Results of July 3

After the rain came and drenched out the last program for June, the first weekend of July was next on the schedule. And Stafford planned on having a good night of racing. Five divisions, per usual, and fireworks after dusk.

DARE Stocks: Opening the program on the evening were the DARE Stocks. Started out with Victoria Bergenty leading from the pole. Over the first two laps of the race, Kyle Casagrande was able to catch Bergenty and take over as the leader on lap-3. The first caution came out three laps later for a multi-car accident, and then the caution came out again a lap later for a car that hit the frontstretch wall at a ton. But it was still Casagrande out in front. On the lap-7 restart, Casagrande was able to pull away from the field, and it seemed to be the end... That was, until, the caution came out again on lap-13, which set the stage for a two-lap finish. It was Casagrande who dominated the restart and cruised to his first win of the season. Barry Fluckiger was second, followed by Jeff Jolly and Cliff Saunders.

Late Models: Also known as the quickest event of the night. Adam Gray was the first leader of the race, starting on the pole and taking the lead on the drop of the green flag. He would have the lead for only eight laps, however, until Jim Peterson took over on lap-9. Lap after lap ticked by under green flag conditions, going past the halfway point, where Gray would begin to drop back through the field as numerous guys ran past him. Gray would fall to sixth. The race would still be under green until lap-27, when a spin in turn four brought out the caution and set up a race to the finish. And on the restart, it was Peterson out in front again. Ryan Posocco would move into second, but Peterson had collected a lead that would prove to be unbeatable. It would be Peterson's first win of the season, followed by Posocco, Dillon Moltz, and Tom Fearn.

Limited Late Models: First lap, and... Caution in turn three. What a way to kick things off in this event. But it did calm down in a hurry. On the restart, it was Shawn Thibeault taking the lead. Dan Flannery and Norm Sears fell in line behind him. The caution came out again on lap-4 for a car that spun in turns one and two. And again, it was Thibeault in the lead. Sears got around Flannery for second and Andrew Durand moved around Flannery for third. Sears closed the lead that Thibeault had earned himself with the long green flag run, but Thibeault was able to pull away from Sears and pick up his first career win at Stafford. Sears finished second, as Durand and Flannery finished off the board.

SK Modifieds: An exciting race this was. And I mean that in the most honest way I could possibly say it. It started off with Woody Pitkat leading. And after an early two car accident, Pitkat had taken the lead on the restart and began to stretch out a lead. Ted Christopher would find his way into second by the halfway point of the race, but the gap between he and Pitkat was about a half-straightaway. On lap-23, the caution came out for a car that had spun on the frontstretch, erasing the large lead of Pitkat. Though Pitkat reclaimed the lead on that restart, Christopher managed to get around him on lap-25. The caution came out two different times in a span of two laps as two different spins occured, and each time the yellow flew, Christopher was still in the lead. When the race went back to green, Christopher remained out in front as Pitkat tried to chase him down. But Pitkat couldn't get close to Christopher, and he scored his second win of the season. Pitkat would finish second, with Frank Ruocco and Todd Owen finishing third and fourth.

After the fireworks in the skies, the final division of the night rolled out.

SK Lights: Although it was Jay Goff out in front early, the one to watch would be Brit Andersen. Originally starting in 16th, he was up to sixth by the second lap and into second by lap-8. And while Goff was able to hold Andersen off for a few laps, Andersen was able to find the track space to pass Goff down low to take the lead on lap-12. A caution on the very next lap bunched the field together, where Andersen would have trouble getting up to speed on the restart. It would put Ted Cain in the lead, but only for a good four laps as Andersen quickly came back to life and managed to take the lead back. Once Andersen was back out in front, it was pretty much a no-contest. Andersen would stretch the lead out and would not be caught as he picked up his third win of the season. Goff would finish second, with David Webb in third and Shawn Brule in fourth.

And another quick night of racing ended on a high note. Friday night, it's more of the same. Five divisions of racing, all of which will take place if the rain holds off. Until next time...