On lap-8, Arute made a move to the inside of Bessette to take over third behind Fluckiger and Gambacorta. Don Wood, Kyle Casagrande, and Josh Wood all made the move by Bessette two laps later. Arute continued his charge to the front as he made a move to the inside of Gambacorta in turn 3 on lap-11 to move into second. Arute's move brought Don Wood and Casagrande with him past Gambacorta, dropping him back to fifth after running second for most of the race. Dave Secore spun in turn 4 to bring the caution out with 11 laps complete.

On the restart, Brice spun in turn 2 to bring the caution right back out before the field could complete a lap. Fluckiger took the lead back under green with Don Wood moving into second. Casagrande and Arute were side by side for third with Andrew Hayes and Gambacorta side by side for fifth behind them. Wood made the move by Fluckiger for the lead coming to the white flag and Casagrande was also able to get by Fluckiger. Don Wood led Casagrande back to the checkered flag for his fourth win of the 2011 season. Rounding out the top-5 behind Don Wood and Casagrande was Fluckiger, Arute, and Hayes.

8/15/11 We survived. After winning our heat the handicap gave us a tenth starting position for the feature. This weeks feature was a beating and banging affair. At least three times we thought we were in the wreck in front of us and done for the night. Luck was with us and although not untouched we were soon up to third and racing the 15 for second. Not being able to get by we finished third this week. Chassis looks ok but every body panel, rub rail and bumper is either torn, dented or bent. 

As posted on www.staffordspeedway.com In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, James Carroll took the early lead ahead of Kaitlyn Brice, but the caution came out with 1 lap complete for spins by David Arute and Kris Fluckiger.

Carroll took the lead back under green with Albert Saunders taking second ahead of Andy Marchese. Austin Bessette moved into fourth and Kyle Casagrande moved into fifth as Brice was falling back in the field stuck in the outside groove. The caution came back out with 2 laps complete for a spin by Nick Salva in turn 3.

On the restart, Joe McAllister spun in turn 3 and Kyle Casagrande spun in turn 4 to bring the caution back out. Saunders took the lead back under green with Carroll falling back to second. Don Wood was up to third, with Andrew Hayes fourth, and Bessette was fifth.

Saunders was pulling away from Carroll in second, while Wood made a pass on Carroll to take over second on lap-9. Hayes followed Wood past Carroll to move into third, but both Wood and Hayes had some distance to close to catch up to Albert Saunders.

Saunders went unchallenged as he took his first win of the 2011 season. Wood finished second, with Hayes, Carroll, and Bessette rounding out the top-5.

Saunders and Andrew Hayes were having a great duel for second place behind Wood, while Don Wood was now up to fourth and Kyle Casagrande and David Arute were right behind Wood with 10 laps complete. Hayes was able to get by Saunders for second, but before the lap could be completed, David Macha spun in turn 3 to bring the caution out and Saunders was able to get his spot back for the restart.

The restart came on lap-13 with Josh Wood taking the lead ahead of Don Wood, Saunders, Hayes, Casagrande, and Arute. Casagrande made a move to the inside of Hayes, but Hayes was hanging tough in the outside groove and he was able to hold onto the third position.

Josh Wood led the field around to the checkered flag to pick up his third win of the 2011 season. Don Wood came home second, with Saunders, Hayes, and Casagrande rounding out the top-5.

7/26/11 Friday night our car was back to it's old self after finding a binding shock on the right front during the week. Finishing the heat fourth put us in eighth starting position for the feature. We knew it would be a wild night with three drivers tied for the points lead all trying to get to the front. Wild it was with three and four wide racing at times. We managed to get as high as third at one point before finishing fourth.

As posted on www.staffordspeedway.com   In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, the caution came out before the field could complete the first lap as Kaitlyn Brice and Albert Saunders spun on the backstretch. Also caught up in the action was Josh Wood, who was finished for the race with a flat right front tire.

As the race resumed, James Carroll took the lead with David Arute right behind him in second. Don Wood was in third, with Vince Gambacorta in fourth and Cliff Saunders in fifth. Carroll held the lead until lap-4 when Arute moved past him in turn 1 to take over the lead. Wood followed Arute past Carroll to take over second before the caution came back out with 4 laps complete for a spin by David Macha in turn 1.

Arute and Wood were side by side for the lead back under green with Wood leading lap-5 by a nose over Arute. Gambacorta continued to hold down third, with Kyle Casagrande moving up to fourth. Cliff Saunders ran in fifth as Arute got clear of Wood back to the front of the pack on lap-6. Wood got loose in turn 1 and he fell from second place back to fifth as Casagrande, Gambacorta, and Cliff Saunders all moved past.

Casagrande was all over Arute's bumper for the lead, but Arute was able to fend off Casagrande's challenges. With 9 laps complete, Casagrande tried to make a pass to the inside of Arute, but he spun in turn 2 to bring the caution out.

Arute took the lead back under green with Cliff Saunders moving into second. Don Wood was third with Gambacorta and Andrew Hayes dueling side by side for fourth place. Arute held the lead until lap-12 when Cliff Saunders moved to the front. But Saunders' stay out front was short lived as Wood went by both Arute and Saunders on lap-13 to move from third to the lead. Wood led the field around to the checkered flag to take down his third win of the 2011 season. Arute finished second, with Cliff Saunders, Hayes, and Gambacorta rounding out the top-5. 

7/16/11 After the July 8th rain out we were back to racing this week. Changing the engine oil last week we found a lot of metal in the oil. After some investigation we found some of the valve spring dampener coils had broken and a camshaft lifter was sticking causing a power loss in one cylinder. We installed new springs and thanks to Don from RAD Automachine for finding and fixing the lifter problem.
In this weeks heat we finished forth. Starting seventh in the feature Andrew found he had a very loose car to deal with. This has been a persistent problem due to excessive stagger since putting a new set of tires on the car. The new set should have ended up the same size as the tires we replaced but apparently the sizing and rate of growth from the manufacture is not consistant so we're chasing the set-up. Even with the loose car we managed to get up to second after the first restart. Late race cautions found us starting on the outside and with the fastest cars all at the front the outside was not the place to be. Still a good night taking the checker in fifth for our sixth top five of the season. The points race is close with the top three tied, we are fourth eight points back.

7/3/11 This weeks heat race was interesting. Starting outside on a restart our car and the #3 came together on the back stretch. Andrew had his fender up to the 3's door on the outside, as the 3 came up the track Andrew tried to slow and make room until he ran out of real estate scraping the wall with the right front. Luckily the damage was only sheet metal and a wheel. Starting seventh in the feature and with a new set of tires on the car we were hoping for a good night. A few laps in it was obvious the car was not handling well. The race went flag to flag and we finished eighth. After coming back to the trailer the report was extremely loose after a few laps. Looking for the problem we discover the left side tires had changed drastically in size. We'll get that problem straightened out and try again next week.

Saturday July 9th the #6 will be at the Educational Resource for Children (ERfC) Soap Box Derby. Two-kid teams drive their cars through a challenging obstacle course on the Town Green during the Enfield Fourth of July Celebration. Race time is approximatly 1pm after the parade. Our sponsors Howland & Sargent, Total Protection Security Systems, IAFF Local 3059 as well as Hayes Racing Group support this event. Come on out for a great time! For information about ERfC and their mission vist www.erfc.us  For information on the Enfield Fourth of July Celebration visit www.enfieldcelebration.org


6/27/11 With no heats for Stafford's divisions we started tenth on the outside for the feature. It looked like we might get an early race run on the outside to move up. Not to be, as a couple laps in the outside line slowed. Working our way through the field and with only one caution early sixth was a good finish this week. Car came home with only a few scrapes so all in all a decent night. Tomorrow night 6/28 at Stafford is Extreme Tuesday with the Super Mods, Midgets and Pro-4 modifieds putting on the show. We'll be back in action this Friday July 1st. Included are Stafford's great fireworks. Hope to see you there.

6/21/11 Rained out Friday night. Friday June 24th the Modified Racing Series will be running a 80 lap event along with Stafford's five divisions. Saturday the 18th we brought the car to the Enfield Library Vehicle Day. Thank you to the staff and especially Lisa Ellis for putting on a great event for the kids.

6/12/11 No luck this week. Starting this weeks feature eighth we were on the outside a few laps in when the 64 slowed on the back stretch causing the cars including ours to stack up behind him. After getting through that incident we started moving up but the lead pack was long gone. The caution we needed to catch up came with six to go. On the restart the 15 two cars ahead of us broke and the outside row stacked up again. Andrew got into the back of the 23 so hard he figured the radiator was gone. Luckily the damage wasn't that bad but with the field getting by all we could do in the closing laps was pick up as many spots as possible taking the checker in eleventh.   

6/5/11 This Friday started with a close call in warm ups when the 04 lost the driveshaft. Andrew drove over a section lying on the track but luck was on our side and it just barely hit the exhaust pipe. For the heat we lined up ninth. Finishing fifth gave us a handicapped position for the feature. In the feature our starting position was twelfth. At the green we started moving up thru the field. After getting up to fifth we got close to the 4 running fourth but the laps ran out and the 6 finished fifth.  

5/30/11  On this Memorial Day, thank you to all who have served and we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Last Friday with only warmups before the feature car was on the loose side. Using our notes from the previous events with the Modified Tour we made a educated guess on how much to tighten up the car. In the feature starting tenth we survived another lap two melee that took out several fast cars. With our car handling well we were soon running second behind the 51. With another caution and restarting on the outside the 51 maintained the lead and the 4 was able to get by us for second. In the closing laps the 51 had a right front tire go down and the 4 took the lead. We could not make up enough ground before the checker to challenge for the win and finished second.

As posted on www.staffordspeedway.com In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, Austin Bessette took the early lead from the pole but on the second lap, Johnny Walker and Nick Salva, who were dueling for second and third, spun in turn 2, which collected Albert Saunders and several other cars to bring the caution out.

Don Wood took the lead on the restart with Vince Gambacorta moving to the inside of Bessette for second. The two cars made contact and Bessette bounced off the wall and then back into the wall with 3 laps complete to bring the caution back out. Gambacorta was black flagged for rough riding.

Kris Fluckiger spun on the restart after contact with Andrew Marchese, but he was able to get moving and the race stayed green with Don Wood holding the race lead over Andrew Hayes and Cliff Saunders. Salva was fourth and Kaitlyn Brice was in fifth, getting by the car of Walker. The caution came back out with 7 laps complete for a spin by David Macha.

Wood again took the lead on the restart with Hayes, Cliff Saunders, Salva, and Brice making up the top-5. The caution came back out with 11 laps complete for a spin in turn 2 by Marchese.

Saunders took the lead on the restart as Wood's car dropped off the pace. Hayes was now second, with Salva, Brice, and Walker making up the top-5. Saunders led the field around for the final 4 laps and he picked up his first win of the 2011 season. Hayes came home for second with Salva, Brice, and Walker making up the top-5.

The caution came back out with 3 laps complete and on the restart, Saunders went back by Salva to retake the lead. Salva came right back and went back by Saunders to take the lead when the caution came out with 6 laps complete. Salva took the lead back under green, but Saunders would move back to the front on lap-8. Salava's great night came to a halt with 9 laps complete when he spun with Brandon Michael in turn 2 to bring the caution back out.

Saunders took the lead with Don Wood and Andrew Hayes right behind him as the race resumed. With one more caution slowing the field on lap-12, Hayes moved into second on the lap-13 restart and he took the lead from Saunders on lap-14. Wood followed Hayes by Saunders, but he couldn't get by Hayes, who scored the feature victory. Josh Wood came home in third, with Saunders and David Arute rounding out the top-5.


5/8/11 This week went well starting with another win in the heats. In the feature starting fourth we were about to take the lead a few laps in when the caution flew. We restarted on the outside and the 72 retook the lead and the 15 was able to get by on the inside. Andrew worked his way back up to second but didn't have enough to challenge the 15. On the last lap the 7 car got under us but got loose and spun. Our car shot up the track and almost got into the turn four wall. With a great save we crossed the line to take second.

As posted on www.staffordspeedway.com  In the 15-lap DARE Stock feature event, Kaitlyn Brice spun in turn 3 before the field completed a lap to bring the caution out. Brice was able to continue the race and she restarted at the rear of the field as Nick Salva took the early race lead back under green. Vince Gambacorta settled into second with Andrew Hayes taking third. Hayes quickly moved by Gambacorta for second on lap-2 and he brought Don Wood with him past Gambacorta. Josh Wood spun in turn 2 to bring the yellow back out with 2 laps complete. Gambacorta came to pit road under the caution period with a flat right rear tire and he was finished for the evening.

Back under green, Salva and Hayes ran side by side for a lap before Salva moved to the front. Don Wood moved by Salva for second with Hayes settling into third. Don Wood continued his charge to the front as he moved to the lead on lap-5. Hayes followed Wood by Salva and David Arute, Josh Wood, and Kyle Casagrande were also part of the train of cars moving by Salva, who fell from the lead back to sixth place.

Josh Wood moved by Arute to take over third place on lap-7 and he nearly took second from Hayes on lap-10, but he got loose in turn 4 and fell back several spots to fifth place. Casagrande moved into third with Arute in fourth as Wood continued to hold down the lead ahead of Hayes.

Don Wood slowly pulled away from the rest of the field over the closing laps as he scored his first win of the 2011 season. Casagrande made a move to the inside of Hayes for second on the final lap, but he got sideways and spun out. Hayes came home for second, with Josh Wood, Arute, and Cliff Saunders rounding out the top-5.


5/2/11 Spring Sizzler weekend. Welcome back race fans. After Friday's practice sessions our division raced Saturday. After a line up change we started our heat on the pole and led flag to flag for the win. We were slated to start 9th in the feature on the inside. A last minute change moved our starting position to 8th, outside of the fourth row. The car was fast enough to compete for the win but the way the race played out didn't allow us to get to the front. During the race the caution flew five times. The timing of the cautions didn't work in our favor as it seemed every time we picked up a few positions the caution would fly and restart line up would revert back to the last lap completed. After having to get back by cars for a second or third time the laps ran out and we finished sixth. Still a good start to the season knowing the car is working well. May 6th will be the start of Friday night racing at Stafford, see you there!   

4/21/11 Last week the car came out of the garage and made it's first laps of the season. It was a cold day last Saturday at Stafford but the car was fast. Division is running Hoosier tire this season and they seem to work well. It will take a few races to see exactly what the tires will do as far as growth and pressure build up. We found no major problems and only have a few minor adjustments to make before the Spring Sizzler next weekend.


3/19/11 It's almost here the 2011 season. Everything that bolts or rivets onto the car is ready to install and final assembly will be done in the next two weeks. No big changes this year except for the new hubs and rotors we are allowed to run, a better seat for the driver and moving the transmission cooler to the rear to keep it hopefully out of harms way. Paint scheme will remain the same this year with a change in the number design. 
We are pleased to announce that all of our partners will be returning this season. We thank you and appreciate your continued support! Also Asnuntuck College will be running a full page ad in this years Pitstopper program. Please take a few minutes to check out our sponsors services and what they can do for you. Links to their websites are provided on our Home Page and Our Sponsors Page.


2/20/11 We have moved most of the 2010 Team News to the Archive page. 

Asnuntuck Community College come this spring will once again be a major presence at Stafford Motor Speedway.

Committing to be a major sponsor for The Hayes Racing Group's #6 DARE Stock car, for the 2011 season, the college will not only have their name mentioned each time the announcers say the Hayes Racing Group name, but the college's logo will continue to be prominently displayed on Andrew Hayes' driver side and passenger doors and on the car's web-site.

According to Jim Lombella, director of Workforce Development and Continuing Education at Asnuntuck, the exposure the college will continue to receive in this second year of sponsorship is huge and the excitement the connection to the car is generating is invigorating. He said when he has spoken to students on campus they are interested and excited to hear about the sponsorship. "They are looking for something that unites them and people get excited about an Asnuntuck NASCAR car."

The car already makes appearances at area events and will be on hand for several events on campus throughout the semester.

For more information about Asnuntuck visit www.acc.commnet.edu
Submitted by Julie Cotnoir, Asnuntuck Community College


12/2/10 Stafford Speedway has released the 2011 schedule of events for the Whelen All-American series. The twenty three event schedule includes four Whelen Modified Tour events and two Modified Racing Series events run in conjunction with Stafford's divisions. Schedule is posted on the Where and When page. We'll be moving the 2010 Team News to the archive page soon to make room for 2011. Enjoy the holidays!