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(Stafford Springs, CT)—The entry list for Stafford Speedway’s Wednesday, July 16 GAF Roofing Modified Masters has grown to 42 cars with several high-powered additions. Former Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman will return to Stafford driving Tim Connolly’s #4 car and multi-time Monaco Tri-Track Series champion Matt Hirschman has also been added to the entry list. These are just a few of the drivers throughout a star studded field that Austin Beers and the #179 USNE Power team will have to navigate through in order to capture his first career modified victory at Stafford.
GAF Roofing Modified Masters Entry List
I feel really good for this race,” said Beers. “The Jensen’s always bring a good car to the racetrack and we have Dale Hedquist helping us out. He’s going to be our crew chief for the night and every time he’s given me a great racecar, we’ve gotten involved in someone else’s wreck. We’ve been joking that this is our make or break race. He keeps on giving me quality racecars and somehow I’m not finishing these races so hopefully we can make it to the checkered flag this time. If we can make all 80 laps, we can definitely contend for the win. I know it’s a star studded field with a lot of contenders, but I have a lot of confidence that if we have the same kind of car that we had at the Sizzler® that we can be right up there with Silk, Hirschman, and whoever else is fast.”
Beers started 19th in the NAPA Spring Sizzler® back in April and worked his way up to as high as fourth place in the race before getting caught up in a wreck that ended his day early and relegated him to a 24th place finish. Beers is the most recent Whelen Modified Tour feature winner and with his victory moving him into the Whelen Modified Tour points lead, he is hoping to carry over the winning momentum from that event into the GAF Roofing Modified Masters 80-lap feature event.
“Any time you can win you always have a lot of confidence going to your next event and you have some good momentum,” said Beers. “Honestly I really thought we had a good shot at winning the Sizzler® until we got caught in a wreck. We had a good car and good strategy, but that wreck ended our day. I’ve been looking forward to this race for a while knowing that we’re going back to Stafford with the same car and we have a good setup behind us and we should be contenders.”
Beers is looking to drive to victory at a track that his father Eric came so close to winning at several times while ultimately coming up just short. In 41 career races at Stafford, Eric Beers had a best finish of second place behind Ted Christopher that came in the 2008 NAPA Spring Sizzler®. Beers would also like to win at Stafford for his car owners the Jensen family, who have also raced at Stafford for many years.
“A Stafford win would mean a lot,” said Beers. “I think Stafford is one of the toughest tracks to win a race at. With the quality of competition that’s at Stafford week in and week out, whether it’s the SK’s or even a Street Stock or Late Model, to get a win at Stafford is pretty cool. I know my father was close to winning at Stafford a couple of times, he was second to Teddy in the Sizzler in 2008. It would mean a lot for my family and I know the Jensen family has a lot of history at Stafford along with our sponsors USNE Power, Dan’s Siding, Dale Hedquist Motorsports, Avenue Auto, and Jensen Automotive Group. It would be very cool all around if I could win that race and it would definitely be a victory that I would cherish for years to come.”
The GAF Roofing Modified Masters event is shaping up to be an exciting night of racing. The Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series, bringing together some of the top Modified drivers in the Northeast, will headline the event. Joining them are Stafford Speedway’s SK Light Modifieds, who will compete in their own 40-lap “King of the Crate” feature event. Tickets are available now online at StaffordSpeedway.com/tickets and can also be purchased at the admission gates. 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.
