Far And Away: Chris Buffone Dominates In First Late Model Victory At Stafford 

STAFFORD – In short track racing parlance, it’s called “stinking up the show” when a driver checks checks out from the field. 

And Friday at Stafford Speedway it was Chris Buffone making his first career Late Model victory a stinker. 

Buffone checked out from the field following a lap nine restart and went unchallenged the rest of the way in winning the 30-lap Late Model feature at Stafford. 

“Not in a million years I would have dreamed of putting a straightaway plus on the best Late Model drivers around,” Buffone said. “It’s really special to be able to get our first win that way. Tonight was our night. It’s really special to be able to do it that way.” 

At the checkered flag Buffone was six seconds ahead of second place finishing Andrew Durand of Chicopee, Mass. Adam Gray of Granby, Mass. was third. 

“I just kept looking in my mirror and nobody was there,” Buffone said. “I just had to keep it straight. It’s just me behind the wheel and everybody else behind me that really puts in the hard work and I can’t thank everybody enough.” 

Buffone, of Belchertown, Mass., is in his second year full-time in the Late Model division at Stafford. He finished 14th in the Late Model standings in 2024 at Stafford and was the top finishing rookie in the division. 

“The first couple weeks [of the 2025 season], definitely was still learning a lot,” Buffone said. “Track conditions changed a lot. Then it started to get warm here and it really started to click for us. We started to find some things we needed to do. Came back and did them week after week.” 

Video Interview With Chris Buffone Following His First Career Late Model Victory At Stafford