(Press release from Stafford Speedway)
The 2021 Stafford Speedway season is set to kick-off this Saturday, April 24th with NAPA Auto Parts Opening Day where Stafford Speedway weekly race teams will compete for $129,300 in bonus money on top of weekly payouts. To see full weekly payouts visit staffordspeedway.com/payouts.
Stafford Speedway Point Fund – New for the 2021 season Stafford Speedway has established a point fund for all 5 weekly divisions totaling $33,000 in awards. The top-10 finishers in each division will receive a payout at the end of the 2021 season with the top-15 finishers in the SK Modifieds® receiving a payout including $5,000 to the champion. Full Story
FloRacing Bonus – Stafford Speedway’s weekly live stream has moved to FloRacing for the 2021 season. With the move FloRacing has posted $40,000 in bonus awards for the 5 Stafford weekly divisions. Each division will have 4 events throughout the season in which the FloRacing bonus is available, starting Saturday with $250 going to each of the top 10 finishers in the Late Model feature. Full Story
Maybury Material Handling – For the 6th consecutive season Maybury Material Handling will provide a $150 weekly bonus to the winner of the SK Modified® feature and a $125 bonus to the winner of the SK Light Modified feature. Full Story
TickMike.com – New for 2021 TickMike.com has partnered with Stafford Speedway for the SK Modified® All-Star Showdown to run alongside the SRX series June 12th. In addition, TickMike.com has posted a $150 weekly bonus for the winner of the SK Modified® feature. Full Story
GRE6.com – Gaston Racing Enterprises (gre6.com) has posted weekly bonus awards for the runner-up in the SK Light Modified, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions paying $100, $75, and $50 respectively. Full Story
North American Motor Car – A new partner in 2021, North American Motor Car will be the official sponsor of the August 13th Senator’s Cup, a 50 lap SK Modified® event, and have also posted a weekly $100 bonus to the SK Modified® 3rd place finisher. Full Story
RAD Auto Machine – Long-time Stafford Speedway partner RAD Auto Machine has continued their support of the SK Light Modified, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions, sponsoring the 2021 Rookie of the Year program along with posting a $125 weekly bonus for the winner of the Limited Late Model feature. Full Story
New England Race Fuel – The official fuel supplier of all Stafford Speedway weekly divisions, New England Race Fuels Sunoco Brand will continue to award the top-3 finishers and highest finishing rookie with a $25 fuel certificate at every event. For more information about New England Race Fuel, please visit www.nerfinc.com.
NAPA Auto Parts – Synonymous with Stafford Speedway and iconic events such as the NAPA Spring Sizzler and NAPA SK 5K, NAPA Auto Parts will also sponsor the Rookie of the Year program in both the SK Modified® and Late Model division in 2021. Full Story
Paradiso Insurance – Another new partner to join the Stafford Speedway family in 2021, Paradiso Insurance will sponsor the Late Model 50 event scheduled for September 3rd and will also award the 3rd place finisher of each week’s Late Model feature with a $75 bonus. Full Story
Broad Brook Brewing – Along with producing Stafford Speedway’s new signature beer, Double Hooked Lager, available at the track and in surrounding stores, Broad Brook Brewing will award the winner of each week’s 30 lap Late Model feature with a $125 bonus. Full Story
Manley Performance Products – For the 2nd consecutive season Manley Performance Products will award a $100 bonus to the runner-up in both the SK Modified and Late Model features each week. Full Story
Northeast Race Cars – A new partner for the 2021 season, Northeast Races cars will award the winner of each week’s SK Modified feature a $150 bonus. Full Story
iRacing – The leader in online racing returns to Stafford Speedway’s contingency program posting a $125 bonus for the winner of each Friday’s Late Model division. Visit iRacing.com for more information.
Olson Apartments – For the 6th consecutive season, Olson Apartments will provide a $75 bonus to the 3rd place finisher in the SK Light Modified feature each week. Full Story
Bakers Wood Shop – After joining Stafford’s contingency program part way through the 2020 season, Baker’s Wood Shop returns in 2021 and will post a $75 bonus for the 3rd place finisher in each week’s 20 lap Limited Late Model feature. For more information, please visit bakerswoodshop.net.
Speedway Meadows Driving Range – Another new partner for the 2021 season is the driving range located in the Stafford Speedway parking lot. The Speedway Meadows Driving Range will post a $75 bonus for the winner of each week’s Street Stock feature. For more information, please visit the Speedway Meadows page on Facebook.
For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com, checkout Stafford Speedway on Facebook or Twitter, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
They need to spend some of that cash on a 2nd racing groove.
Looking at the totality of these partners SMS has organized and energized here on each and every Friday night to help the competitors pay the bills is really amazing to be honest.
I don’t have the skills to add it all up but i’d guess $3000 weekly average added to the purses. That’s remarkable.
Thank you Arute family
There’s always excitement just before the season opener. Last year it was through the roof after the virus delay and surprise there could be racing of any kind in 2020. That was special but this is more so.
Starting with the race tomorrow and the premier field of GSPSS super late models. The biggest reason it’s different is FloRacing. Most fans don’t go to every event. Now for the first time ever they can go to or see every single event and have their own library of races to refer to if they choose to do so. Available last year but unlike last year now at a very affordable cost. Not sure what happened in a race no problem. Bring it up and replay all you like to see what happened. Competitor’s may not have wanted to pay $20 to $30 last year to have their race night on their phones to refer to but this year the price makes it possible. Competitor sponsors appearance on cars has always been a rich tradition in local racing but now instead of a few thousand people at the track seeing their product they can reach so many more nationwide.
SRX is affecting everything as well. A bumper crop of bonuses, the track spiffed up, new and existing track billboards being put up to look their best for network television and new camera’s with new shots for the streamed races to follow.
Old timers will recall when Paul Newman, Dale Earnhart, Daryl Waltrip, Tim Richmond and others came to the track on special nights. That has not happened in a very long time. It will all change this year and in a spectacular way.
This is all happening mere months after the 2020 virus ravaged season and latest spike in deaths and infections. It’s happening as the pandemic still has to factored into everything but is no longer the reason to cancel everything as the human spirit struggles mightily toward some kind of normalcy.
If you’re competing at the track this year I envy you. You’ll be grinding away week after week, trying to do well in races and may not have time to notice. But this will be special and you will be part of it so stick your head up every now and then and try to enjoy the fact it all starts with you.
Well, since Stafford is the only operating oval short track in the state, what sponsorship that would have gone to Thompson or the ‘bowl really has only one place to go now.