![\"Stafford\"](\"http:\/\/maineracer.com\/images\/stafford.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway was back on track with a
\n5-division NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event as part of USG Event
\nNight on Friday, June 3rd. Keith Rocco scored his second consecutive
\nvictory in the 40-lap SK Modified\u00ae feature event, Woody Pitkat took his
\nsecond consecutive victory in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Joey Cipriano
\ncame home the big winner in a thrilling duel for the win to pick up his
\nsecond win of the season in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Norm Sears
\npicked up his second feature win of the season in the 20-lap Limited Late
\nModel feature, and Josh Wood picked up his first feature victory of the 2011
\nseason in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
\n
\nIn the 40-lap SK Modified\u00ae feature event, Chris Jones hit the turn 1 wall to
\nbring the yellow out before the field could complete a lap. Chris Matthews
\ntook the race lead back under green with Nichole Morgillo and John
\nMontesanto side by side for second place. Jeff Malave was fourth, with
\nMichael Gervais and Rhyan Preece behind him.<\/p>\n
Preece got around Gervais on lap-3 and Morgillo went into the race lead on
\nlap-6. Behind Morgillo was Malave, Preece, Montesanto, and Matthews. Sean
\nFoster spun and came to a stop on the backstretch grass to bring the yellow
\nflag out with 9 laps complete. Foster needed a push to get back to pit
\nroad, where he parked his car for the remainder of the race.<\/p>\n
Preece took the lead on the restart with Morgillo in second. Malave was
\nthird, with Montesanto in fourth and Ted Christopher moved up into the fifth
\nspot. Malave was able to get by Morgillo for second place on lap-12 while
\nPreece continued to lead. Christohper was now in fourth with Glen Reen up
\nto fifth as Montesanto was beginning to slide backwards.<\/p>\n
Christopher moved by Morgillo for third place on lap-17. Dan Avery got
\nloose and spun in turn 4 to bring the caution out with 19 laps complete.
\nPreece took the lead back under green with Christopher moving by Malave for
\nsecond. Reen followed Christopher by Malave to drop him from second on the
\nrestart back to fourth. Morgillo was running fifth with Frank Ruocco, Todd
\nOwen, and Keith Rocco behind her.<\/p>\n
The order changed on lap-23 as both Ruocco and Rocco were able to move by
\nMorgillo. The caution came back out with 23 laps complete as Morgillo spun
\nin turn 2, which collected the car of Mark Bakaj.<\/p>\n
Preece again was the leader on the restart while Reen and Christopher were
\nlocked in a side by side duel for second. Reen took the spot one lap after
\nthe restart and Christopher slid back to fifth place as both Ruocco and
\nRocco were able to get by. Ruocco spun coming off turn 4 on lap-29, and he
\nwas able to quickly get moving, but there was a spin in turn 1 involving the
\ncars of Ron D\u2019Alessandro and Heather DesRochers that brought the caution
\nflag back out.<\/p>\n
Preece was the leader back under green with Rocco moving into second. Reen
\nwas third with Christopher and Malave making up the top-5, but Montesanto
\nspun in turn 2 to bring the caution back out. Preece again powered into the
\nlead with Rocco slotting in right behind Preece. But Rocco didn\u2019t stay
\nbehind Preece for long as he made a power move to the inside of Preece in
\nturn 3 on lap-31. Rocco was able to take the lead at the line by a nose,
\nbut Rocco and Preece were locked in a wheel to wheel duel for the lead with
\nneither driver giving the other an inch. Rocco was leading the laps by a
\nnose at the start\/finish line, but Preece was hanging right with Rocco. The
\ncaution came back out with 36 laps complete as Chris Matthews and Dan Avery
\nspun in turn 2 to set up a four lap dash to the finish.<\/p>\n
The restart was more of the same between Rocco and Preece with the two cars
\nside by side. Rocco moved ahead of Preece on lap-37 and Christopher was now
\nalongside Preece in a fight for second as Rocco was the race leader.
\nChristopher took second form Preece at the white flag, but Rocco was able to
\nhold him off at the checkered flag to pick up his second consecutive win and
\nhis third win of the 2011 season. Rounding out the top-5 behind Rocco and
\nChristopher was Preece, Woody Pitkat, and Reen.<\/p>\n
In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Tom Butler took the lead at the drop
\nof the green with John Kasper, J.J. Hill, Mark St. Hilaire, and Corey
\nHutchings making up the top-5. Hutchings got around St. Hilaire on lap-3
\nand he brought Keith Rocco along with him by St. Hilaire.<\/p>\n
Hutchings continued his charge on lap-7 as he moved past Hill to take over
\nthird. Hill would lose several more spots as Rocco, Woody Pitkat, and
\nDillon Moltz all went by, dropping Hill from third back to seventh. The
\norder shuffled again on lap-12 as Rocco, Pitkat, and Moltz all got by
\nHutchings, who fell from third back to sixth. Butler continued to lead the
\nrace with Kasper in second.<\/p>\n
At the halfway point, Butler had pulled out to a sizeable lead over Kasper
\nin second. But that all changed on lap-18 as Rocco, Pitkat, Moltz,
\nHutchings, and Hill all moved by Kasper, who fell from second back to
\nseventh. Hutchings went around in turn 2 with 22 laps complete to bring the
\ncaution out.
