![\"Stafford\"](\"http:\/\/maineracer.com\/images\/stafford.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway returned to racing on June 24th
\nwith the Inaugural Lincoln Tech Modified Racing Series event. Picking up
\nfeature wins were Keith Rocco in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Tommy
\nMembrino, Jr. in the 20-lap SK Light feature, Shawn Thibeault in the 20-lap
\nLimited Late Model feature, and Don Wood in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
\nThe race program was halted by rain during the Modified Racing Series
\nfeature event with 32 laps complete. The Lincoln Tech MRS feature and the
\nSK Modified\u00ae feature will be made up on Friday, July 29th and rain checks
\nfrom tonight\u2019s race will be honored on July 29th.
\n
\nIn the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Tony Lafo led the field to green,
\nbut he drifted up the track slightly in turn 2 and J.J. Hill made a strong
\nthree-wide move to take the lead. Keith Rocco followed Hill and moved into
\nsecond. John Kasper spun in turn 3 to bring the caution out with one lap
\ncomplete. Under the caution, Corey Hutchings\u2019 car came to a stop on the
\nfrontstretch and had to be towed behind the wall.<\/p>\n
On the restart, Rocco was hanging tough to the outside of Hill for the race
\nlead and he led the next two laps at the line. Jim Peterson was third
\nbehind the Hill\/Rocco duel with Ryan Posococ and Adam Gray making up the
\ntop-5. On lap-5, Hill got out of shape in turns 3+4 and Peterson moved into
\nthe lead with Posocco taking second. Hill fell from the lead back to fifth
\nplace.<\/p>\n
Lap-8 saw Rocco move to the inside of Posocco to take over second. Peterson
\ncontinued to lead while Posocco was third and Gray was fourth. Hill was
\nfifth, but he lost that position to Woody Pitkat on lap-11. Hill was stuck
\nin the outside groove and he fell back several more spots as Dillon Moltz,
\nTom Fearn, and Jim Mavlouganes all got by Hill.<\/p>\n
At the halfway point, Peterson continued to hold the lead with Rocco,
\nPosocco, Pitkat, and Moltz making up the top-5. Rocco was hounding Peterson
\nfor the lead and Rocco was able to make the pass for the lead on lap-20. As
\nRocco and Peterson swapped positions, Posocco and Pitkat closed in on the
\nlead duo, but Posocco drifted up the track in turn 2 on lap-22, which
\nallowed Pitkat to move into third place.<\/p>\n
Rocco led the final 10 laps to take his second feature win of the 2011
\nseason. Peterson finished second, with Pitkat, Posocco, and Moltz rounding
\nout the top-5.<\/p>\n
In the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature event, Joey Cipriano spun in turn 1
\nat the start and collected were the cars of Frank Cardile and Zach Aszklar.
\nCody Gneiting took the lead on the restart with Harry Wheeler behind him in
\nsecond. Tommy Membrino, Jr. was third, with Rick Williams fourth and Jay
\nGoff fifth. The field completed one lap before Shayne Prucker and Dylan
\nKopec spun through the frontstretch grass to bring the caution back out.
\nBoth Prucker and Kopec had flat tires and were finished for the evening.
\nGneiting again took the lead on the restart with Wheeler and Tommy Membrino
\nbehind him. Membrino went to second past Wheeler on lap-3 and both Kyle
\nSpencer and Jay Goff followed him by Wheeler. Dylan Liseo was also able to
\nmove by Wheeler on lap-5. The order continued to shuffle as Membrino moved
\nby Gneiting to take over the race lead on lap-10. Gneiting continued to
\nhold down second with Spencer and Goff behind him.<\/p>\n
The closing laps saw a flurry of action as Spencer and Goff both were able
\nto move by Gneiting to drop him from second back to fourth. But it was all
\nMembrino at the front as he scored his first career SK Light Modified
\nfeature victory and a $600 contingency bonus from Gunsmoke Stables. Spencer
\nfinished second, with Goff, Gneiting, and Matt Galko rounding out the top-5.
\nIn the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, there was trouble at the
\nstart as Jesse Hinze spun in turn 2 to bring the yellow out. Also
\ncollecting damage was D.J. Burnham, but Burnham was able to continue while
\nHinze retired from the race.<\/p>\n
On the restart, Joe Nogiec spun on the backstretch, which collected the cars
\nof Norm Sears, Carla Botticello, Kevin Gambacorta, and Duane Provost.
\nProvost, Botticello, and Sears were all done for the night, while Gambacorta
\nwas able to continue on.<\/p>\n
Cory Casagrande took the lead as the race restarted with Shawn Thibeault
\nmoving into second. George Nocera, Jr. moved into third, with Dan Flannery
\nmoving past Chris Cook to take fourth in the early laps. Casagrande and
\nThibeault began to inch away from Nocera in third, who had pulled away from
\nFlannery in fourth. At the halfway point, Casagrande and Flannery were nose
\nto tail in the fight for the lead.<\/p>\n
The top-2 ran in line until lap-16 when Casagrande got a bit out of shape in
\nturn 2, which opened the door for Thibeault to move by and take the lead.
\nNocera continued to run third, with Flannery and Gambacorta making up the
\ntop-5.<\/p>\n
Thibeault led Casagrande around for the final 4 laps to take his second win
\nof the 2011 season. Casagrande finished second, with Nocera, Flannery, and
\nGambacorta rounding out the top-5.<\/p>\n
In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, the race started with a bang as Kyle
\nCasagrande spun in turn 4 and collected the car of Nick Salva to bring the
\ncaution out before one lap could be completed.<\/p>\n
Austin Bessette took the early lead, but David Arute charged to the front on
\nlap-2. Don Wood was also on the charge at the start of the race and he took
\nthe lead from Arute on lap-4. Albert Saunders followed Wood past Arute to
\ntake over second.<\/p>\n
With Wood and Albert Saunders in the first two spots, they began to pull
\naway from the remainder of the field. Arute was now locked in a hard fight
\nfor third with Cliff Saunders. Lap after lap, Saunders looked like he was
\ngoing to make a pass on Arute, but Arute was able to hold him off.<\/p>\n
With no caution flags, Wood and Albert Saunders were turning the race for
\nthe win into a two car race. Saunders took several looks, but Wood was able
\nto maintain the lead as the laps clicked off the scoreboard. Saunders took
\none final look on the last lap, but he couldn\u2019t make a pass as Wood took
\ndown his second feature victory of the 2011 season. Albert Saunders
\nfinished second, with Arute, Cliff Saunders, and Josh Wood rounding out the
\ntop-5.<\/p>\n
For 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
LATE MODEL (30)
\n1) Keith Rocco, Meriden
\n2) Jim Peterson, Monson, Ma
\n3) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
\n4) Ryan Posocco, Stafford Springs
\n5) Dillon Moltz, Waterford
\n6) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, Ma
\n7) J.J. Hill, Stafford Springs
\n8) Jim Mavlouganes, Bethany
\n9) Adam Gray, Belchertown, Ma
\n10) Tom Butler, Stafford Springs
\n11) Tony Lafo, Higganum
\n12) Scott Cook, Uncasville
\n13) Mark St. Hilaire, Berlin
\n14) Walt Wosko, Jr., West Suffield
\n15) John Kasper, Wilbraham, Ma
\n16) Tim Fogg, Stafford Springs
\n17) Corey Hutchings, Salem<\/p>\n
SK LIGHT MODIFIED (20)
\n1) Tommy Membrino, Jr., Prospect
\n2) Kyle Spencer, Montgomery, Ma
\n3) Jay Goff, Stafford Springs
\n4) Cody Gneiting, Broad Brook
\n5) Matt Galko, Meriden
\n6) Dylan Liseo, East Hartford
\n7) Zach Aszklar, Wallingford
\n8) Joey Cipriano, Iii, Waterbury
\n9) Jesse Ruocco, Cheshire
\n10) Harry Wheeler, Stafford Springs
\n11) Rick Williams, Haddam
\n12) Bob Charland, Stafford
\n13) Steve Greer, Harwinton
\n14) Tony Membrino, Jr., Plantsville
\n15) Tommy Barrett, Jr., Millis, Ma
\n16) Shayne Prucker, Stafford Springs
\n17) Dylan Kopec, Palmer, Ma
\n18) Tony Santangelo, Middlefield
\n19) Frank Cardile, Bolton<\/p>\n
LIMITED LATEL MODEL (20)
\n1) Shawn Thibeault, Plainville
\n2) Cory Casagrande, Stafford Springs
\n3) George Nocera, Jr., Plainville
\n4) Dan Flannery, Ellington
\n5) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
\n6) Chris Cook, Pepperell, Ma
\n7) D.J. Burnham, East Hartford
\n8) Joe Nogiec, Bristol
\n9) Duane Provost, Indian Orchard, Ma
\n10) Carla Botticello, Manchester
\n11) Norm Sears, Andover
\n12) Jesse Hinze, Farmington<\/p>\n
DARE STOCK (15)
\n1) Don Wood, Palmer, Ma
\n2) Albert Saunders, Stafford
\n3) David Arute, Tolland
\n4) Cliff Saunders, Stafford
\n5) Josh Wood, Palmer, Ma
\n6) Andrew Hayes, Charlton, Ma
\n7) Kyle Casagrande, Stafford Springs
\n8) Kris Fluckiger, Enfield
\n9) Kelsey Rottino, Willimantic
\n10) Austin Bessette, Stafford Springs
\n11) Vince Gambacorta, Ellington
\n12) Kaitlyn Brice, Manchester
\n13) Doug Phelps, Jr., New Salem, Ma
\n14) David Macha, Columbia
\n15) Nick Salva, Prospect
\n16) Andrew Marchese, Tolland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway returned to racing on June 24th with the Inaugural Lincoln Tech Modified Racing Series event. Picking up feature wins were Keith Rocco in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Tommy Membrino, Jr. in the 20-lap SK Light feature, Shawn Thibeault in the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Don Wood in the […]<\/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":[196,126,197],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-5858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut","category-new-england","category-stafford-connecticut","tag-stafford"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5858","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=5858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5858\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}