Fireworks! [Part the Second]

Happy 4th of July weekend! Although the official birthday of America wouldn’t be until Sunday, the celebration officially began on Friday night with a five-division program with fireworks in the sky later on in the evening. Before that, the on-track action was key. And ready to begin.

The DARE Stocks kicked things off. Stephanie Berardi and Vince Gambacorta ran side by side through most of the first lap until Berardi took the lead in turns three and four. The next six cars ran in two lines before Nicholas Salva moved into second on the very next lap. Stephen Daddio also broke away from the dual-lane madness and was third. A fight for the lead erupted with only three laps on the board, when Berardi and Salva ran next to each other for the good part of a lap. With four laps on the board, Salva became the new leader. Daddio managed to find his way into second. Jeff Jolly was now in third. The first caution came out with five laps on the board when Andrew Hayes ended up along the wall in turn one; he pulled away and the caution was brief, with the restart happening not too long after. Daddio made his way around Salva in turns one and two to take the lead. He began to pull away from the field over the next few laps, while the action behind him was picking up. Kyle Casagrande found his way into second spot. The two would have to battle for the lead when the green came back out, because Hayes and Berardi spun in turn two to bring out another caution with three laps to go. Again, it was a quick caution. On the restart, the two leaders dueled down the frontstretch and into turns one and two until Daddio took the lead upon reaching the backstretch. K. Casagrande sat closely behind him. Cory Casagrande moved into third. Barely a challenge was made to contend by the second and third place drivers, and Daddio scored his first win of the season. K. Casagrande settled for second, with C. Casagrande in third. Jolly finished off the board in fourth.

Up next were the Limited Late Models. The clear-cut leader wasn’t known until halfway through the first lap, when Jesse Hinze pulled ahead of Duane Provost for the lead. The lead was short lived when the caution came out with a single lap on the board for an accident involving Carla Botticello, when she hit the backstretch wall, made a 360, and ended up under the Family Ford of Enfield sign. When the green came back out, Hinze still held the lead. A new second place driver emerged in the form of Robert Dow, with Andrew Durand now in third. As for Provost, who was second before the caution? He was falling backwards through the field. Back up front, Dow ultimately began to put pressure on the back of Hinze’s car. Hinze got loose and as the leaders made their way to complete the eighth lap, Hinze came close to starting something huge. Fortunately, nothing came out of it, but he would lose his lead not too long after. Dow became the new leader. Shawn Thibeault emerged into second. As for third? It became the possession of Durand. As people were hitting walls and going three-wide, the caution came out for debris in turn one, happening with half of the race down. It was cleaned up and the race went back to green. Thibeault slightly pulled into the lead, but Dow wasn’t willing to back down and another fight broke out for the lead. It wasn’t until two laps later that Thibeault became the clear-cut leader. And with that, he pulled away from second-place Dow. The rest of the race ran smoothly (with the exception of the last lap, when Hinze had what seemed to be engine trouble and ended up stuck in the infield), and Thibeault claimed his second win in 2010. Dow finished second. Durand ended up third, while Dave Yardley, III finished fourth.

The SK Lights took to the track next. The first leader in the event was Dylan Liseo, after he passed Zachary Aszklar coming out of turn two. Things got a bit crazy later in the lap, as Aszklar spun in front of pretty much everyone in the third and fourth turn, sending everyone trying to find their way around him. While he was able to get the car going, Jay Goff and Harry Wheeler ended up left in the turns, and the caution came out without a lap completed. Liseo powered back into the top spot on the restart, leaving Earl Pelletier and Ted Cain to duke it out for second. Their battling gave Liseo an advantage by pulling away from the field as the early laps ticked by. In the battle behind him, Cain managed to take the runner-up spot. Pelletier was left to fend off Erica Santos and Thomas Barrett, Jr. With half of the race in the books, Barrett moved into third - and he wasn’t done yet. He found a way to get into the second spot. His quest for first (and conquering the huge gap between himself and Liseo) was put on hold with eleven laps on the board for a car who spun in turn four, bringing out the yellow once again. When the race went back to green, Liseo once again moved to the lead. Barrett was still second, but he remained close to Liseo and a battle for the lead ensued. It was a side-by-side battle for a few laps, but Barrett took the lead after the grueling duel. His lead was put on hold as Steve Greer spun in turns three and four with only five laps to go, turning into yet another caution. On the restart, Barrett pulled out into the lead once again. Matt Galko challenged Liseo for second, but Liseo ultimately claimed the spot. It took a lap for action to pick up before things turned for the worse. A handful of cars spun or hit other cars down the backstretch, which was going to send out the caution. But Chad Trombley's erupted into flames, which prompted the flag guys to throw the red out without hesitation. When red changed to yellow, Joey Cipriano (who was in fourth prior to the red flag) had to be pushed onto pit road. Over time, the caution areas were cleaned up and the race was on. It was a drag race down the frontstretch, into turns one and two, and down the backstretch. By the time either one of the leaders ended up clear of the other, the caution came out with three laps to go. (Liseo was named the leader at the caution.) What for, you ask? It was for debris that was found on the backstretch, just before turn three. It was picked up and the restart occurred. Liseo got the jump on the restart, but Barrett and Galko were applying pressure. On the last lap, Barrett tried to pass Liseo for the win, and it was close… But in the end, it was the first career win for Liseo. Barrett finished second, with Galko in third and David Webb in fourth.

It was time for the SK Modifieds. Sean Foster pulled ahead when the green flew first, but he wasn’t alone as Mark Bakaj and Josh Sylvester were on his tail. And while they were trying to catch Foster for the lead, they were fighting for second as well. Action halted with four laps on the board, as Eric Berndt spun in turn four to bring out the caution. On the restart, it was a dogfight for the lead. By the time J. Sylvester passed Foster for the lead, one full lap was completed. Also with five laps on the board? The second caution. It was for Frank Ruocco and Matt Gallo, who spun (and for Gallo, who had to be towed off of the track) in turn three. When the field went back to green, the start was called back and was deemed a false start. Foster was black-flagged for overagression on the restart and was sent to the back of the field. A retake of the restart was called forth. As the green returned, J. Sylvester pulled out in front. Second was a fight between Dan Avery and Ted Christopher; Avery gained the spot. It wasn’t guaranteed, however, and he was back to battling Christopher for the spot once again. Christopher was now second, and by the lap-nine mark, he became the new leader. Avery picked up the second spot. There was no real battle for the lead, but there was a greater chance of one with twelve laps on the board, when Michael Gervais, Jr spun in turn three. The caution once again came out. It was a quick caution as he managed to drive away, and the green came back not too long afterwards. Christopher pulled away on the restart, bringing Avery along with him. Behind them, J. Sylvester and Woody Pitkat moved into third and fourth respectively; Pitkat wanted third, but he ended up getting loose and ultimately fell back to the tail end of the field via way of the grass. As the laps ticked off the board, it seemed as though Christopher had all the tools he needed. Unfortunately, he’d have to endure another restart, as the caution came out with nineteen laps on the board after Joe Allegro, Jr spun in turn four. On the restart, there was a brief moment where there was no leader. Christopher didn’t let that last too long, and once again, he moved out to the front. The green flag run lasted only one lap, however, when Avery found himself up against the wall in turn one, bringing the caution out with the race halfway done. As the race went back to green, Christopher retook the lead. Bakaj made his way into second. Moving into third was Keith Rocco. Among the top three drivers were plenty of challenges for position. Bakaj tried to make a move around Christopher; it didn’t work. Same when it came to Rocco trying to get around Bakaj. Things were getting interesting. Was anything going to work? It was still up in the air - if it was going to happen, it was going to happen after the restart. With 29 laps on the board, Curt Brainard spun in turn four. Chris Matthews ended up getting collected in the incident and sat idly coming out of the corner, bringing the caution out. Things picked up on the restart, when Christopher moved back into first. A battle ensued for second between Bakaj and Rocco. In the span of a lap, it was Rocco picking up second. Ruocco found his way into third, passing two or three cars in the span of the backstretch. By the time the leaders hit the stripe to make it seven to go, another caution ensued for Pitkat and John Montesanto after they spun in turn four. Another restart, and Rocco took the lead. Christopher sat in second, as he had been doing for the past few laps, but behind them, chaos ensued. Something happened to Ruocco's car, as it looked like he didn't get up to speed on the restart. By the time he hit turn two, he spun, bringing out another caution. The field went back to the lineup before the caution came out, and that meant that Rocco and Christopher were going to duke it out on the restart. They didn’t. Rocco gained the lead again, but instead of having Christopher behind him, he had Jeff Malave behind him. Shortly before they crossed the line to make it five laps to go, sparks flew between Christopher and Malave, with the end result being Christopher moving back into second. It wasn’t enough, as the final laps belonged to Rocco. He took down his fourth straight win (and the seventh on the season). Christopher finished third, with Malave in third and Jeff Baral in fourth.

