Josh Wood Joining 2014 Late Model Rookie Class at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — After winning the 2013 Stafford Speedway track championship in the Limited Late Model division, Palmer, MA native Josh Wood will join the 2014 rookie class in Stafford’s Late Model division. Wood made one start in the Late Model division in last year’s season ending Fall Final event and based upon that experience he is looking forward to making an impression during his rookie campaign.
“I’ve been looking forward to this ever since last season ended,” said Wood. “The Fall Final race was a lot of fun. I learned a lot and even though we tagged the wall a bit in the feature, it was still a good learning experience for me. Tom Fearn really helped me out with how you enter the corner a little differently than with the Limited Late Model. The cars are really a lot different. It’s different going into the corners and how you want to get the weight and if you mess up it’s more of a consequence in the Late Model than it was in the Limited. I felt pretty comfortable in the car at the Fall Final. It’s pretty much the same line you have to drive it’s just with the Late Model you’re going faster and harder into the corners. No matter what happens, it’s going to be a fun year for us.”
As Wood prepares for his transition into the Late Model division, he is no stranger to victory lane at the Connecticut half-mile track. Wood made his Stafford debut in 2010 driving in the DARE Stock division and he proved to be a quick study by winning 2 races. He then won 5 races in 2011 and moved up to the Limited Late Model ranks for the 2012 season. After a 6 win 2012 season that saw him finish second in the points, he won the championship in 2013 with a 4 win season giving Wood 17 feature wins in 4 full seasons of competition at Stafford. Wood’s Late Model debut last season was a solid effort that saw him up front in his heat race before losing several spots being in the wrong line after a restart. In the feature Wood ran mid-pack before a brush with the wall left him in 19th place, three laps down. Although the finish might not have been what Wood was looking for, he says it was a solid foundation to build off of for the 2014 season and Wood has set some modest goals for himself and his team.
“I want to finish the best I can every week and avoid all the wrecks,” said Wood. “My main objective is to go out and have fun this season. I think we can win and we’re hoping that we can get a couple of wins as well as winning Rookie of the Year. I think the biggest challenge for me is going to be racing against more experienced guys and passing cars. Guys like Woody Pitkat, Adam Gray, Tom Fearn, Jim Peterson, they’ve all been here for a long time and they have a lot more experience than I do.”
One factor that will aid Wood in achieving his 2014 goals will be his chassis. Wood used a chassis that he ran at Monadnock for his Fall Final effort last season but he will return to the same chassis he piloted to 10 wins the last 2 seasons in the Limited Late Model division with new updates everywhere on the car.
“We ran our Monadnock car at the Fall Final and I’ll be driving my Limited chassis this year,” said Wood. “We pretty much redid everything on the car. The tin is all new, we have a new seat, new gauges, new dashboard, we repainted the roll bars, and we have a whole new body. We rebuilt pretty much everything except for the roll bars. We’ve also repainted the Monadnock car and we’ll be using that as a backup car.”
Another aspect that will assist Wood this season is being able to pit and make repairs to his car during the race.
“We’re almost there, we’re still looking for a few people to help us out in the pits,” said Wood. “I like being able to pit, especially if you get a flat tire. In the Limited you had to sit out and then there goes your championship hopes. It’s going to be nice to be able to come into the pits and change the tire and I’m also looking forward to having a spotter. It’ll be nice to talk about what’s happening with the car and what it’s doing on the track as it’s happening rather than waiting until the race is over. I have a great crew with Donald Wood, Ernie Whidden, Matt Duby, Lindsey Duby, and my spotter Jerry.”
Wood’s #51 car will carry sponsorship from RAD, Custom Wood Floors, Casagrande Builders, Falls Alignment, Newman’s Lawn Care, and Fluckiger Race Chassis and he will make his 2014 debut during the 43rd Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler on April 25-27. Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets 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 is priced at $42.00 for all ages. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available. All tickets are good for both Saturday and Sunday admission. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information on the 43rd annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler, 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