Christopher, Pitkat, Barrett, Thibeault & Casagrande Score Whelen Event Night Feature Victories at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Speedway was back on track with a 5-division NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event as part of Whelen Event Night on Friday, May 20th. Ted Christopher picked up his second consecutive win of the 2011 season in the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Woody Pitkat picked up his first win of 2011 in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Tommy Barrett, Jr. was the winner of the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature for the second consecutive week, Shawn Thibeault won his first race of the year in the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Kyle Casagrande picked up his second feature victory of the year in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Curt Brainard took the early race lead with Eric Berndt, Mark Bakaj, Todd Owen, and Dan Avery behind him. With 5 laps complete, Brad Hietala spun in the middle of turns 3+4 and Brian Sullivan climbed up and over Hietala’s car to bring the caution out.
Berndt took the lead on the restart as Brainard fell back to fourth with Owen and Christopher also getting by on the restart. Owen moved to the lead on lap-7 with Christopher following him by Berndt. Frank Ruocco was now up to fourth behind Berndt with Avery continuing to run in fifth place.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Owen held the lead until lap-14 when Christopher moved to the front of the field. Ruocco was also past Berndt for third with Avery coming under fire from Woody Pitkat for the fifth position. Christopher was slowly pulling away from Owen in second, but his lead was erased when Adam Skowyra spun in turn 3 to bring the caution out with 20 laps complete.
Owen took the lead from Christopher on the restart, but Christopher went back to the front on the next lap. Ruocco was in third behind Christopher and Owen, with Berndt in fourth and Brainard in fifth. Mark Bakaj spun on the backstretch, but was able to get going again and the race stayed green.
Pitkat got around Brainard to take over fifth place and Christopher was still leading Owen with 10 laps to go.
Christopher was slowly pulling away from Owen and on lap-38 Owen and Ruocco made contact with both cars getting out of shape, which only added to Christopher’s margin. Ruocco moved by Owen for second, and rounding out the top-5 behind them was Pitkat and Berndt.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Mark St. Hilaire jumped the start and was put to the rear of the field. Scott Cook took the early lead with Tom Butler moving past Woody Pitkat for second. Corey Hutchings held fourth place with Jim Mavlouganes rounding out the top-5. The caution came out with 1 lap complete for fluid on the racetrack from J.J. Hill’s car.
Cook took the lead back under green with Pitkat moving into second. Mavlouganes took third and quickly went by Pitkat for second one lap after the restart. Adam Gray was up to fourth and Butler was fifth. Hutchings and John Kasper spun through the backstretch grass to bring the caution back out with 4 laps complete.
Cook again took the lead on the restart with Pitakt getting under Mavlouganes for second. Jim Peterson was now up to fourth and Dillon Moltz moved into fifth place. Pitkat took the lead from Cook on lap-6 and that move opened the door for Mavlouganes, Peterson, Moltz, and Ryan Posocco to all get by Cook as Cook fell from the lead back to sixth place.
The top-5 ran in line until the caution came out with 15 laps complete for Dillon Moltz, who was throwing sparks from beneath his car and he came to a stop in turn 2.
Pitkat took the lead back under green with Peterson taking second. Posocco moved into third, with Gray fourth and Tom Fearn fifth as Mavlouganes fell from second all the way back to sixth. Cook spun in turn 4 to bring the caution back out with 18 laps complete.
Pitkat took the lead with Peterson moving by Posocco for second on the restart. Fearn was running fourth with Mavlouganes right behind him in fifth as Gray lost several spots. Posocco was able to get back by Peterson for second on lap-21 as Pitkat continued to lead.
Posocco’s position swap with Peterson allowed Pitkat to pull away slightly, but Posocco was beginning to reel Pitkat back in as the race headed towards the checkered flag. With three laps to go, Posocco was about a car length behind Pitkat and looking to make a pass for the lead and the win. Posocco wasn’t able to get any close to Pitkat than a car length and Pitkat scored his first feature win of the season. Rounding out the top-5 behind Pitkat and Posocco was Peterson, Mavlouganes, and Fearn.
In the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature event, Zach Aszklar spun in turn 1 but was able to get going again and the race stayed under green flag conditions. Kyle Spencer was the early race leader with Cody Gneiting, Dylan Kopec behind him. Jay Goff and Frank Cardile were side by side for fourth place with Goff taking the spot.
Gneiting was hounding Spencer for the lead at the front of the pack and Goff went by Kopec to take over third place on lap-6. Spencer pulled out several car lengths on Gneiting, but the caution came out with 10 laps complete for a spin by Steve Greer to erase Spencer’s lead.
Spencer and Gneiting dueled side by side for several laps after the restart before Gneiting was able to take the lead on lap-13. Spencer was in second with Goff and Tommy Barrett side by side for third. With 13 laps complete, there was a spin in turn 4 involving the cars of Kopec, Earl Pelletier, Jesse Ruocco, and several others to bring the caution out.
Gneiting took the lead on the restart with Barrett moving to the inside of Spencer for second. Barrett made a strong move to the inside of Gneiting on lap-14 and he was able to clear Gneiting for the lead on lap-15. Barrett’s move allowed Spencer to pull alongside Gneiting in second with Matt Galko and Goff side by side behind them.
With Spencer and Gneiting side by side, Barrett pulled out to a lead of several car lengths. Barrett went unchallenged to his second consecutive victory while Spencer, Galko, Goff, and Membrino, Jr rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, Carla Botticello took the lead at the green going around Cory Casagrande, who settled into second. Jesse Hinze and D.J. Burnham were side by side for third place with Hinze taking the spot on lap-4. George Nocera, Jr.was on the early charge and he went by Burnham for fourth place on lap-5.
