Wild 'n Out. Results of 9/19.

The final Friday night chapter of racing at Stafford was written this past Friday. And rewritten. And possibly rewritten some more, because there were more climaxes than a Warner Brothers picture in every race that night. The final push towards the five track championships had their fair share of action. At the end of the night, just how close would the contenders be before the final races of the season?

Starting off the night was the Limited Late Models. And it was Michael Nadeau at the point at the start of the race, but the lead would only last two laps as Shawn Thibeault was able to make a move around him for the lead. Thibeault was able to expand his lead to a full straightaway during the long green flag session, but a caution for debris on lap-16 bunched the field up for the restart. Thibeault was back out front, but this green flag run was only two laps long as Charlie Newman spun in turn one to bring the caution out again. Chaos ensued on the restart as Sean Foster passed Thibeault for the lead. But Thibeault didn't back down, and as he attempted to make a move coming out of the final turn, the two made contact and sailed up high. This gave Andrew Durand the opportunity to cruise into the lead and take down the win; his third of the season. Ed Charette, Jr was second, followed by Bill Davis and Joey Ferrigno. It will be a two driver horse race for the division championship, as Davis leads Durand by 28 points going into the final weekend.

After them were the DARE Stocks. After an opening-lap caution, John Kasper took advantage of the restart and powered into the lead. But on lap-10, he would spin with two other cars to bring the caution out, giving the lead to Don Wood. Wood's time out front would not last long as Todd LaPorta passed him on the restart. A green-white-checkered situation set the stage for LaPorta leading the final two laps uncontested, sending him to victory lane for the first time in not only the season, but his career. The rest of the top four were Robert Thompson, Matt Chiarizio, and Tony Membrino, Jr. Norm Sears has a tiny advantage in the battle for the championship in this division. He's got a ten point lead over Scott Roy and a 48 point lead against Wood.

At this point in time, the schedule changed. The SK Lights were then sent out. It was Heather DesRochers ahead of Ted Cain as the green came out, but a caution with two laps on the board brought out the red flag. After extensive cleanup, the green came back out, and it was still DesRochers with the lead. She began to pull away from the field, and it seemed as though she would be the next first-time winner on the season. But a caution with two laps to go brought out the caution and bunched the field up. DesRochers still had the lead on the restart, but a push from Cain sent her into the infield grass and gave the lead and the win to Mark Bakaj. Joe Allegro, Jr was second, with Shawn Brule in third and Jay Goff in fourth. (Cain originally finished third, but he was penalized after the checkered flag came out.) Allegro has a four point lead over Chris Matthews for the battle for the SK Light championship. He also leads Mark Bakaj by 12 points and Raymond Grassetti by 14 points.

The fourth division on the program was the Late Models. And the action started early in this one. The early leader was Scott Cook with a pass from the outside lane that is more or less seen in the closing laps of the event, going three-wide. Rick Charette would follow, and he would pass Cook for the lead on lap-3. Leader number three was Dave Wray on lap-7, getting around Charette for the lead. With ten laps on the board, Joe Rzeszutek passed Wray and had a full straightaway lead at one point in time before lap-27 as a late race caution came out. On the restart, it was Rzeszutek back out front, with a whole new set of challengers, including Corey Hutchings. But Hutchings could not make the pass, as it was Rzeszutek taking his second win of the season. Second would be Hutchings, followed by Ryan Posocco and Brian Chapin. Posocco, by virtue of his third place finish, was able to clinch his fourth Late Model track championship.

Closing out the night were the drivers of the SK Modifieds. Corey Hutchings, coming off of his runner-up performance in the Late Models, took the lead on the drop of the green. He held the lead until lap-6 when Chris Jones powered past for the lead. But he would be followed by Woody Pitkat. On lap-8, Pitkat would be up to second, and he would make the move around Jones for the lead on a lap-10 restart. Throughout the midpoint of the race, Pitkat had extended his lead over the rest of the field, but a trio of late race caution kept the field close. Pitkat would hold off Keith Rocco through the cautions and the final four laps of the race as he picked up his fourth win of the season. Rocco finished second, followed by Zach Sylvester and Ted Christopher. In the battle for the championship in the SK Modified division, Rocco holds a 14 point lead over Christopher.

