LLOYD AGOR, RYAN POSOCCO, MICHAEL BENNETT & JOEY FERRIGNO HONORED AS 2005 STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY TRACK CHAMPIONS : Raceway Media

(Stafford Springs, CT)---Stafford Motor Speedway hosted nearly 600 people
consisting of teams, drivers, and employees this past Friday night, November
11, 2005 at the La Renaissance Banquet Facility in East Windsor to
officially honor Lloyd Agor, Ryan Posocco, Michael Bennett, and Joey
Ferrigno as the 2005 Stafford Motor Speedway NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series
track champions.
Hosted by Stafford Motor Speedway broadcaster Andy Crane, the 36th annual
Stafford Motor Speedway NASCAR Champions Awards Ceremony not only honored
the four track champions, it also honored the top-20 points finishers from
the SK Modified®, Late Model, and DARE Stock divisions, as well as the
top-10 points finishers from the Limited Late Model division with multimedia
video presentations. Other awards that were presented during the evening’s
festivities were Most Popular Driver Awards, Most Improved Driver Awards,
and the Reliable Welding & Speed Rookie of the Year awards.
After over 20 years of racing and trying to win a championship, Lloyd Agor’s
SK Modified® championship was his first career title at any track in any
division. Agor and the #22 Agor Racing Pontiac team came out on top of a
see-saw battle down the stretch that saw them outlast Todd Owen. Agor’s
made it through the 2005 season on a shoe-string budget without the benefits
of sponsorship, and they secured the championship with 2 wins, 8 top-5, and
14 top-10 finishes in 21 starts. Agor’s championship almost wasn’t to be,
as at the season ending CARQUEST Fall Final event, Agor pitted three times
during the 50-lap feature to adjust his car’s handling. But his chief rival
for the title, Todd Owen, dropped out of the race with transmission problems
late in the event, which gave the championship to Agor, who finished
seventh.
In the Late Model division, Ryan Posocco secured his third consecutive
track championship, which joins him with Phil Rondeau as the only Late Model
drivers to ever win three consecutive track championships. While last
season Posocco stormed to the title with a career high 7 victories, Posocco’
s march to the 2005 championship was a march of consistency and not one of
dominance. Posocco scored 2 wins, 15 top-5, and 18 top-10 finishes in 21
starts with an average finish of 5.4 to lay claim to the championship.
Averaging nearly a top-5 finish for the season is hard to overcome, and no
one was able to best Posocco for the championship.
Stafford Motor Speedway introduced a new division, the Limited Late Models,
this season, and Michael Bennett drove to the inaugural Limited Late Model
track championship with one of the most dominating seasons in Stafford’s
record books. He won a record 14 of 21 feature events during the season,
and posted 19 top-5 and 21 top-10 finishes to go along with his 14
victories. Bennett wrapped up the championship on the September 9 Final
Friday Night Shoot-Out and in the final 2005 points tally, he was the
champion by 108 points over Michael Nadeau.
After a slow start to the 2005 season, Joey Ferrigno scored two wins on May
6th and May 20th that propelled him into a streak that saw him post 16
consecutive top-10 finishes and vault himself into the DARE Stock points
lead, a lead that he would never relinquish to become the second ever DARE
Stock track champion. Along with his three wins, Ferrigno posted 12 top-5
and 18 top-10 finishes in 21 starts to outlast both Charlie Newman and
Stacey Botticello in the chase for the championship.
Receiving awards for Most Improved Driver were Chris Osella in the SK
Modified® division and Mark Lewis in the Late Model division. The Most
Improved Driver award is given to a driver who exhibits the greatest degree
of improvement in on-track performance over the past season. Nominees are
selected and voted upon by a committee of select Stafford Motor Speedway
management and track officials.
Chris Osella drove the #6 Gene Langan VW / Innova Chevrolet to 1 top-5 and 4
top-10 finishes in 18 starts to record a career best finish of 17th in the
SK Modified® points standings. Osella’s previous career best points finish
was a 21st place finish last season.
Mark Lewis drove the #38 Industrial Electric and Construction Ford to 1
top-5 and 7 top-10 finishes during the 2005 season to finish a career best
12th in the Late Model points standings. The 2002 Stafford Late Model
Rookie of the Year posted a career best finish 3rd on August 26th, and he
missed finishing in the top-10 of the Late Model points standings by 85
points.
The Reliable Welding & Speed Rookie of the Year awards were presented by
Brad and Linda Hietala of Reliable Welding and Speed to Keith Rocco from the
SK Modified® division and Ryan Libby from the Late Model division. The
awards will be worth a $700.00 bonus to Rocco and $500.00 to Libby from
Reliable Welding and Speed. Both drivers received equipment bags and
trophies signifying their Rookie of the Year awards.
Keith Rocco took over the driving duties of the familiar #78 JG Poulin
Drywall Pontiac that Chuck Docherty previously drove, and he posted his
first career win on July 24th. Along with his first win, Rocco posted 4
top-5 and 13 top-10 finishes and he finished the 2005 season in 7th place in
the SK Modified® points standings, only 10 points behind Jeff Baral, who was
sixth.
Ryan Libby drove the #46 Libby Racing Chevrolet to a single top-10 finish on
August 5th, and after being locked in a tight rookie battle with John
Warren, he outpointed Warren over the final races of the 2005 season to win
Rookie of the Year honors. Libby finished the season in 18th place in the
final Late Model points rundown.
The winners of the Most Popular Driver Awards were Woody Pitkat from the SK
Modified® division, Ed Ricard from the Late Model division, Michael Bennett
from the Limited Late Model division, and David Gambacorta from the DARE
Stock division.
For more information about the 2005 Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards
Ceremony, or to order a video of the night’s festivities, contact the
Stafford Motor Speedway’s track office at (860) 684-2783 or visit us on the
web at www.staffordspeedway.com.

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