Frank Cardile Searching for First Career Victory at Stafford Motor Speedway in SK Light Modified Division
Stafford Springs, CT — With the curtain about to be raised on the 2010 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season at Stafford, SK Light Modified driver Frank Cardile is eager to get back to racing and chase his first career victory. Cardile is a long-time veteran of modified racing at Stafford, but he has yet to record a victory, which he says is his number one goal for the 2010 season.
“We’re out there to have fun, but the goal is to get our first win,” said Cardile. “I’ve been close before, I have seconds and thirds, but no wins, close but no cigar. I would say that this year is victory lane or bust for me. I have to get one win before I stop racing. I’d like to get a win for my father, he helps me out a lot with the car and a win would be a real nice way to pay him back.”
Cardile will return this season with the same car that carried him to 1 top-5 and 7 top-10 finishes and a 17th place showing in the final points standings last season. Cardile got behind at the start of the 2009 season with handling issues, which plagued him throughout the remainder of the year.
“Last year I had issues with the steering rack and we didn’t get that sorted out until a couple weeks into the season,” said Cardile. “Because we got behind right away, we weren’t high enough in the points to get a preferred handicapping position and we had to start in the back of the pack every week, which was tough. Things happen around you that you can’t avoid getting caught up in and the competition is strong. Every time we got close to the front of the field last year, we had a problem with the car. We set fast time a couple different times last year, so we know we have a good piece. These cars don’t have as much power as the SK cars do and keeping your momentum up is the key to running up front and winning races. We feel like we have a good handle on where we need to be with the car this year and we’re looking forward to getting out on the track.”
In addition to chasing his first career victory, Cardile also has his sights placed on the race for the track championship at Stafford.
“I think the SK Light division is going to be really interesting this year,” said Cardile. “There’s a lot of new faces this year and we’re going to have to learn their tendencies and how to race with them. Everyone says they’re going to win the championship at the beginning of the year, and that should be the goal, otherwise why are you racing? Realistically I think that if we can be consistent and run up front every week and be a contender for the championship, that if we finish the season in the top-3 in points it will be a good year for us. That and getting to victory lane!”
Cardile’s quest for victory lane begins with the 39th Annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler Weekend, scheduled for April 23-25. Tickets for the 39th Annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler Weekend 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 24, and Sunday, April 25 portions of the Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, with the Friday, April 23 practice session open to the public free of charge.
For more information, or to order Tech-Net Spring Sizzler tickets, please 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