Stafford Motor Speedway Carquest Champions For Charities Driver Spotlight: Stan Mertz
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Motor Speedway has again lined up an impressive field of current and former open wheel champions for its CARQUEST Champions For Charities Event as part of CARQUEST Super Saturday on June 30th. During the coming weeks, SMS will offer a profile on each of its championship winning drivers and the charity they will be racing for and this week’s CARQUEST Champions For Charities spotlights falls on 2-time Pro-4 Modified Limited champion Stan Mertz, who will be racing to support the Connecticut chapter of Austism Speaks.
For Mertz, the 2012 CARQUEST Champions For Charities race will be his second go around representing the CT Chapter of Autism Speaks. Last year, Mertz was selected for the race as a last minute fill in for Donny Lia, meaning that Mertz only had a few days in which to raise enough money to earn himself a good starting spot for the feature event. This year, Mertz is looking forward to having all the time he needs to raise money and he has his sights set squarely on raising enough money to start in the front.
“I’m honored to be invited to participate in the CARQUEST Champions For Charities race again this year,” said Mertz. “Last year we only had a short amount of time in order to raise money, so while it was encouraging that we were able to raise the money we did last year, we’re looking forward to having more than a couple of days to raise money for Autism Speaks. We’re working on a couple of fund raising ideas and we started 7th last year, but we’re hopeful that we can raise enough money this year to start as close to the number one spot as we can.”
In the vein of raising money, Mertz has himself off to a great start. Mertz is making a personal $500 donation to Autism Speaks and he is the current leader in the clubhouse in the race for pole position. Mertz is also looking forward to having a better race experience than last season, when he lost a motor in a practice session.
“I’m going to make a $500 personal donation to match the first $500 that we are able to raise,” said Mertz. “I know it’s very early on, but so far we’re on pole. I’d like to start as close to the front as we can so we can give it a good run in the feature. Last year, we broke a motor in practice and the car didn’t really go anywhere in the feature because the backup motor wasn’t quite up to par. I’m really looking forward to the race. I had such a blast at last year’s event and I thought it was going to be a one-time deal to be able to race against the other champions, but now I get to do it all over again. The biggest thing is I get to work with folks from Autism Speaks again. Even though we didn’t have a lot of time last year, I was able to make some contacts and I’m looking forward to working with them again this year.”
While Mertz looks to have everything planned out to a T with his fundraising efforts, he has one final trick up his sleeve should he need to utilize it for the CARQUEST Champions For Charities feature event.
“I think I’m one of the largest guys that will be racing, so I might have to secretly go around and add weight to my competitor’s karts to level the playing field a bit,” said Mertz. “But in all seriousness, the race should be a lot of fun and I can’t wait to get out on the track.”
Can you imagine hearing the words, "Your child has autism"? In a split second, life – as you know it – has changed. For a different family every 20 minutes, tomorrow will never be the same. By donating to Autism Speaks, you are helping to change the future for all who struggle with autism. Donations help get one step closer to finding what causes autism, how to prevent and treat it, and ultimately a cure so no family ever hears those words again. Until then, Autism Speaks continues to strive to find answers and raise awareness about the devastating toll that autism has had on families.
To make a donation to the Connecticut chapter of Autism Speaks, please click here. Stay tuned to www.staffordspeedway.com for more driver spotlights and exciting information regarding the CARQUEST Champions for Charities event.
CARQUEST Super Saturday will take place on Saturday, June 30, 2012 and will feature the ISMA Super Modifieds, NEMA Midgets, and Pro-4 Modifieds in addition to the Senior Outlaw Wild Thing Karts. Tickets for CARQUEST Super Saturday are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office and are priced at $33.00 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 is priced at $35.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.
For more information, or to order tickets to the 9th Annual CARQUEST Super Saturday event, 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