Frank Ruocco Looks to Continue Winning Ways in 7th Annual CARQUEST 150 at Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — With the 7th Annual CARQUEST SK 150 set to take the green flag at Stafford Motor Speedway on July 23rd, one driver who will be looking forward to the biggest and richest SK Modified® event of the 2010 season will be Frank Ruocco. Ruocco has had a roller coaster season at Stafford, winning twice and finishing on the podium 4 times, but Ruocco also has 6 finishes of 16th or worse this year. The 2006 Stafford SK Modified® track champion has owned the CARQUEST SK 150, winning twice and finishing second in the past three events, and he is looking forward to continued success in the extra distance classic this season.
“I really like the longer distance races,” said Ruocco. “Everyone seems to be a little more patient because they have more time to get to the front. With the race being 150 laps long, it gives everyone time to get settled in. Right now, we’re trying to win as many times as we can. With the season we’ve had, we seem to go from first one week to twenty-first the next week, so the championship is out of the picture now and we’re focused on winning races.”
Ruocco’s first career victory at Stafford in the SK Modified® division came in the 2003 edition of the CARQUEST SK® 150, and with another victory and a second place finish in the last two years, Ruocco certainly knows what it takes to be the first driver to pass under the checkered flag and walk away with the $4,000 winners check from a purse of over $24,000.
“We usually go a little tighter than normal with the car for the start of the race because the car loosens up a little bit as we burn the fuel off,” said Ruocco. “Another key to the race is saving the tires at the beginning to be there for the end. I try to not get into too many hard side-by-side battles early on in the race. If you’re racing hard with someone side by side for a position early in the race, you might be better off to let the guy go past you and settle back into line to keep from burning the tires up.
If our car isn’t as good as it needs to be in the beginning of the race, we’ ll pit as many times as we need to get the car right. The goal for us is to win the race, not finish second and we’ll do whatever we can to put the car into position to win at the end of the race.”
The winner of the CARQUEST SK 150 has the potential of walking away with $4,000. The CARQUEST SK 150 will start 30 cars. Last place is guaranteed to pay $300, while 10th place will pay $1,000. The purse increases by $100 for each position from 9th place to 3rd place, while second place pays $2,200. The payout for 11th place is $900, and from positions 12 through 16, the purse decreases by $100 per position. The 17th position pays $375, and the remainder of the starting positions decreases by $25 per position to 20th place, with all drivers finishing 20th thru 30th receiving $300.
The 7th annual CARQUEST SK 150 is scheduled for July 23rd. The first 100 race fans through the admission gate will receive a FREE reusable bag, compliments of CARQUEST Auto Parts. Tickets are priced at $20.00 for adult general admission, $5.00 for children ages 6-14 general admission, and $23.00 for reserved seating. Children ages 5 & under are admitted free of charge for general admission seating when accompanied by an adult. Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking, with overnight parking available.
For more information, or to order tickets to the 7th Annual CARQUEST SK 150, 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