Pennink, Bennett, Wesson, Hayes, Fearn, & O’Connell Score August 7 Call Before You Dig 150 Feature Wins at Stafford
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Speedway returned to NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing action with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in the house for the Call Before You Dig 150. Taking down NASCAR Whelen All-American Series weekly feature wins on the night were Rowan Pennink for the sixth time this season in the SK Modified® feature, Michael Bennett was also a winner for the sixth time this year in the Late Model feature, Daniel Wesson won the second race of his rookie season in the SK Light feature, Andrew Hayes won his third consecutive and fifth overall feature of the year in the Limited Late Model feature, Alexandra Fearn won for the third time in the DARE Stock feature, and Devin O’Connell scored his Stafford Speedway leading seventh feature win of the year in the Legend Cars feature.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Todd Owen took a trip through the infield on the frontstretch but the race stayed green with Ted Christopher taking the early lead. Tyler Hines took a spin through the infield grass but the race stayed green.
Christopher held the lead until lap-7 when Keith Rocco moved to the front. Rocco’s move opened the door for Rowan Pennink to follow him by. Pennink moved to the lead on lap-13 and behind him, Joey Cipriano made contact with Rocco which sent Rocco spinning off turn 2 and brought the caution out. Cipriano was sent to the rear of the field for the contact with Rocco. This put Christopher back alongside Pennink for the restart with Ryan Preece and Woody Pitkat in the second row.
Pennink took the lead at the green but when the cars hit turn 3, Pennink drifted up the track, which gave Preece enough room to make a pass for the lead. Mike Christopher, Jr spun to bring the caution out with 14 laps complete.
Preece took the lead back under green and the action was wild at the front as Pennink held off a furious charge from both Christopher and Ronnie Williams. David Webb spun on the backstretch to bring the caution out with 16 laps complete.
Preece and Pennink resumed their duel for the lead on the restart with Christopher taking third in front of a side by side Williams and Pitkat. Pennink made a move to the inside of Preece for the lead on lap-19 but Preece was able to hold him off. Pennink remained side by side with Preece and he took the lead on lap-22 but the caution came out with 21 laps complete for Jeremy Sorel, who ended up in the turn 1 wall and Todd Owen, who came to a stop against the wall in turn 2.
Pennink took the lead back under green with Preece staying glued to his back bumper. Pitkat moved up to third with Joey Cipriano back up to fourth after his earlier penalty and Matt Galko was running in fifth. Preece settled in for a couple of laps and then on lap-30 he was right back on Pennink’s bumper, looking to make a pass for the race lead. Behind the two leaders, Cipriano was beginning to look on the inside of Pitkat to move into the third position, but Pitkat was able to hold him off.
Preece looked high and he looked low but he wasn’t able to make a pass as Pennink nailed down his sixth win of the 2015 season. Pitkat finished third, with Cipriano and Williams rounding out the top-5.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Rich Hammann took the early lead with Kevin Gambacorta right on his back bumper. Michael Bennett quickly sliced his way through the field and was up to third on lap-2. Bennett continued his charge and went by both Gambacorta and Hammann in turn 3 to move to the lead. Gambacorta settled into second with Josh Wood, Rick Lanagan, and Hamman lined up behind him.
With 10 laps complete, Bennett had pulled away from Gambacorta in second, who in turn had a comfortable margin back to Wood in third. Tom Fearn was on the move as he broke into the top-5 and then went by Wood on lap-15 to move into third place. Wood lost two more spots on lap-17 as Wayne Coury, Jr. moved into fourth and Tom Butler took over fifth to drop Wood back to sixth.
Bennett cruised to his sixth win of the 2015 season. Gambacorta finished second, with Fearn, Coury, and Butler rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap SK Light feature event, Paul French took the early race lead with Bob Charland, Daniel Wesson, Payton Henry, and Geoff Boisjolie lined up behind him. Wesley Prucker spun to bring the caution out with 3 laps complete.
French took the lead on the restart but Jay Goff and Pete Lopuch both spun in turn 3 while Todd Douillard came to a stop on the backstretch grass to bring the caution out with 4 laps complete.
