RONNIE WILLIAMS MOVING FROM WILD THING KARTS TO STAFFORD’S SK LIGHT MODIFIED DIVISION FOR 2012 SEASON
Stafford Springs, CT — Fresh from the ranks of the Wild Thing Kart Series at Stafford Motor Speedway, Ronnie Williams will be moving into the SK Light Modified division to run for Rookie of the Year honors in 2012. Williams and his family have purchased the former No. 70 Brit Andersen car for the upcoming season, so they have a proven commodity with which they will try to claim the top rookie honors. Williams, who turned 15 after the completion of the 2011 season, conducted a test session at Stafford the week after the CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend, and all systems are go for his rookie season as his No. 47 Advice One car was fast and comfortable in the test.
"The car was wicked fast in the test and it went wherever I wanted it to go on the track," said Williams. "We ended up running about 100 laps that day, so we got pretty comfortable with the car. At first we were running 22 something [seconds] but by the end of the day, we were turning the same times that the SK Lights were running at the Fall Final, so it was good for us to know that we could run those kind of times our first time out."
Williams makes the move into the SK Lights from the Wild Thing Kart Series, where he raced for 5 seasons, including both the Junior and Senior Outlaw divisions this past season and he finished 5th in the Junior Outlaw and 3rd in the Senior Outlaw points standings. After his debut outing in the private test session, Williams is feeling good about his car's performance and he has a modest goal for the 2012 season.
"Our goal is to win Rookie of the Year," said Williams. "We want to be able to finish every race, and try to get a win. Our main focus is the simple things and then move onto the bigger things. This year was an off year for me in the karts, but I've been going to Stafford since my grandfather was racing, so I feel like I have a good idea of where to get on and off the gas and I've seen guys make mistakes, so I've learned by watching what not to do. We're feeling pretty confident right now, we'll find out once the season starts where we are, but I think we have a pretty good idea about the car right now. Those first couple of practice sessions will be pretty important for us and it will be nice to be able to see where other guys are running on the track compared to where I was running during the test session."
Williams will hope to repeat the success of fellow young drivers like Matt Galko, Joey Cipriano, and Tommy Barrett, who have all enjoyed instant success after making the move into Stafford's SK Light division. Galko has won the SK Light championship the last 2 seasons and has 8 wins, Cipriano has won 7 times in his two seasons at Stafford, and Barrett has won a whopping 14 races in his two seasons of SK Light competition.
"Those guys have all had success, so we're hoping that we can do the same things they have," said Williams. "I've been going to Stafford to watch races forever and it's going to be awesome to finally be able to get out on the track to race."
Williams will begin his SK Light rookie season off with 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