Flying under the radar.
It’s a position that Stafford Speedway SK Modified driver Todd Owen doesn’t mind being in when it comes to this weekend’s NAPA Fall Final at the historic track.
In the chase for the SK Modified championship at Stafford there’s Ronnie Williams leading the way, looking for his second consecutive division title.
And there’s Keith Rocco looking for his fourth Stafford SK Modified title, sitting 16 points behind Williams.
Between them is Owen, a driver who it’s fair to say gets a lot less attention from fans than Williams or Rocco. Owen sits six points behind Williams in the standings.
“I’m definitely liking the fact of being the quiet one,” Owen told RaceDayCT. “Those Fall Final races are crazy races every year. You just have to be there at the end of it. So if I’ve got to be the quiet one and hopefully come out at the top of the list, that would be fine with me.”
Owen has three victories, 12 top-five’s and a division leading 18 top-10’s in 19 starts this year at Stafford.
“We just kept being consistent,” Owen said of the key to his team being in the position they are now. “We were able to finish the first couple races, which I think for three or four years prior to that we had a hard time getting through the [Spring Sizzler] with a good finish. Once you get yourself behind the eight-ball it’s very hard to catch up. We had a fast car every race and we were able to finish almost every race in the top-10. Any other year you look back, me, Keith or Ronnie would probably be ahead by 50 points. It’s been a good year for all three of us. No matter what the year ends like, I’m proud of my guys, my team. The situation that we have here, I’m very thankful to be a part of it.”
Owen said he will go into Sunday’s race trying to treat the event like any other 40-lap feature any other time the rest of the season, but he acknowledges that keeping tabs on Williams and Rocco will be necessary.
“I think I feel less nerves now than I did four weeks ago when I had the point lead,” Owen said. “At this point I have nothing to lose at the Fall Final. I can just go out there and do what we can.
“I think honestly you have to go out and do what you’ve been doing all year. But on the other side of it you kind of have to know what’s going on with the race. Maybe sometimes you may not push as hard as you have to depending on where they are or what their positions are. Obviously it’s going to play out differently than a normal Friday night, but I think our approach is going to be we just go out and try to get the car to the front. The only job that we can do is win the race and let the cards fall as they may.
“For myself, I’ve finished second probably eight times in different series and at different levels. It would be awesome to put myself on the championship trophy for sure. But if that doesn’t work out, I’m still going to get out of the car on Sunday and be happy with the year that we’ve had. I guess that’s all we can do.”
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