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.