Results of September 18

Welcome to the wonderful world of yet another Friday night of racing! Sure, the weather hasn't been real kind to Stafford this season, but at least when it hasn't been around, things do pick up. And action did pick up this past Friday, with five divisions lined up for a night of racing. It was a crazy night, with a few unplesantries exchanged (to be named later in this story), so let's get down to it. Here are the results of the September 18 program.

First up was the Limited Late Model feature event. And the night began with George Nocera, Jr as the early leader. Dave Yardley, III was second and Norm Sears was third. Nocera's lead lasted all of nine laps as the period of yellows came into play. On lap-9, Bill Goldrick and Jeff Hubbell spun in turn two -- CAUTION. Yardley took over as the leader on the restart, but the time he had out front was short-lived. On the very next lap, Greg Butler, Jr hit the backstretch wall -- CAUTION. And then on lap-11, Brian Clement spun in turns three and four -- CAUTION. Again, it was Yardley out in front, but not for long. As he reached the exit of turn two, Yardley spun around and collected a few other cars in a multi-car accident -- CAUTION. Four yellow flags in four laps. Something had to work. Luckily for Sears, who had inherited the lead from Yardley after the last caution, things went a bit smoother than before. Sears kept the lead as the green came back out, but Andrew Durand was on his back bumper. The two of them raced until lap-17 when a two-car accident on the backstretch prompted the yellow to come out -- CAUTION. Sears regained the lead on the restart, Durand was still on his back, and moving into third was Dan Flannery. But it was a two-car race to the end, and when it was all said and done, it was Sears getting his second win of the season. Durand, Flannery, and Nocera finished off the top-four.

Second on the docket were the Late Models. To start, there was a spin by Adam Gray in turn two... But that was only the beginning. John Kasper was in a solo-car accident in turn three; regardless of which incident slowed the field, the first lap of the race wasn't completed before the yellow came out -- CAUTION. When the green came back out, it was Joe Rzeszutek out in front as the leader. Dave Wray sat in line behind him in second. There was no further movement within the top-five cars until lap-9, when Duane Noll spun in turn three. Tom Fearn, who had been running in the top-five at the time, was assessed a drive-thru penalty for both blocking and overaggressive driving. On the restart, it was Wray taking the lead from Rzeszutek. Dillon Moltz was a man on a mission after the green came back out. By lap-10, he was into fourth, and three laps later, he found himself in third. Ryan Posocco followed Moltz in his tire tracks and was ultimately up to fourth. The running order up front remained locked into place until the lap-23 mark, when Moltz and Posocco took advantage. They both made it around Rzeszutek, bringing Jim Peterson along with them. Moltz was then looking for the lead, and on lap-26, he passed Wray for the lead. Wray began to fall back numerous spots through the field as Posocco, Peterson, and others easily ran the inside groove while Wray was stuck on the outside. Moltz, meanwhile, was just too strong to be overtaken, and he cruised to his fifth win of the season. Posocco was second, with Peterson in third and Hill in fourth.

If there was an award for best race of the night, it should go to the SK Lights. Entertaining from beginning to end. It starts with a three-wide battle for the lead on the opening lap. Ted Cain was able to win the battle for the lead and became the leader early on. The yellow flags were very frequent in the first half of the race. On lap-2, Earl Pelletier and John Montesanto became tangled up and wrecked on the frontstretch -- CAUTION. On the very next lap, which was lap-3, Steve Greer and Lauren Cooper ended up in an accident in turn four -- CAUTION. And on lap-5, there was a multi-car accident in turns one and two -- CAUTION. During the stretch of yellow flags, Cain maintained his lead. He was still in the lead on lap-11, when three cars, including that of Brit Andersen, spun on the frontstretch -- CAUTION. Cain once again took the lead on the restart, but he wasn't going to be alone up front for much longer. Tommy Membrino, Jr was coming fast, and the lead finally switched over from Cain to Membrino on lap-17. Membrino did not have an easy task of keeping the lead, especially when Andersen had made it through the field after being in a mid-race incident. Andersen found himself in second and was ready to take over first. There were times where Andersen almost had the lead, but Membrino held him off. It was a close finish, but Membrino edged out Andersen to claim his second win of the season. Michael Gervais, Jr was third, while Heather DesRochers was fourth.

All of the action started during and after the SK Modified feature. The race itself started with Matt Gallo out in front as numerous yellows came out during the first few laps of the race. Lap-2 was the scene for a few incidents, starting with one involving two cars that got together in turn two -- CAUTION. The restart wasn't much better. Actually, it never really picked up, as there were three cars that ended up in various stages of mess on the frontstretch -- CAUTION. When the green came back out, it was Keith Rocco taking advantage and pulling away from Gallo on the restart. Not too long after the lead change, Chris Jones spun in turn four (lap-6) -- CAUTION. Sometime after the green came back out, more positions out front changed in a hurry. Ted Christopher managed to get around Gallo for second and was now hunting down Rocco for first. It was lap-10 when Christopher finally reached Rocco and made the move for the lead. Lap-11 came, and a multi-car accident occured in turn four, including Matt Gallo and others -- CAUTION. This put Christopher and Rocco on the front row, and this was where the fun began. Christopher managed to get the lead back on the restart, with Rocco settling down into second. Behind them, the rest of the front-runners managed to race in a single-file line. Meanwhile, back up to the top-two drivers, and they were still putting on a show. Lap-20 saw the next lead change as Rocco came back by to take the lead away from Christopher. Christopher didn't take this sitting back, and he retook the lead on lap-23. The next lap (lap-24) saw Christopher Jones (son of Chris Jones) spin in turns one and two -- CAUTION. On the restart, Christopher originally took the lead, but Rocco was right there on him and managed to take the lead away on lap-30. Woody Pitkat also came around and got around Christopher for second. Christopher managed to get back around Pitkat on the very next lap. Debris was spotted in turns one and two on lap-34. Not much; just some dirt kicked up onto the racing surface -- CAUTION. This set up a nice little duel between Christopher and Rocco. Christopher got the lead back on lap-35, and it originally looked like he had enough momentum to win the race. But looks can be and were in fact deceiving that night, and when the leaders went into the final turns on the final lap, that was when everything started to unravel. Rocco tapped Christopher, sending Christopher slightly high as Rocco managed to squeak by on the low side of the track. By doing this, he not only gave himself the lead back, but Rocco also managed to pick up his fifth win of the season. After the race, Christopher apparently didn't like the move Rocco put on him in the closing seconds, and retaliated by tapping Rocco's car with his own, and the two wound up in the turn one wall. Christopher finished second, followed by Pitkat in third and Richie Pallai, Jr in fourth.

The DARE Stocks were the ones who closed out the program. Stephanie Berardi began the race on the outside of the front row, but managed to find herself in the lead as the race got underway. Andrew Hayes sat in second. Early on in the event, there were two cars that got together in turns one and two; one of the cars left a piece of sheet metal lying in the grass close to the racing surface. No caution was called, although there were plenty of people who saw the debris just sitting there. The first half of the race ran green, with Jolly moving up and around Hayes for second by lap-9. The second incident of the race occured on lap-13, when Paul Jensen spun in turn two -- CAUTION. The debris was cleared up during this yellow flag and Jensen was able to pull away from the scene of the spin. When the race resumed, it was still Berardi out in front. Jolly was behind her all the way, but wasn't able to find a way up and around Berardi for the lead. The final laps of the race also ran green, and it was Berardi taking her first career DARE Stock race. Jolly ended up in second and Hayes managed to finish third. Tony Membrino, Jr finished fourth.

So... Wow. What a night. And that's just another week at the half-mile. We'll be back with another exciting night of racing this upcoming Friday night, when it will be the last Friday night of racing for the season. Five divisions, and plenty of action is on tap. If the last program was any indication of what will happen this Friday night, you don't want to miss this. All of this happens weather permitting.

Schedule for September 25

Hi. We're one week away from the Fall Final! Or a little more than a week. Either way, there's just one more event that stands between the last Friday night show of the season and the final event of the season.

Now what could go wrong there? Don't know; would like to find out live for myself.

Which is why I'm presenting the schedule for the September 25 program. Five divisions; still some great battles for championships, and controversy peeking behind its own little shadow. I'm pretty sure the last one is just there to get you ready, but after the last Friday night at the races, I wouldn't be surprised if there's some hint of it going around.

This all happens weather permitting. Because I just can't stress that enough.

Consequences Laid Down After SK Modified Race

It was a crazier than usual end to Friday night's SK Modified race at Stafford. And I mentioned that I wasn't going to be surprised to see penalties handed out after it. Monday afternoon, it was official -- penalties were in fact handed out.

And it will be a quieter night at SMS when the SKs take to the track.

As the Hartford Courant states, both Ted Christopher and Keith Rocco were suspended one event each. Both drivers were fined. Christopher lost ten points in the process. You should see this up on the track's site at some point in time Tuesday.

This doesn't mean that he can't win the championship, either. Stay tuned later this week as I explain just what can still happen even though Christopher's not racing.

A Few Unpleasantries and Debris Isn't a Problem?

Two things I want to tackle that were pretty much a cause for conversation on September 18.

First, let's get right down to it. Not a pretty sight at the tail end of the SK Modified race. Keith Rocco passes Ted Christopher in the final corners of the event, and Christopher doesn't seem to like what he just went through. To make it up, a little pushing ensues after the checkered flag between Christopher and Rocco. Two wind up in turn one. Rocco pulls away doing donuts and just making things look ten times worse than what they probably already were. Rocco pulls into victory lane still doing all of the celebration stuff (probably will be fined and/or losing points in the process). Both he and Woody Pitkat (third place) end up talking about Christopher. Not very nice things to say there. I wouldn't be surprised to see penalties for Christopher, Rocco, or both. I will be surprised to see nothing come out of it.

Second, take a good look at the picture here to the left. This is a picture taken by me during the DARE Stock race. On the first lap, there was a two-car spin that resulted in the piece of debris that you see in this photo resting in the grass right next to the track. Now, there were two cautions for dirt getting kicked up onto the racing surface. And that's going to get called over a piece of sheet metal in the grass next to the track? It didn't get picked up until the first and only caution of the event came out many laps later. I know I wasn't the only one who saw this sitting there. Some of the officials saw it. And nothing was done about it. I wouldn't want to have been the first guy (or girl) to run over this thing if I happened to have been sliding through the grassy part of turn one. It would have done some good damage to anyone's car.

Sorry about the rants. Just had this stuff run over from what I was going to write in this week's recap -- which will be up around Wednesday.

Schedule for September 18

Let's try this again. There are only two weeks left before the Fall Final next month.

There's five divisions on tap for this upcoming Friday night, which is September 18. The schedule can be found at the usual place, which you will go to if you click the link.

Some great points battles are still going. Will there be major shakeups in the races for the championships? Stay tuned.

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?

Entries for Fall Final WMT Race In

You know that the Fall Final is coming when the entry list for the Whelen Modified Tour race is up with a few entries. And with nine entries already in, the entry list for the aforementioned race is taking shape.

Keep checking the link in the sidebar as it's updated, or you can click the link above.

Results of September 4

Hope everyone had a nice and safe Labor Day weekend. Stafford finally got back to work with another five-division program as the holiday weekend got underway, with the Late Models finally getting their second 100-lap feature of the season into the record books. With the bugs out in full force (how many times did someone have to smack themselves just to kill one of those pesky little things?), it was racing at its finest. Here are the results of September 4.

Beginning the night off in style were the SK Lights. And the race started with Adam Skowyra out in front early. Any luck he may have been holding went out the door on lap-3, when his car and a few others wrecked on the backstretch -- CAUTION. The whole incident on the backstretch gave the lead to Tony Santangelo. His lead was also short lived, as on lap-4, a new leader emerged in Jay Goff. Four laps passed before musical leaders started up all over again and Earl Pelletier took over as the leader on lap-8. Goff fell back into second. Throughout the race, Goff tried to make a move around Pelletier. Goff found momentum in the corners but eventually lost it on the straightaway. The top-two ran as the top-two until the white flag lap, as there was a car that spun in turn four -- CAUTION. This sent the race into overtime and a green-white-checker finish loomed over the horizon. On the restart, Pelletier and Goff battled for the lead. Pelletier won the battle and started to pull away. Michael Gervais, Jr moved past Goff for second, and Raymond Grassetti also found a way around Goff; this time, for third. But out in front, it was Pelletier who cruised to his second win of the season. Gervais finished in second, with Grassetti in third and Goff in fourth.

Second on the schedule was the Limited Late Models. And it didn't start off too well. On the first lap, not long after the green came out to start the race, Carla Botticello spun on the backstretch and collected two other cars in the now accident -- CAUTION. The race went back to green, and it was Jeff Hubbell with the early lead. His lead lasted all of one full lap as Dave Yardley, III took over on lap-2. And Yardley's lead was two laps long. On lap-4, Andrew Durand became the third leader of the race. Yardley was in second. Norm Sears and Bill Davis were behind them, and they ran in that order until lap-10 as a car spun on the backstretch -- CAUTION. Durand retook control on the restart, still with Yardley and Sears behind him. Lap-12 had Kevin Gambacorta and George Nocera spinning in turns three and four -- CAUTION. On the restart, it was still Durand and Yardley in first and second, but Rob Dow moved into third. A scary occurrance happened on lap-17, as Hubbell smacked the turn four wall hard -- CAUTION. The red flag was brought out and Hubbell was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. When the race went back to green, it was Durand still out in front. The real battle was for second, third, and fourth between Yardley, Dow, and Sears. Dow got around Yardley for second, but neither of them could catch Durand. It was his fifth win of the year. Dow ended up finishing second. Yardley was third and Sears was fourth.

Closing out the open-wheeled portion of the show was the SK Modified division. And to start, it was Matt Gallo ahead of the field. Tom Bolles was in second early on, but soon started to slide backwards as many drivers moved past him to improve position. On lap-9, Willie Hardie and the bad luck streak continued as he hit the wall in turns three and four -- CAUTION. Gallo retook the lead on the restart, followed by Mark Bakaj right behind him. Bakaj attempted numerous passes throughout the course of the long green flag run, but to no avail. Todd Owen moved into third place on lap-23, getting around Doug Coby. Only seven laps later, on lap-30, Kirk Zervas spun on the frontstretch -- CAUTION. Gallo kept a hold on the lead on the ensuing restart with Owen right behind him after taking second from Bakaj. Owen was about to make a move on Gallo, but on lap-32, Chris Matthews spun in turn four -- CAUTION. When the restart came back out, it was Gallo still out in front. But the lead was short lived when there was a multi-car accident in turn one on lap-33 -- CAUTION. Bakaj took over as the leader when the green came back out, but he was about to be challenged from someone coming up through the field over the course of the green flag session. That driver was Woody Pitkat, who by lap-34 had moved into the second spot. But it was "make a move deja vu", and as Pitkat had finally managed to make it up to the lead, which happened on lap-37, there was a three-car accident in turn one -- CAUTION. Bakaj retained the lead with Pitkat now on the outside of the front row. They tried to make it up on the restart and failed immediately as there was a multi-car accident in turns three and four on the restart lap -- CAUTION. Pitkat took the lead from Bakaj on the restart and was able to lead a lap before debris was found in turn four on the next lap -- CAUTION. It set up three laps to the finish line. Pitkat won the lead on the restart and began to pull away from the field to take down his first win of the season. Bakaj finished second, as Owen and Coby finished the top-four.

The last race before the main event belonged to the DARE Stocks. Kyle Nosal started on the outside of the front row, but managed to find himself in the lead as the green came out to start the race with Bill Dunn not too far behind him. All was fine until lap-7, when Duane Provost spun on the frontstretch -- CAUTION. The restart had Nosal and Dunn on the front row, and when the green came back out, it was Dunn taking over as leader. Nosal slipped into second. Stephanie Berardi and Don Wood held onto third and fourth respectively. That was how they ran until lap-11. Ryan Nicewicz ended up wrecking on the backstretch -- CAUTION. They restarted nice, with Dunn still out in front. In two laps' time, Cliff Saunders wasn't able to get off the track after going through some kind of car issue; coming to a stop so close to pit road on the frontstretch -- CAUTION. The next attempt at a restart was a short one, at best. A five-car accident in turn three prompted little hesitation to throw the yellow -- CAUTION. When they did get back under green, it was still Dunn as the leader. One more lap was completed as a two-car spin in turns three and four (lap-14) resulted in -- CAUTION. By this time, time had expired on the feature, something that hadn't been done in a while with the DARE Stocks. Officials threw out both the yellow and checkered flags, giving Dunn the win; his first of the season. Don Wood finished second. Barry Fluckiger and Robert Thompson rounded out the board.

Finally, it was time for the main event. It was time for the Late Models to run 100 laps. The race began with Adam Gray in control in the early laps. A wide variety of drivers ran behind him, with the driver picking up a few spots through the first nine laps being Michael Bennett. On lap-10, things started to take effect in terms of position changes as Bennett found himself in second and looking to take over the top spot. Bennett was successful on lap-13, when he finally passed Gray for the lead. Gray started to fall backwards through the field as Tom Butler, Dillon Moltz, Ryan Posocco, and Jim Peterson all easily passed him. No other changes among the top-four drivers occured until lap-37, as Ed Gertsch wrecked in turn four and didn't stop until he reached the frontstretch -- CAUTION. And that set up the first restart of the race, which also saw the second lead change of the event. Butler passed Bennett on the restart, and Moltz quickly followed suit around Bennett, this time for second. The positioning of the lead drivers didn't change until lap-62, when Brian Chapin hit the wall in turn four -- CAUTION. On the restart, it was Butler still in the lead, now with Peterson in second and Moltz in third. Through the course of the final 38 laps, many position changes took place within the top-five drivers, but none of them included Butler. He was pressured a bit by Moltz and Peterson a couple of times, but aside from that, he commanded the race from the last restart to the end, picking up his second win of the season. Peterson, Moltz, and Posocco finished off the top-four.

And that was it for the week. Sounded pretty wild, didn't it? I agree with you. Coming up Friday night, it's another five-division program at the half-mile. It's also September 11, which means I'm pretty certain there's going to be some memorial for what happened eight years ago on that date. As usual, it all goes down as long as the rain also doesn't come down along with it. Everything happens weather permitting.

Schedule for September 11

Only two more Friday night events between now and the Fall Final. This upcoming Friday night is one of them. I've got the schedule for the September 11 program, which may or may not include a pre-race memorial to the fallen from eight years ago.

Late Model Disqualification

Why Stafford didn't announce this earlier is anyone's guess. But there was a disqualification from the August 14 program (the last event that was run before the rainfest).

This was official for a little under three weeks.

Ryan Posocco was disqualified because the tires that were on the car that night were found to be "chemically altered".

Now, I don't know if track officials found out three weeks ago or recently, but either way, this is something I've never heard of before. In the nine and a half years I've been going to Stafford, I have never heard of anyone chemically altering their tires. I don't know how that benefits a driver.

But alas, this hurts Posocco in the points race. He dropped from first to third in the standings, now 28 points back on leader Jim Peterson. Posocco's also placed on probation until the end of the year and is suspended until he pays a $200 fine.

Thursday News and Rumors

A few things on the docket on this beautiful Thursday afternoon.

+ We're trying to run the second of two Late Model 100s on Friday. The schedule's been up for a while now. The Late Models will close out the program. If you have a rain check from either the August 21 or August 28 program, feel free to use it.

+ According to the NASCAR Home Track's Twitter page, the new age limit for support and entry-level divisions at Whelen All-American Series tracks is 14. Will 2010 be the Year of the Youth Movement at Stafford? Only time will tell before we know for sure.

+ Finally, from the "rumor mill" files: Heard that Stafford is in the process of adding more races to the schedule. They'll be pushing back the Fall Final to Halloween weekend if that happens. If that happens, I've got two words for you. Bundle up.

Major Modified Changes

Starting Friday (or whenever it doesn't rain next), there's going to be a face missing and a face returning. And more faces in new places as the end of the season approaches as well.

Jimmy Blewett is out of the TS Haulers SK Modified and Whelen Modified Tour rides, per the Courant's racing blog. The question is, who's getting behind the wheel? The answer: Not just one driver, but two. Keith Rocco will be taking over in the Tour ride, starting Thursday at Thompson. Ron Silk, who was recently removed from his Tour ride, will be driving the SK at Thompson and Stafford.

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?

Imagine This...

While there's no news to report about this week, why not think about this for a minute...

Waterford Speedbowl fans, drivers, and crew members have been talking about the Mini Stock 15-lap race that will run during Stafford's Fall Final weekend. Some of the posts have been about drivers confirming that they will be racing in the event, but some of the posters are talking about how this is all for hyping up.

Is this a sign that there's going to be a Mini Stock division at Stafford in 2010?

An idea from the thread linked is that Stafford could rotate between the DARE Stocks and Mini Stocks every other week. Or they'd have the DARE Stocks and Mini Stocks there at the same time, but not have them qualify.

(And then what about when the Tour's there on a Friday? Drop a division for ha-has? Or really cut it close with a seven-division show? Oh, how interesting that would be.)

Could six divisions get heats and features in before the curfew? They could, but only if they just start about a half hour or an hour earlier. But let's not talk about it until the race is over.

Schedule for August 28

As of today, there's only three races remaining until the Fall Final. This upcoming Friday, it's going to be a regular week on the track, with fireworks on and off of it. The schedule for August 28 calls for fireworks after dark. Should be a fun night. It's weather permitting. Maybe it can be a better night this week than what it was only a few days ago?

Oh, yes. Before I forget: Friday night should also be a qualifier for the North-South Shootout. The SK Modifieds will be racing for an automatic trip to North Carolina.

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.

Results of August 14

Welcome to the wonderful world of a regular week! Yes, that's right. Stafford had a regular program lined up for the fans Friday night, which meant it was the five weekly divisions and nothing else. I'd like to say that it was a quiet night for a program like this, but nothing can be considered normal at the half-mile, and there was plenty to talk about. I have nothing more to say before we start. Here are the results of August 14, also known as USG Event Night.

The program stated off with the Limited Late Models. It also started with Jeff Hubbell as the leader. His interrupted reign in front only lasted four laps, as Norm Sears hit the wall in turns three and four on lap-5 -- CAUTION. The race went back to green with a new leader in Jesse Hinze, who was able to get around Hubbell for the lead. Again, it was short lived. On lap-6, John Morgillo, Jr was involved in an accident in turns three and four, while other cars were also involved in minor ways -- CAUTION. That bunched the field back up for another restart, and again, it was Hinze with the advantage. Dan Flannery moved into second, and behind him in third was Kevin Gambacorta. That was the top-3 at the halfway mark, and on lap-11 when Rob Dow spun in turn two with another car -- CAUTION. Again, the race went back to green after what was a quick caution, but Flannery found the space to go around Hinze for the lead. On lap-12, Shawn Thibeault and Andrew Durand were involved in a spin and accident situation in turns three and four -- CAUTION. A part of Durand's car was coming off and he was black flagged and sent to pit road because of it. Meanwhile, back up front, it was Flannery still in control of the race. Now in second was Gambacorta, and he was trying to make the move past Flannery for the lead. As the laps ticked by, nothing seemed to work. But on the final lap, as there were spins all over the track (a spin in turns one and two didn't bring out the yellow), Gambacorta passed Flannery in turn three and managed to edge out Flannery for his first win of the season. Dow came back from a spin to finish third, while Dave Yardley, III finished fourth.

Feature number two belonged to the Late Models. That race didn't start off on the right foot. Not long after the original start of the race, Michael Bennett nailed the safer barrier hard, recoiled, and hit the barrier again -- CAUTION. Woody Pitkat was also involved in the accident, but not as serious as Bennett was. The accident prompted the red flag to come out with no laps in the record books. After extensive cleanup, the race went back to yellow and then back to green with Adam Gray leading the way. Brian Chapin held down second while third belonged to Ryan Posocco. This was how the top-3 looked until lap-13, when Dave Wray spun on the frontstretch -- CAUTION. The restart on lap-13 was anything but normal. At the front of the field, there was three-wide racing going on, with Tom Butler being the loser in the battle for position as one of his tires went flat and he ended up sitting close to the wall in turns three and four. The field crossed the line for lap-14, and the yellow came out -- CAUTION. They went back to green with Gray still out in front. Dillon Moltz found his way up to second, but he couldn't advance any higher. It was lap-23 when Gray and Moltz had a quick battle for the lead. The two made contact, sending Moltz around in turn two -- CAUTION. In turn, the incident between the leaders put Gray in the back for rough riding (black flag) and gave the lead to Pitkat and Posocco. All sorts of trouble ensued on the restart. For some reason, Pitkat's car didn't want to go when the green came back out. The entire inside row got the worst of the restart, as they all bunched up. There were cars all over the frontstretch in one way or another -- CAUTION. Posocco became the leader, and Tom Fearn was now on the outside for the new restart, which went smoother than the last one. Posocco got the jump and pulled away from the field. He lead the last eight laps of the race to take down his fourth win of the season. Fearn came around to finish second, with Chapin in third and Mark St. Hilaire in fourth.

The Modified portion of the show began with the SK Lights. And it started with Jay Goff taking the lead at the start of the feature. Goff held the lead for the first five laps of the race until lap-6, when multiple cars found themselves in distress on the backstretch -- CAUTION. The question here was: How many cars were involved in the accident? The answer was there were more cars than tow trucks working to clean up the mess, especially when one of the cars went off hammock-style, prompting the red flag to come out for the second time. After the yellow came back out, a penalty was assessed to Brit Andersen for rough riding. And after everything was settled, the race went back to green. On the restart, Kyle Spencer took the lead from Goff and brought Heather DesRochers with him. Goff dropped back to third. One driver that was moving quickly through the field after the restart was Andersen, who was really moving through the field. By lap-8, he had found himself in the top-5, and by the time lap-12 came around, he had moved into third and was looking to keep moving. He passed DesRochers for second on lap-16 and quickly reached Spencer. On the next lap, Andersen found a way around Spencer for the lead. After Andersen got by Spencer, he started to pull away from the field over the course of the three laps that were remaining in the race and picked up his fifth win of the year in the process. Spencer finished second, with DesRochers in third and Michael Gervais, Jr in fourth.

Action shifted to the fastest division Stafford has to offer when the SK Modifieds took to the track. It started pretty clean, with Doug Coby getting the early jump ahead of the rest of the field to take the lead. Drivers behind Coby included Matt Gallo and Tom Bolles, who were running second and third respectively. There were drivers who were moving up through the field in the early stages of the race; they were Ted Christopher and Frank Ruocco, who moved up into fifth and sixth in five laps from their original starting spots of tenth and twelfth respectively. That would be how they ran until lap-10, when four cars were collected in an accident on the backstretch, including Jimmy Blewett and Sean Foster -- CAUTION. This put Coby and Gallo on the front row for the restart. On the restart, Gallo pulled out in front to take over leadership. Coby dropped back into second, but this was only for a short time. It was lap-13 when Gallo found himself sliding up the racetrack, giving Coby the advantage and giving him the lead again. Gallo lost quite a few spots during the green flag run. But Gallo wasn't the only one to lose spots during the period of green, as Christopher brought Woody Pitkat and Ruocco past Coby on lap-20. That was the running order on lap-24, when Joe Allegro, Jr spun in turn three -- CAUTION. Another caution prompted another restart, and when the green came back out, it was Christopher holding onto first with Pitkat behind him. The running order within the top-4 didn't change until lap-35, when Ruocco passed Pitkat for second. It didn't matter, however, because Christopher came down to the finish line first, picking up his fourth win of the season. The rest of the top-4 was Ruocco, Pitkat, and Coby.

It was up to the DARE Stocks to close out the program. As referenced last week, they had a three-race caution-free streak going for them. Would the trend continue and would the race end up going green to checker for a fourth straight week? The race went to green, and in turn one, Jeff Jolly wound up spinning. His car sat close to the track, not starting up until it was too late -- CAUTION. So the streak ended at three races, as the fourth didn't get a lap in. The spin in turn one was a quick caution, as Jolly was able to get going after the yellow came out, and it was back to green not too long afterward. Kyle Nosal was the one who found the front early in the race after the green was dropped, and he found himself in total control of the race. His lead lasted a full four laps. On lap-5, and in turn two, there was a multi-car accident that included more cars than one could count -- CAUTION. Not only that, but one of the cars involved was torn up so bad, the red flag was brought out for the third time in the night. It took some time before the track was cleared; maybe five minutes worth of it. When the racing surface was cleared, it was back to racing with a new leader emerging in Bill Dunn. This is where Dunn took advantage. He pulled away from the field and looked to be in complete control of the race. But newcomer Nicholas Salva spun in turns three and four on the last lap of the race -- CAUTION. The spin set up the first and only green-white-checker of the evening. And on the drop of the green, it was Dunn back out in front. He wasn't alone, however, as Barry Fluckiger was right behind him. The two remained close and Fluckiger remained on Dunn's bumper until the very last second, as they were coming off of turn four. Fluckiger made the pass around Dunn for the lead and just edged out Dunn for his second win of the season. Dunn had to settle for second. Don Wood and Duane Provost rounded out the board.

