STAFFORD SPRINGS, Conn. – Stafford Speedway’s SK Lights took center stage during Friday’s Dunleavy’s Modifiedz Night, with a 40-lap feature that paid more than $13,000 in total posted awards.
Derek Debbis won the Dunleavy’s Modifiedz Night feature for the second consecutive season and in the process, he took home $5,600 in purse and contingency money thanks to the Dunleavy’s Gamblers Challenge bonus of $3,750.
In the 40-lap Dunleavy’s Modifiedz Night SK Light feature event, a multicar spin in turn one involving Alina Bryden, Anthony Bello, and Glenn Bartkowski brought the caution out before a lap could be completed. Bryden and Bello were both able to continue while Bartkowski’s car had to be towed off the track.
Tyler Barry led the field back to green and took the early lead. Amanda West and Meghan Fuller were side by side for second but the caution came back out with four laps complete as Josh Carey and Cassandra Cole hit the frontstretch wall with Bello and Peter Bennett also involved to bring the caution back out.
West took the lead on the restart with Chris Matthews taking second. Alexander Pearl was up to third with George Bessette Jr. fourth and Derek Debbis fifth. Fuller got into the wall along with Bryden and Chris Bagnall to bring the caution back out with seven laps complete.
Matthews took the lead on the restart with Pearl taking second and Bessette taking third. West fell from the lead back to fourth in line with Debbis in fifth. Pearl made a move to get by Matthews going into turn three on lap-10 to move into the lead. Bessette made a move around Matthews to take second on lap-14 with Debbis now up to fourth and Bob Charland was fifth as West fell back to seventh place behind Mark Bakaj in sixth.
Debbis made a move on Matthews to take third place on lap 17 while Bessette was applying heavy pressure to Pearl in the fight for the lead. Norm Sears and Bello spun on lap-20 but both cars were able to get going and the race stayed under green flag conditions. Bessette was still hounding Pearl for the lead with Debbis slowly closing in on the lead duo to make it a three-car fight for the lead. Charland got around Matthews on lap 24 to move into fourth place while Bessette was finally able to make a pass on Pearl to take the race lead. Pearl came right back on Bessette with a crossover move but Bessette was able to maintain the lead. Debbis was now right on Pearl’s back bumper and he took second on lap 27.
With five laps to go, Bessette and Debbis had begun to pull away from Pearl in third but with 36 laps complete, Nicole Chambrello spun in the middle of turns 3+4 right in front of Bessette, who narrowly avoided making contact with Chambrello as the caution came out.
Bessette chose the outside lane for the restart and he lost the lead to Debbis on the restart. One lap was completed before the caution came back out for a spin on the frontstretch by Tyler Chapman.
Debbis took the outside lane for the restart but he was able to keep the lead with Bessette right behind him in second. Bakaj was up to third with Pearl fourth and Matthews fifth. Debbis took the checkered flag to pick up his fourtrh win of the 2021 season and his second consecutive Dunleavy’s Modifiedz Night win. Bessette finished second with Bakaj, Pearl, and Matthews rounding out the top-five.
Stephen Kopcik scored his second win of the season in the SK Modified feature but it was Michael Christopher Jr. continuing his big money winning ways as he was the lucky draw winner of the SK Modified Gamblers Challenge worth an extra $5,800 from his third place finish. Other feature winners on the night were Kevin Gambacorta in the Late Model feature, Alexandra Fearn in the Limited Late Model feature, and Kyle Johnson was a career first time winner in the Street Stock feature.