(Press Release from Stafford Motor Speedway)
—
For the 7th consecutive year, Ludlow, MA based R.A.D. Auto Machine will present a Rookie of the Year Bonus for Stafford’s Street Stock, Limited Late Model, and SK Light divisions.
The highest finishing rookie drivers in each division will receive a $500 bonus courtesy of R.A.D. Auto Machine. All drivers who have made less than 5 division starts in previous seasons are eligible to compete in the R.A.D. Rookie of the Year program.
“All of Stafford’s entry level divisions are great classes with some very talented drivers,” explained Don Wood of R.A.D. Auto Machine. “We enjoy helping out drivers who maybe might not get as much publicity as the drivers in the premier divisions. Over the years we’ve seen a lot of very talented drivers win the Rookie of the Year and have gone on to win races and championships at Stafford. We look forward to keeping track of the rookie battles this year and we wish the best of luck to all the rookie drivers this season.”
The 2018 season saw 44 rookies earn championship points in the Street Stock, Limited Late Model, and SK Light divisions. In the Street Stock division, 2nd generation driver Meghan Fuller won a race and finished second in the championship behind George Bessette, Jr. Tess Beyer joined Fuller as a rookie winner in the Street Stock ranks. The Limited Late Model division saw a tight battle all season long between Steve Midford and Steve Martel with Midford taking the title. In the SK Light division, Bryan Narducci won 5 races and nearly won the championship, coming up just 2 points short of Marcello Rufrano. Narducci wasn’t the only SK Light rookie winner last season as Teddy Hodgdon and Alexander Pearl both found their way to NAPA Victory Lane.
The 2019 SK Light rookie class will see 11 drivers dueling for the $500 R.A.D. Auto Machine bonus. Jonathan Puleo won the SK Light championship at Waterford last season and he will be joined by Wild Thing Kart graduates Steven Chapman and Alina Bryden, Street Stock graduates Sami Anderson and Chris Bagnall, Anthony Forino, Legend Cars graduate Noah Korner, N.E. Truck Series graduate Bert Ouellette, Brian Crunden, Eric Bourgeois, and Joe McCarthy. The Limited Late Model division has Kevin Crosby as the lone rookie driver while the Street Stock division will see Isabella Minchella, Donald Soucie, Dan Butler, Adrien Paradis, III, Steve Kenneway, John Orsini, Marvin Minkler, Ryan Waterman, and Riley Derwin dueling for R.A.D. Auto Machine Rookie honors.
R.A.D. Auto Machine, owned and operated by Don Wood, is the exclusive engine supplier of the Limited Late Model and SK Light Modified divisions. With over 30 years of experience, R.A.D. is an engine rebuilding facility with full service machine shop capabilities. For more information on R.A.D. Automachine visit their website www.radautomachine.com.
For more information contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Thanks to Don Wood, and R.A.D. for giving out this bonus again. Don is a great guy, and engine builder who supports auto racing. The racing community should be thankful there are guys like him
It’s another year with the RAD bonus, another year with Rob likening the business to being the Mother Teresa of stock car racing and another year of me not getting it.
It’s a business that has a symbiotic relationship with Stafford. It gives Stafford a qualified engine builder to supply and rebuild crate engines under strict rules in several divisions plus build for other divisions. RAD gets exclusive rights to do the work providing an income stream. A low margin, high volume income stream but a dedicated customer base nonetheless.
The bonus is paid to the three divisions that RAD supplies the engines for. It’s not paid in divisions that may not be using RAD equipment.
It’s a nice little bonus to give back a little to the people using the companies products and keep the RAD name front and center at events. Is it some altruistic gesture by a race loving outsider……I’m not seeing that at all. It’s advertising and tax deductible.
Aside from the bonus both Stafford and RAD should be proud of the engine programs they have going in the three divisions. Clearly it’s making for competitive racing with the Streets and SK Lights looking to log banner years in car counts. The major factor in that is controlling engine costs.
Recently Nicole Chambrelo said the 16 had a new RAD crate engine after using the old one and winning with it for several years. Others have referred to using the engines for multiple years as well. It’s pretty obvious these GM crate engines overseen by RAD and rebuilt by RAD are durable and cost effective. Crate engines are the one cost in racing that has gone down over the decades when adjusted for inflation. Strict crate rules make for competitive finishes and cause every other component that goes into a car critical to getting it to go faster.
RAD should be congratulated not so much for a bonus that seems like a self promoting advertising expense. Where it appears to be shining is as a very competent business doing a wonderful job controlling engine costs with strict controls on new crate engines and quality, by the rules rebuilds.
The importance of that record of reliability can’t be overstated in my view.
Anyone don’t need to be stressed about persons disturbing anyone or engaging in fights and working with
the noisy audio.