Boisjolie and Daniel Wesson both streaked by French on the restart to move into first and second but the caution came back out with 6 laps complete for a spin in turn 4 by Aaron Goff.
Boisjolie got around Wesson in the outside groove to take the lead on the restart with Stephen Kopcik moving into third. French was fourth and Henry was fifth. Mark Alkas spun in turn 4 to bring the caution out with 11 laps complete.
Boisjolie streaked into the lead back under green while it was 3-wide behind him. Wesson moved into second with Henry taking third. Kopcik was now side by side with Nick Salva for fourth and French was back to sixth place.
Wesson made what looked to be a power move going into turn 3 on lap-15 on the inside of Boisjolie but Boisjolie hung tough in the outside lane and he maintained the race lead. Wesson took the lead one lap later as Boisjolie got very high in turn 4, which allowed Henry and Kopcik to get past. The caution came out with 17 laps complete as D.J. Burnham and Salva got together on the backstretch.
Wesson took the lead back under green and as the leaders navigated turns 1+2 Boisjolie went up and over the tire of Payton Henry and came to a stop to bring the caution out and set up a green white checkered finish.
Kopcik got a good run on the restart and took the lead but an multicar incident in turn 4 brought the caution right back out.
Wesson moved to the lead on the restart with Kopcik right on his bumper. Wesson pulled out several car lengths from Kopcik on the final lap and he took the checkered flag for the second win of his rookie season. Aaron Goff finished third, with Glenn Griswold fourth and Kyle Jette fifth.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, David Comeau led the first lap on the outside of Robert Bloxsom, III, but Bloxsom came back strong on lap-2 and moved to the lead. Comeau settled into second while Cliff Saunders was third. Paul and David Arute were on the move early on and moved up to fourth and fifth before the caution came out with 3 laps complete for spins by Jeremy Lavoie and Duane Provost in turn 1.
Bloxsom took the lead back under green with Cliff Saunders moving into second. Paul Arute went by David Comeau to move into third and David Arute followed him by to take over fourth. Andrew Hayes then went by Comeau as the cars completed the first lap back under green to drop Comeau out of the top-5.
Saunders got a good run on lap-8 and he took over the race lead with a pass in turn 3. Paul Arute was third with Hayes and David Arute side by side for fourth with Al Saunders and Justin Bren right behind them.
Hayes took the spot and he continued his charge by moving by Paul Arute on lap-12 to take over third place as Cliff Saunders continued to lead the race with Bloxsom still in second. Hayes used a bump and run move in turn 3 to move into second on lap-15. Cliff Saunders was still in the lead with Hayes now second, Bloxsom third, Paul Arute fourth, and Bren fifth.
Hayes led the field to the checkered flag to pick up his third win in a row and fifth overall of the 2015 season. Cliff Saunders got around Bloxsom on the final lap to take second with Bloxsom, Bren, and Paul Arute rounding out the top-5.
In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, Zack Robinson took the lead at the green with Alexandra Fearn moving by Marcello Rufrano to take over second. Rufrano got into the turn 4 wall and came to a stop on the infield to bring the caution out with 3 laps complete.
Robinson took the lead back under green but he lost that lead on lap-5 as Fearn moved to the front of the pack. Trace Beyer and Frank L’Etoile, Jr. were side by side for third with L’Etoile taking the spot. Tyler Trott was in fifth and he was peeking to the inside of Beyer for fourth but fell back into line in fifth. Trott got by Beyer on lap-10 to move into fourth as Fearn continued to lead Robinson and L’Etoile.
Fearn ran unchallenged to the checkered flag as she picked up her third win of the 2015 season. Robinson finished second with L’Etoile, Trot, and Beyer rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Legends Car feature event, Brett Crowther and Teddy Hodgdon were locked in a side by side duel for the lead right from the drop of the green flag. Crowther got clear of Hodgdon on lap-3 and now Devin O’Connell was on the inside of Hodgdon in a fight for second. O’Connell took second from Hodgdon and then took the lead from Crowther on lap-4. Dana DiMatteo moved into second as Hodgdon settled into third with Crowther falling back to fourth, just in front of Ryan DeCandia.
At the halfway point of the race, O’Connell had pulled away from DiMatteo and Hodgdon, who in turn had pulled away from Joe Graf, Jr. in fourth and Crowther in fifth. DeCandia took fifth from Crowther on lap-13 as O’Connell continued to lead the race. Crowther spun coming out of turn 2 to bring the caution out with 15 laps complete and erase O’Connell led the field back to the checkered flag to pick up his seventh win of the 2015 season. DiMatteo just beat Hodgdon to the line to finish second with Graf and DeCandia 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 atwww.staffordspeedway.com.
SK MODIFIED® (40)
1) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa
2) Ryan Preece, Berlin
3) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
4) Joey Cipriano, III, Waterbury
5) Ronnie Williams, Tolland
6) Ted Christopher, Plainville
7) Keith Rocco, Berlin
8) Dan Avery, Somers
9) Matt Galko, Meriden
10) Michael Gervais, Jr., Southbury
11) Eric Berndt, Cromwell
12) David Webb, New Milford
13) Tyler Hines, North Haven
14) Mike Christopher, Jr., Wolcott
15) Jeremy Sorel, Westfield, Ma
16) Todd Owen, Somers
LATE MODEL (30)
1) Michael Bennett, Willington
2) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
3) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, Ma
4) Wayne Coury, Jr., Shelton
5) Tom Butler, Stafford Springs
6) Josh Wood, Palmer, Ma
7) Ed Ricard, Stafford Springs
8) Rick Lanagan, III, Broad Brook
9) Rich Hammann, Tolland
10) Michael Scorzelli, Feura Bush, Ny
11) Michael Wray, Northford
12) Chase Cook, Oakdale
13) Scott Cook, Oakdale
14) Paul Varricchio, Jr., Berlin
SK LIGHT MODIFIED (20)
1) Daniel Wesson, Monson, Ma
2) Stephen Kopcik, Newtown
3) Aaron Goff, Stafford Springs
4) Glenn Griswold, Vernon
5) Kyle Jette, New Milford
6) Wesley Prucker, Stafford
7) Carlos Gray, Manchester
8) Bob Charland, Stafford
9) Jay Goff, Stafford Springs
10) Mark Alkas, Berlin
11) Cory Casagrande, Stafford Springs
12) Rit Dulac, Plantsville
13) Paul French, Andover
14) Nathan Pytko, Douglas, Ma
15) Geoff Boisjolie, East Hampton, Ma
16) Payton Henry, Willington
17) Nick Salva, Prospect
18) D.J. Burnham, East Hartford
19) Joey Ferrigno, East Hartford
20) Todd Douillard, Palmer, Ma
21) Pete Lopuch, West Redding
LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)
1) Andrew Hayes, Charlton, Ma
2) Cliff Saunders, Stafford
3) Robert Bloxsom, III, Stratford
4) Justin Bren, Palmer, Ma
5) Paul Arute, Tolland
6) Al Saunders, Stafford
7) David Arute, Tolland
8) David Comeau, Palmer, Ma
9) R.J. Surdell, Manchester
10) Duane Provost, Indian Orchard, Ma
11) Jeremy Lavoie, Windsor Locks
12) Matt Clement, Wethersfield
DARE STOCK (15)
1) Alexandra Fearn, East Longmeadow, Ma
2) Zack Robinson, Putnam
3) Frank L’Etoile, Jr., Wethersfield
4) Tyler Trott, East Hartford
5) Trace Beyer, West Dover, Vt
6) Brandon Michael, Granville, Ma
7) Dan Dembek, Hampden, Ma
8) Nicole Chambrello, Kensington
9) David Zienka, II, Mt Pleasant, Nc
10) Chris Bagnall, Norfolk
11) Marcello Rufrano, North Haven
12) Jake Higginson, Waterbury
LEGEND CARS (20)
1) Devin O’Connell, Madison
2) Dana DiMatteo, Farmington
3) Teddy Hodgdon, Danbury
4) Joe Graf, Jr., Mahwah, Nj
5) Ryan DeCandia, Chaplin
6) Brett Crowther, Belchertown, Ma
7) Andrew Molleur, Shelton
8) Michael Hopkins, Springfield, Ma
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR