Frank Ruocco Ready to Challenge for Second SK Modified® Track Championship at Stafford Motor Speedway in 2011
Stafford Springs, CT — With the dawn of a new season rising above Stafford Motor Speedway, SK Modified® driver Frank Ruocco is ready to challenge for his second track championship at the famed half-mile oval. Ruocco is the 2006 Stafford SK Modified® track champion, and he is eager to get back to that position after a season in which he finished third in the standings behind Keith Rocco and Woody Pitkat in what he describes as the toughest division in the country.
“Over the winter we’ve gone through the cars down to the chassis, we redid everything, and now we’re ready to go,” said Ruocco. “Our cars were fast all year long and they’ve been fast for the past couple of years, but in the SKs at Stafford, everyone is so close. I would argue that there isn’t a more competitive field anywhere than we have in the SK Modified® division at Stafford.”
Rocco’s 2010 season was a mix of peaks and valleys. Ruocco consistently had one of the fastest cars every Friday night, but his finishes didn’t always match the pace of his car. Ruocco won the second race of the year after an 18th place showing in the season opening CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, but he had 5 finishes of 16th or worse in the first half of the year. The turning point for Ruocco was the midway point of the year, when he made a crew chief change that saw Steve Butova take over the role. In their first race together, Ruocco came home as the race winner and began a streak that saw them win 3 times and finish on the podium a total of 7 times over the final 10 races of the 2010 season.
“I think that definitely the turning point was when Steve took over,” said Ruocco. “Stash and I had been working together for a long time and once we decided to do what we did, there’s no question we ran better. Also, I always say that you have to have luck on your side and we definitely had some luck on our side during the second half of the season. The greatest thing was seeing Steve win the Craftsman Mechanic of the Year award at the Stafford banquet.”
Had Ruocco not had such a slow start to the 2010 season, he may very well have been able to give eventual Stafford track champion and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Champion Keith Rocco a run for his money. Ruocco finished second to Rocco with 4 wins and 11 top-5 finishes.
“We started the year out painfully slow,” said Ruocco. “We had some stupid mechanical problems and we got caught up in a couple of wrecks, which put us behind very early on. I think we only finished three of the first seven races of the year. But even if we could have had a first half of the year like the second half, it would have been nearly impossible to beat Keith [Rocco]. Those guys had a great year and I was really happy to see him win the national championship.”
Among Ruocco’s four 2010 race victories was a trip to victory lane in the prestigious CARQUEST SK 150. Ruocco has made a habit of winning that particular race, winning three of the last four CARQUEST SK 150 races at Stafford.
“The 150 was a great race for us, I wish every week could be a 150-lapper,” said Ruocco. “We got spun around early in that race and went a lap down. We had to get a lucky dog to get back on the lead lap and then get back to the front. Normally, you like to be able to use some patience in those longer races, but we had to fight the whole 150 laps to win that race. We had to beat Ryan Preece and he is a great driver and it was a lot of fun racing with him for the win.”
In addition to himself, Ruocco will have another car to keep an eye on as his son Jesse will make his debut this season in Stafford’s SK Light Modified division.
“I’m really excited about it, I think he’s going to do a good job this year,” said Ruocco. “We’re going to rent the track before the season gets started to put him out there and get some seat time in the car. I won’t be nervous, but his mother sure will be.”
Ruocco will begin his quest for a second SK Modified® track championship at the season opening 40th Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, which is scheduled for April 29-May 1. The SK Modifieds® will be joined by the Whelen Modified Tour as well as Stafford’s other four NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions. Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $35.00 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating is priced at $38.00 for all ages. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.
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