That would be it for the week. The next event on the schedule is the final event on the schedule. It's the Fall Final. Weather permitting, of course. The usual five weekly divisions will be on hand, with both the Whelen Modified Tour and the Camping World East Series in action as well. Two days of action, with eight races. This is going to be good.

(Last time I copy and paste from my sent e-mail folder. I crack down on lateness ASAP.)

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Sorry for the David Bowie mention. Only thing that came to mind. Anyway, before I get that final Friday night recap up on the blog, I have to tell you that Stafford's changing the schedule big time.

Or at least for the first two days.

All Friday afternoon activities are cancelled because of rain. And lots of it. So for anyone who's making the trip up early, the paddock gates are going to open at 7:00am EST. Everything is going to fit in two days of work. We think. There might be more things postponed, but as of right now, it's just everything on Friday. Stay tuned to this blog or the Stafford site for more details on how much is actually going to be postponed.

Some Saturday Headlines

First off, expect the recap of the final Friday night of racing to come this week. And with that, here come the headlines.

+ Jeffrey Earnhardt will be driving a Late Model during Fall Final weekend. He will be in the #92 ride, which is currently driven by Tom Fearn. According to the press release that was released on Thursday, Earnhardt "struggled a little bit with the track" last year during the Camping World East Series race, and the extra seat time could prove to be a helpful bonus.

+ One championship down; four to go. Ryan Posocco was the first driver to win a championship in 2008 after finishing third in Friday night's Late Model feature event. The third place finish gives Posocco four championships in the Late Model division.

Picture of your 2008 Late Model championship driver and crew is credited to the track website, and was not taken by me. Congratulations to the #48 team on a job well done.

Your Schedule

I thought the schedule wasn't going to change from last week. Am I assuming that I'm wrong in thinking that since the schedule (as of early Tuesday) isn't finalized yet? It just says 7:00 and "feature races". No order of features as of yet.

Maybe SMS just wanted to tweak the order around. I have zero idea. You and I will find out later this week when the schedule is finalized, I guess.

This is Your Free Week

No kidding.

Stafford takes an early precaution and postponed the September 12 program. Meaning that the next event will be on September 19 instead of tonight. For all of you who had plans for next week, you may want to cancel/postpone them.

I guess I will be seeing you next week. Stay safe and dry.

Quick and Crazy. Results of 9/5.

Until I figure out what the heck time management is (next week?), here's a copy of my stuff from this past week:

Only two Friday nights remained on the season at Stafford before the Fall Final. September 5 contained a regular program with the five weekly divisions in action. And with the championships in sight, anything could and did happen.

The night started with the Limited Late Models and their 20-lap event. It started with David Capriati taking the lead from the drop of the green flag. Two cautions came out on lap-4 and lap-5, when spins brought out the yellows. Corky Hinze spun on the backstretch on lap-4, while Shawn Thibeault spun in turns three and four on the very next lap. Both cautions also sent people to the back of the field as a result, as both Sean Foster and Andrew Durand were black-flagged for overaggressive driving. On the restart, it was still Capriati out in front. The first and only lead change of the race occured on lap-9 when Joey Ferrigno closed the gap. By lap-10, Ferrigno had made the pass and began to extend his lead. This would be a lead that would not be overcome as Ferrigno crossed the line to pick up his second win of the season. Bill Davis ended up finishing second, with Corky Hinze in third and Sean Foster in fourth. After the race, Hinze was disqualified because his car didn't meet the minimum weight requirement.

Up next on the docket was the 20-lap SK Light feature. Ted Cain was the leader for the first four laps until a caution came out for a spinning car in turn two. Another car spun in turn one on the restart, so a second attempt at a restart was done. That was smoother than the first, and on lap-5, Jay Goff took over as the leader. Goff led until lap-10, when Chris Matthews passed him for the lead. A caution for a spinning car on lap-14 brought the field back together for a crucial restart; one that Matthews controlled as the green dropped. Goff attempted to give chase to Matthews over the final five laps, but was not able to get close enough to challenge. It would be the seventh win of the year for Matthews. Goff finished second, with Alan Provost and Mark Bakaj rounding out the top-four.