\nTony Lafo and Hutchings spun on the restart in turn 1 on the restart to
\nbring the yellow right back out. Butler and Rocco were door to door on the
\nrestart for the lead with Pitkat, Moltz, and Hill in single file behind
\nthem. Butler and Rocco drifted up the track in turn 3 on lap-25, which gave
\nPitkat just enough room to make a three-wide pass to take over the race
\nlead. Moltz followed Pitkat through as Rocco settled into line in third and
\nButler fell back to fourth with Hill still in fifth.<\/p>\n
Pitkat led the field around for the final four laps to pick up his second
\nconsecutive victory of the year. Moltz came home second, with Rocco,
\nButler, and Hill rounding out the top-5.<\/p>\n
In the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature event, both Jay Goff and Cody
\nGneiting took to the high groove to move around polesitter Rick Williams to
\nmove into the top-2 spots on the first lap of the race. Joey Cipriano moved
\ninto third, while Williams settled into line in fourth and Kyle Spencer and
\nShayne Prucker were nose to tail in fifth and sixth. Lap-5 was a busy lap
\nas Gneiting moved by Goff to take over the lead and Spencer and Prucker
\nmoved by Williams.<\/p>\n
Cipriano made a move around Gneiting to take over the race lead on lap-?
\nwhile Goff, Prucker, and Spencer continued to run in the top-5 spots. Matt
\nGalko was now in sixth place behind Spencer at the halfway point of the
\nrace.<\/p>\n
Spencer and Galko got together in turn 2 and fell back several spots, but
\nthey were able to keep going. The two cars made contact again with Galko
\ncoming to a stop on the front straighaway with a damaged right front to
\nbring he caution out with 14 laps complete. Spencer was parked for the
\nremainder of the race by NASCAR Officials for the contact.<\/p>\n
On the restart, Gneiting\u2019s car didn\u2019t come up to speed and he then spun in
\nturn 2 to bring the yellow flag back out. The next restart saw Cipriano and
\nPrucker duel side by side for the lead witih Prucker taking the slight
\nadvantage at the line. Cipriano took the lead on the next lap, but Prucker
\ncame right back and moved to the front, but the caution came out for debris
\non the track, putting Cipriano back up front for the restart with four laps
\nremaining in the race.<\/p>\n
Cipriano and Prucker again stayed wheel to wheel with Prucker taking the
\nlead by a nose at the line. The two cars were still side by side for a
\nsecond lap with Frank Cardile closing in on the lead duo. Cardile made a
\nthree-wide bid coming to the white flag, but fell back into line before turn
\n1. Prucker got a little loose on the final lap while on the outside of
\nCipriano, which allowed Cipriano to get clear into the lead and take the
\nvictory. Cardile came home in second, with Prucker, Steve Greer, and Tommy
\nMembrino, Jr. rounding out the top-5.<\/p>\n
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, Norm Sears took the lead at
\nthe drop of the green flag with Duane Provost, Shawn Thibeault, George
\nNocera, Jr., and Kevin Gambacorta making up the top-5 behind Sears.
\nPolesitter Cory Casagrande fell back at the start as his car didn\u2019t come up
\nto speed as quickly as the rest of the field. Sears began to open up a nice
\nlead with both Thibeault and Nocera moving past Provost.<\/p>\n
At the halfway point of the race it was still Sears in command of the race.
\nThibeault was still running in second with Nocera right behind him. The
\nlead that Sears had built up in the first couple of laps of the feature was
\nholding steady as he wasn\u2019t pulling away from or being reeled in by
\nThibeault. Provost and Gambacorta continued to run in fourth and fifth.
\nOn lap-13, Provost was able to move back by Nocera to take over third place.
\nNocera came back strong to the inside of provost on lap-16 to take the
\nposition back. Nocera\u2019s move allowed Gambacorta to follow Nocera by
\nProvost, dropping him from third back to fifth in the running order.
\nAt the front of the field it was all Sears as he led the race from start to
\nfinish to pick up his second feature victory of the season. Thibeault came
\nhome in second, with Nocera, Gambacorta, and Provost rounding out the top-5.
\nIn the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, Kris Fluckiger took the early lead,
\nbut before he could get back to the start\/finish line to complete the first
\nlap, Josh Wood had taken over the lead. Fluckiger continued to fall back as
\nVince Gambacorta, Kyle Casagrande, Don Wood, and Cliff Saunders all moved
\nby. Gambacorta spun in turn 2 on lap-3, but he was able to keep going and
\nthe race stayed green. Johnny Walker spun in turn 2 to bring the caution
\nout with 3 laps complete.<\/p>\n
Josh Wood took the lead back under green with Don Wood right behind him.
\nCasagrande was third, with Cliff Saunders in fourth and Nick Salva in fifth.
\nWith 5 laps to go, it was still Josh Wood ahead of Don Wood, with Casagrande
\nkeeping in close contact in third. Saunders was holding down the fourth
\nspot while Andrew Hayes had taken over the fifth position from Salva, who
\nwas now in sixth place.<\/p>\n
Josh Wood led the field around to the checkered flag to pick up his first
\nfeature victory of the 2011 season. Don Wood finished second, with
\nCasagrande, Cliff Saunders, and Hayes rounding out the top-5.
\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 (40)
\n1) Keith Rocco, Meriden
\n2) Ted Christopher, Plainville
\n3) Ryan Preece, Berlin
\n4) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
\n5) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Ma
\n6) Frank Ruocco, Cheshire
\n7) Jeff Malave, Manchester
\n8) Todd Owen, Somers
\n9) Brian Sullivan, South Windsor
\n10) Michael Gervais, Jr., Southbury
\n11) Dan Avery, Somers
\n12) Kurt Lenahan, Roxbury
\n13) Joe Gada, Salem
\n14) Ronald D’Alessandro, East Hartford
\n15) Adam Skowyra, Brimfield, Ma
\n16) Heather DesRochers, Granby, Ma
\n17) Bob Parker, Jr., Southbury
\n18) John Montesanto, North Branford
\n19) Chris Matthews, Stafford
\n20) Eric Berndt, Cromwell
\n21) Nichole Morgillo, Wallingford
\n22) Mark Bakaj, Lebanon
\n23) Tom Bolles, Ellington
\n24) Curt Brainard, Canton
\n25) Sean Foster, Willington
\n26) Chris Jones, New Milford<\/p>\n
LATE MODEL (30)
\n1) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
\n2) Dillon Moltz, Waterford
\n3) Keith Rocco, Meriden
\n4) Tom Butler, Stafford Springs
\n5) J.J. Hill, Stafford Springs
\n6) Mark St. Hilaire, Berlin
\n7) Jim Mavlouganes, Bethany
\n8) Ryan Posocco, Stafford Springs
\n9) Jim Peterson, Monson, Ma
\n10) Corey Hutchings, Salem
\n11) Adam Gray, Belchertown, Ma
\n12) Ted Christopher, Plainville
\n13) John Kasper, Wilbraham, Ma
\n14) Patrick Townsend, Springifeld, Ma
\n15) Tony Lafo, Higganum
\n16) Walt Wosko, Jr., West Suffield
\n17) Peter Thickett, Watertown
\n18) Tim Fogg, Stafford Springs<\/p>\n
SK LIGHT MODIFIED (20)
\n1) Joey Cipriano, III, Waterbury
\n2) Frank Cardile, Bolton
\n3) Shayne Prucker, Stafford Springs
\n4) Steve Greer, Harwinton
\n5) Tommy Membrino, Jr., Prospect
\n6) Dylan Kopec, Palmer, Ma
\n7) Jay Goff, Stafford Springs
\n8) Harry Wheeler, Stafford Springs
\n9) Bob Charland, Stafford
\n10) Zach Aszklar, Wallingford
\n11) Tony Membrino, Jr., Plantsville
\n12) Tony Santangelo, Middlefield
\n13) Tony Massaro, Hamden
\n14) Paul Tommasino, Meriden
\n15) Cody Gneiting, Broad Brook
\n16) Kyle Spencer, Montgomery, Ma
\n17) Matt Galko, Meriden
\n18) Mike Parolo, Feeding Hills, Ma
\n19) Rick Williams, Haddam<\/p>\n
LIMITED LATEL MODEL (20)
\n1) Norm Sears, Andover
\n2) Shawn Thibeault, Plainville
\n3) George Nocera, Jr., Plainville
\n4) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
\n5) Duane Provost, Indian Orchard, Ma
\n6) Cory Casagrande, Stafford Springs
\n7) D.J. Burnham, East Hartford
\n8) Chris Cook, Pepperell, Ma
\n9) Carla Botticello, Manchester
\n10) Joe Nogiec, Bristol
\n11) Jesse Hinze, Farmington<\/p>\n
DARE STOCK (15)
\n1) Josh Wood, Palmer, Ma
\n2) Don Wood, Palmer, Ma
\n3) Kyle Casagrande, Stafford Springs
\n4) Cliff Saunders, Stafford
\n5) Andrew Hayes, Charlton, Ma
\n6) Nick Salva, Prospect
\n7) David Arute, Tolland
\n8) Kris Fluckiger, Enfield
\n9) Vince Gambacorta, Ellington
\n10) Kaitlyn Brice, Manchester
\n11) Johnny Walker, Ludlow, Ma
\n12) Doug Phelps, Jr., New Salem, Ma
\n13) Brandon Michael, Cranville, Ma
\n14) James Carroll, West Hartford
\n15) Andrew Marchese, Tolland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway was back on track with a 5-division NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event as part of USG Event Night on Friday, June 3rd. Keith Rocco scored his second consecutive victory in the 40-lap SK Modified\u00ae feature event, Woody Pitkat took his second consecutive victory in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Joey Cipriano […]<\/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":[196,4163,126,197],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-5526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut","category-modified","category-new-england","category-stafford-connecticut","tag-stafford"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5526","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=5526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5526\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}