0
0
(Stafford Springs, CT)—With the 2024 season at Stafford Speedway making its final turn and heading down the homestretch, the races for track championships are coming into focus with contenders emerging from the pack in each weekly division. Here we take a division by division look at the contenders from each division and how they raced themselves into position to be a 2024 championship contender.
SK Modified® Division
Heading into the September 20th Spear Bro’s Kids Night event, the #85 Petty Cash Motorsports team has shown that a change of drivers hasn’t slowed them down in the least. The team was in the championship mix one year ago with Jimmy Blewett behind the wheel and over the winter made the change to Andrew Molleur piloting the #85. Molleur just recorded his first victory of the season on Sept. 6th, but he has been a model of consistency throughout the 2024 campaign, leading all drivers with 12 top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes in 16 races. Cory DiMatteo and the #11 Hummel Brothers Hot Dogs team were the early season point leaders by virtue of a three race winning streak after a 7th place finish to start the season, but he lost the point lead to Molleur following the May 31st race and has since been chasing Molleur. DiMatteo heads into the Sept. 20th event currently third in the standings, 50 points behind Molleur but only 6 points behind Michael Christopher, Jr. and the #82 New England Turf / Eastport Feeds / P.T. Watts team in second. Christopher got off to a slow start, but over the summer they came on strong with 3 wins to match DiMatteo and Troy Talman as the winningest drivers thus far in the division. Michael Gervais, Jr. and the #33 Gervais Brothers Roofing team currently sit fourth in the standings, 58 points behind Molleur.
Late Model Division
The race for the 2024 Late Model crown has been a tight race between Kevin Gambacorta and the #23 Lavigne Law team and the #39 Tavern on the Trax team of Paul Varricchio, Jr. Gambacorta came into the 2024 season as the defending Late Model champion while Varricchio was still in search of his first Late Model win at Stafford. The season opening NAPA Spring Sizzler® feature event was a preview of what was to come in 2024 with Gambacorta and Varricchio fighting for the win before late race contact between the two left Gambacorta to finish third and Varricchio 10th after getting penalized to the rear of the field. The battle between the two drivers has lingered all season long as Gambacorta leads the division with 3 wins, 13 top-5, and 15 top-10 finishes while Varricchio is second in the division with 2 wins, 11 top-5, and 15 top-10 finishes. Gambacorta heads into the Sept. 20th event with a 44 point advantage over Varricchio, his largest lead of the season with Chris Meyer and the #87 Mayday Oil team third, 94 points behind.
SK Light Division
The 2024 SK Light season has been all about Tyler Chapman and the #41 Chapman Apartment Homes team. Chapman, who has been the SK Light championship runner-up for the last 2 seasons, served notice from the jump that he would be the driver to beat in 2024 with 3 consecutive wins to open the season. He has since won 4 more times for a division leading total of 7 wins. Chapman’s dominance has allowed him to enjoy a 112 point advantage over Chris Matthews and the #29 Vernon Chevrolet team and a 122 point lead over Alexander Pearl and the #7 Darling Auto Parts team in third with 4 races left on the 2024 schedule.
Limited Late Model Division
Stafford’s Limited Late Model division has been the closest race of the 2024 season and also the division with the most parity as there were 9 different feature winners through the first 9 races before Rich Hammann became the first driver to reach multiple wins. Matt Clement and the #59 Utility Services of New England team kicked off the 9-race stretch of different winners with a season opening NAPA Spring Sizzler® victory and he has maintained the point lead all season long leading into the Sept. 20th event. Devon Jencik with the #23 Jenco Construction team and Jeremy Lavoie with the #6 L&S Equipment team have been nipping at Clement’s heels all season long and have kept the margin in the standings to a minimum. Heading into the Sept. 20th event, Clement leads Jencik by 12 points and Lavoie by 18 points. Hamman and the #28 NAPA Tolland team are a distant fourth in the standings, 60 points behind.
Street Stock Division
At first glance, one could be forgiven for thinking the 2024 Street Stock standings are misprinted. Travis Hydar has dominated the 2024 season with 9 wins over 17 races this season, including 7 of the first 10 races with a 4-race winning streak among those 10 races. But thanks to 6 finishes of 15th place or worse, he currently sits in 6th place, 68 points behind Tyler Trott. Hydar’s slide in the standings has opened the door for Trott and the #80 JHS Restoration team to hold the point lead by 12 points over Travis Downey and the #42 P.J. Ladola and Sons, Inc. Electrical Contractors team. Jason Lafayette and the #21 Tri-State Equipment Repair team sits third, 32 points behind, with Jason Raymond and the #49 The Barn Package Store team fourth, 54 points behind.
In addition to Stafford’s five weekly divisions, the Sept. 20th Spear Bro’s Kids Night event will play host to the final Kids Big Wheel race of the 2024 season. Tickets for September 20th are available now online at StaffordSpeedway.com/tickets and tickets will also be available for purchase at the admission gates. General Admission tickets are $20.00 for adults with all kids 14 and under free. Reserved seating is priced at $25.00 for all ages and pit passes are $40.00 with a valid 2024 Stafford Competition License and $45.00 without a Stafford license. If you are unable to attend the event, tune into the live stream on FloRacing, the official streaming partner of Stafford Speedway.
For more information, visit staffordspeedway.com, follow Stafford Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
