On Tap: The Calm Before The Storm

Yes, those are school buses you’re getting stuck behind this week on the road.

Not a great sign if you’re a local racing fan. The calendar turning to fall means the horizon is quickly fading on the local auto racing season.

The flurry of big event season closers locally is just around the corner. But before big ones there’s still some weekly event action left to tend to at Stafford Motor Speedway and then Waterford Speedbowl

Where: Stafford Motor Speedway
What: NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event
When: Friday
Schedule: 40-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified, 30-lap Late Model, 20-lap SK Light Modified, 20-lap Limited Late Model and 15-lap DARE Stock. Grandstands open: 5:15 p.m.; Qualifying begins: 6:15 p.m. Features begin: Approximately 7:15 p.m.
More: The 15th week of Friday night racing at Stafford in 2013. … In the last event at the track, Woody Pitkat snapped a winless streak at Stafford dating back to Aug. 2012 with his first SK Modified feature victory of the season. Pitkat used a dramatic last lap pass of Rowan Pennink going into turn three to get his first win with team owner Steve Greer. … Pitkat is 30 points behind SK Modified division points leader Ryan Preece with three events remaining this season. … Ryan Preece leads all drivers with eight victories in 15 SK Modified events this year at Stafford. Ted Christopher is the only other multi-time winner this year with two wins. Other SK Modified division winners this season include Pennink, Eric Berndt, Danny Cates and Keith Rocco. … Adam Gray won for the sixth time in 15 events last week in the Late Model division. Gray has 14 consecutive podium finishes at Stafford this year. His only finish outside the top-three in 2013 was an 18th place in the season opening event. … Gray has an 84-point lead over second place Tom Fearn in the standings. Pitkat is 96 points behind in third. Gray has the opportunity to clinch his first Late Model championship on Friday. Gray will clinch the title if he can finish eight spots ahead of Fearn and two spots ahead of Pitkat Friday.

Where: Waterford Speedbowl
What: NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event
When: Saturday
Schedule: 35-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified, 30-lap Late Model, 25-lap Street Stock, 25-lap Mini Stock and 25-lap SK Light Modified. Grandstands open: 3 p.m.; Qualifying: 5:30 p.m.; Features: 7 p.m.
More: The 20th event of the season at the shoreline oval. … Last week, Keith Rocco drove away from Woody Pitkat in the closing laps to win the 150-lap SK Modified feature, the crown jewel event for the division at the track in 2013. It was the eighth SK Modified victory of the season at Waterford for Rocco, who holds a virtually insurmountable 77-point lead in the division standings over his father-in-law Todd Ceravolo. Tyler Chadwick, the 2012 SK Modified champion at Waterford, is third in the standings, 112 points behind Rocco. … Rocco, Chadwick and Kyle James are the only multi-time winners this year in the SK Modified division. Chadwick has four victories and James has two wins. Other winners include Ceravolo, Diego Monahan Jeff Rocco, Joey Gada and Rob Janovic Jr. … Dave Farrington Jr. held off Rocco for the win the Late Model feature last week at Waterford.