Thompson's World Series program was supposed to be run last weekend. But the rain/snow hybrid postponed the event and moved it to this weekend. And while Saturday looks kind of evil in terms of weather, Friday looked fine and, as promised, the SK Lights took to the track to run their first ever event.
I wasn't there, but I can give you abbreviated results.
Brit Andersen took down the win. Kyle Spencer finished second with Erica Santos in third. This was after Andersen passed Spencer on lap-14 restart (a redo after the first attempt was deemed as a false start).
The rest of the top-five was Earl Pelletier and Raymond Grassetti. This was because SK Light points champion Michael Gervais, Jr originally finished fifth, but was removed from the fifth finishing spot because something on the car had violated the rules.
Information on Thompson's Friday results can be found here and here.
After my hiatus since May, I've decided on a new lease on life. I've re-emerged from the dark layers of hell with a new location for all things VFT1.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Bring on the Banquet
So now that the racing season is over (and I finally got all of my news stories posted), what's next on the agenda? Besides the final swap meet of the year -- also Stafford's final on-track action for 2009 -- there's the annual banquet at La Renaissance in East Windsor. There'll be about 500 people there to celebrate the season that was. And to watch as hardware is handed out.
Awards will be given out in a few categories: The five track champions, along with the four Rookies of the Year. Results of the Most Popular Driver awards will also be revealed, as well as the Most Improved Drivers for the year.
I promise that as soon as everything is revealed with Most Improved Drivers and Most Popular Drivers (hopefully it's all in print the day after the banquet; I'm doubtful for attendance), I will be posting with a quick results post explaining everything.
So stay tuned for that.
Awards will be given out in a few categories: The five track champions, along with the four Rookies of the Year. Results of the Most Popular Driver awards will also be revealed, as well as the Most Improved Drivers for the year.
I promise that as soon as everything is revealed with Most Improved Drivers and Most Popular Drivers (hopefully it's all in print the day after the banquet; I'm doubtful for attendance), I will be posting with a quick results post explaining everything.
So stay tuned for that.
Results of October 4 [The Better Late Than Never Edition]
(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Doing more things that I shouldn't have been doing lately. Tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to give you the written results from Fall Final weekend -- it's been two weeks since things wrapped up at Stafford and I fail with time management. And then I'll do what I promised and give you the rest of those championship stories as soon as I post this. Cool? Awesome. Apologies to those of you who were waiting and waiting but never saw the post.)
Well, we've done it. I don't know where the summer months have gone, but this past weekend was the final time this year that Stafford held racing. And it was amazing as usual. It was supposed to be a three-day event, but the rains came on Saturday and completely crammed all of the Fall Final activities into Sunday. That meant that besides the five weekly divisions, you had the Whelen Modified Tour there for their 150-lapper and the debut of the Mini Stocks all at the same time. Mass chaos all over the place, and that means only one thing... The end of the road. Here is the recap of October 4, 2009.
The event that started it all on Sunday was the DARE Stock feature event. What a way to kick things off. The afternoon/evening of racing began with Duane Provost getting the lead early. Drivers running in the top-five included Andrew Hayes in fourth and the Saunders twins (Albert in third and Cliff in fifth). They ran single file until lap-5, when Kyle Casagrande hit the wall in turn two -- CAUTION. The restart was fine, if only for a short bit. Both Provost and Jim Brice ended up in a spin/accident in turns one and two on lap-6 -- CAUTION. Apparently, Provost leaked fluid or blew the motor in his car. Either way, his day was done. This gave Albert Saunders and Hayes the front row for the next restart. It was a restart that Hayes got the jump on. He became the new leader on lap-7. Coming up to second from fifth was Don Wood, who sat back comfortably behind Hayes for a couple of laps. The next yellow came out on lap-12, as Lori-Jo Rzeszutek spun in turn four and didn't get going until way past too late -- CAUTION. A restart with four laps ensued between Hayes and Wood that proved to be all kinds of awesome. Wood claimed the lead on the restart, with Hayes now in second. It seemed as though Wood was going to make it to victory lane as the winner, but Hayes was coming. In the final turns, Hayes went down to the inside and managed to pass Wood, then cleared him just enough to get to the finish line first, giving him his first career win at Stafford. Wood ended up finishing second. Tony Membrino, Jr finished third, with Albert Saunders in fourth.
Second up was the Stafford debut of the Mini Stocks. Cars from four different tracks came for this event. Pretty interesting turn of events in this one. It began with Randy Curchill, Jr with an early lead. His lead lasted a lap, as on lap-2, multiple cars behind him spun in turns three and four -- CAUTION. Most of them did pull away pre-yellow, while others drove away after the fact. It was a quick caution. When the green came back out, there was a new leader in Chris Williams. Williams had the lead in tact for the next four laps. On lap-6, Chad Baxter claimed the lead from Williams. Two laps later, Alan Hall, Jr ended up spinning in turn four -- CAUTION. It was after that when things got a bit crazy. Williams retook the lead on the restart, and Joe Kendall moved up into third. The lead that Williams had brought the race to lap-12, as Baxter took over for the second time in the race. Baxter also brought Kendall with him, putting Williams back into third. Kendall attempted a move around Baxter coming to take the white flag, but ended up spinning into the grass as the two made contact. Kendall did in fact keep moving. But back out front, it was nobody but Baxter. He cruised to the win, with Williams in second, Mark Panaroni in third, and Steve Michalski in fourth.
Closing out the first act (feature-wise) was the SK Light feature. It didn't start off too well. Two laps into the race, Lauren Cooper and Earl Pelletier found the concrete wall in turn one and smacked it hard -- CAUTION. When the green came back out, John Hanafin took the lead from Kyle Spencer. The race was green for a while, giving people like Tommy Membrino, Jr a chance to move through the field. Membrino was up to second by lap-19, when Harry Wheeler spun in turn three -- CAUTION. The restart was nice while it lasted. Shawn Brule spun in turn four and the yellow didn't come out until lap-20 -- CAUTION. So what did this mean? A third attempt at a green-white-checkered finish. Yeah, not so good. On the restart, Hanafin and Membrino got together a slight bit, with the loser of the battle being Hanafin. He went around and collected three other cars. Adam Skowyra ended up slightly on top of Hanafin's car -- CAUTION. The new front row was Membrino and Heather DesRochers. And on the restart, DesRochers got the jump she needed. She took control and went by Membrino. Membrino kept close to her bumper through the final two laps, and nearly got close to passing her for the lead, but it was DesRochers who claimed her second win of the season. Membrino had to settle for second, with John Montesanto and Tony Santangelo finishing the board.
The break from all of the features took place with the Whelen Modified Tour time trials. It was supposed to be 32 cars taking time, but one of the cars had trouble during practice, leading into time trials, and couldn't get two laps in. So 31 cars ended up going out for two laps each. Fast time was set by Donny Lia, who posted a time of 18.579 -- equaling out to 96.884 miles per hour. Results of the redraw and the race itself later.
After time trials, it was time to get down to business once again. SK Modified feature time. Anyone for a little chaos in your Fall Final event? This race had some of that. To start, there was Wade Mattesen getting the early lead. And by early, I mean about a lap's worth of lead. On lap-2, the first lead change of the race occurred as Curt Brainard passed Mattesen for the lead. Following Brainard around Mattesen was Richie Pallai, Jr. But Pallai wanted the lead and was pressuring Brainard for it as soon as the two of them were clear of Mattesen. Jeff Malave and Chris Matthews spun/got into an accident in turn three on lap-5 -- CAUTION. This set up a restart with Brainard and Pallai on the front row, a restart in which Pallai won. Joining Pallai were the three heavy hitters in Keith Rocco, Woody Pitkat, and Ted Christopher. Rocco wasn't going to settle for second, and on lap-10, he became the third leader as he passed Pallai. As for Pallai, his day ended on the very next lap after he met the turn four wall -- CAUTION. Christopher helped Pallai get there and was sent to the back of the field courtesy of a black flag. Back up front, however, it was Rocco who kept the lead on the restart. Now running behind him were Matt Gallo and Doug Coby. Coby wasted little time getting around Gallo for second (neither did Pitkat, sending Gallo back to fourth). And that was how they ran... Until lap-21, when someone dropped fluid down onto the racetrack coming off of pit road. The fluid was all down the backstretch and into turn three -- CAUTION. As soon as all of the fluid was removed from the track surface, it was back to green. And it was Rocco still out in front. Pitkat had found his way into second, and Todd Owen had moved past Coby for third. Josh Sylvester moved up into the top-five. This was how the top-five shaped out at lap-27, when Kirk Zervas spun in turn four -- CAUTION. (Now, apologies for confusing myself after this point.) At some point in time between the previous caution and any later cautions, there was one that occurred in turn four between Josh Sylvester and Christopher. Christopher had been working his way through the field since he was put to the back of the field earlier, and the two of them ended up in the turn four wall -- CAUTION. (Okay, confusion over.) When it was back to green, something happened. For some reason, Rocco didn't get up to speed and he was punted back to third. Pitkat became the new leader of the event, with Coby coming back up into second. Rocco's falter didn't hurt him, and he passed Coby for second on lap-32. On the very next lap, Nicole Morgillo hit the backstretch wall hard -- CAUTION. The red had replaced the yellow and an extra ambulance was needed. After the accident scene was cleared, it was back to green. Pitkat continued to hold the lead, while Coby's luck ran out on lap-35 after he went through the grass on the backstretch and came to a rest in turn three -- CAUTION. Pitkat's good run ended shortly after the restart. Although he took the lead, he began to slow down considerably, giving Rocco the lead while going to pit road at the same time on lap-36. Brit Andersen now found himself in second and Owen moved up to third. While Andersen and Owen fought for position, Rocco pulled away and collected his sixth win of the season. Owen managed to get by Andersen for second, while Gallo finished fourth.
One of two divisions still champion-less going into the final weekend was the Limited Late Model division. The battle was a good one. Andrew Durand only led Dan Flannery by twenty points; ten positions on the track was the difference between Durand winning and losing the championship. That magic number came into play during the race. How? Well, starting at the beginning, you had Joe Nogiec leading the way. He had the lead for a lap before Shawn Thibeault took over as the leader. Behind him followed George Nocera, Jr and Kevin Gambacorta, dropping Nogiec into fourth. With the green still out at the halfway mark, Thibeault was still leading, but with a different look behind him. Second was now Gambacorta. Flannery was sitting in third, with Nocera making up the top-four. This was how they ran when Christopher Harris spun in turn two; lap-14 -- CAUTION. And it was the same order as Jesse Hinze spun while going down the backstretch on the very next lap -- CAUTION. On the restart, the lead changed hands as Flannery moved past Thibeault to claim first, but the lead was short lived as lap-16 had Marc Russell and Michael Chaves wrecked in turns one and two -- CAUTION. The restart had to be done again, and again, it was Flannery to take the lead. Thibeault fell in the second spot. But it was two-laps worth of action before Corky Hinze, Bill Goldrick, and another car ended up in distress coming out of the turn four area -- CAUTION. Durand was assessed a penalty for rough riding and was sent to the back of the pack. The magic number was still ten (or eleven, but that would have meant the points leaders would be tied), and that was how many cars Durand had to pass in order to win the championship. He had a little help on the restart, as Gambacorta, Norm Sears, and Carla Botticello were involved in an accident in turn one -- CAUTION. Other cars were involved in the accident; meaning Durand had picked up a few spots to help out in the championship cause. Meanwhile, back up front, Thibeault retook the lead from Flannery on the ensuing restart. Rob Dow moved into second. Flannery encountered a bit of bad luck as a tire was going down (right rear). He spun in turn four, yet continued to go. The race remained under green-flag conditions. The remaining laps belonged to Thibeault, and he crossed the line to pick up his second win of the season. Dave Yardley, III passed Dow for second, with Nocera finishing the top-four. And the winner of the Limited Late Model track championship was Durand, who finished eighth to Flannery's fourteenth.
It was now time for the main event. The Whelen Modified Tour took to the track for their 150-lap feature. Earlier in the afternoon, at some point in time during either the SK Modified or Limited Late Model feature, the results of the redraw were as follows: The front row was Eric Berndt and Richie Pallai, Jr. Fast time setter Donny Lia was starting fourth. It was not going to be a bad starting position for him. All in all, there were seven different lead changes in the race, between five different drivers. Those drivers were Berndt, Lia, James Civali, Joe Hartmann, back to Civali, back to Lia, Ryan Preece, and then finally, back to Lia. It was a caution-filled race, as there were ten cautions that took up 42-laps of racing time. Oh... And the race went into extra laps. 153 of them, to be exact. As already stated, Lia was the final leader of the race, and held off Doug Coby to claim the win. Preece and Civali finished third and fourth respectively. Between Ted Christopher's bad day (involved in two separate incidents early in the race; lap-17 and lap-25) and Lia's win, Lia is the new points leader going into the final race at Thompson. Preece is second, only 26 points back. Christopher is 109 back, and is a longshot to win the title.
After what was an amazing Tour race, it was time for the Late Model race. It was also the last division to crown a champion. With three drivers still in contention to win the championship, it was anyone's race to win. And lose. So who would come out on top? We begin with Adam Gray taking the lead from Brian Chapin when the race began. This lead lasted all of two laps before Michael Bennett and another driver spun up in turns one and two -- CAUTION. Gray kept the lead on the restart, still with Chapin running in second. The rest of the top-five began to change dramatically, with a championship contender in Jim Peterson now running in fifth. While Gray started to drive away from the rest of the field, Peterson continued to climb up through what little of the field there was in front of him, moving up into third. The lead that Gray had established was erased come lap-14, as Dillon Moltz, another championship contender, spun on the backstretch -- CAUTION. Back to green, and it was still Gray out in front. Peterson was now in second. The third championship contender, Ryan Posocco, had managed to crack the top-five. The next yellow-flag incident came at lap-18, which included Dave Wray, John Kasper, and another car -- CAUTION. After the green came back out again, Gray powered back into the lead. In second was now Posocco, who was looking for the lead. He'd manage to get the lead from Gray on lap-23. Upon taking the lead away, Posocco immediately began to pull away from the field. It was a no contest: Posocco was not going to be caught. It was his fourth win of the year. Tom Butler ended up finishing second, with Tom Fearn in third and JJ Hill in fourth. With a fifth place finish, Peterson became the 2009 Late Model track champion; the third championship of his career.
The absolute last thing on the agenda (and I mean that literally) was the 8-lap Paradiso-Muska DARE Stock Shootout. There aren't a whole lot of requirements that go into a race like this. All one has to do is win a DARE Stock race in the season, from Spring Sizzler weekend to Fall Final weekend, and they're in. The one true question before this race was: Which driver was going to get bragging rights? Well, things kicked off with Victoria Bergenty taking the lead as the greens came out to start the race. She took off and things seemed fine at first sight with the dozen drivers in the race. But things started to get pretty shaky on lap-2, when Stephanie Berardi and Kyle Casagrande (in a backup car) wrecked coming out of turn two. Berardi spun and Casagrande just seemed to drive right into the side -- CAUTION. When the cleanup finished and the race continued, it was Bergenty back out in the lead. Tony Membrino, Jr moved into second, and the two of them started to pull away from the field. Although it looked like it was going to be a two-car show for the win, in all actuality, it was Bergenty who pulled away (slightly) from Membrino to pick up the win. Membrino finished second, with Robert Thompson and Andrew Hayes finishing off the board.
This is where I usually tell you about what's coming up on Friday and that you must go because it's going to be another great night of racing. But you know something? I can't. The season's over. What a ride. Nothing could cap off the season than the nine things I covered in this. Fun times. Until next year, I wish you well. Stay safe, and enjoy your winter.
Well, we've done it. I don't know where the summer months have gone, but this past weekend was the final time this year that Stafford held racing. And it was amazing as usual. It was supposed to be a three-day event, but the rains came on Saturday and completely crammed all of the Fall Final activities into Sunday. That meant that besides the five weekly divisions, you had the Whelen Modified Tour there for their 150-lapper and the debut of the Mini Stocks all at the same time. Mass chaos all over the place, and that means only one thing... The end of the road. Here is the recap of October 4, 2009.
The event that started it all on Sunday was the DARE Stock feature event. What a way to kick things off. The afternoon/evening of racing began with Duane Provost getting the lead early. Drivers running in the top-five included Andrew Hayes in fourth and the Saunders twins (Albert in third and Cliff in fifth). They ran single file until lap-5, when Kyle Casagrande hit the wall in turn two -- CAUTION. The restart was fine, if only for a short bit. Both Provost and Jim Brice ended up in a spin/accident in turns one and two on lap-6 -- CAUTION. Apparently, Provost leaked fluid or blew the motor in his car. Either way, his day was done. This gave Albert Saunders and Hayes the front row for the next restart. It was a restart that Hayes got the jump on. He became the new leader on lap-7. Coming up to second from fifth was Don Wood, who sat back comfortably behind Hayes for a couple of laps. The next yellow came out on lap-12, as Lori-Jo Rzeszutek spun in turn four and didn't get going until way past too late -- CAUTION. A restart with four laps ensued between Hayes and Wood that proved to be all kinds of awesome. Wood claimed the lead on the restart, with Hayes now in second. It seemed as though Wood was going to make it to victory lane as the winner, but Hayes was coming. In the final turns, Hayes went down to the inside and managed to pass Wood, then cleared him just enough to get to the finish line first, giving him his first career win at Stafford. Wood ended up finishing second. Tony Membrino, Jr finished third, with Albert Saunders in fourth.
Second up was the Stafford debut of the Mini Stocks. Cars from four different tracks came for this event. Pretty interesting turn of events in this one. It began with Randy Curchill, Jr with an early lead. His lead lasted a lap, as on lap-2, multiple cars behind him spun in turns three and four -- CAUTION. Most of them did pull away pre-yellow, while others drove away after the fact. It was a quick caution. When the green came back out, there was a new leader in Chris Williams. Williams had the lead in tact for the next four laps. On lap-6, Chad Baxter claimed the lead from Williams. Two laps later, Alan Hall, Jr ended up spinning in turn four -- CAUTION. It was after that when things got a bit crazy. Williams retook the lead on the restart, and Joe Kendall moved up into third. The lead that Williams had brought the race to lap-12, as Baxter took over for the second time in the race. Baxter also brought Kendall with him, putting Williams back into third. Kendall attempted a move around Baxter coming to take the white flag, but ended up spinning into the grass as the two made contact. Kendall did in fact keep moving. But back out front, it was nobody but Baxter. He cruised to the win, with Williams in second, Mark Panaroni in third, and Steve Michalski in fourth.
Closing out the first act (feature-wise) was the SK Light feature. It didn't start off too well. Two laps into the race, Lauren Cooper and Earl Pelletier found the concrete wall in turn one and smacked it hard -- CAUTION. When the green came back out, John Hanafin took the lead from Kyle Spencer. The race was green for a while, giving people like Tommy Membrino, Jr a chance to move through the field. Membrino was up to second by lap-19, when Harry Wheeler spun in turn three -- CAUTION. The restart was nice while it lasted. Shawn Brule spun in turn four and the yellow didn't come out until lap-20 -- CAUTION. So what did this mean? A third attempt at a green-white-checkered finish. Yeah, not so good. On the restart, Hanafin and Membrino got together a slight bit, with the loser of the battle being Hanafin. He went around and collected three other cars. Adam Skowyra ended up slightly on top of Hanafin's car -- CAUTION. The new front row was Membrino and Heather DesRochers. And on the restart, DesRochers got the jump she needed. She took control and went by Membrino. Membrino kept close to her bumper through the final two laps, and nearly got close to passing her for the lead, but it was DesRochers who claimed her second win of the season. Membrino had to settle for second, with John Montesanto and Tony Santangelo finishing the board.
The break from all of the features took place with the Whelen Modified Tour time trials. It was supposed to be 32 cars taking time, but one of the cars had trouble during practice, leading into time trials, and couldn't get two laps in. So 31 cars ended up going out for two laps each. Fast time was set by Donny Lia, who posted a time of 18.579 -- equaling out to 96.884 miles per hour. Results of the redraw and the race itself later.
After time trials, it was time to get down to business once again. SK Modified feature time. Anyone for a little chaos in your Fall Final event? This race had some of that. To start, there was Wade Mattesen getting the early lead. And by early, I mean about a lap's worth of lead. On lap-2, the first lead change of the race occurred as Curt Brainard passed Mattesen for the lead. Following Brainard around Mattesen was Richie Pallai, Jr. But Pallai wanted the lead and was pressuring Brainard for it as soon as the two of them were clear of Mattesen. Jeff Malave and Chris Matthews spun/got into an accident in turn three on lap-5 -- CAUTION. This set up a restart with Brainard and Pallai on the front row, a restart in which Pallai won. Joining Pallai were the three heavy hitters in Keith Rocco, Woody Pitkat, and Ted Christopher. Rocco wasn't going to settle for second, and on lap-10, he became the third leader as he passed Pallai. As for Pallai, his day ended on the very next lap after he met the turn four wall -- CAUTION. Christopher helped Pallai get there and was sent to the back of the field courtesy of a black flag. Back up front, however, it was Rocco who kept the lead on the restart. Now running behind him were Matt Gallo and Doug Coby. Coby wasted little time getting around Gallo for second (neither did Pitkat, sending Gallo back to fourth). And that was how they ran... Until lap-21, when someone dropped fluid down onto the racetrack coming off of pit road. The fluid was all down the backstretch and into turn three -- CAUTION. As soon as all of the fluid was removed from the track surface, it was back to green. And it was Rocco still out in front. Pitkat had found his way into second, and Todd Owen had moved past Coby for third. Josh Sylvester moved up into the top-five. This was how the top-five shaped out at lap-27, when Kirk Zervas spun in turn four -- CAUTION. (Now, apologies for confusing myself after this point.) At some point in time between the previous caution and any later cautions, there was one that occurred in turn four between Josh Sylvester and Christopher. Christopher had been working his way through the field since he was put to the back of the field earlier, and the two of them ended up in the turn four wall -- CAUTION. (Okay, confusion over.) When it was back to green, something happened. For some reason, Rocco didn't get up to speed and he was punted back to third. Pitkat became the new leader of the event, with Coby coming back up into second. Rocco's falter didn't hurt him, and he passed Coby for second on lap-32. On the very next lap, Nicole Morgillo hit the backstretch wall hard -- CAUTION. The red had replaced the yellow and an extra ambulance was needed. After the accident scene was cleared, it was back to green. Pitkat continued to hold the lead, while Coby's luck ran out on lap-35 after he went through the grass on the backstretch and came to a rest in turn three -- CAUTION. Pitkat's good run ended shortly after the restart. Although he took the lead, he began to slow down considerably, giving Rocco the lead while going to pit road at the same time on lap-36. Brit Andersen now found himself in second and Owen moved up to third. While Andersen and Owen fought for position, Rocco pulled away and collected his sixth win of the season. Owen managed to get by Andersen for second, while Gallo finished fourth.
One of two divisions still champion-less going into the final weekend was the Limited Late Model division. The battle was a good one. Andrew Durand only led Dan Flannery by twenty points; ten positions on the track was the difference between Durand winning and losing the championship. That magic number came into play during the race. How? Well, starting at the beginning, you had Joe Nogiec leading the way. He had the lead for a lap before Shawn Thibeault took over as the leader. Behind him followed George Nocera, Jr and Kevin Gambacorta, dropping Nogiec into fourth. With the green still out at the halfway mark, Thibeault was still leading, but with a different look behind him. Second was now Gambacorta. Flannery was sitting in third, with Nocera making up the top-four. This was how they ran when Christopher Harris spun in turn two; lap-14 -- CAUTION. And it was the same order as Jesse Hinze spun while going down the backstretch on the very next lap -- CAUTION. On the restart, the lead changed hands as Flannery moved past Thibeault to claim first, but the lead was short lived as lap-16 had Marc Russell and Michael Chaves wrecked in turns one and two -- CAUTION. The restart had to be done again, and again, it was Flannery to take the lead. Thibeault fell in the second spot. But it was two-laps worth of action before Corky Hinze, Bill Goldrick, and another car ended up in distress coming out of the turn four area -- CAUTION. Durand was assessed a penalty for rough riding and was sent to the back of the pack. The magic number was still ten (or eleven, but that would have meant the points leaders would be tied), and that was how many cars Durand had to pass in order to win the championship. He had a little help on the restart, as Gambacorta, Norm Sears, and Carla Botticello were involved in an accident in turn one -- CAUTION. Other cars were involved in the accident; meaning Durand had picked up a few spots to help out in the championship cause. Meanwhile, back up front, Thibeault retook the lead from Flannery on the ensuing restart. Rob Dow moved into second. Flannery encountered a bit of bad luck as a tire was going down (right rear). He spun in turn four, yet continued to go. The race remained under green-flag conditions. The remaining laps belonged to Thibeault, and he crossed the line to pick up his second win of the season. Dave Yardley, III passed Dow for second, with Nocera finishing the top-four. And the winner of the Limited Late Model track championship was Durand, who finished eighth to Flannery's fourteenth.
It was now time for the main event. The Whelen Modified Tour took to the track for their 150-lap feature. Earlier in the afternoon, at some point in time during either the SK Modified or Limited Late Model feature, the results of the redraw were as follows: The front row was Eric Berndt and Richie Pallai, Jr. Fast time setter Donny Lia was starting fourth. It was not going to be a bad starting position for him. All in all, there were seven different lead changes in the race, between five different drivers. Those drivers were Berndt, Lia, James Civali, Joe Hartmann, back to Civali, back to Lia, Ryan Preece, and then finally, back to Lia. It was a caution-filled race, as there were ten cautions that took up 42-laps of racing time. Oh... And the race went into extra laps. 153 of them, to be exact. As already stated, Lia was the final leader of the race, and held off Doug Coby to claim the win. Preece and Civali finished third and fourth respectively. Between Ted Christopher's bad day (involved in two separate incidents early in the race; lap-17 and lap-25) and Lia's win, Lia is the new points leader going into the final race at Thompson. Preece is second, only 26 points back. Christopher is 109 back, and is a longshot to win the title.
After what was an amazing Tour race, it was time for the Late Model race. It was also the last division to crown a champion. With three drivers still in contention to win the championship, it was anyone's race to win. And lose. So who would come out on top? We begin with Adam Gray taking the lead from Brian Chapin when the race began. This lead lasted all of two laps before Michael Bennett and another driver spun up in turns one and two -- CAUTION. Gray kept the lead on the restart, still with Chapin running in second. The rest of the top-five began to change dramatically, with a championship contender in Jim Peterson now running in fifth. While Gray started to drive away from the rest of the field, Peterson continued to climb up through what little of the field there was in front of him, moving up into third. The lead that Gray had established was erased come lap-14, as Dillon Moltz, another championship contender, spun on the backstretch -- CAUTION. Back to green, and it was still Gray out in front. Peterson was now in second. The third championship contender, Ryan Posocco, had managed to crack the top-five. The next yellow-flag incident came at lap-18, which included Dave Wray, John Kasper, and another car -- CAUTION. After the green came back out again, Gray powered back into the lead. In second was now Posocco, who was looking for the lead. He'd manage to get the lead from Gray on lap-23. Upon taking the lead away, Posocco immediately began to pull away from the field. It was a no contest: Posocco was not going to be caught. It was his fourth win of the year. Tom Butler ended up finishing second, with Tom Fearn in third and JJ Hill in fourth. With a fifth place finish, Peterson became the 2009 Late Model track champion; the third championship of his career.
