Story By: SCOTT RUNNING / STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY – STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT – Stafford Speedway hosted another round of Weekly Racing with twin Late Model feature events on Friday, Aug. 23rd.
Cliff Saunders and Paul Varricchio, Jr. were the winners of the Late Model feature events with Saunders picking up his first win of the season and Varricchio using a last lap pass to record his second win of the season.
Troy Talman was victorious for the third time this season in the SK Modified® feature, Tyler Chapman notched his sixth win of the season in the SK Light feature, Jeremy Lavoie took down his first win of the season in the Limited Late Model feature, and Travis Downey scored win #2 of the season in the Street Stock feature.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature, Tyler Hines took the early lead ahead of Anthony Flannery, RJ Marcotte, Troy Talman, and Cory DiMatteo. Wesley Prucker spun in turn 4 to bring the caution flag out with 3 laps complete.
Hines took the lead back under green with Talman going wheel to wheel with Flannery for second. Marcotte and Jon Puleo were side by side behind Talman and Flannery with Cory DiMatteo and Michael Christopher, Jr. side by side behind them. Lap-8 saw Talman take second ahead of Flannery while Marcotte and Puleo were still wheel to wheel as were DiMatteo and Christopher behind them.
Marcotte got clear into fourth place on lap-10 with DiMatteo and Puleo now side by side for fifth but the caution came back out with 11 laps complete for a spin in turn 4 by Prucker.
Talman took the lead on the restart with Hines falling back to second. Flannery was third in line with Puleo fourth and Marcotte fifth. Chris Jones made contact with Curt Brainard in turn 3 with both cars spinning to bring the caution flag out with 15 laps complete. Jones, who ignored a black flag during the previous caution flag period for twice making contact with Prucker, finally brought his car to pit road parked for the remainder of the race.
Talman took the lead back under green with Hines and Flannery right behind him in second and third. Puleo was fourth with Marcotte in fifth. Just behind Marcotte was the side by side duo of DiMatteo and Marcello Rufrano. The cars of Todd Owen and Christopher got hooked together and into the wall to bring the caution flag back out with 18 laps complete.
Talman took the lead back under green with Hines in second. Marcotte was up to third with Rufrano taking fourth to drop Flannery back to fifth. Marcotte and Flannery spun in turn 2 to ring the yellow back out with 24 laps complete. Several other cars either spun or came to a stop to avoid hitting Marcotte and Flannery including Andrew Molleur, David Arute, Todd Owen, and Dylan Kopec.
Talman took the lead again on the restart with Rufrano getting around Hines for second. DiMatteo was fourth with Puleo fifth. The caution came back out after only one more lap was completed for a hit into the turn 2 wall by Flannery. RJ Marcotte was parked for the remainder of the race for making contact with Flannery.
Rufrano took the lead back under green but Talman would get back around him on lap-28 to retake the lead. DiMatteo was up to third behind Talman and Rufrano with Hines in fourth and Mikey Flynn up to fifth. Rufrano’s car suddenly dropped off the pace on lap-31 while running in second and he slowly brought his car back to pit road. This moved DiMatteo into second behind Talman with Hines third, Flynn fourth, and Puleo fifth.
Flynn took third from Hines on lap-35 which allowed Puleo to take fourth and drop Hines back to fifth place while Talman was still in the lead with DiMatteo in second. Talman led the field to the checkered flag to pick up his third win of the 2024 season. DiMatteo finished second with Flynn, Puleo, and Hines rounding out the top-5.
In the first 30-lap Late Model feature, Chris Buffone led the field to the green flag and he took the early lead in front of Tom Butler, Cliff Saunders, Al Saunders, and Bobby Stirk, III. Buffone led the first 2 laps before Butler charged into the lead on lap-3. Cliff Saunders followed him by to take second and drop Buffone back to third with Chris Meyer and Stirk side by side for fourth place. Meyer won the duel with Al Saunders and emerged in fourth place on lap-5 with Kevin Gambacorta moving into fifth place. Al Saunders slid back to sixth with Buffone in seventh place as the field completed lap-10.
At the halfway point of the race, Butler was still in command but he nearly had a scare as he came upon the lapped car of Adon Burrell the two cars touched with Burrell doing a 360 spin and continuing in the race. The race stayed green with Cliff Saunders right on Butler’s back bumper in second with Meyer third, Gambacorta fourth, and Al Saunders fifth.
Cliff Saunders made a move to the inside of Butler coming out of turn 4 to complete lap-23 and he took over the race lead. Meyer was holding off Gambacorta for third with Al Saunders still in fifth. Adam Gray was sixth and he was followed by Paul Varricchio, Jr., Stirk, Buffone, and Darrell Keane.
Cliff Saunders led Butler to the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the 2024 season. Meyer finished third with Gambacorta and Al Saunders rounding out the top-5.
In the second 30-lap Late Model feature, Tom Fearn took the early lead with Chris Buffone settling into second. Bobby Stirk, III was third in the early going with Wayne Coury, Jr. fourth and Alexandra Fearn fifth. Stirk took second from Buffone on lap-7 and that allowed Coury to take third and drop Buffone back to fourth while Tom Fearn was still holding the lead and Alexandra Fearn was fifth in line.
With 14 laps complete, it was still Tom Fearn out front followed by Stirk, Coury, Buffone, and Andrew Durand. Paul Varricchio, Jr. was up to sixth followed by Kevin Gambacorta, Josh Wood, Cliff Saunders, and Chris Meyer. Stirk was starting to apply heavy pressure to Tom Fearn for the lead and he was able to make the pass on lap-17.
Varricchio moved into second on lap-22, going around Coury who had several laps earlier displaced Tom Fearn from that position. With 5 laps to go the order was Stirk, Varricchio, Gambacorta, Coury, and Tom Fearn. Buffone was sixth with Cliff Saunders, Durand, Adam Gray, and Meyer lined up behind him.
Varricchio was right on Stirk’s back bumper with 4 laps to go but Stirk was able to hold Varricchio off for the time being. Varricchio made a move to the inside of Stirk as the cars came to the white flag and he held off Stirk to the checkered flag to pick up his second win of the 2024 season. Stirk finished second with Gambacorta, Coury, and Tom Fearn rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap SK Light feature, Bob Charland didn’t quite come up to speed on the start which stacked up the field behind him with Nickolas Hovey spinning in front of the field with several other cars spinning, including Ron Midford, Jr., Matt Brewer, Mike Parolo, Chris Bagnall, and Aiden D’Agata. All cars were able to continue with the exception of Bagnall who got towed off the track.
Casey Vogt took over the race lead on the restart with Tyler Chapman quickly moving into second. Chris Viens was third with Meghan Fuller fourth and Chris Matthews fifth. The caution flag flew with 2 laps compete as Mark Massirio spun as did Mike Parolo at the entrance of turn 3.
The restart saw the cars of Stephen Kalogiannis, Amanda West Paul Arute, and Nickolas Hovey spin in turn 1 to bring the caution flag back out before lap could be completed.
Tyler Chapman took over the lead on the restart with Fuller taking second. Chris Matthews pulled alongside Vogt for a wheel to wheel duel for third with Sami Anderson fifth. Matthews took third on lap-6 with Vogt fourth and Chris Viens up to fifth as Anderson slid back to tenth place. Josh Morrison did a half spin coming out of turn 2 and came to a stop to bring the caution flag out with 8 laps complete.
Several cars got out of shape on the restart but kept moving and the green flag remained out. Tyler Chapman again took the lead with Matthews right on his back bumper in second. Fuller was third with Viens fourth and Nick Anglace up to fifth. Alexander Pearl was sixth followed by Vogt, Peter Bennett, Charland, and Robert Bloxsom, III. Viens took to the outside lane to take third from Fuller on lap-14 while Anglace took fourth from Fuller one lap later.
Matthews couldn’t get close enough to Chapman to make a bid for the lead as Chapman took down his sixth victory of the 2024 season. Viens finished third with Anglace and Pearl rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, Jeremy Lavoie led the field to the green flag and he streaked into the early race lead ahead of Matthew Winter, II, RJ Surdell, Gary Patnode, and Rich Hammann. Just behind Hammann was the trio of Matt Clement, Kevin Cormier, and Devon Jencik. Adrien Paradis, III and Kyle Theriault rounded out the top-10 with 7 laps complete.
Hammann went by Patnode on lap-10 to move into fourth and that move brought Cormier with him into fifth. Patnode would lose one more spot as Devon Jencik took sixth to drop Patnode back to seventh in line. With 5 laps to go it was still Lavoie leading Winter, Surdell, Hammann, and Cormier. Dana Wray spun coming out of turn 2 on lap-17 but was able to rejoin the field, keeping the race green.
Lavoie led Winter to the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the 2024 season. Surdell finished third with Hammann and Cormier rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Street Stock feature, Marvin Minkler and Jeff Asselin led the field to the green flag with Asselin pulling out to the early lead with Minkler right behind him in second. Sean Petlock was third with Travis Downey going side by side with Bert Ouellette before moving into fourth at the completion of the first lap. Petlock took second from Minkler on lap-2 with Downey following him past Minkler before continuing on and taking second from Petlock in one fell swoop. The caution flag flew with 4 laps complete for Bill Cote, who came to a stop against the turn 2 wall.
Downey took the lead from Asselin on the restart with Asselin settling into second. Ouellette took third with Travis Hydar up to fourth and Petlock fifth. Tyler Trott was right behind Petlock and he took fifth on lap-6 with Brandon Warren taking sixth to drop Petlock back to seventh place.
At the halfway point Downey was still leading the race with Asselin still in second. Hydar was now third with Ouellette fourth and Trott fifth. Hydar took second from Asselin on lap-12 and began to set his sights on Downey in the lead. Hydar closed down the gap to Downey in two short laps and with 15 laps complete, he was right behind Downey in the fight for the lead.
Hydar looked high and low over the final 5 laps but Downey was able to fend off his challenges to pick up his second win of the 2024 season. Asselin finished third with Trott and Ouellette rounding out the top-5.
SK MODIFIED® (40)
1) Troy Talman, Oxford, MA
2) Cory DiMatteo, Farmington
3) Mikey Flynn, Hampden, MA
4) Jon Puleo, Branford
5) Tyler Hines, North Haven
6) Michael Gervais, Jr., Wolcott
7) Austin Beers, Northampton, PA
8) Todd Owen, Somers
9) Dylan Kopec, Meriden
10) Wesley Prucker, Stafford Springs
11) Keith Rocco, Berlin
12) Steven Chapman, Ellington
13) Curt Brainard, Canton
14) Brett Sandberg, South Windsor
15) Art Caruso, Windsor
16) Marcello Rufrano, North Haven
17) Anthony Flannery, East Hampton
18) RJ Marcotte, Millville, MA
19) Andrew Molleur, Shelton
20) David Arute, Tolland
21) Michael Christopher, Jr., Wolcott
22) Chris Jones, New Milford
LATE MODEL #1 (30)
1) Cliff Saunders, Stafford Springs
2) Tom Butler, Stafford Springs
3) Chris Meyer, Franklin
4) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
5) Al Saunders, Stafford Springs
6) Adam Gray, Granby, MA
7) Paul Varricchio, Jr., Berlin
8) Bobby Stirk, III, Naugatuck
9) Darrell Keane, Enfield
10) Josh Wood, Palmer, MA
11) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, MA
12) Chris Buffone, Belchertown, MA
13) Wayne Coury, Jr., Fairfield
14) Alexandra Fearn, Hampden, MA
15) Andrew Durand, Chicopee, MA
16) Duane Noll, Monroe
17) Scott Foster, Jr., Enfield
18) +P.J. Zarrella, Morris
19) Adon Burrell, Barkhamsted
LATE MODEL #2 (30)
1) Paul Varricchio, Jr., Berlin
2) Bobby Stirk, III, Naugatuck
3) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
4) Wayne Coury, Jr., Fairfield
5) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, MA
6) Adam Gray, Granby, MA
7) Cliff Saunders, Stafford Springs
8) Chris Buffone, Belchertown, MA
9) Chris Meyer, Franklin Darrell Keane, Enfield
10) Tom Butler, Stafford Springs
11) Al Saunders, Stafford Springs
12) Josh Wood, Palmer, MA
13) Alexandra Fearn, Hampden, MA
14) Duane Noll, Monroe
15) Andrew Durand, Chicopee, MA
16) Adon Burrell, Barkhamsted
17) P.J. Zarrella, Morris
18) Scott Foster, Jr., Enfield
SK LIGHT MODIFIED (20)
1) Tyler Chapman, Ellington
2) Chris Matthews, Stafford
3) Chris Viens, Putnam
4) Nick Anglace, Seymour
5) Alexander Pearl, Salem
6) Meghan Fuller, Auburn, MA
7) Casey Vogt, Windsor Locks
8) Peter Bennett, Windsor
9) Bob Charland, Stafford Springs
10) Robert Bloxsom, III, Milford
11) Sami Anderson, Wolcott
12) Joey Ferrigno, East Hartford
13) Paul Arcari, Somers
14) Amanda West, Colchester
15) Carsten Cole, Westbrook
16) Ron Midford, Jr., Ellington
17) Matt Brewer, Norwich
18) Aiden D’Agata, Willington
19) Cassandra Cole, Westbrook
20) Anthony Forino, Waterbury
21) Wade Gagner, East Longmeadow, MA
22) Glenn Bartkowski, Manchester
23) Austin Goff, Stafford Springs
24) Josh Morrison, Ashford
25) Frank L’Etoile, Jr., Wethersfield
26) Stephen Kalogiannis, New Hartford
27) Paul Arute, Tolland
28) Nickolas Hovey, Chaplin
29) Mark Massirio, Berlin
30) Mike Parolo, West Springfield
31) Chris Bagnall, Winsted
LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)
1) Jeremy Lavoie, Windsor Locks
2) Matthew Winter, II, Springfield, VT
3) RJ Surdell, Willington
4) Rich Hammann, Tolland
5) Kevin Cormier, Agawam, MA
6) Devon Jencik, Canton
7) Matt Clement, Wethersfield
8) Adrien Paradis, III, Plainville
9) Kyle Theriault, Three Rivers, MA
10) Connor Jencik, Canton
11) Gary Patnode, Barkhamsted
12) Darryl Vertefeuille, Willington
13) Trinity Provost, Holland, MA
14) Samantha Dell, Pascoag, RI
15) Scott Clement, Wethersfield
16) Dana Wray, Northford
17) Shelby Swan, Durham
STREET STOCK (20)
1) Travis Downey, Barkhamsted
2) Travis Hydar, Woodbury
3) Jeff Asselin, Granby, MA
4) Tyler Trott, East Hartford
5) Bert Ouellette, Ellington
6) Brandon Warren, Chicopee, MA
7) Sean Petlock, Ware, MA
8) Jason Raymond, Somers
9) Jason Lafayette, Somers
10) Mike Caprio, Clinton
11) Marvin Minkler, Stamford
12) Ashton Young, Griswold
13) Matt Martel, Stafford Springs
14) David Macha, Sr., Columbia
15) Bill Cote, Belchertown, MA
16) Alex Spinnato, Wallingford
17) Steve Bienkowski, Berlin
18) Joe Cooke, Shirley, NY
19) Gary Hyjec, Ellington
