Andrew Durand Takes First Career Stafford Track Championship with Limited Late Model Title
Stafford Springs, CT — When it comes to change, some folks embrace it while others shy away from it. For Andrew Durand at Stafford Motor Speedway this season, change was the key to his breaking through and winning his first career track championship in the Limited Late Model division. New for the 2009 season, the track approved the NGB body styles for Limited Late Model competition. Durand and his R.A.D. Automachine team were one of the first teams to make the switch to the new body style and they won the first two races of the year. Durand’s hot start to the year carried them to the early season points lead, a position they would occupy for all but one week of the 2009 season.
“We felt pretty good at the start of the year,” said Durand. “Usually we always do well at the start of the season and then we fade a little in the middle and later parts of the season. We figured if we could get off to a good start again and eliminate our mistakes from the past in the middle and end of the season, that we could win the championship this year. As it was, we almost lost the championship in the last race. If we are in a championship hunt again, I’d like to have a bigger margin over second place for that final race so I won’t have to worry about it that much. It seems like it’s a lot easier to lose points with a mistake than it is to gain points on someone with a good run. It’s all about minimizing your mistakes and we were able to do that this year.”
Since the inception of the Limited Late Model division at Stafford in 2005, Durand has been a championship contender each season, twice finishing third along with a fourth and a fifth place finish in the standings. Durand says the key to his championship season was a combination of the new car and upgraded equipment.
“My equipment was on par with everyone else this year,” said Durand. “The new body helped, the wing on the car helped out, and by going to the new body style we had some new parts and pieces in other areas of the car that we didn’t have in previous years. We had a great motor, and the car was equal to what everyone else on the track had. I think that anytime I can have a car that is equal with everyone else’s car that I can go out and win races.”
Durand’s 2009 season looked like it was going to be a season of dominance as he posted 6 podium finishes in the first seven races of the year. But two poor finishes over the second half of the year erased the large margin he had built up for himself and nearly cost him the championship that he had sought for so long.
“At the beginning of the year, I drove the car like I always drive it, trying to pass cars and win races,” said Durand. “The last couple races I started racing to win the championship and I was just focused on my position on the track, which slowed me down and I was losing positions on the track. I was trying to be cautious and finish the races, which almost cost us the championship. It was a big relief to win the championship, it’s a goal that we’ve been trying to get the last couple years and we always had problems in the middle or the end of the season. This is a great accomplishment for us, and hopefully we can do it again in another division if we can put the money together. I have to thank R.A.D. Automachine, Payless Auto Glass, Sign Tech, Universal Plastics, and Johnson Chassis for their support this season.”
For the season, Durand posted 5 wins, 11 top-5, and 14 top-10 finishes in 16 starts to take the championship by a 32-point margin over Dan Flannery.
Durand will officially be crowned the 2009 DARE Stock track champion at the 40th Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 20, 2009 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