After Winning Shark Cycle 80, Steve Masse Ready to Return to Stafford for Lincoln Tech 80
Stafford Springs, CT — Prior to the 2013 season if you had asked Valenti Modified Series driver Steve Masse what was his favorite track to race at, chances are Stafford Speedway wasn’t on that list. But that tune has changed during the 2013 season for Masse. After finishing 28th and 17th in the first two VMRS races held at SMS in 2010 and 2011, Masse didn’t run in any of the next three events at SMS in 2011 and 2012. Masse’s Stafford luck began to change for the better in the June VMRS 80, where he finished 2nd. His good fortunes continued last week in the Shark Cycle 80 where he won the race with a backup engine in his #13 El Gee Products car and he is looking forward to another strong finish in next week’s Lincoln Tech 80 for the VMRS cars.
“I think [last week] was only the second race at Stafford that I had finished,” said Masse. “It was a big surprise for us, I didn’t think we were going to be able to win. We were just hoping to finish the race and get a top-5. The car was better than I expected and the motor was way better than I expected because I’ve had that motor sitting around the shop for about 2 years. The last time we sent that motor to Billy the Kid was the middle of the year a couple seasons ago and it still has a lot of power. It was tough to figure out Stafford and how to pass there. You can’t make any mistakes on corner entry since that’s where all the wrecks happen. That’s what was hurting us when I first came to Stafford. I think I just needed a little more patience and we calmed down a little this year and we got it figured out this year with the tires and how to be there at the end.”
If Masse is to record back-to-back victories at Stafford, he faces a tough challenge. VMRS rules dictate that the previous race winner cannot start higher than 18th in the next race, but in 2 VMRS events at SMS thusfar, Masse has made a habit of coming to the front after starting deep in the field. Masse started the June VMRS 80 in 11th and finished second and last Friday night he started the Shark Cycle 80 in 12th and came through the pack to win the race.
“I’m pretty excited about coming back to Stafford, it’s going to be tough starting 18th to come through the field,” said Masse. “I’m looking forward to the challenge and I like Stafford more than I thought I did. We’ll see what happens. We started 12th last time at Stafford and it didn’t take too long to get to the front so hopefully it can be somewhat similar. The first race at Stafford it was really hard to pass and last race I was pretty much able to pass cars at will. We worked our way to the front in the first 15 laps and we were on cruise control after that and we let the race play out to us. Last week we hit the car perfectly and everything was as good as can be. I didn’t have any complaints with the car throughout the entire day. As long as we can keep the tires on it and slowly work our way to the front I think we can be right there. Most likely we’ll come back with pretty much the same setup, it’s hard to argue with a winning combination. Last week at Stafford was the best car I’ve ever had in a race. The key will be to keep the car in one piece, don’t burn up the tires early in the day, and make sure you’re there at the end to have an opportunity to race for the win.”
Another feather in Masse’s cap will be the backup engine that took him to victory last Friday night. That was Masse’s second win of the season with that engine and he hopes that it can help carry him to a third win of the season.
“We’re going to run the backup motor again” said Masse. “I was always told don’t take down a winning bet and we’ve got 2 wins with that motor so I can’t go away from it. We won the opener at Waterford with the older motor and then last week. I talked with Billy the Kid about the motor and he told me I could win with it and I trusted Billy. I knew it still had some steam in it after winning at Waterford earlier this year and once Billy told me we could win I knew we could go out and win.”
Masse will face some stiff competition for the Lincoln Tech 80 victory as over 30 cars are expected to vie for one of 26 starting spots in the qualifying heats and last chance consolation races. Tickets for the September 13th Lincoln Tech 80, the last Friday night event of the 2013 season, are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $27.50 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 will be priced at $30.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information on the Lincoln Tech 80, 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