Williams takes one for the team
Oct. 1—STAFFORD — It was a parting gift between Ronnie Williams and his car owner, Adam Skowyra.
Williams took the lead on the opening lap and steered clear of Todd Owen to post his third win of the year in the 40-lap SK Modified finale at Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday.
Skowyra announced this week that he will no longer be fielding an SK Modified at Stafford, so this was Williams' final chance to get in the winners' circle in the No. 50 car.
"It was cool," Williams said. "I can't thank Adam and my crew enough. I'm just happy we got one more win for them."
Owen finished second by 0.5 seconds, but he enjoyed his defining moment last week when he locked down his second straight Stafford SK title.
"There is so much to take in," Owen said. "You work your entire career to get one title. And then when you're able to back it up with another one, it's amazing."
Owen gave a huge thank you note to his crew.
"It's great just to have them around," Owen said.
Why not? They are the architects of back-to-back championships.
Barry good season
Tyler Barry did exactly what he needed to do to clinch the 2022 Stafford SK Light Modified title — not let Tyler Chapman out of his sight.
The strategy worked. Chapman, who started 12th, launched himself into the lead, but Barry tucked his car in right behind him and stayed within striking distance.
Chapman won for the fourth time this season, but Barry finished second to wrap up the title by eight points.
"It was so much fun racing with Tyler Chapman," Barry said. "The race went green-to-checker. Everyone did a great job."
It was an emotional title for Barry, who had to deal with the death of his grandfather, Hall of Famer Art Barry, during the season.
"I was thinking about him all day," Barry said. "It was awesome to get it done."
Last hurrah
There were two major ingredients that enabled Wayne Coury to end the 2022 season with his first 30-lap Late Model win of the season.
He was able to avoid the carnage that sidelined many of the 20 drivers in the starting lineup.
Then after losing the lead to Darrell Keane with four laps to go, he had enough firepower to blast underneath Keane to get the lead back.
"This is amazing," Coury said. "We struggled in the beginning of the season, but we just kept digging and digging. We never gave up."
Keane had the lead late, but said that a red flag situation drained the speed out of his car.
"That red flag killed us," Keane said. "We abused the tires."
Coury, who had a healthy car while many drivers didn't, was able to cash in on that fact.
Adam Gray, who racked up his fourth Stafford title a week ago, finished 10th.
Hammann history
With three laps remaining in the Limited Late Model season, Jeremy Lavoie of Windsor Locks was cruising along in third place, on his way to his third track title.
Then disaster struck. Lavoie's car had a mechanical malfunction and nearly hit the wall. While he was stranded on the track, Rich Hammann of Tolland was in a position to take advantage of it.
Hammann finished fourth, while Lavoie was 13th. That gave Hammann a two-point win in the championship standings.
"It hasn't sunk in yet," Hammann said. "I can't believe it. I don't wish bad luck on anyone, but it happens."
Lavoie speculated that a brake issue might have cost him his third title.
"But we'll be back next year to try to win again," Lavoie said.
Alexandra Fearn took the lead from Gary Patnode to stroll to her fifth win of the year and 25th of her career.
"I'm just so happy," Fearn said. "This is so exciting."
Lavoie, however, had an opposing viewpoint.
Almost Paradis
Bobby Stirk III had a plan to deal with a tire going soft — with some hard driving.
After losing the lead to Adrien Paradis on a lap 18 restart, Stirk got it back by digging underneath Paradis on the final lap to nail down his sixth 20-lap Street Stock victory of the season, more than any other competitor.
"This is the hardest I ever had to drive to get a victory," Stirk said. "I had a tire going soft late in the race. It's a miracle that it held up."
Stirk was forced to come from behind when Paradis breezed by him on a restart. One lap later, however, Stirk thundered back into the lead.
"I thought I had Bob, but I needed a touch more bite," Paradis said. "I couldn't hold him off."
Stirk took the lead on lap 6 from Jason Lafayette and held it until the lap 18 restart.
Travis Hydar got by Paradis on the final lap to finish second. He wrapped up his first championship last week.
40-lap SK Modified: 1. Ronnie Williams, Ellington; 2. Todd Owen, Somers; 3. Bryan Narducci, Colchester; 4. Marcello Rufrano, North Haven; 5. Michael Christopher Jr., Wolcott; 6. Anthony Bello, Newtown; 7. Jon Puleo, Branford; 8. Michael Gervais Jr., Wolcott; 9. Tyler Leary, Hatfield, Mass.; 10. David Arute, Stafford.
30-lap Late Model: 1. Wayne Coury Jr., Fairfield; 2. Tom Fearn East Longmeadow, Mass.; 3. Darrell Keane, Enfield; 4. Alexandra Fearn, East Longmeadow, Mass.; 5. Kevin Gambacorta, Ellington; 6. Wayne Coury Sr., Milford; 7. Michael Wray, Northford; 8. Andrew Durand, Chicopee, Mass.; 9. John Blake. North Haven; 10. Adam Gray, Belchertown, Mass.
20-lap SK Light Modified: 1. Tyler Chapman, Ellington; 2. Tyler Barry, Griswold; 3. George Bessette Jr., Danbury; 4. Ron Midford, Ellington; 5. Derek Debbis, Oakdale; 6. Meghan Fuller, Auburn, Mass.; 7. Amanda West, Colchester; 8. Bob Charland, Stafford; 9. Alexander Pearl, Salem; 10. Jason Chapman, Ellington.
20-lap Limited Late Model: 1. Alexandra Fearn, East Longmeadow, Mass.; 2. Jay Clement, Wethersfield; 3. Matt Clement, Wethersfield; 4. Rich Hammann, Tolland; 5. Kevin Cormier, Agawam, Mass.; 6. Devon Jencik, Canton; 7. Damien Palardy, Willington; 8. Matt Scappini, Litchfield; 9. Gary Patnode, Barkhamstead; 10. Trinity Provost, Holland, Mass.
20-lap Street Stock: 1. Bobby Stirk, Naugatuck; 3. Travis Hydar, Woodbury; 3. Adrien Paradis III, Plainville; 4. Bert Ouellette, Ellington; 5. Ryan Waterman, Danielson; 6. Travis Downey, Barkhamstead; 7. Eric Finkbein, Manchester; 8. Chris Danielczuk, Goshen; 9. Pat Grady, Berlin; 10. Bill Cote, Belchertown, Mass.
