staffordWilliams, Fearn, Henry, Saunders, Michael, & O’Connell Score August 28 Lincoln Tech Back 2 SK®ool Blitz Feature Wins at Stafford Speedway

(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway returned to NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing action with the Lincoln Tech Back 2 SK®ool Blitz. Taking down feature wins on the night was Ronnie Williams in the SK Modified® feature, Tom Fearn in the Late Model feature, Payton Henry in the SK Light feature, Al Saunders in the Ltd. Late Model feature, Brandon Michael in the DARE Stock feature, and Devin O’Connell in the Legend Cars feature.

In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Matt Galko set the early pace with Ted Christopher and Eric Berndt behind him. Keith Rocco quickly moved into fourth and Rowan Pennink got by Jeremy Sorel to move up to fifth.

Berndt made a move to the inside of Christopher to take second on lap-4 and Rocco was right on his bumper looking to follow suit. Rocco pulled alongside Christopher and he took over third on lap-6. Pennink was now on the inside of Christopher and looking to take fourth but Christopher was able to hold him off.

On lap-10, Ryan Preece moved his way past Christopher to move into fifth after starting ninth. Pennink was up to fourth as Galko was still leading Berndt and Rocco. Ronnie Williams got by Christopher to take sixth.

Rocco made his move to take over second on lap-17 and Pennink was now side by side with Berndt in a duel for third. This allowed Preece and Williams to close right in on their bumpers. Rocco continued his charge as he went by Galko on lap-19 to take over the race lead. Pennink was third with Preece fourth and Berndt and Williams were side by side for fifth.

Galko came back strong on the inside of Rocco on lap-20 and they ran side by side for a lap before Galko retook the lead at the line to complete lap-21. Just as the field completed lap-21, Joey Cipriano’s car came to a stop on the backstretch to bring the caution out.
Galko took the lead back under green while Pennink took second, but only briefly as Williams was on his inside and they were side by side for the spot. Williams took second and he made a move to the inside of Galko and he took the lead at the line as they completed lap-24. Pennink was third with Rocco and Preece making up the top-5. Preece spun in turn 2 and collected Berndt to bring the caution out with 26 laps complete.

Williams took the lead while Pennink and Galko were side by side for second and Woody Pitkat was side by side with Todd Owen for fourth. Pennink took second with Galko slotting into third. Pitkat got the better of his duel with Owen and took fourth.

As the laps began to wind down, Pennink looked like he had a stronger car getting into the corner than Williams, but Williams would stretch out his advantage once they came off the corners. The two leaders were leaving Galko behind, who was in turn all by himself as Pitkat and Owen were side by side for fourth. Williams led Pennink to the checkered flag to pick up his sixth win of the season. Galko finished third, with Pitkat beating Owen to the line by a nose for fourth place.

In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Josh Wood went from fifth to the lead on the opening lap of the race. Michael Bennett followed him to the front and settled into second with Ed Ricard third, Michael Scorzelli fourth, and Tom Fearn fifth. Rich Hammann hit the turn 3 wall to bring the caution out with 2 laps complete.

Wood powered into the lead on the restart with Bennett holding off a challenge from Ricard to remain in second. Fearn pulled alongside Ricard as they completed lap 3 and he took over third in turn 1 of lap 4. Skip Breunig was fifth with Tommy Butler and Kevin Gambacorta lined up right behind him.

Fearn was beginning to apply pressure to the bumper of Bennett for second while Breunig slid back several spots to seventh place as Gambacorta took fifth and Scorzelli moved up to sixth. Fearn got around Bennett to move into second on lap-8 while Wood continued to lead the race.

Gambacorta took over fourth place from Ricard on lap-16 and Scorzelli nearly dropped Ricard back to sixth, but Ricard was able to hold off his challenge. As the leaders completed lap -25, it was a 3-car train in a fight for the lead with Wood leading Fearn and Bennett.
Fearn tried for two laps to make a move in turn 3 before he was able to finally make a pass stick on lap-28. Now Bennett was all over Wood’s bumper as Fearn was pulling away. Fearn led the trio back to the checkered flag to pick up his eighth win of the season. Bennett made a last ditch effort in turns 3+4 but Wood was able to hold him off for second. Gambacorta finished fourth with Scorzelli rounding out the top-5.

In the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature event, Geoff Boisjolie and Jay Goff were racing hard side by side for the lead on the opening lap and the caution came out with 1 lap on the scoreboard as Kyle Jette spun in turn 1 and Joey Ferrigno got caught in the high lane as Jette came back up the track. Mark Alkas also spun trying to avoid Jette and Daniel Wesson came to a stop in turn 2 and had to be towed off the track.

Jay Goff powered by Boisjolie on the restart to move into the lead. Tony Membrino, Jr. was on the outside of Boisjolie for second when Boisjolie spun coming off turn 2 to bring the caution out with 2 laps complete.

Glenn Griswold took a ride through the infield grass on the backstretch on the restart but he was able to keep his car moving and he rejoined at the rear of the field as the race stayed green. Membrino was the leader with Payton Henry getting around Goff to move into second. Bob Charland and Nick Salva were side by side for fourth place with Salva taking the place on lap-7.

The cvaution came out with 12 laps complete as Alkas and Goff spun in opposite ends of the track. Back under green, Henry was challenging Membrino on the outside for the lead and Salva nearly made it 3-wide but backed out and fell back into line in third. The caution came back out with 14 laps complete as Charland spun and hit the frontstretch wall and Todd Douillard spun.

Henry took the lead from Membrino on the restart and Stephen Kopcik moved into second with Membrino falling back to third. Salva was challenging Membrino for fourth place when the caution came out with 15 laps complete for a spin by Kyle Trayner.

Henry took ht elead back under green with Kopcik and Salva battling side by side for second. Membrino was foruth with D.J. Burnham and Cory Casagrande side by side for fifth. Salva took second and Burnham was now on the outside of Kopcik as the field took the white flag.
Henry took his second consecutive win with Salva, Membrino, Kopcik, and Burnham rounding out the top-5.

In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, David Comeau took the lead after a first lap side by side battle with Robert Bloxsom. Paul Arute moved to the inside of Bloxsom for second on lap-3 and Al Saunders pulled alongside Bloxsom in a fight for third with Duane Provost right behind them.

Al Saunders went by Paul Arute on lap-6 to move into second and Provost followed him through as Arute fell back to fourth. Bloxsom continued to run in fifth, just in front of David Arute. Saunders made a move to the inside of Comeau as they crossed the start/finish line to complete lap-12 and he took over the race lead. Provost followed him past as Comeau fell back to third with Paul Arute, Bloxsom, David Arute, and Andrew Hayes right behind them. Justin Bren and Glenn Bartkowski hit the backstretch wall and came to a stop to bring the caution out with 14 laps complete.

Al Saunders took the lead back under green with Provost settling into second behind him. Paul Arute took third with Comeau fourth and Bloxsom just in front of David Arute for fifth. Hayes went by David Arute to move into sixth on lap-17. Bloxsom made a move to the inside of Comeau to move up to fourth on lap-18 just before the caution came out for a spin in the middle of turns 3+4 by David Tefft.

Al Saunders took the lead while Paul Arute pulled alongside Provost for second before he got loose in turn 4 and settled back into third. Saunders took the checkered flag with Provost, Hayes, Paul Arute, and Bloxsom rounding out the top-5.

In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, Brandon Michael took the early lead from the pole with Zack Robinson giving chase from second. Marcello Rufrano was third with Dan Dembek and Trace Beyer making up the top-5.

With 5 laps to go, Michael was still in command of the race with Robinson right on his back bumper. Rufrano was still third with Beyer in fourth and Tyler Trott in fifth. Dembek had fallen back to sixth, just in front of Frank L’Etoile, Jr. in seventh.

Michael led Robinson to the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the season. Rufrano finished third, with Beyer and Trott rounding out the top-5.

In the 20-lap Legend Cars feature, Noah Korner took the lead at the drop of the green flag and immediately began to open up a gap back to Michael Hopkins in second. Mikey Flynn was third, with Teddy Hodgdon and Brett Crowther making up the top-5. Devin O’Connell spun coming out of turn 4 to bring the caution out with 3 laps complete.

Korner took the lead back under green with Hodgdon staying tight on his bumper in second. The field completed 3 more laps before the caution came back out for a spin in turn 2 by Brett Crowther.

