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CHARLAND, CASAGRADE, BESSETTE, FLUCKIGER, COATES, & RICHARDI SCORE CARQUEST FALL FINAL SATURDAY FEATURE VICTORIES AT STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY; ASZKLAR, CASAGRANDE, & SAUNDERS SCORE TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS |
(Stafford Springs, CT)---Stafford Motor Speedway kicked off its final race event of the 2012 season with feature events for its SK Light, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock divisions, as well as feature events for the Pro-4 Modifieds and N.E. Truck Series as part of the Saturday CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend festivities. In the SK Light Modifieds, Bob Charland took down his first win of the season while Zach Aszklar was crowned champion, Cory Casagrande won the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature to secure the championship, Austin Bessette won the DARE Stock feature, but came up short in the championship chase as Cliff Saunders took home the track title. Kris Fluckiger won the 8-lap Paradiso-Muska DARE Stock Shoot-Out, Corey Coates won the 20-lap N.E. Truck Series feature, and Rob Richardi, Jr. won the 20-lap Pro-4 Modified feature.
Henry took the lead back under green, but Charland got a good run on the outside groove and he took the lead from Henry. Cardile also went to the outside to get around Henry, but the caution came out again with 3 laps complete for a spin by Jason Lafayette. The restart saw a spin by Jay Goff, Williams, and Victoria Bergenty to bring the yellow back out. Back under green, Charland charged into the lead while Cardile dropped off the pace and brought his car to pit road. Henry was now second behind Charland, with Tony Membrino, Jr., Joey Ferrigno, and Cam McDermott making up the top-5.
On the restart, Aszklar spun in turn 2 and Dylan Kopec’s car climbed up and over Aszklar’s car, which brought the caution out and drastically changed the SK Light championship picture, as Aszklar was 20 points or 10 positions ahead of Membrino coming into the final race. Charland took the lead back
under green with McDermott and Henry side by
side for second place. Membrino was fourth,
with Ferrigno and Gunning side by side for fifth
place. Henry got a run to the inside of
McDermott on lap-16, but he spun coming out of
turn 4. Membrino tried to avoid hitting Henry,
and as he tried to avoid Henry, Membrino got
into the frontstretch wall, which bent his right
front tire and eliminated him from the race. In the chase for the championship, Aszklar's 19th place finish was enough to give him the championship over Membrino, who ended the race in the 14th position.
Cory Casagrande nearly spun while racing in a group of traffic, but he was able to collect his car and he kept running in fifth place on lap-6. There was a torrid battle for second between Arute, Wood, and Hayes going on with the cars going three wide several times. Arute came out with the spot, but Wood went back by Arute on lap-10 to move back into second. Casagrande was now in third as the three-wide action allowed him to close in on the trio, while D.J. Burnham was fourth and Arute was back to fifth place. With all the position swapping going on behind him, Hinze was able to pull out to a comfortable lead. On lap-13, Wood got very loose in turn 1 and he fell from second back to fourth place as Casagrande and Burnham both went by. Casagrande was beginning to reel Hinze in for the race lead with Burnham keeping pace with Casagrande. Wood was still in fourth, just ahead of Arute with 5 laps to go. Casagrande made a move to the inside of Hinze to take over the lead on lap-17 and he brought Burnham with him as Hinze fell back to third. Casagrande took the checkered flag for his sixth win of the season and he also clinched the Limited Late Model track championship. Burnham finished second, with Hinze, Wood, and Arute rounding out the top-5.
The race restarted with Walker taking the lead ahead of Andy Marchese, Albert Saunders, Austin Bessette, and Kris Fluckiger. Albert Saunders took over second from Marchese on lap-4 while Walker continued to hold the race lead. Bessette was glued to the back bumper of Marchese in a fight for third, while Fluckiger and Cliff Saunders were lined up right behind Bessette.
Bessette took the lead on the restart, with Fluckiger, Cliff Saunders, Provost, and Kyle Casagrande behind him. Matt Chiarizio spun on the backstretch to bring the caution back out with 2 laps to go. Bessette again took the lead on the restart with Fluckiger settling into line behind him. Cliff Saunders was third, with Lavoie just ahead of Provost and Casagrande. Bessette took the checkered flag ahead of Fluckiger to pick up his third win of the season, but Cliff Saunders’ third place finish was enough to make him the 2012 DARE Stock champion. Provost and Kelsey Rottino rounded out the top-5.
Fluckiger moved to the lead on lap-3 with Casagrande, Saunders, Walker, and Bessette lined up behind him as Carroll fell back to eighth place behind Jeremy Lavoie. Fluckiger held Casagrande off
to take the checkered flag, with Saunders,
Walker, and Bessette rounding out the top-5.
SK LIGHT MODIFIED (20)
1) Bob Charland, Stafford 2) Keith McDermott, Scituate, Ri 3) Jay Goff, Stafford Springs 4) Joey Ferrigno, East Hartford 5) Shawn Brule, West Thompson 6) Victoria Bergenty, Plainville 7) Jason Lafayette, Somers 8) Dylan Campbell, Southborough, Ma 9) Ron Boisjolie, East Hampton, Ma 10) Paul Tommasino, Meriden 11) Fred Nees, Jr., New Milford 12) Harry Wheeler, Stafford Springs 13) Payton Henry, Willington 14) Tony Membrino, Jr., Plantsville 15) Bo Gunning, Southbury 16) Nick Salva, Prospect 17) Tyler Hines, North Haven 18) Rick Dyer, Shelton 19) Zach Aszklar, Wallingford 20) Dylan Kopec, Palmer, Ma 21) Frank Cardile, Bolton 22) Rick Williams, Haddam
LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)1) Cory Casagrande, Stafford Springs 2) D.J. Burnham, East Hartford 3) Jesse Hinze, Farmington 4) Josh Wood, Palmer, Ma 5) David Arute, Tolland 6) Andrew Hayes, Charlton, Ma 7) Dennis Botticello, Suffield 8) Brian Clement, Wethersfield 9) Chris Cook, Pepperell, Ma 10) Justin Bren, Monson, Ma 11) Joe Nogiec, Bristol 12) Carla Botticello, Manchester 13) Glenn Bartkowski, Manchester
DARE STOCK (15)1) Austin Bessette, Stafford Springs 2) Kris Fluckiger, Enfield 3) Cliff Saunders, Stafford 4) Duane Provost, Indian Orchard, Ma 5) Kelsey Rottino, Willimantic 6) David Macha, Sr., Columbia 7) James Carroll, West Hartford 8) Geoff Nooney, Southwick, Ma 9) Doug Phelps, New Salem, Ma 10) Jeremy Lavoie, Windsor Locks 11) Brandon Michael, Granville, Ma 12) Gus Coelho, Jr., Wilberham, Ma 13) Kyle Casagrande, Stafford Springs 14) Frank L'Etoile, Jr., Wethersfield 15) Matt Chiarizio, Stafford Springs 16) Johnny Walker, Ludlow, Ma 17) Albert Saunders, Stafford 18) Andrew Marchese, Tolland 19) Brandon Hughes, Enfield 20) Josh Parker, Exeter, Ri 21) Monte Gibbs, Killingworth 22) Jeff Berry, New Preston 23) Donnie Swan, Manchester 24) Kaitlyn Brice, Manchester
PARADISO-MUSKA DARE STOCK SHOOT-OUT (8)1) Kris Fluckiger, Enfield 2) Kyle Casagrande, Stafford Springs 3) Cliff Saunders, Stafford 4) Johnny Walker, Ludlow, Ma 5) Austin Bessette, Stafford Springs 6) Jeremy Lavoie, Windsor Locks 7) James Carroll, West Hartford 8) Doug Phelps, New Salem, Ma
Lafayette and Lindeman were
side by side for the lead on the restart with
Noll in third place. Ouellette was fourth and
Michalski was running in fifth. The top-3
briefly went three wide for the lead, but
Lafayette was able to maintain the lead.
Lindeman went around Lafayette for the lead on
lap-5 and Noll got by Lafayette for second on
lap-6. Corey Coates, who started shotgun on the
field, was no running fourth with Nate Bubello
in fifth. Lindeman was able to get back by Noll for second on the final lap, but it was all Coates at the front as he took the checkered flag after nearly not making out of the paddock area to take the green flag. Lafayette finished fourth, with Bubello finishing fifth.
In the 20-lap Pro-4 Modified feature, Robin Berghman led the first lap but Dan Meservey, Jr. overtook her for the lead on lap-2. Rob Richardi, Jr. followed Meservey by Berghman to take over second with Berghman settling into line in third. Phil Lausier was fourth with Dave Richardi right behind him in fifth place. Rob Richardi was applying heavy pressure to Meservey for the lead while Dave Richardi was doing the same to Lausier. Dave Richardi was able to get the spot from Lausier, while Meservey was able to stay in front of Rob Richardi. Rob Richardi gave Meservey a big bump on lap-14 in turn 3, but Meservey was able stay in front. Dave Richardi was now third, with Berghman fourth. Lausier spun in turn 3 to bring the caution out with 16 laps complete. On the restart, Rob Richardi got a good run to the inside of Dan Meservey and he inched ahead to take the lead. Richardi got clear of Meservey on lap-18, but Meservey came back strong to the inside of Richardi for the lead on lap-19. The two cars touched in turn 3 with Meservey hitting the wall and Richardi going on to win the race. Dave Richardi finished second, with Berghman, Dan Fresh, and Dan Meservey, Sr. 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. |
In
the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature, Payton
Henry took the lead at the green in front of Bob
Charland, Frank Cardile, Rick Williams, and Joey
Ferrigno. There was a three-car spin in turn
involving Tyler Hines, Rick Dyer, and Dylan
Campbell to bring the caution out with 1 lap
complete.
McDermott
went around Ferrigno for fourth place on lap-7
and he went around Membrino to move into third
on lap-9. Charland, Henry, McDermott, and
Membrino were now in a 4-car train for the race
lead with Bo Gunning and Zach Aszklar fighting
hard for fifth behind them. The caution came
out with 13 laps complete for a spin by Victoria
Bergenty in turn 2.
In
the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, Joe
Nogiec led the field to the green, but he got
sideways in the first corner and Jesse Hinze
shot into the lead. Andrew Hayes moved into
second, with David Arute powering his way by
Nogiec to take over third. Josh Wood was also
able to move by Nogiec to take over fourth while
Nogiec fell back to fifth on lap-3. 
In
the 15-lap DARE Stock feature, Kyle Casagrande
looped his car in turn 1, but he was able to
rejoin the action at the rear of the field.
Johnny Walker held the race lead, but coming out
of turn 4, Monte Gibbs spun and collected the
cars of Kaitlyn Brice and Donnie Swan, while
Jeff Berry spun to avoid the Gibbs car, which
brought out a red flag with 1 lap complete.
Saunders
made a move to the inside of Walker for the lead
on lap-9, but he got loose and fell back to
third place as Bessette moved into second behind
Walker. Fluckiger was now in fourth, with Cliff
Saunders in fifth place. Walker came back to
the inside of Bessette for the race lead and
going into turn one on lap-12, Saunders and
Walker tangled with both cars going up the track
and then spinning down to the infield,
collecting the car of Marchese. This put
Bessette into the lead for the restart, with
Fluckiger, Cliff Saunders, Duane Provost, and
Jeremy Lavoie lined up behind him.
In
the 8-lap Paradiso-Muska DARE Stock Shoot-Out,
James Carroll took the lead from the pole while
Kris Fluckiger moved up to second. Austin
Bessette was third, but he got loose in turns
3+4, which allowed Cliff Saunders, Kyle
Casagrande, and Johnny Walker to all get by
Bessette.
In
the 20-lap N.E. Truck Series feature, Jason
Lafayette got a good run on the outside of
polesitter Andy Lindeman to take the lead.
Duane Noll settled into third, with Bert
Ouellette and Shane Michalski making up the
top-5. Lindeman moved back around Lafayette to
take the lead on lap-2 and his pass allowed Noll
to also get by Lafayette, but the caution came
out for a spin by Daniel McGouran and John Brand
in turn 3.