Red Light Racing: Stout Snatches Stafford Win in Thrilling Green-White-Checker Finish
📊 Race Stats at a Glance
🏆 Winner: Eric Stout (98 Laps Led)
🥈 2nd Place: Brian Bianchi
🥉 3rd Place: Joshua Buckley (1 Lap Led)
⏱️ Fastest Lap: Brian Bianchi – 19.121 sec (Lap 105)
🚦 Pole Position: Jeff Aho – 19.225 sec
🔁 Leaders: 4 | Lead Changes: 5
🚨 Cautions: 4 (16 Laps)
⏱️ Race Time: 39 minutes (105 Laps, extended by green-white-checker)
✨ Clean Machine (0 Incidents): Eric Stout
🚀 Hard Charger: Brian Neff (+11, from 16th to 5th)
Qualifying Recap
The day at Stafford Speedway began with Jeff Aho putting down a blazing 19.225 to earn the RaceDayCT.com pole position in front of a tightly packed field. Eric Stout joined him on the front row, followed by Ethan Troutman, Patrick Stout, and Brian Bianchi in fifth. With many of the drivers at the top of the championship standings starting mid-pack, the stage was set for an eventful 100 laps at the birthplace of the SK Modifieds.
Race Breakdown
Eric Stout took command early, slipping past pole-sitter Aho on Lap 6 to grab the lead. Once in clean air, he built a steady gap while the field jostled for position behind him. The first caution flew on Lap 35 when Patrick Stout and Brian Bianchi tangled in Turn 1, collecting Joshua Buckley in the process. All three were able to continue, but the incident erased Stout’s one-second lead.
Luke Logan Allen had an up and down race, climbing to 2nd on lap 54 from his 12th-place starting position. Ultimately, though, “Lemon-Lime” would finish in ninth position.
With 25 to go, Stout held a two-second advantage over Bianchi, Buckley, and Patrick Stout, while Neff climbed from 16th into the top five, an impressive feat. The caution waved with 8 laps remaining when Devin Visnaw pushed up into Chad Alcares sending them both into the turn 4 wall, erasing Stout’s cushion.
A restart with 4 laps remaining turned chaotic as Fred LeClair and Brian Bianchi made contact, sending LeClair hard into the outside frontstretch wall. That set the stage for a green-white-checker finish.
On the final restart, Stout got the jump he needed, holding off a determined Bianchi and Buckley to secure victory by 0.18 seconds. Bianchi’s runner-up and Buckley’s podium run capped an excellent night for both, while Patrick Stout and Brian Neff rounded out the top five.
Championship Update
The win marked Eric Stout’s sixth victory of the season, extending his commanding championship lead to 99 points over Ethan Troutman. Aho remains third despite a frustrating finish outside the top 10, while Joshua Buckley’s third-place run moved him into the top five in the standings. The final race is but a formality for Eric Stout as he is assured to take home the Championship trophy.
Top 5 in Standings after Stafford:
1️⃣ Eric Stout – 727 pts (+99)
2️⃣ Ethan Troutman – 628 pts
3️⃣ Jeff Aho – 615 pts
4️⃣ Chad Alcares – 586 pts
5️⃣ Joshua Buckley – 584 pts
Next Week
The Red Light Racing SK Modified Series travels to New Smyrna Speedway on October 9th for a 150-lap showdown. The fast Florida half-mile promises another night of close racing as season 14 comes to a close.
Catch the action live on Virtual Grip Network and follow ongoing coverage of Red Light Racing at www.redlightracing.net.
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