The TSI Harley-Davidson 137

The standards of any regular, normal week were thrown out the window on Memorial Day weekend when Stafford became a bit busier and a bit louder. It was week six of the season, and it was also the second visit of the season for the Whelen Modified Tour. The race? The TSI Harley-Davidson 125 - a race that was deemed shorter than the normal race for the Tour. Even then, the whole night (besides the race) was going to be an exciting night. Condensed version or not.

As always, normal protocol was that the Whelen Modified Tour completed their time trials. With the exception of one car missing them for problems suffered during pre-time trial tire scrub, 33 drivers took time, hoping to get the pole for the race that was later to come. Setting fast time was Bobby Santos, with a time of 18.090 seconds. It translated to 99.502 miles per hour. It was enough to take his third pole of the season. After the redraw, taking place after the opening ceremonies, the top eight cars were shuffled around. Ron Silk was going to lead the field to the green flag in the main event, with Santos starting alongside of him on the front row.

Also after the opening ceremonies (guitar riff National Anthem included), the features officially got underway. The first feature belonged to the DARE Stocks. The race got underway with #51 pulling out early. The fight for second began between Nicholas Salva and Stephanie Berardi. Salva happened to get the spot with two laps down. The field unfortunately slowed down after a caution came out on lap 2, when a couple cars got together in turn one. Donovin Secore was one of the biggest losers in the caution, ending up getting a push onto pit road. The other loser was Don Wood, who had damage to the right front. He, too, ended up sitting the rest of the race out. When the green came back out, Josh Wood went right back out to the front. Andrew Hayes moved into second, with Salva getting pushed back to third. Tony Membrino, Jr joined the mix as well, sitting in fourth. He fought Salva for the third spot and managed to win. Stephen Daddio found a spot as well and made a pass for fourth. It was all for naught, though, as there was another caution. With four laps on the board, Kelsey Rottino spun coming out of turn two. As the passes were made before the lap was completed, the restart order was shuffled, putting Salva back up to second. J. Wood was back up front as the green presented itself again. Second was being contested between four different cars - Salva, Hayes, Daddio, and Membrino - but in the battle for that spot, trouble brewed. That trouble came in the form of Salva, who just blew up coming straight down the frontstretch. The caution was coming out with five laps down. Seeing no fluids on the track, the caution was quick and the green was coming out not too long after. J. Wood went right back to the lead. Hayes and Daddio battled for second, and Daddio gained the position. He closed the gap for the lead and almost hitched himself to J. Wood’s back bumper. The fight was postponed for a second when the next caution came out at the halfway point, for Kaitlyn Brice, who spun in turn four. The race resumed after a few laps of yellow, and J. Wood picked up right where he left off - in the lead. Daddio was right behind him, and Hayes came up to challenge him (Daddio) for second. Also there was Jeff Jolly. Jolly passed Hayes for third, and Kyle Casagrande also happened to pass Hayes - that pass was for fourth. But things were going to end for the leaders on a low note. J. Wood spun in turns one and two with two laps to go, and he took Daddio with him in the process. The new leader became Jolly, but his lead was short-lived when K. Casagrande made the pass for the lead. Positions changed behind him, but he picked up his second win of the season. Membrino ended up finishing second, with Hayes in third and Jolly in fourth.

Next up on the agenda, it was the SK Lights. The fight was on early, between Harry Wheeler and Kyle Spencer. Spencer got the lead, and on his bumper was Earl Pelletier. Coming up through the head of the field was Ted Cain, however, and the positions he gained were advantageous. Cain managed to pass Spencer for the lead by lap 5, but he wasn’t the only one looking to move around him. Second was now a fight between Spencer and Thomas Barrett, Jr. With seven laps down in the feature, Barrett moved into second. The green flag run only lasted two laps longer, as the first caution came out with nine laps on the board. The reason? Shayne Prucker spun in turns three and four. Everything was cleaned up and when the green returned, the restart became a dogfight for the lead between Cain and Barrett. Cain retook the lead as the lap was completed, and Barrett, although he remained in second, nearly started a chain reaction of events as he dive-bombed his way to the outside. The two of them pulled away from the field, with Cain pulling away further. Again, things slowed down as a dozen laps were completed for caution two, when Rick Williams and Prucker spun in turns three and four. When the green came back out, it was yet another fight for the lead. Cain managed to pull away from Barrett, but Barrett was not ready to back down. He attempted to go down to the low groove and managed to take the lead… Not so fast. Tony Santangelo was stranded in turns one and two with five laps to go. The upcoming restart was going to be crucial. And it was side-by-side. And it was premature via way of a caution, involving David Webb and Pelletier spinning in turn two. Anyone up for a redo of the restart? It wasn’t a dogfight between the leaders at the start, with Cain slightly pulling away, but it soon became one. The winner of the fight was Cain, but things weren’t at all easy for him. There was another challenge from Barrett, but it wasn’t enough. Cain claimed his second win of the season. Barrett finished second. Chad Trombley ended up in third, with Erica Santos in fourth.

The open-wheeled portion of the program continued with the SK Modified race. Brit Andersen powered into the lead, but he was already being challenged by Todd Owen, who was all over Andersen’s bumper. Eric Berndt ended up in the middle of things as well, and it was an early-race fight for the lead. Owen ended up winning the fight, with Berndt joining him in second. Suddenly, things happened so quickly. Zach Sylvester slowed down in the turn three end of the backstretch, and Ted Christopher ended up spinning straight through the frontstretch grass. Either way, it all signaled up the first caution of the event. On the restart, it was another fight for the lead. It was a three-car battle between Berndt, Owen, and Jeff Baral. Also getting in on things was Mark Bakaj. It looked as though things were going to be slightly interesting up front… But things behind them were starting to pick up. Chris Jones ended up in the turn three grass with only five laps down, and he couldn’t fire the car up, That set up the second caution. Andersen was to blamed for the caution and was ultimately black flagged. He moved towards the back of the field. Meanwhile, in the front of the pack, the green came back out. Again, the lead was Owen’s. Baral, Berndt, and Bakaj were all still in the mix for a top-three spot, but again, the battle was short-lived when an incident occurred with six laps down. Adam Skowyra and another car were involved in an accident in turn two, bringing the yellow right back out. The green was also right back out as well. Owen once again pulled out into first, with Baral and Berndt still fighting for second. Bakaj was right again in the mix. But with eight laps down, Berndt’s night turned ugly in an instant. He ended up spinning around in turn two, Dan Avery also received some damage and pulled onto pit road during the caution. As the green came out for the restart, Owen pulled out to the lead. Baral was willing to challenge him, and was able to claim the lead just shy of the 10-lap mark. Bakaj passed Owen for second. Also at that time, two cars were making moves towards the front. Frank Ruocco and Keith Rocco were now on the board. Rocco was over Ruocco’s bumper as that was the fight for second place. Meanwhile, Baral was joyriding around. As the second and third place guys were getting under each other’s skin for the second spot, Baral’s lead seemed to slowly grow. Rocco finally managed to pass Ruocco for second, and the field began to ride around in a single-file line. But that only closed the gap between Baral and Rocco. Rocco’s times were faster than Baral’s, and that gave Rocco the advantage. The large lead that Baral had suddenly shrunk to the point where Rocco had caught him. And with ten laps to go, Rocco passed Baral for the lead. He began to expand his lead over the course of the final ten laps, and it was a convincing third win of the season. Baral finished second, with Ruocco in third and Bakaj in fourth.

Fourth up? The Limited Late Models. It was Michael Wray and Duane Provost fighting for the lead early. A full lap was completed before a leader was actually determined - that being Provost. Wray fell comfortably in second, with a fight for third going on between Carla Botticello, Dave Yardley, III, and George Nocera, Jr. Yardley picked up third. Nocera managed to get fourth. Kevin Gambacorta joined the party, now sitting in fifth. Meanwhile, up in front, Wray began to apply pressure on Provost. He managed to retake the lead, now with Yardley in second and Nocera in third. Provost dropped back to fifth during this time. Throughout the race, the field ran single-file (for the most part, save for a few mid-pack changes in position), but things changed with Yardley, Gambacorta, and a lapped car. The two lead lap cars got together, sending Gambacorta backwards a bit. Yardley remained in second. With less than a lap to go, Gambacorta hit the turn three wall, coming back to come in contact with Botticello. The yellow came out, followed by the checkered, and Wray was declared the winner. The rest of the board read Yardley, Dan Flannery, and Shawn Thibeault.

The last race before the main event belonged to the Late Models. It started with Alan Provost being named leader and Scott Cook moving backwards in a hurry. Things escalated quick in the span of the first two laps. Dillon Moltz spun down the backstretch and Tony Lafo hit the safer barrier in turn one. The caution came out for both incidents. In the process, the black flag was the officials‘ best friend. Three black flags were given out over the first caution period: Cook for the Moltz spin, Michael Bennett for the Lafo incident, and Moltz for “unsportsmanlike conduct”. On the restart, John Kasper, who was running in second, did not come up to speed. Provost was the clear leader, with Woody Pitkat passing Adam Gray for what was now the second spot. Pitkat pressured Provost and became the new leader with six laps down. Provost was again being pressured; this time, by Jim Peterson. Both Peterson and Corey Hutchings passed Provost for second and third respectively. By the halfway point, Pitkat had a lead that was a full straightaway long. Also making noise was Hutchings, who passed Peterson for second. The two teammates were going to be enemies for a little bit, however, as the caution came out for Fernando Ilha, who spun in turn four. Ten laps to go, and a restart was about to begin. When the green did come back out, it was Pitkat taking the lead with Hutchings right behind him. The lead of Pitkat began to grow once again. Again, it was going to shrink when another caution occurred - this time, it was for Kasper, who spun in turn four. Another restart occurred with seven laps to go. However, Hutchings got the advantage as they came to the line. Pitkat was still glued to him, and he retook the lead on the exact same lap. Two laps later, there was another caution. Tom Fearn spun in turn four. Mark St. Hilaire and Provost were also included in the accident. This set up another restart that Pitkat won. Hutchings fell back into second. And by the looks of things, it was going to come down to the teammates. Things changed, however, with a yellow flag with three laps to go. JJ Hill spun in turn four, and the caution included St. Hilaire, who jumped over Hill’s car. The fourth black flag in the event was given to Keith Rocco for overagression. The restart was going to be wild and crazy. Pitkat jumped back out to the lead, but the second spot was being contested between Hutchings and Peterson. Peterson picked up the spot, and now behind him in third was Moltz. But even with the changes between second and third, Pitkat’s lead was just too much, and he picked up his second win of the season. Peterson finished second. Moltz was third, and Bennett was fourth.

The main event capped off the night of action - the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 for the Whelen Modified Tour. Complete with outside driver introductions. It was supposed to get started at nine o’clock, but it actually started an hour later, at ten. Either way, the race was finally underway. Bobby Santos picked up the lead with three other cars gathering around him. Eric Berndt, Chuck Hossfeld, and #6 were all surrounding him, as a four-car fight for the lead took place. The only contender to maintain any vibe with Santos was Berndt, and the four cars became two. Hossfeld and Ron Silk now fought for third place. The lead finally changed hands on lap-10, when Berndt pulled ahead of Santos. It was at that point when all was quiet throughout the field. The only noise made was the black flag given for a slower car who wasn't up to race-required speed. He made his way to pit road and lost a couple of laps in the process. Meanwhile, there was a battle for second spot between Santos and Hossfeld. And the battle was beginning with lapped traffic on their hands. The first caution of the event came with 35 laps on the board, when James Civali hit the wall in turn two. He happened to drive away. But this bunched the field back up for a restart. And this gave mid-pack drivers help by letting them come onto pit road for adjustments. But what really counted was the restart. It occurred with a total of 40 laps on the board. It was somewhat chaotic as they crossed the line to take the restart. Hossfeld had life, and it looked like someone wasn’t fully up to speed. But either way, Berndt maintained the lead. Santos was still in second. It was a short green flag run - it only lasted three laps. 43 laps down, and Eric Beers was in turns one and two. It would take eight laps before the green came back out with 48 laps reached. There was also a fight for the lead when the green came back out. It wasn’t much, though, and Berndt regained the lead. Santos had his hands full with Silk, and Silk took over second. Hossfeld passed Santos for third and then attempted to put pressure on Silk for second. With 59 laps down, another black flag was issued for another car who wasn't going fast enough. Meanwhile, Berndt began to pull away from the field. The lead was a half straightaway. Behind him, positions were changing. Hossfeld was now second, followed by Santos in third and Silk in fourth. Fourth changed hands with 82 laps down, as Jimmy Blewett was now making a move up by passing Silk for the spot. With 91 laps on the board, lapped traffic was once again going to factor in on the race. Hossfeld’s times were slightly faster than those of Berndt, and the distance between the two drivers began to shrink. At the 100-lap mark, the top two drivers were closer than they ever were. Things got even more interesting with 102 laps on the board, when Ed Flemke, Jr almost seemed to bounce off of another car and distracted traffic behind them. That set up a caution, and the ensuing restart was going to be of the critical kind. With 108 laps on the board, the restart occurred. Berndt didn’t get up to speed and was left to dry as both Hossfeld and Blewett passed him. He settled into third, but clinging to the spot while getting challenged by Santos. Santos passed him for third. All went to hell in a handbasket with 111 laps down, however, when the leaders seemed to come together, sending Hossfeld around through the frontstretch grass. Santos was the beneficiary of events and was awarded the lead, followed by Todd Szegedy, who came out of nowhere to get up to the second spot. Berndt was in third. There were 116 laps on the board when the green came back out. Santos powered back out front. Blewett made his way past Szegedy to get back into second and was looking to get the lead instantaneously. Things turned interesting when a multi-car accident in turns three and four set up a late-race restart. The caution was with 119 laps on the board. The restart was with 123 laps down. The dogfight was intense, but it was also short. 124 laps were on the board when the next caution came out for Ted Christopher and Glenn Tyler, who were stranded in the turn three area of the track. The restart was on lap 128, and again, the leaders were fighting for the lead. Things ended quick, however, when the caution came out on the same exact lap for another multi-car accident - this time, on the backstretch. Another restart was going to occur with 135 down. This seemed to benefit Santos, who retook the lead, but Blewett took it back. Santos was not done yet, and he (once again) got the lead coming into turn three. He pulled away just enough to take the win; his second of the season. Blewett settled for a second-place finish. Szegedy finished third, and Ryan Preece finished fourth.

Next up at Stafford, it’s a regular week. It’s also sponsored by USG. As always, the schedule involves the five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series features. It happens with the usual "weather permitting" disclaimer in place.

One Piece of News

Tonight, the Whelen Modified Tour returns to Stafford for the TSI Harley-Davidson 125. I have nothing more to say about this race except it's not your average WMT race. 25 laps shorter than what a normal Tour race would usually run. And there's no rain in sight - looks like a great night for a special event to roll around.

Your story load (courtesy of the Stafford site) is a light load today. It's about Eric Berndt and his strong showing after two WMT races this season. He's sixth in the point standings so far (11th at Thompson and 7th place at Stafford in the Spring Sizzler), but he's looking to get his first Tour win.

An Action-Packed NASCAR Day

(Author's Note: Sorry this is late. Haven't been feeling too good this week. I've gotten better, though, and I'll be around for Friday.)

Happy NASCAR Day! May 21st, also known as Week 5 of the 2010 Stafford Speedway season, was a combination of NASCAR Day and Whelen event night. The schedule was pretty much basic - five divisions; regular feature events… Even though the pace car was replaced by the Whelen police-like pace car.

The first feature of the night was the DARE Stock race, which was a race against the clock in more ways than one. Josh Wood pulled out in front early, with Nick Salva and Stephanie Berardi (who was heading straight to a prom right after the race was over) behind him. Unfortunately for J. Wood, his lead was only a lap old and ended abruptly as he spun in the turn two grass. This put Salva in the lead, but again, it only took a lap before the lead changed hands again. Salva dropped off the pace with a problem, giving the lead to Berardi. That lead didn’t even last a lap. Don Wood became the fourth leader in three laps as he passed Berardi to complete the third lap. Second place belonged to Albert Saunders after a duel with Donald Cook. It was eight laps into the race before the first caution came out, when J. Wood’s rough night continued after he spun in turn four. On the restart, it was D. Wood getting the lead with A. Saunders all over the back bumper. Cory Casagrande and Cook were fighting for third. That fight ended when both cars got loose in turns one and two and dropped off the pace. Later that lap, Salva and Berardi spun coming out of turn four to bring out the second caution of the event, with only six laps left to go in the event. Key restart? No problem! The winner of the restart battle was D. Wood, who was almost fully around A. Saunders as they came to take the green flag. That lap (again) didn’t last very long, as another yellow came out for what appeared to be a piece of exhaust pipe on the frontstretch. It didn’t matter; it was debris, and it posed a hazard if it was on the track for much longer. After it was picked up, the green came back out. Again, D. Wood pulled ahead, and again, A. Saunders was second. But he had #1 ready to challenge for the second spot. Jeff Jolly was also willing to join the party. In turn two, Jolly gained the spot. C. Casagrande was sent backwards a few spots after being in the middle of a three-wide battle. The fight for the spot gave D. Wood an advantage - he was able to gain some distance on the rest of the field. Was there going to be a challenge for the win? No. D. Wood picked up the win, followed by Jolly in second, A. Saunders in third, and Tony Membrino, Jr in fourth.

Next up? Limited Late Models. Time constraints of any sorts? Not so much. Carla Botticello and Michael Wray fought for the lead early, with Botticello taking the position. She was challenged by George Nocera, Jr for the spot within the first lap. The fighting continued through the first two laps of the race until Nocera became the second leader of the race. Botticello followed intently, with Jesse Hinze in third. In all fairness, the real racing action was deeper into the field, where Dan Flannery, Shawn Thibeault, and Rob Dow all passed Duane Provost for seventh, then eighth, and finally ninth. At the nine-lap mark, Kevin Gambacorta, Andrew Durand, and Flannery were in passing moods; the car they passed was Hinze. Both Gambacorta and Durand hit the board, and Flannery was also in the top-five. Flannery eventually passed Durand for the spot. Thibeault was on Durand’s back bumper for fifth. Closer to the lead, there was also a fight for second between Botticello and Gambacorta. But nobody could get close to Nocera, as he cruised to the win after he lost it two weeks ago. Winning the race put him “right on top”, as he said. Botticello finished second, with Gambacorta in third. Flannery rounded out the board.

Who wants pit crews? Smack-dab in the middle of the feature lineup was that of the Late Models. With a little bit of help, Michael Bennett was the first leader of the event, but that was all for naught - five cars spun at once in the first turn during the first lap, setting up the first caution. All five cars managed to drive away. When the green came back out, things were vastly different. Alan Provost pulled out in front, with Jim Peterson and Bennett right behind. The field, for the first six cars, became a freight train; a single file line was what it was at. It all changed when positions were being swapped starting at about the fifth and sixth spots. The leader was also different as well. Second leader of the race? Peterson. He pulled out to just shy of a half straightaway of second place Corey Hutchings (second through fifth were beginning to shake up a bit). The fast-paced action slowed down with seven laps on the board when fluid was dumped on the track - bring on the speedy dry. After the fluid was cleaned up, things went back to normal. And the race went back to green. Provost had problems getting going as the green came out, keeping Peterson as the leader. A chain reaction of sorts occurred as well, when Dillon Moltz and Woody Pitkat seemed to get some part of the nose-to-tail action. Bennett was now second, although #87 passed him with eight laps down. The caution came out again with ten laps down for JJ Hill, after a spin in turn four. Provost went down onto pit road for what was called a flat tire. When the race went to green, the action started. Peterson and Hutchings were in a truly good fight for the lead. But again, it was halted for more possible fluid on the race track (this time, from Hill). Another fluid-based caution, and with a third of the race down. Once the liquid was removed, it was back to green. And a new leader came out on top, as Hutchings pulled ahead of Peterson for first. The two drivers separated themselves from third-place Bennett. It only took a lap before Ed Ricard spun in turn one, setting up yet another caution. All of that set up another restart that was a slugfest down the front straightaway before Hutchings picked up the lead. This time, it was Bennett and Moltz behind him. But again, the race was halted when Ryan Posocco was stuck at the bottom of turn two. By this time, half of the race was made up of cautions. Would anything after the restart change that? As Hutchings pulled out ahead of the field, Ricard and John Kasper were stuck in turn one after a spin not too long after the restart. The caution did not come out as both guys were able to get going. Back up front, Hutchings was beginning to be pressured by Moltz, who found himself in second. With ten laps to go, things were shaping up to be quite interesting. Hutchings had Moltz all over his bumper. Could a pass be made? Passes were surely attempted, but with no luck. Moltz was close, but in the end, it wasn’t enough. Hutchings took the win. Moltz had to settle with a second-place finish. Pitkat ended up third, with Peterson in fourth.

After all of the full-fendered cars had their fun, it was time for the open-wheeled cars to take center stage. The SK Lights were next. To start, it was Zachary Aszklar out front with Lauren Cooper not too far behind. Matt Galko was also in the mix, and all three had a shot at the lead. The two were side by side by the second lap, and by the third, Cooper was the new leader. Galko found himself in second, with Thomas Barrett, Jr now in third. And they were all bunched up. Things got messy quickly. Cooper spun in turn four, and it seemed like things were going to be okay. The caution flew, and all of a sudden… Things escalated from a one-car incident bringing out the caution to a multi-car accident bringing out the caution. Erica Santos, Earl Pelletier, Aszklar, and Joey Cipriano were also involved with half of the race done. The red flag was brought out because of accident cleanup. Red changed to yellow, and yellow changed to green. Galko moved into first, with Frank Cardile and Barrett now in a dogfight for second. Second now belonged to Barrett, sending Cardile into another fight - for third, and now with Chad Trombley. Third would go to Trombley. But the lead was a battle between two teenagers in Galko and Barrett… Until Barrett spun in turn one to bring out the caution with only three laps to go. The restart was going to be clutch. The winner of the restart battle was Galko, leaving Trombley and Cardile for second. Cardile picked up the spot. The race appeared to be over, but a caution came out with a lap left in the race after Ted Cain spun coming out of turn four, kicking up dirt in the process. The restart became chaos. Galko was still the leader, but Cardile was not letting go until he lost distance on the backstretch, ending up in another dogfight with Trombley. It was youth night in the SK Lights for a second straight week, however, as Galko scored his first career win. Cardile ended in second, barely squeaking in front of Trombley, who finished third. John Hanafin finished in fourth.

Concluding the night was the SK Modifieds. Brad Hietala pulled ahead early. Tom Bolles followed behind him. Everything was wiped clean with the first caution of the event before the a lap was finished. A few cars spun and partially wrecked in turn three, including Woody Pitkat, who went onto pit road… Repairs were needed. The restart was going to be a redo of the first green. When the green came back out, Hietala pulled back out front. Mark Bakaj was now in second. Someone ended up kicking dirt up going down the frontstretch, but everyone managed to start the restart unscaved. It only took three laps for the next caution to come out, when three cars spun in turn four. They all drove off, and soon, the green came out again. Things were semi-normal (save for a loose car), and a fight for the lead broke out between Hietala and Bakaj. You could give the lead to Bakaj, but things weren’t set in stone yet. On lap 6, Hietala ended up spinning coming out of turn two and almost collected other cars in the process. It pretty much was a caution. When the green came back out, the first two rows were side by side for position. Bakaj and Jeff Baral were battling for first. Of course, the caution came out again - this time, on lap 7 - for a few cars who were involved in a minor incident coming out of turn four. Everyone pulled away under their own power, but the yellow was there for precautionary measures. Less than a quarter of the race was done, and things were starting to be pretty chaotic. Speaking of chaotic, there was the restart. On that restart, things were different. Keith Rocco woke up, passing Baral for second. On the same lap, he passed Bakaj for first and slowly started to pull away. The lead he had gained was erased with nine laps on the board for, what else, another caution. Another multi-car caution. At the least, three; maybe four cars involved in a backstretch incident. All of which pulled away once again. Rocco pulled away on the restart, but Bakaj was keeping close to him. Baral also jumped in on the action. The first battle was for fourth, between Zach Sylvester and Bolles - fourth was now in possession of Z. Sylvester. Back up to the leader, Rocco, and he was starting to pull away once again. Second was starting to become a three-man horse race between Bakaj, Baral, and Z. Sylvester. Bakaj maintained second. The lead and battle were lasted a few laps as the next caution didn’t come out until the 19th lap, as Josh Sylvester spun in turn four and started a chain reaction of events. A few other cars were involved in the accident, including Hietala and Joe Allegro, Jr. After extensive cleanup, things got back underway with the restart. It was a short fight between Rocco and Bakaj, but Rocco reclaimed the lead. This time, however, he could not put distance on the rest of the field. Baral was running second and ready to strike at any minute. But any minute was going to have to wait, as there was yet another caution for another chain reaction incident - this time, it was in turn three. And there were six or seven cars involved. NASCAR determined that there was a little help in getting the caution underway, and they black flagged Ted Christopher for overagression. That wasn’t the only thing that needed to happen. Another red flag was needed on the night, for accident cleanup. The restart had one questioning “what else is new“ when two things happened: 1) Rocco pulled out in first, and 2) two cars spun in turns three and four. It wasn’t the only thing going on, as Bolles came to a stop at the bottom of turns one and two with 21 laps down. Another problem, another yellow. Thankfully, the yellow was short-lived and the green was coming back out to play. Rocco was going back out to the front, leaving Bakaj and Baral to duke it out for second. While Baral was able to get around Bakaj for second, Rocco was pulling away from the field. Again, the lead got wiped out when the caution came back out with 25 laps down, as Adam Skowyra was stranded on the backstretch grass. Rocco pushed back out to the lead on the restarting, with Baral still clinging onto him. Bakaj managed to moved back into third. While all of that was going on, another accident occurred with 29 laps on the board, after Eric Berndt spun in turn four. Other cars involved in that accident were Sean Foster, J. Sylvester, and Christopher. The restart was no different. Rocco in first, Baral in second. Z. Sylvester was in third. And the three cars were distanced from the fourth-place #5, who was being challenged by Ryan Preece. With the long green flag run, people thought that the race was going to end without anything else happening. They were wrong. Another caution came out with 37 laps on the board - Frank Ruocco spun in turn four. There was some damage to his car. Three laps to the finish. The restart was going to be something else. It was. Rocco pulled ahead once again, with a dogfight for spots behind him. Three drivers looking to get to the podium. Preece had been making moves, trying to get to second. He got to third, but couldn’t make a solid move for second. While Matt Gallo went through the frontstretch grass as the field took the white flag, He got going just in time - the leaders were coming for the checkered flag. Rocco crossed the line first; the rest of the board read as follows: Z. Sylvester, Preece, and Curt Brainard.

In the technical inspection, the car of Preece didn't meet the minimum frame height requirement. This forced a disqualification, dropping Preece to the tail end of the feature finish.

Next week? An interesting show. The Whelen Modified Tour is back in town with the TSI Harley-Davidson 125. It happens weather permitting. Should be a fun night.

TSI Harley-Davidson 125 Notebook

This is in picture form (the notebook), but I'm posting it in link form. Enjoy the notes leading up to Friday night's race at Stafford - featuring the Whelen Modified Tour.

Friday night recap coming up later. I've been swamped and not feeling too good this week. Apologies.

SK Feature Change

Sorry for not getting the race recap up earlier this past weekend. My hands were tied with a couple of things. I'll make it up to you, I promise.

But I do have some pre-recap news for you. It concerns the SK Modified race from the event in question. It's a disqualification for Ryan Preece, in regards to the height of the frame. It didn't meet the minimum, and he was, as mentioned, disqualified.

It's Friday!

Welcome to Friday, where it's supposed to be really nice for racing. (When I say that, I mean "20 percent chance of rain".) To get you in the mood for tonight - and next week - here are a few stories.

+ The first two races of the season were not nice to John Montesanto. Last week, he picked up a top-10 finish (7th). His new goal is to finish a race in the top-5.

+ Next week, it's the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 for the Whelen Modified Tour. Ryan Preece is bringing an older car for this event. The older car has seen Victory Lane at Stafford before.

Change in LLM Finish [or Why I Don't Do Writeups on the Weekends]

There's a reason why I try to put the writeup stuff off until after the weekend - it's because news like this pops up and I incorporate it into the story.

A change was made in the Limited Late Model finish from the 5/14 program. Rob Dow was disqualified from third because Tech found a problem with the rear tailing arm. It was a bit too big.

No other news to report on at the moment; track's back to racing action on Friday. Looks like a really nice night for NASCAR Day.

Nothing Special About Tonight… Right?

Week four of the 2010 Stafford schedule saw the first regular night of the season - no extra distance features, no special divisions. Just the five weekly divisions that show up at the track doing their regularly scheduled features. Although things appear to be normal, things don’t always appear as they seem. So what happened when it was scheduled as a regular week of action?

Before anything got underway, there were two consolation races for the SK Modifieds and opening ceremonies, complete with members of the Boy Scouts. After that, it was down to solely feature racing.

First on the feature racing agenda, it was the Limited Late Models. As soon as the double green flags came out, the action picked up. Carla Botticello pulled out in front, with Rob Dow and Dave Yardley, III coming behind her. Botticello’s night ended as soon as it started as she ended up nose-first into the turn three wall. Joseph Nogiec, Kevin Gambacorta, Dan Flannery, and Marshall Usher all managed to drive away from the accident scene. No laps down, one caution, and one black flag for Dow for starting the caution. Business was picking up already, and a restart was approaching. Yardley and Jesse Hinze were now on the front row. And it was Yardley pulling ahead of Hinze. Shawn Thibeault and Duane Provost were behind the two of them. Yardley started to pull away from Hinze, but it wasn’t a huge gap and hope seemed to loom on the horizon. A bit deeper in the back, Flannery and Andrew Durand were fighting for fifth, and Flannery gained the position. Back to front, and Yardley was beginning to gain a lead over the rest of the field. The battle for spots was now for second, with four different drivers in the mix. Thibeault became the new second place driver, with Flannery now in third and Durand in fourth. Gambacorta was on Durand’s back bumper. On lap 10, a move for the lead was made by Thibeault, when he passed Yardley. Flannery joined him. As the leaders almost crossed the line, the caution came out for Durand, who found himself spinning in turn four. The leaders did not cross the line before the yellow returned, so the field returned to what it was before the lead change occurred. Yardley in first, followed by Thibeault and Flannery. Hinze was sent to the back via way of a black flag - overagression was the cause. On the restart, Yardley squeaked by Thibeault to get the lead again, but Thibeault was coming. Flannery and Dow were also in the mix. Flannery applied pressure for Thibeault for second, but Thibeault was also pressuring Yardley for the lead. With 11 laps on the board, Thibeault became the new leader for the race. Yardley was suddenly slipping backwards through the field, as cars started to pass him as he was on the outside. Robert Farrington, Jr spun in turns three and four with 14 laps on the board, bringing out the third caution of the race. Flannery and Thibeault continued their fight on the restart, as the two battled side by side for about a good lap until they both spun coming out of turn four. They ended up in the grass on the frontstretch and a caution came out. Gambacorta gained the lead. Dow was second. Gambacorta pulled away on the restart, but Durand moved into second and passed him going into turn three. With five laps to go, he became the new leader. Dow moved into second, but there was a good sized gap between first and second, and he had his hands full with Gambacorta. Gambacorta was now in second, with only three laps to go. With a huge gap still, it wasn’t enough. Durand picked up his first win of the year, with Gambacorta in second, Dow in third, and Flannery in fourth.

Next up, pit crews and Late Models. It started with Keith Rocco pulling away from Brian Chapin. Chapin was passed by Michael Bennett, John Kasper, and Ryan Posocco, bringing him to fifth. After two laps of being loose all over the track, Chapin eventually hit the safer barrier in turn one, with other cars recieving damage. The caution was out. When the race went back to green, Rocco returned to the lead, with Bennett still in second. It was a three-way battle for third; the winner of that fight being Dillon Moltz. Posocco was joining him in fourth. There was no change in position with the top five until they crossed the stripe to mark ten laps down, when Moltz passed Bennett for second. It only took two laps for Moltz to get on Rocco’s back bumper, and a fight for the lead was about to begin. Bennett was in prime position to benefit from anything that might happen, if anything did. With 16 laps on the board, Moltz made the move for the lead, and almost lost the car doing so. He got the car back under control and became the second leader of the event. Rocco was getting sent backwards through the field and found himself in fourth, behind Bennett and Posocco. Moltz's lead began to expand over the course of seven laps, and a bit further back, Bennett was being challenged by Posocco; Posocco wasn’t able to apply enough pressure in order to get the spot. He’d be able to get second with 26 laps down, when Bennett went through the grass and ended up parked in turn one with a front right tire issue. It all set up a late-race restart. It was also a side-by-side battle for about a turn before Moltz regained the lead. Rocco moved back into second, with Woody Pitkat and Posocco fighting for third. Meanwhile, it wasn’t a contest for the lead, as Moltz cruised to his second win of the season. Rocco finished second. Pitkat was third, while Posocco was fourth.

It was time for the open-wheeled portion of the show next - the SK Lights were up. Heather DesRochers and John Hanafin fought for the lead when the green came out. DesRochers became the leader, and people were battling for position behind her. Jay Goff and Earl Pelletier were fighting for second, with Pelletier losing the fight after getting sent through the grass. Third was also a hot commodity, as Zachary Aszklar held it briefly and Joey Cipriano took over not too long after. Meanwhile, DesRochers was uncontested as she had a half straightaway lead by lap 7. David Webb, who was fighting for a spot within the top ten, found himself in the grass in turn two. He got back going. Also making noise with Cipriano, who was now in second by lap 9. That wasn’t the only thing happening on lap 9, as Kyle Spencer spun in turn two, bringing out the first caution. When the race went back to green, DesRochers bolted back out in front. Cipriano, Goff, and Thomas Barrett, Jr were also in the mix. Things slowed down again when Hanafin spun in turn four on the same lap, putting the field under caution again. The lap wasn’t completed; the field returned to a somewhat-relative state to before the restart. Which meant it was another restart with the same order as last time. Goff was pushing DesRochers on the restart, putting DesRochers in first and Goff in second. Cipriano took little time to get second back. Further back in the field, Tony Santangelo spun coming out of turn four, and he just barely got the car fired up before the field came back. As the laps ticked away, Cipriano crept closer to DesRochers. Suddenly, a caution came out with five laps to go - this time, it was for Webb after spinning in turns one and two. When the race was back to speed, DesRochers took the top spot again, but it was all for naught. Cipriano passed DesRochers for the lead. That wasn't the only late race action - Aszklar spun in turns three and four, but was able to get the car going again before the caution came out. Barrett took over third from Goff, and was looking for second from DesRochers. Meanwhile, Cipriano became the youngest driver to win a feature race at Stafford with the win. DesRochers was second, with Barrett in third and Goff in fourth.

The fastest division of the night was next with the SK Modified division. Brad Hietala was the first leader of the race, but Ted Christopher and Sean Foster were right behind him - more Christopher than Foster. Woody Pitkat passed Foster for third, but Todd Owen passed Pitkat for the position now too long after. The yellow flew for Curt Brainard, who was a bit high up in turns one and two. He drove off but made his way onto pit road. For the first restart, Hietala and Christopher challenged each other for a bit, with Owen and Pitkat hanging around for a while. At turn four, Hietala got an edge and pulled out in front. Owen moved into second, with Christopher right there next to him. Dan Avery joined the party as well in fourth. Also in the mix - and now in fourth - was Frank Ruocco. Ruocco wasn’t finished, and passed Christopher for third by lap 8. And again, he was looking for more. With 13 laps on the board, Ruocco moved into second by getting around Owen. Speaking of Owen, he had Christopher pestering from behind. All of that changed on lap 17, when Raymond Grassetti spun in turn two. It set up a very interesting restart. As Ruocco made a pass for the lead, he spun in turns one and two, possibly with Hietala’s help, and it ended with multiple cars in the middle of the accident. The board changed significantly. Owen moved into first, with Christopher in second. The second row was occupied by Avery and Pitkat. Owen powered out in front on the restart, and there was a fight for spots behind him. Christopher was still in second, and third was between Pitkat and Avery. Right before the halfway point, Brit Andersen and Matt Gallo spun in turns one and two, and while they were going, Eric Berndt spun as well in about the same spot and also went right away. Meanwhile, Christopher and Pitkat made moves for first and second after Owen and Avery were slowed on the backstretch a little bit after halfway. Pitkat was willing to challenge Christopher for the lead, and was all over his back bumper. A move was finally made with seven laps to go, as Pitkat managed to get around Christopher for the lead. Ryan Preece went up in smoke with about six laps to go, putting him out of commission. What was a three-car race for fourth turned into a two-car show. Back to the lead, and it seemed as though Christopher had something for Pitkat, but he had nothing for him. Pitkat took his first win of the season, with Christopher in second, Chris Jones in third, and Owen to finish off the board.

Concluding the night were the DARE Stocks. It began Stephanie Berardi and Cliff Saunders fighting for the lead, with Berardi winning that fight. The twins - C. Saunders and Albert Saunders - were second and third and racing each other for the spot. Josh Wood joined the party in fourth. He managed to get around C. Saunders for third. The first caution came out with four laps on the board when Andrew Hayes spun and three other cars were involved in the accident. On the restart, Berardi and A. Saunders were going at it again for the lead. C. Saunders and J. Wood were right behind them. J. Wood joined the mix and made it a three-wide bid for the lead. Your new leader after the action? J. Wood. Berardi was busy with Stephen Daddio and Jeff Jolly. The two of them spun with almost half a race completed. The front row was now J. Wood and Jolly, but before a lap was completed, things got out of control. J. Wood hit the wall hard going into turn three, sending the hood right off of the car. The red flag came out because of accident cleanup. It was replaced by the yellow about three to five minutes later, and soon enough, there was a restart. A. Saunders and Jolly fought for the lead, with A. Saunders becoming the leader. But he spun in turns three and four, ultimately taking him out of the race. That put Jolly in the lead, but he was out with a black flag for overagression. Brothers Cory Casagrande and Kyle Casagrande were now first and second. Donald Cook was moved into third, with Tony Membrino, Jr in fourth. The distance was great enough that C. Casagrande picked up his first career win. K. Casagrande finished second, with Cook and Membrino finishing the board.

Next Friday night? It’s NASCAR Day! A five-division schedule is on tap for the night. Weather permitting.

SK Light Point Storylines

It's Friday again, and there's a chance of rain in the forecast. (Actually, the radar says rain. But when you have multiple places saying something different, who knows what's going to happen.) I'm prepared, though, since I'm here with a few late night news stories for you. The theme is SK Lights.

+ Your points leader after three SK Light races? David Webb. So far, he has three top-ten finishes (1st, 2nd, and 8th) and is looking to continue the success.

+ In the battle for Rookie of the Year, there is a youth movement. Joey Cipriano and Matt Galko - both 15 - are racing like veterans early on.

You’re Going to Need That Hood Trophy, There

For the first time in the early Stafford season, all five weekly divisions were racing on the same night. But unlike most weeks, this one was special. Another extra distance race was looming… This time, the special race belonged to the Late Models. On most nights, they race 30-laps. On the first Friday of May, they were to race 100 laps. With more than triple the number of laps they had to run, what kinds of strategies were going to be in play? And which drivers were going to take advantage of those strategies, use them to their advantage, and make a bid to win? Those questions would be answered later in the night.

Before the feature in question (and other regularly scheduled ones), there were two last chance qualifiers for the SK Modifieds. Once they were done, the feature races were underway.

First to get going on the night were the Limited Late Models. Jesse Hinze powered into the lead in the beginning, with Carla Botticello running in second. Michael Wray was right behind them in third. It took one lap for a battle for position to get started, with Botticello and Wray fighting for second; Botticello would keep it. Wray had his hands full with George Nocera, Jr for third, and with three laps on the board, third went to Nocera. Nocera was not done looking to move up, and decided to challenge Botticello for second - he’d ultimately win that battle. Botticello was now challenged by Wray for third. She ended up winning the battle and began to distance herself slightly from Wray. Meanwhile, Hinze was still leading the race, with Nocera right on his heels. There were about two car lengths between first and second. Back to third, Botticello was still getting pestered for position - this time, by Dan Flannery. Halfway through the race, the real battle for position was midpack. Botticello found herself in slight trouble and fell backward through the field. Her bad luck continued as 11 laps were completed when she brought out the first caution of the event as she spun in turn two. The race went back to green with Nocera squeaking out into the lead, now with Hinze and Flannery in battle for second. They were side by side coming to the line, with Flannery just barely in second as the two drivers crossed the start line to complete the lap. Kevin Gambacorta and Shawn Thibeault joined the party as well; both managing to get around Hinze for third and then fourth. Unfortunately, the caution came out again with five laps to go when Gambacorta and Brian Clement spun in turn four. Hinze was giving Flannery a bump when the green returned, but it was no use and Nocera was back out in front. Flannery fell back in second, with Thibeault still in third. The top three and Hinze - the fourth place car - raced single file for the remainder of the race. There were slight challenges by Flannery, but in the end, Nocera picked up his first win of the season. Flannery finished second, with Thibeault in third and Hinze finishing in fourth.

After the race, it was found that Nocera’s car was too light on the scales. He was disqualified because of that, and the new top four became Flannery, Thibeault, Hinze, and Dave Yardley, III.

Next up on the docket was the feature belonging to the SK Lights. It started with Harry Wheeler and Heather DesRochers fighting for the lead early. DesRochers was sent backwards through the field. Kyle Spencer was now challenging Wheeler for the lead, but Wheeler moved to the outside coming into turn three to try to pick the lead back up, which he did. But Spencer was persistent, and was able to claim the lead again - and this was all in the first lap of the race! The field settled down slightly in the next two laps, but three laps into the event, Wheeler found himself spinning down the backstretch, along with Ted Cain. The caution was coming out. After an interesting three laps to open the event, the green came back out, with Spencer still in front. David Webb moved into second, with a battle between Jay Goff and Erica Santos for third. Joey Cipriano was in the mix as well, finishing off the top five cars. Santos and Goff were still fighting for a podium spot, with neither driver letting off. Santos managed to get the spot. Goff was left to fight with Cipriano for fourth - the position was won by Cipriano. With about eight laps finished, Chad Trombley spun in turns one and two. He was able to fire the car up before a caution came out. Meanwhile, the top three cars were still fighting for position. Webb was able to get the lead at the halfway point, and the new second place car was Santos. Spencer’s night went from good to bad when he ended up on the road course portion of the backstretch, ending his chances for a good finish. No caution came out for it. During the final five laps in the race, lap traffic was going to be key. The top drivers managed to get around them, and while there was a fight for second between Santos and Cipriano, it was Webb picking up the win. Santos managed to beat Cipriano for second. Goff finished in fourth.

Up next, it was pit crews. Which only meant one thing - it was time for the longer features to get underway. The SK Modifieds were next. The front row was Ted Christopher and Frank Ruocco, and it was a short battle for the lead that Christopher happened to win. Mark Bakaj fell third and Dan Avery moved into fourth after a quick little fight for the spot. A little further back, Woody Pitkat powered into fifth (earlier in the night, he had problems with the transmission). While all that was going on, the first caution occurred when six or seven cars got together in turns three and four, ending with Josh Sylvester flying over another car. All of that set up a definite yellow with only three laps in the race. When the green came back out, it was Christopher getting back out to front, with Ruocco settling into second. That happened to be the gist of things when the caution was flown again - again, with three laps on the board. Nichole Morgillo was stopped on the backstretch, coming out of turn two. There was no doubt that the yellow was being presented again. This set up another restart, where there was a battle for the lead. Christopher once again picked up the lead, and yet again, it was short lived. Caution three came out for Matt Gallo, after spinning in turn two and not getting the car fired up again to go. Speaking of getting “fired up”, the field was getting fired up for yet another restart. The result was the same as the last three. Christopher in first, Ruocco in second. Battle for position was between Avery and Keith Rocco for fourth, which Rocco won. But soon, there was another battle for position. It was for the lead, and it took a bit of time to get the job done, but with six laps on the board, Ruocco managed to get around Christopher for the lead. Christopher was not about to back down, and there was another challenger ready to jump into the fray. That driver was Rocco. They were bumper to nose until it looked like sparks came from Christopher, giving Ruocco some distance to work with. It wasn’t a lot, but for the moment, it had to do. Christopher tried to get the lead back from Ruocco, but again, he couldn’t pull it off. Rocco tried to contend for position, but he remained sitting close to the top two while racing in third. Rocco was ready to move into second, and he did so as they made it to halfway. And while Rocco was about to challenge Ruocco for first, the caution flew for another spin - this time, it was for Brad Hietala. It set up a really important midrace restart. Ruocco and Rocco were side by side for about half a lap before Ruocco pulled ahead. Rocco and Christopher now fought for second and third, with Zach Sylvester in that fight for position. Christopher moved into second, but the caution came out with 23 laps on the board when he ended up around in turn four. The other loser of that caution was Rocco, who was black flagged for sending him around in the first place. Benefiting from that was Z. Sylvester, who took over second. Jeff Malave moved into third, with Avery returning to the board in fourth. Z. Sylvester couldn’t do much in terms of challenging Ruocco when the restart occurred. But it didn’t look like he was willing to give up, although there was a little bit of distance between the two drivers. That minimal but subtle distance was erased with 29 laps down. Hietala ended up spinning again in turn two, bringing out another caution. On the restart, it was Ruocco back out in front, with Malave and Z. Sylvester battling for spots. Malave took over second over Z. Sylvester. Meanwhile, Rocco was coming again, passing anyone he could get around. By lap 33, he made it back into fourth when he passed Ryan Preece for position. On the last lap, Rocco went around Jeff Baral for third, but to take the win, it was Ruocco. Malave ended second, with Rocco in third and Baral in fourth.

The proverbial main event was next - the Lincoln Tech Late Model 100. The action got underway when Michael Bennett took the lead, while Tim Fogg hit the frontstretch wall, taking out John Morgillo, Jr in the process. A full lap didn’t finish before the caution came out for the first time, meaning Bennett was going to restart the race on the outside of the front row. The restart was cleaner, and he was back out in front. Tracy Brouillette was busy with Ryan Posocco in a fight for second - and it was a fight that Posocco happened to win. Brouillette now had Tom Butler on his back bumper. But everything was erased when Fernando Ilha spun in turns three and four, bringing out another caution. The front row on the restart was Bennett and Posocco, and things looked fine. But in all honesty, they weren’t. The hood of Keith Rocco flew right off of the car and got a bit of air before landing semi-safely (one car may have gotten a piece of it) on the frontstretch. Obvious debris brought out an obvious caution with the lap not completed yet. The next restart was safer than that, with Bennett and Posocco fighting for the lead, and it took a full lap to determine that Bennett was getting the lead. Posocco and Butler were challenging each other for position, but it was realized that they weren’t alone. Woody Pitkat moved into third, past Posocco after the five lap mark. It looked like both Pitkat and Posocco were gaining position with seven laps down, but the caution once again came out for Ilha, spinning in the same spot he spun in earlier - turns three and four. It set up another restart with four Stafford residents in the first two rows. Bennett powered back to the lead, with Pitkat now in second. Jim Peterson saw himself in third, with Corey Hutchings in fourth (Posocco was on his bumper). Ten laps passed before Posocco returned to fourth, getting around Hutchings. Back up front, Pitkat made the pass for the lead, and the second leader of the race emerged on lap 17. The leaders approached the beginning of the lapped traffic starting around lap 25, and they managed to get around them easily. Everything else remained pretty quiet after that, but on lap 31, a change for fourth occurred as Dillon Moltz got past Posocco for the spot. Over the course of that position change, Bennett reeled in Pitkat for the lead. Peterson was caught by both Moltz and Posocco. Positions were swapped once again, as both Moltz and Posocco did in fact get by Peterson for third and fourth respectively. Peterson was dropped to fifth. The leaders encountered more drivers on the tail end of the lead lap on lap 42. As they were weaving their way through the traffic, the caution came out for Duane Noll, who spun in turn four. After a long green flag run, the field was bunched up for the first time in about forty laps. And when the green was back out, Pitkat was back out in front. Moltz fought Bennett for second, and managed to take the position easily. Posocco slipped into third, and Hutchings moved into fourth; Bennett fell back into fifth. Moltz was ready to challenge Pitkat for the lead - and so was Posocco, though the third place Posocco fell back slightly. A little further back, Bennett retook fourth from Hutchings. That was the running order on lap 54, when the caution came out for a sixth time as Doug Blowers, Jr, who spun in turn four. This set up a restart where Pitkat retook the lead and things were going on behind him. The next two or three cars in line were fighting for position, but it was all for naught as another caution occurred. It was for Dave Wray, who spun coming out of turn four and ended up trying to collect a few cars in the process. The concept of taking other cars out was accidental. A lap was not completed before the caution came out. The field was going to try the restart again. They did. Pitkat moved into the first spot again, with Moltz on his heels. Bennett was once again in the thick of things, now in third place over Posocco and Hutchings. It was sixty laps into the race when Bennett’s night ended in a rough way - broken and sitting under the video screen coming out of turn two. It all led to caution eight on the night. Under the caution, Butler made another one of his many stops onto pit road in the process. It looked like his night wasn’t going to end well, either, but he drove away. Bennett wasn’t so lucky. He remained on pit road as the field took the restart. Pitkat and Moltz once again fought for position, with Posocco also in the mix. Pitkat once again moved to the lead, with Posocco now in second, Hutchings took over third from Moltz, who was now sitting in fourth. That didn’t last long, and Moltz retook the third spot from Hutchings. Coming up through the field to sit in fifth was Rocco; hood intact from an early yellow. The rough night of Butler continued as he got loose in turn four, creating a bit of chaos and sending a traffic cone out into the path of the traffic. The next caution came out on lap 72 for John Chapin, who ended up high in turns three and four. The ninth caution set up yet another restart, and there was now less than a regular 30-lap feature left. Pitkat and Posocco fought for position again, and Pitkat won the battle for the lead. Posocco fell into second, with Moltz again close behind them. In all fairness, the top five cars hadn’t changed positions until lap 81, when Tom Fearn moved around Rocco for fifth. Within the next nine laps, the leaders encountered more lapped traffic. Times getting around the track with the traffic involved favored Pitkat over Moltz (who found himself back to second). Everything changed with three laps to go, however, when another caution wiped out the lead that Pitkat had gained. Hutchings had come to a stop up on the top of turn four. A crucial restart was in order. But that was going to be after a red flag to check the track for any hidden debris and hot laps when the yellow came back out. Let the drama and the restart begin. Pitkat once again got out front, and Posocco now took over second. Moltz was dropped to fourth. He wasn't down for the count just yet, and he gained spots and made his way back up to second. As Rocco sat idly in turns one and two, Pitkat picked up the win. Moltz finished second, with Posocco in third and Fearn in fourth.

Concluding the night? The DARE Stocks. Vince Gambacorta picked up the lead early, but that lasted about two turns as Cliff Saunders and Jeff Jolly flew by him. Jolly became the new leader, and he soon had the twins behind him - C. Saunders and Albert Saunders. A. Saunders fell back a bit, leaving C. Saunders to challenge Jolly. A. Saunders kept dropping further into the field (not too far, however), as Don Wood and Stephen Daddio both went by him. Nine laps into the event, C. Saunders and Wood fought for second, with Wood becoming the new second place driver. Wood ultimately closed the gap on Jolly, and it almost seemed like Jolly was going to hit the wall as he took the win in a caution-free feature. Wood was second, with C. Saunders and Daddio finishing the board.

On the fourth week of Stafford action, it is the first regular week of action on the schedule. No extra-distance features, no special divisions added to the program. Only the five divisions at the track. All of the racing action will be on, weather permitting.

Quick Pre-Race Stuff

Okay, it's Friday. The weather looks nice. And I have to get ready. Here's some quick pre-race news for you.

+ So far, the 2010 season has been good to Dillon Moltz. Extra distance races have been kind to him, and he'll look to make it to victory lane for a third straight year in the first of two events. (He's the defending winner of this particular event.)

+ Ryan Preece is getting some SK Modified seat time. His first night in the division will be tonight.

+ Speaking of Whelen Tour drivers, they'll be back at the track on May 28th for the TSI Harley Davidson 125. You want an entry list for that? Click here.

And the Whole Thing Gets Going [Saturday Recap]

Finally, things fell into place. While the three support divisions at Stafford already had two races under their belts, the two main divisions - the SK Modifieds and Late Models - had yet to see feature action. The wait ended on Saturday, May 1, as the conclusion of the Spring Sizzler occurred. On tap? Regularly scheduled distances for the Sks and Late Models, and the 200-lap event for the Whelen Modified Tour; the second race on the 2010 schedule for the touring series.

At about 2:15, things were officially underway. The SK Modified feature was first to go.

When I first saw the feature lineup for this race, my first thought was that the inside line was going to go when the green dropped for the first time. My prediction was right. Keith Rocco pulled out in front, with Ted Christopher and Frank Ruocco following him. Within the first three laps, the top three drivers were bumper to bumper with each other, and they had a comfortable distance between themselves and the fourth place driver, Jeff Malave. The first caution came on lap 4, when Brit Andersen spun in turns three and four. The lead that the top three drivers had was now gone, and a restart was in order. When the green flag came back out, it was a neck and neck battle down the frontstretch. Rocco retook the lead in the corners, but the yellow came back out mere seconds later. Curt Brainard hit the wall coming out of turn two, and other cars bumped into each other trying to find a way around him, It was a quick caution, and once again, it was a restart. Christopher and Rocco swapped the lead a few times before another early caution came back out for Matt Gallo, who was facing backwards in the entrance to turn one. For a third straight time, they were going to try to get the lap completed. The restart proved to be a dogfight that Rocco was going to win. Christopher and Ruocco were now fighting for second, with Woody Pitkat now in the mix for a spot within the top four cars. With five laps complete, the fourth caution occurred when Nichole Morgillo started a chain of events, leaving Joe Allegro, Jr, Glenn Griswold, and Adam Skowyra up in turn one. After a few laps of caution action, the race was back underway. Rocco returned to the lead, with Christopher now pushing a fight for position. And the fight was on. Meanwhile, Malave, Tom Bolles, and Eric Berndt all went around Ruocco, who was stuck on the outside groove. The next caution would come out for Chris Jones after spinning in turns three and four. On the restart, Rocco once again pulled out in front. Christopher wasn’t too far behind. Berndt jumped into third, with Kurt Lenahan now in fourth. That was the running order after the first ten laps, when the sixth caution came out. Cars involved in a turn three accident were Jones, Griswold, Michael Gervais, Jr, Gallo, and Keith Carzello. After the accident scene was cleaned up, the restart happened and Rocco went back out in front. Once again, Christopher wanted to change that and was challenging Rocco from all sides. The two of them battled for the lead for a few laps until Christopher pulled into first at the 12 lap mark. Rocco was now trying to make any sort of move to get around him until lap 16, when a three car accident down the frontstretch brought out another caution. This time, the caution cars were Mark Bakaj, Kirk Zervas, and Bolles. On the restart, Christopher and Rocco engaged in yet another dogfight for the lead. It was on lap 19 when Rocco managed to get around Christopher. The two of them and Berndt were now in a zip code of their own… Until trouble started. On lap 25, Christopher suddenly dropped right off the pace, and Ruocco was also having trouble, which meant both cars were taken out of action. Meanwhile, Rocco was starting to build up a commanding lead over Berndt, who was already holding onto second by a sizable lead. Things slowed down on lap 33 when there was a debris sighting on the frontstretch. There was to be a restart with seven laps to go. As the restart happened, it was Rocco once again taking the lead. Berndt was being challenged by Malave for second. Malave took the position as the race was down to the final five laps. While the two of them were battling for position, Rocco was pulling away from the field and would take the win. Malave finished second over Berndt, who was third, and Lenahan finished fourth.

Next up, the Late Models. It began with double green flags and Tom Fearn in the lead in two turns. Trouble happened early as Ryan Posocco was facing backwards on the backstretch, under the Camping World sign, with a tire missing. The caution was coming out and the field was going back to its original lineup for the next restart - Posocco in the back of the pack included. On the restart, there was three-wide action going into turn one, with the winner of the fight being Fearn again. Dillon Moltz moved into second, and just in time as the caution came back out again when Jim Peterson spun in turn four. Posocco was back on pit road to get repairs from the first caution and was back out before the restart. Speaking of the restart, it was Fearn pulling out in front, with Moltz and Corey Hutchings in second and third. It was four laps into the race when Moltz took the lead from Fearn, who fell backwards as the lead change occurred. A lap later, Peterson spun again in turn four, bringing out another caution. The restart pitted Moltz and Fearn, and it was a battle that Moltz won coming out of turn two. Distance was put on between Moltz and Fearn, but only because as Moltz was getting the lead, a lap car was pulling out onto the track from pit road and nearly into the path of the field. Eight laps into the event, Fearn was getting sent backwards, courtesy of Hutchings and Woody Pitkat. Fearn was dropped to fourth in the process. On the very next lap, Scott Cook spun on the frontstretch, with JJ Hill and Michael Bennett collecting each other just past the start line. Once again, the caution came out. Moltz regained the lead on the restart, Besides #01 taking fourth from Fearn, nothing within the top few drivers changed… Until lap 13. Pitkat moved into second, followed by Jim Mavlouganes, and then Hutchings. Moltz started to pull away from the field at the halfway point. After 17 laps, Hutchings took third from Mavlouganes, and after getting passed, Mavlouganes spun in turn two. Moltz and Pitkat fought for the lead on the restart. Moltz happened to win the fight, and once again, began to pull away from second place and the rest of the field in the process. Over the course of the final 13 laps, Moltz was in command, not letting up and cruising to the win. Teammates Pitkat and Hutchings finished second and third respectively, and Fearn finished fourth.

After ceremonies for the Late Model top-three was complete, it was time for the 200-lap main event - the Whelen Modified Tour event. Out of the 33 drivers qualified for the event, 32 were starting the race. On the drop of the first green flag, Bobby Santos took the lead, with Doug Coby moving into second. The fight for position started with third, between Jimmy Blewett and Eric Berndt. Blewett was not done, and by lap 4, he passed Coby for second. Berndt moved into third, with Ron Silk getting into fourth. Silk passed Berndt on lap 8, and moved into second by lap 10. Positions changed again on lap 14, when Berndt passed Blewett for third. Coby also moved by Blewett, picking up fourth on the same lap. Meanwhile, Santos was pulling away from the field. He was leading by a half straightaway by lap 17. By lap 22, the field was racing in one single file line. Cars were being lapped by lap 30, when Santos passed Wade Cole, the tail car on the lead lap until a pass was made. Then the gameplan was changed to “how do you work with lapped traffic”. The answer? Very carefully. Navigate around the lapped traffic while try to make a pass around the person in front of you - and at the 45 lap mark, passing the guy in front of you wasn’t happening frequently. The race was going fast. There were no cautions after the first 50 laps - all of which were completed within 17 minutes. And then, a yellow. The leader, Santos, was involved. Johnny Bush, Eric Goodale, and Kevin Goodale were also involved. The lead was inherited by Silk. And the restart occurred on lap 62. Coby became the new leader, putting Silk into second. Blewett settled into third. By lap 64, Coby and Silk began to go at it for the lead. Coby held him off originally, but it seemed as though Silk was not going to give up. A little further back in the field, Ted Christopher was coming. By lap 68, he was in fourth, and it looked like he was itching to move up just a bit more. Berndt wanted to take fourth away from Christopher, but it was to no avail. On lap 70, something was wrong with Silk, and it felled him to the point where he brought the car to pit road. Blewett moved to second, with Christopher now in third and Berndt in fourth. For the most part, the field was once again racing in a single line (lap 83), with a few minor exceptions deeper in. Things got interesting on lap 97, when Joe Hartmann took a ride through the frontstretch. He was able to get the car moving before a yellow came out. Finally, the race hit 100 laps with only one caution. (Actually, the field hit 100 earlier than that. In reality, the board was ten laps behind until it was fixed on lap 114.) When the board got refreshed, there was a caution on lap 120, when Ed Flemke, Jr spun in turn four. The leaders came down onto pit road to either change tires or take fuel - the rule was that you do either or, not both on a single stop; if you want to take fuel, you change tires first and vice versa. The leader after all of the pit stops were done was Jamie Tomaino. Mike Stefanik was now second, with Erick Rudolph in third and Santos back up to fourth. The green came back out on lap 126 with Tomaino getting the jump on the field and taking the lead. The battle was for second between Stefanik and Blewett, who became second and third consecutively. Things got chaotic when Tomaino spun in turn four on lap 129, bringing out the third caution of the event. The new leader of the event was now Stefanik. Ryan Preece became the new second place driver, followed by Blewett and Rudolph. The restart on lap 133 was about to become interesting. Stefanik picked up the lead, with a fight for second between Preece and Blewett. Blewett took over second and was looking for the lead. Another battle? Yes. While Blewett became the new leader, Preece was sent spinning in turns three and four. Other cars went spinning. The caution came out on lap 137. The top four cars on the board were now Blewett, Santos, Christopher, and James Civali. There was to be a restart on lap 142. And it was Blewett taking the lead. Christopher took second from Santos. The two drivers in first and second were battling for position deeper in the field earlier in the race, and now it looked like they were going to be going at it for the lead. Santos was right behind them. Christopher took the lead on lap 146, and Santos was ready to follow him. Santos took second on lap 147. With only 50 laps to go in the event, the field was single file for a third time in the race. The race slowed down on lap 155, when E. Goodale spun in turn four. Throughout the race, numerous cars had gone in and out of pit road. The only exception to that rule was Christopher. His plan was to go the distance without stopping for gas, The question is - would he make it? The restart on 160 would be part of the answer. Christopher reclaimed the lead on that restart, with Blewett taking over second from Santos, who slipped into third. Unfortunately, the green flag run was short lived on lap 163, when K. Goodale got up high in turn three. During that caution, it looked like K. Goodale was getting a bit of retaliation from Coby over the caution in question. It was known during this caution period that Blewett was another driver who had not taken any fuel during the race, so the storyline about fuel continued. Meanwhile, there was a restart on lap 167. Christopher went back into the lead, but Blewett was still battling him until Christopher claimed it a lap later. Blewett’s problem was now Santos in a fight for second. By lap 175, the field was single file again, which was a common trend during any long stretch of green flag runs. Christopher was out in front by a half straightaway at best. Blewett was still getting badgered by Santos for the second spot. On lap 183, Coby was in smoke and high in turn two. There was no choice but to throw the caution. During the caution, the fuel strategy was in full gear. Christopher needed a push after a very short red flag on lap 184, Would the strategy continue to factor the race on a lap 188 restart? No. At least, not early on. Christopher continued to lead the race, with Blewett and Santos on his heels. With only eight laps to go, Christopher started to pull away from the field, but he’d have his hands full after a lap 195 caution. The caution was for Hartmann - he was stuck on the road course part of the backstretch. This set up a restart on lap 198. Christopher and Blewett were battling for the lead until Blewett got loose in turn three - it ended up with Blewett, Chris Pasteryak, and E. Goodale in distress on the frontstretch. Fortunately for Christopher, he took the white flag before the caution came out. The race ended up being a yellow/checkered finish, with Christopher winning his third straight Spring Sizzler race in the Whelen Modified Tour (and the second driver to do so overall). Santos finished second, with Stefanik in third and Rowan Pennink in fourth.

Your afternoon in a nutshell is over. On tap for Friday, May 7? The first regularly scheduled race for a Stafford weekly division in 2010 - the Lincoln Tech Late Model 100. It will be guaranteed to be one heck of a race; no doubt about it.

The Night of the Extra Distances [Friday Recap]

(Editor's Note: This is the first of two articles for the week. Enjoy the bonus stuff, and take a look on the sidebar for the schedule for this week.)

Last time on the schedule of Stafford Motor Speedway, the Saturday portion of the Spring Sizzler had concluded, and rain had come into the area. In place for the first Friday night of the season? A special edition of Stafford’s weekly racing program. The three divisions that had run feature races seven days ago were to run extra-distance races. That translated to only three features, but even so, one was guaranteed that there was to be no shortage of action.

DARE Stocks
Regular Feature: 15 laps
Extra Distance Feature: 20 laps

Andrew Hayes powered into the lead early, getting the jump on the rest of the field before they crossed the start line. With a lap already on the board, Albert Saunders spun in turn two. He was able to get going as the field moved by, but Josh Wood and James Carroll spun in the process. They were also able to go before a caution came out. Kyle Casagrande moved into second as Jeff Jolly pulled onto pit road. During the next few laps, K. Casagrande pulled closer to Hayes. On lap 7, the first caution came out for Kelsey Rottino, who spun in turn four. On the restart, Hayes once again pulled ahead, with K. Casagrande right behind him. Behind the two drivers, Cory Casagrande - brother of Kyle - moved into third. The first battle for the lead was on lap 7, when K. Casagrande was about to take the lead. But on the next lap, there was another caution. This time, it was for Stephanie Berardi after spinning in turns three and four. The caution came out before a lead change was made, so it was Hayes back in the lead for the next restart. And that’s when the change for the lead finally happened. K. Casagrande took advantage of the green and became the new leader, with Hayes in a battle for second with both #04 and C. Casagrande. The luck for C. Casagrande ended on lap 15 when he spun in turn two. The caution did not come out for that, as he was able to pull away. Meanwhile, with the leaders, K. Casagrande was not contested by the drivers within close distance (the next closest car was about a half a straightaway), and he picked up his first win of the season. Hayes came in second, followed by A. Saunders and Stephen Daddio.

Limited Late Models
Regular Feature: 20 laps
Extra Distance Feature: 25 laps

It was Jesse Hinze out in the lead in the early stages, with Dan Flannery on his back bumper. Flannery moved into the lead about a lap into the race. Shawn Thibeault also challenged Flannery - now for second - and won the battle. Soon, the field stretched out to a point where they were running single file style. Five laps into the race, there was another battle for position. It was a fight for third, between Hinze and George Nocera, Jr. Nocera officially moved into third on lap 6. Meanwhile, a battle for the lead progressed between Flannery and Thibeault. At one point, Flannery scraped the wall. But by the lap 10 mark, Thibeault became the new leader. And just like that, it was now a three-car battle for the top three spots. At the lap 13 mark, Nocera battled Flannery for second and won. With ten laps to go, the first caution of the event came out for Pete Cayer after he spun in turn two. That set the stage for a restart, in which there was once again a battle for the lead. On that restart, Nocera became the new leader, putting Thibeault into second. Thibeault was not backing down without a fight, and inched closer to Nocera. Another battle for the lead occurred, and before they crossed the line for lap 18, Thibeault once again took the lead and slightly pulled away. With only five laps to go, a caution came out for a two car spin in turns three and four, with Paul Varricchio, Jr and Cayer. And that set the stage for chaos. Nocera and Thibeault fought for the lead over the first lap after the green came back out, but when Thibeault tried to make a move in the grass, Flannery became the new leader with fancy moves. Thibeault - once again - was not going to sit quietly and was going to make yet another move, but before that happened, there was another caution. Carla Botticello lost a tire and ended up along the wall coming out of turn two, with Joe Nogiec in the grass in the aforementioned corner. It all set up a green-white-checker fight to the finish, and given the previous goings on during the restarts in the race so far, business was almost certain to pick up. Flannery powered back to the lead, with Nocera moving into second. Robert Dow was now in a fight with Thibeault for third. Thibeault managed to get third in the closing turns, but meanwhile, it was no match as Flannery picked up the win. Nocera finished second. Thibeault was third, and Dow ended up fourth.

SK Lights
Regular Feature: 20 laps
Extra Distance Feature: 30 laps

Things didn’t start as smooth as most people would have liked it to start. Frank Cardile scraped the wall only seconds after the green came out, and there was a multiple car incident in turn one, resulting in Lauren Cooper pulling onto pit road and Rick Williams staying put on the racing surface to bring out the first caution of the event. The result? A complete redo of the start of the race. The second attempt at a restart was cleaner, with Harry Wheeler and Jay Goff fighting for first. Cardile put himself behind Goff on the outside groove, and both of them passed Wheeler for first and second. Wheeler ended spinning on the backstretch with two laps in the books, but he got going and the caution didn’t come up. Meanwhile, Cardile and Goff were in a catfight for the top spot. It was an interesting battle, but it was cut short as dirt in turn one brought out another caution. During the caution period, David Webb was black flagged for overagression for sending Wheeler through the backstretch grass. Goff took the lead on the restart, with John Hanafin getting second. Cardile was challenged by Kyle Spencer for third. Cardile won the battle (and subsequent ones). With nine laps gone in the race, Goff and Hanafin were side by side for the lead. Again, the battle was short lived, as there was a caution in turn four when Wheeler and Zach Aszklar spun. When the field went back to green, Goff and Hanafin were still fighting for first, and soon after, Hanafin became the new leader. In the mix for a spot within the top five was Joey Cipriano, Cardile, and Spencer. And it seemed like every time a fight for position was on their hands, a caution would come out. Lap 10 was no different - it was a three car accident this time around. As the race went back to green, Hanafin took the lead once again. Cardile moved into second and began to challenge him for the lead. Cipriano was also in the mix, As the field completed lap 13, at least two cars in the front half of the field ended up scraping the wall, which didn’t seem to faze anyone who did so. On lap-17, Hanafin drove through the frontstretch grass, giving up third in the process. About a lap later, there was yet another challenge for the lead - this time, between Cardile and Cipriano. A bit further back, Matt Galko took over third. But the battle was still on for first. When it seemed like Cipriano was about to make a move for the top spot, Cardile denied him of any chance. The fight was put on hold with six laps to go as Eric Bacon hit the turn four wall and Paul Colla, Jr spun in the same turn to bring out the caution. The restart was bound to be good. Just as Cardile took the lead, Spencer didn’t come up to speed, setting up a chain of events, finishing with Chad Trombley, Shayne Prucker, and Tommy Membrino, Jr in distress on the frontstretch and in turn one, sending the yellow back out. As the race went back to green, Cardile and Cipriano fought for the lead over the course of that lap, with Cardile getting the benefit of things by taking the lead. The loser during the short green flag run was Galko, who ended up high in turn two, with another caution over the field. One more lap ticked off the board (25 laps done), and yet another restart to run. A bit further back in the field, Heather DesRochers didn't get up to speed. Back towards the head of the pack, Cardile pulled out in front. But Cipriano was not ready to give up. Cipriano tried to get around Cardile a few times on the outside, including one final move on the final lap. On the frontstretch. It was a close finish, but Cardile managed to pull it out at the end for his first career SK Light win. Cipriano finished second. Goff ended third, with Spencer in fourth.

And that was how things ended up. The weekend at Stafford wasn’t over, as there was more racing taking place on Saturday. The conclusion of Spring Sizzler weekend had to happen. As they always say, that’s a different story.