The absolute last thing on the agenda (and I mean that literally) was the 8-lap Paradiso-Muska DARE Stock Shootout. There aren't a whole lot of requirements that go into a race like this. All one has to do is win a DARE Stock race in the season, from Spring Sizzler weekend to Fall Final weekend, and they're in. The one true question before this race was: Which driver was going to get bragging rights? Well, things kicked off with Victoria Bergenty taking the lead as the greens came out to start the race. She took off and things seemed fine at first sight with the dozen drivers in the race. But things started to get pretty shaky on lap-2, when Stephanie Berardi and Kyle Casagrande (in a backup car) wrecked coming out of turn two. Berardi spun and Casagrande just seemed to drive right into the side -- CAUTION. When the cleanup finished and the race continued, it was Bergenty back out in the lead. Tony Membrino, Jr moved into second, and the two of them started to pull away from the field. Although it looked like it was going to be a two-car show for the win, in all actuality, it was Bergenty who pulled away (slightly) from Membrino to pick up the win. Membrino finished second, with Robert Thompson and Andrew Hayes finishing off the board.
This is where I usually tell you about what's coming up on Friday and that you must go because it's going to be another great night of racing. But you know something? I can't. The season's over. What a ride. Nothing could cap off the season than the nine things I covered in this. Fun times. Until next year, I wish you well. Stay safe, and enjoy your winter.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Track Champion Stories
I promise that I'll get the results up from Fall Final weekend. Slow week means I tend to forget what I'm doing at times. This is definitely a slow week.
Anyway, if you don't already know, Stafford has their track champion stories up.
+ SK Modifieds: Ted Christopher
+ Late Models: Jim Peterson
+ SK Lights: Michael Gervais, Jr
+ Limited Late Models: Andrew Durand
+ DARE Stocks: Don Wood
Also up is an article about the CT Rookie of the Year, Joe Allegro, Jr.
This post will be edited in due course when the rest of the articles go up onto the track site.
Anyway, if you don't already know, Stafford has their track champion stories up.
+ SK Modifieds: Ted Christopher
+ Late Models: Jim Peterson
+ SK Lights: Michael Gervais, Jr
+ Limited Late Models: Andrew Durand
+ DARE Stocks: Don Wood
Also up is an article about the CT Rookie of the Year, Joe Allegro, Jr.
This post will be edited in due course when the rest of the articles go up onto the track site.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
SK Lights to Debut at World Series
In a couple of weeks, racing at Thompson will end for the year. It will not go out without a bang.
Thompson has included a new division for the now 15-division program (including the Whelen Modified Tour, ISMAs, NEMAs, and the track's own weekly divisions). Cue the SK Lights of the Stafford Motor Speedway.
Or, as Thompson will be calling them, the SK Sunoco Light Modifieds.
The popularity to get the SK Lights to Thompson has been high. According to Don Hoenig, people have asked Thompson if they would accept the SK Lights at the track. This year, they will be making their track debut.
All rules that apply to SMS will be applied (.pdf file) to Thompson. The only difference is that the chip may be changed. Besides that, nothing.
The SK Lights will be running a 20-lap feature on Saturday, October 17.
Thompson has included a new division for the now 15-division program (including the Whelen Modified Tour, ISMAs, NEMAs, and the track's own weekly divisions). Cue the SK Lights of the Stafford Motor Speedway.
Or, as Thompson will be calling them, the SK Sunoco Light Modifieds.
The popularity to get the SK Lights to Thompson has been high. According to Don Hoenig, people have asked Thompson if they would accept the SK Lights at the track. This year, they will be making their track debut.
All rules that apply to SMS will be applied (.pdf file) to Thompson. The only difference is that the chip may be changed. Besides that, nothing.
The SK Lights will be running a 20-lap feature on Saturday, October 17.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Called It
I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I left the track a bit early today. My exit took place about an hour ago, and I've been home long enough to finally get confirmation.
According to The Chrome Horn (and confirmed all over the racing blogosphere), Stafford was not going to get their Saturday stuff in today.
So a few things are going to happen. First, there will be pre-noon practice Sunday, just like I predicted in another thread about the Fall Final. Second, there will be no pit party. Only the Whelen Modified Tour will be qualifying (how do you line up Mini Stocks that are from all corners of Connecticut?).
See you Sunday. Hopefully with more shine than rain.
According to The Chrome Horn (and confirmed all over the racing blogosphere), Stafford was not going to get their Saturday stuff in today.
So a few things are going to happen. First, there will be pre-noon practice Sunday, just like I predicted in another thread about the Fall Final. Second, there will be no pit party. Only the Whelen Modified Tour will be qualifying (how do you line up Mini Stocks that are from all corners of Connecticut?).
See you Sunday. Hopefully with more shine than rain.
Pre-Fall Final Observations
Went to see a little bit of the open practice on Friday. Here's what I learned:
- This is usually the weekend where an influx of non-SMS regulars show up. There were a few, especially in the SK Modifieds. Jeff Pearl (Waterford) was there, as well as Josh Sylvester (related to Zach) among others.
- As far as I know -- and going with MyLaps as guidance -- Brit Andersen was practicing in the SK Modifieds. If you were there, and you saw the #66 SK, then it was Brit. Sponsors on that car are the same as the SK Light. GoToMyPC and Citrix.
- The Mini Stocks may look like they're going exceptionally slow at first, but I promise that once you get 25-30 of them on the track at once, they'll put on a show.
Just a few quick things that you should know about what's coming up this weekend. Or Sunday. Weather doesn't look too good for Saturday. Rain is coming (or here) and it's not going away until late. At least Sunday doesn't look too bad.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Results of September 25
Friday night was the final Friday night event on Stafford's schedule. Five divisions equal one heck of a night, and there was a little bit of business that had to be taken care of before things really got going. Last week's controversy between Ted Christopher and Keith Rocco earned the two SK Modified drivers suspensions for the week. While they weren't there, the cars that they each drive at the half-mile were. Filling in for them were their twin brothers. It was Mike Christopher in Ted's #13 and Jeff Rocco in Keith's #88 for the evening. How'd they fare? I'll save that for the recap of September 25.
