{"id":5967,"date":"2011-07-02T06:36:24","date_gmt":"2011-07-02T10:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/?p=9076"},"modified":"2011-07-02T06:36:24","modified_gmt":"2011-07-02T10:36:24","slug":"rocco-cipriano-casagrande-casagrande-score-july-1st-niagara-night-feature-wins-stafford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/2011\/07\/rocco-cipriano-casagrande-casagrande-score-july-1st-niagara-night-feature-wins-stafford\/","title":{"rendered":"ROCCO, CIPRIANO, CASAGRANDE, & CASAGRANDE SCORE JULY 1st FIRST NIAGARA NIGHT FEATURE WINS AT STAFFORD"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Stafford\"
\nROCCO, CIPRIANO, CASAGRANDE, & CASAGRANDE SCORE JULY 1st FIRST NIAGARA NIGHT FEATURE WINS AT STAFFORD<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway was back in action on Friday,
\nJuly 1st with a new event sponsor in First Niagara for the First Niagara
\nIndependence Day Fireworks Celebration. Keith Rocco was the big winner of
\nthe night as he doubled up by winning both the 40-lap SK Modified\u00ae feature
\nevent and the 30-lap Late Model feature, Joey Cipriano took his third
\nfeature win of the season in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Cory
\nCasagrande was the winner of the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Cory
\n\u2019s brother Kyle Casagrande nailed down his third win of the season in the
\n15-lap DARE Stock feature.<\/p>\n

In the 40-lap SK Modified\u00ae feature event, Sean Foster led the field from the
\npole position, but he went around in turn 2 on the very first lap to bring
\nthe caution out. Collected in the incident were the cars of Richie Pallai,
\nJr. and Mark Bakaj, who were both towed off the track.<\/p>\n

Dan Avery was the leader back under green with Tom Bolles, Todd Owen, Eric
\nBerndt behind him. Woody Pitkat was side by side with Curt Brainard for the
\nfifth position, with Pitkat taking the spot. Owen moved past Bolles for
\nsecond, which also brought Berndt past Bolles. The caution came out with 4
\nlaps complete for a spin by Mike King.<\/p>\n

Avery took the lead back under green with Owen in second. Berndt was
\nholding third with Pitkat fourth and Ted Christopher was now into fifth.
\nKeith Rocco made a strong move to the inside of Christopher on lap-9 to move
\ninto fifth. Berndt got around Owen for second and he moved by Avery for the
\nlead on lap-11, but the caution came out for a spin by Glen Reen, which
\nnegated Berndt\u2019s move.<\/p>\n

On the restart, Avery and Berndt were side by side for the lead with Pitkat
\nand Owen side by side for third. King and Vinny Anglace spun in turn 2 to
\nbring the caution back out with 12 laps complete.<\/p>\n

Berndt took the lead on the restart with Pitkat in second. Avery was third
\nwith Rocco and Owen behind him, but the caution came back out one lap after
\nthe restart for a multicar incident on the backstretch that involved
\nChristopher, Foster, Frank Ruocco, Heather DesRochers, and Nichole Morgillo.
\nBerndt took the lead back under green with Rocco making a strong move in
\nturn 3 to pull to the inside of Pitkat in a duel for second. Rocco and
\nPiktat ran side by side for a lap before Rocco was able to complete the
\npass. Rocco again was able to make a strong move in turn 3 to move past
\nBerndt to take the lead on lap-16. Behind Rocco, Ryan Preece made contact
\nwith Berndt in turn 4, which got Berndt loose and behind Berndt, both Avery
\nand Pitakt spun to bring the caution out. Preece was sent to the rear of
\nthe field for the contact with Berndt.<\/p>\n

Rocco took the lead on the restart, but Berndt was glued to his back bumper
\nin second. Owen was right behind Berndt in a three-car train. Bolles was
\nnow into fourth place with Brainard right behind him in fifth place. The
\ncaution came back out with 25 laps complete for a spin by Morgillo in turn 1
\nto slow the action. Kirk Zervas and Michael Gervais, Jr. spun on the
\nfrontstretch on the restart to bring the caution right back out.
\nRocco took the lead on the restart with Berndt, Owen, Brainard, and Ruocco
\nin line behind him. The caution came back out with 26 laps complete as
\nDesRochers came to a stop in turn 3 and Bolles, John Montesanto, and Anglace
\nspun in turn 1.<\/p>\n

