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View Full Version : 09/28/11 - Multiple championships up for grabs in this weekend’s Carquest Fall Final



RGeeProductions
09-28-2011, 10:53 PM
MULTIPLE CHAMPIONSHIPS UP FOR GRABS IN THIS WEEKEND’S CARQUEST FALL FINAL AT
STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY

This weekend’s CARQUEST Fall Final at Stafford
Motor Speedway has four track championships up for grabs. Although Ryan
Preece has already staked his claim to the SK Modified® track championship,
there are 4 track championships that will be decided on the track this
weekend.

In Stafford’s Late Model division, the championship race comes down to a
pair of hometown drivers, Ryan Posocco and Woody Pitkat. Posocco already
holds the Stafford record with 5 Late Model championships, and he will be
looking to add a sixth title to his resume, while Pitkat is in search of his
second Late Model track title. Posocco took the points lead after the
second race of the season, but soon he fell behind Jim Mavlouganes in the
standings after a 15th place finish on May 20th. Posocco regained the
points lead after the June 10th race and he has been at the front of the
standings ever since. The road for Pitkat has been a bit bumpier than
Posocco’s as he had only one top-5 finish in the first four races of the
2011 season, which left him in 15th place in the standings and nearly 100
points behind. But since that May 20th event, Pitkat hasn’t finished lower
than fourth and he has won 5 times to get him to within 24 points of Posocco
entering this weekend’s CARQUEST Fall Final. Should Posocco finish 12th or
better, he will clinch his sixth championship regardless of where Pitkat
finishes. Pitkat needs to finish at least 12 spots ahead of Posocco to lay
claim to the Late Model title for the second time in his career.

After 1-2 finishes in the first two SK Light features this season, defending
track champion Matt Galko and Joey Cipriano served notice that they were
going to be counted among the title contenders. Between the two of them,
Galko and Cipriano have accounted for 10 of the 18 race wins in the SK Light
division this season and they enter the CARQUEST Fall Final separated by 36
points in the title fight. Galko needs to finish 18th or better to wrap up
his second consecutive track title, while Cipriano needs to finish at least
18 spots ahead of Galko in order to become the 2011 SK Light track champion.

Stafford’s Limited Late Model division has a three-man fight for the
championship with Kevin Gambacorta leading Shawn Thibeault by 8 points and
George Nocera, Jr. by 14 points. Thibeault had been at the front of the
Limited Late Model standings for much of the 2011 season, but a 14th place
finish on September 2nd, combined with a 4th for Gambacorta, gave control of
the points lead to Gambacorta. Nocera scored three wins in the first five
races of the year, but he didn’t win again until August 19th, a span of 9
races. Since his August 19th victory, Nocera has posted another win, two
second place finishes and a fifth place finish to put himself into the thick
of the championship fight. Gambacorta, the 2006 Ltd. Late Model champion,
can clinch a second track championship with a 3rd place finish. Thibeault
needs to finish at least 4 spots ahead of Gambacorta and no more than 2
spots behind Nocera to become champion, while Nocera needs to finish at
least 7 spots ahead of Gambacorta and at least 4 spots ahead of Thibeault to
become champion.

Stafford’s DARE Stock division has four contenders for the title. Don Wood
has been in control of the points race for much of the 2011 season and he is
looking to add another DARE Stock championship to his 2009 DARE Stock title.

Don Wood heads into the CARQUEST Fall Final with a 14-point lead over Cliff
Saunders, a 24-point lead over Andrew Hayes, and a 34-point lead over his
son Josh Wood. If Don Wood finishes 8th or better this weekend, he will
clinch his second track championship. Cliff Saunders must finish at least 8
spots ahead of Don Wood and no more than 5 spots behind Hayes and no more
than 9 spots behind Josh Wood to take the title. Hayes must finish at least
13 spots ahead of Don Wood and at least 6 spots ahead of Saunders while
finishing no more than 4 spots behind Josh Wood to become champion. Josh
Wood has the hardest road to navigate to become champion, but if he can
finish at least 17 spots ahead of Don Wood, 10 spots ahead of Saunders, and
5 spots ahead of Hayes, he will be the 2011 DARE Stock champion.

The 39th Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend kicks off on Friday, Sept. 30
with pit gates opening at 12:00pm with a practice session running from
2:00pm to 6:30pm for Stafford’s weekly divisions. The General Admission
grandstands will be open to the public at no charge for the practice
session. The G.A. Grandstands will open at 2pm.

Action continues on Saturday, Oct. 1 with Coors Light Pole Qualifying for
the Whelen Modified Tour cars at 2:15pm, followed by heat and consolation
races for Stafford’s weekly divisions. Saturday’s events wrap up with
feature events for Stafford’s SK Light Modified, Limited Late Model, and
DARE Stock divisions. Closing out the Saturday feature events will be the
Paradiso-Muska DARE Stock Shoot-Out, a special 8-lap shoot-out all-star race
for this season's DARE Stock feature winners and several wild card entrants.

The CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend continues on Sunday, Oct. 2 with the famous
Stafford CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party kicking off the day’s activities
from 11:00am to 12:00pm, with the final SK Modified® and Late Model feature
events of 2011 being accompanied by the Whelen Modified Tour 150-lap
CARQUEST Fall Final.

Tickets for the CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend are available and on sale now at
the Stafford Motor Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $35.00 for
adult General Admission, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 &
under are free. Reserved seating is $38.00 for all ages. All tickets cover
both Saturday and Sunday admission to the Fall Final. As always, Stafford
Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.
Tickets can be ordered by calling the Stafford Motor Speedway track office
at 860-684-2783.

For more information, or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor
Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com.

Scott Running