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(Stafford Springs, CT)—One of the hottest drivers at Stafford Speedway in 2025 has been SK Modified® driver Jon Puleo. Puleo and his #7 Mr. Rooter Plumbing / Sign Pro team kicked off the year with a victory in the NAPA Spring Sizzler® and followed that up with a second place effort. Puleo was fighting for the victory when he spun with 4 laps to go in the most recent SK Modified® feature event last Friday night, May 30th. Puleo’s hot start to the year combined with his love for extra distance racing has him primed for the Casella Waste SK 80, set for this Friday, June 6th at the Connecticut half-mile facility.
“The long distance races are always our favorite,” said Puleo. “Growing up, every time there was a 50-lap or 100-lap race, my Dad always had a huge smile on his face and he was ready to go. That must run in the gene pool because every time I have an extra distance race, I’m excited and I wish every week could be extra distance. I think we have a really good car, last year we were pretty good in the NAPA SK 5k race and I’m really excited to see what we can do with the extra laps. It’s a different style of racing, everyone is a little more patient and you have to conserve the car where in a normal 40-lap race you’re 100% all the time. I think the plan that we have in place is going to be really good.”
With the Casella Waste SK 80 being twice as long as the usual 40-lap distance for SK Modified® feature events at Stafford, it would stand to reason that teams would have to make big changes to their cars. But according to Puleo, it will be business as usual when it comes to the setup on his #7 machine.
“The race is 2 features so at the end of 40 laps you have to know what the car is going to do and hopefully predict what the car is going to do in the second 40 laps,” said Puleo. “It’s all about staying composed and having good communication with your spotter. Luckily my spotter and I can lead each other with a blindfold on so we should be good for that. I think we’ll do what we always do since it’s been working for us so far and we don’t really want to switch it up.”
Puleo’s performance during the 2025 season has mirrored his career trend of improving season by season. Puleo began SK Modified® racing in 2021 and finished 17th in the standings. He improved to 13th place in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons before placing 11th last season. Puleo’s hot start to the 2025 season has him sitting second in the standings and he feels like he is a weekly contender for victory.
“The last 4 years we really struggled badly from the Sizzler® usually to around July each season,” said Puleo. “Our main goal this past off-season was how we could make the car better and also start the season off better. Our start this year has been a huge confidence booster not just for me, but the whole team knowing that we have speed and we’re in the conversation and ultimately up there in the points, even though it’s early in the season. As much as everyone says points don’t matter, they’re always in the back of your mind. Everybody’s goal is the championship but it’s early in the year and I want to win as many races as possible. I remember Keith Rocco once said win as many races as you can and the championship will come with that. As much as I like to say I don’t look at the points, in reality we all watch the points.”
While Puleo and his team have certainly endured their fair share of trials and tribulations over their first four seasons of SK Modified® racing, Puleo points to a chassis change made during the 2024 season as the launching point for more consistent success. Puleo closed out the 2024 season with 4 top-7 finishes in the final 5 races, including a win and a second place finish, and they have carried that over into the beginning of the 2025.
“I think we’re on pace for what we feel like we were capable of coming off of last year,” said Puleo. “We really started running well towards the end of last season and over the off-season we took our time to go through the car and we went back and forth with Keith Rocco with some stuff he wanted to try and some things that my Dad wanted to try. We swapped to a Troyer chassis last July and it’s a different style car than what we had been running so we had to fine tune what I was looking for. We got better and better and when the season ended we started playing with some ideas on how to be better and we went to work.”
Puleo’s season opening victory was only his third career SK Modified® win, but he feels confident that he and the #7 team have more victories awaiting them as the 2025 season progresses and they work on their car to keep it at the front of the field.
“I think we do have more wins in us this season,” said Puleo. “So far this season we’ve been running in the top-2 of all three races with 5 laps to go, so as long as we can clean up our execution a little bit and continue to improve, we can be a team that’s in the conversation every week. As the season goes on, everyone else around you gets better and better and my Dad’s famous line is, ‘it’s hard enough to get to the top and it’s even harder to stay there’. You have to keep on trying to find ways to get better and it’s pretty clear that these are the best guys in the country and the Stafford SK division is so hard. We’re always trying to get to 100% and then once we get to 100%, we try to get up to 110%. As soon as you think you’re good, the next guy comes up and is even better so you always have to try to stay ahead.”
Puleo and the SK Modified® division will take center stage this Friday, June 6th with the Casella Waste SK® 80. Stafford’s Late Model, SK Light, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions will join the SK Modifieds® in feature action. Tickets are available now online at StaffordSpeedway.com/tickets and can also be purchased at the admission gates. General admission tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the gate for adults, while all kids 6-14 are $10 and kids 5 & under are free. Reserved seating is priced at $30 in advance and $35 at the gate for all ages. Pit passes are $45 with a valid 2025 Stafford Competition License and $50 without. If you can’t attend in person, don’t miss the action—tune in to 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.
