Jon McKennedy Wins 2nd Annual Lincoln Tech 80 at Stafford
Stafford Springs, CT — The Valenti Modified Racing Series made its second and final visit of the 2012 season to Stafford Motor Speedway for the 2nd Annual Lincoln Tech 80. VMRS points leader Jon McKennedy helped extend his lead in the championship chase by taking the checkered flag for his first ever victory at Stafford Motor Speedway.
Ted Christopher got around polesitter Jon McKennedy to take the race lead on the first lap. Rowan Pennink was third behind Christopher and McKennedy with Tim Jordan in fourth and Chris Pasteryak in fifth place. Norm Wrenn was sixth, with Mark Bakaj, Max Zachem, Tom Bolles, and Louie Mechalides making up the top-10 in the early going.
Pasteryak got around Jordan to move into fourth and Christopher was leading the race with 10 laps completed. The caution came out for Chris Jones and Brian Schofield, who both spun in turn 1.
Christopher took the lead back under green with Pennink pulling alongside McKennedy in a duel for second place. There was a multicar spin in turn 1 to bring the yellow back out with 13 laps complete.
Christopher again took the lead on the restart with McKennedy and Pennink resuming their side by side fight for second. Pennink cleared McKennedy after two laps of side by side racing, but his good run ended on lap-16 when his car let loose a plume of smoke and he limped back to pit road and pulled behind the wall.
With 25 laps down, Christopher was the race leader, but he had McKennedy, Chris Pasteryak, and Mark Bakaj lined up right behind him in a four car train. Tim Jordan was running in fifth, almost a full straightaway behind the four lead cars. Jordan was leading a train of cars that included Zachem, Bolles, Mechalides, Wrenn, Dave Etheridge, and Joey Cipriano.
At the halfway point of the race, the leaders were beginning to encounter lapped traffic and Christopher was able to stretch out his lead by several car lengths over McKennedy. Chris Pasteryak was still third, with Bakaj behind him in fourth. The caution came out with 43 laps complete as Schofield spun on the backstretch.
McKennedy powered to the outside of Christopher and took over the race lead on the restart. Chris Pasteryak was third behind McKennedy and Christopher, with Bakaj right on his bumper. Bolles was fifth, with Wrenn, Zachem, Mechalides, Etheridge, and Doug Coby lined up behind him.
Coby was on the charge, moving into eighth place on lap-50 after riding in the back of the pack for much of the first half of the race. Tommy Barrett, Jr. was also on the move, cracking into the top-10 for the first time after riding in the back for the first half and then making two pit stops under the lap-43 caution flag.
At the front of the field, Christopher was glued to the back bumper of McKennedy for the lead with Chris Pasteryak right behind Christopher. McKennedy was able to pull away from Christopher by several car lengths over the next several laps, while Chris Pasteryak was right behind Christopher.
Barrett was continuing his charge towards the front, as he went three wide into turn 1 on lap-64 to move into fifth place behind Bakaj. Barrett went by Bakaj for fourth place on lap-67, but he was given the black flag for dumping fluid on the track. Barrett ignored the black flag and then came to a stop on the track in turn 2 to bring the caution out with 73 laps complete.
Christopher took a look to the inside of McKenndy in turn 2 on the restart, but McKennedy was able to hold Christopher off. Christopher’s car began to smoke from the right rear tire and he spun in turn 2 to bring the caution back out with 76 laps complete.
McKennedy was the leader back under green with Chris Pasteryak right behind him. Coby moved up to third, with Bakaj fourth and Mechalides fifth. Mechalides got around Bakaj for fourth on lap-79, but it was all McKennedy at the front of the field as he took the checkered flag for his first victory at Stafford. Pasteryak finished second, with Coby, Mechalides, and Bakaj rounding out the top-5.
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