And that was how the crazy night ended. They'll do it all over again next Friday night. The Late Models are racing extra laps. Instead of 30-laps, they'll race in the second of two Late Model 100s on the season. Should be highly entertaining, and it's all going to be weather permitting.

Schedule for August 21

This upcoming Friday night should be interesting. It's the second of two Late Model 100s that will be run this season. Can Dillon Moltz make it four straight extra-distance races in the division? Stay tuned to find out. And read the schedule daily to see what the order of the features will be that night. Weather permitting.

Results of August 7

Another week, and another busy night at Stafford. After yet another rainout, the first Friday night in August brought us the Town Fair Tire 150 for the Whelen Modified Tour. The track's five weekly divisions were on hand per usual, and there were time trials for the Tour. So what happened? Here come the results of August 7.

The first thing on the to-do list was time trials for the Whelen Modified Tour. A grand total of 32 cars were on hand to take time for the 150-lap main event that took place later that night (all of that to be described in further detail later on). Fast time changed four different times throughout everyone's two laps, but the fastest time came with the 27th car that took to the track; that being the car of Eric Berndt. His fast time was 18.446 seconds, translated to 97.582 miles an hour, was enough to give him his first career Whelen Modified Tour pole. Later that night, the top-six fastest qualifiers redrew, putting Ted Christopher next to Rowan Pennink on the front row. (Again, more on that later on.)

After time trials, it was time to get the features going.

First feature to go off on the evening belonged to the DARE Stocks. They came into Friday with a two-race caution free streak going for them. Could they possibly make it three in a row? It started off with a nice little duel at the front of the field between Melissa Blowers and Kyle Nosal. Nosal pulled out in front and led the first lap, but Blowers came back strong and made a pass for the lead to take it on lap-2. Her lead was short lived as well, as a new leader in Victoria Bergenty emerged on lap-3. Nosal passed Blowers again and moved up to second, while Blowers started to fall backwards through the field down to outside of the top-5. As that was going on, Bergenty and Nosal had started to pull away from the field and it suddenly started to become a two-car race to the finish. A slight mishap occurred as they took the white flag, however. A lapped car stood inbetween the leaders, prompting the two drivers to make a decision. Nosal went down to the inside groove while Bergenty went up to the outside groove. Going into the first turn, Nosal moved up the track unexpectedly, giving both Todd LaPorta and Don Wood room to make a move around him for second and third respectively. The turn of events gave Bergenty more than enough of a gap between her and LaPorta in second to take down her first career win at Stafford. LaPorta finished second, with Wood in third and Nosal in fourth.

Action then moved to the Late Models, which meant that that pit crews were needed for this one. And they were definitely needed, because the race didn't start exactly the way anyone would have wanted it to start. On the opening lap, Alan Provost went around on the backstretch, either nearly tagging or tagging the backstretch wall and coming to a stop shortly after the spin -- CAUTION. His car had to get hooked and pulled off the track, meaning his night was over before the first lap was over. When the race resumed to green, it was Mark St. Hilaire pulling out in front in front of JJ Hill. It only took four laps before Hill passed Hilaire for the lead on lap-5. Joe Rzeszutek and St. Hilaire followed Hill in second and third until lap-8, when Mike Mordino spun on the backstretch to bring out the yellow -- CAUTION. The restart saw a change in leadership as Rzeszutek cleared Hill as the green came back out. Hill was locked in a battle with Brian Chapin for second, which Hill won. Chapin started to fall back through the field, as multiple cars including Michael Bennett easily passed him. This would be the order on lap-15, when Ed Gertsch, Jr spun on the backstretch -- CAUTION. This set up a restart that was worth something, as the guy who crossed the line in first the next time by won $100, courtesy of Town Fair Tire. Hill took advantage on the restart, passing Rzeszutek to retake the lead. Aside from making the move for the lead, Hill became the leader at the halfway point and picked up the bonus money. Two laps later, on lap-17, a part of Mordino's car ended up in turn two (from what I believe is a wreck) and clearly in the way of any incoming traffic -- CAUTION. The debris is picked up, and green is seen not too long afterward. Hill retook the lead, but he had a couple of challenges behind him in the forms of Tom Butler and Jim Peterson, who came through the field, picking off other cars one by one. All three ran close together up until lap-23, when Peterson made a move to send the top-3 three-wide, with the loser of the battle being Butler as he spun coming out of turn four -- CAUTION. That set up a restart between Peterson and Hill, which Peterson won as he pulled into the lead in front of Hill, who dropped back in line in second. Bennett ran in third, but all of this only lasted a lap as Doug Blowers, Jr spun in turns three and four on lap-25 -- CAUTION. Peterson took command on the restart, with Bennett now running in second. Dillon Moltz and Woody Pitkat found themselves running in the top-five, with Hill falling back a little and in fifth. Moltz was not done moving up through the field, and passed Bennett for second; Pitkat and Hill followed Bennett fell back to fifth. On lap-28, Walt Wosko, Jr spun in turn four and therefore brought out another -- CAUTION. It set up two laps to the checkered flag, and it also set up Peterson once again getting the jump on second place (still Moltz). But a sole lap ticked off the board before trouble deeper in the field happened. Also on the restart, a car got loose and went through the infield, only to save the car. But there was a problem... The car got together with Scott Cook, who eventually was taken out by the backstretch wall -- CAUTION. From two laps to the checkers to a green-white-checker finish. It had all the ingredients of a good time. And it sure did live up to people's expectations. Peterson still sat out front, with Pitkat and Hill finding a way around Moltz for second and third. And that was how they finished. Peterson picked up his second win of the season, with Pitkat in second, Hill in third, and Moltz in fourth.

After a chaotic Late Model feature, the SK Lights were next. And they didn't have that bad of a feature. David Webb started out with the lead early, and it was really a test to see if he would keep the lead. It was smooth sailing for the first four laps of the race, sure, but when the multi-car spin/accident on the frontstretch near turn one came out on lap-5 -- CAUTION. It set the field up for the first restart of the feature. Webb took command of the race again when the green came back out. Shawn Brule settled into second behind him, but the one who was coming through the field was Brit Andersen, restarting the race in tenth. He was up to fifth by lap-9, and by lap-14, Andersen was in fourth. On each lap, Andersen moved closer to the front by securing the spot ahead of him, which meant that on lap-15, Andersen moved into third, and on lap-16, he was in second. Andersen began to close the gap between he and Webb, who was holding a commanding lead until his lead started to shrink. But the gap between the two was too much for Andersen, and even though he had made it close, it was Webb to pick up his first career SK Light feature win. Andersen finished second, with Earl Pelletier and Brule rounding out the board.

The pit crews came back out to the track; this time, it was for the SK Modified feature. Could they top the SK 150 that ran only two weeks ago? It sure looked as exciting. Matt Gallo became the early leader of the event, with Tom Bolles in second and close behind him. How close? Stalker close. Bolles kept Gallo close through the first three laps, but the closeness had to be put aside for a moment as there was a multi-car incident took place in turns three and four on lap-4; a combination of spin and accident -- CAUTION. The restart was between Gallo and Bolles, and this time, Bolles found a way to get around Gallo for the lead. Lap-6 was the scene for yet more trouble, when Chris Matthews had problems and couldn't get off the track and into safer pastures. He tried to pull behind the wall in turn two and wasn't able to get the car safely behind the wall -- CAUTION. After Matthews was pushed to someplace safe behind the wall, the race went back to green. And it was still Bolles out front. Three laps after the green came back out, a new leader emerged in Zach Sylvester, as he passed Bolles for the lead on lap-9. All seemed peaceful, but there was lap-11, and it seemed as though no matter what happened, nothing could go right. The first incident on the lap was due in part to four cars in an accident in turn one, including Gallo and Sean Foster -- CAUTION. They got the racing surface cleaned up and went back to green, but not without something going on to slow the pace of the event down. This time, it was Kurt Lenahan and Joe Allegro, Jr in an accident in turn three -- CAUTION. Another restart ensued, again, with Sylvester getting out in front. His tenure out in front was over on lap-15, however, when Jeff Malave passed him for the lead. Malave wasn't alone to make a pass around Sylvester. Frank Ruocco moved into second. On lap-17, after a spin involving a car that had spun in turn two (car unidentified), dirt was kicked up onto the track, prompting the track to call it debris -- CAUTION. After this yellow, things picked up immensely. Although Malave gained control on the restart, life in the lead wasn't easy. Ruocco was all over him at times, trying to pass on the inside numerous times. A tremendous battle between the two lasted a good eleven laps until lap-28, when Ruocco finally found a way to get around Malave. But even so, nobody could count Malave out. He kept close to Ruocco, nearly taking the lead back himself, but he couldn't find a way to do so. Malave continued to keep close, but Ruocco managed to hold him off to pick up his second straight win of the season. Malave came in to finish second, followed by Sylvester in third and Richie Pallai, Jr in fourth.

The last of the weekly divisions to go out was the Limited Late Models. And this race started out with a problem. It was Norm Sears hitting the turn one wall hard, in a situation almost like, if not exactly like, what had happened during Spring Sizzler weekend -- CAUTION. After everything was cleaned up, it was back to green. And it was Bill Davis taking the lead once the green came out. Davis remained in the lead for the first four laps of the race until Kevin Gambacorta took over with a pass. Dan Flannery found his way into second, and Shawn Thibeault moved into third. Lap-9 provided a spin in turn one from Paul Varricchio, Jr -- CAUTION. It was not going to be the end of Varricchio's night. The restart had Gambacorta still out in front, now with Thibeault in second and Andrew Durand settling down in third. That was the order at the lap-14 mark, as Varricchio and George Nocera, Jr got into a little accident on the backstretch. Things got a little heated on pit road after the two of them nearly got into it after the accident, but they were separated before anything got out of hand and the race went back to green with Gambacorta and Thibeault on the front row. Thibeault was hungry to get the lead from Gambacorta, and was successful on lap-17, but the leaders touched and both went around in turn one -- CAUTION. Gambacorta received a rough riding penalty because of it (although he was already in the back for the restart). The caution put Flannery and Davis on the front row as the leaders. Flannery jumped out in front on the restart, and pulled away from Davis over the course of the last two laps of the race to pick up his first career Limited Late Model win. Davis finished second, with Jesse Hinze in third and Dave Yardley, III in fourth.

Finally, it was time for the Town Fair Tire 150 for the Whelen Modified Tour. As previously mentioned, the top-six drivers redrew for new positions, giving the front row to Ted Christopher and Rowan Pennink. And out of the two of them, it was Christopher who found his way in front of Pennink to take the early lead. But the race would be slowed down early (less than a lap into the event) when Bobby Grigas, III just came to a stop in the grass on the backstretch, near the scoreboard, after something went wrong -- CAUTION. Six laps ticked off the board before the green came back out, and when it did, Christopher went back out in front. Ryan Preece jumped into second, pushing Pennink back to third. During the green flag run, Preece made at least one attempt to pass Christopher for the lead with no success. The green flag run ended on lap-60 as Reggie Ruggiero spun on the backstretch -- CAUTION. Many cars decided to pit during this yellow, half of the field went down; Christopher was not one of the drivers who pitted. Alongside of Christopher for the restart was Todd Szegedy. Christopher pulled past Szegedy for the lead on said restart and proceeded to take charge of the field again. On lap-87, a four-car spin in turns three and four prompted the officials to bring out the yellow again -- CAUTION. Cars involved included Renee Dupris and Kevin Goodale. Again, a good number of cars made the trip down pit road, and when everything was settled, the front row was Christopher and Preece. The green flag came out on lap-93, but after a three-car accident in turn one occured on lap-94 -- CAUTION. Christopher was still the leader and Preece was still in second. Another restart occurred on lap-99, and as Preece was able to take the lead from Christopher on the restart, Doug Coby hit the wall hard on the backstretch -- CAUTION. They reverted back to the last completed lap, which meant the last completed lap was one under caution, giving Christopher the lead again. The race went to a red flag situation on lap-100 to clean up the Coby accident. When the race went back to green, it was on lap-104. Preece and Christopher fought for the lead, even going as far as exchanging the lead back and forth a few times before they got back to the starter's stand. Preece was declared the leader of the lap. Christopher didn't give up and attempted to regain the lead from Preece, but Preece slowly began to stretch out the lead. The rest of the race was run caution-free, and in the end, Preece claimed his second straight win of the season. Christopher finished in second, followed by Chris Pasteryak and Eric Beers.

And that was how the wild night of August 7 ended. Friday night, weather permitting, it will be back to five divisions and not as much chaos as Stafford runs a normal Friday night program.

Schedule for August 14

And the beat goes on. Friday night is a regular week at the track, and the schedule is up for those who wish to see it. There's no feature order as of yet, but that should change by the time tomorrow or Thursday rolls around.

NSS Qualifiers Coming Up

One more piece of news for you in regards to Friday's Whelen Modified Tour race at Stafford for you before I stop writing stuff for the week.

The Whelen Modified Tour race will be a qualifying race for the North-South Shootout, which is to be held in November at Concord Motorsports Park in North Carolina. The winner of the Town Fair Tire 150 will get an automatic spot in the Tour-type Modified race (125 laps). The link says that the car owner will get the spot.

But the qualifying races at Stafford will not end there. August 28 will also be a qualifying race for the NSS, but this time, the winner of the SK Modified feature will get an spot in the SK-type Modified race (50 laps).

This month'll be crazy. Business will begin to pick up.

Points Races are Tight

All six races to be held on Friday are going to mean something in the point standings. How tight are these races? Let us count the ways. Top drivers in each division coming into the Town Fair Tire 150, with distance back from leader.

Whelen Modified Tour: Todd Szegedy, Ted Christopher (-22), Ryan Preece (-59)
SK Modifieds: Ted Christopher, Jeff Malave (-34), Keith Rocco (-86)
Late Models: Ryan Posocco, Jim Peterson (-22), Dillon Moltz (-44)
Limited Late Models: Andrew Durand, Carla Botticello (-30), Dan Flannery (-48)
SK Lights: Michael Gervais, Jr, Erica Santos (-46), Ted Cain (-50)
DARE Stocks: Cliff Saunders and Kyle Casagrande (tied), Don Wood (-6), Jeff Jolly and Bill Dunn (tied; -10)

Should be interesting to see what happens Friday night.

Invasion of the Mini Stocks

In the eight full years I have been going to Stafford on a regular basis (I'm not counting 2000, when I started to go in the middle of the season, nor this season because it's not over as of yet), I have never seen a Mini Stock division race at the track. The closest I've gotten to seeing them is at Thompson and Waterford, as they have a regular division.

At the Fall Final this year, Stafford is allowing Mini Stocks from the other two Connecticut tracks, plus out of state tracks, to race in a 15-lap feature. It'll be an invitational-like process, where there will be qualifying races in the weeks leading up to the event (the winner of the August 8 race at Monadnock will get an automatic invite to the show), and other drivers can register through August and September. After September 28, there's an inspection fee of $20. Anyone who registers before that time pays no fee.

Since Stafford doesn't have their own Mini Stock division, teams will have to follow their home track's rules.

Registration forms are found on the home page of Stafford's site.

EDIT: As of August 6, there is now an entry list up on the track's site with a short but available list of drivers entered for this race.

Town Fair Tire 150 News [Part Deux]

Here is part two of the Town Fair Tire 150 news. We'll start with a trifecta's worth of stories from the SMS site.

+ Todd Szegedy, who has been consistent all season long, is the points leader coming into Friday night's race. He hasn't finished outside of the top-10 since last season.
+ Mike Stefanik owns Stafford. The proof is in the record books.
+ Ryan Preece (the winner of the most recent WMT race at Riverhead) finally got to celebrate in victory lane. His first victory came in the '08 Martinsville race, where he finished second and wasn't officially declared the winner until a few days after the event, as another driver had been disqualified.

And for those of you who are wondering, I wouldn't come without posting the notebook that was also seen up on the site.

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.

Weather Update

Well, tonight's Friday night, all seems clear... Uh, oh. I woke up to rain falling? Well, that's not good. Let's check the site here...

Program on hold. Update in about four minutes. (Now three.) I'll keep my browser on the SMS site until then.

Results of July 24

Oh, what a night. Friday night was one of those nights where you had to be at Stafford at all costs. And the reason was... The sixth annual SK Modified 150. You may have taken a trip down memory lane before this event, looking back at past 150s. Like the events of the past, this one had all the makings of a memorable night. So what exactly happened? Here are the events of July 24, 2009.

This memorable night started off with the Limited Late Models. And that race started with Bill Davis with the lead for the first two laps. That was until Norm Sears decided to take over. Behind Sears was Kevin Gambacorta, but unfortunately, it wasn't for long. There were six laps completed when Gambacorta spun. Thankfully, he'd get the car going again. Michael Wray wouldn't get his car straight in time on lap-7, when he went around in turn two -- CAUTION. Back to green, and it was Sears still out in front. Dave Yardley, III and Andrew Durand were now sitting pretty behind him. They ran like that for a couple of laps until Durand had enough of riding in third and passed Yardley for second. Not only did Durand make a pass for second, he was also looking for the lead. He had caught up to Sears and was now within striking distance of Sears until lap-16, when a car went around in turns one and two -- CAUTION. This set up another restart, which belonged to either Sears or Durand. Take your pick. Yet it was Sears with the advantage. All of the pieces seemed to fit into place until Carla Botticello found her way into the picture, albeit not in the way she expected to step in it was she spun in turn four on the white flag lap -- CAUTION. You know what this set up? You guessed it. One of those lovely green white checker finishes. On the green flag, it was Sears putting himself back out in front. The last two laps proved to be the most memorable two laps of his life. He ended up picking up his first career Limited Late Model victory. Durand wound up in second with Shawn Thibeault and Dan Flannery following them into the top-four.

After those guys, what could happen next? Oh, the SK Lights and their feature. It all started with Kyle Spencer with the lead. On the move in the first seven laps of the race was Brit Andersen, but on lap-8, the only moving he did was to the back of the field after he spun on the backstretch -- CAUTION. A quick one, as he was able to get going and rejoin the field. Back up front, there was a restart, and it was Spencer back out front. Tommy Membrino, Jr and John Montesanto followed along for the ride in second and third respectively. This was how they ran up until lap-12, when Jay Goff and Harry Wheeler ended up in a frontstretch accident -- CAUTION. Cleanup was somewhat extensive, but the race went back to green with Spencer still out in front. This was only going to last for a lap, as on lap-13, Shawn Brule ended up spinning on the frontstretch -- CAUTION. Again, the race ended up getting back to green, and again, it was Spencer getting the lead. But again, they'd only get one lap in before multiple cars spun in turn one -- CAUTION. Could they have some inkling of luck when they went back to green? One word answer: Yes. It was Spencer back out front, but his reign out front was ending very shortly... It was lap-15 when the first lead change of the race took place, as Montesanto took over for Spencer. You know who else was coming? Andersen, recovering from his early-race spin. On lap-16, he passed Spencer for second, and was now all over Montesanto for the lead. He'd finally make the move on lap-19 and led the rest of the way to pick up his fourth win of the year. Montesanto had to settle for second. Spencer finished third, and Michael Gervais, Jr finished fourth.

The DARE Stocks were up next. After last week's caution-free feature, the least they could do is repeat. Did they get the job done? The race got underway with Andrew Hayes leading the way early, but all is and was not ultimately easy. Bill Dunn was coming, and fast. By lap-3, Dunn had caught up to Hayes and attempted a pass, but it wasn't meant to be. Hayes had control of the lead. As the laps ticked by, there wasn't much going with the top few cars, but business was about to pick up. Albert Saunders had been in third for much of the race, but he had passed Dunn for second and was looking for first. On lap-14, Saunders made the pass around Hayes for the lead. While Hayes started to move backwards through the field, the last two laps belonged to Saunders, as he became the first multi-race winner in the DARE Stock division this season. Dunn was second, with Tony Membrino, Jr and Don Wood finishing off the board. Back to back caution-free features for the DARE Stocks. I tell you, they get the job done without all of that messy stuff going on.

The "assistance of the pit crew" portion of the program kicked off with the Late Model feature. Again, it was a very interesting feature. Out front early was Adam Gray, but in second was Michael Bennett, and he wasn't going to back down without a fight. He challenged Gray for the lead and was successful in passing him on lap-6. He began to stretch himself out from the rest of the field. While that was happening, Gray was slipping backwards, as numerous drivers passed him (including JJ Hill, Ryan Posocco, and Dillon Moltz). Posocco and Hill would fight for position among the top-five cars until lap-16, when they touched and ended up spinning in turn one -- CAUTION. Bennett found himself on the front row with Moltz on the restart, which originally favored Bennett as he moved back into the lead. But only three laps later, on lap-19, Moltz made the pass for the lead. Bennett suddenly found himself in second. On lap-21, you had two cars getting in an accident in turn one. That didn't work out well -- CAUTION. This set up a restart, which belonged to Moltz. Second would now belong to Jim Peterson, who got around Bennett for the position. Everything seemed pretty normal. That was the case until lap-28, when Tony Lafo hit the wall in turn one and proceeded to stop somewhere along the backstretch -- CAUTION. This set up a two-lap fight for the victory. And those two laps belonged to Moltz. It wasn't one of those wins where a driver just pulls away from the rest of the field, but it was a win. And it was his fourth win of the season. The rest of the board was Peterson, Bennett, and Woody Pitkat.

Closing out the night was a race that, in past years, drivers would call exciting. It was time for the SK Modified 150. It was truly a "hold onto your seat" kind of race. Let's get right to it. Matt Gallo assumed the leader position early, but it was safe to say that there were other people coming. And fast. Who was coming? For starters, there was Frank Ruocco, who was coming from the tenth starting spot. At lap-20, he had put himself into second, and on the very next lap, found a way around Gallo for the lead. With the new leader came more quick cars making their way to the front of the field. Another car that was making a charge that of Eric Berndt. Berndt would find himself in third with a third of the race in the record books. Gallo's good night started to take a sharp decline on lap-57, when he spun in turn four -- CAUTION. It set up the first restart of the race three laps later. (If you don't know, caution laps in this race counted. So each restart was literally a crucial one.) And this was also where Berndt made the move for second. But it was still Ruocco out front. The two of them would begin to put on a pretty entertaining battle for the lead. Berndt tried both grooves, with little success. Also around this point in the race, a third driver had been coming towards the front of the field. Cue Todd Owen. On the first restart of the race, Owen had been sitting in fifth. He'd have to wait a little bit, however, because on lap-71, Willie Hardie was in a solo-car incident in turns three and four -- CAUTION. Another restart was on our hands, and Berndt provided another challenge for Ruocco, which Ruocco had won. In the next nine laps, the top-three cars were now Ruocco, Berndt, and Owen. This would be your running order until lap-93, as Mark Bakaj spun in turn two -- CAUTION. The caution ran for six solid laps. A restart presented itself just shy of the 100-lap mark. And on the restart, Owen would take over second, putting Berndt back to third. Now it was Owen who was starting to challenge Ruocco for the lead. Yet even with Owen now behind him, Ruocco was just too good. The next time the field saw the yellow, it was lap-108, and it was for Kenny Horton, who had spun in the grassy part of the frontstretch -- CAUTION. The green came back out on lap-111, with Ruocco still holding off the challenge of those behind him, but a single lap ticked off the board when Gallo spun again, this time in turn two -- CAUTION. Another three laps had passed for the caution period, and on lap-115, the race was back to green. Berndt had reclaimed second from Owen, and had resumed the fight to take the front spot from Ruocco. Again, Ruocco was proving to be too much and slightly pulled away. Not by much. Lap-125 saw Keith Rocco, who was in the top-10 at the time, seemingly blow up going into turn one -- CAUTION. Was there liquid? Would there have to be speedy dry thrown onto the track? No, there wasn't liquid, and that's the reason why the race went back to green three laps later. On the restart, Owen took second away from Berndt, yet Owen was not able to make any sort of move around Ruocco for the lead. This was the running order at the lap-132 mark, when three cars got together in turn one (including Ted Christopher and Doug Coby) -- CAUTION. It wasn't a long yellow; only lasted for three laps as all the cars involved were able to drive away. And the green came back out with Ruocco still out front, and still being challenged. Berndt's good run would end on lap-138 when he spun coming off of turn two -- CAUTION. The restart took place on lap-140, meaning it was going to be a dash for ten laps. And wouldn't you know it... Another challenge from Owen on the restart. And again, Ruocco held off Owen. The final ten laps ran down under green flag conditions, and when it was all said and done, it was Ruocco holding off Owen to pick up his first win of the season and second SK Modified 150. Owen finished second, with Tom Bolles unofficially finishing third and Woody Pitkat in fourth. (In technical inspection, Bolles was weighed and the car was found to exceed the maximum weight percentage on the left side. Therefore, he was disqualified.)

A pretty interesting evening that closed before all of the unpleasant weather rolled around. Just in time, too -- SKs were in the middle of tech by the time the rain arrived.

Next Friday night isn't just the last night of July. It'll also be another five-division show for you. No special additives. I promise. All of this is weather permitting.

A Little Bit of Trivia

Still working on the weekly recap (I'm almost done, so it'll be up at some point in time on Wednesday), but I'm here with some trivia for you. Call it whatever you'd like. I call it interesting.

This year, when Frank Ruocco made the pass for the lead (and ultimately for the win) in the SK 150, he made the pass on lap-21. Looking back through the 150s of SMS past, and you notice that this kind of thing is eerily similar to the 2003 SK 150 -- when Ruocco made the pass for the lead (and again, ultimately for the win) on lap-21. He led both races for the same amount of laps. And it led to two 150 wins.

How's that for trivia?

Schedule for July 31 + DQ News

Two things you need to know. First, here's a schedule out for the July 31 program, but of course, nothing is finalized. The order of features is anyone's guess. No special stuff going on this week.

Something that was finalized, however, was the SK 150 order of finish. I was going to write about this over the weekend, but I decided against it because I wanted to wait for it to be official before I did. Now, you may have read up about the rules in an earlier post -- I had said that Tech was going to automatically disqualify anyone who was too light or too heavy in terms of weight and drop them to last in the finishing order.

Friday night, after the 150, I decided to hang around the track. And that's when I found out that Tom Bolles had been disqualified. He was weighed, and then the next thing you know, his car was never inspected. How come? Too much weight on the left side of the car. Instant last place finish; made official today.

All the news I have for you right now. Look for the weekly recap coming later this week.

Town Fair Tire 150 News

Guess what? The third coming of the Whelen Modified Tour is on its way to Stafford. In a little under two weeks, they'll be here for the third of four appearances, as they'll be racing in the Town Fair Tire 150.

And since it's two weeks away, there's news to report on.

First off, the schedule. All weekly divisions need not qualify. Time trials will take up the qualifying session. Speeds things up knowing that there won't be heats right after the Tour boys take to the track.

Second, the entry list is rolling right along. It'll shape out over the course of the next week. Guaranteed. So this entry list is not the final entry list.

SK 150 News

If I had to describe the rules and schedule in one word: Wow.

First off, the SKs are scheduled to be the last feature to go out for the night. So, yeah; technically, you're saving the best for last.

And then, there are some extra rules tagged onto the last feature of the evening.

The boys running technical inspection are not going to be easy with the weight of anyone going up and over the scales at the end of the night. So if you're too light or too heavy, you're probably getting punted to the tail end of the finishing order.

All yellow flag laps will count. Okay, easy enough. Not that big of a deal.

Unless something drastic happens to the tires that are on the car at the start of the night, everyone's going to have to race on four tires. If you get a flat or if the rim's damaged, you can fix it. Aside from that, you're not going to be able to get an advantage with fresh Hoosiers.

And then, there's the tire credit rule. No extra tire credits. Everyone's going to get one extra tire credit after the 150. Not that big of a deal, unless things start to get messy.

But yeah. I'm surprised that the 150 is the last feature of the evening. Wasn't expecting something like that to happen. Can't wait to see what goes down tomorrow night. (If the rain goes away!)

Results of July 17

Another Friday night in the books. Stafford rolled out the usual five-division program, and it was good in so many ways. Quick features set the stage for what proved to be a quick night. What happened? Here comes the recap of July 17.

Opening up the program Friday night would be the Limited Late Models. They had themselves an interesting feature. We start at the beginning, where it was Jesse Hinze out front early. That lead was short lived in a hurry. On lap-2, Carla Botticello (who had a little bit of trouble during her qualfying heat) and Michael Wray spin in turn three -- CAUTION. No harm, no foul, they get going, and the race goes to back to green in a hurry. Hinze gets back out front, and another lap is barely ticked off the board when the car of Bill Davis blows up coming out of turn four -- CAUTION. Needless to say, the speedy dry was used all down the frontstretch. Things would be cleaned up, and they'd go back to green in interesting fashion. Hinze had a bit of an issue on the restart (one of his three bobbles in the race), which allowed Dave Yardley, III to take over the top spot. As for Hinze, he'd lose many positions, as Dan Flannery took over the second spot, Shawn Thibeault moved to third, and Norm Sears went to fourth. On the other hand, a driver that was moving up through the field was Andrew Durand. By lap-8, he found himself in third, and easily took second from Flannery not too long afterward. This would be the running order on lap-12, when Wray ended up spinning solo in turn four -- CAUTION. He was able to drive off and the caution period was minimal. This set up a restart that saw Durand get the better of Yardley. It would be an easy pass for the lead for Durand, giving him the lead and putting Yardley back into second. Flannery would still be in third, but it would be Sears in fourth. Back out in front, it was Durand with a good-sized lead. He was free from the threat of any challenges, and the race was caution-free the rest of the way. Durand ended up taking down his fourth win of the season. Yardley would finish second, with Flannery in third and Sears fourth. (In technical inspection, the car of Sears did not meet the minimum weight requirement by two pounds. Two pounds equals two spots lost, dropping him to sixth.)

