Jay Stuart Makes Successful Return to Full-Time Late Model Racing at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — While Jay Stuart has made a handful of starts at Stafford Motor Speedway over the past few seasons, he hasn’t raced a full season at Stafford since 2003. But that long layoff didn’t affect Stuart all that much as he raced his way to a podium finish in the season opening CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler in his own #42 Auto Machine sponsored car.
“It’s been a while since I ran Stafford full-time,” said Stuart. “I’ve been racing here and there, mostly at Waterford and Thompson. I had a tube chassis car, which didn’t really work out for me, so I sold that car and decided to build a G-body car and come race at Stafford this season. The cars have a little bit different feel with the tire and shock combination than what they used to have, but it was like riding a bike for me. It’s a car with gas and brake pedals, and a steering wheel, so I didn’t really have to think about it too much. I’ve helped Kevin Gambacorta out and taken his car out for a few practice sessions, and Daren Clark called me last year to drive a couple of races, so I was able to get a feel for what to expect. I really like racing at Stafford and I missed running there, so we’re going to see what we can do this year. The Sizzler was a lot of fun, the officials were great, the tire guys were great, everyone was very helpful and it was a stress free weekend for us.”
As Stuart proved at the Sizzler, he is not short on experience. He is the 1994 Late Model track champion and he is 7th on the all-time Late Model winners list at Stafford with 18 career wins. While Stuart has plenty of experience to lean on, he says he is still learning new things about his car and the track.
“The first practice was a little bit surprising for us,” said Stuart. “We were a little messed up with the car, but we came back with some new tires and we got the car sorted out. I also noticed throughout the weekend that the line had changed. It seems like all the cars are running way lower on the track than we used to, and that’s something we have to work on with the car. Right now, it doesn’t like to run down low, but if we keep on working on it and making it better, I think we can win some races this year. The competition level is much higher than is used to be as well, I think there’s about 12 cars in the Late Model division that can win on any given Friday night. Our goals right now are to get the best finish we can every week and don’t try to do too much like go for a win when all you have is a fifth place car. Last weekend, I couldn’t get by Woody [Pitkat] so we figured we were in a good spot in third place and we didn’t push things. If we can do that every week, we’re going to be right in the middle of things this year. We’re looking to have fun while having some good runs, and we’re looking to keep the car clean and not get into any scrapes out on the track.”
Another avenue that will help Stuart find his way back to victory lane is sponsorship. With Stuart not sure if he was going to have his car ready in time, he didn’t go searching for sponsors prior to the start of the season. But now that the car is done and has a third place run to start the season, he is in full search mode.
“Right now, we’re looking for sponsors that will help us run the full season,” said Stuart. “Too many times in the past I’ve said I was going to have a car ready to go and I’ve never made it to the track. So I wanted to wait until I actually had the car at the track before I went searching around for sponsors. Rocky Arbitell is a good friend and he put his name on the car with Arbitell Convenience Stores and we’re looking for more folks who might want to put their name on a car.”
Stuart and the Late Model field will take center stage this Friday night, May 10th, with the Xtra Mart Xtra D 35-lap feature event. May 10th is also BFF Night at Stafford, all adults who purchase one general admission ticket will receive one free general admission ticket for a friend to use. May is Youth Organization Month at SMS, and all kids 14 & under who wear a team shirt are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.
For more information, 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