once again jumped back into the lead. The next caution wouldn't occur until lap-16 when Wade Mattesen and Brad Hietala spun in turns one and two. Two laps later, the caution came out again for a three car accident on the backstretch involving Bo Gunning, Steven Reed, and Frank Ruocco. (I have a sudden urge to write a Bingo reference, if you kind of know what I mean.) Back to the action up front, and we still find Pitkat up front. Again, the caution flew two laps later for Willie Hardie spinning in turn four. Pitkat was back out front, but again, the field would see yellow. This time, it would fall on lap-29 as Glenn Griswold spun in turns three and four. The restart remained the same: Pitkat in front; yet more gold would be displayed on lap-32 when Ted Christopher spun in turn two. If you think that we were done here, we were far from done. Lap-39 gave us two incidents. The first of which had Chris Jones at a sudden and dead stop on the backstretch. Again, the second attempt wasn't so successful as Tom Bolles and Jimmy Blewett were involved in a crazy incident on the backstretch. Bolles was going backwards down the backstretch and didn't hit a thing, which is officially a nominee for save of the year. Of course, that set up a two-lap dash to the finish. Pitkat held off Keith Rocco to win his first race of the season. Rocco, Jeff Malave, and Todd Owen rounded out the top-four.

And now, we come to the feature attraction of the evening: The Late Model 100. For some reason, I always think that extra distance races take forever and a day to complete. After this race? Boy, was I ever wrong. Scott Cook held the lead for the first three laps before the caution came out on lap-3. The yellow flew for Doug Blowers, Jr, who spun and kind of got into his own little accident in turn three. On the restart, it was Cook out in front once again, and he would hold a solid lead at one point until lap-19 when Brian Chapin sent him spinning in turns one and two, bringing out the second of few cautions. Chapin would be black flagged for sending Cook around, giving the lead to Corey Hutchings. And that's when the green parade started. The next lead change didn't occur until lap-27, when Hutchings lost the lead to Joe Rzeszutek. Rzeszutek had the lead until lap-67, when Dillon Moltz made his way through the field to claim the top spot. After that, nobody was able to catch Moltz. The rest of the race ran caution-free, though there was almost a moment with two laps to go when someone got loose going down the frontstretch. Thankfully, whomever it was managed to keep the car straight, and the final two ticked away with Moltz winning his third straight race of the season. Finishing off the board were Rzeszutek, Hutchings, and Ryan Posocco.

Concluding the program were the DARE Stocks. Cliff Saunders held the lead from the first lap to the fourth lap, but the first (and only) lead change of the race occured on lap-5 when Robert Thompson eventually took over. There was only one "true" caution in the event, happening on lap-6, when John Lampro, Jr apparently blowing an engine. The caution didn't come out until he was in turn one, but whatever was dumped on the track was down the frontstretch a ways. The rest of the race ran caution free, except I stated that there was only one "true" caution since the race finished under a yellow/checker because Tony Membrino, Jr had hit the wall in turn two. That brought out both the yellow and the caution flags (strange), and that put Thompson in victory lane for the first time in his career. The rest of the board showed Norm Sears, Scott Roy, and Don Wood.

Well, that would be it for this week's little thing. (Though I don't think "little" is the proper term. I digress.) I shall pop in here quickly to remind you that there shall be more racing tomorrow -- if necessary, of course. There will be fireworks in the skies if there isn't already some before we get the program started. The schedule is at the usual spot, so that's all I have to say for this week. Stay safe and dry, and I hope to see you tomorrow.