Action for the evening kicked off with the DARE Stocks. It started off in style, as Duane Provost claimed stake to the lead. Andrew Hayes and Victoria Bergenty were following behind him. Lap-3 featured two cars spinning in the turn two area of the race track, but when they managed to get going again, the green remained out. Meanwhile, Provost's lead started to shrink as Bergenty moved into second around Hayes and looked for the lead. It was a successful lead change on lap-6 when Bergenty managed to take the lead from Provost. On the very next lap, Nicholas Salva spun while going into turn two and didn't get back into motion before it was too late -- CAUTION. When the green came back out for the restart, it was Bergenty still with the lead. Don Wood was now on the move, making his way up to second from fourth not long after the restart and was now trying to find a way around Bergenty for the lead. Before Wood had an opportunity to pass, there was a one-car spin in turns three and four (lap-13) -- CAUTION. The restart was where business officially picked up. Bergenty got a bit loose when the green returned, and that gave Wood the opportunity to drop to the outside and take over the lead. Bill Dunn also passed Bergenty, and began to run down Wood, who was securely in the lead. It wasn't enough, however, as Wood picked up his second win of the year. Dunn unofficially finished second. Bergenty and Hayes rounded out the top-four. After the race, it was found that Dunn's issued AVM plate was missing and there was some sort of illegal modification to the AVM plate that was on the car. Because of this, he was disqualified from the feature and indefinitely suspended.
The modified portion the program began with the SK Lights. Shawn Brule started it off by having the lead in the course of the first few laps. Ted Cain and Harry Wheeler sat in second and third respectively. On lap-6, the running order at the front of the field started to change hands. David Webb, who was running fourth, passed Wheeler for third. Wheeler ended up falling backwards through the field. After about three cars passed Wheeler, the running order was seemingly frozen for a while. On lap-16, Tommy Membrino spun on the frontstretch; no harm, no damage, but he couldn't get the car going again in time -- CAUTION. This set up a restart that Brule won. Cain was still in second, but third was now in possession of Brit Andersen. It took Andersen three laps to manage to get around Cain for second. Only problem was that he had tapped Cain's back bumper and sent Cain into the turn three wall -- CAUTION. The black flag came out for Andersen, meaning he was to park it for the rest of the event. Brule was now coming up to take the restart with Webb next to him. As the greens came back out, it was Webb who moved out in front and claimed the lead. If Brule was going to go down, he was going to go down trying. And try he did. It wasn't quite enough, however, and it was Webb to win his second race of the season. Brule finished second, with Jay Goff in third and John Montesanto in fourth. With a fifth place finish, Michael Gervais, Jr not only won the Rookie of the Year title in the SK Lights, but also won his first championship in the division.
The SK Modifieds were the division that ended up running in the smack-dab middle of the program that night. It began with Wade Mattesen as the leader, but quickly slowed down after one lap as Nicole Morgillo hit the wall in turn two on lap-2 -- CAUTION. Upon resuming the race, Doug Coby managed to pass Mattesen for the lead, becoming the race's second leader. A multi-car spin (in turn two) one lap later slowed the field down again -- CAUTION. The restarts that followed didn't change much. Coby still maintained the lead with Mattesen in second. On lap-6, Mike Christopher harmlessly spun in turn three -- CAUTION. Again, nothing changed on the restart. It was still Coby out in front, and remained so until lap-12, when both Christopher and Jeff Rocco spun in turns three and four -- CAUTION. On the restart, it was back to Coby as the leader, but a new second-place driver emerged in Richie Pallai, Jr. Pallai was itching to take the lead, but the two of them plus the rest of the top-five ran single file until lap-20 when Frank Ruocco spun in turn two -- CAUTION. When the race went back to green, it was Coby out in front again, with Pallai still in second. Pallai's good run came to an end on lap-23, when Woody Pitkat got together with him and spun coming out of turn two (another car was also involved) -- CAUTION. Todd Owen had now moved up to second, and a duel for the lead with Coby erupted on the restart. The two battled for a little bit under the green, with Owen passing Coby for the lead on lap-25. Two laps later, on lap-27, Rob Summers and two other drivers spun in turns three and four -- CAUTION. The race resumed with Owen and Coby in yet another duel for the lead. The two drivers ran side by side for what seemed like the longest time. In all reality, they had been battling for the lead for ten solid laps. Lap-37 slowed the field down yet again when Pallai spun around exiting turn two -- CAUTION. Coby regained the lead on the restart and Owen was once again on his back bumper; not willing to back down without a fight. But it was Coby who had enough momentum to get him to the finish line first, picking up his first win of the season. Owen had to settle for second. Joe Allegro, Jr and Jeff Malave finished third and fourth. As for the points championship battle? Even though he didn't race in the night's events due to an aforementioned suspension, Ted Christopher still managed to win his seventh track championship in the division.
The "quickest feature of the night" award should go to the Limited Late Models. Bill Davis started out on the pole, and when the greens came out to start the race, he pulled out into the lead. Dave Yardley, III sat in second, right behind him. The two of them and the rest of the top-five drivers fell into a single line and paraded around the track. On lap-7, Carla Botticello, who was running fourth, passed Michael Wray (then third). The next lap saw Kevin Gambacorta move into the top-five as he passed George Nocera, Jr. Gambacorta quickly got by Wray for fourth. The top-four continued to run single file. This was how they ran for pretty much the entire race (yes, single file), and the race ran caution-free as Davis picked up his first win of the season. The rest of the board was Yardley, Botticello, and Gambacorta.
It was time for the final feature of the night. The Late Model feature was also the craziest race of the night, and in more ways than one. Where to begin? How about at the start of this one, where it was Doug Blowers with an early lead. It was a short lead; particularly one-lap long. On the very next lap, he seemed to spin around the exit of turn two, collecting others as the field seemingly started to stack up behind him -- CAUTION. Drivers involved in this accident included both Dillon Moltz and Ryan Posocco, who (may or may not have) ended up stuffed under the back bumper of the other. Both of them started in the back of the field when the restart came back out. The new leader of the race was Joe Rzeszutek, with Adam Gray following him in second. The two of them ran in order until lap-5 until Tom Butler and another driver spun going into turn three -- CAUTION. This set the field up for a restart, with Gray winning the battle when the green came back out. Rzeszutek was not going to back down so easily, and on lap-15, he powered past Gray to retake the lead. Gray's car started to head into the point of no return, and he fell back numerous spots. He'd eventually end his race by pulling behind the wall. Meanwhile, the battle at the front of the pack was just beginning. There was debris found in turn four on lap-20 -- CAUTION. The restart was the next time a lead change took place. This time, it was Jim Peterson getting by Rzeszutek on the restart, and he began to pull away. It wasn't until five laps later (lap-25) until the next yellow came out for Blowers, who spun again; this time, in the grass on the frontstretch -- CAUTION. Peterson got the lead again on the restart, but this lasted another full lap. On lap-26, things got scary quick. Rzeszutek, Ed Charette, and another car ended up on the frontstretch, with Charette riding the concrete barrier on the outside for a little bit on two tires -- CAUTION. The car managed to land on its tires, but the red flag was quickly brought out because the second ambulance came out onto the track and there was just a little too much debris to clear up. Thankfully, Charette got out of the car under his own power. The yellow replaced the red, and the green replaced the yellow not too long afterward. Peterson still had the lead, now followed by Moltz, Butler, and Posocco... Three drivers involved in early-race incidents. This was the running order for two laps, as debris was spotted on the frontstretch on lap-28 -- CAUTION. And on the next restart? Oh, the next lap ticked off smoothly. It was what happened after that that didn't. Dave Wray and John Kasper got tangled together and came to a rest in the grass in turn three -- CAUTION. They were literally tangled together. It took the track safety team a bit of time to untangle the mess. When they were untangled, it signaled the start of a green-white-checkered finish. It was a great finish. On the restart, Tom Fearn found a way through the traffic in front of him and managed to get around Peterson before they hit the backstretch. Posocco also managed to get by Peterson as well, but Posocco could not catch Fearn as he came to get his second win of the season. Posocco finished second, with Peterson in third and Butler in fourth.
