CARQUEST Champions for Charities Driver Spotlight: Frank Ruocco
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Motor Speedway has again lined up an impressive field of current and former open wheel champions for its CARQUEST Champions For Charities Event as part of CARQUEST Super Saturday on June 30th. During the coming weeks, SMS will offer a profile on each of its championship winning drivers and the charity they will be racing for. This week's CARQUEST Champions For Charities spotlight falls on 2006 Stafford Motor Speedway SK Modified® Champion Frank Ruocco, who will be racing to help support The Lustgarten Foundation, which is an organization dedicated to the research of pancreatic cancer.
“I’m thrilled to be part of CARQUEST Champions For Charities again,” said Ruocco. “It was a lot of fun last year and it looks like it’s growing this year. I’ve had personal connections with several people affected by pancreatic cancer, so there’s no question it always means a little more when you have a personal connection that you’re raising money for.”
Part of Ruocco’s fundraising efforts for The Lustgarten Foundation will be the 2nd Annual Bill Tamburro, Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament. The tournament is scheduled for Monday, May 21st and will be held at Lyman Orchards Golf Club in Middlefield, CT. Ruocco was the leading fundraiser of the CARQUEST Champions For Charities Drivers last year, which put him on pole for the 15-lap Senior Outlaw Kart feature event. Ruocco finished the race in third place behind Keith Rocco and Jon McKennedy.
“The race last year was a lot of fun,” said Ruocco. “We were swapping the lead and I can’t believe that 15 laps went by that fast. I didn’t even know the race was over, I thought maybe Jack Arute miscounted the laps. I’m looking into maybe putting some shocks on the kart to keep it from bouncing around so much this year. I hope this year I can win the golf tournament, win a raffle prize at the tournament, and then win the race.”
While last year’s Bill Tamburro, Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament had 72 golfers taking part, this year’s tournament has already exceeded that number. Thanks to the generosity of Gold level sponsors, last year's tournament was able to raise over $17,000. Returning this year as Gold level sponsors are Complete Construction, Hurricane Motorsports, and New England Racing Fuel.
There is a wide variety of sponsorship opportunities available for this year’s tournament, including Gold, Silver, and Bronze levels as well as Cart, Beverage Cart, Hole, Green, and Tee sponsorships. For more information on becoming a sponsor, or to register for the Bill Tamburro, Jr., Memorial Golf Tournament, please download the event brochure by CLICKING HERE. For more information, or to make a donation to The Lustgarten Foundation to support Frank Ruocco, please visit www.lustgarten.org/tamburrogolf12.
Ruocco began racing in Stafford’s SK Modified® division in 2002, and from 2003-2010, Ruocco didn’t finish lower than 6th in the SK Modified® points standings. Ruocco won at least one SK Modified® feature race every year from 2005-2010, with a career high 4 wins coming in 2010. Ruocco enters the 2012 season tied with John Anderson for 8th place on the all-time Stafford SK Modified® winners list with 16 career SK Modified® feature victories.
The starting lineup for the CARQUEST Champions For Charities feature event will be determined by how much money each driver raises for their selected charity. The starting grid will be set with the drivers who have raised the most money starting up front. Fans are encouraged to get involved in the event by donating to their favorite driver or favorite charity. To make a donation to The Lustgarten Foundation on behalf of Frank Ruocco, and for more information on the event, please refer to the CARQUEST Champions for Charities donation page. Stay tuned to www.staffordspeedway.com for more driver spotlights and exciting information regarding the CARQUEST Champions for Charities event.
CARQUEST Super Saturday will take place on Saturday, June 30, 2012 and will feature the ISMA Super Modifieds, NEMA Midgets, and Pro-4 Modifieds in addition to the Senior Outlaw Wild Thing Karts. Tickets for CARQUEST Super Saturday are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office and are priced at $33.00 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 $35.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.
For more information, or to order tickets to the 9th Annual CARQUEST Super Saturday event, 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