Stafford Motor Speedway released a 22-event racing schedule for the 2017 season Thursday that offered some unexpected new additions to the lineup.
The track will host the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour three times in 2017, one time fewer than in recent years. The division will anchor the NAPA Spring Sizzler April 29-30 to open the season with a 200-lap event. The series will also anchor the NAPA Fall Final to close the season at the track Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 with a 150-lap race. The Whelen Modified Tour will also run the Stafford 150 at the track on Aug. 4.
The Valenti Modified Racing Series will make two stops at Stafford in 2017, one less than in recent years. The Valenti Modified Racing Series will have 80-lap events at the track on May 19 and Sept. 1.
The most talked about SK Modified event in recent years locally, the NAPA SK5K returns to the track on July 7.
Stafford will also welcome the newly formed Modified Touring Series for a pair of 125-lap events in 2017, on June 2 and July 21. The sanctioning body, founded in 2016 by Gary Knight, has now announced six events for the 2017 season including the two at Stafford. They have also announced three events to be held at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H. and one to be held at Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway. The sanctioning body has hosted one event before this year, last year’s Winchester 200 open show at Monadnock.
Stafford will also welcome back the ISMA SuperModifieds for an event on June 23.
Click below for the full detailed schedule.
2017 Stafford Motor Speedway Schedule
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Happy to see ISMA running on a Friday night. I am interested to see what the MTS brings to the table in terms of quality and quantity of field.
Very interesting… Having ISMA return under the lights a very nice addition. In terms of the WMT, it creates more questions than provides answers.
Thank God I only have to go to that boring race track 3 times next year.
MTS $3,000 to win for 125 laps disgusting. Another step backwards for the Modifieds,
Glad to see another ISMA race around here again! It looks like the MTS grabbed the dropped WMT date on 6/2 and the dropped VMRS race. That gives us a net gain of 45 more “tour-type” racing laps. Hopefully all tour events will have mid-20 car counts or more!
Santa has been notified of my want of another season ticket!
Race fans loosing interest in the mod tour ,boring racing
Well Craig if you if you find the track so boring we really have no use for you .. Looks like we have a GREAT season of racing next year…
Craig your just a breath of fresh air
Would have been more impressed if they scheduled a ROC race than a MTS race. Stafford has a good SK division, but beyond that you are wasting a Friday night and your money. Who wants to watch a Dare Stock or Late Model race here??? At least Waterford and Thompson have cars that can and do run both tracks.
Great to see super modifieds back. Not sure about the numerous modified tour car series, though. Seems as though the weekly racers/crews get to spend more to support other “touring” series. Every month except august there are special shows….$$$$$$. Whelen tour lost the late May show, a shame. It was a great way to kick off Memorial Day weekend a few years ago.
The good- dropped the legends, one mod tour show, added the MTS and Supers!! The bad- 125 laps for the MTS shows
Chris, ROC teams don’t want to travel to Stafford. Sk, Sk light and Dare put on a good show. I agree that the late model is a waste
ISMA under the Friday night lights will be a great show!!
I think the late model dilemma is due to car counts. Years ago when the car counts were higher, the racing was better. Case in point; the Fall Finale had more cars than usual and it definitely was the best LM race I saw there this year. Some tracks determine their features by car counts. Maybe when there are less than 12 or 14 cars they should shorten the feature to 25 or 20 laps. With 30 laps a small field many times becomes spread out and single file. Less laps might make it more fan friendly. Or no heats and twin 20 lap features. Handicap the first race and invert the field for the second.
“Who wants to watch a Dare Stock or Late Model race here???”
I’ve seen some terrific Dare Stock races!
I agree, the Stafford Late Model division does suffer from car count numbers.
How can being involved with Gary Knight be a good thing? If anything, it shows how desperate some tracks have become.
Modified tour racing is so weak now that almost every track needs their “series”. Asphalt promoters really don’t get it.
At least there isn’t another single-file taxi cab race (K&N east) to sit through.
Stafford really needs to focus on increasing the car counts for their DARE and Late Model divisions (one idea is to merge the LLM and LM classes together), and not bring in 6 different modified tours with mostly the same drivers.
Chris.If You DON’T Like to Watch these Events.in Which Here MANY Top Drivers START There Racing Here. We DON’T Need Your Candy ASS HERE EITHER.
Problem with LM, not enough cars. Same for LLM. Should join them and make one division. Riverhead did just that and nice car counts. It can work out.
Lee USA did something similar. They got rid of the LM’s and made the limiteds the primary door car category. They usually get a good car count, and good competition as well.
Excited for the supers, but want to see what the MTS looks like before adding it to my calendar.
I agree dropping the legends is a step in the right direction. That small track should be left for the go karts. Now if they chose to combine the two late model divisions, which look identical except for an ugly wing , they would win me back. I went regularly a few years ago and it just got to be too long a night watching small fields of legends, limiteds, and late models waiting for the the SKs which they routinely run last unless a tour is scheduled.
Did they lose extramart as a sponsor? I noticed none of the weekly divisions doing extra distance events plus 2 or 5 laps. There have been at least one for every big car division over the last few years. It is nice to see ISMA on the schedule. Overall, I think they are going in the right direction. I am skeptical the area can support all these modified touring series with good car counts. I think there is going to be some winners and losers in the touring modified series. The first time they released their schedule with a few surprises. If I remember the KN race was added last season after the schedule was initially released.
The Legends at Riverhead are awesome as they are at Shangri-La II.Why not put them out on the 1/2 mile and let them race?
Putting the legends on Stafford’s half mile wouldn’t solve their biggest issue, car count. In fact, it would make it look much worse. How long would a lap take to complete? Stafford was only getting a handful of cars weekly, when they get strung out, it would make for boring race. They would need about 30 legends to make it interesting, maybe more. I am guessing there may be some safety concerns as well. While I wouldn’t mind seeing a one off special event for the legends on the big track, I wouldn’t want to be subjected to it on a weekly basis. The legends are great on 1/4 to 3/8th mile tracks like Seekonk and Waterford. Stafford has tried legends a couple different times now without much luck, they just don’t have the facility for them.
“Putting the legends on Stafford’s half mile wouldn’t solve their biggest issue, car count. In fact, it would make it look much worse. ”
I totally agree…
What would be cool for a special event would be Legends running a “dog bone” layout, using the mini-mile backstretch and the arc inside the full track backstretch. Kind of like two Daytona or Watkins Glen bus stops. I’m a road racing fan, so I might be biased.
cg,Shangri-La II is a big track.Maybe cars would come to Stafford instead of hauling somewhere else.Riverhead gets great counts every week.I’m sure CT racers go elsewhere instead of that embarrassing deal at Stafford
Seems like one step forward and two backwards. Stafford does not allow heats to its bread and butter divisions on a tour night. These support divisions got nothing this year NO extra 2 laps or the really nice extra five laps. This is a huge slap in their face. Yes combine late models and LLM’s. Talked with a renowned drive said Late Models at Waterford run different rules new management any room to rearrange some rules to benefit both tracks? It is the same state. Want a 6th division a one year try out for mini stocks at least 60 listed in the area. They are a fun division and should provide side by side racing unlike most of Stafford divisions and boring tour shows at this one lane track.
When I was a kid here on Long Island we had three tracks running different nites, same drivers at all of them.By the time at all died a horrible death all three were running totally different cars,mini mods,modified sportsman, modifieds,all different kinds of street stocks.I’m not talking about different names like sk mod and sunoco mod but a dizzying array of incompatable divisions.There is one track left,an industrial park,and a big box store where the other two stood.Cooperation between the CT tracks should be the order of the day.We need someone to make racing great again.Definately not someone with small hands.
Amazing how everyone knows how these tracks should be run,as long as its not you putting up the cash