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(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway was back in action on Friday, June 5th with the Casella Waste SK 80, the $3,000 to win first leg of the Sign Pro Triple Crown. Jon Puleo was the big winner of the night, using a dominating drive to notch his first win of the 2026 season in the Casella Waste SK 80. Michael Bennett was a Late Model winner for the first time in nearly 5 years at Stafford, Jason Finkbein came out a first-time SK Light feature winner after an eventful finish, Rich Hammann scored his first win of 2026 in the Limited Late Model feature, and Ryan Waterman took down what is already his fourth win of 2026 in the Street Stock feature.
In the Casella Waste SK 80 feature, Glen Reen charged around polesitter Jon Puleo to take the early race lead. Puleo came right back to the inside of Reen on lap-2 to move to the front. Bryan Narducci was third in line with Marcello Rufrano in fourth and Michael Christopher, Jr. fifth. The caution came out with 4 laps complete as Frank Ruocco got into the turn 3 wall and the cars of Wade Gagner, Josh Zentek, and Ethan Durocher all spun.
Reen took the lead back from Puleo on the restart but again Puleo took one lap behind Reen before he went back into the lead. Narducci took second with Rufrano and Reen now wheel to wheel for third and Christopher in fifth. Narducci made a move to the inside of Puleo on lap-9 but Puleo still had the lead by a nose at the line and he went back in front of Narducci on lap-10. Rufrano won the duel with Reen for third but he now had Christopher to his inside and Christopher took third place on lap-11. Reen was still fifth with Tyler Chapman, Noah Korner, Andrew Molleur, Mikey Flynn, and David Arute making up the top-10.
Puleo was starting to stretch out his advantage over Narducci in second and with 22 laps complete the running order was Puleo, Narducci, Christopher, Rufrano, Reen, Chapman, Molleur, Flynn, Korner, and Arute. Nickolas Hovey spun in turn 2 to bring the caution flag out with 26 laps complete.
Puleo took the lead on the restart with Christopher moving into second. Reen was side by side with Narducci for third with Molleur and Rufrano side by side for fifth place. Reen briefly took third on lap-29 but Narducci came right back and maintained the position. Reen completed a pass for third on lap-30 and the caution came back out with 31 laps complete for Durocher who spun in turn 4.
A Talladega melee broke out on the restart as Puleo didn’t quite come up to speed with the cars of Tyler Hines, Arute, Alex Pearl, David Flammia, Jr., Dylan Izzo, Matt Vassar, Art Caruso, Noah Korner, Keith Rocco, and Wade Gagner all involved to bring the caution flag back out immediately.
Puleo took the lead with Christopher and Narducci right behind him. Christopher nearly took the lead on lap-33 but Puleo was able to fend off his challenge. Reen was fourth in line with Chapman up to fifth. Molleur was sixth followed by Flynn, Troy Talman, Rocco, and Owen. Molleur took fifth from Chapman on lap-38 while the same lap saw Rocco take eighth place from Talman.
With 50 laps complete Puleo was still in command with Christopher, Narducci, Reen, Molleur, Rocco, Flynn, Chapman, Talman, and Todd Owen giving chase. Puleo was starting to ever so slowly pull away from Christopher in second while Christopher was building up a margin over Narducci in third. Reen was working Narducci over for third and they made contact on lap-60 but both cars maintained position and kept on fighting for third place. Reen was finally able to make a pass on Narducci on lap-65 to take over third place while Puleo and Christopher were still comfortably in first and second.
With 10 laps to go the order was Puleo, Christopher, Reen, Narducci, Rocco, Molleur, Flynn, Chapman, Riely O’Keefe, and Talman. Chapman got loose in turn 4 which allowed O’Keefe to take eighth place on lap-71. Puleo led the field to the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the 2026 season with a dominating drive. Christopher finished second with Reen, Narducci, and Rocco rounding out the top-5.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature, Wayne Coury, Jr. took the lead at the green flag to set the early pace with Michael Bennett taking second behind him. Paul Varricchio, Jr. was third with Josh Wood fourth and Chris Buffone fifth. Buffone took fourth from Wood and lap-6 saw Chris Meyer and Wood get stuck together coming out of turn 2 before the cars separated with Wood and Meyer falling back to eighth and ninth place with Meyer’s right front fender slightly damaged as Adam Gray took fifth, Darrell Keane sixth, and Kevin Gambacorta seventh. Scott Davis spun coming out of turn 2 to bring the caution flag out with 9 laps complete.
