Column By: BRITTANY NUTILE / RPW – STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT – Stephen Kopcik was the winner of the SK Modified feature on Teddy Christopher night at Stafford Speedway this past Friday evening.
Kopcik started the race in 10th place. He was 10th for 4 laps, 9th in 3 laps and then by lap 11 was in the top 5, stayed there for 6 laps. Stephen led 9 laps from lap 32 to lap 40. Kopcik hasn’t won race since 2017 so, this was special to him. “Feels unbelievable, I’m standing here because of these guys behind me, we have been winless since 2017 and these guys never gave up on me.” Stephen talks about his win in an interview after the race.
Keith Rocco finished 2nd and started the race 14th. From lap 1 to 15 he was in 13th,12th,11th,10th, and 9th place, by lap 20 he was 6th for laps. By lap 24 he was in the top 5 he was 5th for 2 laps, 4th for 2 laps, and 3rd for 11 laps and finally 2nd place for 2 laps.
Ronnie Williams finished 3rd in the race and started the race 15th. Ronnie was in the back of the pack tonight he had to start from 15th and was in 15th to 11th place for the first 7 laps then got I the top 10 by lap 8. He led 13 laps from lap 19 to lap 31. Then dropped back to 2nd place for 7 laps and finally finished 3rd.
Top 5 finishers:
1. Stephen Kopcik
2. Keith Rocco
3. Ronnie Williams
4. Todd Owen
5. Glen Reen
Top 5 in the point standings:
1. Todd Owen 478pts. +28
2. Keith Rocco 450pts.-28
3. Michael Gervais Jr. 428pts.-50
4. Ronnie Williams 424pts. -54
5. Glen Reen 376pts.-102
SK Lights
Bryan Narducci won the SK Light feature at Stafford speedway Friday. This is Bryan’s 3rd official win this year (5 wins total, 2 disqualifications).
He started the race 15th and got into the top 10 by lap 6 and stayed in the bottom half of the top 10 for 5 laps. Narducci got in the top 5 by la 11, he was 4th for 2 laps, 3rd for 5 laps. By lap 18 he was third and in the last two laps got to the 2nd and leading car and it was a photo finish at the checkered where he led the last lap and the only lap of the race. He has had some up and down races at Stafford and is still undefeated at Thompson. He’s been having a pretty good season. “It’s great to win on TC night, he was my idol and I think I just made hm proud by doing that. Once we got going, I figured I had to go on the top and caught Flynn and the 22, and they were racing hard. I just knew that I would get to them and I in needed to know what to do So, I figured I would go on the top but, the 22 left the bottom opened so I sank it in there, and then Flynn was blocking hard. I gave him a little tap and then there we were.” Bryan talks in an interview after the race on how he got to the lead and won the race on the last lap.
Wesley Prucker finished 2nd in the race, he started the race 6th and got up to the 2nd position by lap 2 and led 2 laps on lap 4 and another on lap 11. He was in 2nd place for 17 laps. This is a very big confidence booster for Prucker and the entire team. He has had a lot of ups and downs the first 11 races of the season. He has 6 top 20s, 1 top10, and 4 to 5s which isn’t too bad, he doesn’t have any DNF’s and right now he is 8th in points.
Mikey Flynn finished 3rd and started in the 8th position. Flynn has been itching for that first win and was heartbroken that he didn’t get the win tonight. He was leading by lap 4, he led 7 laps then went back to 2nd for 1 lap on lap 11 then led another 8 laps from lap 12 to 19 and got 3rd to finish the race.
Top 5 finishers:
1. Bryan Narducci
2. Wesley Prucker
3. Mikey Flynn
4. Bob Charland
5. Noah Korner
Top 5 in the point standings:
1. Teddy Hodgdon 468pts.+36
2. Steven Chapman-R 432pts.-36
3. Alexander Pearl 420pts.-48
4. Noah Korner-R 416pts.-52
5. Mikey Flynn 410pts.-58
Late Models
Tom Fearn found victory lane in the Late Model feature at Stafford Speedway. He started the race 13th and worked his way up to the front. This is Tom’s 5th win of the season. He got into the top 5 by lap 3, by lap 10 he was 2nd. He was in 2nd for 10 laps then made his way to the lead and led 11 laps of the race. “I didn’t know if I was going to able to catch Tyler for the lead but, we got a caution. My guys made an adjustment before the feature tonight and that how we were good tonight.” Fearn says after the race in a post-race interview.
