Jeremy Sorel Wins SK Light Championship at Stafford Motor Speedway in Rookie Season
Stafford Springs, CT — For most rookie drivers a new car, new track, and a new set of drivers to race against and learn their tendencies on the track can prove to be a bit overwhelming. But for Jeremy Sorel and the #77 Bill’s Repair Service team, the 2014 SK Light Modified season proved that no obstacle was too much to overcome. Sorel joined Michael Gervais, Jr. in 2009 and Matt Galko in 2010 as rookie drivers who have also gone on to win the SK Light track championship.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Sorel. “At the beginning of the year we were talking about how we were going to see how the first couple of races went for us. Being able to jump into a new car at a new track and with so many new things coming together at once, knowing all our hard work paid off it’s a great feeling to be the champion.”
Sorel immediately served notice that he was a quick study, scoring 2 podium finishes in his first three starts to take an early season points lead. Sorel lost the point lead after the next race on June 6th with an 11th place finish, but a 6th place effort followed by 2 consecutive wins after that saw Sorel back on top of the standings and he would not relinquish that lead for the remainder of the season. Sorel nearly wrapped the championship race up with one race to go, but he was caught up in a crash during the Final Friday Night Shoot-Out feature event on Sept. 19 that left him with a 16th place finish and a 48 point lead. Sorel’s point lead heading into the NAPA Fall Final feature event meant that all he had to do to clinch the championship was take the green flag. Sorel not only took the green flag, but he was running among the leaders with 5 laps to go when the caution flag came out, which set up a great side by side duel for second between Sorel and Nick Salva. Sorel held nothing back and he made a move on the final lap to beat Salva to the checkered flag by a nose to cap off his great rookie season.
“I don’t want to say this year was a surprise, but we were hoping that we’d be able to ‘get it’ right off the bat,” said Sorel. “We had a good car and I had some good setup ideas from some people and that definitely helped us out. It was just a matter of how long it was going to take for me to get used to the car and get used to the track. Right away we felt really welcome at the track and I really enjoyed racing with all my other competitors. I definitely have to thank my crew for all the help they gave me during the year. Getting a crew together and getting the car good to go on the track was the biggest thing for us. The driving part usually comes along after all that is set. I also have to thank our sponsors Liptak Industrial Specialty, Bop Transportation, and Road Runner Express for their support during the season.”
Before Sorel got caught up in a crash and finished 16th in the next to last feature event of the 2014 season, he had posted 8 consecutive top-5 finishes, which slowly but surely surged himself ahead of his closest championship pursuers.
“As the year went on and we kept extending our point lead little by little, the last couple of races I started making decisions to take things safe and make sure we were getting consistent finishes,” said Sorel. “Going into the races we kept the same mindset to keep on doing what had been doing all year long because that’s what had worked for us up to that point.”
After winning the championship in his rookie season, Sorel is not sure if he’ll be return in the SK Lights to defend his championship, or make the move up the ladder into Stafford’s premier SK Modified® division in 2015.
“We’ll be back but we’re not sure yet what we’ll be racing,” said Sorel. “We’ve talked about moving up to the SK Modified® division and it’s all going to depend on how the next couple of weeks go with getting things ready in the off season and seeing what we can do for sponsorship. We’ll be back in the same car, it‘s just going to be a matter of if it’s an SK or SK Light. If we do move up, it’ll be the same plan we had this year to see how things are going after the first couple of races.”
If Sorel returns to the SK Light ranks for the 2015 season, he would have to be counted among the pre-season favorites to be a championship contender. But if Sorel decides to make the move into the SK Modified® division, will he prove to again be a quick study? Both Chase Dowling and Ronnie Williams made the transition from SK Lights to the SK Modifieds® this past season and were able to drive their way into NAPA Victory Lane, so the sky could be the limit for Sorel and the #77 team coming off a championship season in their rookie campaign at Stafford Motor Speedway.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web atwww.staffordspeedway.com.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR