RGeeProductions
06-25-2011, 03:22 AM
ROCCO, MEMBRINO, THIBEAULT, & WOOD SCORE JUNE 24TH LINCOLN TECH MODIFIED
RACING SERIES FEATURE VICTORIES AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY
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 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
The race program was halted by rain during the Modified Racing Series
feature event with 32 laps complete. The Lincoln Tech MRS feature and the
SK Modified® feature will be made up on Friday, July 29th and rain checks
from tonight’s race will be honored on July 29th.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Tony Lafo led the field to green,
but he drifted up the track slightly in turn 2 and J.J. Hill made a strong
three-wide move to take the lead. Keith Rocco followed Hill and moved into
second. John Kasper spun in turn 3 to bring the caution out with one lap
complete. Under the caution, Corey Hutchings’ car came to a stop on the
frontstretch and had to be towed behind the wall.
On the restart, Rocco was hanging tough to the outside of Hill for the race
lead and he led the next two laps at the line. Jim Peterson was third
behind the Hill/Rocco duel with Ryan Posococ and Adam Gray making up the
top-5. On lap-5, Hill got out of shape in turns 3+4 and Peterson moved into
the lead with Posocco taking second. Hill fell from the lead back to fifth
place.
Lap-8 saw Rocco move to the inside of Posocco to take over second. Peterson
continued to lead while Posocco was third and Gray was fourth. Hill was
fifth, but he lost that position to Woody Pitkat on lap-11. Hill was stuck
in the outside groove and he fell back several more spots as Dillon Moltz,
Tom Fearn, and Jim Mavlouganes all got by Hill.
At the halfway point, Peterson continued to hold the lead with Rocco,
Posocco, Pitkat, and Moltz making up the top-5. Rocco was hounding Peterson
for the lead and Rocco was able to make the pass for the lead on lap-20. As
Rocco and Peterson swapped positions, Posocco and Pitkat closed in on the
lead duo, but Posocco drifted up the track in turn 2 on lap-22, which
allowed Pitkat to move into third place.
Rocco led the final 10 laps to take his second feature win of the 2011
season. Peterson finished second, with Pitkat, Posocco, and Moltz rounding
out the top-5.
In the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature event, Joey Cipriano spun in turn 1
at the start and collected were the cars of Frank Cardile and Zach Aszklar.
Cody Gneiting took the lead on the restart with Harry Wheeler behind him in
second. Tommy Membrino, Jr. was third, with Rick Williams fourth and Jay
Goff fifth. The field completed one lap before Shayne Prucker and Dylan
Kopec spun through the frontstretch grass to bring the caution back out.
Both Prucker and Kopec had flat tires and were finished for the evening.
Gneiting again took the lead on the restart with Wheeler and Tommy Membrino
behind him. Membrino went to second past Wheeler on lap-3 and both Kyle
Spencer and Jay Goff followed him by Wheeler. Dylan Liseo was also able to
move by Wheeler on lap-5. The order continued to shuffle as Membrino moved
by Gneiting to take over the race lead on lap-10. Gneiting continued to
hold down second with Spencer and Goff behind him.
The closing laps saw a flurry of action as Spencer and Goff both were able
to move by Gneiting to drop him from second back to fourth. But it was all
Membrino at the front as he scored his first career SK Light Modified
feature victory and a $600 contingency bonus from Gunsmoke Stables. Spencer
finished second, with Goff, Gneiting, and Matt Galko rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, there was trouble at the
start as Jesse Hinze spun in turn 2 to bring the yellow out. Also
collecting damage was D.J. Burnham, but Burnham was able to continue while
Hinze retired from the race.
On the restart, Joe Nogiec spun on the backstretch, which collected the cars
of Norm Sears, Carla Botticello, Kevin Gambacorta, and Duane Provost.
Provost, Botticello, and Sears were all done for the night, while Gambacorta
was able to continue on.
Cory Casagrande took the lead as the race restarted with Shawn Thibeault
moving into second. George Nocera, Jr. moved into third, with Dan Flannery
moving past Chris Cook to take fourth in the early laps. Casagrande and
Thibeault began to inch away from Nocera in third, who had pulled away from
Flannery in fourth. At the halfway point, Casagrande and Flannery were nose
to tail in the fight for the lead.
The top-2 ran in line until lap-16 when Casagrande got a bit out of shape in
turn 2, which opened the door for Thibeault to move by and take the lead.
Nocera continued to run third, with Flannery and Gambacorta making up the
top-5.
Thibeault led Casagrande around for the final 4 laps to take his second win
of the 2011 season. Casagrande finished second, with Nocera, Flannery, and
Gambacorta rounding out the top-5.
In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, the race started with a bang as Kyle
Casagrande spun in turn 4 and collected the car of Nick Salva to bring the
caution out before one lap could be completed.
Austin Bessette took the early lead, but David Arute charged to the front on
lap-2. Don Wood was also on the charge at the start of the race and he took
the lead from Arute on lap-4. Albert Saunders followed Wood past Arute to
take over second.
With Wood and Albert Saunders in the first two spots, they began to pull
away from the remainder of the field. Arute was now locked in a hard fight
for third with Cliff Saunders. Lap after lap, Saunders looked like he was
going to make a pass on Arute, but Arute was able to hold him off.
With no caution flags, Wood and Albert Saunders were turning the race for
the win into a two car race. Saunders took several looks, but Wood was able
to maintain the lead as the laps clicked off the scoreboard. Saunders took
one final look on the last lap, but he couldn’t make a pass as Wood took
down his second feature victory of the 2011 season. Albert Saunders
finished second, with Arute, Cliff Saunders, and Josh Wood rounding out the
top-5.
For more information contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
(860) 684-2783, or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com (http://www.staffordspeedway.com).
(continued)
RACING SERIES FEATURE VICTORIES AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY
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 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
The race program was halted by rain during the Modified Racing Series
feature event with 32 laps complete. The Lincoln Tech MRS feature and the
SK Modified® feature will be made up on Friday, July 29th and rain checks
from tonight’s race will be honored on July 29th.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Tony Lafo led the field to green,
but he drifted up the track slightly in turn 2 and J.J. Hill made a strong
three-wide move to take the lead. Keith Rocco followed Hill and moved into
second. John Kasper spun in turn 3 to bring the caution out with one lap
complete. Under the caution, Corey Hutchings’ car came to a stop on the
frontstretch and had to be towed behind the wall.
On the restart, Rocco was hanging tough to the outside of Hill for the race
lead and he led the next two laps at the line. Jim Peterson was third
behind the Hill/Rocco duel with Ryan Posococ and Adam Gray making up the
top-5. On lap-5, Hill got out of shape in turns 3+4 and Peterson moved into
the lead with Posocco taking second. Hill fell from the lead back to fifth
place.
Lap-8 saw Rocco move to the inside of Posocco to take over second. Peterson
continued to lead while Posocco was third and Gray was fourth. Hill was
fifth, but he lost that position to Woody Pitkat on lap-11. Hill was stuck
in the outside groove and he fell back several more spots as Dillon Moltz,
Tom Fearn, and Jim Mavlouganes all got by Hill.
At the halfway point, Peterson continued to hold the lead with Rocco,
Posocco, Pitkat, and Moltz making up the top-5. Rocco was hounding Peterson
for the lead and Rocco was able to make the pass for the lead on lap-20. As
Rocco and Peterson swapped positions, Posocco and Pitkat closed in on the
lead duo, but Posocco drifted up the track in turn 2 on lap-22, which
allowed Pitkat to move into third place.
Rocco led the final 10 laps to take his second feature win of the 2011
season. Peterson finished second, with Pitkat, Posocco, and Moltz rounding
out the top-5.
In the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature event, Joey Cipriano spun in turn 1
at the start and collected were the cars of Frank Cardile and Zach Aszklar.
Cody Gneiting took the lead on the restart with Harry Wheeler behind him in
second. Tommy Membrino, Jr. was third, with Rick Williams fourth and Jay
Goff fifth. The field completed one lap before Shayne Prucker and Dylan
Kopec spun through the frontstretch grass to bring the caution back out.
Both Prucker and Kopec had flat tires and were finished for the evening.
Gneiting again took the lead on the restart with Wheeler and Tommy Membrino
behind him. Membrino went to second past Wheeler on lap-3 and both Kyle
Spencer and Jay Goff followed him by Wheeler. Dylan Liseo was also able to
move by Wheeler on lap-5. The order continued to shuffle as Membrino moved
by Gneiting to take over the race lead on lap-10. Gneiting continued to
hold down second with Spencer and Goff behind him.
The closing laps saw a flurry of action as Spencer and Goff both were able
to move by Gneiting to drop him from second back to fourth. But it was all
Membrino at the front as he scored his first career SK Light Modified
feature victory and a $600 contingency bonus from Gunsmoke Stables. Spencer
finished second, with Goff, Gneiting, and Matt Galko rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, there was trouble at the
start as Jesse Hinze spun in turn 2 to bring the yellow out. Also
collecting damage was D.J. Burnham, but Burnham was able to continue while
Hinze retired from the race.
On the restart, Joe Nogiec spun on the backstretch, which collected the cars
of Norm Sears, Carla Botticello, Kevin Gambacorta, and Duane Provost.
Provost, Botticello, and Sears were all done for the night, while Gambacorta
was able to continue on.
Cory Casagrande took the lead as the race restarted with Shawn Thibeault
moving into second. George Nocera, Jr. moved into third, with Dan Flannery
moving past Chris Cook to take fourth in the early laps. Casagrande and
Thibeault began to inch away from Nocera in third, who had pulled away from
Flannery in fourth. At the halfway point, Casagrande and Flannery were nose
to tail in the fight for the lead.
The top-2 ran in line until lap-16 when Casagrande got a bit out of shape in
turn 2, which opened the door for Thibeault to move by and take the lead.
Nocera continued to run third, with Flannery and Gambacorta making up the
top-5.
Thibeault led Casagrande around for the final 4 laps to take his second win
of the 2011 season. Casagrande finished second, with Nocera, Flannery, and
Gambacorta rounding out the top-5.
In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, the race started with a bang as Kyle
Casagrande spun in turn 4 and collected the car of Nick Salva to bring the
caution out before one lap could be completed.
Austin Bessette took the early lead, but David Arute charged to the front on
lap-2. Don Wood was also on the charge at the start of the race and he took
the lead from Arute on lap-4. Albert Saunders followed Wood past Arute to
take over second.
With Wood and Albert Saunders in the first two spots, they began to pull
away from the remainder of the field. Arute was now locked in a hard fight
for third with Cliff Saunders. Lap after lap, Saunders looked like he was
going to make a pass on Arute, but Arute was able to hold him off.
With no caution flags, Wood and Albert Saunders were turning the race for
the win into a two car race. Saunders took several looks, but Wood was able
to maintain the lead as the laps clicked off the scoreboard. Saunders took
one final look on the last lap, but he couldn’t make a pass as Wood took
down his second feature victory of the 2011 season. Albert Saunders
finished second, with Arute, Cliff Saunders, and Josh Wood rounding out the
top-5.
For more information contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
(860) 684-2783, or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com (http://www.staffordspeedway.com).
(continued)