Norm Sears Takes Third Consecutive DARE Stock Track Championship at Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — Only Phil Rondeau and Ryan Posocco have ever won three consecutive track titles in any division in Stafford’s long and extensive history. Now, with a third consecutive Stafford Motor Speedway DARE Stock track championship this season, Norm Sears has joined that exclusive club as well.
“Three in a row was definitely the goal for this season,” said Sears. “We knew that Ryan had done it and we later found out that Rondeau had also done it, so that really gave us an extra push for the season.”
Sears and the #90 ECI / Cliff Nelson Motorsports team began their championship quest with guns blazing, winning the first two DARE Stock feature events of the season and building a healthy point lead early in the season. But that large lead was cut into as Sears placed 18th and 10th in the next two races. Sears would regain his consistent form of years past and posted 12 top-8 finishes in the final 14 races to take the championship by an 8-point margin over Scott Roy at season’s end.
“I think this one was the hardest championship of the three to win,” said Sears. “The car kind of threw us a curveball this year, and we just didn’t have it setup like we did last year. The setup didn’t agree with my driving style, so we spent a good deal of time working to make the car better. But for a team that has only been together for two years, it was a huge accomplishment for everybody on the team to defend our title this year. We’re all wicked excited about winning this championship.”
The 2009 Whelen All-American Series season at Stafford Motor Speedway will present a new challenge for Sears and his team as they will race for an unprecedented fourth consecutive track championship, but in a new division. Sears and the ECI / Cliff Nelson Motorsports team will move from the DARE Stock division up to the Limited Late Model division.
“I would like to stay in the DARE Stocks and go for another championship, but we’re making the move up to the Limited Late Model division,” said Sears. “Everybody is looking forward to a new challenge next year. It’s a totally different car and we’ll have to figure out how to make it get around the track as fast as we can go. It won’t be easy by any stretch, but everyone on the team is excited about moving up and we’re looking forward to having a good year next season.”
Sears will officially be crowned the 2008 DARE Stock track champion at the 39th Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 14, 2008 at the La Renaissance Banquet Facility in East Windsor.
For more information about the Champions Awards Ceremony, 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