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(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway hosted the extra distance Monaco Ford SK Light Double Down along with Stafford’s other four weekly divisions on Friday, May 24th. Scoring the big win of the night was Brian Sullivan in the 40-lap Monaco Ford SK Light Double Down. Sullivan was scored as the race winner when Nick Anglace was penalized to the last car on the lead lap for making contact with Meghan Fuller on the final lap of the race. Other feature winners on the night included Cory DiMatteo, who notched his third consecutive SK Modified® feature victory, Andrew Durand in the Late Model feature, Rich Hammann in the Limited Late Model feature, and Travis Hydar was a winner in the Street Stock division for the second week in a row.
In the 40-lap Monaco Ford SK Light Double Down feature event, Cassandra Cole led the field to the green flag but by the end of the first lap she was in third place as Robert Bloxsom, III took the lead. His time at the front was short as Nick Anglace took the lead from Bloxsom on lap-3. Cole was still in third place with Casey Vogt in fourth and Amanda West in fifth place. Anglace began to stretch out his lead over Bloxsom with Cole looking high and low for a way around Bloxsom. Vogt and West were still fourth and fifth with Chris Matthews, Tyler Chapman, Meghan Fuller, Brian Sullivan, and Chris Viens making up the top-10 with 10 laps complete.
Tyler Chapman moved into fourth place on lap-15 and just as he made a pass for third, the caution came out for Aiden D’Agata, who backed into the wall in the middle of turns 3+4 with 17 laps complete.
Chapman went 3-wide with Anglace and Bloxsom to take the lead by a nose at the line. Anglace was hanging strong on the outside of Chapman in the fight for the lead with Bloxsom third, West fourth, and Fuller in fifth. Austin Goff brought the yellow back out with 19 laps complete with a spin in turn 4. Anglace had the lead by a nose over Chapman on lap-19 so Anglace was the leader on the restart with Chapman in second.
Chapman had the lead by a nose on the restart with Anglace on his inside with Anglace leading the next lap by a nose. The caution came back out with 21 laps complete for a multi car spin in turn 2 involving Anthony Forino, Josh Morrison, David Webb, Norm Sears, Carsten Cole, Norm Sears, Goff, Stephen Kalogiannis, Mike Parolo, Paul Arute, and several others.
Bloxsom nearly went 3-wide with Anglace and Chapman with Anglace taking the lead. Chapman got loose in turn 4 and fell back to tenth place as Bloxsom took second, Fuller and West were wheel to wheel for third, Brian Sullivan was fifth, Alexander Pearl sixth, Cole seventh, Nickolas Hovey eighth, and Vogt ninth. Chapman began to charge his way back to the front as he moved into sixth on lap-26 while Fuller was now applying heavy pressure to Anglace for the lead. Sullivan moved into third on lap-29 with Bloxsom back to fourth and Pearl was fifth.
Fuller was keeping the pressure up on Anglace, whose car was drifting up the track coming out of turn 4. Fuller was able to finally work her way to the inside of Anglace on lap-34 but couldn’t complete the pass as she and Anglace were now side by side racing for the lead with Sullivan closing in from third. With 4 laps to go, Fuller and Anglace were still locked in a wheel to wheel battle with Sullivan looking to get past them both.
Anglace got very loose coming out of turn 4 on lap-38, which gave Fuller the margin she needed to pull into the lead. Anglace settled into second with Sullivan in third. Anglace and Fuller touched in turn 3 on the final lap with Fuller drifting up the track, which allowed Anglace to power into the lead and take the checkered flag first. A post-race penalty was applied to Anglace for making contact with both Fuller and Chapman and he was scored as the last car on the lead lap, making Sullivan the race winner. Pearl finished second with Tyler Chapman, Bloxsom, and West rounding out the top-5. Fuller touched the dirt coming out of turn 4 and she spun, which relegated her to a 23rd place finish.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, R.J. Marcotte led the field to the green flag and he set the early pace ahead of Jon Puleo. Tyler Hines and Mikey Flynn were racing wheel to wheel for third with Michael Gervais, Jr. in fifth. Hines moved into second on lap-3 and behind the leaders a multi car melee erupted in turn 3 involving the cars of David Arute, Curt Brainard, John Sandberg, Ethan Durocher, Tyler Barry, and Steven Chapman to bring the caution flag out with 3 laps complete.
