Stafford’s SK Light Modified Division Adds Waterford Legends Champion Michael Gervais, Jr. to Its 2009 Rookie Class
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Motor Speedway’s SK Light Modified division has added former Waterford Speedbowl Legends champion Michael Gervais, Jr. to its rookie class for the 2009 season. Gervais won the championship in 2007 and this past season came up just two points short of a second consecutive championship at Waterford.
Gervais is taking the same path to Stafford that brothers Chris and Mark Bakaj took, moving from the Legends division at Waterford into the SK Light Modified division. Coincidentally, it is Mark Bakaj that Gervais has leaned on for help as he prepares for his rookie campaign behind the wheel of an open wheeled modified car.
“I raced against Mark at Waterford, and we’re good friends,” said Gervais. “I’ve never sat in a modified car before, I’m coming directly from the Legends car to the SK Light car. Mark has been giving us a lot of tips on what we need to get for our car and what we can expect once we get onto the track this season. He tells us that the SK Light handles like a Cadillac compared to a legends car.”
As a rookie to both the track and the division, Gervais knows he faces an uphill challenge. As Gervais fights the uphill challenge, he can lean on his experience while dueling for a championship as well as the help of his fellow competitors.
“Any time we’ve decided to move up a division, we’ve always seemed to do pretty well,” said Gervias. “Although we’ve done well, we know it’s going to be a big learning curve for us this season. I’m a rookie, my crew are rookies, and we have a bigger car racing on a bigger track. We have a lot of outside help from guys who have raced at Stafford before to help us along. We’re looking to finish in the top-5 and win Rookie of the Year, so we’re hopeful we can get the car dialed in pretty quick.”
Gervais and his team have been looking to move up, but never quite had the budget to make the move out of the Legends division. With the economy facing tough times, Gervais says that the SK Light division fits right into their budget line.
“We’ve wanted to step up and race at a bigger track for some time now, we just never had the money to do it,” said Gervais. “Truth be told, we would love to be racing in the SK Modified® division, but the SK Light Modified division fits right into our budget level, so that’s where we are at for the 2009 season.”
Gervais and his team will make their SK Light Modified debut at the 38th Annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, scheduled for April 24th through April 26th.
Tickets for “The Greatest Race in the History of Spring” are now on sale at the Stafford Motor Speedway box office. Tickets are priced at $35.00 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, $38.00 for reserved seats, and free for children ages 5 & under. Tickets are good for admission to the Saturday April 25, and Sunday, April 26 portions of the Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, with the Friday, April 24 practice session open to the public free of charge.
For more information, 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