RGeeProductions
07-13-2012, 11:10 PM
CHRISTOPHER, PITKAT, KOPEC, BOTTICELLO, & SAUNDERS SCORE 5-STAR SERIES
MID-SEASON STRETCH FEATURE WINS AT STAFFORD
Stafford Motor Speedway returned to racing on
Friday, July 13th and extra distance was the theme of the night as the SK
Modifeds®, Late Models, SK Lights, and Limited Late Models each raced an
extra 2 laps, while the DARE Stock feature was one lap longer as part of the
5 Star Series Mid-Season Stretch. Ted Christopher picked up his third win
of the season in the 42-lap SK Modified® event, Woody Pitkat picked up win
number 2 in the 32-lap Late Model feature, Dylan Kopec got his fifth win in
the 22-lap SK Light feature, Dennis Botticello got his first win of the
season in the 22-lap Ltd. Late Model feature, and Albert Saunders picked up
his third win of the year in the 16-lap DARE Stock feature.
In the 42-lap SK Modified® feature event, Glen Reen powered into the lead
with Curt Brainard settling into second behind him. Matt Galko got around
Tom Bolles for third, and Todd Owen was fifth, but the caution came out with
2 laps complete as Kyle Spencer spun in turn 2.
Reen took the lead back under green while Galko moved into second. Galko’s
time in second was short as Owen made a move for second and he brought Ted
Christopher with him. Frank Ruocco was also able to get by Galko as Galko
fell from second back to fifth place.
Owen’s hard charge continued on lap-5 as he took the lead from Reen.
Christopher followed Owen by Reen as Reen fell from the lead back to third
place. Spencer spun again in turns 1+2 to bring the caution back out with 7
laps complete.
Owen took the lead back under green, but Christopher was glued to Owen’s
bumper. Danny Cates moved into third, with Reen falling back to fourth and
Ruocco was fifth. The caution came back out with 9 laps complete for debris
on the track in turn 4.
Christopher got a good run the outside of Owen, but Owen came back strong
and he maintained the lead at eh line on the restart. One lap after the
restart, Cates pulled to the outside of Christopher, but he couldn’t make a
pass. Frank Ruocco got by Cates for third and the caution came back out
with 12 laps complete as Nichole Morgillo spun on the frontstretch.
Owen again took the lead back under green with Christopher right behind him.
Ruocco and Cates were fighting side by side for third with Cates taking the
spot on the high side. Reen was in fifth behind Ruocco, with Michael
Gervais, Jr., Ryan Preece, Galko, Keith Rocco, and Eric Berndt making up the
top-10. The top-4 cars were able to pull out a gap to Reen in fifth.
Gervais took fifth place from Reen on lap-18 and Ryan Preece and Keith Rocco
were able to follow Gervais by Reen. Owen held the race lead until lap-22
when Christopher moved to the front. Owen wasn’t giving up as he was
running nose to nose with Christopher in the outside groove. Neither car
was able to get an advantage over the other as they raced side by side with
Ruocco, Cates, and Rocco lined up single file behind them. Owen and
Christopher ran side by side for four laps before Owen was able to get clear
of Christopher on lap-26 after running in the outside groove.
With 14 laps to go, the order was Owen, Christopher, Ruocco, Rocco, Cates,
Gervais, Berndt, Preece, Reen, and Galko. Once Owen got back in front of
Christopher, he was able to pull away by several car lengths. Ruocco
continued to run in third, although Rocco was all over his back bumper,
looking for a way to get past. Cates continued to run in fifth, with
Gervais and Berndt lined up several car lengths behind. The action was
slowed with 38 laps complete as Nick Boivin spun in turn 1 to bring the
caution out.
On the restart, Owen didn’t quite come up to speed as Rocco and Christopher
went side by side into turn 1 for the lead. Coming out of turn 2,
Christopher moved back ahead of Rocco, but Matt Gallo went around in front
of a group of cars to bring the caution out before a lap could be completed.
That put Owen back out front with Christopher alongside for the restart.
Christopher got a good run to the outside of Owen on the restart to move
into the lead. Rocco made a power move to the outside of Ruocco to move up
to third, with Cates running in fifth just behind Ruocco. Rocco got by Owen
going into turn 1 on the white flag lap, but he came up just short as they
came back around to the checkered flag as Christopher took his third win of
the 2012 season. Owen finished third behind Christopher and Rocco, with
Ruocco and Cates rouding out the top-5.
In the 32-lap Late Model feature event, Patrick Townsend took the lead at
the drop of the green flag and immediately he began to pull away from Tony
Lafo in second. Mark St. Hilaire was third behind Lafo, with Corey
Hutchings and Tom Fearn making up the top-5. Jim Peterson was in sixth,
with Mike Quintiliano in seventh, Keith Rocco in eighth, Woody Pitkat in
ninth, and Adam Gray rounding out the top-10.
Townsend was continuing to set a blistering pace at the front of the field
as he continued to open up the lead over Lafo. St. Hilaire made a move to
the inside of Lafo on lap-12 to move into second and Fearn was able to also
get alongside and pull ahead of Lafo. Peterson and Quintiliano were also
able to get by Lafo as Townsend continued to lead the race.
At the halfway point of the race, Townsend was still the leader, but St.
Hilaire was closing the gap to Townsend. St. Hilaire had a large gap back
to Fearn in third place. Just behind Fearn was Quintiliano, Peterson, and
Rocco. Quintiliano made contact with Fearn in turn 4 and Fearn spun to
bring the caution out with 19 laps complete. Quintiliano was sent to the
rear of the field for the contact with Fearn.
Back under green, St. Hilaire got a good run on the outside of Townsend to
move into the lead as the cars came back to the start/finish line. Townsend
was glued to St. Hilaire’s back bumper while Peterson was third, just ahead
of the side by side duo of Rocco and Pitkat.
Townsend was hounding St. Hilaire for the lead and Peterson stuck his nose
in to briefly make it three wide for the lead on lap-24 before he backed
off. St. Hilaire kept the lead with Townsend behind him while Pitkat was
now up to third. Rocco was fourth and Gray was fifth as Peterson fell from
third back to sixth place. Quintiliano spun in turn 1 after contact from
Fearn to bring the caution out with 26 laps complete. Fearn was given a
penalty for the contact with Quintiliano.
St. Hilaire took the lead back under green while Pitkat moved by Townsend to
move into second place. Gray also got by Townsend as Townsend fell from
second back to fourth. Pitkat was able to pull to the inside of St. Hilaire
on lap-29 to take over the race lead. St. Hilaire came back strong and he
almost retook the lead from Pitkat on lap-31, but he was unable to complete
the pass. Pitkat then held off St. Hilaire to the line for his second win
of the 2012 season. Rounding out the top-5 behind Pitkat and St. Hilaire
was Townsend, Peterson, and Rocco.
In the 22-lap SK Light Modified feature event, Rick Williams led the field
to the green flag but he was quickly overtaken by Frank Cardile. Ronnie
Williams quickly moved into second with Payton Henry and Dylan Kopec behind
them. The caution came out with 3 laps complete for
Cardile took the lead back under green with Williams hanging strong to the
outside of Cardile. Kopec was running in the lead duo’s tire tracks with
Bob Charland and Tony Membrino, Jr. behind Kopec. Kopec got by Williams on
lap-7 and he made a move to the inside of Cardile on lap-8, but couldn’t
complete the pass. The caution came back out with 8 laps complete for
debris on the track in turn 2.
On the restart, Harry Wheeler, Joe Boivin, and Zach Aszklar came to a stop
in turn 1 to bring the caution right back out. Cardile took the lead back
under green with Kopec settling into line right behind him. Charland ran in
third with Williams in fourth and Membrino in fifth. Dylan Campbell and
Fred Nees, Jr. brought the caution back out with 9 laps complete as they got
together in turn 1.
Cardile took the lead back under green with Charland moving into second as
Kopec didn’t get a good restart. Kopec quickly came back strong to the
outside of Charland and he moved back into second place. Membrino was
fourth behind Charland while Henry and Williams were side by side for fifth
place.
Cardile began to stretch his lead out over Kopec while Membrino was looking
for a way to get by Charland for third. Henry was now in fifth, with
Williams and Aszklar right behind him. The caution came out with 14 laps
complete as Jay Goff spun in turn 2.
Cardile again got the jump on the restart and he took the lead, but Kopec
got a monster run down the backstretch and by the time the cars got back to
the start/finish line, he had taken the lead from Cardile. Aszklar spun in
turn 2 to bring the caution back out with 15 laps complete.
Cardile took the lead back under green with Kopec falling into line right on
his bumper. Membrino moved into third with Williams and Tyler Hines making
up the top-5. Nick Salva was now up to sixth place with Harry Wheeler and
Aszklar behind him.
Cardile drifted up the track on lap-19 and he fell back several spots before
he dropped off the pace and fell to the rear of the field before he came to
pit road and parked his car for the remainder of the race. Kopec led the
field to the white flag and he led the field to the checkered flag to pick
up his 5th win of the 2012 season. Membrino finished second, with Williams,
Hines, and Salva rounding out the top-5.
(continued)
MID-SEASON STRETCH FEATURE WINS AT STAFFORD
Stafford Motor Speedway returned to racing on
Friday, July 13th and extra distance was the theme of the night as the SK
Modifeds®, Late Models, SK Lights, and Limited Late Models each raced an
extra 2 laps, while the DARE Stock feature was one lap longer as part of the
5 Star Series Mid-Season Stretch. Ted Christopher picked up his third win
of the season in the 42-lap SK Modified® event, Woody Pitkat picked up win
number 2 in the 32-lap Late Model feature, Dylan Kopec got his fifth win in
the 22-lap SK Light feature, Dennis Botticello got his first win of the
season in the 22-lap Ltd. Late Model feature, and Albert Saunders picked up
his third win of the year in the 16-lap DARE Stock feature.
In the 42-lap SK Modified® feature event, Glen Reen powered into the lead
with Curt Brainard settling into second behind him. Matt Galko got around
Tom Bolles for third, and Todd Owen was fifth, but the caution came out with
2 laps complete as Kyle Spencer spun in turn 2.
Reen took the lead back under green while Galko moved into second. Galko’s
time in second was short as Owen made a move for second and he brought Ted
Christopher with him. Frank Ruocco was also able to get by Galko as Galko
fell from second back to fifth place.
Owen’s hard charge continued on lap-5 as he took the lead from Reen.
Christopher followed Owen by Reen as Reen fell from the lead back to third
place. Spencer spun again in turns 1+2 to bring the caution back out with 7
laps complete.
Owen took the lead back under green, but Christopher was glued to Owen’s
bumper. Danny Cates moved into third, with Reen falling back to fourth and
Ruocco was fifth. The caution came back out with 9 laps complete for debris
on the track in turn 4.
Christopher got a good run the outside of Owen, but Owen came back strong
and he maintained the lead at eh line on the restart. One lap after the
restart, Cates pulled to the outside of Christopher, but he couldn’t make a
pass. Frank Ruocco got by Cates for third and the caution came back out
with 12 laps complete as Nichole Morgillo spun on the frontstretch.
Owen again took the lead back under green with Christopher right behind him.
Ruocco and Cates were fighting side by side for third with Cates taking the
spot on the high side. Reen was in fifth behind Ruocco, with Michael
Gervais, Jr., Ryan Preece, Galko, Keith Rocco, and Eric Berndt making up the
top-10. The top-4 cars were able to pull out a gap to Reen in fifth.
Gervais took fifth place from Reen on lap-18 and Ryan Preece and Keith Rocco
were able to follow Gervais by Reen. Owen held the race lead until lap-22
when Christopher moved to the front. Owen wasn’t giving up as he was
running nose to nose with Christopher in the outside groove. Neither car
was able to get an advantage over the other as they raced side by side with
Ruocco, Cates, and Rocco lined up single file behind them. Owen and
Christopher ran side by side for four laps before Owen was able to get clear
of Christopher on lap-26 after running in the outside groove.
With 14 laps to go, the order was Owen, Christopher, Ruocco, Rocco, Cates,
Gervais, Berndt, Preece, Reen, and Galko. Once Owen got back in front of
Christopher, he was able to pull away by several car lengths. Ruocco
continued to run in third, although Rocco was all over his back bumper,
looking for a way to get past. Cates continued to run in fifth, with
Gervais and Berndt lined up several car lengths behind. The action was
slowed with 38 laps complete as Nick Boivin spun in turn 1 to bring the
caution out.
On the restart, Owen didn’t quite come up to speed as Rocco and Christopher
went side by side into turn 1 for the lead. Coming out of turn 2,
Christopher moved back ahead of Rocco, but Matt Gallo went around in front
of a group of cars to bring the caution out before a lap could be completed.
That put Owen back out front with Christopher alongside for the restart.
Christopher got a good run to the outside of Owen on the restart to move
into the lead. Rocco made a power move to the outside of Ruocco to move up
to third, with Cates running in fifth just behind Ruocco. Rocco got by Owen
going into turn 1 on the white flag lap, but he came up just short as they
came back around to the checkered flag as Christopher took his third win of
the 2012 season. Owen finished third behind Christopher and Rocco, with
Ruocco and Cates rouding out the top-5.
In the 32-lap Late Model feature event, Patrick Townsend took the lead at
the drop of the green flag and immediately he began to pull away from Tony
Lafo in second. Mark St. Hilaire was third behind Lafo, with Corey
Hutchings and Tom Fearn making up the top-5. Jim Peterson was in sixth,
with Mike Quintiliano in seventh, Keith Rocco in eighth, Woody Pitkat in
ninth, and Adam Gray rounding out the top-10.
Townsend was continuing to set a blistering pace at the front of the field
as he continued to open up the lead over Lafo. St. Hilaire made a move to
the inside of Lafo on lap-12 to move into second and Fearn was able to also
get alongside and pull ahead of Lafo. Peterson and Quintiliano were also
able to get by Lafo as Townsend continued to lead the race.
At the halfway point of the race, Townsend was still the leader, but St.
Hilaire was closing the gap to Townsend. St. Hilaire had a large gap back
to Fearn in third place. Just behind Fearn was Quintiliano, Peterson, and
Rocco. Quintiliano made contact with Fearn in turn 4 and Fearn spun to
bring the caution out with 19 laps complete. Quintiliano was sent to the
rear of the field for the contact with Fearn.
Back under green, St. Hilaire got a good run on the outside of Townsend to
move into the lead as the cars came back to the start/finish line. Townsend
was glued to St. Hilaire’s back bumper while Peterson was third, just ahead
of the side by side duo of Rocco and Pitkat.
Townsend was hounding St. Hilaire for the lead and Peterson stuck his nose
in to briefly make it three wide for the lead on lap-24 before he backed
off. St. Hilaire kept the lead with Townsend behind him while Pitkat was
now up to third. Rocco was fourth and Gray was fifth as Peterson fell from
third back to sixth place. Quintiliano spun in turn 1 after contact from
Fearn to bring the caution out with 26 laps complete. Fearn was given a
penalty for the contact with Quintiliano.
St. Hilaire took the lead back under green while Pitkat moved by Townsend to
move into second place. Gray also got by Townsend as Townsend fell from
second back to fourth. Pitkat was able to pull to the inside of St. Hilaire
on lap-29 to take over the race lead. St. Hilaire came back strong and he
almost retook the lead from Pitkat on lap-31, but he was unable to complete
the pass. Pitkat then held off St. Hilaire to the line for his second win
of the 2012 season. Rounding out the top-5 behind Pitkat and St. Hilaire
was Townsend, Peterson, and Rocco.
In the 22-lap SK Light Modified feature event, Rick Williams led the field
to the green flag but he was quickly overtaken by Frank Cardile. Ronnie
Williams quickly moved into second with Payton Henry and Dylan Kopec behind
them. The caution came out with 3 laps complete for
Cardile took the lead back under green with Williams hanging strong to the
outside of Cardile. Kopec was running in the lead duo’s tire tracks with
Bob Charland and Tony Membrino, Jr. behind Kopec. Kopec got by Williams on
lap-7 and he made a move to the inside of Cardile on lap-8, but couldn’t
complete the pass. The caution came back out with 8 laps complete for
debris on the track in turn 2.
On the restart, Harry Wheeler, Joe Boivin, and Zach Aszklar came to a stop
in turn 1 to bring the caution right back out. Cardile took the lead back
under green with Kopec settling into line right behind him. Charland ran in
third with Williams in fourth and Membrino in fifth. Dylan Campbell and
Fred Nees, Jr. brought the caution back out with 9 laps complete as they got
together in turn 1.
Cardile took the lead back under green with Charland moving into second as
Kopec didn’t get a good restart. Kopec quickly came back strong to the
outside of Charland and he moved back into second place. Membrino was
fourth behind Charland while Henry and Williams were side by side for fifth
place.
Cardile began to stretch his lead out over Kopec while Membrino was looking
for a way to get by Charland for third. Henry was now in fifth, with
Williams and Aszklar right behind him. The caution came out with 14 laps
complete as Jay Goff spun in turn 2.
Cardile again got the jump on the restart and he took the lead, but Kopec
got a monster run down the backstretch and by the time the cars got back to
the start/finish line, he had taken the lead from Cardile. Aszklar spun in
turn 2 to bring the caution back out with 15 laps complete.
Cardile took the lead back under green with Kopec falling into line right on
his bumper. Membrino moved into third with Williams and Tyler Hines making
up the top-5. Nick Salva was now up to sixth place with Harry Wheeler and
Aszklar behind him.
Cardile drifted up the track on lap-19 and he fell back several spots before
he dropped off the pace and fell to the rear of the field before he came to
pit road and parked his car for the remainder of the race. Kopec led the
field to the white flag and he led the field to the checkered flag to pick
up his 5th win of the 2012 season. Membrino finished second, with Williams,
Hines, and Salva rounding out the top-5.
(continued)