Botticello built up a lead of several car lengths, but Casagrande began to reel Botticello back in, while Hinze was all by himself in third place. Nocera continued to run in fourth and Shawn Thibeault took fifth place from Burnham on lap-7.
Casagrande had closed to within a car length of Botticello at the midway point of the race, and after taking several looks, he was not able to make a pass for the lead. Meanwhile, Nocera and Thibeault were closing in on the lead duo and Kevin Gambacorta had moved into the fifth position.
With 2 laps to go, Botticello was still leading Casagrande, Nocera, and Thibeault, but Nocera and Thibeault both got by Casagrande for second on lap-19. Chris Cook spun in turn 4 with 19 laps complete to bring the caution out and set up a green white checkered finish.
On the restart, Nocera made contact with Botticello and Botticello went around in turn 2 to bring the caution back out. Nocera was sent to the rear of the field by NASCAR Officials for the contact. This put Thibeault and Gambacorta on the front row for the next restart with Duane Provost and Dan Flannery in the second row.
Thibeault pulled away from the field on the restart and he took his first feature victory of the season. Bill Davis came through the field to take second, with Gambacorta, Provost, and Burnham rounding out the top-5.
In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, the field completed one lap with Nick Salva in the lead, but Austin Bessette spun in turn 1 and several other cars spun, including Paul Arute and James Carroll, and the caution came out. Salva took the lead on the restart with Kyle Casagrande making a strong move into second place. Casagrande quickly moved by Salva to take over the lead on lap-3. Don Wood and Cliff Saunders followed Casagrande by Salva, and Saunders would get by Salva for fourth place on lap-4.
Casagrande had a comfortable lead out front, while Wood, Saunders, and Hayes were nose to tail behind him. Casagrande went unchallenged to the checkered flag and he took down his second feature victory of the 2011 season. Wood finished second, with Saunders, Hayes, and Salva 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
SK MODIFIED® (40)
1) Ted Christopher, Plainville
2) Frank Ruocco, Cheshire
3) Todd Owen, Somers
4) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
5) Eric Berndt, Cromwell
6) Ryan Preece, Berlin
7) Michael Gervais, Jr., Southbury
8) Keith Rocco, Meriden
9) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Ma
10) Jeff Malave, Manchester
11) Dan Avery, Somers
12) Curt Brainard, Canton
13) Chris Matthews, Stafford
14) Nichole Morgillo, Wallingford
15) Tom Bolles, Ellington
16) John Montesanto, North Branford
17) Heather DesRochers, Granby, Ma
18) Mark Bakaj, Lebanon
19) Adam Skowyra, Brimfield, Ma
20) Sean Foster, Willington
21) Brad Hietala, Ellington
22) Brian Sullivan, South Windsor
23) Joe Allegro, Jr., Vernon
LATE MODEL (30)
1) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs
2) Ryan Posocco, Stafford Springs
3) Jim Peterson, Monson, Ma
4) Jim Mavlouganes, Bethany
5) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, Ma
6) Mark St. Hilaire, Berlin
7) Patrick Townsend, Springifeld, Ma
8) Keith Rocco, Meriden
9) Tom Butler, Stafford Springs
10) Adam Gray, Belchertown, Ma
11) Corey Hutchings, Salem
12) Scott Cook, Uncasville
13) Dillon Moltz, Waterford
14) John Kasper, Wilbraham, Ma
15) J.J. Hill, Stafford Springs
SK LIGHT MODIFIED (20)
1) Tommy Barrett, Jr., Millis, Ma
2) Kyle Spencer, Montgomery, Ma
3) Matt Galko, Meriden
4) Jay Goff, Stafford Springs
5) Tommy Membrino, Jr., Prospect
6) Zach Aszklar, Wallingford
7) Cody Gneiting, Broad Brook
8) Harry Wheeler, Stafford Springs
9) Frank Cardile, Bolton
10) Stephen Greer, Harwinton
11) Tony Membrino, Jr., Plantsville
12) Tony Santangelo, Middlefield
13) Rick Williams, Haddam
14) Bob Charland, Stafford
15) Dylan Kopec, Palmer, Ma
16) Earl Pelletier, Wolcott
17) Joey Cipriano, III, Waterbury
18) Shayne Prucker, Stafford Springs
19) Jesse Ruocco, Cheshire
20) Victoria Bergenty, Plainville
LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)
1) Shawn Thibeault, Plainville
2) Bill Davis, Monson, Ma
3) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
4) Duane Provost, Indian Orchard, Ma
5) David Burnham, East Hartford
6) George Nocera, Jr., Plainville
7) Dan Flannery, Ellington
8) Chris Cook, Pepperell, Ma
9) Marshall Usher, Monson, Ma
10) Norm Sears, Andover
11) Carla Botticello, Manchester
12) Cory Casagrande, Stafford Springs
13) Jesse Hinze, Farmington
14) Joe Nogiec, Bristol
15) John Lelas, III, Guilford
DARE STOCK (15)
1) Kyle Casagrande, Stafford Springs
2) Don Wood, Palmer, Ma
3) Cliff Saunders, Stafford
4) Andrew Hayes, Charlton, Ma
5) Nick Salva, Prospect
6) Albert Saunders, Stafford
7) Josh Wood, Palmer, Ma
8) Kris Fluckiger, Enfield
9) Johnny Walker, Ludlow, Ma
10) Austin Bessette, Stafford Springs
11) Kaitlyn Brice, Manchester
12) David Macha, Columbia
13) Doug Phelps, Jr., New Salem, Ma
14) Paul Arute, Tolland
15) James Carroll, West Hartford