The crews of the Late Models came out with warwagons and tires in tow, preparing themselves for the 30-lap feature. To start things off in this one, it was Mark St. Hilaire leading the way for the first eight laps. Woody Pitkat was coming, however, and on lap-9, Pitkat was able to get around St. Hilaire for the lead. Two separate spin incidents would bring out the caution on lap-16. The first of which was for a one-car spin in turn two, while the restart saw a four-car spin in turn one. On lap-17, after the successful attempt at a restart, debris was spotted in turn two, and that brought out the third caution of the event. At the lap-19 mark, Brian Chapin made the move around Pitkat for the lead. But the two made contact on lap-20, sending both cars spinning. This gave the lead to Ryan Posocco. Michael Bennett was second, and although he made an early challenge for the lead, Posocco began to pull away from Bennett over the last few laps. Posocco claimed his sixth win of the season. Bennett finished second, while Corey Hutchings and Dillon Moltz finished third and fourth respectively.

More crew help came out for the SK Modified 40-lap event. And that truly was the most chaotic race of the night. Early lead changes were the next big thing as Wade Mattesen led the first lap, Corey Hutchings led the next two laps, and then Woody Pitkat became the third leader in the first five laps by taking over the lead on lap-4. The green flag session lasted up until lap-18 when the caution came out for a one-car spin in turn four. Pitkat was once again out in front, and a semi-long green flag session brought the field to lap-31 for a two car accident. A real Chitwood-esque one, in fact. Corey Hutchings would go up and over Richie Pallai in turn two. Both drivers were okay. The next restart was crazier than anything else that went on this season. Pitkat would have a bit of a problem getting up to speed on the restart, now putting Frank Ruocco out in front. That lead would be short-lived, as something happened (and I use that term loosely) in three and four, ending with a multi-car accident bringing out the caution on lap-32. Both Ruocco and Pitkat had to come down pit road for service, among others, and that gave the lead to Keith Rocco. Three minor spin cautions over the last eight laps followed, and other than that, Rocco was able to take down his second win of the season. The rest of the top-four were Donny Travaglin, Doug Coby, and Todd Owen.

Closing out the night were the DARE Stocks with their 15-lap feature. No cautions, one leader. That one leader was Duane Provost. He got the lead on the start and proceeded to lead every single lap of the race to win his first race of the season. Norm Sears, Scott Roy, and Don Wood rounded out the board.

Friday night is the final Friday night of racing action at Stafford before the Fall Final in two weeks. All five divisions will be in action, and all will be done if the weather holds off. Looks good for now, so until then, stay safe and dry.

More Penalty Talk. SK Style.

Reading through the police blotter for the week, I came across something that (in my mind) doesn't make sense.

When did Richie Pallai hit someone under the caution?

I don't remember anything like that happening during the feature. What I do remember is seeing Woody's back bumper crunched in, courtesy of Frank Ruocco. (Speaking of that, when did he make contact with Pallai? Unless I was busy with something else...)

But like I said before, I do not remember seeing Pallai doing anything that should have given him a week's worth of probation. Someone made a mistake at the keyboard or something?

If anyone wishes to clarify this for me, feel free to do so.

DQ in the LLMs

Only one disqualification came out of the September 5 program.

Corky Hinze, who originally finished third, was disqualified because his car was too light -- it didn't meet the minimum weight measurememt. So he was dropped from third to 20th.

I'll get the weekly entry up tomorrow.

Final Friday Night Schedule

Not finalized, but here it is.

How many divisions will actually be qualifying? Another question could be about the order of features. It's only Sunday. But if you keep clicking on that link up there (^^) through the week, the answers will eventually pop up.

All DARE Stocks Teched?

Yes, that's what happened only mere minutes after the DARE Stocks concluded their 15-lap race tonight. I don't know what prompted the call to have all of the cars inspected, but that was the case. I don't have any evidence other than word of mouth, but I can tell you that it did happen.

More on this either later in the week or sometime next week, if I can find out exactly why the need for a full-field inspection.

