STAFFORD – It’s fair to say plenty of people around the world haven’t been all that happy with the way 2020 has been going.
For Matt Clement the disappointment of 2020 has been about more than just a pesky pandemic.
In 2019 Clement put together a dream season at Stafford Speedway with a division leading seven victories in 20 Limited Late Model events at the historic half-mile.
Friday Clement came to the track staring down the final few weeks of the season still chasing his first victory of 2020.
That chase finally came to an end for the Wethersfield driver.
Clement held off the charges of Alexandra Fearn over the closing laps to win the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature Friday at Stafford.
“This whole season my dad just kept telling me ‘You’re finishing on the podium, you’re finishing on the podium, don’t be upset with the season you’re having.’” Clement said. “But I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t upset about this season. Last year we just had such a run going. [Andrew Durand] is running that season over it seems. I am just so excited. To come back from my brother getting married last week, we had to take the week off, fell out of the championship run. To come out here and just be able to do this. I’m speechless.”
Fearn, of East Longmeadow, Mass. was second and Jeremy Lavoie of Windsor Locks was third.
“I looked up in the mirror there and I saw [Fearn] coming at one point and I knew I had to get going,” Clement said. “She’s been fast all year. I knew I had to just put the pedal to the metal there and hold the car on the bottom and just hope she wouldn’t use the chrome horn there at the end.”
Wayne Coury Jr. of Shelton took the lead on lap 22 and then held off Tyler Leary over the closing laps to get his second win of the season in the 30-lap Late Model feature.
Leary, of Hatfield, Mass., was second on the track but was disqualified following post race tech for an unapproved trailing arm. The penalty moved Ryan Fearn of East Longmeadow, Mass. to second and Darrell Keane of Enfield to third.
Is anyone going to talk about the FACT that the 11 late model won a race 2-3 weeks ago, was found to have an illegal rear end trailing arm on the car ( a type of one with a biscuit or spring in it) and they were simply told to remove it / not come back with it on the car again?
Then they ran like an absolute turd for two races before obviously deciding to put it right back on the car for last nights race. Then they run good again with their cheated up car and try and hide the fact in tech that they cheated again by putting the same EXACT part back on? Literally wrapping the trailing arm in a sweatshirt or some rags to bring it into the tech shed. Come on now, that’s just silly.
Whether it’s in an SK or a late model, that entire team is a road block and way over classed in every way on the track. Maybe put a big block in it and he can win another race. Not a lot of cars from up north off of Route 91 winning any more, maybe try 10 inch wheels on it next?