Pitkat Running In Circles With 4-Car Effort
Stafford, Thompson Campaigns Reveal A Racer’s Racer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Woody Pitkat is one of the busiest race car drivers in NASCAR. His pace requires four different race cars in three different divisions fielded by four different owners.
Here’s where he stands in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series this week:
At Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, Conn., he’s second in NASCAR SK Modified division track points, 26 behind leader Ted Christopher. He leads Stafford’s NASCAR Finalist Division II Late Model standings by 24 over Mike Quintiliano.
At Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway, Pitkat is outside the championship chases but is seventh in Sunoco Modified standings with two wins; and eleventh in Late Model points with a best finish of second.
With his SK/Sunoco Modified competition, Pitkat is fourth in NASCAR state points with a 20 race record of four wins, 13 top-fives and 15 top-10s.
Pitkat also competes in selected NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events.
Prior to the Aug. 16 NASCAR Finalist Division points update he is 18th in Division II paved track standings with a record of three wins, 10 top-fives and 13 top-10s in 13 starts.
With just five weeks remaining in the 2012 national point race, Lee Pulliam leads the standings for the fifth consecutive week. His point lead diminished by nine points as Nate Monteith jumped from fifth to second in national standings. Pulliam leads Monteith atop the leader board 768-716. The only top-five driver to not change position in points from last week is Pulliam.
Pulliam, 24, of Semora, N.C., won the first of two 50-lap asphalt Late Model features Sunday afternoon at Caraway Speedway in Sophia, N.C. The event was weather delayed from Saturday night. Pulliam received a pit road pass-through penalty in the second 50-lapper when officials cited him for beating race leader Ryan Wilson to the start-finish line on a restart. Wilson went on to win the event while Pulliam finished 12th in the 23-car field.
Despite threatening weather, Monteith scored his ninth and 10th wins of the season in two 30-lap Late Model features at Kingsport (Tenn.) Speedway Friday. The .375-mile concrete oval concludes its 2012 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season this Friday with the Tennessee State Champion 150 that includes two 75-lap NASCAR Late Model features.
The wins by Pulliam and Monteith and the fact that two national top-five drivers could make no starts helped Monteith leap to second place. Connecticut Modified driver Keith Rocco and former national point leader C.E. Falk III were shut out from making any starts. Weather and track schedules were the factors.
NATIONAL STANDINGS | STATE & PROVINCIAL STANDINGS
Rocco, the series’ 2010 national champion fell from second to third in this week’s national standings while Falk dropped from third to fourth. Another Connecticut Modified driver and 2001 national champion Ted Christopher dropped from fourth to fifth in points despite third-place feature finishes at Thompson International Speedway and Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway.
Pitkat, 33, of Stafford, Conn., is ranked 31st in this week’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Top 500. His chances to be in the race for 2012 national championship evaporated in May. Two hard wrecks at Thompson took their toll.
“The second week of the season we seemed to be in every wreck there was at Thompson and had to put on a new rear clip. The third week, we got collected in a wreck in the first turn of the first lap. We took a couple of weeks off from there to regroup.”
When he got back on track at Thompson, he went on a tear with finishes of third, first, first and second. He later missed the July 12 race day at Thompson to compete in the tour event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon on July 14.
Pitkat recognizes he’s racing with some of the toughest and most talented drivers of his generation. They make him crave the SK Modified championship at Stafford even more.
“I’ve finished second in Stafford points four of the last five years,” Pitkat said. The four championships were split evenly by NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champions Ted Christopher and Keith Rocco. Last year, Pitkat placed third in track points behind Ryan Preece and Rocco.
Pitkat’s miles are not limited to laps on track. His 2001 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Diesel, was purchased new from Buzz Chew Chevrolet on Long Island, N.Y. Originally used to haul his race cars, it has 373,000 miles on it so far. The vehicle doubles as a snow plow during the winter.
Pitkat is employed by the Smyth Bus Company in Enfield, Conn., where he is a full-time school bus mechanic. He is engaged to Erica Santos, sister of 2010 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Bobby Santos.
Sources: Paul Schaefer/NASCAR PR
Woody Pitkat’s Rides
At Stafford Motor Speedway
SK Modified
Owners: Bob Hitchcock and Kelly Iverson
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fuller
Chassis: Chassis Dynamics
Engine: Performance Engines by Billy the Kid
Primary sponsors: Hitchcock Pool Water, NAPA of Tolland, Charlton Performance
Location: Charlton, Mass.
Late Model
Owner: Bill Snow
Crew Chief: Joey Ferruci
Chassis: BFR
Engine: Performance Engines by Billy the Kid
Primary sponsors: New Haven Truck & Auto Body, Goody’s Hardware
Location: New Haven, Conn.
At Thompson International Speedway
Sunoco Modified
Owner: James Paige
Crew Chief: Steve Lemay
Chassis: Troyer
Engine: Performance Engines by Billy The Kid
Primary sponsors: James Paige Plumbing & Heating; Avant Garde Salon & Spa
Location: Blackstone, Mass.
At NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
Tour Modified
Owner: John Lukosavage
Crew Chief: Lloyd Agor
Chassis: Chassis Dynamics
Engine: Performance Technology
Primary sponsors: Spectro Oil, T.S.I. Harley-Davidson
Location: Watertown, Conn.