Tons of Information

A few things for your Friday morning:

+ Stafford's schedule for today can be found here. Can't say I don't blame them with the order of features, but when are the SKs going to be the absolute last thing to go out? Hasn't happened yet this season. So will they be last next week? Time will tell.

+ The Fall Final will continue the whole sixty years of Modified champions thing in a big way. Bobby Allison will be honored during the pre-race stuff. I've got two words to say about this, but the second of the two words isn't for the kiddies. Here are two better words: Heck yes. Now this gets my attention. If the season's going out with a bang, what a way to kick off Sunday afternoon.

See you at the races later today. Should be a great night. Stay safe.

Back to School Extravaganza. Results of 8/29/08.

Jeez, how do I really lie to people? By getting this done two hours before Friday rolls around. Ah, I promise I won't screw up again. So let's get this started. Here is the recap of the 8/29 program. Friday night at Stafford was a five-division, regular night with fireworks in the nighttime sky. And while it may have appeared to be a regular night at the track, it was a long night. In this entry: Two first time winners, two red flags in two different races, and a lot more.

DARE Stocks: How do I explain this race? In the only way I could -- chaotic. Early and often. For a division that has seen few cautions in their races (the most in one race this season was four, back on 7/18), this one was a chart-topper in more ways than one. We'll start at the top of this one, with Melissa Blowers out on front early. And starting on lap-2, the cautions came often, when two spins brought out the first caution of the event. Three laps later, the big one of the night occured. It was a three-car accident in turn two, and it resulted in Todd LaPorta's car ending up on its roof. The race was red flagged almost immediately so the track crew could get the car back onto all four wheels and so that fence repairs could be made. After everything was cleaned up, the race resumed. On the restart, it was Norm Sears taking the lead from Blowers, but the caution came back out on lap-8 for a piece of debris and bunched the field right back up. Another restart, and another new leader. This time, it was Matt Chiarizio now in the lead. Two accidents on lap-9 and lap-10 brought the race up to the 20-minute time limit, bringing the race to a yellow/checker situation. This gave Chiarizio the win; his first of the season. Sears finished second, with Dan Flannery in third and Don Wood in fourth.

Late Models: This one wasn't too bad. Three early cautions and the rest of the race from green to checker. The leader in the very early part of the race was Scott Cook, who led through two restarts until he spun on lap-4, giving way to Michael Bennett. Bennett led the next two laps before Dillon Moltz passed him on lap-6. But Bennett would not give up, and he would retake the lead on lap-14. Moltz would pass Bennett again on the very next lap, and would begin to pull away as the laps ticked down. The rest of the race ran green to checker, with Moltz winning his fifth race of the season. Bennett finished second, with Ryan Posocco and Woody Pitkat rounding out the top-four.

SK Lights: Another chaotic race, though not as chaotic as the DARE Stocks were. A lot of first half cautions in this one. It all started with an opening lap caution, followed by a restart that saw Heather DesRochers out in front early, for the first three laps until Raymond Grassetti took over the lead after a lap-3 restart. Grassetti was the leader from lap-4 until lap-11 (after yet another restart) when a Bakaj (can't remember whom, sorry) moved out to the lead. Also under that caution was the second of two red flags in the entire evening, when one of the drivers involved in the three-car accident had to be taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. Bakaj was back out in front on the restart, with Grassetti still behind him. But a caution with 13-laps complete bunched the field back up and gave Grassetti a chance to make a move. On the restart, Grassetti made the pass for the lead. Bakaj gave one last effort coming out of turn four on the last lap, but got loose and collected Joe Allegro, Jr. Meanwhile, Grassetti took the victory; the first of his career. John Walmsley finished second, with the accident car of Allegro in third. Tony Santangelo finished fourth.

SK Modifieds: I have no words to describe this one. I'm not sure how I can describe it. But to the recap, it started with Corey Hutchings taking the lead from the outside pole on the original green flag, yet on lap-3, the lead changed hands as Curt Brainard took over. Keith Rocco would take the lead from Brainard on the very next lap, and had company in the form of Zach Sylvester behind him. Sylvester moved past Rocco for the lead on lap-10, but a caution bunched the field back up. It would be Rocco on the restart getting by Sylvester, and he would have a new challenge as Ted Christopher was also on his way up to the front. At the halfway mark, Christopher made the pass for the lead and had to endure three restarts before pulling away. Rocco tried to chase Christopher down, but it was too little, too late as Christopher picked up his fourth win of the season. Rocco finished second, followed by Jeff Malave and Sylvester.