Marcotte took the lead on the restart with Gervais and Hines right behind him. With 4 laps complete, as the field rumbled out of turn 4, Hines spun through the infield grass to bring the caution flag back out. Marcotte was sent to the rear of the field by Stafford officials for making contact with Hines.
Gervais and Todd Owen led the field back to the restart with Gervais taking the lead. Puleo pulled alongside Owen on lap-6 but Owen was able to hold him off and maintain second. Bryan Narducci spun in turn 2 to bring the caution flag back out with 6 laps complete.
Gervais again took the lead on the restart with Owen right behind him. The caution came back out one lap after the restart as Owen spun in turn 2 after contact with Puleo. Puleo was sent to the rear of the field by Stafford officials for making contact with Owen.
Gervais and Keith Rocco were now the front row for the restart and the duo race wheel to wheel for the lead with Mikey Flynn and Marcello Rufrano wheel to wheel behind them and Andrew Molleur and Austin Beers wheel to wheel behind them for three rows of wheel to wheel racing at the front. Gervais got clear into the lead on lap-10 with Flynn and Rocco dueling for second. Flynn got a good run to the inside of Gervais on lap-13 to move into the lead. Molleur was now second and going wheel to wheel with Gervais. Behind the top-3, Cory DiMatteo and Rocco were wheel to wheel for fourth place. DiMatteo took third from Gervais on lap-16 as Flynn and Molleur were now the top-2 runners.
With 18 laps complete, the field began to settle into a single line with Flynn in the lead followed by Molleur, DiMatteo, Gervais, Rocco, Rufrano, George Bessette, Jr., Noah Korner, Beers, and Anthony Flannery. Molleur made a move on lap-19 to get by Flynn and take over the race lead. Bessette nearly spun in turn 4 on lap-24 but he was able to gather his car up and continue on and the race stayed green.
DiMatteo made a bid for second on lap-26 and he took the spot from Flynn as Molleur continued to lead. Rocco was now wheel to wheel with Gervais for fourth place and he took the position on lap-28. Wesley Prucker’s car came to a stop in turn 2 to bring the caution flag out with 27 laps complete.
Molleur took the lead back under green but he was immediately under heavy pressure from DiMatteo. After taking several looks, DiMatteo was able to finally make a pass for the lead on lap-33 but the caution came out for a spin by Bessette that set the scoring back to the last completed lap, which put Molleur back into the lead for the restart with DiMatteo restarting from second.
Molleur took the lead with Rocco and DiMatteo going wheel to wheel for second. The caution came back out with 33 laps complete for a multi car spin in turn 3 involving Flannery, Curt Brainard, and Durocher.
Molleur took the lead back under green with Rocco and DiMatteo again going wheel to wheel for second. Noah Korner was fourth with Rufrano in fifth. DiMatteo cleared Rocco for second on lap-36 and he then made a move to the inside of Molleur on lap-37 to take over the race lead. Molleur looked to make a crossover move, but DiMatteo shut that down and maintained the lead. Molleur tried several times to get a run to the inside of DiMatteo but DiMatteo cleverly kept Molleur behind him as he took down his third consecutive SK Modified® feature victory. Rounding out the top-5 behind DiMatteo and Molleur was Rocco, Korner, and Rufrano.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Tom Fearn led the field to the green flag and he took the early race lead. Chris Buffone settled into second with P.J. Zarrella third, Andrew Durand fourth, and Chris Meyer fifth. Durand made a move to the inside of Zarrella on lap-7 to move into third. Meyer followed Durand by Zarrella on lap-8 as did Cliff Saunders, Kevin Gambacorta, Wayne Coury, Jr., and Al Saunders as Zarrella fell from third all the way back to ninth place.
Durand took second from Buffone on lap-11 while behind them, cars were looking for an opening to make a pass but no one was able to make a move until lap-15 when Meyer took third from Cliff Saunders. Durand nearly took the lead from Tom Fearn on lap-15 but fell back into line behind him. Durand made another run to the inside of Fearn on lap-17 and this time he was able to make the pass to take over the lead. Meyer followed Durand by Fearn on lap-18 to move into second. Cliff Saunders took third from Fearn on lap-18 and then on lap-19, Gambacorta took fourth from Fearn. Fearn continued to slide backwards to eighth place as Paul Varricchio, Jr., took fifth on lap-20, Wayne Coury, Jr. took sixth, and Al Saunders took seventh.
Meyer drifted up the track on lap-23, which allowed Cliff Saunders to take second. Gambacorta followed him through to move into third. Varricchio took fourth from Meyer on lap-25 with Meyer able to get back in line in front of Coury and Al Saunders as Durand was starting to stretch out his lead over Cliff Saunders and Gambacorta.
Durand led the field to the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the 2024 season. Cliff Saunders finished second with Gambacorta, Varricchio, and Coury rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, Rich Hammann led the field to the green flag and he took the early lead. Gary Patnode slotted into second behind Hammann with Jeremy Lavoie, Matt Winter, II, and Devon Jencik making up the top-5. With 5 laps complete, the top-5 remained in order although Lavoie was pressuring Patnode for second and Jencik was hounding Winter for the fourth position. Jencik would make a move to to the inside of Winter on lap-8 to move into fourth. That move opened the door for Adrien Paradis, III to follow Jencik by Winter and take fifth and drop Winter back to sixth. Lavoie was able to move around Patnode on lap-9 to move into second and begin to give chase to Hammann, who had stretched out his lead over the field in the first 10 laps of the race.
Paradis took fourth place from Jencik on lap-13 while Hammann was still comfortably in the lead with Lavoie, Patnode, Paradis, and Jencik all giving chase. Matt Clement was now applying heavy pressure to Paradis for fifth place, but Paradis was able to hold him off for the time being and maintain fifth.
In a caution free 20-lap race, Hammann led from start to finish to pick up his first win of the 2024 season. Lavoie finished second with Patnode, Jencik and Clement, who got around Paradis on the final lap, rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Street Stock feature event, Matt Martel spun coming out of turn 2 on the start, which collected the cars of Jeff Asselin, Garrett Pease, Tyler Trott, Travis Downey, Brandon Warren, and Chris Danielczuk and brought the caution flag out before a lap could be completed.
Bill Cote took the lead on the restart with Marvin Minkler going door to door with Jason Raymond for second. Raymond took the spot on lap-2 with Jason Lafayette taking third, Travis Hydar fourth, and Bert Ouellette fifth on lap-3 to drop Minkler back to sixth in line. Hydar continued to charge his way towards the front as he took third place from Lafayette on lap-5. Hydar then nearly made a 3-wide move for second on lap-6 but got back into line in third behind Cote and Raymond. Hydar made the move to the inside of Raymond on lap-8 to take over second place and set his sights on Cote for the lead. Hydar took the lead from Cote on lap-9 with Raymond, Lafayette, Ouellette, and Minkler all in line behind the two leaders. Ashton Young spun in the middle of turns 3+4 to bring the caution flag back out with 11 laps complete.
Hydar took the lead back under green with Raymond taking second from Cote. Ouellette was fourth in line followed by Lafayette, Minkler, Danielczuk, Sean Petlock, Jonathon Avery, and David Macha, Sr. Ouellette took third place from Cote on lap-16 while Cote was able to hold off a challenge from Lafayette to keep fourth place. Hydar led the field to the checkered flag to pick up his second consecutive victory and third overall in 2024. Raymond finished second with Ouellette, Cote, and Minkler 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.
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MONACO FORD SK LIGHT DOUBLE DOWN (40)
1) Brian Sullivan, Tolland
2) Alexander Pearl, Salem
3) Tyler Chapman, Ellington
4) Robert Bloxsom, III, Milford
5) Amanda West, Colchester
6) Nickolas Hovey, Chaplin
7) Casey Vogt, Windsor Locks
8) Ron Midford, Jr., Ellington
9) Chris Viens, Putnam
10) Cassandra Cole, Westbrook
11) Chris Matthews, Stafford
12) Bob Charland, Stafford Springs
13) Sami Anderson, Wolcott
14) Jason Chapman, Ellington
15) Peter Bennett, Windsor
16) Matt Brewer, Norwich
17) Joey Ferrigno, East Hartford
18) Paul Arcari, Somers
19) Frank L’Etoile, Jr., Wethersfield
20) Aiden D’Agata, Willington
21) David Webb, Nashville, TN
22) Alina Bryden, West Springfield, MA
23) Meghan Fuller, Auburn, MA
24) Nick Anglace, Seymour
25) Carsten Cole, Westbrook
26) Josh Morrison, Ashford
27) Austin Goff, Stafford Springs
28) Stephen Kalogiannis, New Hartford
29) Norm Sears, Andover
30) Paul Arute, Tolland
31) Anthony Forino, Waterbury
32) Mike Parolo, West Springfield, MA
33) Wade Gagner, East Longmeadow, MA
SK MODIFIED® (40)
1) Cory DiMatteo, Farmington
2) Andrew Molleur, Shelton
3) Keith Rocco, Berlin
4) Noah Korner, Avon
5) Marcello Rufrano, North Haven
6) Michael Gervais, Jr., Wolcott
7) Austin Beers, Northampton, PA
8) Michael Christopher, Jr., Wolcott
9) Bryan Narducci, New Britain
10) David Arute, Tolland
11) George Bessette, Jr., Danbury
12) Troy Talman, Oxford, MA
13) Mikey Flynn, Hampden, MA
14) Anthony Flannery, East Hampton
15) RJ Marcotte, Millville, MA
16) Wesley Prucker, Stafford Springs
17) John Sandberg, South Windsor
18) Ethan Durocher, Canterbury
19) Jon Puleo, Branford
20) Curt Brainard, Canton
21) David Flammia, Jr., Waterbury
22) Tyler Hines, North Haven
23) Todd Owen, Somers
24) Art Caruso, Windsor
25) Dylan Kopec, East Longmeadow, MA
26) Steven Chapman, Ellington
27) Tyler Barry, Griswold
LATE MODEL (30)
1) Andrew Durand, Chicopee, MA
2) Cliff Saunders, Stafford Springs
3) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
4) Paul Varricchio, Jr., Berlin
5) Wayne Coury, Jr., Fairfield
6) Chris Meyer, Franklin
7) Al Saunders, Stafford Springs
8) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, MA
9) Chris Buffone, Belchertown, MA
10) Tom Butler, Stafford Springs
11) Bobby Stirk, III, Naugatuck
12) Duane Noll, Monroe
13) P.J. Zarrella, Morris
14) Kevin Cormier, Agawam, MA
15) Alexandra Fearn, Hampden, MA
LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)
1) Rich Hammann, Tolland
2) Jeremy Lavoie, Windsor Locks
3) Gary Patnode, Barkhamsted
4) Devon Jencik, Canton
5) Matt Clement, Wethersfield
6) Adrien Paradis, III, Plainville
7) Matthew Winter, II, Springfield, VT
8) RJ Surdell, Willington
9) Kyle Theriault, Three Rivers, MA
10) Mike Hopkins, Stafford Springs
11) Connor Jencik, Canton
12) Samantha Dell, Pascoag, RI
13) Scott Clement, Wethersfield
14) Trinity Provost, Holland, MA
15) Darryl Vertefeuille, Willington
STREET STOCK (20)
1) Travis Hydar, Woodbury
2) Jason Raymond, Somers
3) Bert Ouellette, Ellington
4) Bill Cote, Belchertown, MA
5) Marvin Minkler, Stamford
6) Jason Lafayette, Somers
7) Chris Danielczuk, Goshen
8) Sean Petlock, Ware, MA
9) Jonathon Avery, North Windham
10) Jeff Asselin, Granby, MA
11) David Macha, Sr., Columbia
12) Ashton Young, Griswold
13) Steve Laprise, East Hartford
14) Matt Martel, Stafford Springs
15) Tyler Trott, East Hartford
16) Travis Downey, Barkhamsted
17) Brandon Warren, Chicopee, MA
18) Garrett Pease, Enfield
19) Kyle Johnson, Manchester
20) Nick Ullrich, Cranston, RI
