(Stafford Springs, CT)— Stafford Speedway hosted Maybury Kids Night on September 22 with Stafford’s five weekly divisions in feature action. Scoring feature wins were Todd Owen in the SK Modified® feature, Andrew Durand in the Late Model feature, Tyler Chapman in the SK Light feature, Damian Palardy in the Limited Late Model feature, and Ryan Waterman in the Street Stock feature. The two kids big wheel races were won by Callie Midford and Makayla Midford. Kevin Gambacorta finished second in the Late Model feature which was good enough to clinch the 2023 Late Model championship with one race to go.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature, Mikey Flynn led the field to the green and he took the lead going into the first corner but his car briefly dropped off the pace and he slid back to 10th place as Troy Talman lead the first lap. The caution came out with 2 laps complete as Woody Pitkat came to a stop against the turn 4 wall.
Talman and Steven Chapman went wheel to wheel for the lead on the restart with Marcello Rufrano in third, Michael Christopher, Jr. in fourth and Anthony Flannery in fifth. Talman emerged in the lead after his duel with Chapman and he now had Rufrano on his back bumper as they completed lap-5. Rufrano took the lead on lap-7 but just as he took the lead, the caution came out for Flynn, who spun in turn 4. This put Talman back in the lead for the next restart with Rufrano in second.
Talman took the lead back under green with Flannery moving into second. Rufrano settled into third with Keith Rocco fourth and Todd Owen fifth. Just behind Owen in sixth place was Chapman. Flannery pulled alongside Talman for the lead on lap-11 and he took the lead by a nose at the line. Flannery cleared Talman on lap-12 but Rufrano charged by him and took over the race lead. Rocco followed him by Flannery to take second on lap-14 and now Owen was looking to the inside of Flannery for third place. Owen took third on lap-15 with Flannery able to hold off Talman to maintain fourth place.
Talman was finally able to work his way around Flannery on lap-18 to move into fourth place while Rocco was still looking for a way to get around Rufrano and take over the race lead. Chapman spun in turn 4 right in front of Ryan Morgan with Cory DiMatteo also involved to bring the caution back out with 21 laps complete.
The restart saw Chapman hit the turn 1 wall along with John Sandberg to bring the caution flag right back out. Rufrano took the lead on the next restart with Rocco hanging tough on his outside and Todd Owen behind him. Owen took second on lap-24 with Rocco now wheel to wheel with Flannery for third. Just behind them in fifth place was David Arute while Rufrano continued to lead. The caution came back out with 24 laps complete for a spin in turn 2 by Curt Brainard.
Rufrano again took the lead back under green with Owen holding second. Flannery was third with Arute now on the inside of Rocco in the fight for fourth place. The caution came back out with 27 laps complete for spins in turn 3 by Jack Baldwin and John Montesanto.
Rufrano and Owen resumed their fight for the lead with Rufrano in front of Owen while Flannery, Rocco, and Arute were lined up behind him. Coming off turn 4 on to complete lap-29, Arute got out of shape and spun, which collected the cars of Wesley Purkcer and David Flammia, Jr. to bring the caution flag out.
Owen powered his way past Rufrano and into the lead on the restart and one lap was completed before the caution came back out for the cars of Montesanto, Michael Ramos, Dylan Kopec, Jon Puleo, and Sandberg piled into each other coming out of turn 4.
Owen was back in the lead on the restart with Rocco taking second. Flannery was third in line with Rufrano fourth and Talman and Tyler Barry were wheel to wheel for fifth. Talman won the fight for fifth while Barry slid back to ninth place. Owen led Rocco to the checkered flag to pick up his second win of the 2023 season. Rufrano finished third with Flannery and Talman rounding out the top-5.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature, Alexandra Fearn took the lead at the green flag with Zack Robinson in second. Chris Meyer went by Darrell Keane to take third on lap-2. Keane drifted up the track in turn 4 which allowed Andrew Durand to take fourth and then third as Meyer began to slide backwards. Robinson took the lead from Fearn on lap-4 with Durand moving into second. Tom Butler backed into the turn 1 wall to bring the caution out with 4 laps complete.
Durand took the lead on the restart but only one lap was completed as Alexandra and Tom Fearn touched in turn 4 with both cars getting into the wall and collecting several others including Keane and Adam Gray to bring the caution flag back out.
Durand again took the lead with Wayne Coury, Jr. and Robinson going side by side for second with Coury emerging in second. Wayne Coury, Sr. and Chris Buffone got into the turn 4 wall to bring the caution back out with 6 laps complete.
Durand charged back into the lead on the next restart with Coury in second. Robinson was third with Bobby Stirk, III fourth and Paul Varricchio, Jr. fifth. Varricchio took fourth from Stirk on lap-10 and that opened the door for Kevin Gambacorta to follow him through and take fifth and drop Stirk back to sixth. Varricchio took third from Robinson on lap-12 and Gambacorta again followed him by to move into fourth and drop Robinson back to fifth.
With 10 laps to go it was still Durand in the lead with Coury, Varricchio, Gambacorta, and Meyer behind him. Tom Butler was sixth with Robinson, Gray, Stirk, and Corey Fanning making up the top-10. Coury was looking high and low for a way around Durand but Durand was able to shut the door and maintain the lead. Chris Meyer spun in turn 3 and then came to a stop in turn 4 to bring the caution flag out with 22 laps complete.
Adam Gray spun in turn 2 on the restart to bring the caution out and keep the lap counter at 22 laps complete.
Durand took the lead back under green with Coury and Gambacorta behind him. Both Dave Wray and Tom Butler came to a stop on the frontstretch grass to bring the caution back out with 23 laps complete.
Durand again powered into the lead back under green with Gambacorta taking second. Coury was third in line with Robinson fourth and P.J. Zarrella up to fifth. Gambacorta made a move to the inside of Durand on lap-29 but was unable to make the pass. Gambacorta couldn’t get close enough to Durand on the final lap to make a move as Durand scored his second win of the 2023 season. Coury finished third with Robinson and Zarrella rounding out the top-5. Gambacorta’s second place finish was good enough for him to lock up the 2023 Late Model championship and make Stafford history as the first driver to win a championship in three different divisions.
In the 20-lap SK Light feature, Chris Matthews streaked into the lead from the fifth starting position at the start of the race with Amanda West in second. Ron Midford, Jr. was third with Nickolas Hovey fourth and Brian Sullivan fifth. The caution came out with 6 laps complete for spins in turn 3 by Paul Arcari, Zach Aszklar, and Hailey Deasulniers that collected several other cars.
Matthews took the lead back under green with West in second. Tyler Chapman and Sullivan were wheel to wheel for third with Midford in fifth place. Just behind Midford, Bob Charland and Hovey were going wheel to wheel for sixth place. Tyler Chapman took third on lap-10 and Midford won the duel with Hovey for fifth place as the cars got back into single file. The caution came out with 10 laps complete for spins coming of turn 4 by Desaulniers and Arcari.
Tyler Chapman pulled alongside Matthews on the restart and he took the lead. West was third in line with Sullivan fourth and Midford fifth. Steven Kalogiannis spun on the frontstretch to bring the caution out and in the scramble for cars to avoid hitting Kalogiannis, Todd Clark climbed up and over the car of Desaulniers.
Tyler Chapman took the lead on the restart with Matthews glued to his back bumper in second. Sullivan was third with George Bessette, Jr. up to fourth and West was fifth. The caution came back out with 18 laps complete for the cars of Kevin Cormier, Matt Brewer, and Frank L’Etoile, Jr. all hitting the wall coming out of turn4.
David Webb spun in the middle of turns 1+2 to immediately bring the caution back out and the next restart saw Zach Aszklar spin in turn 1 to bring the caution out before a lap could be completed. The next restart saw a multicar melee erupt going into turn 3 that brought the red and yellow flags out involving Sami Anderson, Charland, Midford, Paul Arute, Amanda West, and several others.
Tyler Chapman took the lead ahead of Matthews with Sullivan and Bessette wheel to wheel for second. Chapman led Matthews to the checkered flag to pick up his third win of the 2023 season. Bessette finished third with Sullivan and Luke Baldwin rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature, Damian Palardy and Gary Patnode led the field to the green and Palardy took the early lead with Adrien Paradis, III taking second. Jeremy Lavoie took third with Rich Hammann fourth as Patnode fell from second back to fifth place. The caution flew with 2 laps complete for a spin in the middle of turns 1+2 by Connor Jencik.
Palardy took the lead on the restart with Hammann moving into second. Matt Clement and Paradis were side by side for third but only one lap was completed before the caution came back out for a spin in turn 3 by Dana Wray.
Palardy took the lead on the restart with Matt Clement coming up to second. Kevin Cormier was third with Hammann fourth and Paradis fifth. The caution came out with 7 laps complete for a spin in turn 1 by Matt Clement.
Palardy took the lead on the lap=-8 restart with Paradis slotting into second. Hammann was third in line followed by Devon Jencik and Mike Hopkins. At the halfway point of the race it was still Palardy out front with Paradis, Hammann, Devon Jencik, and Lavoie making up the top-5.
Palardy was still in front with Paradis and Hammann making a 3-car train for the lead with 5 laps to go. Lavoie was now up to fourth with Matt Clement back up to fifth with Devon Jencik sixth and Hopkins seventh. Both Paradis and Hammann couldn’t get close enough to Palardy to make a move as Palardy took down his first win of the 2023 season. Paradis finished second with Hammann, Lavoie, and Matt Clement rounding out the top-5.
Limited Late Model Feature Finish
Limited Late Model Points Standings
In the 20-lap Street Stock feature, Brandon Warren took the lead at the green flag with Bert Ouellette in hot pursuit from second place. Jeff Asselin was third with Travis Downey fourth and Ryan Waterman moved from 10th to 5th in the first three laps. Waterman moved from fifth to third on lap-5 while Warren was still in the lead with Ouellette in second. Downey was fourth in line with Travis Hydar moving into fifth place.
At the halfway point of the race, Warren was still in the lead with Ouellette in second and Waterman in third. As the lead trio was starting to lap cars, Warren got on the brakes going into turn 1 and appeared to lock his rear brakes which sent his car sideways and back up the track into the path of Downey to bring the caution flag out.
Ouellette took the lead on the restart with Waterman taking second with Hydar moving up to third. Hydar gave Waterman the slightest of touches but both cars kept going in their respective positions with Johnny Walker fourth and Asselin in fifth. Waterman made a move to the inside of Ouellette on lap-15 to move into the lead. Hydar took second one lap later to drop Ouellette back to third. Walker and Asselin were still running fourth and fifth behind the three cars out front.
Waterman led Hydar to the checkered flag to pick up his seventh win of the 2023 season. Ouellette finished third with Walker and Asselin rounding out the top-5.
The winners of the two Kids Big Wheel Races were Callie Midford and Makayla Midford.
For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com, checkout Stafford Speedway on Facebook or Twitter, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
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