Multiple Championships Up for Grabs In This Weekend’s CARQUEST Fall Final at Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — This weekend’s CARQUEST Fall Final at Stafford Motor Speedway has four track championships up for grabs. Although Ryan Preece has already staked his claim to the SK Modified® track championship, there are 4 track championships that will be decided on the track this weekend.
In Stafford’s Late Model division, the championship race comes down to a pair of hometown drivers, Ryan Posocco and Woody Pitkat. Posocco already holds the Stafford record with 5 Late Model championships, and he will be looking to add a sixth title to his resume, while Pitkat is in search of his second Late Model track title. Posocco took the points lead after the second race of the season, but soon he fell behind Jim Mavlouganes in the standings after a 15th place finish on May 20th. Posocco regained the points lead after the June 10th race and he has been at the front of the standings ever since. The road for Pitkat has been a bit bumpier than Posocco’s as he had only one top-5 finish in the first four races of the 2011 season, which left him in 15th place in the standings and nearly 100 points behind. But since that May 20th event, Pitkat hasn’t finished lower than fourth and he has won 5 times to get him to within 24 points of Posocco entering this weekend’s CARQUEST Fall Final. Should Posocco finish 12th or better, he will clinch his sixth championship regardless of where Pitkat finishes. Pitkat needs to finish at least 12 spots ahead of Posocco to lay claim to the Late Model title for the second time in his career.
After 1-2 finishes in the first two SK Light features this season, defending track champion Matt Galko and Joey Cipriano served notice that they were going to be counted among the title contenders. Between the two of them, Galko and Cipriano have accounted for 10 of the 18 race wins in the SK Light division this season and they enter the CARQUEST Fall Final separated by 36 points in the title fight. Galko needs to finish 18th or better to wrap up his second consecutive track title, while Cipriano needs to finish at least 18 spots ahead of Galko in order to become the 2011 SK Light track champion.
Stafford’s Limited Late Model division has a three-man fight for the championship with Kevin Gambacorta leading Shawn Thibeault by 8 points and George Nocera, Jr. by 14 points. Thibeault had been at the front of the Limited Late Model standings for much of the 2011 season, but a 14th place finish on September 2nd, combined with a 4th for Gambacorta, gave control of the points lead to Gambacorta. Nocera scored three wins in the first five races of the year, but he didn’t win again until August 19th, a span of 9 races. Since his August 19th victory, Nocera has posted another win, two second place finishes and a fifth place finish to put himself into the thick of the championship fight. Gambacorta, the 2006 Ltd. Late Model champion, can clinch a second track championship with a 3rd place finish. Thibeault needs to finish at least 4 spots ahead of Gambacorta and no more than 2 spots behind Nocera to become champion, while Nocera needs to finish at least 7 spots ahead of Gambacorta and at least 4 spots ahead of Thibeault to become champion.
Stafford’s DARE Stock division has four contenders for the title. Don Wood has been in control of the points race for much of the 2011 season and he is looking to add another DARE Stock championship to his 2009 DARE Stock title. Don Wood heads into the CARQUEST Fall Final with a 14-point lead over Cliff Saunders, a 24-point lead over Andrew Hayes, and a 34-point lead over his son Josh Wood. If Don Wood finishes 8th or better this weekend, he will clinch his second track championship. Cliff Saunders must finish at least 8 spots ahead of Don Wood and no more than 5 spots behind Hayes and no more than 9 spots behind Josh Wood to take the title. Hayes must finish at least 13 spots ahead of Don Wood and at least 6 spots ahead of Saunders while finishing no more than 4 spots behind Josh Wood to become champion. Josh Wood has the hardest road to navigate to become champion, but if he can finish at least 17 spots ahead of Don Wood, 10 spots ahead of Saunders, and 5 spots ahead of Hayes, he will be the 2011 DARE Stock champion.
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. Closing out the Saturday feature events will be the Paradiso-Muska DARE Stock Shoot-Out, a special 8-lap shoot-out all-star race for this season’s DARE Stock feature winners and several wild card entrants.
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