Coury charged into the lead on the restart with Bennett and Buffone going door to door for second. Bennett won that duel and one lap later saw Varricchio take third from Buffone. Adam Gray also got by Buffone to take fourth place and drop Buffone back to fifth. Bennett worked his way to the inside of Coury to take over the lead on lap-13.
With 10 laps to go it was still Bennett in command followed by Coury, Varricchio, Gray, and Buffone. Gambacorta was sixth with Meyer, Darrell Keane, Adon Burrell, and Wood making up the top-10.
Bennett led the field to the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the 2026 season which was also his first Late Model victory in nearly 5 years at Stafford. Coury finished second with Varricchio, Gray, and Buffone rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap SK Light feature, Tyler Barry went 3-wide with Paul Arcari and Bob Charland to take the lead at the drop of the green. The caution flew with 1 lap complete for Aiden D’Agata, Rob Pederson, and Anthony Forino, who all spun in turn 4.
Barry took the lead back under green with Robert Bloxsom, III taking second. Charland was third with Matt Brewer fourth and Amanda West fifth. West took fourth from Brewer on lap-5 while Bloxsom was applying heavy pressure to Barry for the lead. Bloxsom made a move in turn 4 to take the lead form Barry on lap-6.
Barry came back to the inside of Bloxsom on lap-10 and he took the lead by a nose at the line. The two leaders were now racing wheel to wheel with Bloxsom taking the lead by inches to complete lap-11. Barry led lap-12 by inches as they were still side by side. Charland was still third with West fourth and Jason Finkbein fifth. Barry again led by the slimmest of margins to complete lap-13 before he got clear into the lead on lap-14. Bloxsom made a move to the inside of Barry on lap-15 but couldn’t make a pass. The caution came back out with 15 laps complete for a spin in turn 2 by Ava Lombardo.
Barry took the lead back under green with Bloxsom glued to his back bumper. Finkbein took third with Chris Matthews taking fourth. Nick Anglace was wheel to wheel with Charland for fifth while Bloxsom took the lead from Barry on lap-18. Barry looked to make a move in turn 3 on lap-19 but Bloxsom shut that move down. Lombardo spun in turn 4 to bring the caution flag out on the final lap of the race to set up a green white checkered finish.
Connor Christmas spun on the restart to bring the caution immediately back out and set up attempt number two at a green white checkered finish.
Bloxsom took the lead with Finkbein in second, Anglace third and Barry and Matthews side by side for fourth. Anglace made a move on the final lap to the inside of Bloxsom which took both cars up the track and allowed Finkbein to come through to capture his first career SK Light feature victory. Barry took second at the line with Anglace third, Bloxsom fourth, and Matthews fifth. Anglace was penalized to the sixth position by Stafford officials but Bloxsom’s car did not meet the minimum ride height requirement in post-race inspection and he was thusly disqualified from the feature finish. The new finishing order is Finkbein as the winner, Barry second, Matthews third, West fourth, and Anglace fifth.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, Conor Jencik took the early lead at the drop of the green flag with Rich Hammann navigating some 3-wide action on the start to take second. Adrien Paradis, III was third with Gary Patnode fourth and Norm Root, III fifth.
Patnode took third place from Paradis on lap-4 while Hammann took the lead from Jencik on lap-5. Root took fourth place from Paradis on lap-6 with Aaron Plemons following Root by Paradis to take fifth and drop Paradis from fourth back to sixth. Jencik slipped up the track in turn 2 on lap-8 allowing Patnode to take second. Root took second from Patnode on lap-9 and Patnode then spun in turn 2 after contact with Plemons while fighting for third to bring the caution flag out with 9 laps complete.
Hammann took the lead on the restart with Plemons charging into second. Jason Lafayette was now up to third with Root fourth and Conor Jencik fifth. Lafayette drifted up the track in turn 3 on lap-11 and he nearly spun in turn 1 on lap-12 before limping his way back to pit road, which ended his race early. The order was now Hammann, Plemons, Root, Conor Jencik, and RJ Surdell with 14 of 20 laps complete. Travis Hydar took fifth from Surdell just before Surdell’s car backed into the turn 3 wall to bring the caution flag back out with 15 laps complete.
Hammann took the lead on the restart with Plemons and Root behind him in second and third. Hydar moved into fourth with Conor Jencik holding fifth, just in front of Jeremy Lavoie. Root and Plemons touched racing for second with Root taking the position. Hydar took third with Plemons falling back to fourth just beore the caution came back out with 18 laps complete for Samantha Dell, who spun and came to a stop in turn 4.
Root took the lead on the restart but Hammann came right back to his inside as they raced off turn 4 to trhe white flag. Hammann took the lead on the final lap with Plemons taking second to drop Root to third. That is how they came to the checkered flag with Hammann scoring his first win of the 2026 season. Hydar finished fourth with Conor Jencik rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Street Stock feature, Charles Beal took the lead at the green flag with Scott Sundeen moving into second. Bill Cote took third with Brent Gleason fourth and Brandon Warren fifth. Ryan Waterman was on the move early, quickly moving from his 10th place starting position up to sixth place behind Warren. He took fifth on lap-3and then went by Cote into third place after Sundeen drifted up the track in turn 2 and fell from second all the way back to 11th place. Right behind Waterman was Matt Lowinski-Loh in fourth and PJ Evans was now fifth with 6 laps on the board.
Waterman continued his charge to the front by taking second place from Gleason on lap-8 and Lowinski-Loh followed him by to take third and drop Gleason back to fourth.
Waterman took the lead from Beal on lap-10 with several cars following Waterman past Beal. Lowinski-Loh took third with Warren taking fourth. As the cars navigated turn 3, Beal and Jason Raymond touched with Raymond and Beal both going around to bring the caution flag out with 10 laps complete. Kolton Gambacorta’s car also came to a stop and was towed off the racetrack.
Waterman took the lead on the restart with Lowinski-Loh right behind him in second. Gleason took third with Warren fourth and Cote fifth. Sundeen was back up to sixth place followed by Evans, David Ciastko, Raymond, and Isabella Minchella. James Devoe spun in turn 4 to bring the yellow flag back out with 13 laps complete.
Watermand and Lowinski-Loh again took the top-2 positions on the restart with Gleason, Warren, and Cote still making up the top-5 behind them. Lowinski-Loh made a move to the inside of Waterman on lap-17 but Waterman was able to shut the door and maintain the lead. Lowinski-Loh made one last effort on the final lap but he couldn’t find his way around Waterman as Waterman took down his fourth win of the 2026 season. Gleason finished third with Warren and Raymond 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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CASELLA WASTE SK 80 (80)
1) Jon Puleo, Branford
2) Michael Christopher, Jr., Wolcott
3) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, MA
4) Bryan Narducci, Colchester
5) Keith Rocco, Berlin
6) Andrew Molleur, Shelton
7) Riely O’Keefe, Manorville, NY
8) Mikey Flynn, Hampden, MA
9) Troy Talman, Oxford, MA
10) Tyler Chapman, Ellington
11) Todd Owen, Somers
12) Wesley Prucker, Stafford Springs
13) Dylan Izzo, Monroe
14) Alexander Pearl, Salem
15) Anthony Flannery, East Hampton
16) Meghan Fuller, Auburn, MA
17) Marcello Rufrano, North Haven
18) David Arute, Stafford Springs
19) Ethan Durocher, Canterbury
20) Tyler Hines, North Haven
21) Curt Brainard, Canton
22) Noah Korner, Avon
23) Art Caruso, Windsor
24) Josh Morrison, Ashford
25) David Flammia, Jr., Waterbury
26) Nickolas Hovey, Chaplin
27) Wade Gagner, East Longmeadow, MA
28) Matt Vassar, Berlin
29) Frank Ruocco, Brigantine, NJ
30) Josh Zentek, East Haven
LATE MODEL (30)
1) Michael Bennett, Willington
2) Wayne Coury, Jr., Milford
3) Paul Varricchio, Jr., Berlin
4) Adam Gray, Granby, MA
5) Chris Buffone, Belchertown, MA
6) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
7) Chris Meyer, Franklin
8) Darrell Keane, Enfield
9) Adon Burrell, Barkhamsted
10) Josh Wood, Palmer, MA
11) Rob Taylor, Jr., Warren
12) Scott Davis, Enfield
13) Damian Palardy, Stafford Springs
SK LIGHT (20)
1) Jason Finkbein, Manchester
2) Tyler Barry, Griswold
3) Chris Matthews, Stafford
4) Amanda West, Colchester
5) Nick Anglace, Seymour
6) Bob Charland, Stafford Springs
7) Paul Arcari, Somers
8) Peter Bennett, Windsor
9) Matt Brewer, Norwich
10) Cassandra Cole, Westbrook)
11) Daltin McCarthy, Oxford, MA
12) Stephen Kalogiannis, New Hartford
13) Eddie Gomarlo, Swanzey, NH
14) Casey Vogt, Windsor Locks
15) Dylan Houghton, Springfield, MA
16) Sami Anderson, Wolcott
17) Jake Hines, North Haven
18) Ben Morrison, Ashford
19) Aiden D’Agata, Willington
20) Ed Chicoski, New Hartford
21) Glenn Bartkowski, Manchester
22) Austin Goff, Stafford Springs
23) Chad Jones, Quakertown, PA
24) Connor Christmas, Enfield
25) Joey Ferrigno, East Hartford
26) Anthony Forino, Waterbury Norm Sears, Coventry
27) John Brunelle, Stonington
28) Ava Lombardo, New Hartford
29) Travis Downey, Barkhamsted
30) Rob Pederson, Fairfield
DNS – Aaron Goff, Stafford Springs
DQ – Robert Bloxsom, III, Milford
LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)
1) Rich Hammann, Tolland
2) Aaron Plemons, Uncasville
3) Norman Root, III, Old Saybrook
4) Travis Hydar, Woodbury
5) Conor Jencik, Canton
6) Jeremy Lavoie, Windsor Locks
7) Duane Provost, Palmer, MA
8) Adrien Paradis, III, Plainville
9) Matt Clement, Rocky Hill
10) Kyle Theriault, Three Rivers, MA
11) Devon Jencik, Canton
12) Gary Patnode, Barkhamsted
13) Dave Secore, Union
14) RJ Surdell, Willington
15) Dana Wray, Northford
16) Tyler Secore, Union
17) Samantha Dell, Pascoag, RI
18) Scott Clement, Wethersfield
19) Steve Daddio, Seymour
20) Jason Lafayette, Somers
21) Matt Winter, II, Springfield, VT
STREET STOCK (20)
1) Ryan Waterman, Danielson
2) Matthew Lowinski-Loh, Thompson
3) Brent Gleason, Griswold
4) Brandon Warren, Chicopee, MA
5) Jason Raymond, Somers
6) Bill Cote, Belchertown, MA
7) PJ Evans, Uncasville
8) David Ciastko, Madison
9) Scott Sundeen, Sutton, MA
10) Charles Beal, Ledyard
11) Roger Mahieu, Goshen
12) Marvin Minkler, Stamford
13) Isabella Minchella, Somers
14) Rob Sears, Stafford Springs
15) Matt Martel, Stafford Springs
16) James Devoe, Naugatuck
17) Kolton Gambacorta, Ellington