Rocco took the lead on the restart with Berndt hanging tough on the outside
\nfor a lap before falling back into line behind Rocco. Brainard moved into
\nthird, with Pitkat in fourth and Owen fifth. Preece, who was sent to the
\nrear of the field earlier, was recovered from his penalty and was in sixth
\nplace behind Owen. Preece charged his way by Owen and then he got by both
\nBrainard and Pitkat to move into third place behind Rocco and Berndt.
\nRocco led Berndt and Preece around for the final circuits to take his fourth
\nwin of the 2011 season. Rounding out the top-5 behind Rocco, Berndt, and
\nPreece was Pitkat and Brainard.<\/p>\n

In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Walt Wosko, Jr. took the lead at the
\ngreen and immediately opened up a lead over Mark St. Hilaire in second.
\nRyan Posocco was third, with Keith Rocco and Adam Gray behind him. Posocco
\nmade a move to the inside of St. Hilaire on lap-4 to take over second.
\nPosocco\u2019s move allowed Rocco to also get by St. Hilaire. Rocco continued to
\ncharge towards the front as he went by Posocco in the next corner. The
\ncaution came out with 5 laps complete for Scott Cook, who came to a stop in
\nthe middle of turns 3+4. Cook got a push start and was able to continue in
\nthe feature.<\/p>\n

On the restart, Rocco made a strong run on the outside of Wosko to take over
\nthe lead. Posocco got loose in turn 2 and fell back several spots. Posocco
\nthen nearly spun through the backstretch grass but was able to keep going
\nand the race stayed green. Tom Fearn was black flagged for contact with the
\nPosocco car.
\nRocco began to stretch out his advantage over Wosko, who was continuing to
\nhold down the second position just ahead of Woody Pitkat. Wosko held second
\nuntil lap-11 when Pitkat went by in turn 4. Jim Peterson would also get
\npast Wosko to drop him from second back to fourth, just in front of Dillon
\nMoltz, who was running fifth.<\/p>\n

The cars ran in order until lap-24 when Moltz was able to move by Wosko to
\ntake over fourth place. Moltz\u2019s pass opened the door for Adam Gray to
\nfollow Moltz past Wosko. Gray then made a move on Moltz to take over fourth
\non lap-26. Moltz was fading as Wosko, Posocco, Patrick Townsend, Corey
\nHutchings, J.J. Hill, Tom Fearn, and John Kasper all got by Moltz.
\nIt was all Rocco at the front of he field as he led the rest of the way to
\npick up his second consecutive Late Model feature victory. Pitkat finished
\nsecond, with Peterson, Gray, and Wosko rounding out the top-5.<\/p>\n

In the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature event, Cody Gneiting took the early
\nlead but the caution came out with one lap complete for a spin by Paul
\nTommasino. Back under gren, Gneiting took the lead with Frank Cardile, Matt
\nGalko, Zach Aszklar, and Jay Goff behind him. The caution came back out with
\n5 laps complete for debris on the track.<\/p>\n

Gneiting again took the lead back under green, but Cardile made a run to the
\nhigh side of Gneiting to pull alongside Gneiting. There was a multicar
\nincident on the frontstretch that collected the cars of Shayne Prucker,
\nDylan Kopec, Tony Membrino, Jr., Tommy Membrino, Jr., Dylan Liseo, Harry
\nWheeler, Tony Santangelo, and Tommy Barrett, Jr., which brought out the red
\nflag with 6 laps complete.<\/p>\n

Gneiting took the lead back under green with Cardile and Aszklar behind him.
\nJoey Cipriano and Galko were side by side for fourth place with Cipriano
\ntaking the spot. Cipriano then moved by Aszklar to move into third place on
\nlap-11. Cardile pulled to the inside of Gneiting to take the lead on lap-12
\nbut his lead was short lived as Cipriano made a move to Cardile\u2019s inside on
\nlap-13 to take the lead. Cardile came back strong to the outside of
\nCipriano, but he fell back into line behind Cipriano with Aszklar, Galko,
\nand Gneiting behind him.<\/p>\n

Cipriano led the final 7 laps to take his third SK Light feature victory of
\nthe 2011 season. Cardile finished second, with Galko, Aszklar, and Gneiting
\nrounding out the top-5.<\/p>\n

In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, Jesse Hinze took the lead at
\nthe green with Duane Provost and George Nocera, Jr. behind him. Norm Sears
\nwas fourth and Shawn Thibeault charged up into the fifth position in the
\nearly laps.<\/p>\n

Hinze and Provost were continuing to run in the front two spots but the
\naciot was heating up behind the lead duo. Sears, Nocera, and Dan Flannery
\nwere fighting hard for the third position, with Sears getting loose in turn
\n2 and hitting the wall to bring the caution out with 10 laps complete.
\nHinze took the lead on the restart, but Provost was hanging tough in the
\noutside groove and Provost moved to the lead on lap-12 while working the
\nhigh groove. Nocera was third behind Provost and Hinze with Cory Casagrande
\nand Thibeault making up the top-5. Nocera lost two spots as both Thibeault
\nand Kevin Gambacorta got by, dropping him from third back to sixth place.
\nThibeault made a pass on Hinze to take over second place on lap-18 and he
\ncaught up to Provost on the final lap. Entering turn 3, Thibeault made
\ncontact with Provost, which sent Provost spinning. Thibeault took the
\ncheckered flag but he was penalized for the contact to the last car on the
\nlead lap, making Casagrande the winner. Gambacorta was second, with Hinze,
\nNocera, and Flannery rounding out the top-5.<\/p>\n

In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, Vince Gambacorta took the lead at
\nthe drop of the green flag with Nick Salva sliding into second. Kris
\nFluckiger was third, but he was overtaken by Albert Saunders, who also went
\nby Salva for second on lap-4. Saunders\u2019 pass on Salva opened the door for
\nKyle Casagrande to follow him by Salva.<\/p>\n

Salva continued to slide backwards as Don Wood, Josh Wood, and David Arute
\nall were able to move past. Saunders took the lead from Gambacorta on lap-7
\nwith Casagrande moving into second behind Saunders. Saunders held the lead
\nuntil lap-12 when he had trouble getting by the lapped car of Al Jurczyk,
\nwhich gave Casagrande an opportunity to take the lead and Casagrande
\ncapitalized on the opportunity. Saunders was glued to Casagrande\u2019s bumper
\nin the closing laps, but he was unable to make a pass as Casagrande took
\ndown his third feature win of the 2011 season. Albert Saunders finished
\nsecond, with Don Wood, Josh Wood, and Vince Gambacorta 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

SK MODIFIED\u00ae (40)
\n1) Keith Rocco, Meriden
\n2) Eric Berndt, Cromwell
\n3) Ryan Preece, Berlin
\n4) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
\n5) Curt Brainard, Canton
\n6) Todd Owen, Somers
\n7) Frank Ruocco, Cheshire
\n8) Matt Gallo, Kensington
\n9) Nichole Morgillo, Wallingford
\n10) Tom Bolles, Ellington
\n11) John Montesanto, North Branford
\n12) Vinny Anglace, Ansonia
\n13) Michael King, Agawam, Ma
\n14) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Ma
\n15) Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, Ny
\n16) Dan Avery, Somers
\n17) Brian Sullivan, South Windsor
\n18) Heather DesRochers, Granby, Ma
\n19) Michael Gervais, Jr., Southbury
\n20) Chris Matthews, Stafford
\n21) Kirk Zervas, Winthrop, Ma
\n22) Sean Foster, Willington
\n23) Ted Christopher, Plainville
\n24) Michael Bennett, Stafford Springs
\n25) Mark Bakaj, Lebanon<\/p>\n

LATE MODEL (30)
\n1) Keith Rocco, Meriden
\n2) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
\n3) Jim Peterson, Monson, Ma
\n4) Adam Gray, Belchertown, Ma
\n5) Walt Wosko, Jr., West Suffield
\n6) Ryan Posocco, Stafford Springs
\n7) Patrick Townsend, Springifeld, Ma
\n8) Corey Hutchings, Salem
\n9) J.J. Hill, Stafford Springs
\n10) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, Ma
\n11) John Kasper, Wilbraham, Ma
\n12) Scott Cook, Uncasville
\n13) Mark St. Hilaire, Berlin
\n14) Dillon Moltz, Waterford
\n15) Tony Lafo, Higganum
\n16) John Pysher, Brimfield, Ma
\n17) Tom Butler, Stafford Springs<\/p>\n

SK LIGHT MODIFIED (20)
\n1) Joey Cipriano, III, Waterbury
\n2) Frank Cardile, Bolton
\n3) Matt Galko, Meriden
\n4) Zach Aszklar, Wallingford
\n5) Cody Gneiting, Broad Brook
\n6) Kyle Spencer, Montgomery, Ma
\n7) Jay Goff, Stafford Springs
\n8) Jesse Ruocco, Cheshire
\n9) Bobt Charland, Stafford
\n10) Rick Williams, Haddam
\n11) Paul Tommasino, Meriden
\n12) Shayne Prucker, Stafford Springs
\n13) Tommy Barrett, Jr., Millis, Ma
\n14) Dylan Liseo, East Hartford
\n15) Tony Membrino, Jr., Plantsville
\n16) Tommy Membrino, Jr., Prospect
\n17) Harry Wheeler, Stafford Springs
\n18) Dylan Kopec, Palmer, Ma
\n19) Stephen Greer, Harwinton
\n20) Tony Santangelo, Middlefield<\/p>\n

LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)
\n1) Cory Casagrande, Stafford Springs
\n2) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
\n3) Jesse Hinze, Farmington
\n4) George Nocera, Jr., Plainville
\n5) Dan Flannery, Ellington
\n6) D.J. Burnham, East Hartford
\n7) Chris Cook, Pepperell, Ma
\n8) Joe Nogiec, Bristol
\n9) Marshall Usher, Monson, Ma
\n10) Jeff Hubbell, Naugatuck
\n11) Paul Varricchio, Jr., Berlin
\n12) Carla Botticello, Manchester
\n13) Duane Provost, Indian Orchard, Ma
\n14) Shawn Thibeault, Plainville
\n15) Norm Sears, Andover<\/p>\n

DARE STOCK (15)
\n1) Kyle Casagrande, Stafford Springs
\n2) Albert Saunders, Stafford
\n3) Don Wood, Palmer, Ma
\n4) Josh Wood, Palmer, Ma
\n5) Vince Gambacorta, Ellington
\n6) David Arute, Tolland
\n7) Nick Salva, Prospect
\n8) Andrew Hayes, Charlton, Ma
\n9) Cliff Saunders, Stafford
\n10) Kris Fluckiger, Enfield
\n11) Brandon Michael, Cranville, Ma
\n12) Austin Bessette, Stafford Springs
\n13) Kelsey Rottino, Willimantic
\n14) Kaitlyn Brice, Manchester
\n15) Andrew Marchese, Tolland
\n16) Doug Phelps, Jr., New Salem, Ma
\n17) James Carroll, West Hartford
\n18) Al Jurczyk, Brimfield, Ma
\n19) David Macha, Columbia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ROCCO, CIPRIANO, CASAGRANDE, & CASAGRANDE SCORE JULY 1st FIRST NIAGARA NIGHT FEATURE WINS AT STAFFORD (Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway was back in action on Friday, July 1st with a new event sponsor in First Niagara for the First Niagara Independence Day Fireworks Celebration. Keith Rocco was the big winner of the night as he doubled […]<\/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-5967","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\/5967","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=5967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5967\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}