STAFFORD – Tyler Leary closed out the 2017 season in victory lane with his Late Model at Stafford Motor Speedway and figured it was the beginning of big things to come.
He never expected the wait he was in for in getting back there.
Leary ended a nearly two-season winless drought in dominant fashion in winning the 30-lap Late Model feature Friday at Stafford Speedway.
It was the third career Late Model victory at Stafford for Leary and his first since October 1, 2017. Leary had two wins in 2017.
“I’ll tell you this is such a relief I was actually tearing up in the car, I’m not going to lie,” Leary said. “Me and my dad and everyone around us work so hard. I’ve just got to thank Bob Fill for sticking with it and never giving up. It means a lot.
“[In] the 2017 Fall Final we won and I thought we were going to be a dominant car from there on out. But it’s been late nights, hard work, blood, sweat and tears.”
Tom Fearn of East Longmeadow, Mass. was second and Ryan Fearn of East Longmeadow, Mass. third.
Leary went by Richard Ciriello for the lead on the first lap and left the competition far behind in the caution-free race.
By lap 20 Leary led second place Tom Fearn by 5.3 seconds. Leary took the checkered flag seven seconds ahead of Tom Fearn at the finish.
“If we had a caution we might have had something for him,” Tom Fearn said. “Whatever. It’s just the way it goes sometimes.”
Congrats to Tyler and the #11 crew for your victory. So many times this season you’ve had a dominant lead, only to have a late caution wipe it away. Great job. Now it’s time to put the SK in victory lane.