Travis Hydar and Ryan Waterman Rivalry Ready for Midstate Site Development 30 at Stafford
(Stafford Springs, CT)— This Friday, June 28 will see Stafford Speedway host its annual Street Stock extra distance race, the Midstate Site Development 30. Street Stock drivers Travis Hydar and the #11 Hydar Construction team and Ryan Waterman and the #75 Edward G. Roy Trucking team are both set to renew their rivalry in the extra distance event. The two drivers won 13 of the 15 Street Stock races held last season and fought for the championship until the final corner of the final race with Waterman coming out on top. The 2024 season has seen the tables turned in Hydar’s favor as Hydar has won 4 of the 7 races held thus far with Waterman posting 3 top-5 finishes in 4 starts after cutting back to a part-time schedule this season.
“Oh yeah, I don’t know if the feeling is mutual, but I can’t wait to battle it out again with Travis,” said Waterman. “It’s always a blast racing with him.”
“I’m kind of anticipating that the race is going to come down to me and him battling it out for the win,” said Hydar. “We finished second behind Ryan last year, we just didn’t have enough at the end of the race so hopefully we can reverse those roles this season.”
With Hydar winning 4 of the 7 races held in 2024 and Waterman missing three races due to his part-time schedule, both drivers will be starting the MSD 30 toward the rear of the field. But with 30-laps and plenty of winning experience on their sides, they both feel like they can be a player in the fight for who takes home the checkered flag.
“We got the car going pretty good on old tires last week so we feel pretty good,” said Waterman. “We know we’re going to have to start the race in the back because we’re not in the handicap, but I’m sure there will probably be a yellow or two and I’m sure we can get right up there and be in the mix. I think we’ll have a pretty good shot at winning. Our results don’t really show it from last week but the car was very good. We got stuck behind a couple of cars but I started to work my way up there and if last week’s race was 30 laps instead of 20, I think we could have got Travis Downey for second place. All that makes me feel very good about the car. We’ll keep things pretty much the same with the car as we would have it for a 20 lap race and we’ll have to see how the day goes and maybe make a few small adjustments here and there.”
“It’s been one of those things where we’ve won a couple races and we didn’t finish the races that we haven’t won,” said Hydar. “It’s been an up and down year so far but we’re hoping we’ve got that out of the way and we can click off some good finishes. We’re pretty stoked for the race. We like the Midstate 30-lapper a lot, we’ve won it once, and I’m hoping we can win it again this year. I’m excited for the race and the extra 10 laps gives you a different aspect than a 20-lap race even though 10 extra laps might not seem like a lot. We don’t really change all that much with the car for the extra 10 laps. This race is going to take a little more patience than a normal Friday night and with the extra 10 laps you have a little extra time to work with and I think we’ll be all right.”
Stafford’s SK Modified®, Late Model, SK Light, and Limited Late Model divisions will join the Street Stocks in feature action this Friday night with fireworks to follow the feature action at the end of the night. Tickets for the June 28 Midstate Site Development Firecracker Street Stock 30 are available now online at StaffordSpeedway.com/tickets and tickets will also be available for purchase at the admission gates. Tickets are $25.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids 6-14, and free for kids 5 & under. Reserved seating is priced at $30.00 for all ages and pit passes are $40.00 with a valid 2024 Stafford Competition License and $45.00 without a Stafford license. If you are unable to attend the event, tune into the live stream on FloRacing, the official streaming partner of Stafford Speedway.
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