STAFFORD – It was a night that was one of the worst and one of the best of the 2021 season at Stafford Speedway for Todd Owen.
Owen’s night on the track was cut short after six laps of the SK Modified feature following his involvement in a lap three wreck. But when all the dust settled on the feature it was Owen being celebrated as the 2021 SK Modified champion at Stafford.
“You work every night, every day just trying to get there,” Owen said. “Basically a dream come true to come here. I’m the lucky one that gets to steer the wheel, but without the people that are behind me, supporting me, helping me, I couldn’t have any of this. This is more of a championship for them than it probably is for me. We all did it together. It’s just incredible. I don’t even know what to say. I’ve dreamed about this for probably 30 years.”
The crowning of Owen as the 2021 SK Modified division champion proved to come through an awkward set of circumstances last week.
But Friday the veteran Modified driver from Somers finally got the chance to celebrate his title in front of the fans on NAPA Championship Night at Stafford Speedway.
Owen technically clinched the 2021 SK Modified championship after Stephen Kopcik was disqualified last Saturday from his victory in the division the night before.
“It just hasn’t really set in yet the way circumstances worked out,” Owen said. “No doubt my name will always be on the record books as a champion.”
Had Kopcik not been disqualified from the Sept. 24 feature he and Owen would have went into the final race in a tie at the top of the standings. Instead Owen went to Stafford Friday with an insurmountable 52 point lead over Kopcik in the standings.
Kopcik was involved in the same lap three wreck that Owen was involved in. Kopcik ended up finishing 26th in the 27-car field. Owen was 24th.
Mike Christopher Jr. used a fourth place finish to leapfrog over Kopcik to a second place finish in the standings. Christopher ended up 26 points behind Owen in the standings. Kopcik ended the season 54 points behind Owen.
Owen finished the season with three victories, 15 top-five finishes and 18 top-10’s in 20 starts.
Through his relationship with car builder Butch Shea, Owen has developed the Chassis Pro Modified as a force locally. SK Light Modified champion Derek Debbis also came out of the Chassis Pro shop along with David Arute, the SK Modified feature winner Friday at Stafford.
“You talk about cars that weren’t even around seven years ago and we just won two championships and the SK [Modified feature],” Owen said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Exactly. Time for Todd Owen to drop that awe shucks we’re just a hobby shop helping each other out deal. Get a tax ID number and start acting like what you are. That currently is the dominant chassis and race setup provider for cars racing at Stafford Speedway. Owned, operated or at the least a combination of both by two master craftsman Butch Shea and Todd Owen.
This is just so good to see. You can’t say enough about Rocco in terms of racing. He’s almost the total package. Entrepreneur and businessman. Knows literally everything about race car components including the engines and can set them up with the best. Has dominated local racing at every track in Connecticut at one point or another. Has every reason to be a confident, self assured established icon of local racing. Yet for some reason continues to act like a sullen, insecure jerk most of the time in his engagement with the racing public.
Owen is not quite the total package compared to Rocco but he’s second and third is nowhere in sight. Plus the kicker. His persona is that of a gentleman on and off the track, expresses himself perfectly in a way fans can understand at an emotional level and his worst quality is a complete unwillingness to rough up his opposition in races at critical times.
For my money this was the best season going back to the mid 1980’s for the SK’s in two respects. The number of drivers capable of winning races on any given night and unpredictability with no consistently dominant top tier trading wins.
What the heck was the deal with the 50. That was a new car this year with great hopes. They got a win but for the most part were terrible. Why did they even show up their hearts clearly were not in it? Rocco a couple wins as I recall but mostly a very un Rocco like season. Christopher as well good runs but not able to generate the consistent runs necessary to win a championship. No one predicted any of that at the beginning of the season.
Kopcik almost there but not quite. There was the incident on the front stretch taking out Hines and himself while running in a strong second place losing valuable points in the process. The decision on illegal shocks and the track not finding them obviously not the right call. The wrecked car at the end perhaps a matter of karma? He’s always learned and improved and I’d bet is right back in the hunt if he races next year.
We loved seeing Hines in the Darth Vadar #85 breaking into the top tier almost instantly didn’t we? And owned by the person known as Tick Mike who we all can relate to with that omnipresent likeness virtually everywhere we look. How could a season so promising with multiple wins turn into something so bad? Poor decision making and lack of discipline is how.
Narducci’s tale of agony and ecstasy. 8 races in Calicchio’s car that ended badly. A win in a Rocco rental no one expected. Another switch to a Tick Mike car, Hines goes off the reservation losing the ride while Narducci ends up getting a promotion to a proven winner. Wrecking in the last race that given everything that transpired for him during the year seemed an apt ending to the roller coaster season.
The cherry on the top of this season the sucker punch. Or whatever it actually was it changed the dynamic of the season entirely at the time virtually ending Rocco’s and Williams relevance to a points championship.
Or was Arute’s win that was the cherry on top. The TC13 win nice but not real proof of the improvement he’s made as a driver and perhaps setup person in the SK’s.. That came last night and in no uncertain fashion. Keeping his foot in in all squirrely and out of shape driving to the checkered flag in traffic and getting the win. Think back to April and calculate the odds you would have given Arute to win a race this year.
Now we get to see what happens in the off season to see what drivers land where with all the car hoping hoping to make a full season run next year. Questions abound but there will be time for that later. Now the teams get a well deserved rest and we the fans as well get a break from the unique yet mind numbingly tedious race call of Dodge and Buckler.
Dynamite season Stafford!!!!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS Todd Owen, and the whole #81 team on winning the 2021 Stafford Motor Speedway SK Modified Championship. All those long nights in the shop finally paying off. Great job by a deserving team.
Next stop. New London Waterford Speedbowl.
Congratulations Todd Owen and team. Nice night for those chasis pro’s too. Love his attitude, demeaner and compete level. Hoping he can bring home either the regular points championship or tripple threat points from Waterford. . Great to see the success come his way.
Great to see Owen get a championship!
It’s been an amazing year watching from home on Flo in California! My Dad still goes every week and I’m always hoping to get a glimpse of him in the stands. He took me to Stafford since I was 3! What that track has done to make it accessible for me to watch when I want is nothing short of amazing!
Huge congrats to Owen for the championship! Is there anyone else that deserved it more? Kopcik is a special kind of driver. My bet is on him to win it all next year. He will be very hungry! I think Christopher still needs to find some consistency. Maybe working with Tommy Baldwin more will help. Hines looked off since he switched cars, not feeling him next year. Rocco, is this the decline? Gervais was good but he’s going to need to start winning. David Arute, he got better as the year went on, definitely some momentum there. Can we give a shout out to Molleur? Running two divisions, he’s great and what an awesome personality! Rufrano is my bet to be a title contender next year. LFR will figure it out! Korner, was it me or was he always starting in the front? Solid rookie season though! Meservey, Hodgdon and Puleo will be better next year especially Hodgdon! Shame he couldn’t win, he had the car to beat.
My question to everyone is who do you think will graduate to the SK’s? Obviously it could be Debbis but Pearl and Sullivan were right there until the end.
So funny seeing some of the biggest cheaters. Butch. Lol. Win a championship. Sure they had something to do with the other getting thrown out. Lol. Never changes.
Don’t just drop accusations and leave the room. Tell us EXACTLY what you have to say and offer PROOF
Congratulations Todd, great job. Cory never gave up,blew up ended up in 14 car,great sk light race. Sami Anderson is back. Can’t wait,100 laps $7000 purse,its gonna be a nail biter.
Another season in the books at Stafford and 1 for the record books and for the first time in the tracks history not nascar sanction congratulation to all the champions in 2021 awesome year looking forward to 2022