STAFFORD – It was a mission that began after the checkered flag fell for the final event of the season for the Limited Late Model division in 2022.
Jeremy Lavoie went into the final event of the 2022 season at Stafford holding a 16-point lead in the Limited Late Model division standings. Running third with just over three laps remaining in the 20-lap season finale, disaster struck for Lavoie. Lavoie spun on the track due to a broken part in the rear of his car and went to pit road on lap 17. Rich Hammann then used a fourth place finish in the feature to edge Lavoie by two points in the standings and win the Limited Late Model division championship.
Friday at Stafford Lavoie, of Windsor Locks, completed the mission of redemption that began after that heartbreaking finale in 2022. And he did it in perfect style.
Lavoie won the 20-lap Limited Late Model feature to clinch his third championship in the division.
“We set out for redemption this year,” Lavoie said. “They gave me a rocket ship tonight. The car kept getting better and better as the feature. As the tires got hotter the car got quicker. I was able to stab the throttle halfway in the middle o the corner and just check in the mirror and everybody was gone. What a way to show up in the last race. This is how we wanted to win the championship, in victory lane.”
Lavoie, of Windsor Locks, became the first driver in the division’s history to win three titles.
Lavoie came into the night holding a 16-point lead over second place Matt Clement at the top of the standings. Clement, of Wethersfield, finished third. Kevin Cormier of Agawam, Mass. was second in Friday’s feature.
“We were back for redemption,” Lavoie said. “We came and got it. We put a whole new rear in this car. We had a piece break on it last year. We said ‘The hell with it, we’re not going to let it happen again’ so we put a whole new rear in the car.”
Stafford introduced the the Limited Late Model division in 2005. Since then there have been three drivers to win two titles. Kevin Gambacorta, who won his first Late Model title at the track this year, won Limited Late Model championships in 2006 and 2011. Duane Provost won Limited Late Model championships in 2016 and 2016. Lavoie won his first two titles in the division in 2018 and 2019.
Lavoie, who had three wins and 14 top-five’s in 15 starts this year, finished the season with a 20-point advantage over Clement.
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