David Arute Looking for Repeat Trip to CARQUEST Victory Lane in Limited Late Model Double Duty Feature Events
Stafford Springs, CT — This Friday at Stafford, the Limited Late Model division takes center stage with twin 15-lap feature events. Fresh off of his very first career victory last Friday night, Tolland native David Arute is looking to repeat the feat and put his #28 Ford Mustang back into victory lane once again although he will be racing without his crew chiefs.
“It would be cool to go for the win again,” said Arute. “I’ll be going all out for the win in both races. I’ve raced a double feature night before in the Wild Thing Karts, and it can get kind of hectic. I’ll be missing my crew chief this week, Mike and Rick DeCarli left for vacation right after the race last Friday night, so we gave them a good sendoff. It will be just me and Steve [Johnson] this week, but I think we’ll be ok because he’s a great guy and he knows a lot.”
While the Limited Late Models usually race 20-lap feature events, they will have 5 less laps this Friday night, which Arute says could lead to some different strategies among the drivers.
“If guys are taking it a bit easy in the first race, I’ll be going all out to try to get the win,” said Arute. “I don’t know how the second race will be handicapped, but I’m sure we’ll be starting in the back for the second race and we’ll just have to work our way back up through the field. But the goal is to keep the car in one piece to get to the second race. It’s going to be interesting because we’ll all be pushing our way to the front. It seems like when the races are 20 laps long, it’s not enough laps to get to the front when you start in the back.”
After posting 7 top-5 and 16 top-10 finishes in his first full season of DARE Stock competition at Stafford last year, Arute made the move into the Limited Late Model division and he has posted 1 win, 10 top-5, and 11 top-10 finishes in the first 11 races. Arute is part of a quartet of drivers who have made the move into the Limited Late Model division this season after getting started in Stafford’s DARE Stock division. Arute, along with Cory Casagrande, Duane Provost, and Josh Wood, all got their start in the DARE Stock division and they make up the top-4 positions in the Limited Late Model points standings heading into this Friday night’s twin 15-lap feature events. Arute says that this year’s Limited Late Model champion will most likely be a former DARE Stock driver.
“I feel like the DARE Stocks definitely helped prepare me,” said Arute. “In the DARE Stocks, you can beat and bang and lean on each other, so you get used to that before jumping up to a bigger division. Without the DARE Stock experience, I feel like it would have been a bit harder to get used to the bigger car and more power. I think the rest of the year is going to be pretty crazy for the championship between Josh [Wood] and Cory [Casagrande].”
Tickets for the Limited Late Model Double Duty event are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $20.00 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 will be priced at $22.50 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available. Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking, with overnight parking available.
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