Branden Dion Ready to Challenge for Stafford Speedway SK Modified® SPAFCO Rookie of the Year
Stafford Springs, CT — After a stellar rookie season in Stafford Speedway’s SK Light division, Taunton, MA native Branden Dion is ready to challenge for SPAFCO Rookie of the Year honors in the track’s premier SK Modified® division in 2015 behind the wheel of the #04 Triple D Racing / Doug King Builders Chevrolet.
“I’m very excited to be moving up this year,” said Dion. “We worked on the car a lot during the season to get our setup dialed in and I think we’ll ready to go. The plan is for us to start off slow and work our way towards getting the car faster each week. Last year we studied our stuff each week, took our time, and towards the end of the year we really seemed to have everything together. It’s definitely going to be a learning experience for us but we have the same crew and the same chassis, so we should have a good starting point with the car setup.”
Dion’s results during his rookie year of SK Light racing were impressive. Dion scored top-9 finishes in 9 of his first 10 races and he reached NAPA Victory Lane in only his 13th start behind the wheel of an open wheeled modified. Dion’s 15 top-10 finishes for the season was second to only champion Jeremy Sorel’s 16 top-10 finishes and it is this level of consistency that Dion will be striving to achieve as he has his sights set squarely on winning the SPAFCO Rookie of the Year award and the $1,100 bonus that goes along with it.
“Our main goal for this year is to win Rookie of the Year,” said Dion. “That’s a pretty awesome thing that SPAFCO is doing for the rookie program and it would be a big help for us to get ready for 2016 if we can win that bonus. I’m looking for consistent finishes and having fun over the course of the year. It would mean a lot to the entire crew and it would be a huge accomplishment for all of our hard work to pay off.”
Dion joins the likes of Rich Hammann, Mike Christopher, Jr., and Tyler Hines as SK Light drivers making the move into the SK Modified® division for the 2015 season and he is one of 12 rookie drivers who have registered a car number. With such a robust rookie class, it will be a challenge to compete for that $1,100 SPAFCO bonus, but Dion is ready to tackle that challenge.
“It should be some pretty stiff competition among the rookie drivers this year and it should be exciting,” said Dion. I ran the Open Wheel Wednesday show at Seekonk and the World Series at Thompson with the SK, so I have a little experience with the new car and engine package. Our main focus will be to improve the car each week we come to the track. I think we’re looking to be able to get a top-5 finish this season. A win would be fantastic but I don’t think that will be coming this year.”
Dion and the rest of the SPAFCO SK Modified® rookie class will get their first opportunity of the 2015 season at the 44th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler on April 24-26. 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 44th 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