CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend to Close Out 2011 Season at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Motor Speedway will close out its 2011 NASCAR season with the 39th Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend, scheduled for Sept. 30th through Oct. 2nd. The track will host the final races for its five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions as well as the penultimate round of the 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season. Stafford will crown its track champions that weekend and the Whelen Modified Tour championship could potentially be decided.
In the three Whelen Modified Tour races held at Stafford thusfar this season, there has been three different winners with Bobby Santos winning the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler in April, current WMT points leader Ronnie Silk won the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 in May, and Ted Christopher won the Town Fair Tire 150 in August. Silk won the most recent WMT race at Delaware Speedway in Canada, and he currently holds a 77-point lead over Todd Szegedy in the chase for the championship.
The Whelen Modified Tour will race at Thompson, Lime Rock, and New Hampshire before heading to Stafford for the CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend. Both Silk and Szegedy have stellar records at each of those three tracks, so the points race promises to be tight when the Tour returns to Stafford. Silk recorded top-5 finishes in each of those races last season and he has 2 second place finishes along with an 11th and a 23rd place finish at Thompson and New Hampshire this season. Szegedy’s record has been just as good as Silk’s, with two top-6 finishes in those three races last season and he has finishes of first, third, sixth, and 22nd at Thompson and New Hampshire this season.
Stafford’s tightest weekly point races are in the Limited Late Model division, where Kevin Gambacorta currently holds a 2-point lead over Shawn Thibeault, and in the DARE Stock division, where Don Wood has an 8-point lead over Andrew Hayes. In Stafford’s Late Model and SK Light Modified divisions, there are two drivers looking to repeat as track champions. 2010 Late Model champion Ryan Posocco holds a 30-point advantage over Woody Pitkat, and 2010 SK Light champion Matt Galko is currently 40 points clear of Joey Cipriano. In Stafford’s premier SK Modified® division, Ryan Preece is currently 64 points ahead of Pitkat.
The 39th Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend kicks off on Friday, Sept. 30 with pit gates opening at 12:00pm with a practice session running from 2:00pm to 6:30pm for Stafford’s weekly divisions. The General Admission grandstands will be open to the public at no charge for the practice session. The G.A. Grandstands will open at 2pm.
Action continues on Saturday, Oct. 1 with Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the Whelen Modified Tour cars at 2:15pm, followed by heat and consolation races for Stafford’s weekly divisions. Saturday’s events wrap up with feature events for Stafford’s SK Light Modified, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock divisions.
The CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend continues on Sunday, Oct. 2 with the famous Stafford CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party kicking off the day’s activities from 11:00am to 12:00pm, with the final SK Modified® and Late Model feature events of 2011 being accompanied by the Whelen Modified Tour 150-lap CARQUEST Fall Final.
Tickets for the CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend are available and on sale now at the Stafford Motor Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $35.00 for adult General Admission, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 & under are free. Reserved seating is $38.00 for all ages. All tickets cover both Saturday and Sunday admission to the Fall Final. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available. Tickets can be ordered by calling the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783.
For more information, or to order tickets, 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