(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Speedway hosted AZ Roofing Kids Night on Friday, May 31st, the first of three kids nights scheduled for the 2024 season. It was a night of first-time 2024 winners with Marcello Rufrano taking the SK Modified® feature, Paul Varricchio, Jr. the Late Model feature, Nickolas Hovey the SK Light feature, Kyle Theriault the Limited Late Model feature, and Tyler Trott the Street Stock feature. There were two kids big wheel races with Joseph Davenport and Max Ayers the winners.
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature event, Steven Chapman took the lead at the drop of the green flag with Mikey Flynn taking second. Michael Gervais, Jr. was third in line followed by Noah Korner and the side by side duo of Marcello Rufrano and Anthony Flannery. Flynn took the lead from Chapman on lap-2 with Gervais and Flannery now wheel to wheel for second with Flannery in fourth. Gervais took second and then he nearly took the lead from Flynn on lap-5. Gervais got clear into the lead on lap-6 but Flannery made a move to his inside on lap-7 to go wheel to wheel for the lead. Flannery had the lead at the line to complete lap-7 and he got clear into the lead on lap-8. Gervais slotted into second behind Flannery with Flynn third, Todd Owen fourth, and Rufrano fifth.
Flynn made a move to the inside of Gervais for second on lap-11 and he got clear into second on lap-14. Owen and Gervais were now wheel to wheel for third with Rufrano and Chapman right behind them. Owen took third from Gervais on lap-15 but Flynn came right back and took the position back on lap-16. Positions continued to shuffle as Gervais moved back into third on lap-16 with Rufrano in fourth and Owen slid back to fifth. The caution came out with 17 laps complete for a spin in turn 4 by Curt Brainard.
The restart saw a multi-car accident in turn 1 with Bryan Narducci’s car taking the worst of the damage to bring the caution right back out. Flannery took the lead on the restart with Gervais in second. Flynn was third with Owen fourth and Dylan Kopec up to fifth Owen moved into third on lap-19 behind Flannery and Gervais while Flynn and Kopec were now racing side by side for fourth. Owen continued his charge to the front as he took second from Gervais on lap-23. Kopec was now in fourth place with Andrew Molleur and Flynn side by side for fifth.
With 13 laps to go, the order was Flannery in the lead with Owen, Gervais, Molleur, Rufrano, Flynn, George Bessette, Jr., Kopec, Chapman, and Tyler Hines making up the top-10. Molleur took third from Gervais on lap-31 while Flannery and Owen were still running 1-2. The caution came out with 34 laps complete for a spin by David Flammia, Jr. in turn 4 to set up a 6-lap sprint to the finish.
Flannery took the lead back under green with Molleur taking second from Owen. Rufrano pulled alongside Owen for third before the caution came back out with 36 laps complete for a second spin in turn 4 by Flammia.
Rufrano went 3-wide with Flannery in the middle and Molleur to the outside on the restart to move into the lead. The caution came back out with 37 laps complete as contact mid-pack collected the cars of Flynn, Korner, John Sandberg, RJ Marcotte, and Brainard.
It was a high speed pace lap on the restart with the top-3 rows all racing wheel to wheel. Rufrano and Flannery ran the final 3 laps side by side with Rufrano holding off Flannery and Molleur in a near 3-wide finish at the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the 2024 season. Flannery took second by a nose over Molleur in third with Gervais nipping Owen at the line for fourth.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature event, Alexandra Fearn took the lead at the drop of the green while P.J. Zarrella, who started on pole position, quickly fell back to fourth as Tom Fearn took second and Wayne Coury, Jr. third. Zarrella would continue to slide backwards and by lap-4, he was at the rear of the field. Bobby Stirk, III was now fourth behind Alexandra Fearn, Tom Fearn, and Coury with 5 laps complete with Tom Butler in fifth and Paul Varricchio, Jr. in sixth.
With 10 laps complete, Alexandra Fearn was still in command with Tom Fearn in second. Coury was third followed by Varricchio, Stir, and Andrew Durand. Coury took second from Tom Fearn on lap-11 and set his sights on closing down the gap to Alexandra Fearn in the lead. Tom Fearn came back to the inside of Coury on lap-14 to move back into second and that move opened the door for Varricchio to follow him by Coury and take third. Stirk moved into fourth, Durand took fifth, and Kevin Gambacorta sixth as Coury fell from second back to seventh place. Coury continued to lose positions as his car was lapping well off the pace.
Varricchio took the lead from Alexandra Fearn on lap-20 with Stirk up to third, Gambacorta fourth and Durand fifth as Tom Fearn had fallen back to ninth place. With 5 laps to go, Varricchio was still in command followed by Alexandra Fearn, Stirk, Gambacorta, and Durand. After several laps of looking high and low, Gambacorta was able to finally make a pass on Stirk to move into third on lap-26. Gambacorta took second from Alexandra Fearn on lap-28 but he couldn’t get close enough to Varricchio as Varricchio took down his first career Late Model win at Stafford and only his second overall feature victory with his first coming all the way back in 2003. Gambacorta finished second with Alexandra Fearn, Stirk, and Darrell Keane rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap SK Light feature event, Paul Arute and Bob Charland led the field to the green flag with Charland taking the early lead from the outside lane. Nickolas Hovey worked his way up to second and went wheel to wheel with Charland for a lap before moving into the lead on lap-3. Amanda West was third in line behind Hovey and Charland and on lap-5, Nick Anglace, Tyler Chapman, and West went 3-wide for third with Chapman emerging in third, Anglace fourth, and West fifth. Wade Gagner spun and hit the turn 4 wall to bring the caution out with 6 laps complete.
Hovey took the lead back under green with Chapman right behind him in second. Charland was third with Anglace fourth and West fifth. Chapman worked his way to the inside of Hovey and he had the lead by a nose at the line to complete lap-8. Chris Viens spun in turn 3 to bring the caution back out with 8 laps complete.
Chapman took the lead on the restart but Hovey came right back to his inside and they were neck and neck at the line before the caution flew for a multi-car accident in turn 3 involving the cars of David Webb, Viens, Joey Ferrigno, Ron Midford, Jr., Meghan Fuller, Paul Arcari, Frank L’Etoile, Jr., Chris Matthews, Jason Chapman, and several others.
The restart saw Anglace go around and collect the cars of Cassandra Cole, Charland, Carsten Cole, Webb, Casey Vogt, Anthony Forino, and several others. Chapman took the lead back under green but Hovey was all over his back bumper looking for a way to take the lead. West was third behind the two leaders with Sami Anderson up to fourth and Matt Brewer fifth. Hovey dove to the inside of Chapman in turn 1 on lap-13 to take the lead. Chapman came right back to the inside of Hovey with a crossover move in turn 1 on lap-14 and the duo were now racing wheel to wheel for the lead. Hovey and Chapman touched coming out of turn 4 on lap-15 but both drivers were able to continue on while Anderson took third from West.
Hovey got to the inside of Chapman on lap-18 and as they took the white flag they were wheel to wheel with Chapman holding the lead by a nose. Hovey took the lead on the final lap and he held off Chapman’s final challenge in turn 4 to take down his first win of the 2024 season. Chapman finished second with Anderson, West, and Brewer rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature event, Kyle Theriault brought the field to the green flag and he took the early lead with Jeremy Lavoie quickly working his way up to second. RJ Surdell was third in line in the early going with Devon Jencik in fourth and Gary Patnode in fifth. Rich Hammann took fifth from Patnode on lap-3 as Theriault continued to hold the lead with Lavoie giving chase from second.
Theriault held the lead until lap-12 when he drifted up the track and allowed Lavoie to take the lead. Just as Lavoie was taking the lead, Matthew Winter, II spun in the middle of turns 1+2 to bring the caution flag out with 11 laps complete and move Theriault back to the lead for the restart with Lavoie in second.
Theriault took the lead back under green with Surdell pulling alongside Lavoie for second. Surdell took the position on lap-13 with Hammann taking third and Matt Clement streaking into fourth. Devon Jencik was fifth in line as Lavoie fell from second back to sixth. Hammann streaked his way past Surdell to move into second on lap-17 and close in on Theriault for the lead. As the leaders were coming around the final corner to the checkered flag, the caution flag came out for a spin by Dana Wray in turn 4 and set up a green-white-checkered finish.
Theriault took the lead on the restart with Hammann sticking right with Theriault in the outside lane. Surdell was third with Jencik in fourth. Hammann made one last bid on the final lap on the outside of Theriault, but he came up just a car length short at the checkered flag as Theriault picked up his first career feature win at Stafford. Hammann finished second with Surdell, Jencik, and Clement rounding out the top-5.
In the 20-lap Street Stock feature event, Marvin Minkler took the early lead at the drop of the green flag with Chris Danielczuk and Jason Lafayette side by side for second behind him. Tyler Trott was fourth in line with Jason Raymond and Travis Downey behind him. Lafayette cleared Danielczuk for second place on lap-4 and he quickly closed the gap to Minkler in the lead, taking the lead on lap-7. Trott was third behind Minkler now with Raymond in fourth and Downey up to fifth. Travis Hydar was on the move in the early laps, taking sixth place behind Downey on lap-7 after starting 11th.
Raymond touched the wall on lap-9 and fell back to sixth as Downey took fourth and Hydar fifth. Hydar was applying heavy pressure to Downey for fourth place but Downey was able to hold him off. Lafayette was slowly pulling away from Minkler in the fight for the lead with Trott continuing to run in third. Minkler spun in turn 3 to bring the caution flag out with 15 laps complete as did Sean Petlock and Raymond. This moved Trott up to second alongside Lafayette for a 5-lap shoot out to the finish with Downey and Hydar making up the second row and Bert Ouellette and Jeff Asselin on the third row.
Lafayette took the lead on the restart with Trott taking second. Bill Cote spun in turn 3 and just as the caution flag was being displayed for Cote, Downey spun in turn 2 while Bert Ouellette came to a stop on the backstretch with heavy front end damage with 16 laps complete.
Lafayette again took the lead on the restart while Hydar took second. Downey moved to the inside of Trott to move into third on lap-17 with Trott fourth and Johnny Walker up to fifth. Hydar was able to get alongside Lafayette on lap-18 and the ran door to door into turn 4 where Lafayette went around and Hydar sustained damage to the right front of his car after they touched while going around a lapped car to bring the caution flag out with 18 laps to go. Lafayette restarted at the rear of the field while Hydar was unable to continue with the right front damage to his car. The restart order was now Downey and Trott on the front row, Walker and Asselin in the second row, and Jonathon Avery and Brandon Warren in the third row.
Asselin went around on the restart to bring the yellow flag back out before a lap could be completed. Trott shot into the lead on the next restart with Downey and Avery now door to door for second with Walker in fourth and Warren in fifth. Avery took second on the final lap but he couldn’t get close enough to Trott as Trott took down his first win of the season. Avery finished second with Downey, Walker, and Warren rounding out the top-5.
The Kids Big Wheel winners were Joseph Davenport and Max Ayers.
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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SK MODIFIED® (40)
1) Marcello Rufrano, North Haven
2) Anthony Flannery, East Hampton
3) Andrew Molleur, Shelton
4) Michael Gervais, Jr., Wolcott
5) Todd Owen, Somers
6) Dylan Kopec, East Longmeadow, MA
7) George Bessette, Jr., Danbury
8) Steven Chapman, Ellington
9) Michael Christopher, Jr., Wolcott
10) Cory DiMatteo, Farmington
11) Jon Puleo, Branford
12) Troy Talman, Oxford, MA
13) Keith Rocco, Berlin
14) Ethan Durocher, Canterbury
15) Tyler Barry, Griswold
16) Austin Beers, Northampton, PA
17) David Arute, Tolland
18) Wesley Prucker, Stafford Springs
19) RJ Marcotte, Millville, MA
20) Curt Brainard, Canton
21) Tyler Hines, North Haven
22) Art Caruso, Windsor
23) Mikey Flynn, Hampden, MA
24) Noah Korner, Avon
25) John Sandberg, South Windsor
26) David Flammia, Jr., Waterbury
27) Bryan Narducci, New Britain
LATE MODEL (30)
1) Paul Varricchio, Jr., Berlin
2) Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington
3) Alexandra Fearn, Hampden, MA
4) Bobby Stirk, III, Naugatuck
5) Darrell Keane, Enfield
6) Andrew Durand, Chicopee, MA
7) Chris Meyer, Franklin
8) Tom Butler, Stafford Springs
9) Tom Fearn, East Longmeadow, MA
10) Adam Gray, Granby, MA
11) Duane Noll, Monroe
12) Chris Buffone, Belchertown, MA
13) Kevin Cormier, Agawam, MA
14) P.J. Zarrella, Morris
15) Wayne Coury, Jr., Fairfield
SK LIGHT (20)
1) Nickolas Hovey, Chaplin
2) Tyler Chapman, Ellington
3) Sami Anderson, Wolcott
4) Amanda West, Colchester
5) Matt Brewer, Norwich
6) Alexander Pearl, Salem
7) Robert Bloxsom, III, Milford
8) Meghan Fuller, Auburn, MA
9) Ron Midford, Jr., Ellington
10) Chris Viens, Putnam
11) Josh Morrison, Ashford
12) Austin Goff, Stafford Springs
13) David Webb, Nashville, TN
14) Carsten Cole, Westbrook
15) Nick Anglace, Seymour
16) Bob Charland, Stafford Springs
17) Stephen Kalogiannis, New Hartford
18) Cassandra Cole, Westbrook
19) Anthony Forino, Waterbury
20) Casey Vogt, Windsor Locks
21) Aiden D’Agata, Willington
22) Chris Matthews, Stafford
23) Frank L’Etoile, Jr., Wethersfield
24) Joey Ferrigno, East Hartford
25) Paul Arute, Tolland
26) Jason Chapman, Ellington
27) Paul Arcari, Somers
28) Wade Gagner, East Longmeadow, MA
LIMITED LATE MODEL (20)
1) Kyle Theriault, Three Rivers, MA
2) Rich Hammann, Tolland
3) RJ Surdell, Willington
4) Devon Jencik, Canton
5) Matt Clement, Wethersfield
6) Jeremy Lavoie, Windsor Locks
7) Connor Jencik, Canton
8) Gary Patnode, Barkhamsted
9) Ari Jencik, Canton
10) Trinity Provost, Holland, MA
11) Samantha Dell, Pascoag, RI
12) Darryl Vertefeuille, Willington
13) Dana Wray, Northford
14) Matthew Winter, II, Springfield, VT
STREET STOCK (20)
1) Tyler Trott, East Hartford
2) Jonathon Avery, North Windham
3) Travis Downey, Barkhamsted
4) Johnny Walker, Agawam, MA
5) Brandon Warren, Chicopee, MA
6) Marvin Minkler, Stamford
7) Jeff Asselin, Granby, MA
8) Jason Lafayette, Somers
9) Chris Danielczuk, Goshen
10) Jason Raymond, Somers
11) Ashton Young, Griswold
12) Bill Cote, Belchertown, MA
13) Matt Martel, Stafford Springs
14) Andras Bogi, Macungie, PA
15) Sean Petlock, Ware, MA
16) Travis Hydar, Woodbury
17) Dave DeGrand, Farmington
18) Bert Ouellette, Ellington
19) James Taylor, Mechanicsville, VA
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