After a brief intermission for fireworks (the sky version), the final feature of the night kicked off.

It belonged to the Late Models. It started with a bonsai move from Scott Cook, moving from the outside and ducking right down to the inside, just barely clearing Tom Fearn for the lead. Later in the lap, Keith Rocco hit the wall in turns three and four hard, ending driver’s side to the barrier. The caution came out with no laps on the board. The restart was less dangerous. Cook bolted to the lead (a bit safer this time), but Jim Peterson and Tony Lafo joined him. The battle was on for second, between Lafo and Peterson. It took a few laps, but second finally belonged to Peterson. Meanwhile, the fight for the second spot was all Cook needed, as he distanced himself from trouble. Trouble, however, did ensue. It was bad news for Fearn, who spun in turn four; and Michael Bennett, who ended up stranded in the same turn. With five laps down, it was caution number two. The lead that Cook had? Gone. He eventually picked it back up on the restart… Only to lose it in turn three. While battling Peterson for the lead, he ended up going for the wall. Two other cars were involved in the accident, and the caution came out before the lap was completed. During the caution, Cook didn’t like what happened and went after Peterson. Things got out of hand after that, and it ended with Cook’s car getting towed off the track. When things appeared to be back to normal, the green came back out. Peterson jumped back out to the lead, bringing both Corey Hutchings and Ryan Posocco along with him. As the field crossed the line, four cars spun in turns three and four to bring the caution back out after six laps. Speedy dry was dumped onto the track to clean up some liquid. After JJ Hill blew up in smoke (prompting the yellow to remain out for a little while longer), the green returned. Peterson returned to the lead, followed by Posocco, who passed Hutchings for second. He applied pressure on Peterson’s bumper. The fight for the lead was on. It didn’t take long for the fight to draw on. With nine laps on the board, Posocco became the new leader. Only one lap after the lead change took place, another caution occurred when Bennett, Lafo and Fearn spun in turns three and four. On the restart, it was Posocco leading the charge once again. Hutchings slinked right back into second spot, followed by Peterson in third. Then everything got quiet. For the most part, the field ran single file; save for the occasional battle further in the pack. The remainder of the race ran caution-free, and when it was all done, Posocco claimed his second win of the season. Hutchings finished second. Peterson ended up third, and Woody Pitkat wound up fourth.

The upcoming week at the track is a busy one. Racing action starts on Tuesday with the CARQuest Extreme Tuesday - featuring the NEMA Midgets, ISMA Supermodifieds, and the Pro-4 Modifieds. Friday night, it’s a five-division program as the weekly divisions return to the track for more action. This is all weather permitting.