Narducci, Coury, Sullivan, Patnode, & Paradis Score June 18th Stafford Weekly Series Wins
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway returned to Friday night racing action with a Stafford Weekly Series program on Friday night, June 18th. There were two first time winners on the night with Bryan Narducci winning his first career SK Modified® feature event in a Keith Rocco Racing prepared car after getting fired from the Bear Calicchio owned ride he began the 2021 season in and Adrien Paradis, III scored his first career win in the Street Stock feature. Wayne Coury, Jr. won the Late Model feature, Brian Sullivan won the SK Light feature, and Gary Patnode won the Limited Late Model feature.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Matt Vassar took the early lead at the drop of the green flag with Doug Meservey, Jr. taking second from Mikey Flynn after racing side by side for the opening lap. The caution flew with 2 laps complete for Chris Viens, who got into the turn 4 wall.
Meservey took the lead from Vassar on the restart with Bryan Narducci moving up to third. Mikey Flynn and David Arute were side by side for fourth place with Michael Gervais, Jr. right behind them. Arute got clear into fourth place on lap-6 while Gervais was now side by side with Flynn for fifth as Meservey continued to lead Narducci and Vassar.
Narducci made a move to the inside of Meservey for the lead on lap-9 and he took the lead coming out of turn 4. Vassar moved into second with Arute now side by side with Meservey for third place and Gervais in fifth. Meservey began to slide backwards as he was stuck in the outside lane and he fell back to tenth place with 15 laps complete. As the race hit the halfway mark of 20 laps, the order was Narducci followed by Vassar, Arute, Gervais, Stephen Kopcik, Flynn, Tyler Hines, Marcello Rufrano, Todd Owen, and Michael Christopher, Jr.
Arute was applying heavy pressure to Vassar for second place, but he was unable to complete a pass. Narducci was starting to slowly stretch out his lead over Vassar and Arute while Kopcik was closing in on the back bumper of Arute with 11 laps to go.
With 5 laps to to, Narducci was still slowly pulling away from Vassar in second, who still had Arute looking for a way to make a pass and take over second. Hines had caught up to Kopcik to make it a four-car fight for second. No one could catch Narducci as he took the checkered flag to pick up his first career SK Modified® victory. Arute finished third with Kopcik and Hines rounding out the top-5.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature, Rick Lanagan led the field to the green and he took the early lead at the start of the race. Michael Wray was second with Wayne Coury, Jr. in third. Duane Provost was fourth in line followed by Andrew Durand, Tom Fearn, Andrew Molleur, Kevin Gambacorta, Darrell Keane, and Paul Varricchio, Jr. Durand spun in turn 4 to bring the caution out with 6 laps complete. Fearn was penalized to the rear of the field for making contact with Durand.
Lanagan and Wray went side by side for the lead on the restart with Lanagan getting clear on lap-8. Coury took second with Wray falling back into a side-by-side duel with Tom Fearn for third place. Fearn took third on lap-9 while Coury went by Lanagan to take over the lead. Lanagan spun coming off turn 2 to bring the caution back out with 9 laps complete. Michael Bennett spun to avoid hitting Lanagan but both cars were able to continue in the race.
Coury took the lead on the restart but he would only lead one more lap as Fearn shot into the lead on lap-11. Gambacorta followed him through to move into second and drop Coury back to third place. Just behind Coury was Tyler Leary and Molleur. Wray was sixth in line followed by Varricchio, Paul Arute, Provost, and Zack Robinson. Coury went back by Gambacorta to move into second and he was applying heavy pressure to Fearn for the race lead before retaking the lead on lap-19. Gambacorta followed Coury by to move into second and drop Fearn back to third place. Gambacorta spun in turn 2 to bring the caution out with 19 laps complete. Fearn was penalized to the rear of the field for making contact with Gambacorta.
Coury took the lead on the restart with Wray and Molleur going side by side for second. Wray won that battle while behind the lead trio was the side-by-side duo of Leary and Al Saunders racing for fourth place. Saunders took fourth on lap-22 with Leary falling back to fifth, just ahead of Arute in sixth place. Marc Curtis spun and collected Varricchio in turn 2 to bring the caution flag back out with 23 laps complete.
Coury took the lead on the restart with Wray in second. Leary made a 3-wide move to take third place with John Blake coming up to fourth and Adam Gray, who was on pit road under an earlier caution getting a tie-rod welded back together, was up to fifth. Arute spun in turn 3 to bring the caution back out with 24 laps complete.
Coury took the lead back under green with Wray in second. Leary was third in line with Bennett and Al Saunders side by side for fourth and Blake in sixth. The caution came back out with 26 laps complete for spins by Trace Beyer and Armand Cote, Jr.
Coury again took the lead with Wray, Bennett, Leary, Saunders, and Blake lined up behind him. Bennett made a move to the inside of Wray on the final lap to take second but it was all Coury as he took down his first win of the 2021 season. Wray finished third with Leary and Al Saunders rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap SK Light feature event, Alina Bryden took the lead at the drop of the green flag with Tyler Chapman and Amanda West side by side for second. Brian Sullivan was fourth in line with Steven Chapman and George Bessette, Jr. lined up behind him.
Tyler Chapman made a move to the inside of Bryden on lap-4 to take over the lead. Sullivan pulled alongside Bryden for second place on lap-5 with Steven Chapman now fourth and West and Nick Anglace side by side for fifth. Bryden got into the backstretch wall coming out of turn 2 to bring the caution flag out with 5 laps complete. Tyler Barry also spun but he was able to rejoin the field at the rear. Durand spun in turn 4 and collected several other cars to bring the caution out with 6 laps complete.
Tyler Chapman and Sullivan went side by side for the lead on the restart with Steven Chapman in third, West in fourth and Bessette and Anglace side by side for fifth place. Sullivan got clear into the lead on lap-8 with Tyler Chapman in second. Steven Chapman and Anglace were now side by side for third with West in fifth place. Anglace made a move to the outside of Tyler Chapman for second but he got hard into the turn 4 wall and suffered heavy damage to his car that brought the caution and red flags out. Also collected in the incident were the cars of Bessette and Alexander Pearl. All 3 drivers were ok.
Sullivan took the lead back under green with brothers Steven and Tyler Chapman now side by side for second. Bob Charland was up to fourth with Derek Debbis cracking into the top-5. Steven Chapman won the duel for second with Charland moving into third to drop Tyler Chapman back to fourth with Debbis still fifth as Sullivan continued to lead the field.
Steven Chapman took a look to the inside of Sullivan for the lead on lap-15 but fell back into line in second. Chris Bagnall brought the caution back out with 15 laps complete as he came to a stop in turn 2 after making contact with the wall.
Sullivan again took the lead on the restart with Steven Chapman and Charland behind him. Debbis and Tyler Chapman were side by side for fourth with Debbis taking fourth one lap after the restart. Charland looked to the inside of Steven Chapman for second as the field came to the white flag but couldn’t make a pass. Sullivan led Steven Chapman to the checkered flag to pick up his second win of the 2021 season. Debbis got around Charland on the final lap to take third with Tyler Chapman rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, Gary Patnode led the field to the green and he took the early lead with Devon Jencik behind him in second. Matt Clement quickly slotted into third with Jeremy Lavoie in fourth and Jay Clement in fifth. Alexandra Fearn was on an early race charge moving up to sixth. She took fifth from Jay Clement on lap-3 while Matt Clement took second from Jencik. Clement’s move opened the door for Lavoie to move into third, Fearn into fourth, and Rich Hammann into fifth as Jencik fell back to sixth.
At the halfway point of the race, Patnode was still in command with Matt Clement following closely behind. Fearn was now in third with Hammann fourth and Lavoie back to fifth. Jencik was still sixth followed by R.J. Surdell, Jay Clement, Matt Scappini, and Damian Palardy.
Fearn and Hammann were able to close down the gap to Patnode and Matt Clement but couldn’t get close enough to make a move a Patnode took down his first win of the 2021 season. Matt Clement finished second with Fearn, Hammann, and Lavoie making up the top-5.
In the 20-lap Street Stock feature event, Bobby Stirk, III took the lead at the start and set the early pace. Tyler Trott was second followed by Nickolas Hovey in third. Bert Ouellette worked his way into fourth on lap-4 and right behind him was Travis Hydar. The caution flew with 6 laps complete for spins in turn 1 by Bill Cote and Joe Fawkes.
Hovey drifted up the track on the restart and he fell back to 9th as Stirk took the lead ahead of Trott and Hydar but the caution came back out with 7 laps complete for a spin in turn 1 by Daltin McCarthy.
Trott took the lead on the restart with Ouellette coming up to second. Adrien Paradis, III was third followed by Chris Meyer, Frank L’Etoile, Jr., Hydar, and Hovey. Stirk faded all the way back to eighth place before he got back in line. Ouellette was starting to apply heavy pressure to Trott for the lead with 5 laps to go but on lap-16 Paradis took second fro Ouellette. That move opened the door for Meyer, L’Etoile, and Hydar to all move up and drop Ouellette back to sixth place.
