(Stafford Springs, CT)—Hard work, perseverance, and family are all qualities that embody Stafford Speedway Street Stock driver Rob Sears. After racing a partial schedule from 2015-2019, Sears took a year off from racing in 2020 to regroup before getting back behind the wheel of his #44 R & B Landscaping Chevrolet in 2021. The 2021 season marked the first time in his Stafford career that he ran a full schedule and with the experience he gained, he is looking for bigger and better things for the 2022 season.
“So far things are going well for us,” said Sears. “I’m taking the car to Jason Trott and JET Electric to get it setup and then DMW Graphics is going to put a wrap on it. I have to give a big thank you to Jason and all the JET Electric guys for all their help both on and off the track. After that the car will be ready to go and I’m looking forward to having a better season than last year. I learned a lot last season by watching other drivers and their lines to see how I can make moves that would be to my advantage. That experience will only help to put me in a better position with my extra seat time getting used to the car and the track.”
Sears grew up around racing, as his father raced at Riverside Park Speedway and his brother raced quads and dirt bikes. Being around racing for such a long time gave Sears the itch to get into racing himself. Sears began his Stafford career by renting Gary Spinnato’s #26 Rent-A-Racecar Chevrolet for one start in 2015 before slowly building up his own program from 2016-2019.
“My Dad is my biggest supporter,” said Sears. “My Dad used to race at Riverside and my brother raced quad and dirt bikes, so I grew up around racing. I’m extremely excited to get back behind the wheel and go up against the new competition this season in the Street Stock division.”
Since the 2017 season, Sears has carried the #44 on his car as a tribute to Reggie Ruggiero, who made the number famous in the 80’s along with car owner Mario Fiore. Sears would like to one day emulate the success that Ruggiero and Fiore found in the modified division.
“I started out with one race in Gary Spinnato’s #26 Rent A Racecar in 2015 before I went with #03 in 2016,” said Sears. “For the 2017 season I changed to the #44 because I was always a huge Reggie Ruggiero fan. My goal for this year is to get a top-10 finish and then keep on going for a top-5 finish and eventually a win. My main goal would be to get a top-5 but top-10 finishes would be great for me. I’ve been pushing things but I’ve had some problems with my car so I’ve been working the bugs out.”
Sears was on the cusp of breaking into the top-10 on a regular basis last season, racking up 6 finishes of 11th or 12th. That on-track performance has Sears confident about achieving his goal in 2022 and he feels like he could have had multiple top-10 finishes last season under different circumstances.
“Absolutely it gives me more confidence knowing we were so close to multiple top-10 finishes last year,” said Sears. “It motivates me to go further, faster, and stronger to push the car to its limits. There were a few races last year if we could have had one or two more laps we could have gotten top-10 finishes. The car I have was a previous Frank L’Etoile car so I know I have a car that can win races. The car has everything it needs, I just have to go out on the track and get the job done.”
Sears and the Street Stock division will kick off the 2022 season on Saturday, April 23 on NAPA Opening Day as part of NAPA Spring Sizzler® Weekend. Tickets for the 50th running of the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler® are now available at staffordspeedway.com/tickets. The two day event begins Saturday, April 23rd with the NAPA Auto Parts Duel, two 40-lap qualifying races that will set the field for the 50th NAPA Spring Sizzler scheduled for April 24th. The PASS Super Late Models and all 5 of Stafford’s weekly divisions as well as the Vintage All-Stars will also be on hand for the weekend.
For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com, checkout Stafford Speedway on Facebook or Twitter, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
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