Lincoln Tech 80 at Stafford Speedway Offers Stacked Field of Competitors Going for Checkered Flag
Stafford Springs, CT — The entry list for the 2nd Annual Lincoln Tech 80 at Stafford Speedway is stacked with drivers who have either weekly or Whelen Modified Tour racing experience at Stafford Motor Speedway. The wealth of experienced drivers coming to Stafford promises to deliver an exciting fight for the checkered flag.
The list of drivers who have both weekly and Tour experience at Stafford include Ted Christopher, Todd Szegedy, Doug Coby, Rowan Pennink, Ryan Preece, Dave Etheridge, Richie Pallai, Jr., Tom Bolles, John Jensen, and Jeff Malave. These 10 drivers have combined to win 175 feature events at Stafford, with Christopher leading the way at 116 feature wins. Coby is next with 19 feature wins, and both Christopher and Coby have won in multiple divisions at Stafford. Christopher has tasted victory in the SK Modified®, ProStock, Whelen Modified Tour, Camping World East Series, and the Valenti Modified Racing Series divisions, while Coby has taken checkered flags in the SK Modified®, Late Model, ProStock, and Whelen Modified Tour divisions at SMS.
Drivers that have just weekly racing experience at Stafford include Mark Bakaj, Tommy Barrett, Jr., and Joey Cipriano, and Todd Owen. Bakaj, Barrett, and Cipriano are all graduates of Stafford’s SK Light Modified division and Bakaj also ran in Stafford’s SK Modified® division. Bakaj, Barrett, and Cipriano have combined to win 25 SK Light feature events, while Owen has won 4 times in the SK Modified® division and 7 times in the ProStock division at SMS.
Among the drivers who have just Whelen Modified Tour experience at Stafford include Andy Seuss and Matt Hirschman. Hirschman’s Stafford experience came to the forefront as he dueling for the win with Keith Rocco and Todd Owen in last year’s Lincoln Tech 80 at Stafford.
Joey Cipriano won 6 times in Stafford's SK Light Modified divison last season.
Ciprirano will be looking to make his very first Stafford VMRS start in this year’s Lincoln Tech 80, and he is confident that his previous experience at Stafford will help him and his team get over some of the issues they have faced this year.
“The MRS cars are a lot more fun to drive, they have a lot more power,” said Cipriano. “So far we haven’t had good luck. We blew up at Monadnock and then we went to Thompson with our new car and we started leaking oil about 15 laps in the race. We went to Star Speedway, and we ran pretty well there, but we got caught up a wreck there too, so we haven’t had the best luck yet. I’m still learning, but we’re coming back to where we’ve been the last couple of years, so hopefully we can put on a good show and turn our luck around. But there’s a lot of good drivers with good teams and good cars that have a lot of money, so even if you’re off just a little bit, that can be the difference between the top-5 and the top-20. I feel like the SK Lights gave me the experience I needed in a larger car so that you only have to adjust to the power difference and the drivers around you.”
Tickets for the 2nd Annual Lincoln Tech 80 are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $27.50 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 $30.00 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 on the 2nd Annual Lincoln Tech 80, 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