Keith Rocco (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
THOMPSON – When race teams and drivers talk about keeping a notebook, it’s not always about keeping record of setups that work.
Sometimes that notebook involves keeping records behavior.
Wednesday night at Thompson Keith Rocco went to his notebook on Ryan Preece.
Rocco, of Wallingford, came out on top of a bruising battle near the front to win the second 30-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified feature Wednesday at Thompson Speedway.
Woody Pitkat of Stafford, who won the first SK Modified feature of the night, was second. Preece, of Berlin, was third.
Rocco and Preece got feisty with each other through much of the event.
Rocco said his feistiness directed at Preece for the way Preece ran him during the 10-lap Sprint Finale of the track’s 20/20 Sprint on July 27.
“I try to run everybody clean,” Rocco said. “Ryan kind of set the tone [on July 27] with what he did in the last 10-lap segment, so I guess that’s how we’ve got to race now. I don’t need to race like that to pass people but if that’s the way he has to race to pass people he’s just going to get it back.”
It was the sixth victory in eight SK Modified features this year at Thompson for Rocco, who reunited with the Pane family operation before this season at Thompson.
“Them guys are pretty tough when you don’t win,” Rocco said. “They gave me a little pep talk after the first race and told me I needed to get my act together, just joking around. They’re a lot of fun to race with.”
That sounds like the Scott Fearn pep talk you used to hear regularly I’m sure