FRANK RUOCCO WINS 7TH ANNUAL CARQUEST SK 150 AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY<\/p>\n
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway returned to racing action with
\nthe richest SK Modified\u00ae race of the 2010 season, the 7th Annual CARQUEST SK
\n150. Frank Ruocco had two early spins, but came storming back through the
\nfield to take his second consecutive victory in the extra distance classic.
\nWoody Pitkat took his fifth victory of the 2010 season in the 30-lap Late
\nModel feature, Tommy Barrett, Jr. picked up his third consecutive and fifth
\nwin of the 2010 season in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Rob Dow
\nscored his second consecutive victory in the 20-lap Limited Late Model
\nfeature event, and Jeff Jolly and Josh Wood were the winners of the 15-lap
\nDARE Stock feature events.
\nIn the 7th Annual CARQUEST SK 150 feature, Eric Berndt took the lead from
\nthe pole and set the early pace ahead of Sean Foster, Chris Jones, Jeff
\nMalave, Woody Pitkat, and Dan Avery. Jones and Malave moved past Foster to
\ndrop him from second back to fourth in the running order while Berndt
\ncontinued to lead. Ryan Preece spun in turn 2 to bring the yellow out on
\nlap-10.
\nThe race went back to green on lap-13 with Berndt continuing to hold the
\nlead. Jones was second with Frank Ruocco, Malave, and Zach Sylvester making
\nup the top-5. Woody Pitkat, Keith Rocco, Sean Foster, Ted Christopher, and
\nAvery made up the back half of the top-10.
\nOn lap-22, Ruocco made a move to the inside of Jones for second, but he got
\nloose and nearly spun, dropping him back to 20th place in the running order
\nand allowing Berndt to open up his lead over Jones, who continued to run
\nsecond.
\nThe top-5 positions began to change hands on lap-32 as Rocco moved past
\nSylvester for fourth place and Malave went by Jones for second on lap-35.
\nBerndt continued to hold the race lead with nearly a full straightaway lead
\nover Malave.
\nFrank Ruocco and Nichole Morgillo spun in turn 4 on lap-42 to bring the
\ncaution out and erase Berndt\u2019s lead over Malave and the rest of the field.
\nUnder caution, Pitkat came to pit road and his crew went to work under the
\nhood of his racecar before sending him back out onto the track.
\nThe race went back to green on lap-50 with Berndt in command of the race,
\nbut Malave was all over Berndt\u2019s back bumper. Malave made move to the
\ninside of Berndt on lap-53 to take over the race lead. Rocco followed suit,
\ngetting to the inside of Berndt for second on lap-55. Ted Christopher then
\nmoved himself by Berndt on lap-56 for the third position. Berndt settled
\ninto line in fourth place with Jones behind him in fifth. Mark Bakaj spun
\nin turn 4 on lap-57 to bring the caution out. Ruocco, who had the earlier
\nspin with Morgillo, was the lucky dog and was able to get himself back on
\nthe lead lap for the restart.
\nMalave and Rocco went side by side for the lead on the restart with
\nChristopher nearly making it three-wide. Christopher went by Malave for the
\nlead and as he made the move for the lead, Rocco went around in turn 4 and
\nthe whole field scrambled behind him to avoid Rocco and the caution came
\nout, putting Malave back out front. Rocco made several stops under the
\ncaution and restarted at the rear of the field.
\nMalave led the field back under green on the lap-67 restart with
\nChristopher, Berndt, Jeff Baral, and Donny Travaglin making up the top-5.
\nRunning sixth through tenth was Ryan Preece, Curt Brainard, Kurt Lenahan,
\nRuocco, and Pitkat.
\nChristopher was working Malave over and he was able to move to the front of
\nthe field on lap-73, passing Malave in turns 1+2. Malave made contact with
\nChristopher on lap-74 in turn 2, which sent Christopher around and Malave
\nwas sent to the rear of the field by officials for rough riding. This put
\nBerndt and Baral on the front row for the restart with Preece and Travaglin
\nlined up behind them.