Limited Late Models: Calm, for the most part. Two mid-race cautions, but nothing too serious. At the drop of the green, David Capriati took the lead and held it for the first seven laps. On lap-8, Shawn Thibeault passed Capriati for the lead. He would stay out in front until lap-12, as the caution came out for a car that had spun out. Upon the attempt on the restart, Capriati and Thibeault got together and spun, collecting other cars in the process and bringing the caution back out. This put Darrin Havanec out in front, and while the rest of the race was caution-free, he would lead the rest of the way to pick up his first career feature win. Sean Foster finished second, with Andrew Durand and Bill Davis rounding out the rest of the board.

And that shall be it for this one. Only three events left until the curtain drops on this season. Tomorrow night will be a regular week of racing with five divisions on tap. I'll give you the schedule ASAP, which will be next. So until then, stay safe and dry.

A Lot of Fall Final News.

Well, we're almost at the end of the season already. There's only a few more weeks left before the Fall Final gets here. So what does that mean? There's already a ton of news up on Stafford's site. At some point inbetween the last feature of the August 29 program and 3:00am EST on August 30, there are three links you're going to be familiar with from now until the last weekend arrives.

Want to know what the schedule looks like as of now? You got it right here. Also, entry lists for the Whelen Modified Tour and the Camping World East Series are already up and running. Not much now, but there will be more names on these lists in the course of the next month.

More news to come very soon. I mean, tomorrow. I'm planning on getting a lot done. I have a busy Labor Day weekend (telethon phone bank on Sunday night, which means television time), so I can't waste time I already shouldn't be. Expect an earlier entry than usual this week.

No Title Necessary. Results of 8/22.

Good day, all! I hope you had a great weekend a great week so far. And I know you had a great Friday, seeing as last week was the second of two Late Model 100s at SMS. So what do you find in this week's blog entry? Details on the LM 100 and the rest of the night in question. August 22, taken from what I wrote for Long Island Motorsports. (I swear I'll come up with some new material for next week.)

The program started off with the Limited Late Models and their 20-lap feature. The early leader of the event was Carla Botticello, who took the lead from the outside row on the drop of the green flag and started to stretch the lead out. Shawn Thibeault, who started on the pole, fell to second; he'd lose second to David Capriati on lap-7. Bill Davis was also making his way through the field, and he would make the pass Thibeault for third. The race ran under green until the caution came out with four laps to go as Thibeault didn't have enough power to get off of the track, setting up a dash to the cash. Botticello once again took the lead on the restart, and she was able to hold off Davis for her first win of the season. Davis would finish second, followed by Sean Foster and Andrew Durand.

Next up on the agenda was the 40-lap SK Modified feature. It started with Corey Hutchings leading the first 15 laps of the race before Todd Owen was able to make the move. Two laps after Owen took over, the caution came out and tightened the field back up. Again, it was Owen out in front, but the caution came back out on lap-20 for another accident. Keith Rocco was the new leader on lap-21, but the third caution of the race came out on lap-22 for two separate incidents; one of which needed extensive cleanup, bringing out the red flag in the process. Once the race went back to yellow, then back to green, Rocco was right back out in front. But behind him was Frank Ruocco, and Ruocco would make the pass for the lead on lap-33. Rocco tried everything he could to retake the lead, but it wasn't enough. It would be Ruocco's second win of the season, with Rocco in second, Ted Christopher in third, and Owen in fourth.

More modified racing was up next, with the SK Lights and their 20-lap feature. After a false start to begin the race, Mike Lane jumped out in front and led the first three laps of the race before a caution came out to slow the field down. On the restart, Chris Matthews took over the lead from Lane until another caution came out with nine laps complete. Again, a new leader on the restart; that being Alan Provost. He would lead the next three laps until yet another caution on lap-13. The restart provided yet another new leader as Mark Bakaj moved out into the lead. Matthews moved back into second, and he had the opportunity to make a move to reclaim the lead. But he couldn't make the pass, and it was Bakaj who won his third race of the season. Matthews would go on to finish second, followed by Joe Allegro, Jr and Provost.

Then it was time for the main event: The second of two Late Model 100s on the season. It began with an opening lap caution which involved five cars, but once everything was cleaned up, the race really got underway. On the restart, it was Scott Cook out in front; but only for eight laps. The first lead change of the event came on lap-9 when Dillon Moltz took over. Moltz led through three caution periods for three different spins, but he would be challenged by Woody Pitkat on lap-62. Pitkat moved into the lead, but Moltz would not back down. He would retake the lead on lap-68, and would be out in front until lap-93 as the caution came out a spinning car on the frontstretch, and then again on the very next lap for a multi-car spin in turns one and two. This set the stage for a dramatic finish. Michael Bennett made the jump out front on the restart, coming up to the lead from third; but he went up high on lap-97, and Moltz retook the lead. Ryan Posocco followed, but he couldn't find a way around Moltz over the course of the last two laps of the race. Moltz took the win; his fourth of the season. Posocco would finish second, followed by Pitkat in third and Bennett in fourth.

Closing out the program was the 15-lap DARE Stock feature. In front early was Victoria Bergenty, who led the first three laps of the race before giving the lead to Todd LaPorta. But the caution would fly with two laps to go, setting up a green-white-checker finish. On the restart, both Scott Roy and Don Wood made the move around LaPorta, and Roy was able to hold Wood off to pick up his second win of the season. Wood would finish second, with Laporta in third and Flannery in fourth.

Stafford will have another five division program on Friday. No need for that "weather permitting" disclaimer I have on the end of every entry that has a schedule attached to it, because there's no chance of rain whatsoever. And there are fireworks to kick off the Labor Day weekend, so that's always good. So sit back and enjoy what's coming up tomorrow. Stay safe (and dry?), and I will see you tomorrow.

No More Gripes.

Just a quick "it's early Friday and I've got something I need to say" kind of thing.

You remember the last entry I did, griping about the schedule and how the SK consolation event (if needed) was going to go right before the feature? Well, someone realized that a mistake would be made. And it's now corrected. There is now the consi out in front, followed by the Limiteds and the Late Model 16 (again, if needed). Then it's the SK consi.

I wanted to make sure that everything was straightened out now before I looked right before I went out the door in the afternoon.

Schedule Gripe.

Yesterday, I was nice enough to post the schedule for Friday night's event. Tonight, however, I shall not be as nice as I was a little over 24 hours ago.




I'm sure you can see that little circle around what is an unlikely but still possible back-to-back marathon for the SK Modifieds. In the event that there are enough cars to run a consolation, it will be run right before the feature? I don't think that's such a good idea. I would have put at least one feature inbetween the consi and the feature -- perhaps something like the Limited Late Models. But that's just my opinion.

It's a gripe. Obviously. But a necessary gripe. I don't do these kinds of things often.

Late Model 100 Schedule

The schedule is (partially) out for Friday's Late Model 100. It doesn't contain the order of features, but that'll certainly be there in due course. Also known as later in the week. Other than that, no new news to report on this week, since there wasn't really any news. I'll catch you either Friday, weather permitting, or when news does come up through the woodwork. Stay safe and dry, and I'll talk to you at some point in time.

Rain Wins.

Well, practice was concluded at Stafford. And that's all they got done. When the rain came, the decision was made to stop racing tonight. So no on-track activity beyond practice.

Trying again next week with the second of two Late Model 100s. For now, stay safe and dry.

Quick Results of 8/8/08.

I hate to give you a link for something like the results, but I'm afraid that's what's going to happen this week. You see, for the past few days, I haven't been feeling up to par (and I don't have any idea why this is the case). So unfortunately, here's a link to the release from the track.

I hope to be better for this upcoming week. Again, truly sorry.

