R.J. Marcotte Ready to Elevate Himself to Contender Status in Stafford’s SK Modifieds
(Stafford Springs, CT)—With the dawn of the 2024 racing season at Stafford Speedway fast approaching, SK Modified® driver RJ Marcotte is coming off his first full season of SK racing that saw him collect his first career victory. Marcotte ended the 2023 season in 15th place in the points standings but the Millville, MA native is hoping to carry the momentum over from his first win last season into the 2024 season where he looks to make his #5 RJ’s Plumbing and Heating Chevrolet a fixture at the front of the SK field.
“I think we did pretty well last season for our first full year,” said Marcotte. “The beginning of the year was a little bit of a struggle for us, but towards the end of the year, I think we really started to figure things out. We had a few bad luck races where we had things like transmission issues that took us out, but we had a solid car and hopefully, we can carry over the momentum into 2024. Big thanks to my Dad, Shane Hopkins, Northeast Race Cars and Speed, RJ’s Plumbing and Heating, Clear Blue Pool Service, Del’s Vinyl Siding, Cow’s Tail, my spotter Steve, and Addison.”
In his first SK Modified® experience in 2022 at Stafford, Marcotte ran 8 races with a best finish of 14th place. His results last season were markedly improved with 1 win, 2 top-5, and 6 top-10 finishes. Marcotte notched half of his top-10 finishes in the second half of last season and he scored his victory on Sept. 1. Marcotte’s victory boosted his confidence level, but he is also aware of staying level-headed as he knows the competition level of the SK Modified® division at Stafford is among the toughest anywhere in the country.
“My confidence definitely got a boost but I have to keep my head on straight and hopefully wins will keep on coming to us,” said Marcotte. “We always go to the track hoping that we can win and I think that we have a car that can win and compete at the front every week. With the level of competition in the SK Modified® division at Stafford, any time you can run up front is a really good thing and our team is definitely capable of doing that. Stafford is one of the hardest tracks to race at and they always say if you can win at Stafford, you can win anywhere. I think we’ll be even better this year than we were last year and we’ll have a lot better chance to be running up front every week. We’re going to be focused on that and hopefully get a top-10 finish in the points with a bunch of top-5 finishes.”
The 2023 season also saw Marcotte qualify for the season-ending NAPA Fall Final Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series feature event where he just missed a top-15 finish with a 16th-place effort. Marcotte is hopeful to make several more starts in open modified competition at Stafford in 2024 alongside his SK Modified® effort.
“We had a pretty good car for the Tri-Track race and I think we might pick and choose a couple of the open 80 races to run,” said Marcotte. “We have kind of a small team so it’s a bit of a struggle to run both cars on the same night, but I can’t wait to get back in the car. It’s been a long off-season and hopefully, we can start things off with a good finish and keep that momentum rolling all year long.”
The first SK Modified® feature event of the 2024 season will be held as part of the 52nd Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler®, set for April 27-28. The NAPA Spring Sizzler® kicks off on Saturday, April 27th, and will consist of two 40-lap NAPA Duel qualifying races for the Open Modified division. The 40-lap races will each pay $3,500 to win and will set the field for Sunday’s NAPA Spring Sizzler®. Stafford’s Late Model, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions will complete Saturday’s racing program with qualifying and feature racing.
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Sunday, April 28th will play host to the $20,000 to win 52nd NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®. Filling out Sunday’s racing card will be qualifying and feature racing for the SK Modified® and SK Light Modified divisions along with last-chance qualifiers for the NAPA Spring Sizzler®.
For more information, visit staffordspeedway.com, follow Stafford Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Speedway PR