(Stafford Springs, CT)—On Friday night, July 29th, Stafford Motor Speedway
will welcome the Modified Racing Series back to the track for the completion
of the Inaugural Lincoln Tech 80. The Lincoln Tech MRS 80 was originally
scheduled for June 24th, but a rain shower halted the race with 32 of the
race’s 80 laps complete. The Modified Racing Series will complete their
80-lap feature event and there will be heat and feature races for all five
of Stafford’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions. All rain checks
from the original June 24 date will be honored for this event.
Pit gates will open at 1pm, spectator gates will open at 4:15pm, qualifying
heats for Stafford’s SK Modifieds®, Late Models, SK Lights, Ltd. Late
Models, and DARE Stocks will begin at 6:15pm, and feature events will begin
racing at 7:15pm.
The Lincoln Tech MRS 80 will resume from lap-33 with Keith Rocco leading
Dave Etheridge, Matt Hirschman, Chris Pasteryak, and Doug Coby. Rocco
started the Lincoln Tech 80 on the pole and he led the first lap before
Pasteryak went by Rocco to take over the lead on lap-2. Rocco then lost
second position to Etheridge, but he moved back by Etheridge on lap-11 and
he went back by Pasteryak to retake the lead on lap-13. Rocco then held the
lead of the race until the rain started to fall with 32 laps complete.
After the race was red flagged for the rain shower, MRS officials impounded
everyone’s tires, which Rocco says will leave the teams with an unknown when
they resume the race.
“I think it’s going to be a crapshoot and a roll of the dice,” said Rocco.
“We ran the tires for a couple of laps in the rain and then the tires have
been sitting after they impounded them. It’s a good thing that they do with
impounding everyone’s tires, but we really don’t know what we’re going to
have when we start racing. It’s going to be a guessing game, but it’s the
same for everyone.”
The Lincoln Tech 80 is one of three races that Rocco will try to win as he
will also partake in the SK Modified® and Late Model feature events.
The East Windsor campus of Lincoln Technical Institute (formerly Baran
Institute of Technology) is a 40-acre, 315,000 square foot facility. It is
located conveniently off Interstate 91, (Exit 44) just north of Hartford and
Bradley International Airport. The campus contains 30 classrooms, two fully
equipped computer labs, a learning resource center, an auditorium,
administrative offices including financial aid, admissions, student
services, career services, a full service cafeteria and over 260,000 square
feet of practical shop space. The shop area contains fully equipped training
sections that are air-conditioned. Lincoln Tech offers hands-on training
from ASE certified instructors and there are morning, afternoon, and evening
classes available to fit any type of schedule. Lincoln Tech also has
housing available at their Hartford and Suffield campus locations.
For fans who do not have rain checks, there is still plenty of seating
available for the Lincoln Tech MRS 80. Tickets are priced at $25.00 for
Adult General Admission, Children 6-14 are $5.00, and Children 5 & under are
free. Reserved seating is priced at $28.00 for all ages. Tickets can be
ordered by calling the speedway office at 860-684-2783, or tickets can be
purchased at the gate the night of the event.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com