{"id":9741,"date":"2012-05-20T21:12:13","date_gmt":"2012-05-21T01:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/?p=9741"},"modified":"2012-05-20T21:15:21","modified_gmt":"2012-05-21T01:15:21","slug":"albert-saunders-wins-xtra-mart-dare-stock-xtra-d-feature-stafford-speedway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/2012\/05\/albert-saunders-wins-xtra-mart-dare-stock-xtra-d-feature-stafford-speedway\/","title":{"rendered":"ALBERT SAUNDERS WINS XTRA MART DARE STOCK XTRA D FEATURE AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Stafford\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PITKAT, ST. HILAIRE, HINES, & WOOD ALSO SCORE MAY 18th FEATURE WINS<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Stafford Springs, CT)— Stafford Speedway was back on track with the Xtra
\nMart DARE Stock Xtra D program on Friday night, May 18th. Albert Saunders
\ndrove to victory in the extra distance 20-lap DARE Stock feature to score
\nhis second consecutive feature victory. Woody Pitkat was the winner of a
\nwild and thrilling 40-lap SK Modified\u00ae feature event, Mark St. Hilaire was
\nthe a first time winner in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Tyler Hines was a
\nfirst time winner in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, and Josh Wood
\nscored his third consecutive Limited Late Model feature victory of the 2012
\nseason in the 20-lap feature.
\n<\/p>\n

In the 20-lap Xtra Mart DARE Stock Xtra D feature event, Andy Marchese took
\nthe early lead ahead of James Carroll. Carroll\u2019s time in second was short
\nas Stephanie Berardi and Vince Gambacorta moved by Carroll. Last week\u2019s
\nwinner Albert Saunders was on the charge in the early stages and by the time
\nthe race hit the halfway point, he was right on Marchese\u2019s bumper fighting
\nfor the race lead.<\/p>\n

Saunders was able to get by Marchese on lap-11 and his move opened the door
\nfor Austin Bessette to follow Saunders by Marchese. Bessette got loose in
\nturn 2 on lap-12 and he fell back to fifth place as Marchese, Kyle
\nCasagrande, and Cliff Saunders all got by Bessette.<\/p>\n

Albert Saunders was pulling away from the field while Casagrande was working
\nhis way into second place with Cliff Saunders following Casagrande towards
\nthe front. The caution came out with 15 laps complete for a spin by Berardi
\nand Marchese through the infield grass.<\/p>\n

Albert Saunders and Casagrande were side by side for a lap on the restart
\nwith Saunders getting clear to the lead. Cliff Saunders got to the inside
\nof Casagrande one lap after the restart and he brought Bessette with him as
\nCasagrande fell from second back to fourth place. Gambacorta was in fifth
\nplace, with Kris Fluckiger right behind him in sixth place.<\/p>\n

Albert Saunders led the field to the checkered flag to pick up his second
\nconsecutive DARE Stock feature victory. Cliff Saunders finished second,
\nwith Bessette, Casagrande, and Gambacorta rounding out the top-5. Each
\ntop-5 finisher took home and extra $50 bonus courtesy of Xtra Mart
\nConvenience Stores.<\/p>\n

In the 40-lap SK Modified\u00ae feature event, Tom Bolles led the field to the
\ngreen and he led the first two laps before Frank Ruocco moved to the front
\non lap-3. Woody Pitkat followed Ruocco by Bolles and Ryan Preece was able
\nto make the move by Bolles one lap after Pitakt made his move. Glen Reen
\nwas fifth behind Bolles and Preece was able to move by Pitkat for second on
\nlap-7.<\/p>\n

Preece closed right in on Ruocco\u2019s bumper and began to search for a way
\naround Ruocco. Preece took to the high groove after several laps of
\nfollowing Ruocco around the track and he was able to pull alongside Ruocco
\nseveral times, but couldn\u2019t complete the pass. Preece tried a crossover
\nmove on lap-12 and he and Ruocco touched but Ruocco was again able to
\nmaintain the race lead. With Ruocco and Preece dueling for the lead, Pitkat
\nwas able to close the distance to the lead pair and made it a three-way
\nfight for the lead with 15 laps complete.<\/p>\n

The duel between Ruocco and Preece ended with 20 laps complete as the two
\ncars made contact in turn 1 with Ruocco\u2019s car hitting the turn 1 wall to
\nbring the caution out. Preece was sent to the rear of the field by NASCAR
\nOfficials for the contact with Ruocco. This put Pitakt and Reen on the
\nfront row for the restart with Todd Owen and Danny Cates in the second row.
\nPitakt took the lead back under green with Reen settling into second. The
\ncaution came out with 22 laps complete for a spin by Dan Avery and Kyle
\nSpencer in turn 1, while in turn 2 there was a multicar spin involving about
\n7 cars. Ted Christopher was sent to the rear of the field by NASCAR
\nOfficals for contact which put Eric Berndt alongside Owen in the second row
\nbehind Pitakt and Reen for the restart.<\/p>\n

Pitakt and Reen stayed side by side for a lap and a half before Pitkat was
\nable to get clear to the lead. Reen stayed right on Pitakt\u2019s bumper with
\nBerndt in third. Nichole Morgillo was now up to fourth with Keith Rocco
\nright behind her. Rocco made the move around Morgillo on lap-25 to move
\ninto fourth. Berndt was able to get past Reen just before Tommy Membrino,
\nJr. brought out the caution with 27 laps complete with a spin in turn 3.
\nPitkat took the elad back under green but Rocco was on the charge and he
\nmoved to the lead on lap-29. Rocco\u2019s move opened the door for Reen to pull
\nalongside Pitkat, but the two cars remained side by side, allowing Rocco to
\npull away a couple of car lengths. Right behind the side by side duo of
\nReen and Pitkat was Michael Gervais, Jr. and Ryan Preece, who were also side
\nby side.<\/p>\n

Preece stayed in the outside groove and he went from fifth to second passing
\nGervais, Berndt, Reen, and Pitkat. The caution came back out with 34 laps
\ncomplete as Reen and Berndt touched wheels on the frontstretch with Berndt
\ngoing through the grass. Once Berndt hit the grass, he lost control of his
\ncar and he came back on the track and collected the cars of Morgillo and
\nTodd Owen. Reen was sent to the rear of the field for the contact with
\nBerndt. The restart order was now Rocco and Preece on the front row with
\nPitkat and Gervais in the second row.<\/p>\n

Preece and Rocco were side by side for a half lap before Preece backed off
\nheading into turn 3 and he was able to pull alongside Rocco. Danny Cates
\nspun in turn 2 to bring the caution back out with 35 laps complete with
\nRocco holding the lead over Preece, Pitkat, Gervais, and Ted Christopher.
\nOn the restart, Rocco and Preece raced side by side for 2 laps with Preece
\nthe leader at the line before Rocco got cleared of Preece on lap-38. Preece
\nmade a last ditch effort coming to the checkered flag and he made contact
\nwith Rocco\u2019s car, which resulted in Rocco spinning. Preece took the
\ncheckered flag first, but he was penalized to the last car on the lead lap
\nby officials for the contact with Rocco, making Pitkat the winner. Gervais
\ncame home in second, with Christopher, Cates, and XXX rounding out the
\ntop-5.<\/p>\n

In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Ed Ricard took the lead at the green
\nflag ahead of Mark St. Hilaire and Corey Hutchings. Adam Gray was fourth
\nand Jim Peterson was in fifth in the early laps. On lap-5, Tom Fearn and
\nMike Quintiliano went by Keith Rocco to move into sixth and seventh place.
\nThe next lap saw Ricard slip up the track in turn 3, wh ich allowed both St.
\nHilaire and Hutchings to get by Ricard. Scott Cook brought out the caution
\nout with 7 laps complete as his car was smoking and dropped fluid on the
\ntrack.<\/p>\n

Back under green, Hutchings got by St. Hilaire to take over the race lead.
\nGray took third, with Peterson ahead of Fearn. The cars ran in line until
\nlap-13 when Fearn got by Peterson to take over fourth place. Fearn
\ncontinued his charge as he and Peterson both got by Gray to move into third
\nand fourth.<\/p>\n

With 5 laps to go, St. Hilaire, Hutchings, Fearn, and Peterson were locked
\nin a four car train for the top spot. Hutchings was able to close to St.
\nHilaire\u2019s bumper and he gave St. Hilaire several shots, but St. Hilaire held
\nstrong and picked up his first career Late Model feature victory at Stafford
\nSpeedway. Hutchings finished second, with Fearn, Peterson, and Gray
\nrounding out the top-5.<\/p>\n

In the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature event, Rick Williams took the lead
\nat the drop of the green and he took the lead ahead of Bob Charland, Jay
\nGoff, Tyler Hines, and Dylan Kopec. Hines made a move around Goff for third
\non lap-3 and Charland almost made a pass for the lead. Goff spun coming out
\nof turn 4 but was able to get going again and the race stayed green.
\nWilliams stayed out front until lap-8 when Charland made a pass to take over
\nthe lead. Charland\u2019s move opened the door for Hines to follow him by
\nWilliams. Hines\u2019 time in second was short lived as both Zach Aszklar and
\nKopec got by, dropping Hines from second back to fourth as Charland
\ncontinued to hold the race lead. Aszklar\u2019s good run came to an end as he
\ngot loose and spun in turn 2 to bring the caution out with 13 laps complete.
\nBack under green, Kopec got a good to the outside of Charland and he was
\nable to take the lead. Hines was third behind Charland, with Williams and
\nthe side by side duo of Tony Membrino, Jr. and Ronnie Williams making up the
\ntop-6. Ronnie Williams brought the caution out with 17 laps complete with a
\nspin in turn 3.<\/p>\n

On the restart Kopec was penalized for jumping the start and he was put to
\nthe rear of the field. The next restart saw a three-wide scramble for the
\nlead between Charland, Hines, and Harry Wheeler with Wheeler taking the
\nlead. Wheeler didn\u2019t stay out front long as Charland and Hines went by him
\non the next lap. Hines then took the lead from Charland with 2 laps to go
\nand he led Charland back to the checkered flag to pick up his first career
\nSK Light feature victory. Charland finished second, with Membrino, Aszklar,
\nand Scott Bouley rounding out the top-5.<\/p>\n

In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, it was immediately three
\nwide at the drop of the green with D.J. Burnham going by both Dennis
\nBotticello and Jesse Hinze to take the lead on the first lap. Cory
\nCasagrande quickly came through to second, with Hinze, Josh Wood, and Carla
\nBotticello making up the top-5 in the early laps. Carla Botticello spun
\ncoming out of turn 4 to bring the caution out with 6 laps complete.
\nOn the restart, Burnham didn\u2019t come up to speed right away, which
\nbottlenecked the inside line . Duane Provost ran in to the back of the car
\nin front of him and buckled his hood, which resulted in him being black
\nflagged. Casagrande took the lead on the restart, but Wood quickly made a
\npass for the lead on lap-9. Hinze ran in third, with David Arute and
\nBurnham making up the top-5. Burnham got by Arute for fourth place on
\nlap-11 while Wood continued to hold the lead over Casagrande. Hinze spun in
\nturn 2 to bring the caution back out with 13 laps complete after contact
\nwith Burnham. Burnham was sent to the rear of the field by NASCAR Officials
\nfor the contact with Hinze.<\/p>\n

On the restart, Wood took the lead and Casagrande settled into line right
\nbehind him. Arute was in third, with Justin Bren and Andrew Hayes making up
\nthe top-5. While Casagrande was able to keep pace with Wood in the previous
\ngreen flag run, Wood was slowly stretching out his advantage and he pulled
\naway to make it three wins in three tries thusfar in his rookie season of
\nLimited Late Model competition at Stafford. Casagrande was able to hold off
\na hard charging Arute to take second, while Hayes and Dennis Botticello
\nrounded out the top-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) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
\n2) Michael Gervais, Jr., Southbury
\n3) Ted Christopher, Plainville
\n4) Danny Cates, Chaplin
\n5) Matt Galko, Meriden
\n6) Brian Sullivan, South Windsor
\n7) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Ma
\n8) Tom Bolles, Ellington
\n9) Curt Brainard, Canton
\n10) Joe Gada, Salem
\n11) Nick Boivin, Belchertown, Ma
\n12) Tommy Membrino, Jr., Prospect
\n13) Todd Owen, Somers
\n14) Kurt Lenahan, Roxbury
\n15) Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, Ny
\n16) Michael Bennett, Stafford Springs
\n17) Eric Berndt, Cromwell
\n18) Matt Gallo, Kensington
\n19) Keith Rocco, Meriden
\n20) Ryan Preece, Berlin
\n21) John Montesanto, North Branford
\n22) Nichole Morgillo, Wallingford
\n23) Mike King, Agawam, Ma
\n24) Sean Foster, Willington
\n25) Kyle Spencer, Montgomery, Ma
\n26) Dan Avery, Somers
\n27) Frank Ruocco, Cheshire
\n28) Chris Matthews, Stafford<\/p>\n

LATE MODEL (30)
\n1) Mark St. Hilaire, Berlin
\n2) Corey Hutchings, Salem
\n3) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, Ma
\n4) Jim Peterson, Monson, Ma
\n5) Adam Gray, Belchertown, Ma
\n6) Keith Rocco, Meriden
\n7) Mike Quintiliano, Shelton
\n8) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
\n9) Adam Norton, Brookfield, Ma
\n10) Patrick Townsend, Springifeld, Ma
\n11) J.J. Hill, Stafford Springs
\n12) Ed Ricard, Stafford Springs
\n13) Tom Butler, Stafford Springs
\n14) Tony Lafo, Higganum
\n15) Scott Cook, Uncasville<\/p>\n

SK LIGHT MODIFIED (20)
\n1) Tyler Hines, North Haven
\n2) Bob Charland, Stafford
\n3) Tony Membrino, Jr., Plantsville
\n4) Zach Aszklar, Wallingford
\n5) Scott Bouley, Thomaston
\n6) Ronnie Williams, Tolland
\n7) Harry Wheeler, Stafford Springs
\n8) Dylan Kopec, Palmer, Ma
\n9) Rick Williams, Haddam
\n10) Payton Henry, Willington
\n11) Joe Boivin, Belchertown, Ma
\n12) Joey Ferrigno, East Hartford
\n13) Jay Goff, Stafford Springs
\n14) Dylan Campbell, Southborough, Ma<\/p>\n

LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)
\n1) Josh Wood, Palmer, Ma
\n2) Cory Casagrande, Stafford Springs
\n3) David Arute, Tolland
\n4) Andrew Hayes, Charlton, Ma
\n5) Dennis Botticello, Suffield
\n6) D.J. Burnham, East Hartford
\n7) Justin Bren, Monson, Ma
\n8) Glenn Bartkowski, Manchester
\n9) Joe Nogiec, Bristol
\n10) Jesse Hinze, Farmington
\n11) Carla Botticello, Manchester
\n12) Duane Provost, Indian Orchard, Ma<\/p>\n

DARE STOCK (15)
\n1) Albert Saunders, Stafford
\n2) Cliff Saunders, Stafford
\n3) Austin Bessette, Stafford Springs
\n4) Kyle Casagrande, Stafford Springs
\n5) Vince Gambacorta, Ellington
\n6) Kris Fluckiger, Enfield
\n7) Monte Gibbs, Killingworth
\n8) Andy Marchese, Tolland
\n9) Trevor Berry, New Preston
\n10) James Carroll, West Hartford
\n11) Johnny Walker, Ludlow, Ma
\n12) Stephanie Berardi, Broad Brook
\n13) Gary Spinnato, Jr., Wallingford
\n14) Jeremy Lavoie, Windsor Locks
\n15) Doug Phelps, New Salem, Ma
\n16) Gus Coelho, Jr., Wilberham, Ma
\n17) David Macha, Sr., Columbia
\n18) Kelsey Rottino, Willimantic<\/p>\n

Visit NERacingForum.Com<\/a> for latest New England Racing community News and updates.<\/p>\n

[adrotate block=”3″]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PITKAT, ST. HILAIRE, HINES, & WOOD ALSO SCORE MAY 18th FEATURE WINS (Stafford Springs, CT)— Stafford Speedway was back on track with the Xtra Mart DARE Stock Xtra D program on Friday night, May 18th. Albert Saunders drove to victory in the extra distance 20-lap DARE Stock feature to score his second consecutive feature victory. […]<\/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":[],"class_list":["post-9741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut","category-modified","category-new-england","category-stafford-connecticut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9741","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=9741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9741\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}