Mikey Flynn Looking For Season Turnaround In Casella Waste SK 80 At Stafford Speedway

(Press release from Stafford Speedway)

For Stafford Speedway SK Modified® driver Mikey Flynn and his #24 Place Motors team, the 2026 season has been a roller coaster ride.  Flynn opened the season with back to back top-5 finishes that saw him lead the standings after two races, but since then his season has gone downhill in a hurry.  After finishing 11^th in the third race of the season, Flynn and the #24 team have been caught up in multi-car incidents the past two races that have resulted in back to back 25^th place finishes and sees Flynn down to 13^th in the SK Modified® standings.

“This season has been a little bit of a cluster for us so far,” said Flynn.  “We started off with a podium and a top-5 finish leading the points and then things hit the fan for us.  Definitely not the start that we’re looking for but the good thing for us is it’s still early and there’s a lot of racing left.  It’s nothing on the team’s fault, we haven’t had any mechanical issues or anything like that, we’ve just been caught up in a couple of messes the last two Friday nights.  That’s going to happen in racing and we really haven’t had a bad couple of weeks in a row like this in a very long time.  It’s all about how you come out of situations like this and don’t let it tumble into an all-season thing.  If anybody can do it, we can.  I really have to thank my crew, my Uncle Chris, my Mom, my Dad, my sister Maggie, Dave Day, Bob Katon, Keith Rocco and Keith Rocco Racing, Pettit Racing Engines, and my sponsors Ballyheigue Farms, Auth Fuels, Place Motors, Gio’s Pizzeria, Richard Green Insurance, Kahn Tractor, and everyone else who helps us out.”

If there’s one race on the 2026 schedule that can help Flynn and his team turn things around, it’s the Casella Waste SK 80 set for this Friday, June 5th.  The Casella Waste SK 80 is the first of three extra distance SK Modified® events that will serve as the Sign Pro Triple Crown for the 2026 season.  Last season saw Flynn crowned as the Triple Crown champion and after finishing fourth in last year’s Casella Waste SK 80, Flynn is looking forward to a good run that will put the misery of his last two races behind him and the #24 team.

“I love the extra distance races,” said Flynn.  “We won the Triple Crown last year and that was a huge accomplishment for us and this year we’d really like to win one of the races.  With the Casella 80 being a big race I think we can win but it’s going to be a hard race to win.  It would definitely turn things in the right direction for us.  I think the next box for us to check would be to get a win in one of the big races like the Casella 80, the CBYD Senator’s Cup, or the NAPA SK 5k race.  It seems like those are the big races that the top guys win and to be able to add my name to that list would be awesome.  80 laps suits my driving style and we were fast last year and I think we’ll have a good car again so we have to make the best of things.  It’s been frustrating but that’s racing.   We can’t change anything that’s happened already so we just have to focus on the future and making it better.  Hopefully our luck will turn around for the better and we can get the racing gods on our side.”

Despite his team’s misfortune over the past two races, Flynn says he and his team aren’t going to deviate from the race strategy they employed right from the beginning of the season.

“Since the start of the season our attitude has been to go for wins and go for broke so I wouldn’t say that the last couple of weeks has changed anything for us because that’s been our strategy from the very start,” said Flynn.  “We’ve been fast all season long so we’re not lacking speed, we just need a break or two to go our way.  It seems like every start or restart we’ve had this season I’ve been on the top lane and we just haven’t caught a break.  If something does break our way, we have to capitalize on that and I know that we can get there.  If we can fight for wins, the rest of the chips will fall where they may and as I’ve said, we have a lot of racing left to go.  I know after last season it’s a long road to go and we have a lot of points to make up, but I think we’ll be ok.”

Flynn will look to capture his first win and turn around his 2026 season this Friday, June 5th in the Casella Waste SK 80.  The SK Modified® cars will be joined by Stafford’s Late Model, SK Light, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions in feature action.  

Order June 5th Casella Waste SK 80 Tickets

For more information, visit staffordspeedway.com, follow Stafford Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.

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