Results of 8/8/08 -- Weekly Features
Press Release of 8/8/08 -- NE Dodge Dealers 150 (WMT)

And here is the schedule for tomorrow night. As usual, weather permitting.

The Eye of the Storm. Results of 8/1.

So, I liked this title so much, I decided to reuse it for my blog this week. (The week's almost over. What the...?) But enough of that. Let's get to the stuff that's coming up in this entry. We've got two first-time feature winners. There's a time limit that expired. And a preview of what's coming up tomorrow -- weather permitting. With that said, it's time to jump right into things before I'm writing this on race day.

SK Lights: A wild race started things off with a bang. Three leaders with more than enough cautions to shake a stick at. It was Kyle Spencer out in front early, leading through the start of the race up until a caution on lap-18. Tony Santangelo would take the lead from Spencer on the restart, but a caution on the very next lap would erase that quick lead. And there would be more cautions as well... On the next lap, and on the lap after that. By this point in time, they were already close to the twenty minute time limit and the end of the race. But the race was not over by a long shot. As the race officially hit the 20-lap mark, Spencer was involved in a four-car accident, putting him out of contention. On the restart, both Santangelo and Mark Bakaj got together in turn four, bringing out another caution. This put Earl Pelletier in the lead as time had expired. The yellow and checkered flags flew at the same time, declaring him the winner and giving him his first career victory at Stafford.

Late Models: Another crazy race, but without the extensive drama of the last few laps. Although there was drama towards the end, regardless. Scott Cook was the leader for the first lap of the race before he was tapped and spun out in the backstretch, collecting a few other cars. Tom Fearn would get black flagged for spinning him out. This gave the lead to Tom Butler, who would lead up to lap-5 when he was passed by Ryan Posocco. He was joined by Mike Quintiliano, who along with Posocco, pulled away from the field until lap-27 as the caution came out. Dillon Moltz would pass Quintiliano on the restart for second, but Quintiliano would not back down without a fight, and he eventually got around Moltz. But nobody was able to find a way to challenge Posocco for the win. It would be his fifth win of the season. Quintiliano and Moltz would be second and third respectively, with Michael Bennett in fourth.

DARE Stocks: Two cautions, two leaders, one lead change. That was all that came of this race. But in the end, and just like the SK Lights, a first-time winner emerged afterward. The first of the two leaders was Matt Chiarizio, and he would lead up to a lap-7 caution. That was when Kyle Casagrande passed on him the restart. Another caution would come out on lap-11, but it wouldn't seem to faze Casagrande as he led the rest of the way to pick up his first career feature win. Following him to the line was Dan Flannery, Norm Sears, and Robert Thompson.

SK Modifieds: A repeat performance of what had happened in the race prior to this one (two cautions, and two leaders). But not exactly the same ending. Jimmy Blewett took the lead from the pole on the drop of the green and commanded the field up to a caution on lap-19. This bunched the field back up, but Blewett reclaimed the lead on the restart. The man on the move during the green flag run was Ted Christopher, who worked his way up through the field to get to the top-3 as the second of two cautions came out on lap-30. On lap-31, Christopher made the pass for second, and with five laps to go, he passed Blewett for the lead. The last laps of the race belonged to Christopher as he scored his third win of the season. Blewett would finish second, followed by Keith Rocco and Jeff Malave.

Limited Late Models: The final race of the night, but one without the major drama. Michael Nadeau held the lead from the green to lap-12, as Rob Dow passed him for the lead. (Dow had passed Shawn Thibeault for second on lap-9.) He would have to endure four second-half cautions, however, to protect his lead; and protect he did, not looking back as he won his second race of the season. Sean Foster would finish second, with Corky Hinze third and Joey Ferrigno fourth.

And that shall be it for this. Tomorrow should be a doozy in terms of events. Take five parts weekly racing, mix in one part touring series and blend well before serving. Yes, it's time for the Whelen Modified Tour to return to the track for the third of four appearances in their season. According to the schedule, there will be no qualifying heats for the five weekly divisions. So that means when time trials are over, we're cutting straight to awards and opening ceremonies before the first feature (which will be the SK Lights if everyone's qualified). I have nothing more to say after this, so until tomorrow, stay safe and dry.