Keith Rocco & Dillon Moltz Score 39th Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler Feature Victories at Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — Under bright and sunny skies with temperatures in the mid-80’s, Stafford Motor Speedway hosted the completion of “The Greatest Race in the History of Spring”, the 39th Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler. Taking down feature victories were Keith Rocco in the 40-lap SK Modified® feature and Dillon Moltz in the 30-lap Late Model feature.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Keith Rocco led the field to the green flag with Ted Christopher, Frank Ruocco, Jeff Malave, and Woody Pitkat behind him in the top-5. The top-5 quickly settled into single file racing, but that single file was eliminated when the caution came out with 4 laps complete for a spin by Brit Andersen.
There were several attempts at the next restart with Curt Brainard, then Matt Gallo, and then Joe Allegro, Jr., Adam Skowyra, and Glenn Griswold each bringing the caution back out for spins. Rocco continued to lead back under green with Christopher and Malave behind him. Tom Bolles made a power move to go from 7th to 4th on the restart, while Eric Berndt rounded out the top-5.
[Photo Gallery] by Paul Fohlin
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
The action was slowed again with 8 laps complete for a spin by Chris Jones. Rocco again took the lead on the restart, but a 5 car accident involving Glenn Griswold, Jones, Keith Carzello, Michael Gervais, Jr., and Matt Gallo brought the yellow back out one lap after the restart. The next restart saw Christopher power by Rocco to take the lead on lap-11. Berndt moved into third behind Rocco, with Kurt Lenahan moving into fourth and Malave was fifth. The top-5 then ran in line until the next caution came out with 16 laps complete for a multicar incident between Dan Avery, Kirk Zervas, Mark Bakaj, and Bolles.
Christopher took the lead on the restart, but he would lose it to Rocco three laps later on lap-19. Berndt continued to run in third place, with Lenahan and Malave behind him. The running order remained the same until lap-25 when Christopher’s car dropped off the pace and he came to pit road and was finished for the race. At the same time that Christopher’s car gave up, Frank Ruocco also had engine troubles that brought him to pit road and ended his day. Rocco was the leader with Berndt now up to second. Lenahan was up to third, with Malave and Brit Andersen making up the new top-5. Rocco was building a large lead over Berndt, who was building a large gap back to Malave, Lenahan, and Andersen.
Rocco’s large lead was erased with 34 laps complete as a piece of sheet metal debris brought out the yellow flag. On the restart, Rocco powered into the lead with Malave moving past Berndt for second. Lenahan continued in fourth with Andersen in fifth. Rocco again pulled away from his closest pursuers and he cruised to victory in the first SK Modified® feature event of the 2010 season. Malave came home in second, with Berndt, Lenahan, and Andersen rounding out the top-5 at the checkered flag.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Ryan Posocco lost a tire and spun before a lap could be completed to bring the yellow out. On the restart, Tom Fearn made a three-wide move to take the race lead with Dillon Moltz moving into second. Keith Rocco settled into third, with Corey Hutchings and Tom Butler making up the top-5. A spin by Jim Peterson brought the yellow back out with 1 lap complete.
Fearn held the lead on the restart, with Moltz and Hutchings behind him. Butler moved up one spot into fourth and J.J. Hill moved into the fifth position. The top-5 cars began to pull away from the rest of the field and Fearn held the lead until lap-5, when Moltz moved to the front of the pack. One lap later, Peterson went around for the second time in turn 4 to bring the yellow back out.
Moltz continued to hold the lead ahead of Fearn and Hutchings on the restart, with Woody Pitakt moving up to fourth with Hill continuing to hold down the fifth position. Hutchings and Pitkat would team up to both move by Fearn, but Hill’s top-5 run came to an end with 9 laps complete as he made contact with the frontstretch wall with 9 laps complete.
Moltz again powered into the lead with Pitkat getting by Hutchings for second place on the lap-10 restart. Jim Mavlouganes followed Pitakt by Hutchings to drop Hutchings back to fourth place with Scott Cook moving into the fifth position. A flat tire ended Mavlouganes’ good run with 17 laps complete and brought the yellow back out.
Just as he had all race long, Moltz powered into the lead on the restart and quickly began to pull away from the field. Pitkat was in second, with Hutchings moving back up to third place. Fearn was running fourth and Cook was still running in fifth place. The top-5 cars ran unchanged over the final 12 laps as Moltz scored a commanding victory in the first Late Model feature event of the 2010 season.
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