Woody Pitkat Doubles Up Again
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Motor Speedway returned to racing action on Friday night, July 27th with Craftsman Night at the Races. Race fans were treated to two Late Model feature events, with one event being made up from July 13th. Woody Pitkat won the SK Modified® and first Late Model feature for his second consecutive double dip, while Ryan Posocco won the regularly scheduled Late Model feature to break a break a tie with Jim Peterson as the division’s all-time winningest driver. Glen Reen took down the SK Light feature win, Rick Lanagan won the Limited Late Model feature, and Kyle Nosal turned in a dominating performance to score his first career DARE Stock win in the 15-lap feature event.
The 40-lap SK Modified® feature saw Woody Pitkat take down his second consecutive feature win. Willie Hardie took the lead from the pole and led the first 10 laps of the race. Pitkat made his move in turns 3+4 on lap-11 to overtake Hardie for the top spot. SK Modified® points leader Ted Christopher was glued to Pitakt’s back bumper throughout the second half of the race, with several caution periods keeping the field in close contact. The two race leaders had a near disaster on lap-39 as they had to avoid the lapped car of Frank Ruocco. Both Pitkat and Christopher made it by Ruocco unscathed, but the loss of momentum by Christopher allowed Pitkat all the margin he needed on the final lap of the race. Rounding out the top-5 behind Pitkat and Christopher was Eric Berndt, Kerry Malone, and Keith Rocco.
The first of two Late Model feature events, which was resumed from lap-3 from the July 13th program, saw Woody Pitkat move to the lead early on in the feature and then drive away from the field to score his second consecutive Late Model feature win. Pitkat built up a large lead over a long green flag run, but several late cautions erased that margin and allowed three-time Late Model champion Ryan Posocco along with Tom Butler an opportunity to take the win away from Pitakt in the closing laps, but Pitkat was up to the task and was too strong to be overtaken. Posocco finished second behind Pitkat, with Butler, Corey Hutchings, and Jim Mavlouganes rounding out the top-5.
The regularly scheduled 30-lap Late Model feature came down to a duel between Woody Pitkat and Ryan Posocco for the win. Rick Charette took the early race lead and he led the first 7 laps of the race. On lap-8, Scott Foster, Jr. moved to the lead in turns 1+2, but Tom Butler went by Foster in turns 3+4 to come out with the lead. Posocco moved to the lead on lap-11. A restart on lap-12 allowed Pitkat to move into second place behind Posocco, and the two cars began to distance themselves from the rest of the field. Posocco was slowly lap by lap pulling away from Pitkat, but a caution with 18 laps complete erased his lead. Pitkat hung tough with Posocco on the restart, but began to slide backwards again. Several late cautions gave Pitkat more opportunities to get by Posocco, but Posocco was up to the task on each restart and he came away with the victory to break a tie with Jim Peterson as the division’s all-time winningest driver. Rounding out the top-5 behind Posocco and Pitkat was Corey Hutchings, Jim Peterson, and Tom Fearn.
The 20-lap SK Light feature saw Glen Reen drive to his fourth victory of the 2007 season, a mark that ties him with division points leader Chris Matthews for the most wins in the division this season. Chris Bakaj took the early race lead and held the lead until a restart on lap-13 that saw Reen move to the front of the pack. Matthews would also get around Bakaj and the closing laps came down to another duel between Reen and Matthews as so many of the SK Light Modified feature events have this season. Reen was too strong for Matthews to overtake and Reen took the victory. Rounding out the top-5 behind Reen and Matthews was Mark Bakaj, Raymond Grassetti, and Chris Bakaj.
The 20-lap Limited Late Model feature boiled down to a series of thrilling restarts that saw Rick Langan, Sean Foster, Andrew Durand, and Bill Davis side by side dueling for the victory. Joey Ferrigno took the early lead from the pole position, but on lap-8 Ferrigno’s motor expired while he was leading the race, which handed over the race lead to Lanagan. A flurry of late caution periods saw several restart situations that had Lanagan and Foster side by side for the lead and Durand and Davis side by side for third place. Lanagan cleared to the lead on lap-19, with Durand moving past both Davis and Foster to take over second. Durand was unable to make a run at Lanagan during the final lap as Lanagan scored his fourth victory of the season to tie him with Durand for the division lead in wins. Durand finished second, with Davis, Foster, and Kevin Gambacorta rounding out the top-5.
The 15-lap DARE Stock feature saw Kyle Nosal drive to his first career feature win with a dominating drive. Nosal took the lead from Duane Provost on lap-2 and began to open up a large lead over the field. A caution with 8-laps erased that margin, but as soon as the race went back to green, Nosal once again pulled away from the field to score his first career win in convincing fashion. Barry Fluckiger finished second, with Jim Brice, Dan Flannery, and Jeff Jolly rounding out the top-5.
The Late Model 16 feature saw Michael Bennett, of Stafford Springs, wire the field to take the victory. John Warren finished a distant second, with Dillon Moltz, Mike O’Sullivan, and Doug Blowers, Jr. 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.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR