Youth to be Served in Chase for 2010 SK Light Modified Rookie of the Year Honors at Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — During the past three seasons at Stafford Motor Speedway, the SK Light Modified division has provided some of the track’s largest rookie classes and some of the closest fights for Reliable Welding and Speed Rookie of the Year honors. The 2010 season will be no exception, as there are 8 rookies signed up to compete, with youth the prevailing factor of the group. Of the 8 rookies signed up for the 2010 season, there are 6 drivers who are either 15 or 16 years of age, and they come to Stafford with good equipment and a youthful, competitive attitude.
Brandon Godbout comes to Stafford from the go kart ranks, and this 15 year old driver from Meriden will be piloting the car that Keith Rocco used to win the Modified track championship at Thompson Speedway. Godbout’s car owner is Lorin Trombley, who has a wealth of racing experience at Stafford in both the Modified and Late Model ranks.
“We have good equipment, we know the track very well, and we have good help,” said Trombley. “We have a motor coming from T/A Engines and I still have all my equipment from over the years, so we’re looking forward to going out and trying to win some races this year.”
Another Keith Rocco championship winning car will be on the track this season in the SK Light Modified division as Dylan Liseo and his father Mike have purchased the chassis that carried Rocco to the 2008 SK Modified® track championship at Stafford. Liseo, a 15-year old driver from East Hartford, comes to Stafford’s SK Light division after racing Quarter Midgets and Legends cars and his father has had Jimmy Broderick and Chuck Docherty drive his cars at Stafford as well as driving his own car in the SK Modified® ranks.
“We bought Keith Rocco’s 2008 championship car, we’ve taken it apart and we’re in the process of putting everything back together,” said Liseo. “We’re pretty ecstatic about coming to race at Stafford this season. Dylan is going from a car that has a lot of power and not a lot of tire to a car that is short on power and has a lot of tire, so we’re looking forward to the 2010 season.”
Another former Stafford SK Modified® car will see the SK Light ranks during the 2010 season with Zach Aszklar. Aszklar’s team bought Nichole Morgillo’s SK Modified® machine, which was a former race winning car that Jeff Baral drove at Stafford. Aszklar, a 20-year old driver from Wallingford, has 2 championships at Silver City in the quarter midget ranks and has been competing the past several seasons at Whip City Speedway in the Micro Sprint division. Aszklar is looking forward to returning to racing on asphalt.
“I’m looking forward to racing at Stafford this year, I prefer racing on asphalt to dirt,” said Aszklar. “I’ve been coming to Stafford to watch the races for most of my life and we helped the Morgillo’s out with their car last season, so we have some experience and I’m looking to stay clean and gain enough experience that will allow me to move up to the SK Modified® division in the next couple years.”
Another rookie driver who will be taking the wheels of an experienced Stafford car is Matthew Galko, who takes over the driving duties of the #20 Davidson Foods car that was previously driven by Mike Lane. Galko, a 16 year old driver from Meriden, has an extensive background in quarter midget racing with 19 track and regional championships to his resume, and he has won Rookie of the Year honors in both Quarter Midgets and 270 Micro Sprints.
Shayne Prucker enters the 2010 SK Light Modified rookie class with a background in quarter midgets at the Little T Speedway and 270 Micro Sprints at Whip City Speedway. Prucker, a 16 year old driver from Stafford Springs, has accumulated over 20 feature wins in his career and he is also the winner of the 2007 Lou Sherman Sportsmanship Award.
The final young rookie contender for the 2010 season at Stafford is Joey Cipriano, who will drive Bob Parker’s #84 that has been driven in the SK Modified® division the past several seasons by Brett Gonyaw and Bo Gunning. Cipriano, who is 15 years old and hails from Waterbury, finished 4th in the points standings in the Legends division at Waterford Speedbowl last season.
Rounding out the 2010 SK Light Modified rookie class at Stafford is Mark Trombetta and Bill Lucchesi. Tombetta will find himself behind the wheel for the first time in his career, having served as a crew member on the #2 Whelen Modifeid Tour car driven by Todd Szegedy, and Lucchesi comes to the Stafford SK Light ranks after racing in the X-Mod division at Waterford Speedbowl.
With such a diverse rookie class, the battle for the 2010 Reliable Welding and Speed Rookie of the Year title in the SK Light Modified division is sure to be a fight that goes down to the final race of the 2010 season at Stafford.
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