Adam Gray finished in 2nd place, he started the race in 14th place. He was in the top 10 for the entire race and made his way to the front fairly quickly. By lap 7 he was 6th for 11 laps, then got in 5th place by lap 18. Then by lap 20 he was in 3rd place for 7 laps and finally was in 2nd place from lap 27 to lap 30.
Al Saunders finished on the podium tonight in 3rd place for the race, he started the race 12. He was in the bottom half of the top 10 for the first 20 laps. He was in 11 for 3 laps, 10th for 3 laps, 9th for 5 laps. Then by lap 21 was in 4th place for 2 laps. He finally got to 3rd from lap 28 to the finish. Saunders has had a pretty good first half, he has gotten 2 wins, 4 top 5s, 1 top 10, and 4 top 15s. He has been having a consistent racing season so far, he is in the top 5 in points.
Top 5 finishers:
1. Tom Fearn
2. Adam Gray
3. Al Saunders
4. Michael Wray
5. Michael Bennett
Top 5 in the point standings:
1. Tom Fearn 526pts.+86
2. Michael Wray 440pts.-86
3. Kevin Gambacorta 428pts.-98
4. Al Saunders 420pts.-106
5. Paul Arute 418pts.-108
Limited Late Models
Alexandra Fearn took home the Limited Late Model race. She started the race on the pole. She led all 15 laps and dominated the entire race. She had some scares from Jeremy Lavoie, getting to her bumper and almost passing her a couple of times for the lead, but didn’t have enough to pass her. “I knew he was coming, and honestly when you have a fast car behind you its just making sure you hit your marks that you worried about what your doing and not what the person being you is doing. All it takes is one slipup, I learned that last week, this week I just wanted to make sure we got it done.” Alexandra Fearn talks about her win after the race.
Jeremy finished 2nd in the race and started the race in 3rd place. He stayed in the top 2 the whole race. He was in 3rd for 4 laps, got into 2nd place on lap 5 and was there for 11 laps and stayed there in 2nd till the finish.
Matt Clement finished 3rd and has another podium finish this week. He started the race 7th, more back in the pack than he usually is. Matt was in 6th place for 2 laps, and then got into the top 5. By lap 3 he was in 5th for a lap, 4th place for 2 laps, and then in 3rd for 10 laps, where he finished in 3rd.
Top 5 finishers:
1. Alexandra Fearn
2. Jeremy Lavoie
3. Matt Clement
4. Duane Provost
5. David Tefft
Top 5 in the point standings:
1. Matt Clement 518pts. +4
2. Jeremy Lavoie 514pts.-4
3. Gary Patnode 492pts. -26
4. Alexandra Fearn 484pts. -34
5. Kevin Crosby 384pts. -34
Street Stocks
Zack Robinson won the street stock race. He started the in 6th place. He has been off to a good start after not competing at Stafford last year. So far in the first 11 races Zack has had a 18th place finish, a 7th place finish, 5 top 5s and 3 wins. He has had a very strong run in the first half of the season. “I’ve been playing the tire game and being on a different strategy then the other teams, we put 3 stickers on tonight and it just lit the car up tonight for the race.” Robinson says in an interview after the race.
Travis Hydar finished the race 2nd, he started the race 5th and had a good race. Travis has been very consistent throughout the first 11 races of the season. The first half of the season he has 9 top 5s, a 14th place, and a did not start. Hydar has a had a good start to the season and is in the top 5 in the point standings.
Nicole Chambrello finishes the race in 3rd, she started the race 11th. Nicole has had some ups and downs in the beginning of the season. In the first 11 races she has 2 top 15 place finishes, 4 top 10s, and 3 top 5s, she also missed two races during the first half. She has been progressing more throughout the season and getting a podium finish tonight is getting back on the right for her and will give her a little boost to keep running up in the front.
Top 5 finishers:
1. Zack Robinson
2. Travis Hydar
3. Nicole Chambrello
4. Tess Beyer
5. George Bessette Jr.
Top 5 in the point standings:
1. Zack Robinson 480pts. +0
2. Meghan Fuller 480pts. +0
3. George Bessette Jr. 478pts.-2
4. Travis Hydar 436pts.-44
5. Adrien Paradis III-R 408pts.-72