JOE GADA READY TO CHALLENGE FOR SK MODIFIED® ROOKIE OF THE YEAR HONORS AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY IN 2012
Stafford Springs, CT — After a 4-race debut effort at Stafford Speedway during the 2011 season, Salem, CT native Joe Gada is ready to make a run at winning Rookie of the Year honors in Stafford's SK Modified® division in 2012. Gada is the son of 7-time Waterford SK Modified® champion Dennis Gada, and after making several starts during the 2011 season, he is looking forward to building upon the experience he gained this season in preparation for the 2012 season.
"We're definitely excited about coming back to Stafford," said Gada. "Our main goal is to win the Rookie of the Year. We want to be consistent with top-10 finishes and hopefully from there we can contend for a top-5 finish or a win."
In his first time racing at Stafford, Gada put up very respectable finishes. In his SK Modified® debut, Gada finished 12th after qualifying in the 23rd starting position. From there, he recorded a top-10 finish with a 9th place effort in the SK Modified® 100, and he then finished 12th in the CARQUEST SK 150 and 15th in the season ending CARQUEST Fall Final feature event. Gada feels like this experience, although limited, will only serve to help him as he makes a bid for Rookie of the Year honors.
"While I don't have a lot of experience at Stafford, I feel like I have a good starting point and I'm ahead of someone who shows up for the very first time," said Gada. "Stafford was hard to get used to with the longer straightaways. After racing at Stafford, I went back to Waterford and I ended up overdriving the very first corner, which I thought was funny. I feel like I picked things up pretty well, maybe I am just a fast learner. I think with Waterford being so much smaller and tighter than Stafford, it helped me with being around other cars and racing with other guys on the track. I think we did better than we expected the first time out, we thought we were just going to ride around in the back, and then it was pretty cool to finish 9th in the 100-lapper. I like the longer races because the pressure is off to get to the front quickly and I followed Frank Ruocco from the back to the front in that race because I knew he has a fast car. It's definitely a lot easier to race when you have a rabbit to follow."
Although the 2011 season was Gada's first time at Stafford, he got some good advice from several drivers as well as his father and he is ready to tackle the 2012 season.
"I got a few pointers from Dillon Moltz and Frank Ruocco," said Gada. "Even though Dillon drives a Late Model, he gave me a few pointers on the lines that the guys in the SK Modifieds® take around the track and Frank helped us out as well. I had my dad spotting for me, and he told me a few things on the radio as to where to get on and off the throttle, but for the most part he let me figure things out on my own. We're real happy with the position we're in coming back to Stafford, we had some exciting times, and hopefully we can continue that excitement in 2012."
Gada will carry sponsorship from Larry's Automachine, Top Run Ladder & Inspection, Serv Pro, Heat Incorporated, and GCT Enterprises on his #6 and he will look to get his rookie season off to a roaring start in the 41st Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, scheduled for April 27-29, 2012. Tickets for the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler are available and on sale now through the SMS Box Office. Tickets are priced at $38.50 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating will be priced at $42.00 for all ages. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.
For more information on the 41st Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, 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