Todd Owen Looking to Return to CARQUEST Victory Lane in SK Modified® Division at Stafford Speedway in 2013
Stafford Springs, CT — When the green flag is dropped on the 2013 SK Modified® season at Stafford Motor Speedway, one driver who will be looking to continue his 2012 success is Todd Owen. Last year the Somers native picked up his first SK Modified® feature victory since the 2006 season to go along with 8 top-5 and 10 top-10 finishes, which was good enough for 8th place in the final points rundown. Owen is looking to continue that success in 2013 and climb even higher in the final points standings at season’s end.
“Things are pretty good getting ready for 2013,” said Owen. “Winning last year was pretty big for us, I didn’t realize how much I needed a win. I’ve always had confidence whenever I go out onto the track, but the last couple of years, I lost some confidence. There was a point where we were racing not knowing if we could win and last year I felt like we were a contender for the win every week, and that’s a pretty cool feeling to have. I think that we should have won more than one race last year, but we had some circumstances that kept that from happening. We have the same crew coming back this year with a couple of new additions and everyone is definitely looking forward to getting started this year.”
Since Owen broke into the SK Modified® division in 2003 with a 7th place finish in the points standings, he has found himself in the top-10 of the points standings every year since. While Owen placed in the top-10 in half of his 16 starts last year, he says his main goal for the 2013 season is to be more consistent while racking up a couple of feature wins in his #81 that will carry sponsorship from Cooker Construction, Barnes Pools, Austin Auto Body, Four Town Rentals, DNSS Equipment, and Pettit Racing Engines.
“I don’t want to sound greedy, but we’d definitely like to win a couple of races instead of one this year,” said Owen. “Our main focus this year will to be more consistent. It seemed like last year we would run really good for a week or two and then the car wouldn’t be as good, or we ended up in a crash. We crashed at the Sizzler, we crashed at the Fall Final, and we missed two races last year, so we easily could have been in top-5 in points with a little more consistency. We’re going to have one conflicting date with the Modified Racing Series this year, we’re still going to go for the best finish in the points that we can get. And who knows, it might rain at one track or another that night, so we might not miss a race. Last year was a fresh outlook with a new endeavour, we tried some things differently than in years past, Butch Shea was a big help with the car and the team really came together. We’ve gone through the car and refreshed some things and we’re hoping to have another good season.”
The SK Modifieds® won’t be the only division that Stafford fans will see Owen partaking in this year. Owen has a deal in place to drive a second XtraMart car for Jim Mavlouganes in the Late Model division and he will be at Stafford three times driving Jack Bateman’s #17 in the Modified Racing Series.
“When I first came to Stafford in the ProStock division, Jim Mavlouganes was the top dog,” said Owen. “Over the years we became friends and I saw he had a second car, so I messaged him on Facebook who was driving the second car and we ended up working out a deal to run the Sizzler and then see what happens after the Sizzler. With Jack’s car, he has top notch equipment and the three Stafford races are the ones that I’ll be most looking forward to on the MRS schedule this year. It’s definitely going to be a busy year for me, I have a lot of good opportunities and a lot of good people helping me out this year.”
The 2013 Stafford Motor Speedway season will kick off with the 42nd Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler on April 26-28. Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” may be ordered by calling the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $38.50 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 $42.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information on the 42nd Annual CARQUEST TECH-NET Spring Sizzler®, or to order tickets, 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