Published at December 29, 2010
in Stafford.
Stafford Springs, CT — With the colder temperatures beginning to bring snow to the Northeast, Stafford Motor Speedway is gearing up for its first event of its 2011 schedule with the Engraving Awards and Gifts RallyCross and Eastern States RallyCross Challenge Championship on January 15 and 16.
As part of the New England Region SCCA RallyCross season, drivers will participate in two New England Region Championship events as well as the Eastern States RallyCross Challenge Championship over a two-day period. Drivers will be eligible to win SCCA Contingency Awards and they will compete to establish who is the best RallyCross driver in the Northeast.
RallyCross is a timed competition pitting a driver and vehicle against a defined course. Courses are set up on a non-paved surface such as dirt, gravel, or snow, and drivers attempt to make their way through the course as fast as possible. At the end of the event, all of a driver’s times are added together. The total times of each driver within a class are compared and the driver with the lowest cumulative time in each race class is the winner. The Stafford course is setup throughout the vast parking lot at the Speedway with a series of both high and low speed corners.
Continue reading ‘Engraving Awards and Gifts Rallycross to Kick Off 2011 Racing Season at Stafford Motor Speedway’
Published at December 29, 2010
in Stafford.
Stafford Springs, CT — The 2010 season was a year of firsts for Cory Casagrande on the Stafford half mile. An established racer on the Wild Thing Kart circuit, making the move to the Stafford Dare Stock division was a big step. Cory made his 2010 rookie campaign a good one racking up 3 wins, 12 top 5, and 15 top 10 finishes in 21 starts, finishing 5th in the points standings. 2011 will again see major changes at the Casagrande Motorsports camp, Cory will take the next step on the Stafford Speedway full body ladder and pilot the number 1 Limited Late Model next season.
“I’m really excited to make the move to the Limited Late Models next year,” says Casagrande, “it’s kind of a big step but I feel that the full season in the Dare Stocks really has improved my confidence and ability in the car.”
A graduate of the Wild Thing Kart Series, which runs weekly on the Stafford Mini-Mile, Cory stepped into the Dare Stock division in 2010 hoping to consistently finish races and possibly find victory lane. Yet in only his fourth start in a Dare Stock he found CARQUEST victory lane, and as the season progressed he found himself in the midst of a tight point race. After a successful 2010 season in the Dare Stocks the Casagrande team felt like it was time to move up.
Continue reading ‘Cory Casagrande Moving from DARE Stock to Limited Late Model Ranks in 2011 at Stafford Speedway’
Published at December 29, 2010
in Stafford.
Stafford Springs, CT — Reigning Wild Thing Kart Senior Outlaw champion Dylan Kopec will be making a step up in competition for the 2011 season, moving from the Wild Thing Kart ranks into Stafford Speedway’s SK Light Modified division.
Kopec scored 6 wins this year in the Wild Thing Kart Series, run on Monday nights at Stafford on the track’s mini mile. Kopec was in a see-saw duel with David Arute for much of the 2010 season and the two drivers headed into the final race of the season tied in points. Kopec won the race to give him the championship and now has his sights set on Stafford’s SK Light Modified division.
“I’m real excited about moving up to the SK Lights,” said Kopec. “The only goal I have for myself is to keep the car in one piece and finish the season. It doesn’t really matter where I end up, I just want to be able to finish the year and not wreck the car. I’m just going to try to get as much seat time as I can and learn about the car.”
Continue reading ’2010 Senior Outlaw Champion Dylan Kopec Moving to SK Lights at Stafford for 2011′
Published at December 29, 2010
in Stafford.
Stafford Springs, CT — The Wild Thing Kart Series at Stafford Speedway has served as a breeding ground for young racers. Kyle Spencer, Kyle Casagrande, and Cory Casagrande are all products of the series, which just completed its fifth season on the Stafford mini-mile. Austin Bessette, Dylan Kopec, Brandon Michael, and Jesse Ruocco will graduate to the half-mile in 2011 making the Wild Thing Kart Series a stomping ground for Stafford’s stars of tomorrow.
While the youth have proved themselves on the Stafford Mini-Mile, the veteran champions have their opportunity on June 28, 2011 as a part of the 8th Annual CARQUEST Extreme Tuesday event. Champions of the past and present will unite for charity and pilot Sr. Outlaw go-karts on the Mini-Mile in the CARQUEST Champions for Charities race. The Sr. Outlaw division was home to all four Wild Thing Kart Series graduates from 2010 and Dylan Kopec was the 2010 champion. The division is the premier division of the Wild Thing Kart Series; they are the fastest and most competitive in the program.
The Wild Thing Kart Series was created by Wade and Sandy Gagner in 1998 and originally competed at the Pinnacle Speedway in Massachusetts. The series was moved and began competing on the Stafford Mini-Mile in 2006 and has seen tremendous growth. The 2010 season saw an average of 120 karts at the track each week. The series is based off of four divisions divided by age; Cubs, Sprints, Junior Outlaws, and Senior Outlaw with speed and kart size increasing through each division. Each kart is built by Wade Gagner, this guarantees that each kart is built to the same specifications and allows for a level playing field for all drivers.
Continue reading ‘Senior Outlaw Karts Provide Tough Test for Stafford’S CARQUET Champions for Charities Competitors’
Diversity Of Experience Plays Out Every Race
Daytona Beach, FL – More than two decades into the youth movement in the upper levels of NASCAR racing, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour continues to exhibit a high level of age and experience diversity, one of the many aspects that make competition in the Tour unique.
During the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, 50-year-old Mark Martin registered five wins. This day in age, however, that is the exception and not the rule. Prior to Martin, the last driver to win a Cup race at 50 or older was Morgan Shepherd in 1993.
PICTURE THIS: THE BEST OF 2010 IN PHOTOS
At the touring series level, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East has not had a 50-plus competitor reach Victory Lane since Dave Dion won at Oxford (Maine) Plains Speedway in 2005 and the last K&N Pro Series West race won by a full-time competitor with that minimum age was Bill Schmitt in 1992.
Continue reading ’2010 Review: Vets Lead Modified Tour’
