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KEITH ROCCO
READY TO CHALLENGE FOR VICTORY
IN VMRS 80 AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY |
The
Valenti Modified Racing Series returns to Stafford
Speedway Friday, May 20th, and Keith Rocco and the
#68 Wheelers Auto team have shown that they will be
among the contenders for the win. In 12 career VMRS
starts at Stafford, Rocco has 2 wins, 6 top-5 and 8
top-10 finishes. Rocco will be looking for his third
Stafford checkered flag in this Friday night’s VMRS
80, which would tie him with Tommy Barrett, Jr.
“We’re usually pretty good at Stafford,” said Rocco.
“Last year we had a valve spring break or something
stupid, but we’re usually right there in the top-5
and in contention for a win. I think the track will
probably be pretty close to what it was at the
Sizzler®. We haven’t raced in three weeks so the
track will probably be pretty green with a lot of
grip.”
One reason why Rocco has been so strong in the VMRS
events is a combination of his experience and
knowledge of the Stafford half-mile layout. In the
14 races VMRS races that have been held at Stafford
since 2010, 10 races have been won by drivers who
have weekly modified experience at Stafford. Rocco
says that experience still gives drivers like
himself, Ted Christopher, Woody Pitkat, and Rowan
Pennink an advantage over the rest of the field when
it comes to racing at Stafford.
“I think it’s an advantage just because of the
amount of laps we have around the place and we know
how the track changes going into night,” said Rocco.
While Rocco may hold an advantage over others with
his track knowledge, he says that winning a VMRS
race can be a tricky proposition because drivers
have only one set of tires for qualifying and the
80-lap feature and you have to make the tires last
to be in position to race for the win as the race
begins to draw closer to the checkered flag.
“You have to be there at the end of the race and
hope everything stays together,” says Rocco. “The
biggest thing will be keeping the tires and the
wheels on the car. If we can do that, we should be
among the contenders for the win. It’s very
important to have something left for the end of the
race. You don’t want to burn up the car or the tires
early in the race or in the heat race. It’s
definitely a challenge and it’s a different style of
racing.”
In addition to his VMRS duties, Rocco will be
looking to get things on track with his SK Modified®
effort. The opening NAPA Spring Sizzler Weekend
proved to be a rough start for Rocco and the #88
Wheelers Auto team as they got caught up in a wreck
in their qualifying race and also caught in a wreck
during the feature. Despite all the troubles they
encountered, they still managed a 10th place finish.
Rocco will be looking to build on that finish and
pick up some momentum that will last throughout the
2016 season.
“We’re putting the Sizzler behind us,” said Rocco.
“We’re going to start over and hopefully we can come
out with a good finish. I think our SK program is
going to be very good this year.”
The May 20th VMRS 80 will be the first of three
Valenti Modified Racing Series events to be held at
Stafford during the 2016 season. The VMRS returns to
Stafford June 24th and September 2nd. Tickets for
all three VMRS events are available and on sale now.
Tickets for the May 20 VMRS 80 are priced at $27.50
for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for
children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under
are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an
adult. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission
Tax. Reserved seating is $30.00 for all ages. For
the 26th consecutive season the month of May is
Youth Organization Month at Stafford Speedway. All
children 14 and under are admitted FREE when wearing
a youth organization team shirt or uniform and
accompanied by a paying adult.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor
Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on
the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com.
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Source:
Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted:
May 19, 2016 |
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