STAFFORD – Steve Masse drove away from the field over the closing laps to win the Valenti Modified Racing Series Shark Cycle 80 Friday at Stafford Motor Speedway.
It was the series leading third victory of the season for Masse, of Bellingham, Mass.
Ryan Preece of Berlin was a distant second and Norm Wrenn of Nashua, N.H. third.
“The car just handled amazing tonight,” Masse said. “I had tons of corner speed and I kept the tires underneath me for most of the race. That was my plan because this motor that we ran is like two or three years old right now and I just knew I was going to be able to compete with guys on the straightaways and I needed to save my tires and be there at the end. That was my strategy and it worked out.”
It proved a statement night for Masse, who was disqualified from a second place finish on Aug. 17 at Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway for using treated tires.
“I’m still ticked off about that whole incident at Seekonk,” Masse said. “It was unjust. It was wrong what they did. But we definitely came back with some momentum today and we used it to the best of our advantage.”
Masse inherited the lead when Keith Rocco spun after contact from Ted Christopher in a battle for the lead on lap 53. Christopher was penalized for the incident.
“They were getting pretty dicey with each other,” Masse said. “I just rode to see what came and the best possible outcome came because they both got wiped out. They both had big motors in those things and they were passing people at the end of the straightaway. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get underneath them and make the move the move happen with the motor they were showing. So it was really a gift that they spun each other out.”
Masse held more than a 10-car length lead over Preece when the caution flew on lap 73, but Preece had nothing for Masse on the ensuing restart. Masse led by nearly a straightaway at the checkered flag.
“It’s awesome to finally finish a race here in this [Valenti Modified Racing Series],” Preece said. “We’ve got some work to do, but second place is pretty good, I’m happy with that. I’m especially happy that Steve won. If I couldn’t win I’d rather him win any day.”
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Well deserved masse! Way to go!