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Fans looking for touring Modified divisions in action in Connecticut are in luck this weekend.
Thanks to rain last week in Stafford, fans will get back-to-back evenings of Modified Tour divisions in action this racing weekend.
Thursday the Valenti Modified Racing Series hits the track at Thomspon Speedway and Friday the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to Stafford Motor Speedway to run the TSI Harley-Davidson 125, which was rained out last week.
And the touring divisions don’t stop Friday. Saturday the Northeast Mini Stock Tour his the track at the Waterford Speedbowl for their special Four Cylinder Fury event.
For more details on everything going on this weekend, check out the capsules below
What: Valenti Modified Racing Series NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event
Where: Thompson Speedway
When: Thursday
Schedule: 75-lap Valenti Modified Racing Series, 30-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified, 30-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified feature (completion of feature that started on May 15 and was stopped because of rain after 13 laps) 25-lap Late Model, 20-lap Limited Sportsman and 20-lap Mini Stock.
More: The third event of the season at Thompson and the second of five weekly events in 2014. … The Valenti Modified Racing Series makes its first of two visits on the season to Thompson Speedway. It’s the second of eight Valenti Modified Racing Series events at state short tracks this year. The division opened its season on April 13 at the Waterford Speedbowl and will make two more trips to the shoreline oval this year. The division will also visit Stafford Motor Speedway three times. … After three events, Todd Szegedy – in his first full-time season with the series – is the Valenti Modified Racing Series points leader. Two-time series champion Chris Pasteryak and reigning series champion Rowan Pennink are tied for second, two points behind Szegedy in the points chase. … Pennink, Keith Rocco, Richard Savary have series wins this year. … With three Valenti Modified Racing Series victories at Thompson, Pennink is the only-time multi-time winner in 12 visits to Thompson for the series. … The SK Modified division will run its regularly scheduled 30-lap feature and also complete the 30-lap feature which began on May 15 and was stopped because of rain after 13 laps. … Keith Rocco won the track’s season opening SK Modified division event on April 6. … The Late Model and Limited Sportsman divisions will run for double points in their features. … For more information, check the Thompson Speedway website.
What: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and Whelen All-American Series event
Where: Stafford Motor Speedway
When: Friday
Schedule: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour TSI Harley-Davidson 125, 40-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified (started on lap nine after getting stopped because of rain last week), 30-lap Late Model, 20-lap SK Light Modified, 20-lap Limited Late Model, 15-lap DARE Stock and 20-lap Legends. Grandstands open: 4:15 p.m.; Features: 6:30 p.m.
More: The fourth event of the season at Stafford Motor Speedway. Events at the track were rained out on May 9 and May 16 and last Friday’s event was stopped for rain after three events. … The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is at the track for their second of four visits to Stafford Motor Speedway this season. The race was originally scheduled for last Friday but never took a green flag because of rain. Bobby Santos III was fastest in practice and won the pole in qualifying that day. … Santos won the Whelen Modified Tour Spring Sizzler 200 at Stafford on April 27. Six of his 11 series victories have come at Stafford, where he has made 21 Whelen Modified Tour starts. … Reigning Whelen Modified Tour champion Ryan Preece is the defending champion of the TSI Harley Davidson 125. … It marks the second of four visits to Stafford Motor Speedway for the Whelen Modified Tour in 2014. It’s the third of 14 points events on the Whelen Modified Tour schedule in 2014 and second of eight that will be contested at Connecticut short tracks. Justin Bonsignore won the division’s season opening Icebreaker 150 on April 6 at Thompson Speedway. … In addition to the four races at Stafford in 2014, the division visits Thompson three times and the Waterford Speedbowl once. … Bonsignore currently leads the Whelen Modified Tour standings with 86 points. Doug Coby, the 2012 series champion, and Woody Pitkat, are tied for second with 84 points. … Preece won for the second consecutive event in the SK Modified division at Stafford on May 2. Preece, the 2011 SK Modified champion at Stafford had a division-high eight victories at the track in 2013, but came up two points short of a championship. … After only two events, Preece is already pulling away from the field in the standings, with a 12-point lead over second place Ted Christopher. Coby is third in the standings, 16 points behind. Four drivers, Keith Rocco, Matt Galko, Todd Owen and Dan Avery, are tied for fourth, 24 points behind Preece. … On May 2, reigning Late Model division champion Adam Gray picked up his first victory of the season. He was second in the first race of the year. Last year Gray had a streak of 16 consecutive top-three finishes on the way to his championship, a streak that was ended in the final race of the 2013 season. … For more information check the Stafford Motor Speedway website.
What: NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event
Where: Waterford Speedbowl
When: Saturday
Schedule: 35-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified, 30-lap Late Model, 50-lap Mini Stock, 50-lap Northeast Mini Stock Tour, 25-lap New England Pro Four Modifieds and 20-lap X-Cars. Grandstands open: 3 p.m.; Qualifying: 5 p.m.; Features: 7 p.m.
More: The eighth event of the season at the shoreline oval. … The Northeast Mini Stock Tour makes its one visit of the season to Waterford, for the second leg of the Thirty Marketing Triple Crown, which includes the events this year at Stafford and Thompson. Toby Wells won the first event of the Triple Crown in April at Stafford. … The Mini Stock division at Waterford will run a special 50-lap event as part of the Four Cylinder Fury card. … Last week, Keith Rocco won the SK Modified division feature, his third victory in the division in eight events this year. He also three seconds and a third in the SK Modified division this year. … With three victories, Rocco the reigning SK Modified division champion at Waterford, is the only multi-time winner in the division this year. … Other winners this year include, Ed Puleo, Tyler Chadwick, Joey Gada and Kyle James. … Vin Esposito won last week’s Late Model feature. Rocco won the first five events of the season in the division before Bruce Thomas Jr. broke his winning streak on May 24. … For more information check the Waterford Speedbowl website.
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