STAFFORD – On May 4, 2018 Meghan Fuller got his first career victory in a Street Stock at Stafford Motor Speedway.
Friday the Auburn, Mass. teenager and daughter of former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Rick Fuller finally got to say goodbye to the frustration of chasing that second win.
Fuller held off the charges of Michael Hopkins and reigning division champion George Bessette Jr. to win the 20-lap Street Stock feature Friday at Stafford.
“It was pretty frustrating,” Meghan Fuller said. “All last year I was hoping I could get another win. As a rookie it’s kind of tough. Now this year I’ve been getting so close to a win, but yet so far. Getting one now feels so amazing.”
Bessette, of Danbury, was second and Zack Robinson of Putnam third.
Bessette was able to make Meghan Fuller work for the win after the caution flew on lap 16. On the restart Bessette stayed to her outside in a side-by-side battle for the top spot. She was able to clear Bessette off of turn four on lap 16.
“Sometimes I have a bit of trouble on the restarts, but I’ve been trying to work on them.” Meghan Fuller said. “It was great racing next to Bessette. … All around it felt really amazing.”
Meghan Fuller’s calling card in 2019 has been consistency. In four events this year before Friday she had a second, a third, a fourth and a sixth.
“It was pretty frustrating because every week I kept starting in the back,” Meghan Fuller said. “When I saw that I was starting third I was pretty excited because I’ve been starting way in the back lately. Overall an amazing race.”
Meghan Fuller came into Friday’s event second in the Street Stock standings, two points behind Travis Hydar. With Hydar finishing fourth, she ended the night as the division points leader.
Andrew Molleur of Shelton held off Michael Gervais Jr. of Southbury in a side-by-side battle the checkered to win the 40-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified feature. It was the first career victory in the division for Molleur. Todd Owen of Somers was third.
Reigning Limited Late Model division champion Jeremy Lavoie got his second victory of the season in the 15-lap feature for the division.
“This is the car that we had last year,” Lavoie said. “We finally figured out these new tires. A little bit of tweaking left to go, but the car is fast.”
Congrats to Mehgan, and her team. Great job!
Beyond stoked to hear this! It was only a matter of time. Congrats kid!!!
That’s a pretty demanding schedule the 2 has this year. Two cars, two tracks and in the hunt every time they take to the track. Dad Rick may be working harder then when he was driving.
My view what distinguishes Fuller is that she is just so dad blamed smooth. I’d like to see her front bumper get a few more scratches but what do I know. I believe that every time Megan logs a finish she absolutely maximized the best finish she could attain under the circumstances she was given while at the same time never penalizing herself with bonehead moves. The Streets with those unforgiving non locked rear ends is a groove division and very unforgiving when you lose momentum. No one is smoother and stays in the groove better then the 2.
The sex of the driver shouldn’t be a big deal but sorry it is. It’s important to have women in the fields and more important they make the podium. You can see the excitement in the stands especially women and young ladies that get fired up. It’s nice to see in the stands as well as on the track.
Jeremy Lavoie might have figured out the new tires but Fearn definitely has not. All the LLM cars have slower lap times then last year but the 12 has consistently lost more time then the competition. Alexandra said in a interview last week that doubts had been entering her minds about her driving before the 2nd place finish last week. It’s not her driving at all. She needs to direct that advanced technical education at what isn’t quite right in the handling department to get back up to speed. It’s not about Friday night it’s about Saturday to Thursday in the shop. If any team has the chops to figure it out they do.
Great coverage on Andrews first SK win
Elect….my thoughts exactly…..Andrew gets his first win in an SK at Stafford…in their premier division….and is relegated to a 2 sentence blurb in the street stock winners article…..hmmmm!
This is in no way meant to take away from Meghans second win…..Congratulations Meghan!
Here’s an idea. Maybe when you are getting a service free you make allowances. Fill in the blanks yourself. Or whine and say nothing about any division.
The win was surprising but more so the speed. The competition has caught up to the presumed top tier. It’s now a dog fight and we know who wins. We do.
Rocco had the starting position to win and couldn’t capitalize. Mainly because the competition has gotten so good. I thought he was spread thin with all the commitments he has to other teams and don’t see anything to change that opinion. Ironically one of he commitments is Gervais who has run consistently better then he ever has.
And how about one Mr. DJ Burnham. Flew through the field two weeks ago from scratch to finish 10th. Last week not as spectacular but good under green flag racing. This week 17th to 6th. And just to remind everyone that’s in a field of very good cars.
There’s things happening all through the field that are surprising every week. Shock the world all your dart throwing specialists. Mention one.
Race on SK’s. You may actually contend with the SK Lights this year for the most competitive division at Stafford in a year where all divisions are competitive.
JNimons I think that goes back to a couple years ago , at least nascar moved on and Andrew matured , there sure we’re a lot of drivers and fans that came around to congratulate Andrew And his father after the race , most have moved on
Not whining at all. And once again, taking nothing away from Meghan Fuller…she is having an incredible year. But a Rookie Driver in the premier division at a track winning, In my opinion deserved a little more….Just my opinion, and I know opinions are like buttholes…..everyone has one….Peace!
Elect…I agree 100% …Bottom line…the kid can drive! He has proven himself….Regardless of the past
Elect,
I wish moving on could have had happened. Over my 25 years covering this sport I’ve had to report on countless negative stories. Most people absorb it and move on, understanding that their own actions were the reason I or anyone else had to report something negative.
Unfortunately, there’s a parent named Mike Molleur who to this day continues to spread a fabulously ludicrous fable that I personally orchestrated a conspiracy to attempt to ruin his child’s racing career, all because I reported the fact that he was caught submitting falsified age verification documents to NASCAR in 2016.
Again, I wish moving on could have happened. Unfortunately, a small delusional man can’t accept that his own actions – not my reporting of those actions – brought such immense shame to his son and his son’s career.
Again, to this day this man – and his son – vilify me personally and venomously denigrate my business continually, all because I reported about their own actions and eventual suspension by NASCAR three years ago.
For the record, Mike Molleur has made it immensely clear that in his opinion everything published on this website is all lies, most especially if it involves his son Andrew.
This is a man who mutters a two-word vulgarity that rhymes with “muck you” every time he walks by me in the pits at a race track. Every time. Remember, this is three years later after he got caught falsifying documents and then lying about it. This is the childishness of this man.
There were a lot of good stories at Stafford on Friday and all of them were reported on this site to some degree. Unfortunately, there’s not a headline story on every feature of the night ever at any event at any track. The results of the SK Modified race were reported on the site. Beyond that, there’s nothing more to say.
Sad that it has to be that way when all seems to have worked out fine and as they say what’s done is done, since I started reading you in the Hartford Courant to the day you started this website, while I many not always agree 100% with your thoughts, I def enjoy all your reporting and coverage of racing and I don’t see any lies in your coverage, Thank you Shawn and congrats to Andrew on 1st SK win!
Personally I’m for grudges and not moving on when appropriate. As an unaffected third party especially careful not to give advice about moving on to others.
Grudges aren’t always simple misunderstandings with each party equal parts right and wrong. Sometimes one side is being a dick and a kumbaya moment completely inappropriate.
The pits used to be a seething cauldron on grudges. Not as much now I suspect with all the hugging and apologizing going on but they must still exist. I hope they exist because it’s part of racing.
Andrew gets his first win in the SK’s as a rookie and it’s a big deal you say? There were fireworks. What more could you ask for. But seriously the Moeller saga has been a little creepy from day one. Sounds like Mike Moeller is a stage mom. Pretty typical of a lot of overbearing parents like the ones grooming their kids for the “Bigs” from age 6 with private coaching and basement batting cages. Or parents dressing up their child to compete like an adult in a beauty pageant or getting them auditions for acting rolls. Or maybe even like the parents willing to bend the rules to get their kid into a college they weren’t ready for. It was creepy seeing a kid at Waterford half the size of the other guys in victory lane talking like a polished Cup driver saying all the right things.
That’s in the past and now Andrew who is completely blameless in any of this is an older, more polished person on the cusp of becoming his own person. We’ll see what life lessons he carries with him from the parenting he has received. He may be a rookie that won his first SK race but experience wise with races under his belt in full modifieds he’s not exactly an unknown Rocky kind of story.
I suspect these days harassing the media might be popular in some quarters. However there is a standard of conduct required in the pits even if unwritten that frowns on continual overt harassment of anyone media or otherwise. Stafford management needs to have a chat with Mike Moeller to convince him to be a little more artful in how he carries his grudge if the f word is such an important part of his vocabulary when Mr. Courchesne is in the vicinity.
Some grudges are good. Where there is no contrition for unacceptable behavior there can be no redemption. Winning isn’t redemption.
Shawn, keep up the GREAT reporting. Facts matter.
Enjoy the grudge, it validates you every time, and proves the perpetrator was indeed wrong.
It’s comical, like watching Trump go on a Twitter rage whenever he gets caught doing something thing illegal, UnConstitutional, unethical, immoral, etc.
Keep up the great work.
“Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.” – Mark Twain
This Moeller drama is very sad. What this dad has perpetrated, as a role model for his child, is concerning. The kid is being taught that rules don’t apply to them, and being *caught* breaking rules is bad. Tech had better go over his cars with a fine toothed comb. This family is screaming and begging for close scrutiny and rules compliance oversight.
So why did NASCAR suspend the kid? Did NASCAR wrongly suspend the kid? 🤣😂🤣😂
Congratulations Meghan Fuller!!!!! Is she driving an LFR?
How are the Waterford stands and general reopening efforts going? It is June. Has a new opening day been announced?
What’s the latest on Bemer’s appeal and sentencing?
I wouldnt say he was blameless in all that happened to him. He knew he wasnt the age his parents claimed he was and went along with the lie to everyone.
Dareal, there was an article in a racing paper saying Waterford was tentatively planning to open on 6/22 or 6/29.
Fast Eddie,
I can assure you they will not be opening June 22 or June 29. There have been a few stories in other media outlets reporting possible opening dates there. All have been wrong.
There cannot be a short track related story more bizarre then the Speedbowl.
The web site is still up and contains a generic statement dated May 20 that renovations are ongoing and an announcement will be made at the appropriate time regarding the time frame for the completion of the project.
The Day, May 24.
Bemer’s sentencing scheduled for Thursday has been pushed back to mid June as his defense team feverishly works an angle to get the jury verdict vacated on a technicality.
The civil cases that had been combined have been severed at the request of the defense team and the first case to go to trial as of May 24 was yet to be determined.
Serluca, The Bulletin, June 22:
“When the old grandstands came down, a lot of the grand-fathered stuff was gone,” Serluca explained. “This site plan we’re working on now will also affect future plans down the road. The grandstand is a small piece of the puzzle in the grand scheme of things.”
What a can of worms that must be. Did I see a picture of the entire infield torn up?
Finally there is the Mike Serluca watch. A fountain of posts on social media and seeing what he’s posting about can be a clue to how things are going. He’s not talking about the Speedbowl as far as I can see.
It’s nice but not critical if fans know the latest. I just hope their is an underground that is giving the teams the straight scoop on timelines so they can make plans.
Shawn, I thought that as well based on how much still needs to be done. “I’m not sayin’ what I’m sayin’ makes sense, I’m just tellin’ ya what I know.” I’m not projecting any chances of opening and on that subject I’m from Missouri, the “show me” state. When the track is physically open and an event is being advertised, then I will believe it. Until then I will remain hopeful that New England does not lose another race track.
yay !! Meghan !! Congratulations to you and the entire Nº 2 Street Stock team! Hope to see you at Thompson! Also, Congratulations to Andrew and the entire Nº 35 SK team! The 1st of many I’m sure.