Keith Rocco, Ryan Posocco, Matt Galko, Dan Flannery & Tony Membrino, Jr. Honored as 2010 Stafford Speedway Track Champions
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Motor Speedway welcomed a guest list of nearly 500 people consisting of teams, drivers, sponsors, and employees this past Friday night, November 19 at the La Renaissance Banquet Facility in East Windsor to officially honor Keith Rocco, Ryan Posocco, Matt Galko, Dan Flannery, and Tony Membrino, Jr. as the 2010 Stafford Motor Speedway NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track champions.
With Stafford Motor Speedway broadcasters Matt Buckler and Joe Coss serving as the Masters of Ceremony, the 41st annual Stafford Motor Speedway NASCAR Champions Awards Ceremony not only honored the five track champions, it also honored the top-20 points finishers from the SK Modified®, Late Model, SK Light, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock divisions. Other awards that were presented during the evening’s festivities were Most Popular Driver Awards, Most Improved Driver Awards, Reliable Welding & Speed Rookie of the Year awards, and the Craftsman Mechanic of the Year Award.
The race for the 2010 SK Modified® championship began and ended with Keith Rocco in victory lane. In between his season opening CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler and CARQUEST Fall Final feature victories this season were 8 more feature wins to give Rocco a Stafford SK Modified® record 10 wins. In 20 starts this season, Rocco collected 16 top-5, and 19 top-10 finishes along with his 10 wins for an amazing average finish of 3.4, which allowed him to win the championship by a whopping 138-point margin over Woody Pitkat. Rocco also finished in 7th place in the Late Model points standings this season with one victory.
The 2010 Late Model championship chase saw Ryan Posocco complete the “Drive for Five” as he collected his record fifth Late Model track championship at Stafford. The points race was a tight race all season long between Posocco, Woody Pitkat, and Dillon Moltz, which ended up coming down to the last race with Posocco and Pitkat separated by only 6 points as Moltz faded from contention. Pitkat ended up winning the CARQUEST Fall Final feature event for his division leading 8th win of the season, but Posocco finished third, which was enough to give him the championship by the smallest of margins, 2 points. In addition to locking down his fifth track championship, it was also a season of milestones for Posocco at Stafford as he surpassed 40 career Late Model feature race and he reached 50 career victories at Stafford with 43 Late Model wins and 7 DARE Stock wins. Posocco posted 4 wins, 13 top-5 and 19 top-10 finishes 20 starts this season.
In the SK Light Modified division, a rookie driver claimed the championship for the second consecutive season. Matt Galko took over the points lead midway through the season and looked to be heading comfortably towards the championship. But Tommy Barrett, Jr. was in the middle of a white hot winning streak, winning 8 of 9 races, while Galko finished 13th or worse 3 times in four races leading up to the CARQUEST Fall Final, putting Galko 6 points behind Barrett for the final race of the season. But Barrett encountered trouble in the opening laps of the race while Galko went on to win the race and the track championship. Galko posted 4 wins, 13 top-5, and 16 top-10 finishes in 21 starts to win the championship by 32 points over Barrett.
One year after a flat tire eliminated him from championship contention, Dan Flannery returned strong to the Limited Late Model division and took the championship with a division leading 6 feature victories. Although Flannery led the division in wins, he had to contend with Dave Yardley, III as well as defending track champion Andrew Durand in the chase for the championship. Heading into the final race of the year, Flannery and Yardley were separated by only 6 points. But like Galko, Flannery won the final race to take the championship in grand style by 12 points over Yardley. Along with his 6 wins, Flannery also led the division with 15 top-5 and 19 top-10 finishes.
Just as the SK Light Modified division had a rookie driver win the championship for the second consecutive season, the DARE Stock division had the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler feature winner win the championship for the third consecutive season. Tony Membrino, Jr. matched the feat that was turned by Norm Sears in 2008 and Don Wood last year. Membrino enjoyed a remarkable season, finishing no lower than seventh place all year long and he took the championship by a 42 point margin over Jeff Jolly. Membrino posted 1 win, 16 top-5, and 21 top-10 finishes in 21 starts this sason.
Receiving awards for Most Improved Driver were Zach Sylvester in the SK Modified® division, Adam Gray in the Late Model division, Erica Santos in the SK Light division, and Michael Wray in the Limited Late Model division. The Most Improved Driver award is given to a driver who exhibits the greatest degree of improvement in on-track performance over the past season. Nominees are selected and voted upon by a committee of select Stafford Motor Speedway management and track officials.
The Reliable Welding & Speed Rookie of the Year awards were presented by Brad and Linda Hietala of Reliable Welding and Speed to Josh Sylvester from the SK Modified® division, Tim Fogg from the Late Model division, Matt Galko from the SK Light division, and Duane Provost from the Limited Late Model division. The awards will be worth a $700.00 bonus to Sylvester, and $500.00 bonuses to Fogg, Galko, and Provost from Reliable Welding and Speed. Each Rookie of the Year bonus will be paid out in $100.00 weekly increments to each driver as they attend events during the 2011 season.
The winners of the Most Popular Driver Awards were Woody Pitkat in the SK Modified® and Late Model divisions, Erica Santos from the SK Light division, Andrew Durand from the Limited Late Model division, and Cory Casagrande from the DARE Stock division. The Most Popular Driver Awards are voted on by the fans who attend Stafford Motor Speedway race events and fill out the ballots found weekly in the track’s PitStopper Magazine.
The Craftsman Mechanic of the Year Award was awarded to Stephen Butova. Butova prepared and maintained Frank Ruocco’s SK Modified® machine that visited CARQUEST Victory Lane 4 times this season, including the prestigious CARQUEST SK 150. The Craftsman Mechanic of the Year Award is voted on by Stafford crew members who possess a valid 2010 NASCAR License.
For more information about the 2010 Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony, or to order a video of the night’s festivities, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway’s track office at (860) 684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR