Stafford Motor Speedway opened its doors for racing in 2015 with feature events for its SK Light, Limited Late Model, DARE Stock, and Legend Cars divisions as well as the Mr. Rooter Truck Series as part of the Saturday NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler Weekend festivities. D.J. Burnham took the checkered flag in the 20-lap SK Light feature, Al Saunders was the winner of the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, Dan Dembek won the 15-lap DARE Stock feature, Cory DiMatteo won the 20-lap Legend Cars feature, and Roger Turbush won the 20-lap Mr. Rooter Truck Series feature.
In the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, several cars got out of shape mid-pack and Pete Lopuch ended up spinning in turn 1 to bring the caution out. DJ Burnham took the lead on the start with Bob Charland side by side Vinny Anglace for second. Anglace got out of shape on lap-2 in the outside groove and he slid back to sixth as Nick Salva took third, Geoff Boisjolie took fourth, and Joey Ferrigno moved up to fifth. Daniel Wesson and Aaron Goff spun in turns 3+4 to bring the caution out with 1 lap complete.
Burnham took the lead back under green with shuffling going on behind him. Salva briefly moved into second before Ferrigno took second. Salva came back strong and got back by Ferrigno before the action was slowed with 87 laps complete for Peyton Henry, who got into the turn 4 wall to bring the caution out.
Burnham again took the lead on the restart with Ferrigno moving by Salva to take over second. Glenn Griswold was up to fourth with Anglace running in fifth. Mark Alkas spun in turn 2 to bring the caution out with 13 laps complete. Burnham took the lead back under green with Salva, Ferrigno, and Griswold behind him. Shayne Prucker took a wild ride down the backstretch and barrel rolled several times before coming to a stop at the entrance of turn 3 to bring the yellow and red flags out.
The field completed one lap before Jeff Fialkovich and Vinny Anglace got together on the backstretch to bring the caution out. Burnham again took the lead on a restart but the field didn’t make it through turn 1 as Ferrigno climbed up and over the left rear of Salva’s car, which collected Griswold and sent all 3 cars into the turn 1 wall and brought the caution out.
Burnham again took the lead back under green with Matt Swanson moving into second. Charland took third, with Steve Kopcik and Boisjolie making up the top-5. Kopcik made a move under Charland to move up to fourth on lap-18 as Burnham was stretching out his lead over Swanson. Burnham led Swanson back to the checkered flag to pick up his first victory in the SK Lights. Kopcik finished third, with Charland and Boisjolie rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, the Saunders twins Albert and Cliff led the field to the green but the caution came out right away as David Comeau, Jeremy Lavoie, and R.J. Surdell spun into the turn 1 wall.
The field completed one lap before Paul Arute brought the caution out with a spin in turn 1. The next restart saw Cliff Saunders spin as the field came to the green but he got moving and the race stayed under green flag conditions with Al Saunders leading Duane Provost, Andrew Hayes, Austin Bessette, and Justin Bren.
Saunders began to stretch out his lead with 5 laps complete while Hayes and Provost were dueling side by side for second. Bessette was fourth with David Arute moving past Bren to take over fifth place. Arute continued to move towards the front as he moved by Provost for fourth while Hayes and Bessette were now second and third behind Al Saunders.
With 5 laps to go, Al Saunders was still in command with a half straightaway lead over Hayes and Bessette. David Arute was still fourth, just in front of Bren. Saunders led the field back to the checkered flag to score a dominating victory. Hayes finished second, with Bessette, Arute, and Bren rounding out the top-5.
In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature, Dan Dembek quickly moved to the lead from the outside pole at the start of the race with Tyler Trott moving up to second. Alexandra Fearn slotted into third, with Trace Beyer and Frank L’Etoile, Jr. making up the early top-5. David Macha, Sr. started on pole but slid back to sixth in line.
