Woody Pitkat (Photo: Tim Bradbury/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Before the 2015 season began, the plan for Woody Pitkat driving for team owner Peter Kulessa on the Valenti Modified Racing Series was to run race to race and not worry about points.
After five of 14 events this year with the division, Pitkat has two wins and leads the series standings.
And being in the position to hunt a series title means some plans changing. And that changing aspect means Pitkat will be skipping out on one of the biggest events at his hometown track on Friday.
Pitkat, of Stafford, will skip Friday’s NAPA SK 5K at Stafford Speedway so he can compete in the Valenti Modified Racing Series at Claremont Speedway in Claremont, N.H.
Pitkat runs full-time in the SK Modified division at Stafford for car owner Adam Skowyra.
“The main thing was just to go race to race on the [Valenti Modified Racing Series] this year,” Pitkat said. “But we started so bad at Stafford with Adam. We struggled with the new car and we had a couple bad things, accidents and stupid things that happened that were no fault of our own. So we went back to our old car and it took a couple weeks to get that going, and we had it going pretty good and then obviously I had the accident there with Ryan [Preece]. Then we came back with the new car and we’ve been gaining. But we’ve been up there in the points with the [Valenti Modified Racing Series] going race to race. We feel like we could possibly do something there. It’s still race to race, anything can happen. But with us being kind of out of the points with the [SK Modified at Stafford] Adam understood.”
Chase Dowling, a winner as a rookie in the SK Modified division at Stafford last year will replace Pitkat in the Skowyra owned car Friday at Stafford.
Looking at the calendar for the rest of the season, the biggest conflict Pitkat and Kulessa see standing in the way of chasing a Valenti Modified Racing Series title is when the series runs Aug. 29 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Me., the same night that the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is schedule to run at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway. Pitkat’s first priority is to his Buzz Chew Whelen Modified Tour team. After six of 15 Whelen Modified Tour events this year, Pitkat sits just two points behind Doug Coby and Ryan Preece, who are ties at the top of the standings in the division.
To keep chasing Valenti Modified Racing Series points, Pitkat would also have to miss another race at Stafford on July 24, with the Modified Racing Series competing at Devils Bowl Speedway in Fair Haven, Vt.
Though missing Friday’s SK 5K stings for Pitkat, the track’s 2013 SK Modified division champion.
“If it was a regular weekly Friday night race then it wouldn’t be such a big deal,” Pitkat said. “But with it being that race, it’s kind of a big deal to miss that. … This year is my 19th year and when I got suspended [at Stafford for the June 19 event] it was the first time in 19 years that I hadn’t been there. But it’s kind of nice to go to some tracks that I’ve never been to before, or tracks that I’ve been to and struggled at and I’m running good now. I kind of like the jumping around to other tracks.”
In the big scheme of things…or when Woody Pitkat winds down his driving, I think he’ll be very pleased with running at the other tracks, Championship or not. After-all, there is not really much $$$ in the Champion’s dish with the Modified Racing Series. Enjoy what you do and hopefully win at other facilities.
Don’t worry Woody! Despite your losing two starts, Ted Christopher still has to win the race to pass you in the points standings. Enjoy Claremont!
With bob fill calling the shots over at the 13 sk camp I wouldn’t bet on anything close to victory lane tonight.
Didn’t Bob Fill help “turn things around” for TC’s SK at the end of last season (after some poor runs immediately after Mike O’Sullivan’s stroke)?
Henry Heinlich, don’t worry Woody! Despite your losing two starts . Ted Christopher still has to win the race to pass you in the points standings. Enjoy Claremont!
Are you implying that Woody has more talent than Ted Christopher ? Good thing dreams are free LOL
Let’s face it, Woody hasn’t exactly been running at the front of the pack with the 50 car this year (he has started there plenty of times, just wasn’t fast enough to keep it most nights).
Points aside, I would go were the most money is, and I think if Woody had a ride he felt that was capable of winning, he would have made a different decision.
Claremont and the MRS have their own issues to deal with this season, hopefully the race tonight doesn’t turn into a fiasco, but I don’t have a lot of confidence in the staff of Claremont Speedway.
Stafford will be a great show even without Pitkat there.