Woody Pitkat, Stan Mertz Racing Salvage 17th Place Finish After Tough Day at Stafford Motor Speedway
STAFFORD, Conn. — After a rough afternoon and night at Stafford Motor Speedway, Woody Pitkat and Stan Mertz Racing salvaged a 17th place finish on Friday, May 14. Competing in the 811 Call Before You Dig Open Modified 81, Pitkat struggled with the handling and also dealt with a leaking rear end, which was found by the team in the pit area after the feature.
To start the day, the Twisted Tea/Truly Hard Seltzer team couldn’t get the engine to fire, forcing Pitkat to miss the first practice session. He competed in the second round of warmups — and qualified through the heat race — but struggled in the feature. For Pitkat and Stan Mertz Racing, the one positive leaving Stafford was a race car in one piece.
“Frustrating the whole day, from the time we unloaded right through the end of the night,” Pitkat said. “I thought we had a good setup baseline from last year when we won the Twisted Tea Open Modified 80 race at Stafford, but it just didn’t work out. The car is in one piece. We have a quick turnaround to head to Star next week.”
Sponsors of the team include Twisted Tea, Truly Hard Seltzer, Axis Engineering Group, Black and White Grille (Spencer, MA), TowBoatUS, Cape Towing & Salvage, J&S Motors, Pomfret Wine & Spirits, Mike Holmes & Son Excavating, Earnest Performance Shocks & Kenneth Blackmer Transport.
As Pitkat mentions, the Stan Mertz Racing team is already underway with preparations for the next of their 10-race schedule — at Star Speedway — on Saturday, May 22, with the Tri Track Open Modified Series.
For more information on Stan Mertz Racing, visit stanmertzracing.com and follow the team on social media.
Sources: Souza Media/Kyle Souza