Ronnie Williams Moves from SK Light to SK Modified® Division for 2014 Season at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Motor Speedway’s SK Modified® division has added Ronnie Williams to its 2014 SPAFCO Rookie Class. The Ellington native has spent the past two seasons in Stafford’s SK Light Modified division, where he has accumulated 4 wins and two 6th place finishes in the points standings. Williams joins fellow SK Light drivers Chase Dowling and Troy Talman as 2014 SK Modified® rookies in what should be a great duel for rookie of the year honors.
“I think we decided that we ran really well this year in the SK Lights and we were a contender every week,” said Williams. “We had a couple nights with crashes but for the most part we were getting podium finishes and we got a couple of wins, so that’s why we’re moving up. Of course I’m a little nervous, I’m going to be going up against the best drivers in the Northeast like Ted Christopher, Ryan Preece, Keith Rocco, and the list goes on and on. But at the same time, it’s going to be pretty cool because I’ve been watching some of these guys race since I was 2 years old so I feel like we’ll have a lot of fun this year.”
As Williams prepares for his transition from SK Light to SK Modified®, he and his AdviceOne and NAPA of Tolland team have bought the former #89 car driven by Woody Pitkat and Rowan Pennink the last three seasons at SMS. The #89 car won 5 races and finished second and third in the points standings with Pitkat driving, so Williams knows that he has a good car on his hands. Another factor that Williams will have in his favor as he sets out on his rookie season will be his crew chief, Stash Butova. Butova has won a championship with Frank Ruocco in the SK Modified® division and Williams feels that the combination of having a winning car and crew chief will help him to ease his learning curve.
“It definitely feels good to know we have a good car, it’s up to me now to see if I can do something with it,” said Williams. “The pressure is on but I’ll have Stash helping me out and I think we’ll have a fun year. Stash is like a god of race tracks, he knows what to do with the car, I tell him and he does it. I know he’ll have the car right and hopefully we can put the car into victory lane. Stash has worked with Frank Ruocco for years and they’ve won a championship together so I can maybe get some help from Frank if I need and having Stash helping us out is definitely a good thing.”
In addition to having a car that has been driven to victory lane by two different drivers along with a championship winning crew chief, Williams will have the very same crew and sponsors returning to help him get his #59 car to reach its ultimate goal, which is winning a feature. Williams also knows that the first several practice sessions that he participates in will go a long way in helping him and his crew develop a car setup that will help make them weekly contenders.
“I think we’re going to rent the track at some point before the season starts and then with the first practice sessions hopefully we can be all set and ready to go for the Spring Sizzler weekend,” said Williams. “The first couple weeks are going to be the key. I have to try and find a groove and get in it and maybe in practice follow behind some of the legends of the track and watch what they do. It’s definitely going to be a lesson and I’m going to have to learn. We can’t just go in and expect to win. It’s going to be a big challenge for me, but I love challenges. I think the longer races will help me. In the SK Lights you feel like you have to get up to the front right away, but in the SK races, you have time to feel what the car is doing and you can relax a little bit as you go through the field. You don’t have to get to the front right away. We have the same crew coming back and we have AdviceOne and NAPA of Tolland on board as sponsors and we’re still searching for more sponsors. Racing in the SK Modified® division has been something that I’ve always wanted to do. Racing in the SK Lights was awesome and racing in the SK Modifieds® at he Spring Sizzler gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.”
Willliams will hit the track for the first time in the SK Modified® ranks during the 43rd Annual Spring Sizzler on April 25-27, 2014. For more information, 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