Duane Provost Enjoying Dream Start to 2014 Limited Late Model Season at Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — Since moving into the Limited Late Model division at Stafford Speedway in 2010, Indian Orchard, MA native Duane Provost’s best career points finish has been a 6th in 2011. Provost also had 2 career wins prior to the 2014 season, his first victory coming in 2011 which was followed by another win last season. But the dawn of the 2014 season has brought with it a white-hot start for Provost and the #88 Gus Coelho Automotive team. Provost won the season opening NAPA Spring Sizzler feature and he then recovered from an early race spin to come back through the field and take a second place finish in the opening Friday night feature event to sit atop the Limited Late Model points standings.
“It’s certainly new for me but I haven’t been shocked or surprised because of all of the hard work and effort we put into the car,” said Provost. “I certainly hoped to be doing this well and to win the first race was huge. The second race we got spun and I was a half lap down until around lap-12 when the caution came out and to come back and get a second in that race was really good. The car has been spot on and I can’t ask for anything better than that. It’s definitely been more fun this year and it builds a lot of confidence going in every week knowing the car is fast and I just have to keep it in a good spot for the race. I’m not struggling with ‘What do I have to change or what do I have to fix on the car?’ If I can maintain that throughout the year that would be great.”
While Provost was hard at work over the winter, he says very little has changed on his #88 machine since the end of the 2013 season.
“Honestly, I’m not really sure what the difference has been,” said Provost. “It’s the same exact car that it was last year, same setup, it’s all the same stuff. I think maybe I have a little more focus this year and we’ve had some good luck to help us out so far this season. We had the motor refreshed but it’s the same tranny, same rear end, same shocks, the only thing that changed for us was the tires. The car feels like it goes through the center of the corners really good. It gives me a lot of confidence knowing I can push the car a little more and get past people. It gets frustrating when we’re all running the same speed and you can’t pass the guy in front of you. You really need to be faster at the right point of the corner to get around someone in front of you. No one likes you using the fender on them so I always try to keep it as clean as possible. I think that’s maybe one area that I’m better than I was in past years. The car is a little more stable when I’m running in a group and once I get out front, I can pull away from guys. Last year the car was a little evil when I got alongside other cars and I would try to keep from rubbing fenders or banging into them and then pay the price for being a little slower. Maybe I haven’t hit on anything great with the car, maybe everyone else is just taking a couple of weeks to get going.”
With his success to start the season off, Provost is looking forward to maintaining his level of consistency at the front of the pack for the remainder of the 2014 season. And with running at the front, he is hoping to possibly attract several more sponsors.
“Nobody can foresee what’s going to happen, but barring anything crazy I anticipate being strong for the remainder of the season,” said Provost. “Obviously I don’t have the funds that some of the other teams have so if I get wacked a little harder, it takes a couple of weeks to straighten things out completely on the car. But that’s all part of racing and you go into it with the expectation that’s probably going to happen at some point and if it doesn’t great, but if it does then you can’t complain because nobody is making me race. Gus Coelho helps me out but I’m always looking for extra sponsors. I’m open to entertaining new ideas for sure and I’m hoping we can pick up some new sponsors.”
Provost will look to continue his hot streak this Friday as part of the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 program and he will look to cash in on May 30thwhen the Ltd. Late Models take to track for their 25-lap Xtra Mart Xtra D feature event.
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