Austin Bessette Takes Home 2013 SPAFCO Ltd. Late Model Rookie of the Year Honors at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — After winning three races and finishing second in the 2012 DARE Stock points standings at Stafford Motor Speedway, hometown driver Austin Bessette made the move into the Limited Late Model division for the 2013 season. Bessette’s season got off to a slow start, but he rectified the slow start with a win in only his fourth start and he went on to win twice more and ended the season fourth in the points standings to take home the SPAFCO Rookie of the Year Award.
“The biggest challenge for me was getting used to the speed and having to shift,” said Bessette. “I’ve been driving a standard since I got my driver’s license so I was pretty comfortable with the shifting, I just had to get used to the speed difference. We really wanted to get at least one win this year and we definitely didn’t expect to win 3 races. I figured we were going to get at least a couple of top-3 finishes starting out in a new division so we exceeded our expectations.”
After challenging for a track championship in 2012, and with a wealth of experience gained this season, Bessette is feeling confident about his chances to be a championship contender when the green flag falls on the 2014 season.
“I think we got the car down pretty good this year and we have a good idea of how to make the car work on older tires and when the Modified Tour is here and they put down their rubber,” said Bessette. “I think we’ll be able to be a contender next year with the experience we gained this year.”
Along with his three wins as a rookie, perhaps the most amazing statistic is one that doesn’t show up on the stat sheets. Bessette guided his #64 Brickenmore Chevrolet through 18 races without recording any major damage to his car.
“We were able to get through the year with no damage on the car, we only had mechanical issues,” said Bessette. “The first couple of races our throttle stop was off so we weren’t able to get full throttle and at the Fall Final a distributor went bad, but we were still able to get a fourth place finish in points.”
Although Bessette had to fight through several mechanical issues during the season, avoiding damage to his car along with his three victories helped secure him the SPAFCO Rookie of the Year title.
“It was pretty cool to win Rookie of the Year although there wasn’t a lot of rookie drivers this year,” said Bessette. “I think there was only Al and Cliff Saunders and Paul Arute and those guys didn’t run the whole year but it still means a lot to be Rookie of the Year. And I have to thank all my sponsors for their support this year, Brickenmore, Mainline Heating, John the Jackman, NAPA of Tolland, Casey’s Café, Northeast Industrial Truck, Bill Davis, Casagrande Builders, Waddell Communications, Reliable Welding and Speed, BMR, Bob Fill, Brad Penn Oil, B.A. Muzio, and TP Trucking.”
For the season, Bessette recorded 3 wins, 9 top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes in 18 races for an average finish of 6.1. Bessette will be officially crowned the 2013 SPAFCO Limited Late Model Rookie of the Year at the 44th Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 22 at Maneeley’s in South Windsor.
For more information, please 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