|
|
|
04/12/2012 |
|
|
STAFFORD
MOTOR SPEEDWAY CARQUEST
CHAMPIONS FOR CHARITIES DRIVER SPOTLIGHT:
RON MIDFORD JR |
 Stafford
Motor Speedway has again lined up an impressive
field of current and former open wheel champions for
its CARQUEST Champions For Charities Event as part
of CARQUEST Super Saturday on June 30th. During the
coming weeks, SMS will offer a profile on each of
its championship winning drivers and the charity
they will be racing for and this week's CARQUEST
Champions For Charities spotlight falls on 2-time
Wild Thing Kart Senior Champ Champion (2010, 2011)
Ron Midford, Jr., who will be racing to help support
The Greg Caron Family Fund.
On November 11, 2011, Ellington native Greg Caron,
while serving a second tour with his Marine Corp
unit, lost both of his legs, the tip of his finger,
and broke his collar bone after stepping on an IED
in Afghanistan. The Greg Caron Family Fund was
established to help Greg adjust to a new lifestyle
and Ron Midford, Jr. will be representing the Greg
Caron Family Fund in his CARQUEST Champions For
Charities effort.
"My parents are good friends with Greg's parents,
they ride motorcycles and play golf together, so
there's a family connection," said Midford. "Greg
Hurlburt, who owns the kart I'll be driving, is also
friends with the Caron family. We were both in the
stands last year for the CARQUEST Champions For
Charities event and enjoyed watching the race. When
we heard about what happened to Greg Caron, Greg
Hurlburt and I were motivated to get in this race to
help raise money for he and his family.” Greg
Hurlburt’s son Cole races in the Tiger A division on
Monday nights in Stafford. “Greg (Hurlburt) bought a
Sr. Outlaw kart and motor that I will run in the
Champions for Charities Race and Cole will use when
he moves to the Jr. Outlaw division.”
“I feel we take for granted what our soldiers do for
us on a daily basis. They protect our freedoms and
allow us to live our lives the way we do. We are all
extremely fortunate to have soldiers like Greg Caron
defending our country and it’s nice to be able to
give something back.”
As part of Midford's fundraising efforts, there will
be a Greg Caron Poker Run on June 30th, the morning
of the CARQUEST Champions For Charities event. The
Poker Run will be from TSI Harley-Davidson in
Ellington to Stafford Motor Speedway. Registration
is from 9-11:30am at TSI Harley-Davidson, which is
located at 398 Somers Road in Ellington, CT. The
cost for the Poker Run is $30 per bike and proceeds
will benefit the Greg Caron Foundation.
"This poker run is great way to be able to raise
some money for Greg," said Midford. "We have some
great sponsors in TSI Harley-Davidson, Trantolo and
Trantolo, Kar Kare Auto Body a Division of Bolles
Motors, and Stafford Motor Speedway that all pitched
in to help put this Poker Run together. I wanted to
especially thank Lisa Arute for allowing us to be in
the race and organizing the Poker Run. We hope to
have a big turnout of riders for the Poker Run help
raise money for Greg."
While Midford got a late start in his own racing
career, he has been around racing his entire life
thanks to his familial ties to the Bolles family.
Despite the late start, Midford has taken quickly to
the Senior Champ Kart ranks, winning the
championship in each of the last 2 seasons. In
addition to his Stafford achievements, Midford has
also done well racing his kart in indoor events in
both Atlantic City, NJ and Providence, RI.
"I've only been racing at Stafford for 5 years in
the Sr. Champ division, but I've been around racing
my entire life with my uncles Tom and Brian Bolles
as drivers, and my grandfather Ed Bolles owning
their cars," said Midford. "I competed in soccer and
track when I was younger and didn't really get into
racing. As I got older, I started to get the itch. I
lived on the west coast for a year and I worked for
a company that owned Adams Kart Track in Riverside,
California. I would go there a lot after work and I
really started to enjoy racing. When I moved back
home, I saw Stafford had started racing karts and I
thought I'd try it out. It's a division that I can
afford and we have a lot of fun with it. My dad, Ron
Midford Sr, is my crew chief and my whole family is
involved, my mom, Doreen Midford and my wife, Renee
Midford come to all the races and my brother, Steven
Midford, races a kart on occasion too. In addition
to Stafford, we've had some pretty good success at
bigger events, like the indoor races in Providence
and Atlantic City. Over the last 5 years we’ve had 1
top 5 and 2 top 10’s finishes in Atlantic City, an
event that usually gets around 60 karts. In
Providence, there are usually about 45 karts and we
have three top 5’s and 2 top 10’s, so whenever we
branch out to a larger stage we do pretty well."
When it comes to the 15-lap Senior Outlaw race,
Midford may have an advantage over the other
championship-winning drivers with the level of
experience he has racing in a kart around Stafford's
mini-mile. But when asked about a possible
advantage, Midford is quick to play down any notion
of having an advantage.
"It should be interesting," said Midford. "It should
be a good event and the main thing is to be able to
raise money for The Greg Caron Family Fund. The
Senior Champ Kart is a little different from the
Senior Outlaw Kart in that our karts are built from
multiple chassis builders across the country, while
Wade Gagner builds all the Senior Outlaw chassis.
Senior Champ Karts have a set of rules and
parameters that chassis builders build our karts to.
On any given night there could be as many as 6 or 7
different types of Senior Champ Kart chassis on the
track. Another difference is that our karts don't
have full containment seats and our seats are a
little lower to the ground than the Senior Outlaw
karts. I do have a lot of laps on the mini mile, but
all those guys are champions and they've been racing
cars that have a lot more horsepower than my kart
has, so I'm sure they'll be fine."
The starting lineup for the CARQUEST Champions For
Charities feature event will be determined by how
much money each driver raises for their selected
charity. The starting grid will be set with the
drivers who have raised the most money starting up
front. Fans are encouraged to get involved in the
event by donating to their favorite driver or
favorite charity. To make a donation to The Greg
Caron Family Fund on behalf of Ron Midford, Jr., and
for more information on the event, please refer to
the CARQUEST Champions for Charities donation page
located at
www.staffordspeedway.com.
Stay tuned to
www.staffordspeedway.com
for more driver spotlights and exciting information
regarding the CARQUEST Champions for Charities
event.
CARQUEST Super Saturday will take place on Saturday,
June 30, 2012 and will feature the ISMA Super
Modifieds, NEMA Midgets, and Pro-4 Modifieds in
addition to the Senior Outlaw Wild Thing Karts.
Tickets for CARQUEST Super Saturday are on sale now
at the Speedway Box Office and are priced at $33.00
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. Reserved seating is priced at $35.00 for all
ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission
Tax. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free
parking with overnight parking available.
For more information, or to order tickets to the 9th
Annual CARQUEST Extreme
Tuesday event, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway
track office at
860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com. |
|
Source: Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted: April
12, 2012 |
|
|
