Column By: BRITTANY NUTILE / RPW – STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT – Glenn Reen took home the SK Modified win Friday night a Stafford Speedway.
Reen started 2nd in the race and dominated the first 32 laps until the caution came out. On the restart Reen got the jump and took the lead. Michael Christopher Jr. was all over Reen trying to get the top spot. But, Glenn Reen’s car was very fast and dominated the race.
“When I saw our starting position tonight, I knew we were going to have a win. The car is just so fast the last two weeks we had bad luck, we had two flat tires the first race and then a flat tire last week at the sizzler. Finally, tonight all four tires stayed up we didn’t have anything go wrong with tires tonight. It was good run; we needed that win. It was a rough start to the season for sure.” Reen talked about his win after the race.
Michael Christopher Jr. had a good run but, it was tough for him. He started 9th for the race but started powering steering throughout the race and with 10 laps to go, it was completely gone.
“From halfway on, I started losing it and then especially at the end with like 10 to go there was nothing. Just now starting it up there was nothing. Just never give up like last week, power steering went then went a lap down but finished 9th.” Christopher Jr. talked about his second-place finish in the race.
Top 5 finishers:
1. Glenn Reen
2. Michael Christopher Jr.
3. Stephen Kopcik
4. Todd Owen
5. Michael Gervais Jr.
Point Standings:
1. Michael Gervais Jr. 136 pts
2. Todd Owen 134 pts -2
3. Michael Christopher Jr. 128 pts -8
4. Nick Salva 116 pts -20
5. Stephen Kopcik 108 pts -28
SK Lights
Bryan Narducci won the SK Lights race at Stafford Speedway.
Bryan started 12th for the race, he was driving around kind of buying time, trying to avoid the wrecks that were happening on lap 2 halfway through the race on a restart. Narducci shot passed 3-4 cars getting second place and pass the cars on the outside. Then on another restart Bryan got by Mikey Flynn for the lead and was pulling away from the field.
“Just buying my time because of how much fun the start of every race is including tonight, we made a small change, people were being very aggressive on lap two. I was getting hit from behind and almost got wrecked on time but luckily, we saved it, after it seemed like the cream started to rise to the top. We ended up getting to the top spot, got on the outside and started passing 3-4 cars in a lap and a half. Its cool being able to race against one of my good friends (Mikey Flynn) someone I’ve been racing with since I was 9 years old. To be doing it almost 10 years later is pretty cool.” Narducci talks about how he got his win after the race.
Mikey Flynn had a good race, started 7th but on the first restart after the caution Flynn took the lead and had the car to beat for most of the race. Flynn finished second in the race.
“We had the first half of the race pretty much locked up, then the red flag came out, after that the car got a little tight and Bryan was able to get around me.” Mikey Said after the race.
Top 5 finishers:
1. Bryan Narducci
2. Mikey Flynn
3. Joey Ferrigno
4. Mark Bakaj
5. Wesley Prucker
Point standings:
1. Mark Bakaj 136 pts
2. Mikey Flynn 126 pts -8
3. Steven Chapman (Rookie) 124 pts -10
4. Noah Korner (Rookie) 122 pts -12
5. Joey Ferrigno 112 pts -22
Late Models
Albert Saunders won the Late Model race at Stafford Speedway.
Saunders started 3rd and seemed t have a good fast car. It seemed like Chase Cook was on the way to his first win, he dominated the first couple of laps but then Saunders’ car got better and took the lead from Cook.
“I was good in turn ½ but not good in turn 3 and 4, we put a lot of work into it, we put a lot of work into the season and for the results to pay off early in the season is real gratifying.” Saunders talks about his win his race after the feature.
Gamacorta had another good run this week. He started 10th but ½ way through the race, Gamacorta’s car got better and got up to the top few spots.
“It’s unbelievable, I think we have the car to beat out here. We just need to get a break on restarts, and we come from the back again, I’m actually disappointed with 2nd but I’m happy because we have an awesome car.” Kevin talked about his 2nd place finish in the feature.
Tom Fearn started 6th and seem to have a good car just couldn’t get passed the first two cars to get to the lead. Fearn finished third and the points leader.
Top 5 finishers:
1. Albert Saunders
2. Kevin Gamacorta
3. Tom Fearn
4. Michael Bennett
5. Paul Arute
Point Standings:
1. Tom Fearn 138pts
2. Michael Bennett 134pts -4
3. Michael Wray 122pts -16
4. Tyler Leary 122pts -16
5. Albert Saunders 120pts -18
Limited Late Models
Duane Provost won the Limited Late Model race at Stafford Speedway for the first Friday night under the lights.
Provost started 3rd. He was chasing down the 1st and 2nd place car with in first few laps.
“I really needed that win in the beginning of the year. We had a really close race, both very clean and put on a good show.” Provost talks about his race and win after the feature.
Gary Patnode started 2nd and looked to have a fast car yet again this week. He got to lead very quickly and took off from the field until Provost was gaining on him and Patnode and Provost were battling all the way to checkered flag where Provost won by a nose.
Last week’s winner Matt Clement, had a problem at the beginning of the race that took him out. He felt he had a loose wheel so; he didn’t want to risk tearing up the car.
Top 5 finishers:
1. Duane Provost
2. Gary Patnode
3. Jeremy Lavoie
4. Kyle Casagrande
5. Alexandra Fearn
Point Standings:
1. Duane Provost 142pts
2. Jeremy Lavoie 142pts
3. Gary Patnode 140pts -2
4. Matt Clement 134pts -8
5. Alexandra Fearn 126pts -16
Street Stocks
Zack Robinson was victorious in the Street Stock race Friday evening.
Jason Lafayette took the lead early with Nicole Chambrello right behind him. Robinson was third and was just buying time to see if someone in from of him would wiggle or made a mistake.
Lafayette and Robinson were battling for the lead for a few laps then a caution came out, which meant Lafayette would have to fight off Robinson the lead once again. Jason kept Zack off for a little bit but Robinson had the better car and got the lead from Lafayette.
George Bessette Jr. was having a good day. He started in the top 10 and had gotten to the top 5 in five laps. Lafayette, Bessette Jr. and Meghan Fuller were all battling for the 2nd,3rd, and 4th place.
Fuller and Bessette were battling hard for 3rd place, Bessette got into Fuller too hard and turned her, resulting in Bessette getting blacked flagged. He bounced back to finish 7th.
Top 5 finishes:
1. Zack Robinson
2. Nicole Chambrello
3. Jason Lafayette
4. Travis Hydar
5. Adrien Paradis III (Rookie)
Point standings:
1. Meghan Fuller 134 pts
2. Travis Hydar 134 pts
3. Adrien Paradis III 120 pts -14
4. Nicole Chambrello 116 pts -18
5. Michael Hopkins 112 pts -22
