Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photo at Bud 15 Thompson Speedway
In the 40-lap SK Modified® feature, Matt Vassar took the early at the green flag with Tyler Leary right behind him in second. Ronnie Williams was on the charge, going from fifth to second on lap-3. Michael Gervais, Jr. followed Williams by Leary to take third on lap-3 with Keith Rocco taking fourth on lap-4 to drop Lear back to fifth in line. Williams took to the outside lane and he powered his way by Vassar to take over the race lead on lap-5. Vassar now had Gervais on his outside looking to take second with Rocco right behind Gervais and Chase Dowling and Leary side by side for fifth place.
Rocco went around Gervais on lap-9 to take over second and he pulled to the inside of Williams on lap-10 as they raced into turn 1. Rocco took the lead in turns 3+4 before the caution came out for a multi-car incident in turn 4 with 10 laps complete.
On the restart Rocco took the lead with Gervais and Williams side by side for second and Dowling and Michael Christopher, Jr. side by side for fourth behind them. Williams emerged in second with Christopher third, Gervais fourth, and Dowling fifth as Rocco continued to hold the race lead. Todd Owen was now side by side with Dowling for fifth place on lap-15 while Christopher, Jr. took a look to the outside of Williams on lap-17. Christopher completed his pass for second on lap-18 while Owen took fifth from Dowling and was now side by side with Gervais for fourth place. Rocco was still in the lead with Christopher and Williams behind him.
The order continued to shuffle on lap-23 as Owen took over third place behind Rocco and Christopher with Gervais in fourth, Dowling fifth, and Williams sixth. With 10 laps to go, Rocco was still in the lead with Christopher giving chase from second. Owen was third with Gervais, Dowling, and Williams behind him.
With 6 laps to go, Christopher was looking high and low for a way around Rocco and just as it looked like Christopher was ready to set up a move for the lead, the caution came out with 35 laps complete for a spin in turn 4 by Vassar. Tony Membrino, Jr. was sent to the rear of the field for making contact with Vassar.
Rocco took the lead on the restart while Christopher appeared to lock up his right front tire as he drifted up the track in turn 1 and he fell back to third in line as Owen took over second. Gervais spun in turn 2 to bring the caution back out with 36 laps complete and Dowling was sent to the rear of the field for making contact with Gervais.
Leary spun on the restart to bring the caution right back out and Teddy Hodgdon was sent to the rear for making contact with Leary. The next restart saw Owen go 3-wide with Rocco and Christopher to take over the lead but Vassar spun in the middle of turns 3+4 to bring the caution back out before a lap could be completed and put Rocco back in the lead for the next restart.
Owen took the lead from Rocco but Rocco came right back to Owen’s inside and went back to the front on lap-38. With 2 laps to go Rocco and Owen were side by side but Rocco got clear of Owen as they dame to the white flag. Christopher was third in line with Williams and Narducci side by side for fourth. Christopher shot from third to the lead as the leaders raced through turn 2 on the final lap and he held off the field to the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the 2020 season in spectacular fashion. Williams came through to take second behind Christopher with Rocco, Narducci, and Owen rounding out the top-5. Rocco’s third place finish was good enough to make him the 2020 SK Modified® track champion. Rocco’s title was his fourth SK Modified® crown at Stafford and it is his 18th career NASCAR Weekly Series Division 1 track championship, setting a NASCAR record by breaking a tie he held with Joe Kosiski.
SK MODIFIED® (40)
1) Michael Christopher, Jr., Wolcott
2) Ronnie Williams, Tolland
3) Keith Rocco, Berlin
4) Bryan Narducci, Colchester
5) Todd Owen, Somers
6) David Arute, Stafford Springs
7) Troy Talman, Oxford, MA
8) Andrew Molleur, Shelton
9) Cory DiMatteo, Farmington
10) Marcello Rufrano, North Haven
11) Michael Gervais, Jr., Wolcott
12) Chase Dowling, Roxbury
13) Tom Bolles, Ellington
14) Tyler Leary, Hatfield, MA
15) Chris Viens, Putnam
16) Tony Membrino, Jr., Wolcott
17) Matt Vassar, Plantsville
18) Tyler Hines, North Haven
19) Jeff Malave, Manchester
20) Matt Galko, Meriden
21) Teddy Hodgdon, Danbury
22) P.J. Peters, Oxford
23) D.J. Burnham, East Hartford
24) Noah Korner, Canton
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