Cory Casagrande Excited About Opportunity To Join Pass Sportsman Field On Sun. Aug. 26 At Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — When the Pro All-Star Series comes to Stafford on Sunday, August 26th, there will be a unique feature as part of the PASS program. The PASS Sportsman cars will be joined by the Stafford Limited Late Model division, making for a sports car race atmosphere with 2 different classes of cars competing at the same time. Limited Late Model competitor Cory Casagrande is looking forward to the opportunity to race against the PASS Sportsman cars and hopes that his track knowledge will give him a leg up on the competition when the green flag falls.
“I think we’ll be pretty good with knowing the track,” said Casagrande. “I remember the first time the MRS cars were at Stafford, those guys were all over the place because they didn’t know the groove. It took me a wicked long time to learn the groove at Stafford. I think most of those guys will try to follow us around in practice to learn the groove. We’ll be taking advantage of the practice and make sure everything is right on the car.”
In addition to the new event, Casagrande and the Stafford Limited Late Model regulars will have the additional challenge of racing a 60-lap feature when they are normally accustomed to a 20-lap feature distance.
“The PASS Sportman guys run 75 lap races regularly, while we run 20 lap races every week,” said Casagrande. “It will definitely be a lot different, but it’s cool because builds up a lot of hype since it’s a big race. We’re going to be able to have infield pitting, spotters, and radios. They have a no tire change rule, so we’ll have to make sure the tires last for 60 laps. But if the car is not winning, we can come in and change a spring rubber or make an adjustment to the car. We don’t want to be just riding around.”
The infield pitting and spotters won’t be the only changes that Casagrande will face. After his feature race on Friday, August 24, he and his Shark Cycle / Casagrande Builders team will be busy making changes to their car on Sat. Aug. 25 to be ready to race on Sun. Aug. 26. Some of the rule changes include dropping the minimum car weight from 3,100 pounds down to 3,000 pounds, adjusting their left side weight percentage from 53% maximum to 56% maximum, and teams have the option of changing from 7-inch rims to 8-inch rims as well as the option of using their standard wings or a PASS spec spoiler. Casagrande says he will be kept busy on Saturday making changes to his car for the race on Sunday.
“Me and my dad have been looking at the rules every night,” said Casagrande. “The rule changes they gave us are pretty good and I think it’s going to be pretty competitive. On Saturday, we’ll be tearing the car down, rescaling it, and make sure it’s ready to go. Hopefully we don’t crash on Friday because then we’ll have to fix it. We’re going to change the spoiler and the rims, we’re going to make sure the car is totally full of fuel, and we’re going to change the weight and hopefully the setup stays sort of the same. Other than that, I’ll have to wait and see what we’re going to do. There’s a big mix of engines, so we’re not sure what to expect when we get out there next to those guys. I think in the end, knowing the track and having a setup for the track will make things between us pretty even. I’m hoping for some long green flag runs because I’m not very good on restarts. I like green flag laps to pick cars off one by one. Hopefully we can start up front, that would be even better for us.”
There will be a bonus awarded to the first five Limited Late Model finishers in the PASS Sportsman feature. The bonus breakdown is $200 to the top LLM finisher, $100 for the next LLM finisher, and then $50 each for the third through fifth LLM finishers.
The Inaugural PASS event at Stafford will consist of the PASS Super Late Models in a 125-lap race, the PASS Sportsmans and Stafford Limited Late Models in a 60-lap race, the PASS Modifieds in a 40-lap race, the 602 Dirt Sportsman Modifieds in a 40-lap feature, and the N.E. Truck Series in a 30-lap race.
Tickets for the Inaugural PASS event 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. 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