View From Turn Four: '09 Bud Mod Nats

With the rainout on Friday (which I shouldn't even call a rainout), the plan for Saturday was to go to the Waterford Speedbowl for the second night of the Budweiser Modified Nationals. Now, keep in mind that qualifying for this event took place around the end of March. Yet the Sunday of the event was a rainout, and Waterford eventually rescheduled the event to May 30.

The trip was a plan with a purpose: I was there to track the progress of a group of drivers that I shall call the SMS Eight. Seven SK Modified drivers and one in the Street Stocks. Even if I had to stay there for the entire night, it was well worth it.

In pre-SMS attendees news, the action before the main event -- the SK Modified 150 -- was highly interesting. Pro-4 Modifieds had some guy blow his motor with about two laps to go and he actually finished the race... In third. I thought someone should have thrown the caution as soon as they saw the smoke, but two laps around Waterford in a Modified doesn't take long at all. And in the Late Model race, there was a red flag with 11 laps left in the race.

We finally get to the SK Modified 150. There were seven SMS reps in this event, including three track champions of the half-mile's SK class. The drivers who made the trip to the shore were, in order of finish:

• Doug Coby, finishing 2nd
• Keith Rocco, finishing 3rd
• Mark Bakaj, finishing 6th
• Frank Ruocco, finishing 10th
• Corey Hutchings, finishing 16th
• Ted Christopher, finishing 20th
• Kenny Horton, finishing 21st

Semi-related in regards to the results of the race -- Ron Yuhas, Jr became the first driver to win all three extra-distance races that the Speedbowl has over the course of the season.

Last up was the Street Stock feature. Kevin Gambacorta was the SMS rep in this race, finishing 16th.

All in all, a good night for racing. Five good features, and no rain in sight.

Was it the Right Choice?

As you may already know, Stafford pulled the plug on Friday's show early yesterday morning. The question is, was it a good idea?

By 11 in the morning, the rain was just about out of Connecticut. And by 5:30 or so, the sun was out. I hate to say that the idea was a bad one, but... I think it wasn't the best plan of action.

The Weather Channel's website had minimal chance of rain throughout the day. WeatherBug started out with a crappy forecast, but gradually had it clearing up.

Whatever the reason, the sun came out Friday and there wasn't a raindrop in sight.

I don't know. They could have raced this week. Ah, well. There's always next week.

Nope, Not Running Tonight

Here's the scoop for those of you uninformed of my potential weekend plans...

Stafford decided to not run tonight. I'll be doing something else to pass the time. But all is not lost.

I'm going to try to make it to Waterford for the SK 150 event that was supposed to be run back in April.

It should be pretty crazy next week, weather permitting. I'll tell you more over the course of the week.

Results of May 22

Another week in the books at Stafford. May 22 was a crazy kind of night of racing, since the Whelen Modified Tour guys were back in the spotlight of the half-mile. They were scheduled to run a 100-lap event since it was announced back in late April (and then again in early May). Along with them, there were the five weekly divisions, also in their usual-sized distances. Let the games begin.

The first order of business was time trials for the Whelen Modified Tour. And your winner, with a time of 18.085 (99.530 mph) was Ted Christopher. It was his third straight pole of the season. He'd redraw fourth for the feature later on in the evening. Jimmy Blewett and Richard Savary would bring the field to green. More on this race later in the recap. Up next, the weekly divisions would take center stage. Time for the first race of the night.

SK Lights: First to go on the program would be the SK Lights. It would start out with David Webb out in front, but six laps into the race, a new leader would emerge in Tommy Membrino, Jr. Membrino would start to pull away from the field, but a caution a little bit after halfway would erase the lead and set the field up for a restart. Michael Gervais, Jr would take the lead on the restart, but Membrino would reclaim the lead on the next lap. Again, he would take control of the race by pulling away from the rest of the field, and he would claim his first career victory. Second belonged to John Montesanto, followed by Gervais and Heather DesRochers.

SK Modifieds: We had to pace ourselves for some extra time to get this one into the record books. We start, however, at the beginning, with Curt Brainard as the leader early on. The first lead change would take place on lap-6 when Matt Gallo took over, and three laps later, Gallo would be passed by Frank Ruocco. Also coming would be Ted Christopher, who would spend lap after lap trying to find a way around Ruocco. On lap-28, Christopher would finally make the move for the lead. On lap-30, the caution would come out not once, but twice. The second time around, Ruocco and Chris Jones spun in turns one and two while dueling for second. Jones would be penalized for overaggression. Brainard would be awarded second as a result. Through the course of the final three laps, numerous cautions kept the field close together. Three green-white-checker scenarios occured, with the race going into overtime because of it. Each time, Christopher was able to hold off Brainard as he picked up his first win of the season. Brainard finished second, followed by Gallo and Wade Mattesen.

Limited Late Models: Norm Sears would be the first leader of the race, and he would be out in front for about four laps until Kevin Gambacorta took over. The two of them and Dave Yardley, III would run in line until a lap-13 caution came out, signaling a restart. Gambacorta would be back out front, with a quad of cars getting past Sears as he faded back in the pack. Meanwhile, Gambacorta was not challenged and led the final 16 laps of the race to take his first win of the season. Carla Botticello would finish second, Yardley took third, and Davis picked up fourth.

Late Models: So much to say for this one. Starting at the beginning, it was Billy Snow, Jr out in front early. He would lead up to a lap-7 restart, when he would be penalized for jumping the gun on that restart. He was sent to the back, while Tom Fearn took control of the lead. Fearn would have a bit of a problem on a not-too-distant restart, giving Ryan Posocco the lead. Michael Bennett was following Posocco closely, and in two laps, Bennett would make his way around for the lead. Posocco would retake the lead from Bennett on a lap-18 restart. On another restart on lap-20, Posocco didn't get up to speed. The inside line was hung out to dry as Bennett would once again pull out in front. Fearn followed Bennett and the two of them would begin to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, but it would be Bennett scoring the win; his first of the season. Fearn would finish second. Rick Charette and Doug Blowers, Jr would round out the board.

By this time, it was time for the main event to roll off.

Whelen Modified Tour: This race, much like the SK Modified feature, had to go into extra laps. But this race was a one-man show. Jimmy Blewett, from the inside of the front row after the redraw, had to endure six cautions and a green-white-checker to pick up his first win of the season. He led all 101 laps of the event. In the late stages of the race, Todd Szegedy attempted a pass but was unsuccessful. He was passed by Ted Christopher for second. Mike Stefanik finished fourth.

DARE Stocks: The evening concluded with the quickest race of the evening. And while it was quick to finish, it came with its own dramatics. It was caution-free, though there were times when the caution could have come out for someone spinning and just barely getting going before the field got to them. There was only one leader in the event; he being Tony Membrino, Jr. By taking the lead at the start from being on the pole to having a good straightaway's lead coming to the checkered flag, his first career race at Stafford was well-deserved. Albert Saunders would finish second, followed by Duane Provost in third and Jeff Jolly in fourth.

Friday night, weather permitting, we'll be back with a five-division program with no major events going on. Less action doesn't always mean less excitement. Hope the rain holds off, and see you there.

Schedule for May 29

Before I forget, I should just go right ahead and post the schedule for next Friday, which is May 29.

It's Saturday. I'm posting the schedule. Watch me forget I've already done it.

SK Mod News

Last weekend, I said that there was a chance Ted Christopher wasn't going to return to SK Modified racing at Stafford. He'll be at the track this Friday and will run double duty.

But apparently, someone will be missing from the division tomorrow.

Doug Coby will be the one taking some time off. No, he's not in trouble. He'll race in the Tour race. It's motor related. The motor in the SK at Stafford is the one that he uses in the SK at Waterford. Considering that the 150-lap event rain date is next Saturday (5/30), getting the car prepped for that doesn't sound like a bad idea.

Results of May 15

Another week, and another great night of racing. Stafford had the five weekly divisions in action per usual, with the DARE Stocks in two features. So what happened? Read on!

DARE Stocks (from 5/8): The first race of the night was the conclusion of the DARE Stock race from 5/8. It restarted with Robert Thompson taking the lead, but three cautions bunched the field back up. On each restart, it was Thompson right back out in front. He would pick up his first win of '09. The battle for second came down to Albert Saunders and Don Wood, with Saunders taking second over Wood, who finished third. Cliff Saunders came in to finish fourth.

SK Lights: Where to start with this one? There was the accident with one lap already completed involving four cars, including Brit Andersen, who had to be taken to the hospital (which red flagged the race). After the red flag period ended, the race resumed. Tony Santangelo had been making his way up towards the front of the pack, and by the halfway point, he was up to second. On lap-12, a caution came out and tightened the field back up. On the next lap, there was a multi-car accident, which would provide another restart. And that is when Santangelo took the lead. He brought Ted Cain along with him, and Cain attempted to make a move for the lead in the closing laps of the race. But Santangelo would be too much, and he would score his second win of the season. Cain would finish second, with John Montesanto in third and Michael Gervais, Jr in fourth.

