Josh Wood Enjoying Rookie Season in Stafford’s Limited Late Model Division
Stafford Springs, CT — The transition from Stafford’s DARE Stock division to the Limited Late Model division has been a smashing success thusfar for Josh Wood and the #51 R.A.D. Automachine team. After taking 5 wins and finishing fourth in the DARE Stock points standings last season, Wood has come out of the box firing on all cylinders, winning three races in a row before finishing second last week to D.J. Burnham. Wood’s results this season see him leading the Limited Late Model points standings by 10 points over another DARE Stock graduate, Cory Casagrande. While the 2012 season has exceeded Wood’s expectations, he says it’s a combination of engine and chassis that he has to thank for his success.
“This is better than I was expecting,” said Wood. “I was expecting to maybe finish in the top-5, but to be in the top-3 every week so far has been phenomenal. It’s been a combination of Barry and my Dad. Barry definitely knows what he’s doing, he’s working on Duane [Provost’s] car and he struggled last year and he brought it to Barry and now he’s finishing in the top-5 except for one week he crashed. My dad has been doing engines since the 90s and he knows what he’s doing. That combination plus a good crew that knows what they’re doing helps. Between Kevin, Shawn, Don, Barry, Corey, Norm, Gary, and Ernie, if the car doesn’t come in right, they can set it up with the scales. We’re definitely happy with how things have gone for us.”
Another factor in Wood’s success is his transition from the DARE Stock car to the Limited Late Model car. Wood hasn’t struggled with the switch in cars, and he says that moving up a division has actually been a pretty smooth proposition this year.
“I think it’s been pretty easy, the cars feel the same except for the corner speed and when its sideways, the DARE Stock will spin out, and with this car you can kind of save it,” said Wood. “The speed and acceleration along with learning the manual has been a challenge, but other than that it’s been kind of easy.”
Wood’s team is using the same car and engine combination that Norm Sears was driving last season. Aside from some new body panels and suspension parts, the car is exactly the same as it was last season and Wood says the car shows its age.
“This was Norm’s car that he ran last year,” said Wood. “We changed some body panels, springs, and shocks, and if you actually look under the hood, it’s all rusty, but it hasn’t hurt our performance.”
With the team enjoying the fruits of success thusfar, Wood says that he has a simple goal for the remainder of the 2012 season and while he knows the difference between himself and Casagrande in the points standings, it’s still too early in the season to be worrying about points.
“We need to stay out of trouble and finish every week,” said Wood. “If you can finish every week, you’re guaranteed to get a good finish and we won’t lose many points. We were excited to start the season, but coming off three in a row, the team is all fired up. It’s still way too early to look at points, there’s only a 10-point difference between me and Cory. I could get a flat tire and hit the wall and he could take the lead. We just need to stay out of trouble and do our best.”
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