Points Races Heading Into Homestretch at Stafford Speedway

By admin September 10, 2014 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, Stafford

Stafford Springs, CT — With the season ending NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final Weekend fast approaching at Stafford Motor Speedway, the races for track championships are heading into the homestretch phase.  Whether drivers are racing for the championship, fifth, tenth, or some other position in the standings, they all will be looking to accumulate as many points as they can in the final 3 races of the season.

The best championship race at Stafford continues to be in the track’s premier SK Modified® division.  Ryan Preece currently leads Ted Christopher by 18 points, or 9 positions on the track heading into the final 3 races of the season.  Both Preece and Christopher have taken turns leading the points standings this season and Preece is trying to win a second SK Modified® championship while Christopher is looking to extend his record number of championships at Stafford from 8 to 9.  Preece won the first 3 races of the season while Christopher’s consistency allowed him to take over the points lead midway through the year.   But Preece has come back strong, posting podium finishes in 5 of the last 6 races to build his current margin to Christopher up to 18 points.

In Stafford’s Late Model division, Adam Gray looks set to repeat his championship of last season.  Gray and Jay Stuart were locked in a tight duel for much of the year but 2 wins in the last 4 races have helped Gray to take command of the championship fight heading into the final 3 races of the season.  Gray currently holds a 48 point lead over Jim Peterson.  With each feature victory worth 50 points, it will be tough for Peterson to make up the ground on Gray, but anything is possible over the final 3 races of the season.

Stafford’s SK Light division sees two rookie drivers fighting for the championship.  Jeremy Sorel currently holds a 64 point lead over Branden Dion with Nick Salva third in the standings, 68 points behind.  Both Sorel and Dion have visited NAPA Victory Lane this season and Sorel has been a model of consistency, scoring 11 top-5 finishes in the first 15 races of the season.  With over a full race’s worth of points in hand over Dion, Sorel looks to be on his way to capturing the championship in his first season of open wheel competition.  With the SK Light division in only its 9th season of existence, Sorel would be the third rookie driver to win the championship in their rookie season, joining Michael Gervais, Jr. in 2009 and Matt Galko in 2010.

The Limited Late Model division championship race looks to be settled between Andrew Hayes and Duane Provost.  Both drivers have led the standings at some point during the 2014 season and both drivers have recorded 4 wins each.  Hayes currently holds an 18-point lead over Provost with 3 races remaining in the season.  Norm Sears is third in the standings, but he is 52 points behind with Austin Bessette and David Arute 54 and 58 points behind Hayes.

Stafford’s DARE Stock division sees Wild Thing Kart graduate Frank L’Etoile, Jr. leading last year’s DARE Stock runner-up Johnny Walker by 28 points.  L’Etoile has been the man to beat for the majority of the 2014 season.  He jumped out to the early season points lead with second place finishes in 3 of the first four races and he has 7 second place finishes along with 1 victory in the 15 DARE Stock races that have been held thusfar.  Walker has 2 victories this season and with 3 races left on the schedule he will be giving it everything to erase that 28 point deficit.

Lastly Stafford’s Legend Cars see Dana DiMatteo leading his brother Cory DiMatteo by 28 points with 3 races to go.  The championship race was tight for much of the season between Dana DiMatteo and Mike Christopher, Jr., but with Christopher foregoing his Legend Car duties to focus on making a move into the SK Light division, that has opened the door for the DiMatteo brothers to fight for the championship.  The DiMatteos have won 5 of the 8 Legend Cars races held on the Stafford Mini-Mile this season with Cory ahead of Dana by a 3 to 2 margin.  While Dana trails his brother in victories, he has finished in the top-3 in 6 of the 8 Legend Cars features and that consistency has him in the lead of the points with 3 races left.

The 2014 championship races will be decided during the 42nd NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final Weekend, set for Sept. 27-28.  The SK Lights, Ltd. Late Models, and DARE Stocks will each run their final feature events of the 2014 season on Saturday the 27th while the SK Modified® and Late Model divisions will crown their champions on Sunday the 28th.  Also on Sunday will be the famous NAPA Auto Parts Pit Party from 11:00am to noon and the final race to round out the 2014 season will be Whelen Modified Tour NAPA 150.

Tickets for the 42nd Annual NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final Weekend are priced at $38.50 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult.  Reserved seating is priced at $42.00 for all ages.  All NAPA Fall Final tickets are good for admission on both Saturday andSunday and ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.  Visit your local participating NAPA Auto Parts store for discount ticket offers.

For more information on the 42nd Annual NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final Weekend, or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.

Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR