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(Stafford Springs, CT)—After recording a career best four podium finishes, including three 2nd place finishes in 2022, Troy Talman is set to pursue his first career SK Modified® victory at Stafford Speedway with new primary sponsor Casella Waste Systems on his family owned #3 car. One of Talman’s second place efforts came during the Sept. 23 Casella Employee Night and his performance opened the door for Casella Waste and Mark DiMaruo, Sr. to step up to a full-time sponsorship role for the 2023 season. Talman and his #3 team will be the lead car in Casella Waste’s 2023 lineup of drivers that will include Stafford SK Modified® driver RJ Marcotte, Open Modified drivers George Bessette, Jr. and Max Zachem, Mark DiMauro, Jr. in the Wild Thing Kart Sr. Outlaw division on Monday nights at Stafford, and JDay Off Road GP driver Sadie Dodge.
“We really grew our relationship this year with Stafford Speedway, and we needed a good driver line up to go with it,” said Mark DiMauro, Sr., Division Manager for Casella Waste in Connecticut. “Troy was coming on strong at the end of last year, almost winning the Casella Waste Employee Night at the track when we did a one race deal with him. He turned heads that night, and he certainly captured our attention. We decided to go forward with making him our flagship car for the 2023 season joining the rest of the Casella Waste racing group.”
“I’m ecstatic for this season,” said Talman. “Mark, Sr. and Mark, Jr. are both great people. Things between us actually got started with a thank you note that I had sent to them for being a contingency sponsor last season. We had a conversation one night in the parking lot at Thompson last August and one thing led to another as we were talking and they came on board with us as a sponsor for the Casella Night at Stafford and we were able to get a second place finish. I’m super lucky that they decided to sponsor me for the 2023 season and I’m very happy to be representing the Casella brand this season.”
Talman came into the 2022 season with 4 career top-5 finishes in the SK Modified® division from 2018-2021. Talman doubled his career top-5 total with 4 top-5 finishes last season, with three of his top-5 finishes coming in the final 7 races. Talman credits an old family friend for helping to get his season turned in the right direction and feels confident coming into the 2023 season with positive momentum on his side.
“John Swanson ended up coming on board with us last August and he helped us with the car setup and the car felt awesome,” said Talman. “Normally we would have a fast car for practice or a few laps and then it would fall off on a long run. Now the car is much more balanced. John has been a family friend since I was racing quarter midgets about 14 years ago now and who would have thought that one day 14 years later that we’re still friends and he would be helping us out with our SK Modified® car. I always knew I could get the job done but those races really gave me more confidence. I feel really good with where we’re at as a team. We have to try to see if we can keep the speed in the car on those kind of nights this year. We have a good chassis, a good setup, and good horsepower from Mike Pettit, I just have to finish the deal off as a driver. I feel like this is as good of a spot as I’ve ever been in and a huge credit goes to everyone on the team for putting in all the long hours at the shop.”
Not only does Talman have his sights set on recording his first SK Modified® victory, but several trips to victory lane is the goal he has in mind for himself and the #3 Casella Waste team.
“It’s very tough to win in the SK division, everyone has their stuff together and everyone has all their ducks in a row,” said Talman. “The goal this year is to win after we were so close last year. It would be great to win every Friday night, but that’s a little unrealistic. I try to not think about points, they’re going to fall where they fall and each week is its own challenge. I’d like to be consistent this season and we definitely want to win on Casella Night. Stafford is really the premier track in the Northeast and in every aspect of what they do is what all short tracks should shoot for. Starting with the management, how the track is run, the facilities, and their social media presence can’t be compared to any other short track that I’ve seen, so to win at Stafford would mean a lot to me.”
Talman will have his first opportunity to add his first career SK Modified® victory on Sunday, April 30 as part of NAPA Spring Sizzler® Weekend. The NAPA Spring Sizzler® kicks off on Saturday, April 29, and will consist of two 40-lap NAPA Duel qualifying races for the Open Modified division. The 40-lap races will each pay $3,500 to win and will set the field for Sunday’s NAPA Spring Sizzler®. The American Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Models will also make their return to Stafford Speedway on April 29th with a 75-lap feature with over 40 cars expected for the race. Limited Late Model, Street Stock, and Vintage All-Star divisions will complete Saturday’s racing program.
Order 51st NAPA Spring Sizzler® Tickets
Sponsor a NAPA Spring Sizzler® Lap
Sunday, April 30th will play host to the $20,000 to win 51st NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®. Filling out Sunday’s racing card will be qualifying and feature racing for the SK Modified®, SK Light Modified, and Late Model divisions along with last chance qualifiers for the Spring Sizzler®.
For more information, visit staffordspeedway.com, follow Stafford Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