It would be the open-wheeled portion of the show coming up, as the SK Lights took to the track. Describing this feature in one word, that word would have to be nuts. It starts out with Erica Santos in the lead, but only for the first lap. The second lap would see the second leader, with Earl Pelletier taking over. He'd bring Ted Cain along with him, and all of that punted Santos back to third. Those three cars would run in that order through the first ten laps, until lap-11, as an incident behind them sent Heather DesRochers and Tommy Membrino, Jr for a spin in turns three and four -- CAUTION. Jay Goff was put out of commission in this accident as well, but he didn't make contact until after the caution had already come out. On the lap-12 restart, things would start to become chaotic. Pelletier would lose control of the car and go straight through the infield grass. He managed to get back on track in the turn two vicinity, but he would come in contact with Cain and the two of them would go around in turn two -- CAUTION. They were thankful that it was only the two of them and nothing more than the two of them spinning out. Santos would be placed back out front as the leader, but she had Tony Santangelo on the outside, and the restart would have the two of them making a run for it... If only for a lap. Lap-13 would see Brit Andersen, Shawn Brule, Kyle Spencer, and Michael Gervais, Jr spin and get in an accident in turn three -- CAUTION. The restart still had Santos over Santangelo, and again, it would be the two of them taking charge. Deeper through the field, Pelletier was coming back from nearly getting heavily wrecked in a mid-race caution. He would be in the top-five by lap-16, when Brule and Lauren Cooper spun in turn four -- CAUTION. Santangelo would have the advantage on the restart, passing Santos on the outside to take over the lead. Santos would be passed by Pelletier and was now challenging Santangelo for the lead. On lap-18, the two made contact coming off of turn four; Pelletier got the better of the battle and reclaimed the lead. The last two laps belonged to Pelletier, and he would pick up his first victory of the year. Santangelo would finish second, with Santos and Andersen (coming back from an earlier incident) rounding out the top-four. (Technical inspection found that Santangelo's car did not meet the minimum frame height requirement. He was dropped to last place in the finishing order.)

Next was the always-entertaining SK Modified division. And they didn't disappoint. With so much going on at once, there was sure to be something mindblowing. But to start, it was pretty much all calm. Wade Mattesen and Joe Allegro, Jr occupied the front row; Mattesen grabbed the early lead from it. Allegro would fall in line in second. Zach Sylvester would find a way around Matt Gallo for third. But Mattesen still had the lead, and the laps ticked away. On lap-17, Willie Hardie, making a return appearance to the track, ended up spinning in the grass on the frontstretch -- CAUTION. A quick caution, at that, as he was able to drive away. A restart, and Mattesen was still out in front. Another lap was completed when Ted Christopher and Brad Hietala happened to spin in turns one and two -- CAUTION. A restart on lap-19 saw the first lead change take place, as it was Keith Rocco easily getting around Mattesen for the lead. With Rocco in front, the field was lucky they completed yet another lap. Christopher was involved in yet another incident; this time, with Allegro in turn two -- CAUTION. The next restart showed much of the same, with Rocco still in the lead. But now, he had a whole new cast of characters behind him, including Mark Bakaj (second) and Doug Coby (fourth) among them. It wasn't until lap-27 when things started to get a little chippy. Don't know how this one started, but it ended with numerous cars in all various directions in the entrance to turn one -- CAUTION. They got another lap done under green flag conditions (with Rocco still as the leader) when another multi-car incident occured in the turn four area (coming up onto the frontstretch) -- CAUTION. It would be the same thing all over again: Restart with Rocco as the leader, get one lap in, and then, another accident incident. This time, involving Kenny Horton and Dave Salzarulo in turn three -- CAUTION. Rocco would still be out in front, again, with another cast of drivers (now including Christopher, he of two cautions, in fifth). Rocco still took command on the restart, and this time, they completed more than just one lap before the caution came out again. Instead, there would be an incident on lap-34, when Nichole Morgillo and Hietala (of a previous incident) ended up in a two-car accident in turn four -- CAUTION. The restart would happen with six laps to go in the event. And as it was throughout most of the race, Rocco took the lead again. The battle for position was behind him, with Donny Travaglin getting around Jeff Malave (and taking Christopher with him). Malave and Christopher would find a way around Travaglin, which gave leader Rocco all the room in the world. He crossed the line at the finish, collecting his fourth win of the season. Christopher would wind up finishing second, as Malave finished third and Travaglin finished in fourth.

Things would start to settle down with the fourth feature of the night, which was the DARE Stock feature. Well, it would settle down towards the end of the event, but it started out with some action. Stephanie Berardi was in control of the race in the early stages, but it was the stuff that was going on behind her that told the story of the race. You had a three-wide fight for the second position, with Victoria Bergenty, Jeff Jolly, and Duane Provost all trying to take second from each other. The winner of that battle would be Jolly, who wasn't going to sit back on that second spot. He was coming for the lead. It took him until lap-4 to finally catch up to Berardi, and that was when the lead change took place. Jolly would become the second leader of the event. Also on the move was Bill Dunn, and he would make a move around Berardi for second, sending Berardi back to third. While Jolly had stretched his lead out, Dunn was on the move and trying to catch up to the leader. Dunn had closed the gap on Jolly over the course of time, but Dunn couldn't close it quick enough as Jolly took down the win. It was his first win of the season, and a caution-free race to boot. Dunn would have to settle for the runner-up spot. Berardi finished third, while Matt Chiarizio would pass both Bergenty and Provost during the feature to finish fourth.

The last feature of the night belonged to the Late Models. And after the caution-marred feature on the 10th, things went pretty smooth only a week after. It all started with Joe Rzeszutek taking the early lead. The top-five drivers switched positions fairly quickly within the first few laps, with Tom Butler taking second from Dave Wray, and Scott Cook moving around Mark St. Hilaire for fourth. They would run like that for a while. Meanwhile, a little deeper in the field, Ryan Posocco found himself in a little trouble. Something wasn't right with the car, and he started to go backwards through the field. His night wouldn't be over, but it was evident that he would not be winning as he lost a couple of laps in the later stages of the event. Back up front, the two frontrunners in Rzeszutek and Butler had begun to pull away from the rest of the field. Wray was still in third at this point in the race, and he too had given himself a bit of a cushion over Cook in fourth. But Butler, who was still in second, was cutting into Rzeszutek's lead. The distance between first and second was noticeably smaller as the laps ticked by, and by lap-18, not only was Butler able to substantially squash the lead, he passed Rzeszutek for the lead. There were no changes within the top-four over the course of the final twelve laps. It was a caution-free feature (the second one of the night), and it was Butler claiming his first win of the season. Rzeszutek would finish second, followed by Wray in third and Cook in fourth.

And that's how it all went down. And it went ended pretty quick. People were out of there at 9:30. The quickest Friday night of the season.

Friday night should be a very interesting night, weather permitting. On the schedule is the sixth annual SK Modified 150. It's the longest race on the schedule for the division this season, and if the last five installments told the story, the sixth installment will be just as exciting. I can't wait. Should be a nail biter.

Schedule for July 24 + DQ News

Two things to discuss on this Tuesday. One of which, obviously, is the schedule for the sixth annual SK Modified 150. As of right now (Tuesday afternoon), I don't know what the feature order will be. All I know is that this should be one heck of a night. Weather permitting.

Second off, the quickest Friday night of the season (more on that later) didn't go down without anybody getting disqualified. Two disqualifications from the event: Tony Santangelo in the SK Lights -- car didn't meet the minimum frame height requirement, and Norm Sears in the Limited Late Models -- car didn't meet the minimum weight requirement. Sears was only off by two pounds and was dropped two positions, which equals one pound per spot lost.

Aside from that, no other news to report on.

Weather Report

I think we're going to get this in tonight. There is a chance of rain tonight, but it's not a huge chance for the afternoon, and the nasty stuff should be in after midnight. So it should be a good night, right? I hope so.

Results of July 10

I'm trying out a new style this week. It could possibly be permanent.

Stafford with another five-division program on Friday? That's what happened. All of the track's divisions were in full force this weekend. While the last two weeks were quick and to the point, this one really wasn't. So many yellows to come out of this night. It wasn't even funny. Who wants to see what happened?

SK Lights were the first to go out for the evening, and, well, this one didn't start out too good. Seconds after the green flag -- CAUTION. Multiple cars ended up stopped along the frontstretch and in all sorts of distress. No less than five cars involved in this one. Cleanup commenced for the longest time. (Though maybe three to five minutes just seems long...) Anyway, cue up take two. Yes, it was better this time. Ted Cain got the better of that restart and ended up with the lead. All seemed well, yes, until a couple of the cars started dropping out of the race like flies. Mechanical problems and that kind of thing, I assume. John Hanafin was one of the ones who had to pull onto pit road (lap-8), and Brit Andersen was another. Not fun times there, I'm afraid. On lap-12, we had a lead change. John Montesanto made a move around Cain. And that was how they ran until Michael Gervais and Tommy Membrino, Jr got together in turns three and four; lap-16. Membrino seemed to have something break or go flat on the car going into turn one, and then -- CAUTION. Gervais was black-flagged and got sent to back of the field for overaggression or rough riding, one of those two. The race went back to green with Montesanto not exactly getting up to speed, giving the lead back to Cain. Montesanto dropped to fourth on the restart. Steve Greer found himself up against the turn two wall on lap-18, setting up, you guessed it -- CAUTION number three. This set up another restart, and this time, it was Cain who didn't get going. Jay Goff moved into the lead, and Montesanto pushed into second. By the time they came to the line for the last lap, they were side by side and a good finish was about to unfold. Maybe using the word "good" is an understatement here. The two drivers raced side by side for a good majority of the final lap, but as they came to turn four, that was Montesanto's cue to jump into the lead. It would be enough. Montesanto would pick up his first career win at Stafford. Goff would finish second, followed by Cain and Earl Pelletier.

