Welcome to Keith ROCCO Racing.  

2007 Thompson Speedway Champion

    Four victories in 2007 at the Stafford Motor Speedway

Keith ROCCO Racing would like to welcome Vasel Brothers Inc. (Road Builders) of Berlin CT as a sponsor for the 2008 season

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

From everyone at Keith ROCCO Racing

and

Happy New YEAR!

 November 2 +3: Concord Speedway, North-South Shootout.  Friday Keith and the Bannister Motorsports, M&M Stone Solutions, WheelerAuto, Mardi Gras, Wagon Wheel, Pettit Racing Engines#6 qualified 3rd.  Keith moved to the front during the feature and was spun while leading the race.  The team pitted for four tires and Keith quickly moved from last to 5th in 8 laps.  While going for 4th place, Keith was pushed into the wall, ending what started out as a great day.  A 15th place was the official finishing position.

The early going featured a torrid battle between rivals Pitkat and Keith Rocco. Pitkat had easily assumed the lead over Doug Coby at the start of the event; however, a pair of quick early cautions found Rocco in contention. The third caution of the event flew on lap 12 and eliminated several potential contenders including Kerry Malone, Kenny Horton, and Rick Kluth. When racing resumed it was again Pitkat holding off Rocco. The battle intensified with the race at speed. Thompson Sunoco Modified champion Rocco was glued to the bumper of Pitkat.

Rocco dove low on lap 14 in an attempt to get the lead but a slip allowed Pitkat a bit of breathing room and nearly opened the door for a charging Ted Christopher. Pitkat had started to stretch his lead when the yellow flew once again on lap 20 when Shaun Carrig and Richie Evans, Jr. got together on the frontstretch.

After the ensuing restart, the best battled on the track was for the third position between Christopher and Blewett. On lap 21, Blewett had taken over the position and headed for Rocco. At the halfway marker it was Pitkat showing the way over Rocco, Blewett, Christopher and Jeff Malave inside the top five.

Rocco was set to strike after halfway. A bold move to the inside of Pitkat made Rocco the new leader on lap 26. His reign was short-lived though as contact with Pitkat sent the leader spinning. Pitkat was sent to the tail of the field for his actions. Blewett was the new leader when the racing went back to green on lap 28. The running order found Malave, Tommy Farrell III and Waterford Speedbowl SK Modified champion Rob Janovic inside the top five. It was not clear sailing for Blewett at the head of the pack. He immediately came under fire from Christopher. On lap 30, Christopher used the bottom groove to make his move around Blewett to take over the top spot. Blewett, however, battled back. He was able to dive low under Christopher on lap 32. The two made contact; resulting in a spin by Christopher. The yellow flew immediately. On the restart, Blewett was again the leader, this time with Farrell lined up on his bumper followed by Malave, Janovic, and now Steven Reed. Meanwhile both Rocco and Pitkat were making tracks back to the front. When racing resumed Blewett was able to gain a sizeable advantage over Farrell as he has his hands full with Malave.

The second attempt at lap 32 was halted when early leader Pitkat came to rest in turn four with a flat tire. When the lap was finally recorded, Blewett was again gaining ground at the head of the thinning field. He had a ten-car length advantage on Farrell. Rocco was back inside the top ten and looking for more. The battle for the fourth had begun to heat up between Janovic and Reed.

Despite great efforts by Reed, Janovic was able to maintain his position. Rocco saw his bid for a win come to an end in a scary looking crash in the dog leg to bring out the event’s tenth caution. His #6 road the wall for nearly 100 yards with the crowd clearly seeing the number on his roof. With attrition claiming half of the field, the race resumed on lap 40 with Blewett leading Farrell, Malave, Janovic, and Reed. A fully recovered Christopher lurked just outside the top five. Blewett, again, was easily able to pull away from Farrell on the restart.

With only ten laps remaining, Christopher was on a mission. He started his methodical march back to the front; breaking into the top five on lap 42. He grabbed fourth from Janovic on lap 43 and the third position from Malave. The event’s final caution was a temporary stay for Farrell. Christopher was back in the second position before the completion of lap 45. Blewett had moved out to a five car length advantage. Christopher’s black and green #81 loomed larger and larger in Blewett’s mirror with each passing lap. Christopher had run out of time and Blewett had won the SK-Type Modified portion of the 5th Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout presented by Town & Country Ford by less than a car length. Christopher had to settle for second over Farrell, Malave, and Janovic.

October 14:  Thompson Speedway, At the World Series Keith drive the M&M Stone Solutions #57.  A hole in the radiator ends his day early with a 27th palce finish.  A special thanks to Mark and Mike Payne for letting Keith drive the M&M Stone Solutions #57.  Next stop Concord North Carolina (The North-South Shootout).

September 30:  Stafford Motor Speedway, A 9th place finish does not describe all of the hard work that went into this weekend.  A hard crash during the heat race on Saturday created a lot of work, but showed how good this team and driver actually are.  With his 9th place finish Keith and the Poulin Racing #78 clinched third place in the 2007 point standings at the Stafford Motor Speedway.  Congratulations to everyone involved, and THANK YOU to everyone who made this possible.  A special thanks to Jean and Brigette Poulin for taking a chance on a kid three years ago, who had little to no Modified experience.

September 22:  Waterford Speedbowl, Keith has a disappointing 22nd after running in the top 5 all day.

September 21:  Stafford Motor Speedway, Keith WINS 4th race on the final Friday night.

The 40-lap SK Modified® feature took the green with Willie Hardie leading the first two laps of the race before Lloyd Agor moved out front. Agor held the lead until lap-6 when Jeff Malave moved out front. Malave's pass allowed Keith Rocco and Ted Christopher to both move by Agor, dropping him from the lead to fourth place. Agor would continue to backslide as Woody Pitkat and Brad Hietala moved into the fourth and fifth positions. The race ran green to lap-32 before the first caution came out and erased a sizeable lead for Malave. Malave would hold the race lead until lap-38 when he drifted up the track just enough in turn 4 to allow Rocco to dive to the bottom and take the lead. The caution came back out and set up a green white checkered finish. Rocco took the lead on the restart with Ted Christopher and Malave locked in a side by side duel for second. That side by side action gave Rocco all the cushion he needed as he took his fourth feature win of the 2007 season. Christopher finished second, with Pitkat, Malave, and Doug Coby rounding out the top-5.

  Keith and the Poulin Racing 78

September 20:  Thompson Speedway, Keith battles back from a heat race accident to finish 5th and clinch the Thompson Speedway Championship for 2007.  

Thompson, CT (September 20, 2007): A season packed with racing excitement at Thompson International Speedway came down to the final night with champions crowned in all six NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions. At the night’s end, Woody Pitkat of Stafford made his first appearance in Sunoco Modified victory lane. But, it was Keith Rocco of Wallingford who drove his Bannister Motorsports #6 to a fifth place finish to earn the team their second championship in three seasons.

 Woody Pitkat of Stafford saved the best for last; earning his lone feature win in the finale. After a 2007 season of consistent finishes, Pitkat was in the running for the track title on the final night. He took the lead just after halfway and withstood heavy pressure from Kerry Malone to score the victory; however it was not enough to catch the point leader Rocco.

 An opening lap melee that started with contact in the front row ended with Masse hard into the outside wall in the turn one. Also collected were championship contenders Keith Rocco and Tommy Cravenho as well as Bert Marvin. With the race underway, Geoff Gernhard was the early leader with Josh Steeves coming along for the ride in second.

 Steeves made a move on Gernhard to take the lead on lap four with Malone and Pitkat battling hard for the third spot. A pair of laps later, Pitkat was able to race ahead of Gernhard to take over the second spot. Malone put the young driver back to fourth. Meanwhile, Cravenho and Rocco were making their way back to the front. On lap 10, Cravenho was sixth and Rocco eighth.

 Up front, Steeves continued to lead Pitkat. Malone ran in second a comfortable margin ahead of Gernhard. On lap 13, Cravenho joined the top five. Rocco mirrored his moves to run in the sixth position. The #0 of Danny LeJeunesse came to rest on the backstretch on lap 14 to bring out the second caution. The restart pitted Steeves against Pitkat for the top spot.

 Steeves was up for the challenge and held on to the lead on the race. On lap 16, Pitkat got a run Steeves to take over the top spot. Steeves bobbled after contact with Pitkat; opening the door for Malone. Steeves was shuffled back into third. Cravenho had cleared Gernhard to move into the fourth. Rocco made his first appearance in the top-five on lap 21.

 Malone tailed Pitkat lap after lap while Cravenho was getting racy for third. Despite the efforts of both Malone and Cravenho they had to settle back in line. At the checkers, it was Pitkat in for the win over Malone. Steeves edged out Cravenho by inches to finish third. The newly crowned champion Rocco rounded out the top five.

*Keith and Keith ROCCO Racing would like to thank Don Bannister and the entire crew of the Bannister Motorsports #6 and the following sponsors and associates for a dream season:  INTERSTATE DIESEL, Wheeler Auto, Mardi Gras, The Wagon Wheel Resturant, Champs Discount Liquors, Phil's Dental, The Joie of Seating, and Pettit Racing Engines.  A special thanks go out to Jean and Brigette Poulin.  Last but not least a very special Thanks go out to Mom, Dad, Jeff, and Jessica for always being there.

September 15:  Waterford Speedbowl, a flat tire kept Keith from finishing the race.  When it was all said and done, Keith finished 15th.

September 14:  Stafford Motor Speedway, Keith and the Poulin Racing were fast in practice with a 19.083 second lap.  Keith won his Heat race.  During the feature Keith started moving through the field when a car hit the turn two wall and bounced off Keith's right front braking the tie rod.  Keith brought the car to a stop on the front stretch, but it was determined by the officials that he intentionally caused the caution.  A quick caution and a three lap penalty put Keith down four laps.  Staying away from the action and staying out of trouble Keith brought the 78 home in 13th place. 

September 13:  Keith and the Bannister Motorsports Team finish 2nd.

 Kerry Malone of Needham, MA saw it all en route to his third Sunoco Modified win of the season. He nearly spun, took the lead, and his car was suspected of leaking fluid. But in the end, Malone was dry all the way to the checkered flag.

 For the second week in a row the points were shaken up atop the Sunoco Modified point standings. With his runner-up finish, Keith Rocco took over the points lead by 14 points over a tie for second between Tommy Cravenho and Woody Pitkat.

 After a pair of attempts at a start, pole sitter Steve Masse showed the way through lap two before relinquishing the top spot to Woody Pitkat. The first caution flew almost immediately for a spin by Eric Goodale. Back under green, it was a three-car breakaway at the head of the pack with Pitkat holding the top spot over Kerry Malone and Keith Rocco.

 There was a tense moment on lap eight when Rocco made contact with Malone. In a great display of driving Malone was able to gather up his racecar losing only a position to Rocco. Further back in the pack, a spin brought out the event’s second yellow. Bert Marvin headed down pit road under the caution period.

 Rocco did the slide job moving Pitkat up the race track a bit in an effort to muscle away the lead. The shuffling at the head of the pack had a chain reaction near mid-pack with racecars scattering. The then-point leader Cravenho suffered some significant damage; however, he was able to continue. On the restart, Pitkat resumed his lead while Malone was able to take the second spot away from Rocco. Buddy Charette was running strong in the fourth position, holding off last week’s winner Ceravolo.

 At halfway, the top three ran nose to tail while Danny Cates made it a three car battle for the fourth spot. On lap 16, Malone got up alongside leader Pitkat. He was able to make the pass in turn one of lap 17. A half a lap later, Pitkat spun on his own in turn four.

 Charette watched his good run end up against the turn four wall to bring out the caution on lap 23. When racing went back to green again, Malone was able to motor out to a 10-car length lead over Rocco, who enjoyed a similar lead on Ceravolo. Pitkat meanwhile was making tracks through the field. He passed Ricky Shawn to break into the top five. On lap 28, he passed Cates to move into fourth.

 In the end, it was a strong win for Malone. Rocco had another great run to finish in the second position. Last week’s winner Ceravolo came home third. Pitkat recovered from his early incident to finish fourth. Cates rounded out the top five. Ricky Shawn, who struggled this season, finally had some luck on his side to finish sixth. Cravenho’s luck had run out as he salvaged a 13^th place finish but relinquished the point lead.

