Calculated Run: Keith Rocco Wins SK Modified Feature At NAPA Fall Final

When it came to battling on the track for a second place finish, Keith Rocco was willing to wave the white flag on Saturday at Stafford Speeway.

And it was a calculated strategy that likely earned him a checkered flag.

Rocco used a late race caution to go from third to first and win the 40-lap SK Modified feature Saturday at the NAPA Fall Final at Stafford. 

It was the third victory of the season for Rocco, of Wallingford, and his 74th in the division overall. 

Alexander Pearl of Salem was second and Mike Christopher Jr. of Wolcott third. 

Pearl opened up a massive lead on the field for much of the event. On lap 16 Marcello Rufrano moved by Rocco for second place with Pearl 1.3 seconds ahead. Call it a strategic calculation for Rocco. 

“I got to second there and I thought I had something for Pearl,” Rocco said. “I started running him down. Marcello was putting the heat on me. Back in my heyday I would have done like Marcello and went for the spot but seeing Pearl was so far ahead I knew the best thing to do was ride in third and hope for a caution because the difference between second and third to me don’t matter, we’re here for the win.” 

Caution flew on lap 34 for the spinning car of David Arute On the restart Rocco quickly got by Rufrano for second place and then Rocco found the lane by Pearl for the lead on lap 37. 

“We had that late race yellow and that’s what we needed,” Rocco said. “It played out. This thing was absolutely awesome.” 

Said Pearl: I really didn’t need that [lap 34 caution]. It was tough, I didn’t have any radio out there so I was kind of flying blind. We had a great car. I was pleasantly surprise. We’ve been fighting it for the last couple weeks. My dad made some really good adjustments. We went through the car a lot this week to make it better. I can’t thank my entire crew enough for that.” 

For the second consecutive night the battle for the division championship saw a big swing. Mikey Flynn came into Friday night’s event with a two-point lead over Jon Puleo at the top of the SK Modified division standings. Puleo used a third place finish to gain a four-point advantage over Flynn in Friday’s feature. 

Saturday Flynn was fifth and Puleo 11th. It allowed Flynn to gain 12 points on Puleo and move back into the lead in the standings. Flynn will take an eight-point lead into the division’s season finale on Oct. 3. 

Robert Bloxsom III of Milford won the 20-lap SK Light Modified Invitational non-points feature.

Zach Aszklar of Newtown was second and Matt Brewer of Norwich third.