L’Etoile got around Beyer to move into fourth on lap-5 while Dembek began to stretch out his lead over Trott and Fearn. The caution came out with 6 laps complete as Zack Robinson came to a stop at the exit of turn 2. Dembek took the lead back under green with Trott behind him in second. L’Etoile moved up to third with Fearn fourth and Beyer in fifth. With three laps to go, L’Etoile made a move around Trott to move up to second. L’Etoile’s move opened the door for Fearn to follow L’Etoile past, dropping Trott from second back to fourth. But Dembek was the dominant car of the race and he led L’Etoile to the checkered flag. Fearn finished third, with Beyer and Trott rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Legend Cars feature, Joey Ternullo, Jr. took the lead from the pole with Noah Korner slotting into second. Cory DiMatteo moved into third, with Teddy Hodgdon just in front of Dana DiMatteo. The caution came out with 2 laps complete for Connor Holderbach, who got out of shape in turn 2.
Ternullo again got a great restart and powered into the lead but Devin O’Connell spun to bring the caution right back out. Ternullo took the lead back under green but on lap-4 Cory DiMatteo moved under Ternullo in turn 4 to take over the race lead. Dana DiMatteo followed suit as he got by Ternullo on lap-7 to move into second and Jordan LaMothe also got by Ternullo to drop him from second back to fourth. Hodgdon was the fifth place car, just in front of Korner, Mikey Flynn, and O’Connell.
Ternullo continued to slide backwards as Hodgdon worked his way by to take over fourth and Korner moved into fifth to drop Ternullo back to sixth place. Jerry Macchia spun to bring the caution out with 11 laps complete. Korner spun on the restart to bring the caution back out before a lap could be completed.
LaMothe made a strong move on the restart to take the lead from Cory DiMatteo but several cars behind them spun to bring the caution out and the move was negated as DiMatteo went back to the lead for the restart. LaMothe didn’t get as good of a restart, but he was able to settle into second behind Cory DiMatto with O’Connell recovered from his earlier spin in third. O’Connell and Ternullo then spun in turn 1 to bring the caution out with 13 laps complete.
Cory DiMatteo took the lead back under green with Korner now back up second. Flynn was third with Hodgdon and Dana DiMatteo making up the top-5. Ryan DeCandia brought the next caution out with 14 laps complete with a spin in turn 4. Several more caution periods slowed the action to set up a restart with 5 laps to go. Cory DiMatteo took the lead with Hodgon moving into second. The caution came back out one lap later for a multi-car spin in turn 1. After another spin on a restart, the race was given the red/checkered flags, making Cory DiMatteo the winner. Hodgdon was second, with O’Connell, Dana DiMatteo, and Kyle Rogers rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Mr. Rooter Truck Series feature, Tyler Chapman and Ted Christopher spent the first lap side by side for the lead before Christopher made a crossover move on lap-2 to move to the front. Roger Turbush also got by Chapman to move into second before Cassie Coates spun in turn 2 to bring the caution out with 2 laps complete.
Christopher took the lead on the restart with Turbush and Chapman side by side for second. Turbush took the spot and he closed right on the back bumper of Christopher. Frank Dumicich, Jr. took over third with Bert Ouellette and Chapman making up the top-5. Josh Stringer came to a stop on the backstretch to bring the caution out with 6 laps complete.
Christopher and Turbush were side by side for the lead back under green with Turbush hanging right with Christopher. The two trucks went high in turn 2 one lap agter the restart, which allowed Dumicich to make a bold three-wide move and take over the lead. But his lead was short lived as the very next lap saw Turbush take over the lead. Christopher continued in third, with Ouellette and Andy Lindeman making up the top-5 at the halfway point of the race.
Christopher ran behind Dumicich until lap-13 when he was able to make a pass in turn 2 to move up to second. Turbush was still in the lead with nearly a half straightaway margin. Turbush looked like he was on cruise control but that all changed when Mike Burr spun in turn 2 to set up a green white checkered finish.
Turbush took the lead on the restart while Christopher and Dumicich were locked in a side by side duel for second. Christopher drifted up the track in turn 3 and fell back several spots as Turbush took the checkered flag. Dumicich came home in second, with Ouellette, Lindeman, and Christopher rounding out the top-5.
After two full days of racing at the 1.7 mile road course at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, the inaugural victors have been crowned at the Icebreaker, Road Race Style.
John Raudat looked to be the car to beat in Group 1, the Spec Miata/Improved Touring B (SM/ITB) Class. The Madison, CT driver continuously posted the fastest lap in practice, and set the record for qualifying at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in an Outside the Box (OTB) Promotions event in the (SM/ITB) division, with a 1:23.644 circuit. Raudat followed Farmington, CT resident Rick Bennett for the majority of the race, keeping Bennett’s bumper within striking distance. The lead changed when Raudat worked his way around Bennett, but transmission problems ensued, ending the day for Raudat. Bennett would hold on for the win, becoming the first winner in an OTB Promotions event.
Regarding the weekend, Bennett commented “It was a great event. I had a great battle with the #129 (Raudat), and it was unfortunate he broke. It would’ve been an interesting finish.”
Sixteen-year-old Matthew Chimbolo ran his way to a second-place finish, after consistently shaving time off his laps as the race progressed. Chimbolo is a graduate from the “Little T”, a ¼ midget track adjacent to the road course at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. Zack Kelly, who began the Qualifying Race earlier in the day with a strong move at the Start/Finish line, drove his Volkswagen Golf to a third place finish. Xiang Li and Morgan Duffy rounded out the top 5.
In Group 2, the Super Touring (STL) Class, Ken Payson picked up the victory, after fending off Rob Sturgis for the majority of the race. Payson set the pace early, with Sturgis never more than a few car lengths behind. Sturgis, slowly and methodically, cut into Payson’s lead, and looked to be ready to challenge the veteran driver on the final lap, before Sturgis’ suffered power issues, and failing to make the final circuit. Payson would finish the lap and claim the win.
Payson commented “(Sturgis) was faster in one spot, I was faster in another, so it made for some interesting back and forth (racing). It’s too bad he broke, because he was close enough to get a draft out of the straightaway, and might have gotten me.” Payson set the OTB Promotions Class Record with a 1:22.477 lap in Qualifying on Friday.
Sturgis was quick to give Payson credit for the win, saying “I’m not sure I would have gotten him. With the momentum that’s carried in the corners, Ken would’ve had to make a mistake, and I’ve never seen him make a mistake.”
Xiang Li, running in two classes, finished second, with Bradford Brooks in third. “The weekend was a lot of fun,” remarked Li. “We got a lot of track time, a lot of fun racing, a really friendly environment, and friendly folks. It was a fun event.”
In Group 3, the Production Class, Jeff Swann and Eric Heinrich battled intensely throughout the race, swapping the lead on numerous occasions. Heinrich would win the war, however, as his BMW Gulf E30M3 had too much power for Swann’s SRF3, and claimed the victory.
Woody Pitkat completed a picture perfect homecoming Sunday afternoon.
The 35-year-old Stafford, Connecticut, driver powered to the victory in the NAPA Spring Sizzler 200, the traditional season-opening event for Stafford Motor Speedway. In the process, the driver of the No. 88 Buzz Chew Chevrolet/Elbow East Chevrolet became the first hometown driver to win the prestigious NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event.
It was Pitkat’s third career tour win. He scored his first career win last year in the August event at Stafford before following it up with a win a month later at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“To have a car that’s that good – and it’s been that good since I’ve been with these guys – it’s just unreal,” Pitkat said. “I never thought at 16 years old racing a DARE Stock that one day I’d come here and win a tour race, especially the Spring Sizzler with how big it is.”
Sunday, Pitkat led the last 40 laps after muscling his way past Todd Szegedy through the bottom of Turn 3. It was the last of 11 lead changes.
Szegedy held onto the runner-up spot, followed by Ryan Preece. Preece won the Coors Light Pole Award in Saturday’s qualifying, just edging Pitkat for the top spot. Preece led four times for a race-high 69 laps, while Pitkat led 49.
Eric Goodale and Donny Lia were fourth and fifth, respectively, in Sunday’s race.
“I would say that Woody just won the race of his life,” said Szegedy. “To win at his home track, to win the Spring Sizzler, that has to be amazing. He’s mastered this track and he’s come a long way.”
Doug Coby, Rowan Pennink, Patrick Emerling, Jamie Tomaino and Sunoco Rookie of the Race Brandon Bock rounded out the top 10.
Pitkat assumed the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship points lead for the first time in his career, three points ahead of Coby and seven over Preece. Szegedy and Goodale are both 12 points behind Pitkat.