STAFFORD – Travis Hydar went from consultation to celebration Friday at Stafford Speedway.
Hydar was able to work his way past a smoky tire rub for most of the race and then held off Ryan Waterman on a green-white-checkered restart to win the 20-lap Street Stock feature Friday at Stafford Speedway.
It was the fifth victory of the season for Hydar, of Woodbury, the reigning division champion.
Waterman, of Danielson, was second and Johnny Walker of Agawam, Mass. third.
As the laps clicked through for the division, smoke could be seen coming from the rear of Hydar’s car. Under caution he was brought to pit road for a consultation with officials to check the status of the car.
“I wasn’t looking in my rear view too much towards the middle of the race,” Hydar said. “I started smelling something and I glanced up in the rear view and the thing was billowing smoke out of the right rear and I was like ‘Oh boy, that’s not good.’ They had me come down [pit road] and they checked it out and he said it was just a little a tire rub. It ended up going away. … Thank god for that.”
Waterman has a division leading six victories this season and is embroiled in a tight battle for the championship with Hydar.
“We didn’t have a car to win tonight, but I’m happy with a second,” Waterman said.
Waterman now holds a 12-point lead over Hydar with three races remaining for the division this season.
Matt Clement of Wethersfield won the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature. Mike Hopkins of Stafford was second and Jeremy Lavoie of Windsor Locks third.
George Bessette Jr. of Danbury won the 20-lap SK Light Modified feature. Alexander Pearl of Salem was second and Tyler Chapman of Ellington third.
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Anyone know who contested or why Hydar’s motor was pulled in tech last night?
That means it’s off to RAD Auto Machine for a dyno check doesn’t it? Get your bets down, will it check out or not? Betcha it’s aces. I recall Johnny (Wicker) Walker was dominating the Streets, claims of hanky panky HP wise, they pulled his motor and it checked out just fine. The year, 2017 I do believe the second year in a row he was champ.
It’s the least he could do for the gift he received last night. I mean to call his smoking issue a fender rub, you know, the one that went away after the hub cooled down and stopped burning the gear oil after the red flag. And letting him get away with turning the lapped car. JMO.
Doug, believe so because no one else can open up the motor besides RAD or someone who’s RAD certified. I’m near sure it’s all aces. As you said, Walker had the same thing happen to him.
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On another note,
Hydar is not really this big driving menace as everyone’s put him out to be online. The young man has been driving street stocks since the age of 14. He still holds the title for the youngest winner at stafford, which was this meek racer who developed into a skilled veteran. He’s been in the division for 6 years, has had a fair share of success and failure.
Travis Hydar has become the car to hunt, chase, and follow to the lead. He is a great example of learning to drive through experience, seat time, and knowing what you’re comfortable driving. Hydar bought an SKL, won in once it, and said, “not for me.” He didn’t crack under the pressure to become a modified driver, he liked his fenders and knew it worked for him.
I look forward to seeing Hydar in VL every week.
I was told that they pull the motor after a Street Stock wins 5 races and that Waterman had his pulled because of this as well.
Thumbs up for Kevin B as well as Stagger. Hydar was a menace the first years he raced in the streets. Remember Nicole Chambrello he turned her out of a good finish more then once.
That was then and this is now. The guy has stuck with it and made himself into a very good Street Stock driver. Learning how to make the car better and himself as a driver as well.
If there are naysayers, Waterman has had his too it just goes with the territory when you win.
Maybe the track should give some consideration to publicizing it when they pull motors a little more. We as fans make all kinds of assumptions on engines. If the track can dispel some of the doubt in rule enforcement how could that be viewed negatively?
Yes, we (Walker) had the engine teched extensively in 2017. It was after Robinson was tossed for the unapproved timing chain replacement on his engine. First it was a timing cover removal, then the engine pulled and dyno’d at RAD, then finally it was pulling a cylinder head in tech. No reports of anyone questioning anything(that I’m aware of), just the track doing what they should be doing. I’m certainly not surprised with what the track has been doing this year, with those two cars dominating the way they have.
LJ, crew chief right? I remember you at the time. I was complicit questioning Wicker’s engine he was just so dad gum dominant. As I recall at the time you were saying you didn’t even change the setup much during the week it was so consistent. And both you guys handled it well, reporting back to this forum not even crowing at the time or pointing fingers which you could have. Learned my lesson on the engine deal. Until tech finds something funky it’s driver skill, setup and mastering all the itty bitty things that make a race car fast that makes a car dominant.
Good luck the rest of the year!