Rocco, Posocco, Liseo, Thibeault & Daddio Score July 2nd NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Victories at Stafford
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Speedway was back in action with a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series program on Friday night, July 2nd. Keith Rocco continued his winning ways in the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event for his fourth consecutive and seventh overall win of the 2010 season, Ryan Posocco picked up his second win of 2010 in the 30-lap Late Model feature, Dylan Liseo scored his first career victory by a nose in the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Shawn Thibeault won his first race of the season in the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, and Stephen Daddio was a first time career winner in the 15-lap DARE Stock feature.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Sean Foster took the lead at the green ahead of Josh Sylvester, Mark Bakaj, Matt Gallo, and Dan Avery. Eric Berndt spun in turn 4 to bring the caution out with 4 laps complete. On the restart, Sylvester moved by Foster to take over the race lead. The cars of Gallo and Frank Ruocco made contact in turn 3 to bring the caution back out.
On the restart, Foster jumped the start and the caution came back out and Foster was sent to the rear of the field. Sylvester took the lead on the restart, but Ted Christopher was on the charge and he moved from fourth to second. Sylvester held the lead until Christopher moved to the front on lap-9.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Christopher’s move brought Avery past Sylvester to drop him back to third place. With several caution periods slowing the action, Christopher remained out front and at the halfway point of the race it was Christopher out front with Mark Bakaj, Keith Rocco, Jeff Malave, and Curt Brainard making up the top-5.
Brainard spun to bring the caution back out with 30-laps complete. Christopher took the lead on the restart with Rocco moving into second place. Rocco made a bid for the lead and he took the lead from Christopher on lap-33. On the next lap, Ruocco spun in turn 2 and collected the cars of Bakaj and Zach Sylvester to bring the caution out.
Rocco kept the lead on the restart with Jeff Malave moving past Christopher to take second. Christopher would move back by Malave for second on the same lap, but that position swap gave Rocco a margin that he never relinquished over the final 7 laps of the race as he scored his fourth consecutive victory and seventh overall win of the 2010 season. Christopher came home second, with Malave, Jeff Baral, and Bo Gunning rounding out the top-5.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Scott Cook took the early race lead ahead of Jim Peterson, Tony Lafo, Corey Hutchings, and Dillon Moltz. The caution came out with 5 laps complete for a spin by Tom Fearn and Michael Bennett. On the restart, the cars of Cook and Peterson touched while dueling for the lead with Cook heading into the turn 3 wall to bring the caution back out.
Peterson was now the race leader back under green with Ryan Posocco moving into second place. Hutchings was third, with Woody Pitkat and Moltz behind him. Lafo and Fearn spun with 10 laps complete to bring the yellow back out. Posocco again charged to the lead with Hutchings moving into second. Peterson was third, with Pitkat and Moltz making up the top-5.
The top-5 then ran in line for the final 20 laps of the race with Posocco pulling away from the field to take down a dominating feature victory, his second of the 2010 season. Hutchings, Peterson, Pitkat, and Moltz rounded out the top-5.
In the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature event, the caution came out for Zach Aszklar and Harry Wheeler, who spun in turn 4. Dylan Liseo took the early lead on the restart with Earl Pelletier, Ted Cain, Erica Santos, and Tommy Barret, Jr. behind him. Liseo was slowly stretching his lead out lap by lap and had a comfortable margin built up over the rest of the field when the caution came out with 11 laps complete.
On the restart, Liseo kept the lead, but he would lose the lead to Barrett on lap-15. As the field completed the 15th lap, the caution came back out for a spin by Stephen Greer.
On the restart, Pelletier got out of shape and slid up the track into Chad Trombley, who hit the backstretch wall and briefly erupted into flame to bring the red flag out. On the restart, Liseo was able to get in front of Barrett in the outside groove before the caution came back out for debris on the track. Liseo took the lead on the restart with Barrett in second. Barrett rode behind Liseo until the final lap, where he made a move to the inside of Liseo in turn 3. The two cars raced side by side off turn 4 and it was a drag race to the checkered flag with Liseo beating Barrett by the nose of his car to score his first career victory. Rounding out the top-5 behind Liseo and Barrett was Matt Galko, David Webb, and Kyle Spencer.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, Jesse Hinze moved to the front at the green, but the caution came out with 1 lap on the scoreboard for a spin by Carla Botticello. Hinze took the lead on the restart, with Rob Dow, Andrew Durand, Kevin Gambacorta, and Shawn Thibeault behind him. Dow moved the front on lap-7, but Hinze moved back out front on lap-8 before Dow went back to the front on lap-9. Thibeault and Durand also got by Hinze when the caution came out one lap later for George Nocera, Jr., who hit the frontstretch wall.
Thibeault took the lead on the outside of Dow on the restart with Durand, Dave Yardley, III, and Dan Flannery making up the top-5. The top-5 cars then ran in line over the final 10 laps of the race with Thibeault pulling away to score a dominating victory for his first win of the 2010 season. Dow finished second, with Durand, Yardley, and Flannery rounding out the top-5.
In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, Stephanie Berardi took the early race lead ahead of Nick Salva, Stephen Daddio, Jeff Jolly, and Albert Saunders. Berardi held the lead until lap-4 when Salva moved to the front of the field. The caution came out with 5 laps complete for a spin by last week’s feature winner Andrew Hayes.
On the restart, Daddio took the lead from Salva. Jolly moved into third, with Kyle Casagrande and Cory Casagrande making up the top-5. Kyle Casagrande moved by Jolly to take over third, with Cory Casagrande in fifth behind Jolly. Kyle Casagrande then moved past Salva to take over second and he brought Jolly with him to drop Salva from second back to fourth. This was the order when the caution came back out with 12 laps complete for a spin by Hayes and Berardi.
Daddio powered back to the lead on the restart with Kyle and Cory Casagrande settling into line behind him. Daddio led the field around the track for the final three circuits to nail down his first career victory. Kyle and Cory Casagrande finished second and third, with Jolly and Tony Membrino, Jr. 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