Dillon Moltz Looks to Mount Charge in Point Standings Starting with 3rd Annual Late Model 100 at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — -For Stafford Late Model driver Dillon Moltz, the 2010 season has not only been a good season, but a consistently good season. Moltz has 2 victories, 12 top-5, and 13 top-10 finishes in 13 starts this season. But he enters the 3rd Annual Late Model 100 at Stafford on Friday, August 13th sitting third in the championship standings behind Ryan Posocco and Woody Pitkat.
Moltz missed the July 30th event as he was in Pocono, qualifying 16th and finishing 20th while driving an ARCA car for Richard Petty Motorsports. Moltz won two of the first three races and he had led the points standings all season long until the July 30th event and he looks to begin the climb back to the top of the points standings with one of his favorite events on the schedule, the 3rd Annual Late Model 100.
“We’re definitely looking at this race as something to build on,” said Moltz. “We missed a race with the Pocono deal and we fell a little behind. It’s going to be tough to catch Ryan and Woody but it’s not impossible to do. We’ve been a top-5 car all year long, our worst finish of the season is 8th. Last week we finished 5th but we only gained one position on Ryan, so we’ll probably need him and Woody to have an off night, but we’ll see what happens and we’ll take what we can get for the rest of this season.”
If there is any race on the Stafford schedule that can help vault Moltz back into championship contention, it would be the Late Model 100. Moltz has been a master of the extra distance classic over the past three seasons at Stafford. He swept the 100-lap events in 2008, scored a third consecutive win and a third place finish last season, and earlier this year he finished second behind Woody Pitkat.
“I really enjoy the extra distance events,” said Moltz. “The longer races suit my driving style. The longer races are all about not burning the car up early and trying to stay consistent with your lap times all night long. I like to survive until the last 30 laps of the race when it becomes like a normal Friday night event and then its time to go. You either have to make some passes or try to stretch out your lead, depending on where you are on the track for those last 30 laps. I’ve never really been a checkers or wreckers kind of driver, but we might have to be a little more aggressive in these last couple of races. You have to balance between having a good points night and winning. If you’re running in second, you can take the finish and have a good points night, or you can try to go for the win where the final outcome might not be what you want it to be. I think we’ve had some good momentum on our side from the beginning of the season to now, and hopefully we can continue to carry that good momentum with us for the last couple races of the season.”
Each of the top-3 drivers in the 2010 Late Model points standings, Ryan Posocco, Woody Pitkat, and Moltz, have extra distance feature victories ontheir Stafford resumes. But with only 28 points separating them in championship standings, they must survive a 100-lap test of man and machine, which has the potential to seriously affect the balance of the Late Model championship fight.
Tickets for the 3rd Annual Late Model 100 are priced at $18.00 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 $20.00 for all ages. As always, StaffordMotor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.
For more information, or to order tickets, please 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