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RGeeProductions
11-22-2010, 06:17 PM
KEITH ROCCO, RYAN POSOCCO, MATT GALKO, DAN FLANNERY,
AND TONY MEMBRINO, JR. HONORED AS 2010 STAFFORD SPEEDWAY TRACK CHAMPIONS

Stafford Motor Speedway welcomed a guest list of
nearly 500 people consisting of teams, drivers, sponsors, and employees this
past Friday night, November 19 at the La Renaissance Banquet Facility in
East Windsor to officially honor Keith Rocco, Ryan Posocco, Matt Galko, Dan
Flannery, and Tony Membrino, Jr. as the 2010 Stafford Motor Speedway NASCAR
Whelen All-American Series track champions.

With Stafford Motor Speedway broadcasters Matt Buckler and Joe Coss serving
as the Masters of Ceremony, the 41st annual Stafford Motor Speedway NASCAR
Champions Awards Ceremony not only honored the five track champions, it also
honored the top-20 points finishers from the SK Modified®, Late Model, SK
Light, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock divisions. Other awards that were
presented during the evening’s festivities were Most Popular Driver Awards,
Most Improved Driver Awards, Reliable Welding & Speed Rookie of the Year
awards, and the Craftsman Mechanic of the Year Award.

The race for the 2010 SK Modified® championship began and ended with Keith
Rocco in victory lane. In between his season opening CARQUEST Tech-Net
Spring Sizzler and CARQUEST Fall Final feature victories this season were 8
more feature wins to give Rocco a Stafford SK Modified® record 10 wins. In
20 starts this season, Rocco collected 16 top-5, and 19 top-10 finishes
along with his 10 wins for an amazing average finish of 3.4, which allowed
him to win the championship by a whopping 138-point margin over Woody
Pitkat. Rocco also finished in 7th place in the Late Model points standings
this season with one victory.

The 2010 Late Model championship chase saw Ryan Posocco complete the “Drive
for Five” as he collected his record fifth Late Model track championship at
Stafford. The points race was a tight race all season long between Posocco,
Woody Pitkat, and Dillon Moltz, which ended up coming down to the last race
with Posocco and Pitkat separated by only 6 points as Moltz faded from
contention. Pitkat ended up winning the CARQUEST Fall Final feature event
for his division leading 8th win of the season, but Posocco finished third,
which was enough to give him the championship by the smallest of margins, 2
points. In addition to locking down his fifth track championship, it was
also a season of milestones for Posocco at Stafford as he surpassed 40
career Late Model feature race and he reached 50 career victories at
Stafford with 43 Late Model wins and 7 DARE Stock wins. Posocco posted 4
wins, 13 top-5 and 19 top-10 finishes 20 starts this season.

In the SK Light Modified division, a rookie driver claimed the championship
for the second consecutive season. Matt Galko took over the points lead
midway through the season and looked to be heading comfortably towards the
championship. But Tommy Barrett, Jr. was in the middle of a white hot
winning streak, winning 8 of 9 races, while Galko finished 13th or worse 3
times in four races leading up to the CARQUEST Fall Final, putting Galko 6
points behind Barrett for the final race of the season. But Barrett
encountered trouble in the opening laps of the race while Galko went on to
win the race and the track championship. Galko posted 4 wins, 13 top-5, and
16 top-10 finishes in 21 starts to win the championship by 32 points over
Barrett.

One year after a flat tire eliminated him from championship contention, Dan
Flannery returned strong to the Limited Late Model division and took the
championship with a division leading 6 feature victories. Although Flannery
led the division in wins, he had to contend with Dave Yardley, III as well
as defending track champion Andrew Durand in the chase for the championship.
Heading into the final race of the year, Flannery and Yardley were separated
by only 6 points. But like Galko, Flannery won the final race to take the
championship in grand style by 12 points over Yardley. Along with his 6
wins, Flannery also led the division with 15 top-5 and 19 top-10 finishes.

Just as the SK Light Modified division had a rookie driver win the
championship for the second consecutive season, the DARE Stock division had
the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler feature winner win the championship for
the third consecutive season. Tony Membrino, Jr. matched the feat that was
turned by Norm Sears in 2008 and Don Wood last year. Membrino enjoyed a
remarkable season, finishing no lower than seventh place all year long and
he took the championship by a 42 point margin over Jeff Jolly. Membrino
posted 1 win, 16 top-5, and 21 top-10 finishes in 21 starts this sason.

Receiving awards for Most Improved Driver were Zach Sylvester in the SK
Modified® division, Adam Gray in the Late Model division, Erica Santos in
the SK Light division, and Michael Wray in the Limited Late Model division.
The Most Improved Driver award is given to a driver who exhibits the
greatest degree of improvement in on-track performance over the past season.
Nominees are selected and voted upon by a committee of select Stafford Motor
Speedway management and track officials.

The Reliable Welding & Speed Rookie of the Year awards were presented by
Brad and Linda Hietala of Reliable Welding and Speed to Josh Sylvester from
the SK Modified® division, Tim Fogg from the Late Model division, Matt Galko
from the SK Light division, and Duane Provost from the Limited Late Model
division. The awards will be worth a $700.00 bonus to Sylvester, and
$500.00 bonuses to Fogg, Galko, and Provost from Reliable Welding and Speed.
Each Rookie of the Year bonus will be paid out in $100.00 weekly increments
to each driver as they attend events during the 2011 season.

The winners of the Most Popular Driver Awards were Woody Pitkat in the SK
Modified® and Late Model divisions, Erica Santos from the SK Light division,
Andrew Durand from the Limited Late Model division, and Cory Casagrande from
the DARE Stock division. The Most Popular Driver Awards are voted on by the
fans who attend Stafford Motor Speedway race events and fill out the ballots
found weekly in the track’s PitStopper Magazine.

The Craftsman Mechanic of the Year Award was awarded to Stephen Butova
Berardi. Butova prepared and maintained Frank Ruocco’s SK Modified® machine
that visited CARQUEST Victory Lane 4 times this season, including the
prestigious CARQUEST SK 150. The Craftsman Mechanic of the Year Award is
voted on by Stafford crew members who possess a valid 2010 NASCAR License.

For more information about the 2010 Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards
Ceremony, or to order a video of the night’s festivities, contact the
Stafford Motor Speedway’s track office at (860) 684-2783 or visit us on the
web at www.staffordspeedway.com.

Scott Running