Woody Pitkat Picks Up TSI Harley-Davidson Sponsorship for TSI Harley-Davidson 125 presented by G-Oil
Stafford Springs, CT — Hometown driver Woody Pitkat will welcome the return of TSI Harley-Davidson as a sponsor to his #79 Hillbilly Racing team when the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour comes to Stafford for the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 Presented by G-Oil. Pitkat has had a long association with TSI Harley-Davidson, dating back to his Late Model days at Stafford and Thompson, and he is looking forward to carrying the TSI Harley-Davidson banner once again.
“I had TSI on my Late Model at Thompson in 2005, so we’ve been together for a while,” said Pitkat. “It’s very nice and generous of Harry Levesque and TSI for continuing to help me out and I really appreciate his help whether it’s for one race or the whole year. Hopefully I can get my first Tour win with TSI Harley-Davidson on the car. We need to have a good run, we’ve had some bad luck between the clutch at Thompson and the motor breaking last time at Stafford. Maybe having TSI on the car will help our luck out and we can get things turned around in the right direction. I think with a fresh motor, we should have as good a car as we did at the Fall Final last year.”
Last year’s CARQUEST Fall Final was the closest Pitkat has come to capturing his first NWMT victory. Pitkat started the race from the fourth position, and he led the race from lap-17 to lap-144 before getting passed by Bobby Santos, III and finishing second. Pitkat says the key to recording his first win will be another good qualifying effort and keeping track of how his car is handling during the 125-lap race to determine their race strategy.
“The bottom line for us is we need to qualify better,” said Pitkat. “We’ll have a fresh engine in the car and hopefully we can get a later draw. A top-5 or top-10 start would be good for us. We’ve had a couple of weeks in a row off now with the Tour and it seems like with the SK’s whenever there is a couple weeks off things can get a little out of control, which is another reason to qualify up front so we’ll be ahead of anything that might happen behind us. At the Fall Final I led 128 laps without coming in for tires, so that would have been enough to win this race. We’ll have to see how the car is and how the race transpires and where we are if a caution should come out. We’ll have to keep a close eye on the lap times and see if we’re falling off or not and see how comfortable I am in the car. If we’re anything like we were at the Fall Final last year, I don’t think we’ll be coming in.”
For any driver, the thrill of a first win is always huge, but in the case of Pitkat, should that first win come in the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 with TSI on his car, it would mean just a little more.
“Being the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 and having them on the car, it would be a huge accomplishment,” said Pitkat. “To get my first win at Stafford, where I grew up, would be huge. I really thought we were going to get it last year at the Fall Final. B.A. Muzio has been with me since day 1 and American Sleeve Bearing has been with me on and off for a while, and TSI Harley-Davidson is right there with the two of them for sponsors helping me out. It would be nice to be able to give TSI a W in their race.”
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