Paradis took the lead from Trott on lap-19 and he led Trott to the checkered flag to pick up his first career Street Stock win at Stafford. L’Etoile took third by a nose with Hydar fourth and Meyer 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.
SK MODIFIED® (40)
1) Bryan Narducci, Colchester
2) Matt Vassar, Plantsville
3) David Arute, Stafford Springs
4) Stephen Kopcik, Newtown
5) Tyler Hines, North Haven
6) Michael Gervais, Jr., Wolcott
7) Mikey Flynn, Hampden, MA
8) Michael Christopher, Jr., Wolcott
9) Ronnie Williams, Tolland
10) Todd Owen, Somers
11) Marcello Rufrano, North Haven
12) Andrew Molleur, Shelton
13) Doug Meservey, Jr., Chatham, MA
14) Keith Rocco, Berlin
15) Dan Wesson, Monson, MA
16) Teddy Hodgdon, Danbury
17) Jon Puleo, Branford
18) Noah Korner, Avon
19) Chase Dowling, Bethlehem
20) Dylan Kopec, Feeding Hills, MA
21) Tyler Leary, Hatfield, MA
22) Fran Siana, Enfield
23) Pj Peters, Oxford
24) Chris Viens, Putnam
LATE MODEL (30)
1) Wayne Coury, Jr., Fairfield
2) Michael Bennett, Willington
3) Michael Wray, Durham
4) Tyler Leary, Hatfield, MA
5) Al Saunders, Stafford
6) John Blake, North Haven
7) Adam Gray, Granby, MA
8) Darrell Keane, Enfield
9) Cliff Saunders, Stafford
10) Duane Provost, Palmer, Ma
11) Paul Arute, Northbridge, MA
12) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, MA
13) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
14) Zack Robinson, Putnam
15) Andrew Molleur, Shelton
16) Marc Curtis, Brookfield, MA
17) Josh Wood, Palmer, MA
18) Rick Lanagan, Broad Brook
19) Trace Beyer, Stratton, VT
20) Armand Cote, Jr., Rocky Hill
21) Paul Varricchio, Jr., Berlin
22) Andrew Durand, Chicopee, MA
23) Mike Mordino, Southington
SK LIGHT MODIFIED (20)
1) Brian Sullivan, Tolland
2) Steven Chapman, Ellington
3) Derek Debbis, Oakdale
4) Bob Charland, Stafford
5) Tyler Chapman, Ellington
6) Amanda West, Colchester
7) Anthony Bello, Newtown
8) Chris Matthews, Stafford
9) Tyler Barry, Griswold
10) Peter Bennett, Cromwell
11) Norm Sears, Andover
12) Josh Carey, East Longmeadow, MA
13) Nicole Chambrello, Kensington
14) Meghan Fuller, Auburn, MA
15) Anthony Forino, Waterbury
16) Casey Vogt, Windsor Locks
17) Glenn Bartkowski, Manchester
18) Todd Clark, Bristol
19) Chris Bagnall, Winsted
20) Nick Anglace, Seymour
21) George Bessette, Jr., Danbury
22) Alexander Pearl, Salem
23) Alina Bryden, West Springfield, MA
LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)
1) Gary Patnode, New Hartford
2) Matt Clement, Wethersfield
3) Alexandra Fearn, East Longmeadow, MA
4) Rich Hammann, Tolland
5) Jeremy Lavoie, Windsor Locks
6) Devon Jencik, Canton
7) R.J. Surdell, Willington
8) Matt Scappini, Litchfield
9) Damian Palardy, Willington
10) Jay Clement, Wethersfield
11) Kevin Crosby, Coventry
12) David Shinder, West Granby
13) Trinity Provost, Holland, MA
STREET STOCK (20)
1) Adrien Paradis, III, Plainville
2) Tyler Trott, East Hartford
3) Frank L’Etoile, Jr., Wethersfield
4) Travis Hydar, Woodbury
5) Chris Meyer, North Franklin
6) Nickolas Hovey, Chaplin
7) Bert Ouellette, Ellington
8) Bobby Stirk, III, Naugatuck
9) Travis Downey, Barkhamsted
10) Jason Finkbein, Manchester
11) Kyle Johnson, Manchester
12) David Macha, Sr., Columbia
13) Jeremy Washburn, Willimantic
14) John Orsini, Morris
15) Chris Danielczuk, Goshen
16) Rob Sears, Stafford Springs
17) Christopher Phelps, New Salem, MA
18) Bill Cote, Belchertown, MA
19) Samantha Dell, Harrisville, RI
20) Patrick Grady, Berlin
21) Daltin McCarthy, Oxford, MA
22) Joe Fawkes, Millis, MA
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR