Pacing The Field: Joey Ferrigno Rallies Late For SK Light Modified Win At Stafford

STAFFORD – Joey Ferrigno used a green-white-checkered finish to rally back to the front and win the 20-lap lap SK Light Modified feature Friday at Stafford Motor Speedway.

Joey Ferrigno celebrates in victory lane Friday at Stafford Speedway (Photo: Stephanie Kimball/Stafford Speedway)

It was the first victory of the season for Ferrigno, of East Hartford. Troy Talman of Oxford, Mass. was second and Jay Goff of Stafford third.

“I had a blast out there,” said Ferrigno, the former pace car driver at Stafford. “Troy was running me real clean. This car was on tonight. The best racing is in this division that we’ve got all night on Friday nights.”

Ferrigno went from third to first on the first lap and by lap five Talman was chasing Ferrigno for the top spot.

Talman went past Ferrigno for the top spot on lap 14 with a move coming off of turn two, but Ferrigno didn’t fade, challenging Talman lap after lap.

On lap 17 Ferrigno went back to the front only to lose the lead again to Talman on lap 18.

The caution flew on lap 19 to set up the decisive final restart. Talman had the advantage at the green, but it was Ferrigno who edged ahead at the line as the white flag was shown. Ferrigno was then able to clear Talman on the final lap for the win.

“[Thursday] night [crew chief] Paul French kept the thing on the scales for a long time,” Ferrigno said. “He changed the setup a little bit and with the smile that was on his face, I knew the car would be able to go wherever I wanted to tonight. I was confident in whatever it needed to do. Between that and Gino [Difilippo] from RH2 Way hooking me up with some new tires tonight, the thing was just on.”

Said Talman: “I’ve got to congratulate Joey Ferrigno. It was a good run. Congratulations to him. It was a good race with him. I thought I had it in the bag and then that caution came out.”