Late Models: What really impressed me about this feature was the way the winner made the move for the lead. With five laps to go, a caution came out for a one-car spin. This set up a restart with Jim Peterson and Dillon Moltz. The two of them made contact, giving the momentum to third-place Ryan Posocco, who passed the two of them going into the first turn. It was the pass for not only the lead, taking down his first feature win of the season. Peterson and Moltz would finish second and third respectively, with Scott Cook finishing fourth.

Limited Late Models: The quickest feature of the night, but not with the ending some expect there to be. Only one caution and three leaders. Shawn Thibeault became the third leader of the event on the lap-9 restart, yet there was another driver charging up to the front. Dennis Botticello came through the field and made an attempt to challenge Thibeault for the win. But it would be Thibeault who would take down the win. Unfortunately, it came with a price. Upon further review in postrace technical inspection, Thibeault's car exceeded the torque limit for rear tires and he was dropped from first to fifth (which kind of doesn't make sense here). That gave Botticello the win, with Andrew Durand now in second, Carla Botticello in third, and Dave Yardley, III in fourth.

SK Modifieds: So much drama in this one, and I'm only talking about the stuff that takes place towards the end of the event. Makes enough sense that the last three laps would be more dramatic than the rest of the race combined. Inbetween all of the spins and accidents (and debris cautions), we cut to a restart -- the second of which -- with 37 laps on the board. And let the controversy begin. Ted Christopher, starting outside of race leader Keith Rocco, seemed to jump the restart. The caution comes right back out, and Christopher is penalized. Instead of going to the back of the field, he passes the pace car (one lap penalty). He parked the car for the rest of the race. All of that put Woody Pitkat on Rocco's outside. After two more cautions, Pitkat could not find a way around Rocco, and Rocco claimed his first win of the season. Pitkat would finish second, followed by Frank Ruocco and Jeff Malave.

DARE Stocks: The DARE Stocks were back out for their scheduled feature. And while the caution on the opening lap of the race was a quick one, the one with three laps to go brought the red flag out for the second time in the evening. The red flag was for Jim Brice, who hit the safer barrier in turn one at a ton. The roof was cut, and he was taken to the hospital. The last three laps were green flag, and all of the laps were led by Todd LaPorta, who picked up his first win. The rest of the top-four belonged to Jeff Jolly, Tom Stirk, and Robert Thompson.

The Whelen Modified Tour will be back in action Friday night as they make their second appearance of the season at Stafford. 100 laps of action is scheduled, along with features for the five SMS divisions. No qualifying except for time trials. Should be a good night for racing.

A Lot of WMT News

First, let's get you quick little details about the last race for the Tour (also held at Stafford; Spring Sizzler weekend). And now, stories that you may or may not have already read...

+ Ted Christopher has already won the first two races of the '09 season. Will Friday night make it a threepeat?

+ SMS is the home track of Ryan Preece. He won a pole last season in '08, and finished third in this year's Sizzler. Can he find the way to victory lane?

+ Richie Pallai, Jr hopes to make his WMT debut Friday.

NASCAR New England Returns to NESN

Starting June 27, NESN will air the fourth season of NASCAR New England. It will run for ten weeks, with the final episode airing August 29.

As was the case last year, the SK Modifieds and Late Models will be featured. SK Lights, Limited Late Models, and DARE Stocks will be highlighted in the program as well.

CT Classic 100 Schedule

No heat races; top-18 in divisional points pre-qualified.

That's what the schedule says. It's only Tuesday, so it'll be updated with a list of what the night should look like later on (tomorrow or Thursday, I'd expect).

And it should be warm -- and no rain in the forecast! Should be a great evening of racing.

The week's recap should be up tomorrow.

TC Says Adios to SMS SK Mods?

Well, this is interesting. After Friday night's SK Modified feature, it appears as though someone wants out.

After getting penalized for jumping a late restart, Ted Christopher pulled onto pit road and parked the car for the evening. So what's going on? He says he's done racing at the track on a weekly basis. Which, in my opinion, sucks. If I can say something like that.

The reason why Christopher's done weekly racing at SMS is because he says that Keith Rocco was hitting the breaks on the restart in question.

And for the record, I must not have been paying attention to the restart rules as well, because I hadn't heard of them changing anything about it in 2008. But apparently, that's the rule now. Really don't know where that one came from. Last I knew, they had a warning system and then you went to the back.

Results of May 8

This would have been done sooner, but I was just swamped with other things. Sorry about that; onto the recap!

After rain cancelled Stafford's May 1 program, sunny skies prevailed for the very next week -- which was a good thing, considering that on the schedule was the 15th annual Late Model 100. The other four divisions were also on hand (somewhat, which will be described as we go further along in the review here), so let's get right down to it.

Limited Late Models: What a way to kick off the program. All that has to be said, really, is the stuff about the ending. It came down to a three car race for the win. Andrew Durand versus Shawn Thibeault versus Bill Davis. Just by the sounds of things, something was going to go down. And it did. On the final lap, Thibeault tried to get around leader Durand via the inside, but found a lapped car blocking his path. Durand would win, but it would be Davis in second, nearly picking up the win. Thibeault was third, and Dennis Botticello finished fourth.

SK Lights: This week, it was proven fact that third place can be the recipient of good fortune. A mid-race altercation between then race leaders Brit Andersen and Tommy Membrino, Jr, who ended up going through the infield grass, opened the door for Tony Santangelo, then in third place, to take the lead. Santangelo's fortunes would pay off as he'd claim his first feature win of the season. Jay Goff would finish second, followed by Heather Desrochers and Erica Santos.

SK Modifieds: Probably the biggest race of the night that wasn't the Late Model 100, for two reasons: 1) when the lead change for the win took place, and 2) what happened in between that point in the race and the end of the race. When Jeff Malave took the lead from Keith Rocco on lap-10, things started to get a little chippy behind him to the tune of six cautions and one red flag. Over the course of the late yellows, Malave managed to keep Ted Christopher and Woody Pitkat at bay as the two of them fought against each other for second, but Dave Salzarulo managed to get by the two of them for the spot. All three had no answer for Malave, who would win his first SK Modified feature since 2004. Salzarulo, Pitkat, and Christopher rounded out the board.

Late Models: Only two cautions in this one. Not surprised; it's happened before. And only three leaders. Again, I'm not surprised. In the later stages of the race, the three-car train of Jim Peterson, Ryan Posocco, and Dillon Moltz had just about separated themselves from the field. Around lap-76, they hit lapped traffic, in which Posocco and Moltz had trouble and got hung up. But the second caution on lap-85 bunched the field back up. This time, however, it would be Moltz with the momentum. He passed Posocco, and then on lap-88, managed to get around Peterson for the lead. It would the change for the win, as Moltz picked up his second win of the season and third extra distance win of his career at Stafford. Peterson and Posocco would finish second and third respectively, while Corey Hutchings finished fourth.

DARE Stocks: By the time they ended up starting their feature, the rain arrived and slowly started to drop from the skies. They got two laps in with the DARE Stocks before the showers became heavier, and it was in Stafford's best interest to postpone the feature until a later date. As of the time this was written, I don't know when that later date will be.

Friday night, weather permitting, is another five-division night at Stafford. If the events of May 8 were any indication, the next program will be just as exciting.

Schedule for May 15

I'm going to try to get a recap of Friday's action up tomorrow, but for now, I can give you the schedule for Friday night's program. It'll be updated over the course of the week, guaranteed.

Late Model 100 News

A few pieces of news in regards to the next race:

+ Woody Pitkat has found a ride for the Late Model 100 tomorrow. He'll join Billy Snow in a team car.

+ Dillon Moltz, winner of both 100-lap races last season, hopes to return to victory lane in yet another extra-distance event.

Anyone Up for Shortened Distances?

In this space (hopefully soon) will be the entry list for the Whelen Modified Tour race in a little over two weeks on May 22. As previously mentioned, the race will be cut down to 100 laps.

I would have put the entry list up here with this entry, but SMS didn't exactly link to it.

EDIT: Went back on the site in the 4:00pm EST hour, and there is an entry list up.

Red Flag for Rain

See that? Stop the presses!

Okay, maybe keep the presses rolling. Just stop planning for any outdoor activities tonight. Stafford cancelled their program for Friday night and will try again next week.

That program -- weather permitting -- should be interesting. 100 laps for the Late Models? Anything short of interesting will be upsetting.

If you're looking for a schedule for that event, all you have to do is click here, and it'll be updated as the week progresses.

Until next Friday night, stay safe and dry (might be a snowball's chance in Hades with the hit or miss showers today), and hopefully, we'll get a program in next week.