Keith ROCCO Racing Home of "Kid Roc"

What's new for 2009?

Keith to run another busy schedule in 2009. Look for Keith to be running 3 tracks, with some Late Model races at the "Bowl". Also look for Keith to running some Tour Type Mod events throughout the season.

2009 News:

October 11,2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - With the Championship on the line, it lokked like Keith had everything under control, when a $25 part broke on the rear. Keith did a great job of holding second until the caution came out. Keith would be left in the pits, it what seemed to be the quickest caution of the day (The red/yellow was never thrown, which was after 3 laps, then one more courtesy, not sure what happened there, the event was caution filled, and definitely the worse feature of the day.) Keith would come back out 24 laps down in 17th place. The M&M Motorsports Team would like to Congratulate Ron Yuhas on the Championship, and his Team on a flawless season.

October 4 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Keith and the Wheeler Automotive #88 capture their 6th WIN of the season.

October 3 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Rained out. Keith and the M&M Motorsports Team take a six point lead into the final on October 11.

September 26 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Keith and the M&M Motorsports Team have another solid Top-3 finish with a 3rd.

September 24 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Keith and the Bannister Motorsports # 6 finish 2nd and claim their 2nd Championship in three years. Great Job to the entire Bannister Motorsports crew.

September 19 2009 - New Hampshire International Speedway - Early afternoon - Keith and the TS Haulers #12 started 3rd and were in the wrong lane and ended up falling back to 12th. With multiple cautions Keith and the TS Haulers Team marched steadily to the front. At lap 50 Keith was running 3rd when the caution would fly and the leaders would pit. Now deep in the field Keith would struggle as the new tires did not match the first set and the car was extemely loose. Keith still battling, would end up caught up in someone elses caution and would finish multiple laps down in the 30's.

Waterford Speedbowl - Late afternoon into the evening - Keith would make the 2 1/2 hour trip down from New Hampshire in time for the heat races. While Keith was tring to get into the 4th position when the driver he was battling with him, ran him up the race track, which briefly opened the bottle groove for another competitor making three wide, which never works. Keith would make hard contact with the 4th turn fence. Week after week it seems loke the same driver is causing multiple issues and the track looks with a blind eye, if this keeps happening, the track can forget their car counts because competitors will go elsewhere. Now the TEAM had to swap to the back-up car, which Mark had qualified 5th in the first heat. Seats were changed, carbs where changed, set-ups were altered and the TEAM had about 2 hours until the feature. The TEAM finished with about one half hour to spare. Keith would start 16th and "Molly" would perform. By race end Keith ended up 4th, but if you looked at starting position and finishing position Keith was the only car in the top six to pass any cars (12 cars). This finish was as good as a win, since it was an entire team effort and we came out gaining points toward the championship

September 18 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Keith and the Wheeler's Auto #88 go back to the basic and Win another steller battle with Ted Christopher. As many that saw the race, said "Keith won TC style". This was Keith's 5th Win at Stafford this year, his 14th Win of the season and his 40th career win in the SK Modified division.

September 17 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Keith comes back from New Hampshire to finish 3rd in the Bannister Motorsports # 6, now his point lead is 4 with one race to go.

September 17 2009 - NHIS - Keith makes his NHIS debut and qualifies the TS Haulers #12 third.

September 16 2009 - Keith finished 2nd in the National Championship chase.

September 12 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Rained out (18th of season)

September 11 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Rained Out, Mother Nature wins, Keith's chances at a National Championship are gone.

September 10 2009 - Thompson Speedway - The beginning to an important weekend in the Nationals. Keith has another solid 3rd, but does not increase his National points. Still mathmatically in the hunt, Keith will need some help from Mother Nature.

September 5 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Double features with full fields could help Keith in the National Standings. A solid 4th place finish in the first feature moves Keith up 2 points in the Nationals, and a dominating Win in the second feature moves Keith up another 13 points in the Nationals. Back 19 points with one week to race.

