RGeeProductions
05-16-2009, 12:03 AM
ROCCO, POSOCCO, SANTANGELO, THIBEAULT, THOMPSON, & LaPORTA
SCORE MAY 15th WHELEN EVENT NIGHT FEATURE WINS AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY
Stafford Motor Speedway returned to racing action
with Whelen Event Night on Friday, May 15. Taking down feature victories
were Keith Rocco in the SK Modified® feature and Ryan Posocco in the Late
Model feature. Tony Santangelo scored his second consecutive SK Light
Modified feature win, while Shawn Thibeault took his first career Limited
Late Model feature victory. With two DARE Stock feature events on the card,
Robert Thompson and Todd LaPorta drove to CARQUEST Victory Lane.
The 40-lap SK Modified® feature took the green flag with the action at the
front of the pack fast and furious. Keith Rocco moved to the lead on lap-2
after riding side by side with Curt Brainard for the first lap. Frank
Ruocco made a bid for the lead on lap-3, taking the lead from Rocco in turn
3 only to have Rocco pull the crossover move and retake the lead coming out
of the fourth turn.
Rocco held the lead until lap-12 when Ted Christopher made a move to the
inside of Rocco in turn 4. Christopher and Rocco ran nose to tail until
lap-23 when Rocco made a bottom shot move on Christohper in turn 1 to retake
the lead. Rocco began to stretch his lead out over Christopher, but his
lead was erased when the caution came out with 37 laps complete for a spin
by Nichole Morgillo.
On the restart, Christopher was judged to have jumped the restart and was
penalized one lap. That put Woody Pitkat alongside Rocco for the restart.
After several more caution periods, it was down to a green white checkered
finish. Pitkat hung tough on the outside of Rocco, but he came up a half
car length short at the checkered flag. Rounding out the top-5 behind Rocco
and Pitkat was Ruocco, Jeff Malave, and Curt Brainard.
The 30-lap Late Model feature came down to a wild three-car duel between Jim
Peterson, Dillon Moltz, and Posocco. Tom Fearn took the lead at the drop of
the green flag and he held down the top spot for the first 9 laps before
Peterson dove to the inside of Fearn and took the lead on lap-10. Moltz was
riding in third behind Peterson and Fearn, while Posocco was busy charging
through the field after an early race spin left him at the tail end of the
field.
A caution with 25 laps complete set up a five lap shoot-out to the finish.
On the restart, the cars of Peterson and Moltz made contact, which got both
cars slightly out of shape and opened up the bottom groove for Posocco to go
from third to first. Posocco held strong once he got to the lead and he led
the final 5 circuits to cap off his worst to first run after his early spin.
Peterson finished second, with Moltz, Scott Cook, and Fearn rounding out the
top-5.
The 20-lap SK Light Modified began with Brit Andersen taking a hard ride
into the turn 2 wall after he touched tires with the car of Tommy Membrino,
Jr. with one lap completed. Harry Wheeler took the early race lead, and
over the first five laps of the race, he built up a small lead over the
second place tandem of Earl Pelletier and Ted Cain. By the halfway point of
the race, Tony Santangelo had moved by both Pelletier and he pulled a train
of 8 cars up to the bumper of Wheeler. A caution with 12 laps complete
slowed the action and put the cars back into a double file restart.
There was a pileup of cars in turn 2 underneath the DiamondVision screen on
the restart that collected 7 cars who were running at the rear of the field.
On the restart, Santangelo moved from third to first and brought Cain with
him by Wheeler. Cain was glued to the back bumper of Santangelo, searching
for a way to make a pass for the lead. Several times Cain pulled to the
inside of Santangelo, but he was unable to make a pass stick. Santangelo
stayed steady out front and he led the final 8 laps of the race to take his
second consecutive feature victory. Cain finished second, with John
Montesanto, Michael Gervais, Jr., and Jay Goff rounding out the top-5.
The 20-lap Limited Late Model feature took the green flag with Jeff Hubbell
leading the first three laps before giving way to Dave Yardley, III.
Yardley held the race lead until a restart on lap-9 when Shawn Thibeault
charged by Yardley to take the race lead.
Dennis Botticello was the car on the move in the second half of the race as
he worked his way up to second and ran Thibeault down. Botticello tried
both the high and low grooves to find a way around Thibeault, but was not
able to make the pass. Thibeault held off Botticello to the checkered flag
to record his first career victory at Stafford Motor Speedway. Botticello
finished second, with Andrew Durand, Carla Botticello, and Yardley rounding
out the top-5.
In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature that was picked up from lap-2 on May 8th,
Robert Thompson streaked past Melissa Blowers to take the early race lead.
Once he was into the lead, Thompson began to stretch his lead out, but his
lead was erased with 7 laps complete by the caution flag. Thompson was up
to the challenge on the restart and he powered back to the lead. Don Wood
and Albert Saunders were locked in a great duel for second behind Thompson.
Thompson again began to stretch his lead out, but it was erased once again
by the yellow flag on lap-13, setting up a green white checkered flag
finish. Thompson again powered into the lead and he led the final two laps
to take the victory. Saunders overtook Wood for second place, with Cliff
Saunders and Kyle Casagrande rounding out the top-5 behind Wood.
In the regularly schedule DARE Stock feature event, Todd LaPorta took the
lead at the green and Matt Chiarizio moved into second. LaPorta and
Chiarizio ran nose to tail and began to pull away from the field, but their
margin was erased by the caution flag with 8 laps complete. With the race
back under green, LaPorta powered out front with Chiarizio right behind him.
The race was red flagged with 12 laps complete after Jim Brice took a hard
spin into the turn 1 wall. LaPorta continued to hold the lead on the
restart with Jeff Jolly charging from fourth up to second. Chiarizio began
to slide back, but the battle was on at the front of the field between Jolly
and LaPorta. LaPorta was able to hold off Jolly’s charge as he wired the
field to take his first victory of the 2009 season. Jolly finished second,
with Tom Stirk, Robert Thompson, and Albert Saunders rounding out the top5.
For more information contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
(860) 684-2783, or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Scott Running
SCORE MAY 15th WHELEN EVENT NIGHT FEATURE WINS AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY
Stafford Motor Speedway returned to racing action
with Whelen Event Night on Friday, May 15. Taking down feature victories
were Keith Rocco in the SK Modified® feature and Ryan Posocco in the Late
Model feature. Tony Santangelo scored his second consecutive SK Light
Modified feature win, while Shawn Thibeault took his first career Limited
Late Model feature victory. With two DARE Stock feature events on the card,
Robert Thompson and Todd LaPorta drove to CARQUEST Victory Lane.
The 40-lap SK Modified® feature took the green flag with the action at the
front of the pack fast and furious. Keith Rocco moved to the lead on lap-2
after riding side by side with Curt Brainard for the first lap. Frank
Ruocco made a bid for the lead on lap-3, taking the lead from Rocco in turn
3 only to have Rocco pull the crossover move and retake the lead coming out
of the fourth turn.
Rocco held the lead until lap-12 when Ted Christopher made a move to the
inside of Rocco in turn 4. Christopher and Rocco ran nose to tail until
lap-23 when Rocco made a bottom shot move on Christohper in turn 1 to retake
the lead. Rocco began to stretch his lead out over Christopher, but his
lead was erased when the caution came out with 37 laps complete for a spin
by Nichole Morgillo.
On the restart, Christopher was judged to have jumped the restart and was
penalized one lap. That put Woody Pitkat alongside Rocco for the restart.
After several more caution periods, it was down to a green white checkered
finish. Pitkat hung tough on the outside of Rocco, but he came up a half
car length short at the checkered flag. Rounding out the top-5 behind Rocco
and Pitkat was Ruocco, Jeff Malave, and Curt Brainard.
