Joey Ferrigno Riding Winning Momentum Into Dunleavy’s Modifiedz Night
Stafford Springs, CT — For Joey Ferrigno and the #87 RH2 Way Radio Communications team, the 2017 SK Light Modified season at Stafford Speedway hadn’t quite gone as planned over the first three races of the 2017 season. Coming off a 2016 season where Ferrigno collected 2 wins and challenged for the championship right up to the final checkered flag, he had yet to collect a top-10 finish in 2017. But Ferrigno’s luck turned around last Friday night at Stafford as he piloted his #87 machine to NAPA Victory Lane to give his team and himself some positive momentum heading into this Friday night’s Dunleavy’s Modifiedz Night feature, the biggest race in the history of the SK Light division with over $14,000 in total posted awards up for grabs.
“It definitely helps getting the monkey off our back,” said Ferrigno. “I knew I had a fast car all season. The first couple of races we ran up front but we had some unfortunate circumstances. This week the car was there, we didn’t have any trouble, and we showed them what we have. We always go to the track with the best car we can and I always like to think we have a chance of winning. Pulling off that win last Friday night shows we can still get the job done and it definitely puts the team’s spirits high.”
In addition to picking up the his team’s morale and giving them some positive momentum to work with, the win also gives Ferrigno and his Horsepower Hill crew time during the week to work on the #87 car and make any necessary changes for the 40-lap feature this Friday night that will be twice as long as a normal SK Light feature event.
“It’s much better to bring the car home in one piece so we can work on it to make it faster instead of putting it back together to get it where it was which is how the season had gone for us so far,” said Ferrigno. “There’s only so many hours in the week and when you’re taking the car apart on Saturday and bringing it to the frame shop and not getting the car back until Tuesday or Wednesday, by the time we get the car back together and painted we just have to go with our base setup instead of double checking everything on the car. It’s a big plus for us to be able to work on making the car faster instead of having to take it apart and seeing what’s bent. We’ll have to change some small things like the fuel load and the tires will have more wear on them so the car will be more free at the end of the race, but nothing major.”
The Dunleavy’s Modifiedz Night feature event brings with it a purse of nearly $10,000 and with contributions from Gaston Racing Enterprises, R.A.D. Automachine, and T/A Engines, as well as contingency, sponsors Dunleavy’s Truck and Trailer Repair, Maybury Material Handling, On-Time Accounting, and Olson Apartments, the total posted awards are over $14,000 with the winner having the potential to take home $2,925 with bonuses factored in.
“There’s Friday nights where I choose between going to the grocery store and buying tires, so we could definitely use the extra payday,” said Ferrigno. “It’s not about the money for us, but it will definitely help out if we can win the race. It’s awesome that someone like Doug recognizes the SK Lights and how good of a show we put on. There’s a ton of talent in the SK Light division. On any given night, there’s a dozen cars that can win a race where at other tracks, there’s usually 3 or 4 cars who are the front runners and running away with the races. The competition at Stafford is so fierce that if you’re off just a little bit, you’re barely finishing in the top-10 or even the top-20. Everyone is on their game at Stafford, just look at the division over the last 5 or 6 years. The cars now are a second and a half faster than when I started in the SK Lights. If you don’t work on getting faster and you stay where you are, your front running car turns into a mid-pack car.”
The SK Lights won’t be the only division racing for extra cash. The SK Modified® division will be racing an extra 10 laps with an additional $4,000 added to their purse but that’s not all. After each feature, the three podium drivers will each pull a winner for an item in victory lane with the top-3 finishers of the last feature of the night, the SK Light 40-Lap event, pulling the winners of a $1,000, $500, and $250 cash prize. Doug Dunleavy has arranged for a variety of prizes to be awarded during the night with all modified teams in attendance plus three Lucky Numbers from the PitStopper program eligible to win one of the prizes which range from the cash gifts to gift cards, a gas grill, cordless impact and grease guns, tickets to the Richard Petty Driving Experience, and a First Aid Kit.
In addition to Dunleavy’s Modifiedz Night with the big paydays for SK Light and SK Modified® teams, this Friday night at Stafford Motor Speedway is also Military Appreciation Night. Anyone who presents a valid military I.D. at the admission gates will get a general admission ticket for only $10.00. Regularly priced tickets are $20.00 for adult general admission, $5.00 for kids 6-14, and free for kids 5 & under. Reserved seating is $23.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. Stafford Motor Speedway offers plenty of free parking along with overnight parking available for self-contained Recreational Vehicles. There will also be a fireworks presentation at the conclusion of feature racing.
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