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MIKE WILLIS
JR. LOOKING FOR REPEAT RUN
AT STAFFORD IN VMRS 80 ON MAY 20 |
 When
the Valenti Modified Racing Series last visited
Stafford Speedway in September 2015, there was a
shakeup in the podium finishers compared to previous
events. In the first two 2015 Stafford races, the
podium positions were occupied by either Woody
Pitkat, Keith Rocco, Todd Szegedy, or Chris
Pasteryak. In the September race, Pitakt and
Pasteyrak were once again among the podium finishers
but finishing third was Grantham, NH native Mike
Willis. Willis is hoping for a repeat performance in
the VMRS 80 on May 22 after a wreck cut his season
opening race short at Monadnock and saw him finish
13th in the #38 Spirit of Alaska Wilderness
Adventures machine.
“We’re hoping we can repeat our finish from last
year,” said Willis. “We have a little more motor
than we had last year so hopefully that will help us
out. We’ve also been working on some new setup stuff
that will hopefully give us a little bit extra. Our
car was good last year but we weren’t good enough to
win so we’ve been working on getting a little more
competitive. The car fought us a little at Monadnock
and we missed the setup a little and then we got
caught up in a wreck that ended our race about 7
laps early.”
Stafford hasn’t been the best of tracks for Willis
and the #38 team as they had finishes of 26th, 14th,
and 21st during the 2014 season. The 2015 season saw
Willis and crew turn things around as they not only
scored top-10 finishes in each of the three Stafford
races, their finishes improved with each race as
they placed 10th in May, 7th in June, and then 3rd
in September.
“We struggled at Stafford during my first season and
then last year we got better and better each run we
came back,” said Willis. “I think with the
experience we have, a little more knowledge on the
car setup, and the extra power from the motor we
definitely have some extra confidence coming back to
Stafford. Our first goal is to always finish the
race and if we can get a top-8 finish, we’d be
pretty happy. We don’t have as much motor as some of
the top guys do and I don’t have as much experience
at Stafford as guys like Woody [Pitkat], Rowan
[Pennink], Teddy [Christopher], and Keith [Rocco].
If we can compete with those guys and keep up with
them in the race, I’d consider that to be like a win
for our little team.”
For Willis, the key to a good run in the VMRS 80
will be to draw a good number for starting position
and a good finish in his qualifying heat race.
“It’s always good to get a good draw for starting
position,” said Willis. “My first year we never drew
a good number and then last year we started drawing
better numbers and if we can finish higher up in our
heat race and start towards the front of the field,
that’s a huge help for the race. I think we started
in the top-8 last year at Stafford and that was a
big help to us going on to finish third, so I’m
hoping we can do that again.”
After finishing 13th in the season opening race,
Willis is also looking for a good run to give his
2016 effort a momentum boost that he can carry
throughout the season.
“Monadnock was rough so another podium finish would
be a great start for our season,” said Willis. “We
had back to back third place finishes at Stafford
and Lee at the end of last year so if we could do
that again at Stafford, that might give us the
confidence we need early in the year to have some
more good runs throughout the season. The team was
really starting to click at the end of last year,
we’re getting some great support from Kenny and
everyone at SPAFCO and Billy the Kid with the motor,
and we’re finally starting to get a notebook built
up at some of the tracks we haven’t raced at
before.”
The May 20th VMRS 80 will be the first of three
Valenti Modified Racing Series events to be held at
Stafford during the 2016 season. The VMRS returns to
Stafford June 24th and September 2nd. Tickets for
all three VMRS events are available and on sale now.
Tickets for the May 20 VMRS 80 are priced at $27.50
for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for
children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under
are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an
adult. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission
Tax. Reserved seating is $30.00 for all ages. For
the 26th consecutive season the month of May is
Youth Organization Month at Stafford Speedway. All
children 14 and under are admitted FREE when wearing
a youth organization team shirt or uniform and
accompanied by a paying adult.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor
Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on
the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com.
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Source:
Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted:
May 12, 2016 |
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