The 30-lap Late Model feature came down to a wild three-car duel between Jim
Peterson, Dillon Moltz, and Posocco. Tom Fearn took the lead at the drop of
the green flag and he held down the top spot for the first 9 laps before
Peterson dove to the inside of Fearn and took the lead on lap-10. Moltz was
riding in third behind Peterson and Fearn, while Posocco was busy charging
through the field after an early race spin left him at the tail end of the
field.
A caution with 25 laps complete set up a five lap shoot-out to the finish.
On the restart, the cars of Peterson and Moltz made contact, which got both
cars slightly out of shape and opened up the bottom groove for Posocco to go
from third to first. Posocco held strong once he got to the lead and he led
the final 5 circuits to cap off his worst to first run after his early spin.
Peterson finished second, with Moltz, Scott Cook, and Fearn rounding out the
top-5.
The 20-lap SK Light Modified began with Brit Andersen taking a hard ride
into the turn 2 wall after he touched tires with the car of Tommy Membrino,
Jr. with one lap completed. Harry Wheeler took the early race lead, and
over the first five laps of the race, he built up a small lead over the
second place tandem of Earl Pelletier and Ted Cain. By the halfway point of
the race, Tony Santangelo had moved by both Pelletier and he pulled a train
of 8 cars up to the bumper of Wheeler. A caution with 12 laps complete
slowed the action and put the cars back into a double file restart.
There was a pileup of cars in turn 2 underneath the DiamondVision screen on
the restart that collected 7 cars who were running at the rear of the field.
On the restart, Santangelo moved from third to first and brought Cain with
him by Wheeler. Cain was glued to the back bumper of Santangelo, searching
for a way to make a pass for the lead. Several times Cain pulled to the
inside of Santangelo, but he was unable to make a pass stick. Santangelo
stayed steady out front and he led the final 8 laps of the race to take his
second consecutive feature victory. Cain finished second, with John
Montesanto, Michael Gervais, Jr., and Jay Goff rounding out the top-5.
The 20-lap Limited Late Model feature took the green flag with Jeff Hubbell
leading the first three laps before giving way to Dave Yardley, III.
Yardley held the race lead until a restart on lap-9 when Shawn Thibeault
charged by Yardley to take the race lead.
Dennis Botticello was the car on the move in the second half of the race as
he worked his way up to second and ran Thibeault down. Botticello tried
both the high and low grooves to find a way around Thibeault, but was not
able to make the pass. Thibeault held off Botticello to the checkered flag
to record his first career victory at Stafford Motor Speedway. Botticello
finished second, with Andrew Durand, Carla Botticello, and Yardley rounding
out the top-5.
In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature that was picked up from lap-2 on May 8th,
Robert Thompson streaked past Melissa Blowers to take the early race lead.
Once he was into the lead, Thompson began to stretch his lead out, but his
lead was erased with 7 laps complete by the caution flag. Thompson was up
to the challenge on the restart and he powered back to the lead. Don Wood
and Albert Saunders were locked in a great duel for second behind Thompson.
Thompson again began to stretch his lead out, but it was erased once again
by the yellow flag on lap-13, setting up a green white checkered flag
finish. Thompson again powered into the lead and he led the final two laps
to take the victory. Saunders overtook Wood for second place, with Cliff
Saunders and Kyle Casagrande rounding out the top-5 behind Wood.
In the regularly schedule DARE Stock feature event, Todd LaPorta took the
lead at the green and Matt Chiarizio moved into second. LaPorta and
Chiarizio ran nose to tail and began to pull away from the field, but their
margin was erased by the caution flag with 8 laps complete. With the race
back under green, LaPorta powered out front with Chiarizio right behind him.
The race was red flagged with 12 laps complete after Jim Brice took a hard
spin into the turn 1 wall. LaPorta continued to hold the lead on the
restart with Jeff Jolly charging from fourth up to second. Chiarizio began
to slide back, but the battle was on at the front of the field between Jolly
and LaPorta. LaPorta was able to hold off Jolly’s charge as he wired the
field to take his first victory of the 2009 season. Jolly finished second,
with Tom Stirk, Robert Thompson, and Albert Saunders rounding out the top5.
For more information contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
(860) 684-2783, or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Scott Running