CARQUEST Champions for Charities Driver Spotlight: Woody Pitkat
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Motor Speedway has lined up an impressive field of current and former open wheel champions for its 3rd Annual CARQUEST Champions For Charities Event, which will take place on Friday, June 28th this season. During the coming weeks, SMS will offer a profile on each of its championship winning drivers and the charity they will be racing for and this week’s CARQUEST Champions For Charities spotlight falls on Woody Pitkat, the 2006 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division 4 Regional Champion, who will be racing to help support The Victory Junction Gang Camp.
The Victory Junction Gang Camp was built in honor of Adam Petty and they provide life-changing experiences for children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. Victory Junction has opened it’s doors to over 14,000 children from all 50 states and 4 countries since opening in 2004. Located in Randleman, NC, Victory Junction is partnered with 30 different hospitals to deliver health care to its campers, who are dealing with such chronic medical conditions and serious illnesses as Autism, Cancer, Craniofacial Anomalies, Diabetes, Hemophilia, Sickle Cell and Spina Bifida. The cost for a child to attend Victory Junction is $2,500, but thanks to generous donations, no child or family incurs that cost.
Last year was Pitkat’s second season of fund raising for Victory Junction and he raised $2,525 for Victory Junction. Pitkat’s efforts included a “Strike It Up For Victory Junction” bowling event at Spare Time in Vernon, which he will once again host this year on Saturday, June 1st. The cost to bowl will be $25, which includes bowling, shoes, and lunch with a portion of the proceeds going towards Victory Junction.
“We’re working on some ideas for this year,” said Pitkat. “We’re going to have the bowling deal again and usually I ask people that I race with and work with if they can help out with some donations. That will be a good start and we’re hoping we can raise more money than we did last year and have a good starting spot for the race.”
Last year’s CARQUEST Champions For Charities feature event saw Pitkat finish 6th after leading several laps in the early going. Pitkat led several laps in the first CARQUEST Champions For Charities feature event, and he is hoping that he can get a better finish in this year’s 15-lap feature. Pitkat even has an eye on which Senior Outlaw kart he will race in the feature.
“My goal is to win the race for Victory Junction,” said Pitkat. “I’ve run well in the last two races and I’ve led laps in both races. If we can’t win, then at least we’re hoping to finish better than we have. Mike Royce, who won the championship in the Senior Outlaws this year, and his dad Albert both work on my SK crew, so hopefully I can race in one of their karts since we help each other out.”
In addition to racing in the CARQUEST Champions For Charities feature event, Pitkat will have a full plate of racing ahead of him in 2013. Pitkat will run the full SK Modified® schedule as a teammate to Joey Cipriano for Steve Greer’s Gunsmoke Stables team in the SK Modified® division, while also racing full-time in the Late Model division for Billy Snow, Sr. Pitkat will also be part of the Whelen Modified Tour fields at Stafford, driving the #79 for car owner Sandra Hill, and he is looking forward to the Stafford races this year after finishing second in last year’s CARQUEST Fall Final.
“Everything is new for the SK and the Tour this year,” said Pitkat. “I’m excited to go back to Stafford with the 79 after how well we ran in the Fall Final and anytime you have something new in the SK’s it’s going to be exciting. In the Late Models, we have a championship to defend, so that’s exciting too, so I guess you could say that my word for the season is excitement.”
The starting lineups for the CARQUEST Champions For Charities 15-lap feature will be determined by how much money each driver raises for their selected charity. The starting grid will be set with the drivers who have raised the most money starting up front. Fans are encouraged to get involved in the event by donating to their favorite driver or favorite charity. To make a donation to Victory Junction Gang Camp on behalf of Woody Pitkat, and for more information on the event, please refer to the CARQUEST Champions for Charities donation page located at www.staffordspeedway.com. Stay tuned to www.staffordspeedway.com for more driver spotlights and exciting information regarding the CARQUEST Champions for Charities event, which will take place on Friday, June 28.
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