Kyle Casagrande Looks to Take Home First Career Track Championship in DARE Stock Division at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — As the 2010 season at Stafford Motor Speedway draws near the half-way point, the race is on in each of the track’s five divisions to become a 2010 track champion. In Stafford’s DARE Stock division, Kyle Casagrande currently sits in second place behind Tony Membrino, Jr. in the chase for the championship, only 18 points in arrears.
Although Casagrande has won 2 races this year to Membrino’s one, the differential in the points standings comes down to consistency. Membrino’s worst finish of the 2010 season has been a seventh place finish, while Casagrande has had two finishes outside of the top-10, an 11th place finish on May 7th and a 15th place finish on June 4th. But Casagrande says he learned quite a bit about racing for a championship last season and he feels good about his chances to win a special bet that he made with Membrino prior to the start of the 2010 season.
“Last year, we were leading the points with a month to go and then we didn’t finish a race in that last month,” said Casagrande. “I really learned a lot from that experience last year and this year I’ve been a little smarter about my driving. Usually I try to get to the front as fast as I can, but this year it’s been a little more of give than take. Tony and I are good friends away from the track, so it’s fun to be racing with him for the championship this season. Before the season, we made a bet as to who was going to finish higher in the points this year. The loser has to have the winner’s car number shaved into the back of their head, so I hope he will be wearing my number.”
Friendly bets aside, Casagrande has come into his own this season as one of the main contenders for the championship. Casagrande debuted in the DARE Stock division with 7 starts in 2007 and posted a best finish of 18th. Casagrande won 2 races during his first full season of competition in 2008 and finished 11th in the points and last year saw him win another race and briefly hold the points lead before poor finishes in the last month of the season left him in 6th place in the final points rundown. Casagrande’s car is crewed by Rick Casagrande, Cory Casagrande, Shawn Hosey, David Arute, and Albert and Mike Royce, and he points to them as one of the main reasons for his success this year.
“We have a top-3 car every week and it’s all thanks to my crew guys,” said Casagrande. “I have the easy part to just show up and drive the car, the team takes care of everything for me.”
Casagrande has a host of sponsors on his car this year including Casagrande Builders, BFR Chassis, R.A.D. Automachine, Andresen Overhead Door, Muzio Plumbing, Hair-Larious, Sanford & Hawley, and Lanagan Lawn Care and he has a sound strategy for the rest of his 2010 season that he hopes will carry him to his first career championship at Staffford.
“We have our two wins already, so we’re going to have to race a little differently than we have been,” said Casagrande. “Our goal right now is to get a top-5 finish every week for the rest of the season. With how the competition is in the DARE Stock division this year, we can’t afford to have a wreck and lose a bunch of points to Tony. Winning the championship would be great and it would certainly mean a lot. It would be great to win it for my dad, he works real hard on our cars and he does everything for me. It would be nice to give him and the whole crew a championship for all their hard work.”
If Casagrande is to win his first championship this year, he is certainly driving the right car. Between himself, his brother Cory, and teammate Don Wood, the Casagrande Motorsports cars have won 6 of the first 9 races during the 2010 season. If Casagrande can put together a better finish to his 2010 season than he did one year ago, the DARE Stock field just may be left fighting for second place at season’s end.
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