Willie Hardie Looks to Turn 2008 Season Around in the CARQUEST SK® 150 at Stafford
Stafford Springs, CT — For Stafford Motor Speedway SK Modified® driver Willie Hardie, the 5th Annual CARQUEST SK® 150, scheduled for Friday, July 25th at Stafford Motor Speedway, could not come at a better time. Hardie and his team have struggled through the first half of the 2008 season and he will look to right his ship in the second half of the season, beginning with chasing the $4,000 winner’s check from the longest SK Modified® race of the year, which has total posted awards of over $25,000 to be paid out to SK Modified® competitors.
“We don’t have the sponsorship this year that we’ve had in years past,” says Hardie. “Cliff Nelson is helping us this year, but we don’t have the total sponsorship that we’ve had in the past. If we can win the 150 or get a good finish, it would really give us a boost and allow us to pay some bills.”
Hardie is no stranger to success in extra distance events, with two SK Modified® 100 wins and a ProStock 100 win to his credit at Stafford. Hardie knows what it takes to win an extra distance event and Hardie has also traditionally performed well in the second half. With a sound race strategy, Hardie looks to once again have a good second half and turn around his 2008 season, starting with the 5th Annual CARQUEST SK® 150.
“A win in this race would be huge for us,” said Hardie. “Typically this is the time of year when we get things turned around if we’re having a bad season. Last week we finished 10th and the car is getting better every week. If we could get a top-3 or even a top-5 finish it would be a big boost for team and myself. These extra distance races are a lot like the normal distance races in that you just have to stay out of trouble. Another key is to save your tires and not abuse your equipment so you have something to go racing with at the end of the race. 150 laps is a long time to try and pass someone. I like the longer races, we always seem to do well in them, and the 150 would be an excellent race to add to my career.”
The winner of the CARQUEST Auto Parts SK® 150 has the potential of walking away with $4,000. The CARQUEST Auto Parts SK 150 will start 30 cars. Last place is guaranteed to pay $300, while 10th place will pay $1,000. The purse increases by $100 for each position from 9th place to 3rd place, while second place pays $2,200. The payout for 11th place is $900, and from positions 12 through 16, the purse decreases by $100 per position. The 17th position pays $375, and the remainder of the starting positions decreases by $25 per position to 20th place, with all drivers finishing 20th thru 30th receiving $300.
The CARQUEST SK 150 was first run on July 14, 2000 with Ted Christopher leading 131 laps of the race to take the victory. Christopher repeated his 150-lap win one year later by leading 136 laps. The 2002 edition of the race saw Ronnie Silk overtake Lloyd Agor on lap-123 and lead the rest of the way for the victory, and the 2003 race saw Frank Ruocco took down the win. Ruocco led 129 laps in a race that was run over two different Friday nights due to rain.
The list of contenders for the CARQUEST SK® 150 crown is an impressive list of modified drivers. Drivers who have won extra distance events at Stafford that will be racing in this year’s CARQUEST SK 150 include Eric Berndt, Christopher, Bo Gunning, Hardie, Woody Pitkat, and Frank Ruocco. Keith Rocco is driving the same #78 Poulin Racing car that Chuck Docherty drove to an average finish of 4.5 in the first four runnings of the SK 150.
With the race distance of 150 laps, the CARQUEST SK 150 could very well produce another first-time winner at Stafford, as both Ronnie Silk and Frank Ruocco scored their first career SK Modified® wins in the 2002 and 2003 editions of the CARQUEST SK 150.
The 5th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts SK 150 is scheduled for July 25, 2008 at Stafford Motor Speedway. Tickets are priced at $20.00 for adult general admission, $5.00 for children ages 6-14 general admission, and $23.00 for reserved seating. Children ages 5 & under are admitted free of charge for general admission seating when accompanied by an adult. Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking, with overnight parking available.
For more information, or to order tickets to the 5th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts SK 150, 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