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06/19/2014 |
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STEVE MASSE
LOOKS TO CONTINUE STRONG RUNS
AT STAFFORD IN TOWN FAIR TIRE 80 |
 Although
he is still a relative newcomer to racing at
Stafford Motor Speedway, Steve Masse has enjoyed
some strong finishes at the Connecticut half-mile.
In three VMRS starts in 2013 at Stafford, Masse
recorded a win and a second place finish as well as
running third before a faulty rear end forced him
into a DNF. Masse is hoping to continue his strong
race efforts when the VMRS visits Stafford on June
20th for the Town Fair Tire 80.
"I’ve only raced at Stafford a handful of times, so I
kind of wing it when we come to Stafford,” said
Masse. “We’re feeling pretty confident and hopefully
we’ll be in the battle for the win. I have a car
that is definitely capable of winning. We lost the
rear end in the car last time we were at Stafford,
but before that we ran second and we won so we
should be pretty competitive. I look at Stafford as
a challenge and I have a small chip on my shoulder
when we go to Stafford. It’s cool when you can beat
the guys who race there all the time and it’s
definitely a tough track to race on. But it’s an
awesome track and it’s nice to be able to race
against the best drivers in the Northeast.”
With bonus points now available to VMRS drivers for
finishing in the top-5 of their respective heat
races, it brings up the question of how hard do you
race in the heat to try to win and get the most
bonus points while trying to conserve tires for the
80-lap feature. Masse sees the heat races as a prime
opportunity to not only gain some bonus points in
the standings, but as a key to taking the checkered
flag later in the evening.
“The heat race isn’t that big of a deal for tire
saving,” said Masse. “If I can get up to first in
the heat race, then that’s what I’d like to do. That
way you’re going to be starting up front and it’s a
lot easier to save the tires in the race when you
start up front. If you finish first or second in
your heat race, you’re automatically in the redraw
for the feature and you see guys like Teddy
[Christopher] and Keith [Rocco] always winning their
heat races and starting towards the front. It’s a
big advantage to have at Stafford so I’m going to
try to do as well as we can in the heat to start up
front, but it’s going to be tough. Track position is
going to be key because it’s hard to pass at
Stafford and the tires are important to do a little
saving in the race. I think I’ll probably try to
hang back a bit for the first 40 or 50 laps and try
to go at the end.”
If there is one thing for sure this season, it’s
that Masse has a very fast racecar. Masse won the
last VMRS race at Seekonk, and despite two DNF’s
this season, he is currently fifth in the points
standings. In the three races that Masse has
finished, he has a win, a third, and a fourth place
finish. Masse will be looking to first finish the
Town Fair Tire 80 before he can finish first to get
himself back into the thick of the VMRS championship
chase.
“It’s important for us to keep on finishing races,”
said Masse. “If you finish races, the points will
come. We already have 2 DNF’s this year at Waterford
and Thompson so another one wouldn’t be good for us.
We’ve had good runs this year, we finished third and
fourth along with our win so that’s why finishing
races is important for us. I feel like if we can
keep on finishing races, we can have a good shot at
racing for the championship. We have some new parts
on the car so we’ll see if we can get some more
speed out of the car and I have a great team behind
me that I can bounce some different ideas off of.”
Tickets for the June 20th Town Fair Tire Valenti
Modified Racing Series 80 are available and on sale
now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced
at $27.50 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00
for kids ages 6-14, and kids 5 and under are
admitted free of charge when accompanied by an
adult. Reserved seating will be priced at $30.00 for
all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission
Tax. Stafford Speedway offers free parking with free
overnight parking for self-contained RV’s available.
For more information on the Town Fair Tire VMRS 80,
or to order tickets, 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:
June 19, 2014 |
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