Woody Pitkat Leads Ryan Preece by 4 Points in Chase for Stafford’s SK Modified® Track Championship
Stafford Springs, CT — The race for the 2013 SK Modified® championship at Stafford Motor Speedway has seen Ryan Preece as the dominant force for much of the season. The Berlin native has driven his #40 Sullivan and Sons / JG Poulin Drywall machine to CARQUEST Victory Lane a division leading 8 times and he has been the front runner in the championship standings for the majority of the season. But heading into the CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend, the final race of the season, Preece finds himself 4 points, or two positions on the track, behind Woody Pitkat.
Pitkat, who was a teammate to Preece during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, moved to Steve Greer’s #27 Gunsmoke Stables / James Paige Plumbing and Heating team prior to the beginning of 2013. The new combination has been playing catch up to Preece for much of the year but two wins and a fifth place finish in the last three races has seen Pitkat turn a 30 point deficit into a 4 point lead heading into the final race of the season.
“It’s stress to the max, but I’m trying not to think too much about it this week,” said Pitkat. “It’s not a whole lot but it’s better to be leading rather than chasing. You know who you’re racing against, we have to race the 40 and figure out if we want to ride behind him or try to beat him. Other than that it’s all about doing the same things that have gotten us to where we are right now. We’re going to make sure the car is bullet proof because you don’t want to have any dumb malfunctions. Once we go through the car once, we’re going to go through it again. Our biggest thing was to finish in front of Ryan, even if it was only one spot to gain some points on him. I think the biggest thing will be to focus on Saturday and get a good setup for the race on Sunday. I don’t think the track will change too much from Saturday to Sunday and you want to be good for Sunday because you don’t want to have to pit early if the car setup isn’t right. I’m sure Ryan will be starting in front of us so we at least have to get to his bumper in the race.”
“There’s nothing we can do or say that is going to change anything, it is what it is,” said Preece. “Obviously Woody and Steve have been consistent and had strong cars when it counted. We’ve won 8 races this season and it’s been a strong year and we’d like to cap it off with a championship. It’s going to be one of those deals where we’re going to have to go out and race for it. We’ve always had a great prepared car and we’ve won a lot of races this year, so we’ll see if we can do that again at the Fall Final. Our goal is to win the championship but we have to go out and win the race. It will probably be a little disappointing if we don’t win the championship, but sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t. My last three finishes have been 4th, 5th, and 18th so I think I’ll have my best starting position of the year for the race and we’re going to try to go out and win it.”
Not only will Pitkat and Preece duel for the SK Modified® championship, but they are also both in the top-5 of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour point’s standings. Preece is the point leader by 39 points over fellow SK Modified® regular Doug Coby and Pitkat is fifth in the WMT standings, 75 points behind Preece as the WMT heads to New Hampshire this weekend before they come to Stafford for the CARQUEST Fall Final.
The 41st Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend kicks off with practice sessions for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and N.E. Truck Series at 10am on Saturday, Sept. 28th. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour hits the track for practice at 11:30am with the NWAAS and NETS getting a second round of practice at 12:45pm. NWMT Coors Light Pole Qualifying begins at 2:30 and heat races will begin at 3pm for the NWAAS and NETS. The day will wrap up with features for Stafford’s SK Lights, Ltd. Late Models, DARE Stocks along with the N.E. Truck Series.
The 41st Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend kicks off with practice sessions for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and N.E. Truck Series at 10am on Saturday, Sept. 28th. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour hits the track for practice at 11:30am with the NWAAS and NETS getting a second round of practice at 12:45pm. NWMT Coors Light Pole Qualifying begins at 2:30 and heat races will begin at 3pm for the NWAAS and NETS. The day will wrap up with features for Stafford’s SK Lights, Ltd. Late Models, DARE Stocks along with the N.E. Truck Series.
The 41st Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend continues on Sunday, Sept. 29th with the CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party from 11am-12noon followed by Stafford’s SK Modifieds® and Late Models joining the Whelen Modified Tour in feature action.
Tickets for the September 28th & Sept. 29th 41st Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend 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 will be priced at $42.00 for all ages. All CARQUEST Fall Final tickets are good for admission on both Saturday and Sunday. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information on the 41st Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend, 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