Half of Drivers Entered in the Call Before You Dig Modified Classic Have a Victory At Stafford Speedway
(Stafford Springs, CT)—The Call Before You Dig 81 Tri-Track Modified Series race scheduled for this Saturday, October 24 at Stafford Speedway, has seen the entry list grow to 50 cars. While only one car will be able to take home the $10,000 winning payday, the field is packed with driving talent from several different touring divisions as well as the weekly racing ranks. To further illustrate the wide variety of talent that will be part of the show, 15 of the 50 entries received as of Monday, Oct. 19 have raced an SK Light at Stafford and 26 of the drivers have won a feature at Stafford. Here we take a look at each of the 26 different drivers entered into the CBYD 81 who have won a race at Stafford in their careers.
Tommy Membrino, Jr. – #00 Membrino Racing – Membrino has 3 career SK Light feature wins to his credit at Stafford. He won twice in 2009 with his most recent win coming in 2011.
Joey Cipriano – #1 Superior Refinishing Chevrolet – Cipriano has 8 career Stafford wins. Cipriano won his first race in the SK Light division in 2010 and followed that up with 6 more SK Light wins in 2011 before winning his first and thus far only SK Modified® feature in 2018.
Matt Galko – #3 AAA Consulting, LLC. Chevrolet – Galko is a former 2-time SK Light champion at Stafford (’10, ’11) with 8 SK Light wins in 2010 and 2011 and 2 more SK Modified® wins in 2017 for a total of 10 wins at Stafford.
Matt Swanson – #3 USNE / Propane Plus Chevrolet – Swanson only made 10 starts during a partial schedule as a 15-year old rookie driver in Stafford’s SK Light division in 2015, but he captured his one and only Stafford victory in his 6th start.
Woody Pitkat – #6 Mertz Racing Chevrolet – With 78 career feature wins at Stafford, Pitkat ranks behind only Ted Christopher on the track’s all-time feature winners list. Pitkat is the 2013 SK Modified® track champion at Stafford to go along with 2 Late Model titles (’06, ’12). Pitkat’s 78 career wins have come in 6 different divisions at Stafford with 40 Late Model wins, 30 SK Modified® wins, 3 DARE Stock wins, 2 MRS wins, 2 Whelen Modified Tour wins, and 1 Open Modified win.
Michael Christopher, Jr. – #7ny Mohawk Northeast Chevrolet – Christopher has 5 career SK Modified® wins and counting at Stafford. Christopher won his first 4 races in 2018 and his most recent win was Oct. 2 of this season.
Nick Salva – #8 Seekonk Grand Prix Chevrolet – Salva has 5 career feature wins at Stafford. Salva’s first Stafford win came in the DARE Stock division in 2010 before he won 2 SK Light features in 2014 and another 2 in 2015.
Tommy Barrett, Jr. – #9 James Monroe Wire and Cable Chevrolet – Barrett has recorded 18 career feature wins at Stafford. Barrett burst onto the Stafford scene with 10 SK Light wins in 2010 and he followed that up with 4 more SK Light wins in 2011. Barrett won an MRS event at Stafford in 2011, 2012, and 2013 with his most recent Stafford victory coming in the 2018 Twisted Tea Open 80.
Chase Dowling – #9 S & S Asphalt Paving Chevrolet – Dowling has recorded 16 Stafford victories to date. Dowling opened his Stafford win account with 7 SK Light wins in 2013 and has followed that up with 8 SK Modified® wins, including 2 NAPA SK 5k wins in 2017 and 2020, as well as an MRS win in 2019.
Jon McKennedy – #21 Spearpoint Racing Chevrolet – McKennedy has recorded 4 career feature wins at Stafford. McKennedy has 2 MRS wins coming in 2012 and 2016 and he swept a pair of MTS feature events in 2017.
Troy Talman – #23 American Military University Chevrolet – Talman scored his one and thus far only career Stafford feature win in the SK Light division back in 2013.
Doug Coby – #25 Roscoe Racing Chevrolet – Before Coby became a 6-time Whelen Modified Tour champion, he won 2 track titles at Stafford, winning the Late Model title in 1998 and ProStock championship in 2000. Coby also has 29 career wins at Stafford with 12 Whelen Modified Tour wins, 8 ProStock wins, 5 SK Modified® wins, and 4 Late Model wins.
Michael Gervais, Jr. – #33 Stafford Pools Chevrolet – Gervais is the 2009 SK Light champion at Stafford and has 4 SK Modified® wins to his name. Gervais won twice in 2012 and once each in 2014 and 2015.
Dave Etheridge – #34 Warner Turf Equipment Chevrolet – Etheridge has 5 career Stafford wins, but he hasn’t won a race at Stafford in over 20 years. All 5 of Etheridge’s wins at Stafford came in the ProStock division with one win each season from 1993-1997.
Andrew Molleur – #35 Call Before You Dig Chevrolet – In his brief Stafford career to date, Molleur has 5 wins to his credit with 4 SK Light wins in 2018 and a win as an SK Modified® rookie driver in 2019.
Craig Lutz – #46 Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet – Lutz’s only Stafford victory to date was also his first career Whelen Modified Tour win, coming in the 2019 NAPA Fall Final.
Marcello Rufrano – #48 Wheelers Auto Chevrolet – Rufrano is the 2018 SK Light track champion at Stafford and he has 14 career wins to his name. Rufrano has 11 SK Light wins from 2016-2018, 2 DARE Stock wins in 2015, and he won the Bud Light Open 80 in July of this season.
Ronnie Williams – #50 Empower Financial Advisory Ford – Williams is the 2018 & 2019 SK Modified® track champion at Stafford with 24 career wins. Williams has 18 SK Modified® wins, 4 SK Light wins, and 2 Open Modified wins at Stafford.
Ronnie Silk – #50s LaJoie’s Scrap Metal Chevrolet – Silk has 7 career Stafford wins with 4 SK Modified® wins from 2002-2005 and he has 3 Whelen Modified Tour wins coming in 2011, 2019, and 2020.
Noah Korner – #50h Sales Auctions Chevrolet – Korner is a 2-time winner in Stafford’s SK Light division with both of his wins coming in the 2019 season.
Keith Rocco – #57 M & M Stone Creations Chevrolet – Rocco is a 4-time SK Modified® champion at Stafford (’08, ’10, ’17, ’20) and his 74 career wins trails only Ted Christopher and Woody Pitkat for the most all-time. Rocco has won 63 SK Modified® races, 6 Late Model races, 2 MRS and 2 Open Mod races, and he won the 2011 Champions for Charities feature event in a Wild Thing Sr. Outlaw kart.
Eric Goodale – #58 GAF Roofing Chevrolet – Goodale has 2 career wins at Stafford with a Whelen Modified Tour victory in the 2017 NAPA Fall Final and a win in the 2018 Bud Light Open 80.
Shawn Thibeault – #74 Enterprise Rental Car Chevrolet – Thibeault has 7 career Stafford wins with all of his victories coming in the Limited Late Model division from 2009-2011.
Chris Pasteryak – #75 Dawley’s Auto Chevrolet – Pasteryak has twice reached NAPA Victory Lane at Stafford winning an MRS race in 2011 and again in 2015.
Todd Owen – #81 Cooker Construction Chevrolet – Owen has recorded 21 feature wins at Stafford with 7 wins in the ProStock division from 1999-2000 and 14 wins in the SK Modified® division from 2005-2020.
Anthony Nocella – #92 Nocella Paving Chevrolet – Nocella has 1 career Stafford victory to his name with that win coming in an MRS race back in May of 2017.
Richard Savary – #99 Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists Chevrolet – Savary has 1 career Stafford victory to his name with that win coming in an MRS race back in August of 2018.
Joining the Tri-Track Modifieds in feature action this Saturday will be Stafford’s SK Lights and Street Stocks. Tickets for CBYD 81 are on sale now with adult general admission priced at $35.00, $10.00 for kids ages 6-14, kids 5 and under are admitted free. Paddock passes are priced at $50.00. This event is expected to sell out so fans are encouraged to order tickets in advance online. Fans who cannot attend the CBYD 81 in person but would still like to watch can order a live stream of the event from www.staffordspeedway.tv for $30.
For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com, checkout Stafford Speedway on Facebook or Twitter, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR