RGeeProductions
07-24-2015, 10:41 PM
Williams, Butler, Burnham, Hayes, L’Etoile, Jr., & DiMatteo Score July 24th Mid-Season Stretch Feature Wins at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Speedway returned to NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing action with the Mid-Season Stretch program on Friday, July 24th that saw each division race an extra two laps in distance. The 24th was also an Ingersoll Rand contingency night with bonuses going to the winners of the SK Light, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock features. Ronnie Williams took his third win of the year in the SK Modified® feature, Tom Butler was a first time winner in the Late Model feature, D.J. Burnham scored his third win of the year in the SK Light feature, Andrew Hayes took down his third win of the season in the Limited Late Model feature, Frank L’Etoile, Jr. won for the second time this year in the DARE Stock feature, and Dana DiMatteo was a winner for the time this season in the Legend Cars feature.
In the 42-lap SK Modified® feature event, Todd Owen took the early lead with Eric Berndt behind him. The caution came out with 1 lap complete as Berndt got into the wall coming out of turn 4, which bottled up the cars behind him groove and Ted Christopher suffered damage and Joey Cipriano hit the turn 1 wall with both cars coming to a stop in turn 2.
Owen took the lead on the restart with Berndt and Tyler Hines side by side for second. Tommy Membrino, Jr. spun in turn 4 to bring the caution out with 3 laps complete.
Owen again took the lead with Berndt behind him. Berndt pulled to the inside of Owen for the lead on lap-5 and the top-14 were all side by side racing for position. Owen was able to fend off Berndt’s challenge and he got back clear to the lead on lap-7. Berndt and Hines were side by side for second with Rowan Pennink and Michael Gervais, Jr. side by side for fourth. The caution came back out with 7 laps complete for Mike Christopher, Jr., who got out of shape in turns 3+4.
Berndt got a good run on the restart and he got around Owen to take over the race lead. Owen slotted into second but he nearly spun on lap-9 as he touched tires with Hines. Everyone was able to gather their cars up and kept on racing hard. Hines moved into second with Pennink taking third. Owen was now in a side by side duel with Ryan Preece for fourth place. Right behind Preece and Owen was Keith Rocco and Matt Galko.
Pennink made a move to the inside of Hines to move into second on lap-14 and he took the lead on lap-15. Preece got the better of his duel with Owen and he quickly followed Pennink through traffic to take second. Berndt was still third, but Keith Rocco was all over his back bumper and Hines was fifth on lap-18.
Rocco took third from Berndt on lap-19 while Preece was sizing Pennink up at the front of the field. Hines nearly spun in turn 2 on lap-20, which allowed Ronnie Williams to take fifth. Hines came back strong on the outside of Williams and they were locked in a side by side fight. Preece dove to the inside of Pennink in turn 3 to take over the race lead on lap-22 and then the cvaution came out for a spin by Mike Christopher, Jr.
Preece took the lead on the restart with Pennink right on his bumper in second. Rocco took third, with Williams fourth and Berndt fifth. The action really began to pick up at the front on lap-29 as Pennink took a look to the inside of Preece but wasn’t able to make the pass stick. Rocco and Williams were now right behind the lead duo to make a four car train at the front of the field. Matt Galko was up to fifth with Berndt behind him in sixth.
Pennink made a move to the inside of Preece for the lead in turn 4 with 5 laps to go and he took the lead but Preece came back strong with a crossover move in turn 3 on the very next lap and he was the leader at the line by a nose. Preece got clear of Pennink as they hit the line to complete lap 40 but Pennink made another move to the inside of Preece in turn 3 to take the lead as they came to the white flag. Preece gave Pennink a tap to the bumper as the cars were coming to the checkered flag and Preece took the checkered flag with Williams edging out Rocco for second. Pennink crossed the line in fourth but NASCAR Officials penalized Preece back to fifth place for his move on the final lap, making Williams the winner thanks to his last lap pass on Rocco. Matt Galko finished third, Pennink was fourth, and Preece rounded out the top-5 after the penalty was applied.
In the 32-lap Late Model feature event, Tom Butler quickly got around Rich Hammann to take the early lead. Ed Ricard was all over the back bumper of Hammann in third with Kevin Gambacorta in fourth and Tom Fearn in fifth. Ricard got around Hammann to move into second on lap-3 and with Hammann in the high groove, he fell back to fifth as Gambacorta moved into third and Tom Fearn took fourth.
Gambacorta and Fearn both got around Ricard to move into second and third but they had a ways to go to fight for the lead as Butler had opened up a gap of nearly a full straightaway. Michael Bennett got by Ricard to move into fourth on lap-9 and Josh Wood and Rick Lanagan were looking to also get by Ricard.
Fearn took second from Gambacorta on lap-13 and Bennett was right on Gambacorta’s bumper in fourth as Butler was still in command. Bennett got by Gambacorta to move into third on lap-14 and the two cars then ran in line to close the gap to Fearn in second. Bennett took a look to the inside of Fearn on lap-19 but couldn’t make a pass.
Bennett made a pass stick on Fearn to move into second on lap-22 and Gambacorta followed him by as Fearn fell from second back to fourth. Butler was still comfortably in the lead as Bennett began to pull away from Gambacorta and Fearn.
Butler cruised to the checkered flag in a dominant performance to pick up his first win of the 2015 season. Bennett finished second, with Gambacorta, Fearn, and Lanagan rounding out the top-5.
In the 22-lap SK Light Modified feature event, Bob Charland took the early lead but Joey Ferrigno was applying heavy pressure to Charland. Ferrigno made a dive to the inside of Charland on lap-5 but Charland was able to hold him off. Vinny Anglace was third behind the lead duo with Stephen Kopcik and Kyle Jette making up the top-5.
As the leaders came off turn 4, Charland and Ferrigno touched with Charland spinning into the infield and Ferrigno did a masterful job of driving to keep his car out of the wall and still moving forward. Charland was able to get moving and the race stayed green with Anglace the new leader. Kopcik was up to second with Jette, D.J. Burnham, and Nick Salva making up the top-5.
The action at the front picked up with 7 laps to go as Kopcik was side by side with Anglace for the lead and he actually took the lead at the line by a nose. Behind them, Burnham and Jette were side by side for third with Salva right in the mix in fifth. Ferrigno spun in the middle of turns 1+2 after making contact with Charland to bring the caution out with 17 laps complete.
Kopcik streaked back into the lead on the restart as Anglace didn’t quite come up to speed and bottlenecked the outside lane. Burnham moved into second while Anglace settled into third with Salva and Jette behind him. Salva moved to third on lap-21 while Burnham and Kopcik touched wheels coming to the white flag, which allowed Burnjham to move to the lead. Bjurnham held off a hard charging Salva on the final lap to take down his third win of the 2015 season. Anglace finished third, with Kopcik falling back to fourth and Ferrigno rounded out the top-5.
(continued)
Stafford Speedway returned to NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing action with the Mid-Season Stretch program on Friday, July 24th that saw each division race an extra two laps in distance. The 24th was also an Ingersoll Rand contingency night with bonuses going to the winners of the SK Light, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock features. Ronnie Williams took his third win of the year in the SK Modified® feature, Tom Butler was a first time winner in the Late Model feature, D.J. Burnham scored his third win of the year in the SK Light feature, Andrew Hayes took down his third win of the season in the Limited Late Model feature, Frank L’Etoile, Jr. won for the second time this year in the DARE Stock feature, and Dana DiMatteo was a winner for the time this season in the Legend Cars feature.
In the 42-lap SK Modified® feature event, Todd Owen took the early lead with Eric Berndt behind him. The caution came out with 1 lap complete as Berndt got into the wall coming out of turn 4, which bottled up the cars behind him groove and Ted Christopher suffered damage and Joey Cipriano hit the turn 1 wall with both cars coming to a stop in turn 2.
Owen took the lead on the restart with Berndt and Tyler Hines side by side for second. Tommy Membrino, Jr. spun in turn 4 to bring the caution out with 3 laps complete.
Owen again took the lead with Berndt behind him. Berndt pulled to the inside of Owen for the lead on lap-5 and the top-14 were all side by side racing for position. Owen was able to fend off Berndt’s challenge and he got back clear to the lead on lap-7. Berndt and Hines were side by side for second with Rowan Pennink and Michael Gervais, Jr. side by side for fourth. The caution came back out with 7 laps complete for Mike Christopher, Jr., who got out of shape in turns 3+4.
Berndt got a good run on the restart and he got around Owen to take over the race lead. Owen slotted into second but he nearly spun on lap-9 as he touched tires with Hines. Everyone was able to gather their cars up and kept on racing hard. Hines moved into second with Pennink taking third. Owen was now in a side by side duel with Ryan Preece for fourth place. Right behind Preece and Owen was Keith Rocco and Matt Galko.
Pennink made a move to the inside of Hines to move into second on lap-14 and he took the lead on lap-15. Preece got the better of his duel with Owen and he quickly followed Pennink through traffic to take second. Berndt was still third, but Keith Rocco was all over his back bumper and Hines was fifth on lap-18.
Rocco took third from Berndt on lap-19 while Preece was sizing Pennink up at the front of the field. Hines nearly spun in turn 2 on lap-20, which allowed Ronnie Williams to take fifth. Hines came back strong on the outside of Williams and they were locked in a side by side fight. Preece dove to the inside of Pennink in turn 3 to take over the race lead on lap-22 and then the cvaution came out for a spin by Mike Christopher, Jr.
Preece took the lead on the restart with Pennink right on his bumper in second. Rocco took third, with Williams fourth and Berndt fifth. The action really began to pick up at the front on lap-29 as Pennink took a look to the inside of Preece but wasn’t able to make the pass stick. Rocco and Williams were now right behind the lead duo to make a four car train at the front of the field. Matt Galko was up to fifth with Berndt behind him in sixth.
Pennink made a move to the inside of Preece for the lead in turn 4 with 5 laps to go and he took the lead but Preece came back strong with a crossover move in turn 3 on the very next lap and he was the leader at the line by a nose. Preece got clear of Pennink as they hit the line to complete lap 40 but Pennink made another move to the inside of Preece in turn 3 to take the lead as they came to the white flag. Preece gave Pennink a tap to the bumper as the cars were coming to the checkered flag and Preece took the checkered flag with Williams edging out Rocco for second. Pennink crossed the line in fourth but NASCAR Officials penalized Preece back to fifth place for his move on the final lap, making Williams the winner thanks to his last lap pass on Rocco. Matt Galko finished third, Pennink was fourth, and Preece rounded out the top-5 after the penalty was applied.
In the 32-lap Late Model feature event, Tom Butler quickly got around Rich Hammann to take the early lead. Ed Ricard was all over the back bumper of Hammann in third with Kevin Gambacorta in fourth and Tom Fearn in fifth. Ricard got around Hammann to move into second on lap-3 and with Hammann in the high groove, he fell back to fifth as Gambacorta moved into third and Tom Fearn took fourth.
Gambacorta and Fearn both got around Ricard to move into second and third but they had a ways to go to fight for the lead as Butler had opened up a gap of nearly a full straightaway. Michael Bennett got by Ricard to move into fourth on lap-9 and Josh Wood and Rick Lanagan were looking to also get by Ricard.
Fearn took second from Gambacorta on lap-13 and Bennett was right on Gambacorta’s bumper in fourth as Butler was still in command. Bennett got by Gambacorta to move into third on lap-14 and the two cars then ran in line to close the gap to Fearn in second. Bennett took a look to the inside of Fearn on lap-19 but couldn’t make a pass.
Bennett made a pass stick on Fearn to move into second on lap-22 and Gambacorta followed him by as Fearn fell from second back to fourth. Butler was still comfortably in the lead as Bennett began to pull away from Gambacorta and Fearn.
Butler cruised to the checkered flag in a dominant performance to pick up his first win of the 2015 season. Bennett finished second, with Gambacorta, Fearn, and Lanagan rounding out the top-5.
In the 22-lap SK Light Modified feature event, Bob Charland took the early lead but Joey Ferrigno was applying heavy pressure to Charland. Ferrigno made a dive to the inside of Charland on lap-5 but Charland was able to hold him off. Vinny Anglace was third behind the lead duo with Stephen Kopcik and Kyle Jette making up the top-5.
As the leaders came off turn 4, Charland and Ferrigno touched with Charland spinning into the infield and Ferrigno did a masterful job of driving to keep his car out of the wall and still moving forward. Charland was able to get moving and the race stayed green with Anglace the new leader. Kopcik was up to second with Jette, D.J. Burnham, and Nick Salva making up the top-5.
The action at the front picked up with 7 laps to go as Kopcik was side by side with Anglace for the lead and he actually took the lead at the line by a nose. Behind them, Burnham and Jette were side by side for third with Salva right in the mix in fifth. Ferrigno spun in the middle of turns 1+2 after making contact with Charland to bring the caution out with 17 laps complete.
Kopcik streaked back into the lead on the restart as Anglace didn’t quite come up to speed and bottlenecked the outside lane. Burnham moved into second while Anglace settled into third with Salva and Jette behind him. Salva moved to third on lap-21 while Burnham and Kopcik touched wheels coming to the white flag, which allowed Burnjham to move to the lead. Bjurnham held off a hard charging Salva on the final lap to take down his third win of the 2015 season. Anglace finished third, with Kopcik falling back to fourth and Ferrigno rounded out the top-5.
(continued)