And that's the way it was. Next up on the schedule is the last racing event on the schedule, and that's the Fall Final. You have a large crowd that's going to be in attendance for that: Stafford's five weekly divisions, the Whelen Modified Tour as they run a 150-lap feature, and the Mini Stock invitational event, which brings in cars and drivers from all over New England. It should be a wild weekend. On the schedule for the weekend: Open practice on Friday, qualifying for everyone and features for some on Saturday, and the weekend ends with more features. Should be fun. I hope you stick around and attend. This is all subject to pending weather.
Action for the evening kicked off with the DARE Stocks. It started off in style, as Duane Provost claimed stake to the lead. Andrew Hayes and Victoria Bergenty were following behind him. Lap-3 featured two cars spinning in the turn two area of the race track, but when they managed to get going again, the green remained out. Meanwhile, Provost's lead started to shrink as Bergenty moved into second around Hayes and looked for the lead. It was a successful lead change on lap-6 when Bergenty managed to take the lead from Provost. On the very next lap, Nicholas Salva spun while going into turn two and didn't get back into motion before it was too late -- CAUTION. When the green came back out for the restart, it was Bergenty still with the lead. Don Wood was now on the move, making his way up to second from fourth not long after the restart and was now trying to find a way around Bergenty for the lead. Before Wood had an opportunity to pass, there was a one-car spin in turns three and four (lap-13) -- CAUTION. The restart was where business officially picked up. Bergenty got a bit loose when the green returned, and that gave Wood the opportunity to drop to the outside and take over the lead. Bill Dunn also passed Bergenty, and began to run down Wood, who was securely in the lead. It wasn't enough, however, as Wood picked up his second win of the year. Dunn unofficially finished second. Bergenty and Hayes rounded out the top-four. After the race, it was found that Dunn's issued AVM plate was missing and there was some sort of illegal modification to the AVM plate that was on the car. Because of this, he was disqualified from the feature and indefinitely suspended.
The modified portion the program began with the SK Lights. Shawn Brule started it off by having the lead in the course of the first few laps. Ted Cain and Harry Wheeler sat in second and third respectively. On lap-6, the running order at the front of the field started to change hands. David Webb, who was running fourth, passed Wheeler for third. Wheeler ended up falling backwards through the field. After about three cars passed Wheeler, the running order was seemingly frozen for a while. On lap-16, Tommy Membrino spun on the frontstretch; no harm, no damage, but he couldn't get the car going again in time -- CAUTION. This set up a restart that Brule won. Cain was still in second, but third was now in possession of Brit Andersen. It took Andersen three laps to manage to get around Cain for second. Only problem was that he had tapped Cain's back bumper and sent Cain into the turn three wall -- CAUTION. The black flag came out for Andersen, meaning he was to park it for the rest of the event. Brule was now coming up to take the restart with Webb next to him. As the greens came back out, it was Webb who moved out in front and claimed the lead. If Brule was going to go down, he was going to go down trying. And try he did. It wasn't quite enough, however, and it was Webb to win his second race of the season. Brule finished second, with Jay Goff in third and John Montesanto in fourth. With a fifth place finish, Michael Gervais, Jr not only won the Rookie of the Year title in the SK Lights, but also won his first championship in the division.
The SK Modifieds were the division that ended up running in the smack-dab middle of the program that night. It began with Wade Mattesen as the leader, but quickly slowed down after one lap as Nicole Morgillo hit the wall in turn two on lap-2 -- CAUTION. Upon resuming the race, Doug Coby managed to pass Mattesen for the lead, becoming the race's second leader. A multi-car spin (in turn two) one lap later slowed the field down again -- CAUTION. The restarts that followed didn't change much. Coby still maintained the lead with Mattesen in second. On lap-6, Mike Christopher harmlessly spun in turn three -- CAUTION. Again, nothing changed on the restart. It was still Coby out in front, and remained so until lap-12, when both Christopher and Jeff Rocco spun in turns three and four -- CAUTION. On the restart, it was back to Coby as the leader, but a new second-place driver emerged in Richie Pallai, Jr. Pallai was itching to take the lead, but the two of them plus the rest of the top-five ran single file until lap-20 when Frank Ruocco spun in turn two -- CAUTION. When the race went back to green, it was Coby out in front again, with Pallai still in second. Pallai's good run came to an end on lap-23, when Woody Pitkat got together with him and spun coming out of turn two (another car was also involved) -- CAUTION. Todd Owen had now moved up to second, and a duel for the lead with Coby erupted on the restart. The two battled for a little bit under the green, with Owen passing Coby for the lead on lap-25. Two laps later, on lap-27, Rob Summers and two other drivers spun in turns three and four -- CAUTION. The race resumed with Owen and Coby in yet another duel for the lead. The two drivers ran side by side for what seemed like the longest time. In all reality, they had been battling for the lead for ten solid laps. Lap-37 slowed the field down yet again when Pallai spun around exiting turn two -- CAUTION. Coby regained the lead on the restart and Owen was once again on his back bumper; not willing to back down without a fight. But it was Coby who had enough momentum to get him to the finish line first, picking up his first win of the season. Owen had to settle for second. Joe Allegro, Jr and Jeff Malave finished third and fourth. As for the points championship battle? Even though he didn't race in the night's events due to an aforementioned suspension, Ted Christopher still managed to win his seventh track championship in the division.
The "quickest feature of the night" award should go to the Limited Late Models. Bill Davis started out on the pole, and when the greens came out to start the race, he pulled out into the lead. Dave Yardley, III sat in second, right behind him. The two of them and the rest of the top-five drivers fell into a single line and paraded around the track. On lap-7, Carla Botticello, who was running fourth, passed Michael Wray (then third). The next lap saw Kevin Gambacorta move into the top-five as he passed George Nocera, Jr. Gambacorta quickly got by Wray for fourth. The top-four continued to run single file. This was how they ran for pretty much the entire race (yes, single file), and the race ran caution-free as Davis picked up his first win of the season. The rest of the board was Yardley, Botticello, and Gambacorta.
