Allison Coelho Ready to Join Her Father Gus in DARE Stock Competition at Stafford Speedway in 2013
Stafford Springs, CT — The 2013 DARE Stock season will see the addition of a father/daughter combination as 15-year old Allison Coelho will join her father Gus on the track. Allison Coelho moves into the DARE Stock division with an extensive background to her credit. Coelho began her racing career at the age of 9 in the Wild Thing Karts, and she progressed to the Young Guns 4-cylinder division at Monadnock. After recording several podium finishes this past season, Coelho is ready to make the move into the DARE Stock division and join her father on the track.
“I’m really excited about racing with my Dad, it should be a lot of fun,” said Coelho. “I’ve been racing since I was 9 and I have a couple of wins in the Wild Thing Karts. Right now, we’re putting a new body on the car and working on the motor. I’ve raced against Austin Bessette and Alex Fearn in the Wild Thing Karts, so that will give me some extra confidence this year, but I know it’s going to be a learning experience for me as well.”
While Allison is excited to be racing at Stafford this season, her father Gus is just as excited to be racing against his daughter as well as the rest of the DARE Stock field. But there is one member of the Coelho family who isn’t all that excited about the new team combination.
“I’m really excited about racing with Allison,” said Gus. “My wife is a nervous wreck right now. The biggest reason why I started racing at Stafford this season was to take the car out and test it out for Allison to move into this coming season.”
The 2013 season will mark Allison’s first time out on the Stafford half-mile after racing on the Mini-Mile in the Wild Thing Kart Series. While she knows she faces a lot of unknowns, she feels like her experience at Monadnock will help and like any true racer, she is looking forward to the speed of the DARE Stock cars.
“I think the Young Guns experience is really going to help me out,” said Coelho. “I think if I was going straight from the go kart to the DARE car I would be a little overwhelmed, but I’ll be ready to drive a full sized car now. Practice is going to be real important for me to get used to the different grooves and the different lines that I can take around the track. I think the biggest thing is going to be me getting adjusted to the speed of the DARE Stock car since the Young Guns cars aren’t as fast. But that’s also the thing I’m looking forward to the most, I really like to go fast.”
In addition to learning the track and the grooves, Coelho is looking to beat her father on the track each Friday night.
“I think we’re just going to take things as they come,” said Coelho. “We’d like to be able to finish in the top-10 every week. I want to beat my Dad every week and that will be a lot of fun for me if I can do that.”
The 2013 season will kick off for the Coelho’s and the rest of the DARE Stock field with the 42nd Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler on April 26-28. Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” may be ordered by calling the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $38.50 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 is $42.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information on the 42nd Annual CARQUEST TECH-NET Spring Sizzler®, 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