\nBerndt took the lead on the lap-78 restart with Preece, Ruocco, Baral, and
\nTravaglin settling into line behind him. Pitkat, Curt Brainard, Todd Owen,
\nZach Sylvester, and Tom Bolles made up the remainder of the top-10. Preece
\nmoved by Berndt on lap-81 to take over the race lead. Ruocco ran behind
\nBerndt until lap-87 when he took over second. Ruocco\u2019s move opened the door
\nfor Baral to follow him past Berndt, dropping him back to fourth place.
\nAt lap-90, Ted Christopher was back into tenth place and the caution came
\nout for Mark Bakaj, who brushed the wall coming out of turn 4 and spun to
\nthe infield.
\nPreece streaked into the lead on the lap-95 restart with Ruocco settling
\ninto line right behind him. Baral was third, with Berndt foruth and Pitakt
\nfifth. On lap-97, Ruocco completed his run back to the front of the field
\nafter his earlier spin as he took the lead from Preece.
\nAt the lap-100 mark the top-10 running order was Ruocco, Preece, Baral,
\nPitakt, Travaglin, Brainard, Christopher, Malave, Berndt, and Sylvester. On
\nlap-102, Christopher and Brainard touched wheels coming out of turn 4 which
\ncollected the cars of Rocco, Bolles, Sylvester, and Owen, which brought the
\nyellow back out.
\nThe race went back to green on lap-110 with Preece powering to the outside
\nof Ruocco to move back to the head of the field. Baral was third, with
\nPitakt, Travaglin and Rocco behind him. John Montesanto came to a stop in
\nturn 3 on lap-113 to bring the yellow out.
\nPreece kept the lead back under green with Baral getting by Ruocco for
\nsecond, but Sean Foster went around in turn 3 on lap-120 to bring the
\ncaution back out. Preece got the jump on the restart, but Ruocco made a
\nmove to the inside of Preece in turn 3 to move to the front with 25 laps to
\ngo. Rocco was now back up to third place with Baral fourth and Pitakt
\nfifth.
\nWith 10 laps to go it was still Ruocco out front with Preece giving Ruocco
\nall he could handle in a duel for the lead. Ruocco and Preece\u2019s duel
\nallowed Rocco and Bararl to close in and make it a four-car fight to the
\nfinish. Preece lined up one final charge to the outside of Ruocco on the
\nfinal lap, but he couldn\u2019t muster enough momentum to get by and Ruocco
\nscored his second consecutive CARQUEST SK 150 feature victory. Rounding out
\nthe top-5 behind Ruocco and Preece was Rocco, Baral, and Pitkat.
\nIn the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Tom Fearn took the early lead with
\nWoody Pitkat moving into second. Adam Gray fell back to third, with Mark
\nSt. Hilaire and Scott Cook making up the top-5. Fearn held the lead until
\nlap-7 when Pitkat made a pass in turn 2. The cars of John Kasper and Tony
\nLafo got hooked together and brought the caution out with 8 laps complete.
\nOn the restart, Gray didn\u2019t get up to speed right away and he shot through
\nthe infield grass and rejoined at the rear of the field. Pitkat charged
\ninto the lead and began to pull away from St. Hilaire, who moved around
\nFearn to take second. Fearn fell back to fourth as Corey Hutchings was also
\nable to get by with Cook, and Keith Rocco rounding out the top-6 before the
\ncaution came back out with 11 laps complete for a spin by Tracy Brouillette
\nin turn 2.
\nDon Acker, Jr. went around in turn 1 on the restart to bring the yellow back
\nout. The field completed one lap before the caution came back out for a
\nspin by Jim Peterson and Tom Butler in turn 2.
\nPitkat bolted into the lead on the restart with Cook moving by Hutchings for
\nsecond. Michael Bennett and Ryan Posocco were also able to get around
\nHutchings before the two cars touched with Bennett sliding backwards into
\nthe turn 3 wall to bring the caution out. The field completed one lap
\nbefore the caution came back out for a spin by Walt Wosko, Jr. in turn 3.
\nPitkat took the lead on the restart as Cook didn\u2019t quite come up to speed
\nand he fell back with Posocco, J.J. Hill, Keith Rocco, and Fearn all moving
\nby Cook. Tom Butler spun in turn with 20 laps complete to bring the yellow
\nback out.
\nPitkat again took the lead back under green with Hill getting by Posocco for
\nsecond. Hill\u2019s pass on Posocco opened the door for Rocco to follow him past
\nPosocco, dropping Posocco from second back to fourth place. Rocco then
\nmoved by Hill for second and brought Posocco with him, dropping Hill from
\nsecond back to fourth. Meanwhile, Pitkat was pulling away while the
\nposition swapping was going on behind him and he cruised to his fifth
\nvictory of the 2010 season. Rocco finished second with Posocco, Hill, and
\nPeterson rounding out the top-5.
\nIn the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature event, Jay Goff took the early lead
\nwith Kyle Spencer and Heather DesRcohers side by side behind him for second
\nplace. DesRochers got clear of Spencer on lap-3 and took second. Goff spun
\nfrom the lead on lap-4 but was able to keep going and the race stayed green
\nwith DesRochers taking over the lead. The car of Tommy Barrett, Jr. was on
\nthe move, going from 14th at the start to third place behind DesRochers and
\nSpencer. The caution then came out as Earl Pelletier spun in turn 4 and
\ncollected the car of Zach Aszklar. Under the caution, Joey Cipriano brought
\nhis car to pit road with damage to his right side nerf bar and he was
\nfinished for the evening.
\nOn the restart, Spencer went around DesRochers in the high groove to take
\nover the lead. Coming off turn 4, Ted Cain and Victoria Bergenty spun to
\nthe infield grass and as Bergenty was going around, Steve Greer was
\ncollected and had damage to his right front tire to bring the caution out.
\nThe outside groove prevailed again on the restart as DesRochers went by
\nSpencer to retake the lead. Barrett was glued to the back bumper of
\nDesRochers and he made the move to the inside of DesRochers on lap-7 to move
\nto the front of the pack. Spencer was third, with Matt Galko and Dylan
\nLiseo making up the top-5. Harry Wheeler went around in turn 4 to bring the
\nyellow out with 10 laps complete.
\nOn the restart, there was a multicar spin involving Todd Clark, Shayne
\nPrucker, and John Hanafin to bring the yellow flag back out. Barrett took
\nthe lead back under green and began to pull away from the field. DesRochers
\nwas second with Spencer glued to her back bumper in third. Galko and
\nPelletier were side by side for the fourth position.
\nGalko would bet the better of Pelletier for foruth and he quickly moved by
\nSpencer for third and was applying pressure to DesRochers for second.
\nBarrett was in a league of his own and he streaked to his fifth win of the
\nseason with DesRochers holding off Galko for second. Spencer spun on the
\nfinal corner of the race, which allowed Pelletier to come home in fourth and
\nDavid Webb was fifth.
\nIn the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, Duane Provost took the early
\nlead and led the first two laps of the race before the caution came out.
\nBack under green Kevin Gambacorta made a move to take over the lead. Rob
\nDow followed him into second with Jesse Hinze, Dave Yardley, and Provost
\nbehind him. The caution came out with 6 laps complete for Provost and Carla
\nBotticello, who spun in turn 4.
\nGambacorta took the lead again on the restart, but one lap later saw Dow
\nmove by Gambacota to take over the race lead. Yardley was still third, with
\nHinze and Dan Flannery making up the top-5. At the halfway point of the
\nrace, Flannery did a 360 in turn 1 but was able to keep moving and the race
\nstayed green.
\nDow was still the race leader, with Gambacorta, Yardley, Durand, and Shawn
\nThibeault giving chase. Dow led the rest of the way as the top-5 remained
\nin line over the final 10 laps of the race with Dow taking down his second
\nconsecutive feature win of the 2010 season.
\nIn the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event that was made up from July 16th,
\nStephanie Berardi took the early lead and set the pace ahead of Vince
\nGambacorta, Cliff Saunders, Donald Cook, and Jeff Jolly. Jolly quickly
\nworked his way through traffic and was into the race lead by the halfway
\npoint of the race.
\nWith Jolly in the lead, Andrew Hayes moved his way to second, with Tony
\nMembrino, Jr., Josh Wood, and Albert Saunders behind him. Jolly went
\nunchallenged to the checkered flag to record his second feature victory of
\nthe 2010 season.
\nIn the regularly scheduled 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, Stephanie
\nBerardi led the field to the green and took the early lead with Cliff
\nSaunders, Josh Wood, Vince Gambacorta, and Kyle Casagrande behind her.
\nBerardi led the first 3 laps before Josh Wood moved to the front on lap-4.
\nKaitlyn Brice brought the caution out with 4 laps complete with a spin in
\nturn 2.
\nBack under green Wood took the lead with Kyle Casagrande moving into second.
\nKyle\u2019s brother Cory Casagrande worked his way into third place behind his
\nbrother with Albert Saunders fourth and Gambacorta fifth. This was the
\nrunning order when Don Cook lost an engine with 9 laps complete to bring the
\ncaution out.
\nWood maintained the race lead back under green with Kyle and Cory
\nCasagrande, Albert Saunders, and Jeff Jolly making up the top-5 behind him.
\nWood held Casagrande off over the final 6 laps to take his second win of the
\n2010 season. Kyle Casagrande, Cory Casagrande, Albert Saunders, and Jolly
\nrounded out the top-5 at the checkered flag.
\nFor more information contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
\n(860) 684-2783, or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
\n###<\/p>\n
SK MODIFIED\u00ae (150)
\n1) Frank Ruocco, Cheshire
\n2) Ryan Preece, Berlin
\n3) Keith Rocco, Meriden
\n4) Jeff Baral, Enfield
\n5) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
\n6) Zach Sylvester, Lebanon
\n7) Donny Travaglin, Winsted
\n8) Dan Avery, Somers
\n9) Todd Owen, Somers
\n10) Michael Gervais, Jr., Southbury
\n11) Kurt Lenahan, Roxbury
\n12) Adam Skowyra, Brimfield, Ma
\n13) Sean Foster, Ellington
\n14) Joe Allegro, Jr., Vernon
\n15) Eric Berndt, Cromwell
\n16) Ted Christopher, Plainville
\n17) Curt Brainard, Canton
\n18) Chris Jensen, Wolcott
\n19) John Montesanto, North Branford
\n20) Chris Jones, New Milford
\n21) Tom Bolles, Ellington
\n22) Jeff Malave, Manchester
\n23) Mark Bakaj, Lebanon
\n24) Nichole Morgillo, Wallingford
\n25) Bo Gunning, Bethlehem
\n26) Raymond Grassetti, Monson, Ma
\n27) Josh Sylvester, Lebanon<\/p>\n
LATE MODEL (30)
\n1) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
\n2) Keith Rocco, Meriden
\n3) Ryan Posocco, Stafford Springs
\n4) J.J. Hill, Stafford Springs
\n5) Jim Peterson, Monson, Ma
\n6) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, Ma
\n7) Corey Hutchings, Salem
\n8) Wayne Coury, Jr., Milford
\n9) Jim Mavlouganes, Bethany
\n10) Ed Ricard, Stafford Springs
\n11) Adam Gray, Belchertown, Ma
\n12) Tony Lafo, Higganum
\n13) Patrick Townsend, Springifeld, Ma
\n14) Mark St. Hilaire, Berlin
\n15) Tom Butler, Stafford Springs
\n16) Dave Wray, Meriden
\n17) Don Acker, Jr., Orange
\n18) Tim Fogg, Stafford Springs
\n19) Sylvia Crunden, West Hartford
\n20) Walt Wosko, Jr., West Suffield
\n21) Scott Cook, Uncasville
\n22) Michael Bennett, Stafford Springs
\n23) John Kasper, Wilbraham, Ma<\/p>\n
SK LIGHT MODIFIED (20)
\n1) Tommy Barrett, Jr., Millis, Ma
\n2) Heather DesRochers, Granby, Ma
\n3) Matt Galko, Meriden
\n4) Earl Pelletier, Wolcott
\n5) David Webb, New Milford
\n6) Frank Cardile, Bolton
\n7) Jay Goff, Stafford Springs
\n8) Victoria Bergenty, Plainville
\n9) Erica Santos, Franklin, Ma
\n10) Ted Cain, Plymouth
\n11) Mark Trombetta, Naugatuck
\n12) Kyle Spencer, Montgomery, Ma
\n13) Neil Maxted, Bethel
\n14) John Hanafin, Quincy, Ma
\n15) Dylan Liseo, East Hartford
\n16) Shayne Prucker, Stafford Springs
\n17) Todd Clark, Bristol
\n18) Harry Wheeler, Stafford Springs
\n19) Stephen Greer, Harwinton
\n20) Joey Cipriano, III, Waterbury
\n21) Zach Aszklar, Wallingford
\n22) Mike Parolo, Feeding Hills, Ma<\/p>\n
LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)
\n1) Rob Dow, Stafford Springs
\n2) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
\n3) Dave Yardley, III, Meriden
\n4) Andrew Durand, Chicopee, Ma
\n5) Shawn Thibeault, Plainville
\n6) Michael Wray, Northford
\n7) Jesse Hinze, Farmington
\n8) Joe Nogiec, Bristol
\n9) Norm Sears, Andover
\n10) Dan Flannery, Ellington
\n11) Paul Varricchio, Jr., Berlin
\n12) Chris Cook, Pepperell, Ma
\n13) Duane Provost, Indian Orchard, Ma
\n14) Jeff Hubbell, Naugatuck
\n15) Pete Cayer, Bristol
\n16) Carla Botticello, Manchester
\n17) Brian Clement, Wethersfield
\n18) George Nocera, Jr., Plainville
\n19) Greg Butler, Jr., East Hampton<\/p>\n
DARE STOCK FROM 7\/16 (15)
\n1) Jeff Jolly, Wallingford
\n2) Andrew Hayes, Charlton, Ma
\n3) Tony Membrino, Jr., Plantsville
\n4) Josh Wood, Palmer, Ma
\n5) Albert Saunders, Stafford
\n6) James Carroll, West Hartford
\n7) Paul Arute, Tolland
\n8) Donald Cook, Agawam, Ma
\n9) Kelsey Rottino, Willimantic
\n10) Cliff Saunders, Stafford
\n11) Kaitlyn Brice, Manchester
\n12) Joe Mcallister, New Britian
\n13) Vince Gambacorta, Ellington
\n14) Stephanie Berardi, Broad Brook
\n15) Cory Casagrande, Stafford Springs
\n16) Nick Salva, Prospect
\n17) Kyle Casagrande, Stafford Springs
\n18) Stephen Daddio, Seymour<\/p>\n
DARE STOCK (15)
\n1) Josh Wood, Palmer, Ma
\n2) Kyle Casagrande, Stafford Springs
\n3) Cory Casagrande, Stafford Springs
\n4) Albert Saunders, Stafford
\n5) Jeff Jolly, Wallingford
\n6) Tony Membrino, Jr., Plantsville
\n7) Stephen Daddio, Seymour
\n8) Vince Gambacorta, Ellington
\n9) Cliff Saunders, Stafford
\n10) Donald Cook, Agawam, Ma
\n11) James Carroll, West Hartford
\n12) Kelsey Rottino, Willimantic
\n13) Kaitlyn Brice, Manchester
\n14) Paul Jensen, East Hampton
\n15) Stephanie Berardi, Broad Brook
\n16) Andrew Hayes, Charlton, Ma
\n17) Nick Salva, Prospect
\n18) Joe Mcallister, New Britian
\n19) Paul Arute, Tolland
\n20) David Macha, Columbia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FRANK RUOCCO WINS 7TH ANNUAL CARQUEST SK 150 AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY (Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway returned to racing action with the richest SK Modified\u00ae race of the 2010 season, the 7th Annual CARQUEST SK 150. Frank Ruocco had two early spins, but came storming back through the field to take his second consecutive victory in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[196,197],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut","category-stafford-connecticut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}