It was time for the final feature of the night. The Late Model feature was also the craziest race of the night, and in more ways than one. Where to begin? How about at the start of this one, where it was Doug Blowers with an early lead. It was a short lead; particularly one-lap long. On the very next lap, he seemed to spin around the exit of turn two, collecting others as the field seemingly started to stack up behind him -- CAUTION. Drivers involved in this accident included both Dillon Moltz and Ryan Posocco, who (may or may not have) ended up stuffed under the back bumper of the other. Both of them started in the back of the field when the restart came back out. The new leader of the race was Joe Rzeszutek, with Adam Gray following him in second. The two of them ran in order until lap-5 until Tom Butler and another driver spun going into turn three -- CAUTION. This set the field up for a restart, with Gray winning the battle when the green came back out. Rzeszutek was not going to back down so easily, and on lap-15, he powered past Gray to retake the lead. Gray's car started to head into the point of no return, and he fell back numerous spots. He'd eventually end his race by pulling behind the wall. Meanwhile, the battle at the front of the pack was just beginning. There was debris found in turn four on lap-20 -- CAUTION. The restart was the next time a lead change took place. This time, it was Jim Peterson getting by Rzeszutek on the restart, and he began to pull away. It wasn't until five laps later (lap-25) until the next yellow came out for Blowers, who spun again; this time, in the grass on the frontstretch -- CAUTION. Peterson got the lead again on the restart, but this lasted another full lap. On lap-26, things got scary quick. Rzeszutek, Ed Charette, and another car ended up on the frontstretch, with Charette riding the concrete barrier on the outside for a little bit on two tires -- CAUTION. The car managed to land on its tires, but the red flag was quickly brought out because the second ambulance came out onto the track and there was just a little too much debris to clear up. Thankfully, Charette got out of the car under his own power. The yellow replaced the red, and the green replaced the yellow not too long afterward. Peterson still had the lead, now followed by Moltz, Butler, and Posocco... Three drivers involved in early-race incidents. This was the running order for two laps, as debris was spotted on the frontstretch on lap-28 -- CAUTION. And on the next restart? Oh, the next lap ticked off smoothly. It was what happened after that that didn't. Dave Wray and John Kasper got tangled together and came to a rest in the grass in turn three -- CAUTION. They were literally tangled together. It took the track safety team a bit of time to untangle the mess. When they were untangled, it signaled the start of a green-white-checkered finish. It was a great finish. On the restart, Tom Fearn found a way through the traffic in front of him and managed to get around Peterson before they hit the backstretch. Posocco also managed to get by Peterson as well, but Posocco could not catch Fearn as he came to get his second win of the season. Posocco finished second, with Peterson in third and Butler in fourth.
And that's the way it was. Next up on the schedule is the last racing event on the schedule, and that's the Fall Final. You have a large crowd that's going to be in attendance for that: Stafford's five weekly divisions, the Whelen Modified Tour as they run a 150-lap feature, and the Mini Stock invitational event, which brings in cars and drivers from all over New England. It should be a wild weekend. On the schedule for the weekend: Open practice on Friday, qualifying for everyone and features for some on Saturday, and the weekend ends with more features. Should be fun. I hope you stick around and attend. This is all subject to pending weather.
Quite a Few Things; All Fall Final Related [FF MEGAPOST]
Whoops. Where has the year gone! I can remember coming on here to post news about the start of the season, and we're already at the end of September. I can't imagine what has happened. Looks like time does fly fast when you're having fun.
I've got a few stories to post for you, so let's do that before I procrastinate any longer than I already have been.
SCHEDULE RELATED
One race to go. One last link to post here (I hope). The schedule for the CARQuest Fall Final (part the 37th) can be found if you either click here or if you go off to the sidebar and look for all of the helpful links in regards to this weekend. There have been rumors of a rain date -- the weekend afterward, October 9-11, with maybe Columbus Day just in case -- but there may or may not be a need for that now since Sunday looks like it's going to clear up. Who knows? We'll find out when Saturday and Sunday get here.
DRIVER ROSTER RELATED
I've posted these with the schedule as well, over on the side in the sidebar. There are two driver rosters you have to be concerned about. They belong to the Whelen Modified Tour, which makes the final of four appearances this year, and the Mini Stocks, which are coming from just about all over the New England region. 41 Mini Stocks are expected to show up, including three guaranteed entries through qualifiers over the summer.
NEWS ARTICLES
A few stories you should brush up on between now and this weekend:
+ Ryan Preece is in third place in points coming into this weekend's event. He's 12 points behind Ted Christopher. A win in this could certainly shake up the championship battle as Thompson still looms over the horizon.
+ The winner of the last two Fall Final events at Stafford (WMT-wise)? Mike Stefanik. He's looking to win his third Fall Final event in a row. Eight of Stefanik's 20 career WMT wins at Stafford have come via way of the Fall Final.
+ Richie Pallai, Jr is hoping two things happen: First, that he wins the SK Modified race (he won the race during Spring Sizzler weekend). Second, he'd really like to start the WMT race. He missed the field last time by .004 seconds.
LATE MODEL NEWS
And to finish things up in a megapost of epic proportions, a quick sidenote that CoCo Key Water Resort will be sponsoring the #51 Late Model, owned by Guy Beaudoin.
I've got a few stories to post for you, so let's do that before I procrastinate any longer than I already have been.
SCHEDULE RELATED
One race to go. One last link to post here (I hope). The schedule for the CARQuest Fall Final (part the 37th) can be found if you either click here or if you go off to the sidebar and look for all of the helpful links in regards to this weekend. There have been rumors of a rain date -- the weekend afterward, October 9-11, with maybe Columbus Day just in case -- but there may or may not be a need for that now since Sunday looks like it's going to clear up. Who knows? We'll find out when Saturday and Sunday get here.
DRIVER ROSTER RELATED
I've posted these with the schedule as well, over on the side in the sidebar. There are two driver rosters you have to be concerned about. They belong to the Whelen Modified Tour, which makes the final of four appearances this year, and the Mini Stocks, which are coming from just about all over the New England region. 41 Mini Stocks are expected to show up, including three guaranteed entries through qualifiers over the summer.
NEWS ARTICLES
A few stories you should brush up on between now and this weekend:
+ Ryan Preece is in third place in points coming into this weekend's event. He's 12 points behind Ted Christopher. A win in this could certainly shake up the championship battle as Thompson still looms over the horizon.
+ The winner of the last two Fall Final events at Stafford (WMT-wise)? Mike Stefanik. He's looking to win his third Fall Final event in a row. Eight of Stefanik's 20 career WMT wins at Stafford have come via way of the Fall Final.
+ Richie Pallai, Jr is hoping two things happen: First, that he wins the SK Modified race (he won the race during Spring Sizzler weekend). Second, he'd really like to start the WMT race. He missed the field last time by .004 seconds.
LATE MODEL NEWS
And to finish things up in a megapost of epic proportions, a quick sidenote that CoCo Key Water Resort will be sponsoring the #51 Late Model, owned by Guy Beaudoin.
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