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For Immediate Release Contact: Scott Running
August 30, 2019 (860) 684-2783
Rocco, Leary, Narducci, Provost, & Bessette Score Lincoln Tech VRMS 80 Feature Wins at Stafford Speedway
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway returned to NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing action on Friday, August 30th with the Valenti Modified Racing Series in the house for the Lincoln Tech VMRS 80. Keith Rocco was a winner for the second consecutive week in the SK Modified® feature, Tyler Leary won for the first time in nearly 2 years in the Late Model feature, Bryan Narducci scored his second consecutive and eighth overall feature win of the 2019 season in the SK Light feature, Duane Provost secured his second win of 2019 in the Limited Late Model feature, and George Bessette, Jr. took down his second consecutive and fourth overall win of 2019 in the Street Stock feature.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Troy Talman took the early lead with Joey Cipriano applying heavy pressure in second. Tyler Hines was third with Cory DiMatteo fourth and Glen Reen fifth. Hines got into the back of Cipriano on lap-5 with Cipriano recovering in 14th place. Talman still held the lead with Hines now in second, DiMatteo third, Reen fourth and Andrew Molleur fifth.
Todd Owen got around Molleur for fifth on lap-7 with Michael Gervais, Jr. in sixth. Gervais took fifth from Owen on lap-10 and Hines was given the black flag for making contact with Cipriano. This put DiMatteo into second with Reen third, Keith Rocco fourth and Gervais fifth as Talman was still in the lead on lap-14. Reen got around DiMatteo to take over second on lap-15 but DiMatteo came right back and nearly retook the spot on lap-17. DiMatteo continued to look high and low for a way around Reen while Rocco and Gervais were closing in and Talman was still in the lead. DiMatteo made a pass stick on lap-20 to move back into second and drop Reen to third.
With DiMatteo now in second, he was slowly starting to eat into Talman’s lead with Reen and Rocco right behind him. Ronnie Williams and Owen were waging a thrilling side by side duel for sixth place with Williams taking sixth on lap-26.
With 10 laps to go, DiMatteo had closed the gap to Talman and was right on his back bumper. Rocco and Reen weren’t far behind in third and fourth and DiMatteo took the lead from Talman on lap-32 with a pass coming out of turn 2. DiMatteo’s pass for the lead allowed Rocco and Reen to close right up to the back bumper of Talman and Rocco took second on lap-33 with Reen taking third as Talman fell back to fourth.
Rocco took to the outside lane and ran side by side with DiMatteo for lap-36 before falling back into line. Rocco again went to the outside of DiMatteo on lap-38 and the two were virtually even at the line. The three leaders touched going down the backstretch with DiMatteo spinning and Reen hitting the wall to bring the caution out with 38 laps complete. Rocco brushed against the wall as he had white stripes all around his right side tires but he stayed on track in the lead for the restart. Williams was now second for the restart with Gervais and Talman in the second row.
Rocco took the lead with Williams right behind him in second. Williams couldn’t get close enough to Rocco on the final lap to make a move as Rocco took down his second consecutive win and fifth overall of the 2019 season. Gervais finished third with Owen and Talman rounding out the top-5.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Tyler Leary took the lead at the drop of the green with Richard Ciriello in second. Michael Bennett held off Al Saunders for third with Michael Wray and Cliff Saunders side by side for fifth place. Tom Fearn and Ryan Fearn were slicing their way through traffic in the early going and with Wray taking third on lap-4, Tom Fearn took fourth from Bennett and Ryan Fearn took fifth on lap-5 as Bennett slid back to sixth in line.
Wray got by Ciriello to move into second on lap-6 and his move opened the door for Tom Fearn, Ryan Fearn, Al Saunders, Kevin Gambacorta, Wray, and Bennett to all get by Ciriello as he fell back to outside the top-10. Leary had built up a large lead of almost a full straightaway over Wray and Tom Fearn.
Tom Fearn took second from Wray on lap-9 and Ryan Fearn followed him through to take third and drop Wray back to fourth in line. At the halfway point of the race, Leary still held nearly a full straightway lead over Tom and Ryan Fearn with Wray fourth and Gambacorta fifth in line. Al Saunders was sixth followed by Wayne Coury, Jr., Cliff Saunders, Bennett, and Dave Wray. Bennett’s car began to drop off the pace on lap-19 and he brought his car to pit road on lap-20 where his team went under the hood.
With 5 laps to go, Leary was still out front by a wide margin with Tom and Ryan Fearn still in second and third. Gambacorta was fourth in line with Coury up to fifth. Leary led the field to the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the 2019 season in dominating fashion. Tom Fearn finished second with Ryan Fearn, Gambacorta, and Coury rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap SK Light feature event, Joey Ferrigno took the lead at the green and he led the first lap before Chris Matthews went to the front on lap-2. Teddy Hodgdon followed Matthews by Ferrigno to move into second with Amanda West taking third, Alexander Pearl fourth, and Mark Bakaj fifth as Ferrigno slid back to sixth in line. The caution came out with 3 laps complete for a multicar incident in turn 2 that involved the cars of Ed Chicoski, Glenn Bartkowski, and Sami Anderson.
Matthews and Hodgdon were side by side for the lead back under green with Pearl in third. West and Bob Charland were side by side for fourth. Hodgdon got clear to the lead on lap-6 with Matthews and Pearl now side by side for second while West and Charland were still side by side for fourth place. Pearl took second from Matthews with Charland getting the better of the duel with West for fourth. The caution came back out for debris on the frontstretch with 10 laps complete.
Hodgdon and Pearl were side by side for the lead but the caution came back out with 11 laps compete as Norm Sears, Robert Bloxsom, III, Glenn Griswold, and Ethan Durocher all spun on the frontstretch.
Matthews and Hodgdon were side by side for the lead with Narducci and Pearl side by side for third on the restart before Narducci went 3-wide with Hodgdon and Matthews before backing out and settling back in to second alongside Matthews as Hodgdon got clear to the lead.
Narducci made a move to the inside of Hodgdon on lap-15 to take over the lad. Hodgdon spun on lap-16 going down the backstretch and rejoined at the rear of the field as the race stayed green. Matthews was now second with Pearl third, Charland fourth and Wesley Prucker fifth as Narducci started to stretch out his lead. Narducci led the field to the checkered flag to pick up his eighth win of the 2019 season. Matthews finished second with Pearl, Charland, and Prucker rounding out the top-5.
In the 15-lap Limited Late Model feature event, Gary Patnode led the first lap before giving way to Duane Provost, who took the lead on lap-2. Jeremy Lavoie pulled alongside Provost on lap-4 for the lead and the two cars ran side by side for two laps before the caution came out with 5 laps complete as Alexandra Fearn slid into the turn 4 wall with a flat right front tire.
Lavoie and Provost resumed their side by side duel for the lead on the restart with Patnode in third. Matt Clement was fourth and Devon Jencik was fifth in line. Lavoie got clear to the lead on lap-8 with Patnode now side by side with Provost for second place with Clement right behind them. The caution came out with 8 laps complete for a spin in turn 2 by Kevin Crosby.
Lavoie took the lead on the restart with Provost slotting into second. Clement took third with Patnode fourth and Dave Gargaro, Jr. up to fifth. Provost made a move to the inside of Provost on lap-12 and he took the lead on lap-13. Clement was right behind Lavoie in third to form a 3-car train for the lead. Provost led Lavoie and Clement to the checkered flag to pick up his second win of the 2019 season. Patnode finished fourth with Gargaro rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Street Stock feature event, Marvin Minkler led the first lap before Tyler Trott went to the lead on lap-2. Zack Robinson took second with Meghan Fuller third, George Bessette, Jr. fourth, and Adrien Paradis, III fifth as Minkler fell all the way back to ninth place.
Bessette made a move to the inside of Fuller on lap-6 and he was able to complete the pass on lap-7. Bessette then took the lead from Trott on lap-12 before the caution came out for a spin by Fuller in turn 3 that collected the car of Paradis.
Bessette took the lead on the restart with Robinson right on his back bumper in second. Paradis was third in line with Travis Hydar taking fourth from Trott on lap-15. Nicole Chambrello spun on the frontstretch to bring the caution back out with 15 laps complete.
Bessette took the lead back under green with Robinson still glued to his back bumper in second. Hydar took third from Paradis on lap-18 with Trott and Fuller side by side for fifth. Fuller took fifth on lap-19 but no one could catch Bessette as he took down his second consecutive and fourth overall feature win of the 2019 season. Robinson finished second with Hydar, Paradis, and Fuller rounding out the top-5.
SK MODIFIED® (40)
1) Keith Rocco, Berlin
2) Ronnie Williams, Tolland
3) Michael Gervais, Jr., Wolcott
4) Todd Owen, Somers
5) Troy Talman, Oxford, MA
6) David Arute, Stafford Springs
7) Tony Membrino, Jr., Berlin
8) Joey Cipriano, Waterbury
9) Michael Christopher, Jr., Wolcott
10) Todd Patnode, Swanzey, NH
11) Andrew Molleur, Shelton
12) Tyler Leary, Hatfield, MA
13) Ed Spiers, Beacon Falls
14) Tyler Hines, North Haven
15) John Catania, Agawam, MA
16) Anthony Nocella, Woburn, MA
17) Cory DiMatteo, Farmington
18) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, MA
19) Stephen Kopcik, Newtown
20) Marcello Rufrano, North Haven
21) Dan Avery, Somers
LATE MODEL (30)
1) Tyler Leary, Hatfield, MA
2) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, MA
3) Ryan Fearn, East Longmeadow, MA
4) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
5) Wayne Coury, Jr., Fairfield
6) Michael Wray, Northford
7) Cliff Saunders, Stafford
8) Al Saunders, Stafford
9) Paul Arute, Northridge, MA
10) Dave Wray, Durham
11) Andy Marchese, Tolland
12) Richard Ciriello, Reading, MA
13) Greg DeMone, Ludlow, MA
14) Paul Varricchio, Jr., Berlin
15) Scott Bouley, Thomaston
16) Michael Bennett, Willington
17) Gary Theriault, Enfield
SK LIGHT MODIFIED (20)
1) Bryan Narducci, Colchester
2) Chris Matthews, Stafford
3) Alexander Pearl, Salem
4) Bob Charland, Stafford
5) Wesley Prucker, Stafford
6) Noah Korner, Canton
7) Steven Chapman, Ellington
8) Brian Sullivan, South Windsor
9) Jonathan Puleo, Branford
10) Nick Anglace, Oxford
11) Andrew Les, New York, NY
12) Teddy Hodgdon, Danbury
13) Norm Sears, Andover
14) Alina Bryden, West Springfield, MA
15) Joey Ferrigno, East Hartford
16) Rit Dulac, Plantsville
17) Todd Clark, Bristol
18) Amanda West, Colchester
19) Robert Bloxsom, III, Stratford
20) Glenn Griswold, Vernon
21) Ethan Durocher, Canterbury
22) Paul French, Andover
23) Ed Chicoski, New Hartford
24) Mark Bakaj, Lebanon
25) Sami Anderson, Wolcott
26) Glenn Bartkowski, Manchester
LIMITED LATE MODEL (15)
1) Duane Provost, Palmer, MA
2) Jeremy Lavoie, Windsor Locks
3) Matt Clement, Wethersfield
4) Gary Patnode, Barkhamsted
5) David Gargaro Jr., Cranston, RI
6) Devon Jencik, Canton
7) Kevin Crosby, Coventry
8) Alexandra Fearn, East Longmeadow, MA
STREET STOCK (20)
1) George Bessette, Jr., Danbury
2) Zack Robinson, Putnam
3) Travis Hydar, Woodbury
4) Adrien Paradis, III, Plainville
5) Meghan Fuller, Auburn, MA
6) Tyler Trott, East Hartford
7) Marvin Minkler, Stamford
8) Dave Secore, Jr., Union
9) Bobby Stirk, III, Naugatuck
10) George Yuska, S. Glastonbury
11) Chris Danielczuk, Goshen
12) Paul Bourdon, Jr., Jewett City
13) Chris Ciriello, Beacon Falls
14) Nicole Chambrello, Kensington
Source: Scott Running/Stafford Speedway PR