DARE Stock feature happened next. Compared to the rest of the races, this one didn't appear to be too bad. But it had its share of mess. Starting at the top of things, there was Stephanie Berardi with an early lead and Melissa Blowers jumping into second. Kyle Casagrande was also running strong; by lap-8, he had found his way into the top-5. And he wasn't done, making a move for fourth not too long after. (More on him as the feature goes on.) Back to the front of the field: While Berardi was still out in front, Blowers was now trying to hold off third-place Barry Fluckiger. That didn't turn out to be such a good thing. Turn two, lap-12, the two make contact, sending Blowers around and collecting other cars in the process -- CAUTION. As for the restart? Wasn't pretty. The first half of the lap as the green came back out was fine, until Berardi and Fluckiger move up to the high lane while in turn three and Bill Dunn, who was now in third, proceeded to head for the low lane. Unfortunately, Casagrande was there to meet Dunn, and the two made contact, resulting in Casagrande spinning in turn four -- CAUTION. This set up yet another restart, where this time, Fluckiger managed to get the upper hand and Berardi began moving backwards through the field, falling back a number of spots. Fluckiger, meanwhile, drove the final three laps of the race scot-free, and managed to pick up his first win of the season. Dunn finished second, as the rest of the top-four included Cliff Saunders and Matt Chiarizio.

The night would get more chaotic with the Late Model feature. And when the term "chaotic" is used here, I mean it. It starts out nice and smooth, however. Adam Gray found himself with the lead early on in the race. It would only last for six laps, however. On the seventh lap, Tom Butler and another driver spun in turn four -- CAUTION. No harm, no foul, and a restart happens sooner rather than later. That's where the fun begins. For some reason, Rick Charette ended up taking a ride through the frontstretch grass. You think he'd keep the car under control, right? Mark St. Hilaire can tell you otherwise. Charette ends up coming up the banking of turn one, St. Hilaire gets collected -- CAUTION. They go back to green minutes later, with Gray still out in front. One completed lap later, and multiple cars end up spinning in turn one -- CAUTION. Another quickie yellow. No huge damage done to anybody involved in that one. Again, they'd go back to racing, and again, they'd get to complete a lap. But on lap-9, Gray and second place Brian Chapin made contact in turn four -- CAUTION. The right sides of numerous cars were torn up after that yellow came out. The right side of Scott Cook's car was torn up, but he managed to lead the field to the next restart. He was also black flagged because of the sheet metal flapping in the wind. He would have to come to pit road to get that fixed. Lap-11 would see three cars spinning in turn three -- CAUTION. One of the drivers involved in that caution was Jim Peterson, who had been involved in that accident back on lap-9 and needed to repair the right side of his car. He ended up having the outside door panel stuffed into the inside of the car; bungee cords holding the panel in place. Dave Wray and Tom Fearn would get possession of the front row. On the restart, however, Rayn Posocco, from the second row, would get down to the low groove of the track and make a pass for the lead. Again, there would only be a lap inbetween yellow flags, as on lap-12, Jim Mavlouganes spun in turn three -- CAUTION. A quick yellow, this time, and another restart with Posocco now in front. As Posocco controlled the front of the field, the driver moving up through it was Peterson, racecar just about intact. The race would run under green flag conditions until lap-21, when Victor Pomerleau spun in turn three -- CAUTION. Nine laps to go, Posocco on the front row. Once again, he took the lead. Fearn would run in second, and Peterson would continue to move through the field until he settled into third. But Peterson couldn't catch up to Fearn, and Fearn couldn't catch up to Posocco, and Posocco would make it three wins on the season. Fearn and Peterson would finish second and third respectively, with Woody Pitkat finishing in fourth.

Then it was time for the SK Modifieds. And another race with interesting events. The first couple of laps featured musical leaders, with Joe Allegro, Jr leading the first lap before being overtaken by Curt Brainard on the second lap. Also making a charge to the front in the early stages of the race was Frank Ruocco, who by lap-4 had put himself into fourth from where he originally started (tenth). And that's how they ran until lap-9, when Nicole Morgillo spun in turn one -- CAUTION. Quick one at that, she got going and the green was back out in no time at all. The second lead change came not too long after the green came back out. Woody Pitkat moved to the outside to pass Brainard for the lead. Ruocco followed Pitkat, along with Ted Christopher, Jeff Malave, and Keith Rocco. That was your running order at lap-15 as the pace was slowed again -- CAUTION. Kirk Zervas was the one who brought out the yellow, this time, for a spin in turn four. It was quick, and they moved on. It was going to be Pitkat and Christopher on the front row, and it was going to be a good restart. And it lived up potential. Pitkat powered back into the lead, but Christopher ended up winning the battle and took over as leader. The race would be slowed again for a couple of cars that had spun around the track -- CAUTION, setting up yet another fantastic restart that once again was a battle for the ages. They ran close to each other for a good chunk of the lap until Pitkat managed to fully pass Christopher before they had gotten to the line; a good move because of what came next -- CAUTION. This time, the yellow came out for Richie Pallai, Jr, who spun in turn four. The quick caution was out of the way, and they were back to green in an orderly fashion. Another great battle for the lead on the restart? It happened, and Christopher and Pitkat made that restart happen. For a good two laps, they were side by side, and finally, Christopher managed to pull ahead of Pitkat for the lead. Lap-21 saw Brainard and Kenny Horton spin in turns one and two -- CAUTION. Another good restart, and still, Christopher managed to keep the lead. Pitkat would have to settle for second, but he had Rocco behind him. By the time they hit turns three and four, Pitkat and Rocco had both spun, giving second to Ruocco. On lap-23, Todd Owen and Pallai would spin in turns one and two, and yet again -- CAUTION. This set up a restart in which Christopher had won, and would keep until lap-25 -- CAUTION. This would be for Brad Hietala spinning in turn two. That meant another restart. And that meant that Christopher would keep the lead. This green flag run would last three laps, because on lap-28 -- CAUTION. Zervas would spin again; this time, in turns three and four. At that point, Ruocco ducked down onto pit road. Something was definitely wrong with the car. The culprit? Distributor problems. His night would be over. That now put Doug Coby next to Christopher on the restart. Malave and Rocco made up the second row. On the restart, Christopher powered back into the lead. Rocco made his way into third behind Coby. And that would be how they finished. Christopher would take down his third win of the season. The rest of the top-four would be Coby, Rocco, and Malave.

The Limited Late Models, who had no qualifying races to begin with, ended the night. And to start, there was Keith Minchella out in front. But the green was replaced early with a yellow on lap-2 -- CAUTION. An accident involving Joe Nogiec and Shawn Thibeault put the field under an early yellow. Thibeault managed to continue; Nogiec was not able to do so. An attempt to restart on lap-2 looked good early... That was, of course, until chaos occured -- CAUTION. Well, that one didn't look pretty. It resulted with quite a few cars ending up in turn three, in all sorts of trouble. A few of them were done for the night. When they did go back to green, it was still Minchella with the lead, who was followed by Bill Davis, running in second, and Dennis Botticello in third. That would be how the running order at lap-9, when Michael Wray spun in turns three and four -- CAUTION. That one wasn't long, and they were back to green quickly... But not with a problem. The restart wasn't pretty, as some of the front-runners had a bit of an issue, but Norm Sears, running in fifth at the time, took advantage of misfortunes and moved his way into second. All was fine until lap-12 -- CAUTION. John Morgillo, Jr spun in turn two and brought the yellow back out. The restart occured with Minchella still out front. Sears had now dropped a couple of positions since the restart, and on lap-15, spun in turn three and collected Jesse Hinze -- CAUTION. Davis had now assumed second and had restarted next to Minchella. But things would not be so good for the frontrunners when on the restart, Davis and Minchella came together and left a mark on the backstretch -- CAUTION. That left both of them in turn three and out of contention. A black flag for rough riding was given out to Thibeault, sending him to the back of the field again. The front row now became the family feud, with Dennis Botticello as the leader, and daughter Carla in second. The restart showed Dennis getting an early advantage, but Carla found a way around her father and jumped into the lead. The remaining five laps went unscathed and Carla picked up her first victory of the season. Dad Dennis finished in second, followed by Kevin Gambacorta in third and Dan Flannery in fourth.

A long night was in the books. Total number of cautions on the night: 26. Ouch. Not really a pleasant night. After every race, you could have said that half of the field was left standing. I wouldn't disagree with you there. So, we'll try again this upcoming Friday night. Another five divisions. The usual disclaimer is in place -- weather permitting.

Schedule for July 17

While I'm in the middle of the weekly recap, you can feast your eyes on the schedule for this Friday night. Five divisions? You got 'em. Weather permitting? Most definitely.

Zero Chance of Rain

I love it. No rain in sight for tonight's program. I would have been happier with warmer temperatures, but this is New England; I mean, it can be hot one day and then chilly the next.

Definitely getting the full program in tonight.

A Few Stories

One's courtesy of the Hartford Courant racing blog, the other one has been advertised on the track's site for quite a while now.

+ First, there's going to be a familar face returning to the Late Models tomorrow night (and a few more times throughout the remainder of the season). Charles Lewandoski is scheduled to drive a car owned by Chris DuPont and Peter Thickett.

+ This weekend, Stafford will also host the 24 Hours of LeMons. No, not the LeMans, which is for all of those fancy cars. We're talking cars that will be destroyed before the weekend's over. That'll be Saturday and Sunday.