George Nocera, Jr. Ready to Tackle Challenge of Rookie Season in Late Model Division at Stafford
Stafford Springs, CT — When the green flag falls on the 2013 season at Stafford Motor Speedway, Plainville native George Nocera, Jr. will try to win SPAFCO Rookie of the Year honors for the second time as he prepares to race in his fourth different division at the Connecticut half-mile track. Nocera began his Stafford career in the DARE Stock division in 2005, and he has also participated in the SK Light and Limited Late Model divisions, twice coming within a few points of winning a track championship. In anticipation of his Late Model debut at the 2013 CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, Nocera says his Ltd. Late Model experience will be a big asset.
“My Limited Late Model experience should help me out a lot,” said Nocera. “I don’t see much difference between the two cars other than a little more horsepower in the Late Model cars and the drivers are different. The biggest challenge for us this year will be pit road, but I think that we can be successful this season. We could use an extra crew member or two, and we could always use an extra sponsor, but I think we have everything we need to be a top-10 car this season.”
When it comes to success at Stafford, Nocera has definitely had his fair share of good times. In his very first season, Nocera won twice in the DARE Stock division before winning again in the season ending non-points Paradiso-Muska Shoot-Out. The 2006 season saw Nocera move to the Limited Late Model division, where he won SAPFCO Rookie of the Year honors while nearly winning the championship. Nocera lost out by 2 points, or one position on the track, to Kevin Gambacorta in the championship chase that year. 2007 saw Nocera move up to the SK Light division and he finished 6th in the points before racing two partial seasons in 2008 and 2009. The 2010 season saw a full-time return to the Ltd. Late Model division and Nocera won 8 races between 2010 and 2011. Nocera nearly won the 2011 Ltd. LM championship, again losing out to Gambacorta by a margin of only 6 points. After sitting out the 2012 season, Nocera is itching to get back on track.
“After taking a year off, I’m really looking forward to getting back into the driver’s seat, especially in one of Stafford’s premier divisions,” said Nocera. “I came to the track a couple of times last year and helped Ted Christopher out and we were busy putting our new Late Model chassis together. We could have had the car ready for the Fall Final last year, but we took our time to make sure we did everything right on the car. I’ve been to On Track Karting a couple of times, but there’s nothing like going around the Speedway. I can’t wait to race against the big guys like Woody Pitkat, Tom Butler, and Jim Mavlouganes.”
Nocera will return to Stafford with the same crew he had during his DARE Stock, Ltd. Late Model, and SK Light days. With crew familiarity, a history of success at Stafford, and some great equipment to go racing with, Nocera is confident that he can be a contender for SPAFCO Rookie of the Year honors this season.
“We have the same crew coming back,” said Nocera. “I’ve been racing for 17 years and Gary Bienkowski and Jeff Dubois have been with me the whole time, and with Mike S. and Kenny as part of the crew also, we have a lot of experience together. We have a great motor from T/A Engines, and with Gary setting the car up, we have the best of the best to go out there and be a contender. We’d for sure like to win SPAFCO Rookie of the Year this year and I’d like to win a couple of races and be a top-10 car every week. I think we have what it takes to win a championship at some point in the future.”
“I think we’re going to be the only Mustang car out there this year,” said Nocera. “I’m a Chevy guy and I would have preferred to have a Camaro body on the car, but the supplier had a fire in their factory and it was either wait two weeks for a Mustang body, or a couple of months for a Camaro body, so we went with the Mustang body. But the car looks good and we can’t wait to get it out on the track.”
Nocera will kick off his Late Model career 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 or by CLICKING HERE. 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