Earl Wins

Expect the weekly racing article up ASAP. That's a given.

Don't expect to have racing on Friday. That's also a given. Stafford has put the word out early - as in the day before, which I had thought of yesterday - that they are not going racing this weekend. Which is a smart move, in my opinion. I wouldn't want to fight with what is now a category 4 hurricane moving closer towards North Carolina myself. (When the 11am advisory comes with extreme threat levels around the place where it's expected to hit first, you know what I'm talking about.)

Everything gets back to normal (I hope) next Friday night, when we're going Modified tour racing. The Shark Cycle 100 for the Modified Racing Series will take place... If there's no threat of Fiona out there somewhere. Stay safe and dry.

Earl May Postpone

When I mean "Earl", I'm talking about a currently-category 4 hurricane by the name of Earl. He's making his way up to North Carolina (Cape Hatteras) and will reach the area by Friday afternoon. Rain will be here all day Friday, according to quite a few weather reports. I'm pretty sure that there won't be racing, but at least stick around and we'll find out together.

(Weekly article will be up later today.)

150 Reasons for No Racing

If I post the same reason 150 times, do I really call it 150 reasons? Or is it one reason, just mentioned 150 times?

Either way, the rain wins again as earlier this morning, Stafford postponed the SK Modified 150 that was supposed to be taking place tonight. The entire program that was going to be run tonight - including the DARE Stock race from the 16th that got rained out in last week's program - will be run next Friday night.

As for the Limited Late Model race from the 16th that was supposed to be run next week, I have no idea when they plan on running it. Check the upcoming events in the sidebar for an updated listing, and when the track reveals the date of that makeup race, I'll be adding it. Until then, stay safe and dry.

Action With a Chance of Rain

The number of weeks leading up to the July 23rd SK Modified 150 have diminished. It was officially a week away. Before that, Stafford had one last regular program on their hands, featuring the five weekly divisions. Besides action, there was a chance of something else in the air. Rain. By the end of the heats, it was coming. Was it going to hit before the features were up? The race was on… Literally and figuratively.

First up was the SK Lights. It began with Jay Goff powering his way into the lead. He wasn’t alone, as Heather DesRochers joined him and promptly passed him to take over on the same lap - the first. DesRochers began to pull away from the rest of the field. Behind her, Goff and Erica Santos started the battle for second. Santos picked up the spot. Further back in the field, Victoria Bergenty and John Hanafin slowed down a bit after contact down the backstretch. Hanafin seemed to find Frank Cardile, who ended up high in the turn three area of the track. And thus, the first caution came out with only three laps on the board. On the restart, DesRochers pulled back out to the top spot. Santos and Joey Cipriano were also in the mix. It was a three-way fight for the lead. It wasn’t going to last long. One lap after the restart, with four laps down, Tony Santangelo was in the grass in turn two (with a presumed flat tire). David Webb was stuck in turn three. Both cars were stranded and the caution came right back out. Matt Galko came down onto pit road with problems of his own, and he was forced out of the race as he was also involved (slightly) in the latest yellow. The action resumed on the restart, where DesRochers wasn’t done leading the event. Behind her, it was still a fight between Santos and Cipriano. Add Thomas Barrett, Jr, who was running in fourth, and it was officially anyone’s race. Cipriano dropped to the inside lane to challenge DesRochers for the lead. He got it with nine laps down. Barrett found his way into second, and Santos managed to get into third, sending DesRochers into fourth by the halfway point. With six laps left in the race, the two young drivers began to race for the lead. Cipriano chose the outside lane; Barrett chose the inside lane. The inside lane was the better of the two lanes, and with five laps to go, Barrett became the third leader of the race. The last five laps ran smoothly, and Barrett scored his fourth win of the season. Cipriano ended up second, with Santos in third and DesRochers in fourth.

Up next, it was the Late Models. A dragrace down the frontstretch occurred between JJ Hill and Adam Gray. Hill won the fight and became the leader. A mess ensued with most of the field over the course of the first two laps of the race. Michael Bennett pulled away from the bonsai moves and found himself in second. Behind them, the action brewed to a point where Keith Rocco and Corey Hutchings got together on the backstretch and ended up wrecked by turn three. There was no debate; yellow was the way to go. As the green came back out, Hill found his way back to the lead. Ryan Posocco joined him and got around him on the very next lap. Dillon Moltz managed to get into second, punting Hill back into third. As first (Posocco) and second (Moltz) were beginning to pull away from the rest of the field and the chaos, everyone had been fighting for position behind them. Third was highly contested, belonging to Gray at one point and Scott Cook not too long afterward. Things eventually settled down once Cook moved into third, and it was pretty much quiet for a while. The race slowed down with thirteen laps down when the caution came out. It was for debris which came from an incident on the backstretch involving Tom Butler and Woody Pitkat. Even though those involved in the aforementioned incident kept racing, the debris was posing a hazard and it was to be removed as soon as possible. It was removed, and the racing action resumed. Posocco claimed his spot once again. Moltz was again in second, with Cook still in third… For the time being. A change in position changed that, and Bennett now claimed that spot. A bit further back in the field, Gray went around in turns three and four. As he was about to get going again, track officials found his attempt to be too late and threw the caution with ten laps to go. On the restart, things picked up where they left off - Posocco was in the lead. Bennett now found himself in second and had begun to hunt down Posocco. On the last lap, Bennett made a last ditch effort to make a move… Two efforts, really. None of them worked, and Posocco picked up the win. Bennett had to settle for second. Moltz and Jim Peterson finished off the board.

Things became pretty chaotic after that. As the Late Model race progressed, the line of storms that was coming eventually did come. Cloud to ground lightning and strong winds postponed the action, and on and off rain made for long waits in an attempt to dry the track. The coup de grace happened when the power was knocked out. That cancelled any plans of getting the remainder of the program in. The three divisions that didn’t get a chance to run were rescheduled accordingly:

• The DARE Stock race was moved to this upcoming Friday - July 23.
• The Limited Late Model race was moved to next Friday - July 30.
• The SK Modified race was moved to August 13.
  

All races are tacked on to their respective new weeks for the price of the original night’s program. The extra DARE Stock race is a part of the 7th annual SK Modified 150. It’s the longest event for the SK Modifieds over the course of the 2010 season. And all six races happen weather permitting.

Much Ado About Sizzler Saturday

After much pomp and circumstance over the winter months, the 2010 Stafford Motor Speedway season kicked off in style with the Saturday portion of the CARQuest Tech-Net Spring Sizzler. While it was deemed to be a somewhat quiet day, one would guess that it was going to be far from quiet. With only a few features and time trials for the Whelen Modified Tour, it had all of the hype to be wild afternoon. All of that set the stage for the action that is the season ahead.

First on the agenda was time trials for the Whelen Modified Tour. Ready to take time were 36 drivers, and the usual two-lap qualifying system was in place. 35 of them managed to take two laps (one of them had a bit of an issue before the second of the laps was completed), and in the end, history was made for the second straight week. Bobby Santos became the first Whelen Modified Tour driver to crack the 18-second mark in qualifying, posting a fast time of 17.965 seconds - 100.195 miles per hour and a new track record - for his second pole of the young season. Later that day, the top ten fastest drivers redrew for the main event, and when the field gets the green flag, Santos will remain on the pole.

After a very eventful session of weekly division heats (including a tête-à-tête on the frontstretch during one of the Late Model heats that ended with a driver getting restrained by track officials) and two consolation events for the SK Modifieds, the features were underway.

Once all of the qualifying was set and out of the way, the SK Lights took to the track for the first official feature of the season. Sure to be just as interesting. When the green flag flew, Ted Cain took an early lead from Tony Santangelo, but Cain was not getting the lead easily. The two drivers fought for the lead over the course of the first and part of the second lap. That was when the yellow flew for the first time, as Victoria Bergenty and Kyle Spencer spun in turns three and four. On the restart, Cain once again pulled slightly ahead, with Santangelo not backing down without a fight. It wasn’t until the second full lap until Cain finally gave himself some space between himself and second place, now between Santangelo and Frank Cardile. Cardile then moved into second, with Santangelo in possession of third. The majority of the field ran in single file formation for a good part of the first half of the race, save for some changes in position deeper into the field. On lap 9, Santangelo and David Webb battled for positions within the top five. When lap 11 came out, Joseph Cipirano, III ended up spinning in turns three and four, bringing out the second caution of the race. Mere seconds after the yellow was already out, Cardile spun in turns one and two, but was able to get the spot back when it was determined that the caution was out before he spun. The green came back out and things went haywire. Something was wrong with Cain, and he ended up getting sent backwards while Cardile moved into the lead. Webb followed him into second and was looking to get into the lead when the third caution came out, for Spencer and Cipirano, who spun in turn four. It was determined that Webb did not take the lead before the caution came out in that period, but things could happen on the restart. And they did. While Erica Santos went through the frontstretch grass, Webb finally became the new leader of the race. But on lap 14, Zachary Aszklar spun in turns three and four, bringing the yellow out yet another time. Unfortunately for Webb, a full lap was not completed, and he was bumped back to second and once again looking for the lead with another restart and six laps to go. Cardile went back into the lead on the restart, with Cain and Webb now fighting for second. Webb took second as the board hit lap 15, and again, he had the lead in mind. With three laps to go, Webb took over the lead, with Cain getting around Cardile for second. Webb began to pull away from the field, and it appeared as though he was going to become the first feature winner of the season. But the parade was put on hold as Tommy Membrino, Jr ended up hitting the outside wall in turn two. Santos ended up in the grass in the same turn. Other cars managed to get around them in the process. During the caution, the field was stopped on the frontstretch to get the field set out. Webb was the leader, with Cain in second, Cardile in third, and John Hanafin in fourth. The race was going to be settled with a two lap, green white checker scenario. Webb didn’t get up to speed on the restart, giving Cain the lead. Hanafin was now challenging Webb for second but lost out, giving Webb motive to challenge Cain for the win coming out of turn four on the last lap. It was a matter of inches, but Cain squeaked out the win. Webb finished second, with Santos coming back from the grass during the final caution in third and Hanafin in fourth.

The middle race on the agenda was that of the Limited Late Models. Only 14 cars in it, but it was sure to be impressive like the feature that came before it. Carla Botticello pulled out to a short lead as the field went into the first corners, but Andrew Durand claimed it when they exited turn two. His lead was short lived as a four car spin/accident in turns three and four brought out an early caution. The four cars that were involved in the incident were Paul Varricchio, Jr, Dave Yardley, III, Joseph Nogiec, and Dan Flannery. This would put Botticello back on the outside of the front row, alongside Durand for the restart. Speaking of the restart, it was Durand who would put himself back out in front. Kevin Gambacorta became the car in second, and was over the back bumper of Durand as a lap finally ticked off the board. Botticello was involved in a battle for third with Rob Dow, with Dow winning the aforementioned fight for position. Meanwhile, a fight for the lead took place between Durand and Gambacorta - and you could give the win for the battle of position to Gambacorta. The two lead cars and Dow distanced themselves slightly from the rest of the field (with Gambacorta and Durand distancing themselves a bit from the third place Dow). The field - for the most part - ran single file as the laps slowly started to dwindle. Gambacorta still separated himself from Durand as the second half of the race progressed, and it was more than enough to claim a commanding win. Durand earned a second place finish. Dow finished third, and Michael Wray ended up finishing fourth.

Ending the Saturday portion of the Spring Sizzler, it was the DARE Stock feature. It was Tony Membrino, Jr taking an early lead, with Don Wood settling into second. There was a fight for position midway through the field in the first lap of action, but towards the back of the pack, there was a little spin by Kelsey Rottino in turn four. Kaitlyn Brice ended up with some sheet metal damage (albeit minor), and all of that was enough to bring out the caution with a mere lap on the board. When the green flag came back out, Membrino and Wood battled down the frontstretch until they hit the turns, when Membrino finally pulled away. Wood once again had to settle for second. As the laps ticked by, Membrino kept the distance between himself and second place Wood. In third and fourth spots, Jeff Jolly and Kyle Casagrande were also in contention for a podium spot. Second, third, and fourth were now in close range to each other, but they were not in close range of Membrino. Membrino had too much for the rest of the field as he picked up the win on opening weekend. Wood was in second, Jolly finished third, while Casagrande finished in fourth.

And that was how things ended on Sizzler Saturday. The forecast for Sunday called for rain, and it didn’t let up. All Sunday events at the track were moved to Saturday, May 1, on the back end of a special Friday/Saturday doubleheader at the track. Friday, it’s the DARE Stocks, Limited Late Models, and SK Lights in special extra distance races. And on Saturday, it’s the SK Modifieds, Late Models, and Whelen Modified Tour. All of this is weather permitting.

Friday/Saturday Double Feature

As you may already know, rain has come. And Stafford has decided that the rain was more than enough to postpone the Sunday portion of the Spring Sizzler. So in light of recent events, the track has decided to push all Sunday events to this upcoming Saturday, May 1. You'll still have your pit party, your SK Modified and Late Model features, and the Whelen Modified Tour race. With the revised schedule, be aware that after the pit party, there will be practice for the weekly divisions.

But there's more. There will be racing on April 30 - the date that was supposed to be the opening Friday night. It will still be the opening Friday night at the track, but with a special show. It will be an extra-distance show for three of Stafford's five weekly divisions. According to the schedule, the SK Lights will run 30 laps, the Limited Late Models go 25 laps, and the DARE Stocks are running 20 laps. Note that all racing action starts at 7:00pm, which is a little later than what it usually is on any normal Friday night.

Results of October 4 [The Better Late Than Never Edition]

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Doing more things that I shouldn't have been doing lately. Tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to give you the written results from Fall Final weekend -- it's been two weeks since things wrapped up at Stafford and I fail with time management. And then I'll do what I promised and give you the rest of those championship stories as soon as I post this. Cool? Awesome. Apologies to those of you who were waiting and waiting but never saw the post.)

Well, we've done it. I don't know where the summer months have gone, but this past weekend was the final time this year that Stafford held racing. And it was amazing as usual. It was supposed to be a three-day event, but the rains came on Saturday and completely crammed all of the Fall Final activities into Sunday. That meant that besides the five weekly divisions, you had the Whelen Modified Tour there for their 150-lapper and the debut of the Mini Stocks all at the same time. Mass chaos all over the place, and that means only one thing... The end of the road. Here is the recap of October 4, 2009.

The event that started it all on Sunday was the DARE Stock feature event. What a way to kick things off. The afternoon/evening of racing began with Duane Provost getting the lead early. Drivers running in the top-five included Andrew Hayes in fourth and the Saunders twins (Albert in third and Cliff in fifth). They ran single file until lap-5, when Kyle Casagrande hit the wall in turn two -- CAUTION. The restart was fine, if only for a short bit. Both Provost and Jim Brice ended up in a spin/accident in turns one and two on lap-6 -- CAUTION. Apparently, Provost leaked fluid or blew the motor in his car. Either way, his day was done. This gave Albert Saunders and Hayes the front row for the next restart. It was a restart that Hayes got the jump on. He became the new leader on lap-7. Coming up to second from fifth was Don Wood, who sat back comfortably behind Hayes for a couple of laps. The next yellow came out on lap-12, as Lori-Jo Rzeszutek spun in turn four and didn't get going until way past too late -- CAUTION. A restart with four laps ensued between Hayes and Wood that proved to be all kinds of awesome. Wood claimed the lead on the restart, with Hayes now in second. It seemed as though Wood was going to make it to victory lane as the winner, but Hayes was coming. In the final turns, Hayes went down to the inside and managed to pass Wood, then cleared him just enough to get to the finish line first, giving him his first career win at Stafford. Wood ended up finishing second. Tony Membrino, Jr finished third, with Albert Saunders in fourth.

Second up was the Stafford debut of the Mini Stocks. Cars from four different tracks came for this event. Pretty interesting turn of events in this one. It began with Randy Curchill, Jr with an early lead. His lead lasted a lap, as on lap-2, multiple cars behind him spun in turns three and four -- CAUTION. Most of them did pull away pre-yellow, while others drove away after the fact. It was a quick caution. When the green came back out, there was a new leader in Chris Williams. Williams had the lead in tact for the next four laps. On lap-6, Chad Baxter claimed the lead from Williams. Two laps later, Alan Hall, Jr ended up spinning in turn four -- CAUTION. It was after that when things got a bit crazy. Williams retook the lead on the restart, and Joe Kendall moved up into third. The lead that Williams had brought the race to lap-12, as Baxter took over for the second time in the race. Baxter also brought Kendall with him, putting Williams back into third. Kendall attempted a move around Baxter coming to take the white flag, but ended up spinning into the grass as the two made contact. Kendall did in fact keep moving. But back out front, it was nobody but Baxter. He cruised to the win, with Williams in second, Mark Panaroni in third, and Steve Michalski in fourth.

Closing out the first act (feature-wise) was the SK Light feature. It didn't start off too well. Two laps into the race, Lauren Cooper and Earl Pelletier found the concrete wall in turn one and smacked it hard -- CAUTION. When the green came back out, John Hanafin took the lead from Kyle Spencer. The race was green for a while, giving people like Tommy Membrino, Jr a chance to move through the field. Membrino was up to second by lap-19, when Harry Wheeler spun in turn three -- CAUTION. The restart was nice while it lasted. Shawn Brule spun in turn four and the yellow didn't come out until lap-20 -- CAUTION. So what did this mean? A third attempt at a green-white-checkered finish. Yeah, not so good. On the restart, Hanafin and Membrino got together a slight bit, with the loser of the battle being Hanafin. He went around and collected three other cars. Adam Skowyra ended up slightly on top of Hanafin's car -- CAUTION. The new front row was Membrino and Heather DesRochers. And on the restart, DesRochers got the jump she needed. She took control and went by Membrino. Membrino kept close to her bumper through the final two laps, and nearly got close to passing her for the lead, but it was DesRochers who claimed her second win of the season. Membrino had to settle for second, with John Montesanto and Tony Santangelo finishing the board.

The break from all of the features took place with the Whelen Modified Tour time trials. It was supposed to be 32 cars taking time, but one of the cars had trouble during practice, leading into time trials, and couldn't get two laps in. So 31 cars ended up going out for two laps each. Fast time was set by Donny Lia, who posted a time of 18.579 -- equaling out to 96.884 miles per hour. Results of the redraw and the race itself later.

After time trials, it was time to get down to business once again. SK Modified feature time. Anyone for a little chaos in your Fall Final event? This race had some of that. To start, there was Wade Mattesen getting the early lead. And by early, I mean about a lap's worth of lead. On lap-2, the first lead change of the race occurred as Curt Brainard passed Mattesen for the lead. Following Brainard around Mattesen was Richie Pallai, Jr. But Pallai wanted the lead and was pressuring Brainard for it as soon as the two of them were clear of Mattesen. Jeff Malave and Chris Matthews spun/got into an accident in turn three on lap-5 -- CAUTION. This set up a restart with Brainard and Pallai on the front row, a restart in which Pallai won. Joining Pallai were the three heavy hitters in Keith Rocco, Woody Pitkat, and Ted Christopher. Rocco wasn't going to settle for second, and on lap-10, he became the third leader as he passed Pallai. As for Pallai, his day ended on the very next lap after he met the turn four wall -- CAUTION. Christopher helped Pallai get there and was sent to the back of the field courtesy of a black flag. Back up front, however, it was Rocco who kept the lead on the restart. Now running behind him were Matt Gallo and Doug Coby. Coby wasted little time getting around Gallo for second (neither did Pitkat, sending Gallo back to fourth). And that was how they ran... Until lap-21, when someone dropped fluid down onto the racetrack coming off of pit road. The fluid was all down the backstretch and into turn three -- CAUTION. As soon as all of the fluid was removed from the track surface, it was back to green. And it was Rocco still out in front. Pitkat had found his way into second, and Todd Owen had moved past Coby for third. Josh Sylvester moved up into the top-five. This was how the top-five shaped out at lap-27, when Kirk Zervas spun in turn four -- CAUTION. (Now, apologies for confusing myself after this point.) At some point in time between the previous caution and any later cautions, there was one that occurred in turn four between Josh Sylvester and Christopher. Christopher had been working his way through the field since he was put to the back of the field earlier, and the two of them ended up in the turn four wall -- CAUTION. (Okay, confusion over.) When it was back to green, something happened. For some reason, Rocco didn't get up to speed and he was punted back to third. Pitkat became the new leader of the event, with Coby coming back up into second. Rocco's falter didn't hurt him, and he passed Coby for second on lap-32. On the very next lap, Nicole Morgillo hit the backstretch wall hard -- CAUTION. The red had replaced the yellow and an extra ambulance was needed. After the accident scene was cleared, it was back to green. Pitkat continued to hold the lead, while Coby's luck ran out on lap-35 after he went through the grass on the backstretch and came to a rest in turn three -- CAUTION. Pitkat's good run ended shortly after the restart. Although he took the lead, he began to slow down considerably, giving Rocco the lead while going to pit road at the same time on lap-36. Brit Andersen now found himself in second and Owen moved up to third. While Andersen and Owen fought for position, Rocco pulled away and collected his sixth win of the season. Owen managed to get by Andersen for second, while Gallo finished fourth.

One of two divisions still champion-less going into the final weekend was the Limited Late Model division. The battle was a good one. Andrew Durand only led Dan Flannery by twenty points; ten positions on the track was the difference between Durand winning and losing the championship. That magic number came into play during the race. How? Well, starting at the beginning, you had Joe Nogiec leading the way. He had the lead for a lap before Shawn Thibeault took over as the leader. Behind him followed George Nocera, Jr and Kevin Gambacorta, dropping Nogiec into fourth. With the green still out at the halfway mark, Thibeault was still leading, but with a different look behind him. Second was now Gambacorta. Flannery was sitting in third, with Nocera making up the top-four. This was how they ran when Christopher Harris spun in turn two; lap-14 -- CAUTION. And it was the same order as Jesse Hinze spun while going down the backstretch on the very next lap -- CAUTION. On the restart, the lead changed hands as Flannery moved past Thibeault to claim first, but the lead was short lived as lap-16 had Marc Russell and Michael Chaves wrecked in turns one and two -- CAUTION. The restart had to be done again, and again, it was Flannery to take the lead. Thibeault fell in the second spot. But it was two-laps worth of action before Corky Hinze, Bill Goldrick, and another car ended up in distress coming out of the turn four area -- CAUTION. Durand was assessed a penalty for rough riding and was sent to the back of the pack. The magic number was still ten (or eleven, but that would have meant the points leaders would be tied), and that was how many cars Durand had to pass in order to win the championship. He had a little help on the restart, as Gambacorta, Norm Sears, and Carla Botticello were involved in an accident in turn one -- CAUTION. Other cars were involved in the accident; meaning Durand had picked up a few spots to help out in the championship cause. Meanwhile, back up front, Thibeault retook the lead from Flannery on the ensuing restart. Rob Dow moved into second. Flannery encountered a bit of bad luck as a tire was going down (right rear). He spun in turn four, yet continued to go. The race remained under green-flag conditions. The remaining laps belonged to Thibeault, and he crossed the line to pick up his second win of the season. Dave Yardley, III passed Dow for second, with Nocera finishing the top-four. And the winner of the Limited Late Model track championship was Durand, who finished eighth to Flannery's fourteenth.

It was now time for the main event. The Whelen Modified Tour took to the track for their 150-lap feature. Earlier in the afternoon, at some point in time during either the SK Modified or Limited Late Model feature, the results of the redraw were as follows: The front row was Eric Berndt and Richie Pallai, Jr. Fast time setter Donny Lia was starting fourth. It was not going to be a bad starting position for him. All in all, there were seven different lead changes in the race, between five different drivers. Those drivers were Berndt, Lia, James Civali, Joe Hartmann, back to Civali, back to Lia, Ryan Preece, and then finally, back to Lia. It was a caution-filled race, as there were ten cautions that took up 42-laps of racing time. Oh... And the race went into extra laps. 153 of them, to be exact. As already stated, Lia was the final leader of the race, and held off Doug Coby to claim the win. Preece and Civali finished third and fourth respectively. Between Ted Christopher's bad day (involved in two separate incidents early in the race; lap-17 and lap-25) and Lia's win, Lia is the new points leader going into the final race at Thompson. Preece is second, only 26 points back. Christopher is 109 back, and is a longshot to win the title.

After what was an amazing Tour race, it was time for the Late Model race. It was also the last division to crown a champion. With three drivers still in contention to win the championship, it was anyone's race to win. And lose. So who would come out on top? We begin with Adam Gray taking the lead from Brian Chapin when the race began. This lead lasted all of two laps before Michael Bennett and another driver spun up in turns one and two -- CAUTION. Gray kept the lead on the restart, still with Chapin running in second. The rest of the top-five began to change dramatically, with a championship contender in Jim Peterson now running in fifth. While Gray started to drive away from the rest of the field, Peterson continued to climb up through what little of the field there was in front of him, moving up into third. The lead that Gray had established was erased come lap-14, as Dillon Moltz, another championship contender, spun on the backstretch -- CAUTION. Back to green, and it was still Gray out in front. Peterson was now in second. The third championship contender, Ryan Posocco, had managed to crack the top-five. The next yellow-flag incident came at lap-18, which included Dave Wray, John Kasper, and another car -- CAUTION. After the green came back out again, Gray powered back into the lead. In second was now Posocco, who was looking for the lead. He'd manage to get the lead from Gray on lap-23. Upon taking the lead away, Posocco immediately began to pull away from the field. It was a no contest: Posocco was not going to be caught. It was his fourth win of the year. Tom Butler ended up finishing second, with Tom Fearn in third and JJ Hill in fourth. With a fifth place finish, Peterson became the 2009 Late Model track champion; the third championship of his career.

The absolute last thing on the agenda (and I mean that literally) was the 8-lap Paradiso-Muska DARE Stock Shootout. There aren't a whole lot of requirements that go into a race like this. All one has to do is win a DARE Stock race in the season, from Spring Sizzler weekend to Fall Final weekend, and they're in. The one true question before this race was: Which driver was going to get bragging rights? Well, things kicked off with Victoria Bergenty taking the lead as the greens came out to start the race. She took off and things seemed fine at first sight with the dozen drivers in the race. But things started to get pretty shaky on lap-2, when Stephanie Berardi and Kyle Casagrande (in a backup car) wrecked coming out of turn two. Berardi spun and Casagrande just seemed to drive right into the side -- CAUTION. When the cleanup finished and the race continued, it was Bergenty back out in the lead. Tony Membrino, Jr moved into second, and the two of them started to pull away from the field. Although it looked like it was going to be a two-car show for the win, in all actuality, it was Bergenty who pulled away (slightly) from Membrino to pick up the win. Membrino finished second, with Robert Thompson and Andrew Hayes finishing off the board.

This is where I usually tell you about what's coming up on Friday and that you must go because it's going to be another great night of racing. But you know something? I can't. The season's over. What a ride. Nothing could cap off the season than the nine things I covered in this. Fun times. Until next year, I wish you well. Stay safe, and enjoy your winter.

Called It

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I left the track a bit early today. My exit took place about an hour ago, and I've been home long enough to finally get confirmation.

According to The Chrome Horn (and confirmed all over the racing blogosphere), Stafford was not going to get their Saturday stuff in today.

So a few things are going to happen. First, there will be pre-noon practice Sunday, just like I predicted in another thread about the Fall Final. Second, there will be no pit party. Only the Whelen Modified Tour will be qualifying (how do you line up Mini Stocks that are from all corners of Connecticut?).

See you Sunday. Hopefully with more shine than rain.

Make it Rain

How about it stops raining? No? Darn. Well, once again, it's raining on a Friday afternoon. And that means that something's got to give. Stafford isn't racing tonight on a count of the rain and it doesn't look like it's going to stop for a while.

So the next time we can meet is next week, which is September 18. That was the week added onto the schedule back a few weeks ago because of all the August showers that had come. Speaking of added weeks, there's another week that was added to the schedule. Let's run on September 25. That means there's still two weeks of racing before the Fall Final, and as we all found out so far this season, anything can happen between now and the first weekend of October.

The rain is kicking our butts. Let's try again next week, weather permitting. Okay?

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

I know, more rain-related lyrics. How fun.

But seriously, this was supposed to be a regular week with fireworks. Thanks to the hurricane that's coming, however, we're not getting it in. Here's another week where you get to hang back at home and wait out the rain until next Friday night.

That week should be interesting. The second of the Late Model 100s. Can't wait.

It happens with the usual "weather pending" disclaimer tagged to it.

EDIT: It seems as though we're not getting two weeks off next month. Stafford has added another date to their calendar. We're now going racing on September 18, weather permitting. That still means there's a week off inbetween the final Friday night and the Fall Final.

It's Raining Again

Your weather report doesn't look too good for tonight. It's colder than usual for late August (63 degrees? Really?), and the rain's starting to fall. And there's more rain on the way.

Who wants to bet that someone's going to pull the plug on this event in a few minutes?

I Love a Rainy Night

Well, not really. But alas, it had to happen eventually. Friday's program, including the second of two Late Model 100s? Rained out.

The big question is now... When are they going to run this extra-distance race? The answer is... Two weeks from now, on September 4. Next Friday night, weather permitting, is a regular night at the track. So that's when everyone shall congregate.

We'll try this again in seven days.

Program Cancelled

Boy, they know how to make an entrance. Text message confirms cancellation. What does that mean? No racing. Sit back. Do what you want to do tonight.

And we'll meet back up next week, when the Whelen Modified Tour comes back for their third of four races (all information in an earlier post). Until then, stay safe and dry, and I will find time to talk to you later.

Yeah, They're Off.

As you already saw, they didn't race tonight. Rain.

We'll try again on July 3 with another program. With fireworks. The usual disclaimer's in place. All of that happens -- weather permitting.

June 12

Save the date. That's when the SK Modified 100 will be run.

Weather pending. Never know what's going to happen.

Event Postponed

Just got the word. Not racing tonight. It wasn't hard to see that it was going to be the case.

Since word just got out, I'll be back with news on when the SK 100 will now run.

It's 12:30pm.

There's a light rain in the area. Slow and not really going anywhere. And according to Stafford's site, they're still on.

I would assume this'll change in the next few hours. I'm still not optimistic about the weather. It's supposed to rain big time later on tonight.

If they do decide to postpone the event, I'll get on here and tell you.

View From Turn Four: '09 Bud Mod Nats

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nope, Not Running Tonight

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

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

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

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

Red Flag for Rain

See that? Stop the presses!

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

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

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

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