September 4 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - A bad tire and getting caught in someone else mess leaves Keith with a 17th place finish.

September 3 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Keith starts out with a solid 3rd place finish in the Bannister Motorsports #6. In his first Mod Tour start of the season, Keith qualifies the TS Haulers #12 11th and has a very solid 5th place finish in the feature.

August 29 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Rained out.

August 28 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Rained out.

August 27 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Keith and the Bannister Motorsports Team were having a good night. While going for the lead Keith had to get back in line and contact was made with the third place car. In the next turn the third place car would get a flat and spin. Under caution the officials would decide that Keith caused the caution and he would have to restart at the rear of the field. Keith anfd the Bannister Motorsports # 6 would battle back grabbing 5th on the final lap. A good night was foiled by inconsistant officiating.

August 22 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - The night started out shakey as Keith was Black Flagged for rough riding. No one was spun and it was hardly rough riding, but some people don't know a good thing when it's right in front of them. Keith would start deep in the field and finish 7th. An out of control stagger would slow him down.

August 21 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Rained out.

August 20 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Keith and the Bannister Motorsports Team were running 1st going down the back stretchwhen they were intentionally moved out of both grooves. Keith held on to finish 4th, but I thought there was a new sheriff in town. I guess not.

August 15 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Keith and the M&M Motorsports Team were having a good night until the second place car, which was warned four times took out the leader and a few more front running cars. Keith was almost all the way through he was tagged from behind and sent spinning. Penalty for taking out half the field, rear of the pack. Something doesn't seem fair about that. Keith would rally back and finish 4th.

August 14 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Last week it was horsepower, this week it was handling. It just shows that you need the whole package to win at Stafford. Keith and the Wheelers Auto Team finish 8th.

August 13 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Rained Out.

August 8 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Keith leads wire to wire getting his 5th Win of the season in the M&M Motorsports #57.

August 7 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Horsepower makes a big difference. Keith drives his under powered SK Mod to a 12th place finish.

August 6 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Double feature night again at Thompson. In the first feature Keith and the Bannister Motorsports #6 finish 3rd. Keith and the Bannister #6 finish 3rd in the second feature. A good solid start to what is going to be a good weather weekend.

August 1 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Keith and the M&M Motorsports Team had another great night going until he was taken out by the "God son" with six laps to go. Keith would finish 18th. Maybe Keith should get away from being totally dominating to being ruff and tumble, you make the call.

July 31 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Rained out, the 12th rain out of the season between the three tracks.

July 30 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Double feature night, while running in the top three in the first feature Keith was put in the wall, and had to settle for a 15th place finish. The penalties need to be "an eye for an eye", not just put to the rear for taking someone out. The Bannister Motorsports had to thrash hard to get the car ready for the second feature. They did a great job and Keithbattled hard for a 3rd place finish.

July 25 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Keith and the M&M Motorsports Team were strong. While going for the white flag Keith had a good run on Jeff Pearl on the outside when the caution would fly. On the next re-start, Jeff Pearl took off early and Keith was hung on the outside of Ron Yuhas. Keith would hold on for 3rd and add to his impressive finishes at the Bowl.

July 24 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - One of the biggest races of the year at Stafford. Keith was being very patient and was running in the Top-4 with 30 laps to go, when all hopes went up in smoke in turn one as the the #88 lost it's motor. Keith would end up with a 23rd place finish.

July 23 2009 - Thompson Speedway - rained out

July 22 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Special Wednesday night program. Early in the race Keith and the M&M Motorsports Team were making their way to the front, when a car up front spun in the middle of turn one and turn two, it looked like Keith was going to make it through, when a car spun from the bottom groove and caught Keith in the left rear. After multiple pit stops Keith was able to move up to 7th. During the week it was found that a part on the rear was bent.

July 17 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - What a difference a night makes. Keith and the Wheelers Automotive Win in dominating fashion. This was was Keith's 4th Win at Stafford in 2009, Keith's 4th Win in the month of July, Keith's 11th Win of the season and Keith's 37th career modified Win.

July 16 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Running in the Top 3, Keith wrecked hard Woody Pitkat was bumped by a lapped car and Woody ended up hitting Keith and sending him hard into the turn 1 wall. Sometimes those racing incidents bite you hard. Keith ends up finishing 18th.

July 11, 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Stella is two-for-two. Keith WINS his second in a row in dominating fashion. A special Thanks go out Mark and Mike Pane.

July 10, 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Keith has another strong run and finishes 3rd. TC pulls off two in a row.

July 9, 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Keith and the Bannister Motorsports Team motor to their third WIN of the season as Keith out duels Ted Christopher for the WIN. This marks Keith's 9th WIN of the season and his 35th career modified win.

July 4, 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - The competitors at the Speedbowl were seein "Double Vision" Saturday night as there were two #57's. Keith was running the new Troyer car and Jeff made his SK Modified debut in the regular #57. Keith and the M&M Motorsports Team set fast time, and started 6th in the feature. Keith would move to front quickly and dominate the night with his third WIN of the season at Waterford. "STELLA" is back (the Troyer car that carried Keith to the 2007 Thompson Championship). Let's not forget Jeff, he was moving into the Top 10 with 30 laps to go when he was bit by the wall coming off the forth turn, but up until that point Jeff showed he has what it takes as his fastest lap was faster than two past Champions.

July 3, 2009- Stafford Motor Speedway - Keith and the Wheeler's Automotive # 88 was running strong when late race contact caused Keith to spin. With some quick pit work Keith and the #88 finished 13th in the last 6 laps.

July 2,2009- Thompson Speedway - Rained out

June 27 2009- Waterford Speedbowl- Keith and the M&M Motorsports Team record another top three finish with a 3rd place finish. Sometimes it doesn't pay to be a nice guy, next time the hammer is going to drop.

June 26 2009- Stafford Motor Speedway - Rained out

June 25 2009- Thompson Speedway - Keith and the Bannister Motorsports Team finish 2nd to Ted Christopher. Christopher beat Keith with a last lap pass to make another very exciting finish between the two.

June 19 2009- Stafford Motor Speedway - Keith and the Wheeler Auto Racing Team WIN two in a row in dominating fashion.
The 40-lap SK Modified® feature took the green with Dave Salzarulo holding down the lead from the pole position. Todd Owen was all over the back of Salzarulo for the lead, but he couldn't muster up enough momentum to make a pass. The duel between Salzarulo and Owen allowed Frank Ruocco to close in on the front two.

A caution with 14 laps complete slowed the action and set up a restart. Ruocco moved by both Owen and Salzarulo on the restart to take over the race lead. Keith Rocco moved from fifth to second behind Ruocco, dropping Owen to third and Salzarulo to fourth.

Rocco went to the outside of Ruocco on lap-21 and he made a pass for the lead in the outside groove on lap-22. Mark Bakaj was on the move after the restart, moving by Salzarulo for fourth on lap-23 and he took third place from Owen on lap-29. At the front of the field, Rocco was stretching his lead out over Ruocco lap by lap. Rocco led the final 29 laps of the race to pick up his second consecutive SK Modffied® feature victory of the 2009 season. Ruocco finished second, with Bakaj, Owen, and Salzarulo rounding out the top-5.

June 13 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Rained out.

June 12 2009- Stafford Motor Speedway - Coors Light SK Modified 100
The 36th Annual Coors Light SK Modified® 100 took the green with Brad Hietala, Tom Bolles, and Richie Pallai, Jr. at the front of the field. Hietala and Bolles ran side by side for several laps before Hietala got clear to the lead. Pallai made a power move by Bolles on a lap-5 restart and they dueled for the race lead.

A caution with 26 laps complete slowed the action and set up a restart. On the restart, Hietala and Pallai made contact, sending Pallai towards the wall where he collected Bolles and brought the caution back out. This put Matt Gallo and Jeff Malave on the front row with Matt Gallo and Doug Coby behind them. Rocco quickly took the race lead from Gallo, but Pallai hit head on into the turn 1 wall to bring the caution back out one lap after the restart.

Rocco held the lead on the restart, with Ted Christopher, who was involved in an early race spin with Woody Pitkat on lap-4, moving into second. Coby held third, with Gallo and Eric Berndt making up the top-5. Rocco held the lead until lap-38, when Christopher moved to the front. Coby continued to run in third place, with Berndt and Malave making up the remainder of the top-5.

With the exception of a caution period with 52 laps complete for a spin by Woody Pitkat, the top-5 cars ran in line until lap-65, which is when the race turned into a great duel between Christopher and Rocco. On lap-65 Rocco moved by Christopher to take the lead only to have Christopher go with a crossover move to get back to the front. But the caution came out before lap-66 could be completed, which put Rocco on the point for the restart.

From lap-66 to lap-80, Christopher and Rocco exchanged the race lead five times with spectacular, breathtaking passing. On lap-80, Rocco moved by Christopher for the lead, but Christopher again used the crossover move to his advantage to retake the lead. Christopher was able to stay out front until lap-85, when Rocco went back by. Rocco pulled Christopher by several car lengths and he maintained that lead over the final 15 laps to take his second feature victory of the 2009 season. Christopher finished second, with Coby, Malave, and Jimmy Blewett rounding out the top-5.

June 11 2009 -Thompson Speedway - Heat Race win, feature rained out.

June 4 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Another solid night for Keith and the M&M Motorsports #57. With 11 laps to go Keith got a right rear flat and had to pit. Even with only 11 laps to go Keith battled his way to the front, and with 5 laps to go Keith would restart in fifth. A good restart and a Driver and Team that never give up, the M&M Motorsports Team finished 3rd.

June 3 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Rained out.

June 4 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Some nights you can race everyone hard and put on an excellent show, but all it takes is one driver with a lack of talent to end your night. With that said, Keith and the Bannister Motorsports Team had an excellent night until they were taken out while leading with three laps to go. Keith and the Bannister Motorsports Team would still end up 11th and still hold the point lead. The car took some extensive damage, including the driver's compartment, but was on the scales and ready for this week by Sunday.

May 30 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Bud Nationals - Keith has an up and down night as the car goes from free to good back to free. Keith and the M&M Motorsports Team end up with a solid 3rd place finish.

May 29 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Rained out.

May 28 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Rained out.

May 23 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Keith and the M&M Motorsports Team would have another strong finish as Keith went from 11th to a final spot of 3rd. A night when the track got very free, it was another top 3 finish for the M&M Motorsports Team. Next week the Bud 150.
May 22 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Keith and the Wheeler Automotive Team were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Keith would get caught up in an early accident which have him finishing 21st.

May 21 2009 - Thompson Speedway - Keith and the Bannister motorsports team get their 2nd WIN of the season. Keith would go to the rear at the beginning of the race after being called an accident car. Keith would carve his way to the front and he would battle Jimmy Blewett right down to the checkers. Keith and Jimmy Blewett would swap the lead back and forth, twice each lap. In the final corner Woody Pitkat would join the fight as the three cars battled to the finish line. Keith would edge out Blewett for the win while Pitkat finished 3rd.

May 15 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Keith and the Wheeler Auto Motorsports Team collect their first WIN of the season at Stafford Motor Speedway. Keith's 4th Win of the season and his 30th career SK/Sunoco Modified Win. Details to follow:
The 40-lap SK Modified® feature took the green flag with the action at the front of the pack fast and furious. Keith Rocco moved to the lead on lap-2 after riding side by side with Curt Brainard for the first lap. Frank Ruocco made a bid for the lead on lap-3, taking the lead from Rocco in turn 3 only to have Rocco pull the crossover move and retake the lead coming out of the fourth turn.

Rocco held the lead until lap-12 when Ted Christopher made a move to the inside of Rocco in turn 4. Christopher and Rocco ran nose to tail until lap-23 when Rocco made a bottom shot move on Christohper in turn 1 to retake the lead. Rocco began to stretch his lead out over Christopher, but his lead was erased when the caution came out with 37 laps complete for a spin by Nichole Morgillo.

On the restart, Christohper was judged to have jumped the restart and was penalized one lap. That put Woody Pitkat alongside Rocco for the restart. After several more caution periods, it was down to a green white checkered finish. Pitkat hung tough on the outside of Rocco, but he came up a half car length short at the checkered flag. Rounding out the top-5 behind Rocco and Pitkat was Ruocco, Jeff Malave, and Curt Brainard.

May 9 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Keith and the M&M Motorsports #57 dominated the Heat race, starting last and quickly moving into the lead. The feature was a different story, starting 11th and moving forward, Keith would have to pit for some adjustments. Again on his way to the front, Keith was taken out by a backmarker and ended up getting damage on the left front. After pitting and changing the left front tire, Keith would march all the way to 5th, this was as far as he could go due to the damage from the last wreck. Considering coming from the rear three times, a 5th place is not that bad.

May 8 2009 - Stafford Motor Speedway - Strong run in the heat race as Keith And the Wheeler Auto Team win their heat race. Keith started 2nd and quickly took the lead. After leading for twelve laps, Keith would give up the lead on a restart when the engine started skipping. Keith would be put down one lap for passing the pace car. The Wheeler Auto Team would change the carburator under caution and Keith resumed from the back of the pack. On the next caution Keith received the "Lucky Dog". Keith would continue battling until he finally finished 6th.

May 2 2009- Waterford Speedbowl - A night off for the Modifieds, but not for Keith. Keith would make his debut in the Legend Cars driving a #57 owned by Jason Palmer. Keith would learn quickly as he finished second in the Heat race. In the feature Keith quikly moved to the fron as he ran comfortablly in third as Jason Palmer and Shaun Buffington would battle for the lead. With 9 laps to go it looked like Keith would make it three in a row as the leaders tangled, but the caution would fly for a back marker spinning. This allowed the leaders to regain their positions. With five laps remaining it looked as if Keith would have a solid top 4, but in the closing laps the car would become extremely lose and Keith ended up finishing 6th. The cause of the ill handling car would be oil blowing out the breather all over the right side tires. A great run for his debut in the division.

May 1 2009- Stafford Motor Speedway - Rained Out

April 26 2009- Stafford Motor Speedway - What difference a day makes. Keith started the 40 lap feature from the 8th starting position. He steadily moved his way to the front. While running in the 4th position, he was crowded into the back stretch wall and than went through the infield. Keith did a great job of gathering it up, but by then he was running 15th. Keith and the Wheeler Automotive # 88 slowly marched back to the front. While running 8th and moving into 7th Keith was collected in a back stretch wreck that was started by the leader and it looked like the "Big One" at Daytona. When the red flag was lifted there were only 5 cars left on the track. Keith loaded and went home and had the car in the works by Sunday evening. Next race Friday at Stafford.

April 25 2009- Stafford Motor Speedway and Waterford Speedbowl - Keith has a strong qualifing run at Stafford, and then goes to the Bowl where he misses practice again and dominates to WIN his second feature of the season. After starting 9th, keith Quickly moves to front as he takes the lead on the outside 10 laps into the race. The race would stay green until 10 laps to go, Keith had to survive multiple restarts in the last 10 laps to take WIN number two in a row and number three on the season. Watch for Sunday results at the Spring Sizzler.

April 18, 2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Keith and the M&M Motorsports Team WIN the opening Saturday Night feature of the season. Keith started 5th and slowly worked his way to the front. A caution with 9 laps to go saw Keith sitting in the 2nd position. Keith worked Ron Yuhas Jr. over until he was able to launch past him on the outside at the final turn of the final lap. Margin of victory was around 4 inches. This is Keith's third Win in a row at the Speedbowl, with 4 Wins in the last 5 races at the Speedbowl. Saturday nights Win marked his second of a very young season and his 28th career SK Modified win. Back next week with racing at Waterford and Stafford.

April 11,2009 - Waterford Speedbowl - Speedbowl rained out for third week in a row.

April 5,2009 - Thompson Speedway, Icebreaker Race #2, Keith finishes 3rd in second Sunoco Mod race of Icebreaker weekend. Solid start to the 2009 season, congratulations to the Bannister Motorsports Team. Up next the Speedbowl this Saturday.

April 4, 2009- Thompson Speedway, Icebreaker Race #1. Keith WINS first race of season.
Keith Rocco of Wallingford, CT, scored his first win of the 2009 season in a fiercely competitive opener for the Sunoco Modifieds. Rocco jumped out from his front row starting spot to take the lead in the early going of the Sunoco Modified Main event. In the early stages of the event Tommy Cravenho ran second with heavy pressure from Josh Sylvester. Todd Ceravolo and Ted Christopher rounded out the top five. The battle for the fifth position with Ceravolo, Christopher, Bert Marvin, and Kerry Malone was beginning to heat up when the first caution of the event flew on lap six for a spin by Harry Rheaume. During the caution, Jimmy Blewett headed down pit road for service.
On the ensuing restart, Rocco resumed his lead while Ted Christopher was on a tear heading back to the head of the pack. After a quick caution for an incident involving Brad Van Houten, the battle at the head of the pack began to heat up between Rocco, Sylvester and Christopher. The battling up front allowed Malone, Marvin and Ceravolo to join the fray.
A pass for the lead by Christopher was negated when the third caution flew on lap 14 for a spin by Andrew Charron. Rocco was up for the challenge on the restart but had his hands full with Christopher and Malone. Christopher was able to make a pass for the lead in turn one but Rocco fought his way back. Coming out of the corner, Christopher bobbled slightly and was collected by Sylvester sending Christopher spinning in front of the field. A number of cars were involved including Danny Cates, Woody Pitkat and Marvin.
The restart pitted Malone against Rocco, who was once again up for the challenge. After another quick caution, things settled down up front with Rocco extending his lead slightly over Ceravolo and Malone. The cars on the move were Christopher and Blewett. The two who had started at the rear of the field were picking off cars one-by-one heading back to the front. On lap 22, Malone gave up the third position heading to pit road with mechanical woes.
As Rocco crossed the line to take down the victory, contact between Cravenho and Christopher sent Christopher head-on into the turn four wall. Christopher took a punishing hit but walked away from the incident. Todd Ceravolo finished a strong second over Eric Goodale, Rowan Pennink, doing double-duty in the Falmouth Ready Mix #31x, and Zach Sylvester. After post-race technical inspection, Goodale was stripped of his third-place finish; moving Pennink and Z. Sylvester up a position and Jimmy Blewett inside the top five.

March 29, 2009 - Speedbowl - 13th Annual Bud Nationals rained out. Rain date to be set later this week.

March 28,2009 - Speedbowl - Keith and the M&M Motorsports Team set fast time for the 13th annual Bud Nationals. On the re-draw Keith picked 7th.

March 1, 2009 - Speedway Expo, West Springfield, MA - Keith Wins Speedway Expo "2009 Breakout Racer of the Year". Keith Joins 2008 winner Joey Logano and 2007 winner Bobby Santos III. Keith's 2008 season included one track championship (Stafford Motor Speedway), the State Championship, 4th in the National Championship, and 15 Wins overall (2 at Stafford, 7 at Waterford, and 6 at Thompson).

2008 Season Photo Review: