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(Stafford Springs, CT)—Heading into the 2023 season at Stafford Speedway, Jeremy Lavoie, driver of the #6 Riley Generators Limited Late Model, was coming off the disappointment of being only 3 laps away from winning his third track championship before a parts failure eliminated him from contention in the last race of 2022. But Lavoie and crew haven’t let that setback slow them down as he has two seconds and a fifth place finish through the first three races of the 2023 season to place himself once again in the thick of the championship chase.
“We were very optimistic to start the season coming off of the low point of having a lower control arm break in the last race,” said Lavoie. “We put a bunch of new parts into the car and we thought we had a really good piece to compete with and with two seconds and a fifth, we’ve had a strong showing to start the year and we’re still looking to build on that. Big thanks to our sponsors Riley Generators, Rosati’s, Gene’s Ford and Chevy, L and S Equipment, Bobcat of CT, Ranco Collision Repair, Delivery Solutions, LLC., Aspen Hill Farms, and Maconi Setup Shop.”
Lavoie has been as close to victory lane as you can get without actually winning a race this season. Lavoie led the season opening NAPA Spring Sizzler® feature event but a late race caution set up a green white checkered relegating him to a second place finish. Lavoie followed that up with another second place a week later followed by a fifth place finish after having to drive through the field after a mid race spin. Lavoie is ready to claim his first win of the 2023 season and would like nothing better than for that first win to come in the extra distance Riley Generators 30-lap feature event this Friday night at Stafford.
“I feel pretty comfortable about this Friday night, the car has been very fast,” said Lavoie. “I have to give a huge shout out to Riley Generators for not only supporting me, but for supporting the Limited Late Model division and being willing to put up the money for all of us to have a bigger show than we normally run. I was talking with Dan Riley the other day and he told me if I can’t win the race to just get the best finish that I can. With 10 extra laps there might be a little different strategy for some of the other drivers with guys taking it easy at the start before charging hard late in the race. 10 laps may not seem like a lot but when you’re used to going 20 laps it’s a lot more and there’s a lot of things that you have to prepare differently. Our race is going to be the last feature this Friday night so the track will be a bit cooler than when we normally race and we’ll have to adjust for the track conditions. Last year we didn’t get our first win until the middle of June and we know a win is going to come for us so we’re not disappointed. We just have to go out and run our race because not every race is going to fall into your hands.”
While Lavoie enjoys racing extra distance events, he has not enjoyed the best of luck in extra distance events. Lavoie has a pair of extra distance wins in his career, but both came in the Street Stock division back in 2013. Lavoie would like to change his extra distance fortunes for the better this Friday night in the Riley Generators 30.
“I haven’t had real good luck with extra distance races so I’m hoping to turn that around this season and we can bring home the trophy for our sponsor and the nice paycheck that goes with it,” said Lavoie. “The car has had plenty of speed in it this season and there’s always room for more. The track has gotten faster since the Sizzler weekend so it’s going to be very competitive and any car can win on any given night. I think we’re only one adjustment away from being really fast so we’ll keep on plugging away and adjust on the car a little bit at a time. We put in a lot of work at the shop and the wins will come for us. We’ll obviously give it our all and I like running extra distance races, but they just haven’t worked out in our favor for whatever reason.
The Riley Generators Limited Late Model 30 is scheduled for Friday, June 9 and Stafford’s SK Modifieds®, Late Models, SK Lights, and Street Stocks as well as a Kids Big Wheel race will all join the Limited Late Model cars in feature racing action. Tickets for the Riley Generators 30 program are priced at $20.00 for adults, and kids 14 and under are free. Reserved seating is priced at $25.00 for all ages and pit passes are $40.00 with a valid 2023 Stafford Speedway Competition License and $45.00 without. If you are unable to attend the Riley Generators Limited Late Model 30 in person, tune into the live stream on FloRacing, the official streaming partner of Stafford Speedway.
For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com, checkout Stafford Speedway on Facebook or Twitter, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
