Pitkat, Posocco, Andersen, Foster & Flannery Score Wins at Stafford
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Motor Speedway returned to racing action on Friday night, August 3rd with a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event. Race fans saw Woody Pitkat continue his white hot summer streak with his third consecutive SK Modified® feature victory, while Ryan Posocco scored his second consecutive Late Model feature win. Brit Andersen took down the SK Light feature win for his third win of the 2007 season, Sean Foster won the Limited Late Model feature for his third victory of 2007, and Dan Flannery scored his first career victory in the 15-lap feature event.
The 30-lap Late Model feature came down to a thrilling duel between two hometown veterans, Tom Butler and Ryan Posocco. Butler took the lead at the green flag from polesitter Michael Bennett, but Bennett charged back into the lead on lap-4. Butler got the lead back on a lap-5 restart and began to drive away from the field as the race continued to run under green flag conditions. Posocco worked his way through traffic to move into second place . Posocco spent the second half of the race slowly eating away at Butler’s lead, and Posocco pulled alongside Butler on lap-29. The white flag saw the two drivers battle door to door for the win, with Posocco taking the victory by a car length for his second consecutive and third overall feature win of the 2007 season. Corey Hutchings finished third, with Jim Peterson and Michael Bennett rounding out the top-5.
The 20-lap SK Light feature saw Brit Andersen drive to his third win of the 2007 season. Heather DesRochers took the lead from the pole and led the first two laps before Andersen took over the top spot. Andersen would lose the lead to DesRochers on a lap-6 restart after missing a shift, and on lap-7, Joe Allegro, Jr. moved out front. Andersen would recover from his missed shift and quickly worked his way back around Allegro on lap-10. Andersen would build up a large lead, but a caution with 17 laps complete erased that margin. Andersen was up to the task on the final restart, as he got through the gearbox and he was never challenged for the victory. Chris Matthews finished second with Allegro, Raymond Grassetti, and Chris Bakaj rounding out the top-5.
The 20-lap Limited Late Model feature saw points leader Sean Foster extend his points lead with his third victory of the season. Joey Ferrigno took the lead from polesitter Corky Hinze on the first lap, and he led the first 18-laps of the race. Foster spent the better part of the second half of the race running Ferrigno down. Foster caught Ferrigno on lap-18, and then on lap-19 he made the pass for the lead. Ferrigno wasn’t able to mount a challenge to Foster on the last lap as Foster took the victory. Ferrigno finished second, with Bill Davis, Darrin Havanec, and Kevin Gambacorta rounding out the top-5.
The 15-lap DARE Stock feature was a see-saw affair at the front of the pack all race long that saw Dan Flannery emerge with his first career victory. Tom Stirk took the lead from the pole and led the first five laps. Steve Berardi moved past Stirk on a lap-6 restart and held the lead until lap-11 when Vince Gambacorta moved out front. A caution with 12 laps complete slowed the action and allowed Flannery to move past Gambacorta and into the lead with two laps to go. Gambacorta was glued to Flannery’s bumper, but was unable to make a pass. Rounding out the top-5 behind Flannery and Gambacorta was Jeff Jolly, Norm Sears, and Berardi.
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