September 9:  Thompson Speedway, Keith and the Bannister Motorsports team finish 3rd in the rain shortened 50 lapper.  A 1st, 2nd, 3rd weekend. 

September 8:  Waterford Speedbowl, Keith qualified second in the Bannister Motorsports # 6, and then hopped on I395 to Waterford.  A second place finish in his heat race gave him a good handicapped starting spot.  Keith had a very good run in the feature only getting beat by Dennis Gada 6 time track champion and 54 time feature winner.  Keith's 2nd place finish  was his best so far at the Speedbowl.  Keith Rocco Racing would like thank Mark and Mike Payne of M&M Home Solutions for the opportunity to drive the M&M Motorsports #57 at the Waterfor Speedbowl.

September 7:  Stafford Motor Speedway, Keith and the Poulin Racing #78 get their third WIN of the season.  "Never give up", is what the team did Friday night.  The car was not good in practice, or in the heat race, Keith, Jeff, Shane and Ricky put their heads together and made many changes before the feature.  Keith started 6th and quickly moved his way to the front.  Once he was in the front he pulled away by 8 car lengths.  This was Keith's third win at Stafford and his 7th overall this season.  A busy weekend ahead, Keith will qualify the Bannister Motorsports #6 on Saturday, and then he will drive to Speedbowl to run The M&M Motorsports #57. 

September 1:  Waterford Speedbowl, Keith finishes 10th in the first 25 lap feature after getting spun out of third place with 1 lap to go.  Keith was running away with the second feature of the night until a late caution tightened up the pack.  Keith held on for a 3rd place finish. 

August 31:  Stafford Motor Speedway, Keith finishes 10th after a controversial call knocks him out of the top 5. 

August 30:  Thompson Speedway, Keith and the Bannister Motorsports Team WIN the 50 lap Feature.  Details to follow: 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DON!

August 25:  Waterford Speedbowl, Keith finishes 6th in his second appearance at the Speedbowl.  Every lap, Keith is looking stronger and stronger in the M&M Racing # 57.  Keith and the team are looking forward to the "Double Down Shootout" coming up on September 1st.

August 24:  Stafford Motor Speedway.  Keith and the Poulin Racing team finish 6th.  After moving up to 4th, a tight race car and tire problems caused Keith to fall back to 6th. 

August 23:  Thompson Speedway,  Keith and the Bannister Motorsports crew finish 2nd.

You could have heard a pin drop when the Sunoco Modified drivers filed side-by-side to the infield. Front row starters Josh Steeves and Danny Cates lowered the flag to half mast before track announcer Russ Dowd gave a heartfelt tribute to John and Reverend Don Rivers led the crowd in prayer. With the safety lights on all the track vehicles, Karen Lussier delivered a tender rendition of the National Anthem. A flag, still all night, waved effortlessly during the Sunoco Modified main event.

 Cates immediately motored out to a sizable lead over Steeves and Steve Masse. A scary moment near the start of the race saw the red flag flying. On lap three, Ricky Shawn launched over the tire of Bert Marvin sending his car flipping, making a complete rotation, before landing on his wheels and hitting the wall in turn three. Shawn was not hurt in the incident.

 The youngsters Cates and Steeves vied for the lead when racing resumed. Their time at the head of the pack was short-lived with Kerry Malone on the move. In a half lap, Kerry Malone was the new leader. After freeing himself from Masse, he took second from Cates in turn one of lap four, he took the lead from Steeves exiting turn two. Steeves continued to run in second while Masse had his hands full with Keith Rocco. Cates began to fall back.

 Tommy Cravenho, who started deep in the pack after being involved in a heat race incident, was working his way through the pack. Marvin had begun to work his way back toward the front as well. After a disqualification in the heat, Pitkat was making tracks from deep in the field.

 The mount of Glen Griswold went up in smoke to bring out the second caution of the event. A chain of events on the ensuing restart found James Harrison hard into the outside wall. Todd Ceravolo and Pat Moreau were also involved. The restart at the halfway marker pitted Kerry Malone against Steeves with Rocco laying in wait in third. Malone easily resumed his spot at the head of the pack while Steeves and Rocco battled. Rocco came out on top of an aggressive battle for the second spot on lap 17.

 Pitkat and Masse made contact in turn two. Both cars slid out of the corner with Masse eventually losing the handle. The remainder of the pack was able to avoid the spinning Masse. Pitkat lined up in the fourth position on the restart behind leader Malone, Rocco and Steeves. Tommy Cravenho rounded out the top five with ten laps to go.

 The race was set for an exciting finish after the restart that found Malone and Rocco on the front row. Malone got a great run to retain his lead. Pitkat made quick work of Steeves to move into the third spot. Pitkat dove low in turn one in search of the second spot, to no avail. Rocco was able to maintain the position. Malone could not get any breathing room despite the battling between Rocco and Pitkat. Equally as exciting was the battle for the third spot as Marvin and Cravenho did battle.

 Over the final two laps, things settled down with the top five going nose to tail. Malone ran to the checkers a wisp ahead of Rocco. Pitkat was glued to the bumper of the #6 as they streaked to the checkers. Marvin topped the secondary battle taking fourth over Cravenho.

 In victory lane Malone dedicated his win to John Blewett. “I will miss racing with him,” said Malone. “I will miss that twinkle in his eyes. God Bless John Blewett.”

August 18: Waterford Speedbowl, Keith finishes 12th in his Speedbowl debut.

August 17: Stafford Motor Speedway, rained out.

August 16: Thompson Speedway, Keith finishes 12th. 

August 11:  Stafford Motor Speedway, Keith has a 17th place finish.  After starting in the eigth position, Keith moved his way up to third.  After a lap 29 restart keith started to slow down and fall back.  While running in the sixth spot with four laps to go Keith lost grip and spun.  With only 4 laps remaining, Keith opted not to pit and finished 17th.  The problem was a bad right front tire which was chunking apart.  Luckily Keith was able to complete the race without damaging the car.

August 9:  Thompson Speedway, Keith and the Bannister Motorsports Team WIN their third feature of the season. 

Rocco checked out from Tom Cravenho Jr. held and easily won the 30-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series SK Modified feature Thursday at Thompson.

August 3:  Stafford Motor Speedway, Keith and Poulin Racing Team had a strong third place finish.  Getting shuffled to the back early on Keith showed some incredible patience as he slowly and methodically moved his way to the front.  Driving through two wrecks, Keith showed you can still get to the front by using your head and knowing who you're racing.

August 2: Thompson Speedway, Keith and the Bannister Motorsports team finish 6th. 

July 27: Stafford Motor Speedway, Keith fights back after an early accident and a pit stop to finish an impressive 5th.  Being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Keith and the Poulin racing crew were caught up in someone elses accident.  With some great pit work and some key adjustments, Keith was able to move into fifth position before the laps ran out.

July 26: Thompson Speedway, Keith and the Bannister Motorsports Team finish 4th. 

July 20: Stafford Motor Speedway, Coors Light 100.  Keith was good in practice, won his heat.  In the feature Keith started 9th and steadily marched to the front, on lap 28 Keith was sent to the rear on questionable call while going for the lead.  Keith worked his way from deep in the pack.  While running 4th with 21 laps to good the #78 suffered a blown engine.  From this point on the race turned into a circus.  Keith has shown that he is the driver to beat every week, both at Stafford and Thompson.

July 19: Thompson Speedway, Rained out 

July 14: Full Fender Frenzy, 7th and 15th (Ministock #67)

             Keith WINS second feature of the year!

 July 13: Stafford Motor Speedway, Friday the 13th.  Keith scores his 2nd win of the season at SMS and his forth overall.

The 40-lap SK Modified® feature saw Keith Rocco take down his second SK Modified® feature win of the 2007 season. The lead was swapped fast and furiously at the start of the race with Kerry Malone leading lap-1, Brad Hietala leading lap-2, and then Frank Ruocco leading lap-3. Ruocco led the race until lap-31 when Keith Rocco moved past Ruocco to take over the lead. A caution with 32 laps complete slowed the field and set up a series of restarts that saw Woody Pitkat and then Ruocco put back a row for jumping the restarts. This put Ted Christopher alongside Rocco for the restart, but Ruocco got under Christopher on the restart for second while Rocco continued to set the pace out front. Christopher got back around Ruocco for second place on lap-38, but couldn't make a pass on Rocco for the victory. Christopher finished second, with Pitkat, Ruocco, and Ronnie Silk rounding out the top-5.

JULY6 : Stafford Motor Speedway, Keith was fast in practice, due to rain there would be no heat races.  An eigth place starting spot would turn into the lead early.  Keith lead up until lap 30 when he was past by Ted Christopher.  While battling for second, contact was made and Keith ended up in the turn three wall.  With some good pit work, the crew was able to get Keith back out on the track.  Keith would finish one lap down in 12th.

JULY 5 : Thompson Speedway, Keith WINS second feature of the season.  Details to follow.

  Keith & Don                        Victory Lane Interview                                  Happy Victory Lane

Keith Rocco of Wallingford, CT was in the middle of controversy during the Sunoco Modified main event but on center stage at its conclusion.  A wild moment found Rocco on the receiving end of some extra-curricular activities late in the race.  Rocco handled the pressure and the rest of the competition to score his second win of the season.

 Harry Rheaume showed the way in the opening laps followed by Danny Cates, Bert Marvin and Jimmy Blewett.  Just outside of the top five lurked the likes of Tommy Cravenho, Jo. Blewett, and Keith Rocco.  The sparks were flying as the cars jockeyed for position. The racing was slowed on lap three by a caution for a single car spin by Eric Goodale. On the ensuing restart Marvin moved ahead of Cates and set his sites on Rheaume. Marvin was able to drive around Rheaume for the lead on lap five. 

 Jimmy Blewett moved into third ahead of Cates on the next circuit. John Blewett ran in fifth but was looking for more as he too battled with Cates.  Keith Rocco joined the fray catching Jo. Blewett in fifth.  The second caution flew on lap 10 when Kerry Malone and Buddy Charette tangled exiting turn two. 

 On the restart, Marvin jumped out to the lead taking Ji. Blewett along for the ride.  Blewett made a run on Marvin but the action was halted for an incident that involved Shelly Perry, Eric Goodale, Brian Tagg and others. 

 Marvin was again the man to beat on the restart getting the edge on Ji. Blewett. Rheaume held strong in third.  Just as Blewett was making his run on the leader Marvin, the lead the race was slowed again when the Josh Steeves came to rest in turn three.  The ensuing restart set off a chain reaction that claimed a number of cars including Josh Steeves, Brett LeBlanc, and Ricky Shawn.

 The restart gave Ji. Blewett the opening that he needed.  Marvin and Blewett went side-by-side for nearly a lap before Blewett assumed his place at the head of the pack on lap 13.

 Another quick caution and a subsequent attempt at the restart was called back. Under the caution John Blewett headed down pit road for service. Once back under green, Ji. Blewett took control of the race once again.  Tommy Cravenho and Keith Rocco were locked in a battle for the third spot while Woody Pitkat sat in fifth. 

 Marvin dogged Blewett running the outside groove in search of the lead once again. Ji. Blewett appeared to bobble entering turn three opening the door for Marvin and Rocco.  Contact between the three leaders ended with the leader Marvin with contact with outside wall on the front stretch.  An additional on track incident found Marvin ejected from the event.  Ji. Blewett headed down pit road for repairs.

 When racing finally resumed, Rocco was the new leader.  Pitkat gave Rocco a run on the restart but could not make the pass. Todd Ceravolo was able to take over the second spot from Pitkat.  Pitkat, however, after regaining his composure successfully went back after Ceravolo. Pitkat ran in second again on lap 24. Meanwhile Rocco began to check out on the field. 

 Things settled down over the closing laps with Rocco handily taking his second win of the season over Pitkat and Ceravalo. Cravenho and Cates rounded out the top five. 

 JUNE 29 :  Stafford Motor Speedway, Keith was fast in practice, won his heat,and had an impressive 3rd place finish.  Keith had a great start, but got caught up in the top 2's mess and ended up with a right front flat and the tow knocked out.  The 78 crew changed the tire, but were unable to adjust the toe due to not having enough time.  Keith worked his way back to the front and ended up 3rd with some serious toe out.  Great run and another top 3 finish.

JUNE 28: Thompson Speedway, Rained Out.

JUNE 22: Stafford Motor Speedway, Keith was fast in practice and was going to start on the pole in the first heat, but "Mother Nature" won and the rains came. 

JUNE 21: Thompson Speedway, Keith finishes third with another strong run in the Bannister Motorsports #6.  Keith started 10th and moved up to the front quickly with some exciting bottom shot moves.  With this strong finish Keith moves into 5th in points.  If you want to see some exciting edge of your seat racing, go to Thompson Speedway on Thursdays, where you'll see the best short track racing in the country.

**Keith Rocco Racing would like to thank Don Bannister and following sponsors for helping him get his first win of the season at the Thompson Speedway:

Interstate Diesel Equipment, Wheelers Auto, Champs Discount Liquors, Mardi Gras, Wagon Wheel Resturant, Pettit Racing Engines, and the entire Bannister Motorsports crew - Shane, Cooter, Randy, Tommy, Alex, Jeff, Homer, Ed, Chris, and Barry.

June 15: Stafford Motor Speedway, The Poulin Racing #78 suffered mechanical problems during the pace lap, and by the time Keith could come in he lost a lap, then he lost another six laps when the crew changed the drive flange on the right rear.  Keith and the 78 crew used the reainder of the feature as a tuning session.  At the end Keith finished 18th.

Keith WINS June 14th 30 lap feature at Thompson Speedway:

Keith Rocco of Wallingford, CT wired the field to score his first Thompson win of the ’07 season in a caution-marred Sunoco Modified main event. After several ill-attempts at lap one, outside pole sitter Rocco was able to drive out to the lead. Rocco enjoyed some breathing room as Jo. Blewett and Woody Pitkat struggled to get by Harry Rheaume in the second spot.

 After finally freeing himself of Rheaume, Jo. Blewett spun on the backstretch coming to rest in the infield. An attempt at the restart was thwarted when Danny Lajeunesse hit the wall in turn one. While the cars where slowing down for the caution, Rheaume went low, directly into the path of oncoming Ceravolo, launching his #15 into the air. Jimmy Blewett was also collected. 

 Back under green, Rocco resumed his spot at the head of the field but not before some contact with Woody Pitkat.  A spin by James Harrison brought out the event’s next caution. Not to be deterred, Rocco was out front again on the restart. Tommy Cravenho was now in second with Bert Marvin and Kerry Malone in hot pursuit.  Ted Christopher, driving the Joe Lemay owned #00, took over the fifth position from Pitkat. 

 Cravenho was giving Rocco a run for the top spot with Marvin glued to the back bumper. 

The action was hot inside the top five while the battle was just as fierce from fifth on back with Christopher, Pitkat and a fully-recovered Jo. Blewett.

 Just after the halfway marker, things settled down with Rocco getting a bit of distance on Cravenho and Marvin.  Christopher had caught Malone, who had, for a time, run alone in fourth.  With only nine laps remaining, Marvin was given the black flag for a fluid leak. With the aid of another yellow, Marvin was able to make repairs and rejoin the field.

 A spin by Rheaume brought out a caution that Rocco did not want to see with seven laps remaining on the scoreboard.  Cravenho made a good run on Rocco’s lead on the ensuing restart but could not muster up enough for the pass. Losing some momentum, Cravenho lost second to Malone. Contact with Christopher sent Cravenho reeling. By that time, Malone got a great run and put some heat on Rocco. 

June 8: Stafford Motor Speedway, Keith finishes 16th.  Not a good night for the SK Modifieds, 40 laps 1 hour and 10 minutes.  Keith did a great job with only getting minimal damage through the first three cautions (front bumper, nerf bar and a tire).  When things finally sorted out, Keith was making a strong run to the front.  Running seventh and challenging for sixth Keith was a victim of a mechanical failure (either a broken rotor or a cut right front tire).  The car was heavily damaged, but as usual Keith worked all night and then delivered the chassis to Chassis Dynamics early Saturday morning. 

June 7: Thompson Speedway, Keith finishes 5th.  Flat tire, blown tranny and still a top five.  Keith is getting faster and faster each week, it's just a matter of time before he goes to victory lane.

June 1: Stafford Motor Speedway, just an average night.  Keith was fast in practice, but a little too free.  The heat race was better, but still free.  The feature was strange, Keith moved up to 8th from his 13th starting position, but was spun out and had to go to the rear.  After pitting for adjustments Keith moved his way up to 12th, but couldn't go any further.  Hi-light of the race was having the fast time at 19.199 sec, and moving up to 5th in points.

May 31: Thompson Speedway, Keith was fast in practice and dominated his heat race.  Then the rains came.  Features will be run next week. 

May 25: Stafford Motor Speedway, the Mod tour was here which means one practice and no heats.  Keith was fifth fastest in practice and would start the feature in 15th.  On lap three there was a caution and the track was oiled and watered down.  After many pace laps and some hot laps the track was ready to go.  After going back to green the feature would go 34 straight laps before caution number two.  During ths 34 lap segment, Keith steadily moved his way up to seventh position.  Two competitors were sent to pit road for dumping fluids on the track during the 34 lap section.  Keith was able to pick up one more spot on the last re-start and finished the race in 6th position.  Considering the track condition and only two cautions, Keith did a great job of getting to the front.  Congratulations to Bo Gunning on his victory and congratulations to Mike Pettit and Pettit Racing engines. 

May24 :  Thompson, the fasted car doesn't always win.  Keith was on his way to a top two finish when an overaggresive driver drove into his left rear and spun him out coming off turn four.  Luckily no one else made contact with Keith.  Keith now had to go to the rear and as luck will have it the race would go 16 laps without a caution.  Keith drove hard and passed the most cars, and ended up finishing a solid 8th. 

*Keith WINS the May11th 40 lap feature at The Stafford Motor Speedway*

Dialing the car in on May11          In-car camera for NESN

Outcome first WIN of 2007

**Keith ROCCO Racing would like to thank Jean Guy and Brigitte Poulin for awesome equipment and an awesome opportunity.  Our first win of the 2007 season was also AWESOME!!!  KRR would like to thank the following:

JG Poulin Drywall, Marcel Poulin and Son, Stebben's Auto Body, Textured Ceilings, Pettit Racing Engines, and The Joie of Seating.  Last but not least, KRR would like to Thank the entire crew of the 78.

Keith finishes 3rd in the first 25 lap feature.  Day two postponed one week due to weather. 

  The Bannister Motorsports crew in Tech after the 3rd place finish.

  Shane, Keith and Jeff discuss changes to make the car better.  Now they'll have a week to think about it.  The second 25 lap feature will be Sunday April 22nd.  Starting in the third position for the feature, Shane will have Keith ready to move to the front.

Saturday April 21st: Stafford practice.  Brake problems slowed Keith in the first two practices.  Determination allowed him to go as fast as a 19.252 in the last practices, which put him in the top 4 for the day.

The 78 car ready for practice (April 21, 2007)

Sunday April 22nd: Part 2 of the Thompson Icebreaker was not as kind as Part 1.  Keith was put into the wall on lap 4, by an overagressive competitor.  By the end of the race, that competitor came off the track with double wreckers.  What goes around comes around.  Next Thompson race will be Thursday May 24th.

April 28th and 29th: "The Spring Sizzler"  Fast in practice, good qualifing run and a not so good starting spot (15th).  The race was short lived, on lap 4, on his way to the front, Keith was taken out by a rookie making a rookie mistake.  As they say, "That's racing".  Racing starts this Friday with Staffords weekly events, and Thompson will start on Thursday May 24th.

  Going over the scales                               After the wreck

May 4: Stafford, the car was fast in practice, and we had a good Heat race run.  In the feature Keith started 15th, moved up to 9th before being called as an accident car and having to re-start at the back of the pack.  With some good coaching from Shane and some excellent driving from Keith the Poulin Racing 78 finished the race in a strong 4th place finish.  Everyone is looking forward to next Friday night.

  Ready for a fast Friday                      A good 4th place finish

Check out more pictures on the photo page.

KRR would like to welcome from Springfield Mass as an additional sponsor on the Interstate Diesel #6 at the Thompson Speedway for 2007.

Follow Keith Rocco as he runs full schedules at the Thompson Speedway and at Stafford Motor Speedway.  Also stay tuned as Keith plans on running some selective races at the Waterford Speedbowl.

Keith and Joe Pelham of The Joie of Seating