Korner again took the lead with Hodgdon right on his back bumper. O’Connell was recovered from his earlier spin and was now third in line with Ryan DeCandia and Hopkins making up the top-5. Korner spun in turn 4 to bring the caution out with 10 laps complete after he and Hodgdon made contact. This put O’Connell into the race lead for the next restart with Hopkins to his outside.

O’Connell powered into the lead with Hopkins settling into second. Korner was on the move, quickly working his way back up to third with DeCandia in fourth and Crowther in fifth. O’Connell led the field back to the checkered flag to pick up his eighth win of the 2015 season. Korner finished second with Hopkins, DeCandia, and Hodgdon rounding out the top-5.

For more information contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at (860) 684-2783, or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
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SK MODIFIED® (40)
1) Ronnie Williams, Tolland
2) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa
3) Matt Galko, Meriden
4) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
5) Todd Owen, Somers
6) Keith Rocco, Berlin
7) Tyler Hines, North Haven
8) Ted Christopher, Plainville
9) Jeremy Sorel, Westfield, Ma
10) Ryan Preece, Berlin
11) Michael Gervais, Jr., Southbury
12) Joey Cipriano, III, Waterbury
13) Dan Avery, Somers
14) Eric Berndt, Cromwell
15) Mike Christopher, Jr., Wolcott

LATE MODEL (30)
1) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, Ma
2) Josh Wood, Palmer, Ma
3) Michael Bennett, Willington
4) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
5) Michael Scorzelli, Feura Bush, Ny
6) Skip Breunig, Milford
7) Ed Ricard, Stafford Springs
8) Michael Wray, Northford
9) Paul Varricchio, Jr., Berlin
10) Scott Cook, Oakdale
11) Tom Butler, Stafford Springs
12) Stu Fearn, East Longmeadow, Ma
13) Rich Hammann, Tolland

SK LIGHT (20)
1) Payton Henry, Willington
2) Nick Salva, Prospect
3) Tony Membrino, Jr., Plantsville
4) Stephen Kopcik, Newtown
5) D.J. Burnham, East Hartford
6) Cory Casagrande, Stafford Springs
7) Jay Goff, Stafford Springs
8) Glenn Griswold, Vernon
9) Todd Douillard, Palmer, Ma
10) Geoff Boisjolie, East Hampton, Ma
11) Wesley Prucker, Stafford
12) Carlos Gray, Manchester
13) Rit Dulac, Plantsville
14) Mark Alkas, Berlin
15) Paul French, Andover
16) Joey Ferrigno, East Hartford
17) Kyle Trayner, Marlborough, Ma
18) Bob Charland, Stafford
19) Kyle Jette, New Milford
20) Daniel Wesson, Monson, Ma

LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)
1) Al Saunders, Stafford
2) Duane Provost, Palmer, Ma
3) Andrew Hayes, Charlton, Ma
4) Paul Arute, Tolland
5) Robert Bloxsom, III, Stratford
6) Cliff Saunders, Stafford
7) David Comeau, Palmer, Ma
8) David Arute, Tolland
9) R.J. Surdell, Manchester
10) Jeremy Lavoie, Windsor Locks
11) Matt Clement, Wethersfield
12) David Tefft, Southampton, Ma
13) Glenn Bartkowski, Manchester
14) Justin Bren, Palmer, Ma

DARE STOCK (15)
1) Brandon Michael, Granville, Ma
2) Zack Robinson, Putnam
3) Marcello Rufrano, North Haven
4) Trace Beyer, West Dover, Vt
5) Tyler Trott, East Hartford
6) Dan Dembek, Hampden, Ma
7) Frank L’Etoile, Jr., Wethersfield
8) Nicole Chambrello, Kensington
9) Phil Evans, Uncasville
10) Bryan Granger, Keene, Nh
11) Chris Bagnall, Norfolk
12) Jake Higginson, Waterbury
13) Vince Gambacorta, Ellington
14) Paul Bourdon, Jr., Jewett City

LEGEND CARS (20)
1) Devin O’Connell, Madison
2) Noah Korner, Canton
3) Michael Hopkins, Springfield, Ma
4) Ryan DeCandia, Chaplin
5) Teddy Hodgdon, Danbury
6) Brett Crowther, Belchertown, Ma
7) Glenn Korner, Canton
8) Mikey Flynn, Hampden, Ma