Jeff Smith (left) and car owner Gino DiFilippo Jr. after Smith’s victory in his SK Light Modified debut on July 5 at the Waterford Speedbowl
Jeff Smith will be looking to keep his perfect record in an SK Light Modified alive this weekend at a brand new venue for him.
Smith, of Old Lyme, will make his Stafford Motor Speedway debut driving the Gino DiFilippo Jr. owned RH2Way Racing SK Light Modified.
Smith will be part of a three-car stable that’s a competitive alliance between RH2Way Racing and Horsepower Hill Racing. He will team with Joey Ferrigno of East Hartford, a three-time winner this year at Stafford, and former Waterford SK Light Modified champion Paul French of Andover.
Smith made his first, and still only, SK Light Modified start in the DiFilippo owned car on July 5 at the Waterford Speedbowl and won in his debut.
“I’ve always wanted to race [at Stafford],” said Smith, a former Waterford Speebowl Late Model division champion who won his first Late Model event at Thompson Speedway last week. “We’ve been talking about doing it since I got hooked up with Gino and Paul. Gino was like ‘Maybe we’ll try you once at the end of the year up there. Now it’s sooner than expected. I’m thrilled about it. Now I’ll be able to say that I’ve driven at all three tracks in Connecticut.”
The SK Light Modifieds will run a 20-lap feature Friday at Stafford on a card that includes the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Call Before You Dig 8-1-1 150.
“Everybody at the shop, Paul, Joey and myself, we were quite impressed with Jeff’s performance first time out in the car,” DiFilippo said. “We looked for an opportunity to get him back in the car again. We think this weekend is something special. It’s a [Whelen Modified Tour] night. Maybe a Tour team will catch an eye on him racing and see the raw talent.”
With just two practices and no qualifying events scheduled for Friday, Smith will have an abbreviated opportunity learn the way around the Stafford half-mile prior to the feature.
“I know that there’s usually only one groove there,” Smith said. “Sometimes in a Modified you’re lucky and you can get two. I’ve got Joey giving me some tips and Paul has given me some tips about it.”
DiFilippo goes into the event optimistic the stable can fill the podium. Ferrigno has won two of the last three events at Stafford.
“I would love to sweep the podium at Stafford, just because of how much everybody thinks we’re cheating,” DiFilippo said. “I’d love nothing more than to bring a rookie to Stafford and put him in my car and be somewhere in the top three to sweep the podium. I just love seeing grown men cry that we’re cheating. If we’re cheating all you’ve got to do is put the money up to get the car torn down and we’ll be more than happy to take the car apart.”
I love that… Everybody’s taking about them cheating but nobody has the stones to make them tear it apart. Put your money where your mouth has been if you got something to say. Good for you gino, keep kicking everyone’s butt. When we thought someone was cheating we made them pull the flywheel. Guess what they weren’t cheating we just had to get better.
Go Smitty go!
Go get Em jeff! Good luck at stafford!
I don’t think anyone has ever accused French of cheating at stafford LOL needed to say that Paul
Sweeping the podium at Stafford will be tough with Jeff having to start at the back, due to no qualifying races. At Waterford, they probably would have swept the podium if French, who was leading at the time, didn’t have an issue
who thinks that 76 car cheats????? It starts on the pole at stafford every week and has won 0.0 times. I sure hope they arent cheating lol