Devin O’Connell Clinches 2015 Legend Cars Track Championship at Stafford
Stafford Springs, CT — For Madison native and Legend Cars driver Devin O’Connell, the 2015 season has been nothing short of magical. O’Connell has won 8 feature events this season at Stafford and he wrapped up the track championship on Sept. 11 with 2 races still to go. O’Connell’s Stafford performance has helped him to sit at the top of the National Legend Cars points in the Semi-Pro division, and O’Connell is also the World Road Course points leader for the Semi-Pro division.
“This is a dream come true for me,” said O’Connell. “In 5 years of racing karts here I wasn’t able to win a championship. This is one of the most historic tracks in the country and it’s an honor to win a championship here. I couldn’t have done it without my father, Chatham Highlander Motel, 860 Motorsports, all the fans who come out every week, NAPA Auto Parts, and Stafford Motor Speedway. I can’t believe I was able to pull it off, it’s incredible.”
O’Connell ran 2 Legend Cars features at Stafford in 2014, winning his first start and he was contending for a second win when a mechanical issued ended his night prematurely. That performance led O’Connell and his #43 Chatham Highlander Motel team to have the confidence and belief that they could be a championship contender in 2015, but the results they posted far exceeded their expectations.
“We knew we were going to have a shot at winning the championship,” said O’Connell. “We ran 2 races here last year and had 2 strong runs so we knew we could give them a run for the money. I moved back up here from North Carolina and we said this year Stafford was going to be our home track. I love flat track racing and this was my home track from karts. When we heard that the Legend Cars were going to run all 23 races at Stafford this season, it was a no brainer for us to race for the championship. This season has way bested our expectations and we’ve had a lot of help from 860 Motorsports and Chatham Highlander Motel to help make this a winning season for us. We came out here hoping to be the best and we knew the DiMatteo’s, Mikey [Flynn], and Teddy [Hodgdon] were all going to be tough. No win was easy for us this year. We have 8 wins so far this year and we have one more race to go. Stafford has some of the best Legend Cars drivers in the nation. Teddy and Mikey are both top-10 in the Young Lions, Dana and Cory DiMatteo are top-10 in the Pro division, we’re leading the Semi-Pro division and Noah Korner is third in the Semi-Pro, so not only the fact that we were able to win the championship but win 8 times this year, it has been a dream season. I’m so blessed to have had the season we’ve had so far and it’s not over yet. We’re still trying to win the national championship for ovals and the world championship for road courses.”
For the 2015 season, O’Connell has posted 8 wins, 19 top-5, and 21 top-10 finishes in 21 starts. The Legend Cars division still has one more race to go at the NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final Weekend, which will also be a national event qualifier, with the winner getting a direct ticket punched to the Legend Cars Nationals at Anderson Speedway in Anderson, South Carolina on November 12-14. O’Connell has already won 2 national qualifier events this season, but he would like nothing more than to put the icing on his cake of a 2015 season with a victory in the final Legend Cars race of the 2015 season at Stafford.
The Legend Cars will partake in all of their racing action on Saturday, October 3rdduring the NAPA Fall Final Weekend. The Legend Cars will practice, qualify, and race on Saturday along with heat and consolation races for Stafford’s weekly divisions along with feature events for the SK Light, Limited Late Model, DARE Stock divisions as well as Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The NAPA Fall Final will continue on Sunday, Oct. 4th with the NAPA Pit Party from 11am-12noon with the SK Modifieds® taking the green flag at 1pm followed by the Late Model and Whelen Modified Tour feature events. Tickets for the 43rd Annual NAPA Auto Parts 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 is priced at $42.00 for all ages. All NAPA Fall Final tickets are good for admission on both Saturday and Sunday and ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. Visit your local participating NAPA Auto Parts Store for discount ticket offers.
For more information on the 43rd Annual NAPA Auto Parts 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