Kyle Casagrande Wins SPAFCO Late Model Rookie of the Year Honors at Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — After 6 seasons and a record setting 20 victories in Stafford’s DARE Stock division, hometown driver Kyle Casagrande made the move into the Late Model division for the 2014 season, where he joined his brother Cory. Cory Casagrande won the SPAFCO Late Model Rookie of the Year last season and Kyle followed in his footsteps this season by winning the top rookie honors behind the wheel of the #7 Casagrande Builders / Shark Cycle Ford.
The Late Model rookie race was a season long duel between Casagrande and Josh Wood, who made the move into the Late Model division after winning the Limited Late Model championship last season. Casagrande was able to get his feet wet in the Late Model division by making 3 starts in 2013 and he had his brother’s notebook to lean on, but he still says it was a surprise to finish in front of Wood to claim the SPAFCO Rookie of the Year award.
“It definitely helped to run a couple of races last year, but I didn’t have any expectations of beating Josh [Wood] out,” said Casagrande. “He won the championship last year so I knew he was going to be some stiff competition for Rookie of the Year. My biggest thing for the season was keeping my nose clean and finish races in the top-10. Luckily, I don’t think we changed a front bumper on the car all year long and it definitely helped me out having Cory run the Late Model last year. I think beating Josh was one of the biggest surprises of the season for us.”
Casagrande managed to record a top-five and two top-ten finishes in his first five starts, but he says it wasn’t until the 60-lap Xtra Mart Xtra D Late Model feature on August 1st that he and the #7 Casagrande Builders / Shark Cycle team found their stride.
“The first couple weeks didn’t go so hot for us, but we got the hang of it about halfway through the year and finally hit the setup with our car and by the end of the season we were running at the top of the speed charts,” said Casagrande. “It was definitely a big improvement process for us during the season. Going into the 60-lapper, my only goal was to not get lapped and I ended up leading that race with about 10 to go and we finished third. I think that race was the turning point of our season that we realized that we can race with these guys and it gave us some confidence.”
While Casagrande ended up going winless for the first time in his Stafford racing career, he says that both himself and his crew members learned a lot about their car during the course of the season, which should only serve to make them stronger in 2015.
“It was disappointing not to win a race this season,” said Casagrande. “This year was the first season of my career that I haven’t gotten a win and I think it might have been Cory’s first season without a win. We led a few races but I couldn’t figure out what I needed to do to be consistent, so this year was kind of the opposite of a normal racing season for me. We almost won the first night in September. We were leading but there was a late caution and Adam [Gray] made a nice move on me and he got by us. I think we were faster than he was that night, but I just couldn’t figure out how to get back by him. Hopefully next year we’ll be able to get a W on the board. I definitely learned a lot driving the car and the guys learned about setting the car up. I have a little different driving style than Cory so that’s why we were a little off in the beginning of the year, but once we got going and figured out what worked for me and what worked for Cory, I think we were two of the fastest cars. We had 3 or 4 top-5’s in a row at the end of the season and my goal was to get one or two all season, so it was a pleasant surprise how the year went for us. The main goal was to win Rookie of the Year and win a race, so I’m glad we were able to get one of those goals and hopefully we can get the other goal next year. I have to thank all the sponsors on the car for their support this season, R.A.D. Automachine, BFR Chassis, Shark Cycle, Ruby’s Fine Wines and Liquors, Jeff Jolly Ameriprise Financial, B.A. Muzio, Magnus Transmissions, Marchese Landscaping, 32 Signs, Waddell Communications, and MKI Designs. I also want to thank my Dad Rick, my brother Cory, and John Smith for all their help on the car this season.”
For the season, Casagrande recorded 5 top-5 and 11 top-10 finishes in the 17-race Late Model season. For winning the 2014 SPAFCO Late Model Rookie of the Year Award, Casagrande will take home a $700 bonus from SPAFCO, which will be paid in $100 increments for the first 7 races of the 2015 season that Casagrande attends. Casagrande will officially be crowned as the 2014 SPAFCO Rookie of the Year at the 45th Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 21 at Maneeley’s in South Windsor.
Tickets to the 45th Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony are $45 per person and can be ordered by calling the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at (860) 684-2783, or by downloading an order form fromwww.staffordspeedway.com and returning the form to the track office. 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