(Stafford Springs, CT)—Since Lincoln Tech began sponsoring races at Stafford Speedway back in 2010, they have offered unique prizes for feature winners, ranging from airbrushed hoods, to medallions and custom trophies made of car parts, to their newest tradition, the Smackdown belt. The inaugural Smackdown belt was presented to last year’s Lincoln Tech 80 winner Woody Pitkat and this year’s edition of the championship belt will feature not only the Lincoln Tech logo, but a list of each feature winner from each season that Lincoln Tech has sponsored an event at Stafford. 2024 will mark the 5th open 80 race that Lincoln Tech has sponsored, along with 6 Modified Racing Series events, 2 Back to SKool Kids Night events, a Modified Touring Series event, and the Late Model 100, which was Lincoln Tech’s first sponsored event at Stafford back in 2010.
“This all got started with the Senator’s Cup,” said Rob Wargo, High School Admission Rep for Lincoln Tech. “Seeing that along with some of the prizes and trophies for NAPA sponsored events at Stafford, it gives the drivers a little something extra to strive for. I started the Smackdown belt last year and this year’s belt includes a list of every winner from each season that Lincoln Tech has sponsored a race at Stafford. Woody Pitkat’s name is on the belt twice in a row and we’ll see if he can make it three in a row this Friday or if we’ll have a new name to put on the belt for 2024 to continue this new tradition.”
“I really have to give a shout out to Kris Fluckiger,” continued Wargo. “If it wasn’t for Kris, I would have never met everyone at Stafford, and this really shows how just one person can have an effect. Kris planted the seed with us when he was a student at Lincoln Tech and he was racing a Street Stock at Stafford and look at what the relationship between Lincoln Tech and Stafford has become 15 years later. Stafford Speedway is a place that has become rooted deep in my soul because Stafford is just like family. From the fans to the drivers to the Arute family, everyone has been there to support Lincoln Tech and myself and family is the most important thing.”
Woody Pitkat, driver of the #8 Gunsmoke Stables open car owned by Mike Holmes and crew chiefed by Cam McDermott, comes into this year’s Lincoln Tech 80 looking to win the race for the third consecutive season. Pitkat won the very first Lincoln Tech sponsored event at Stafford, the 2010 Late Model 100, and took home a full size automobile hood that was airbrushed with a special scheme that was painted by Lincoln Tech students. Pitkat has since added two custom trophies and gold medal medallions as well as the first Lincoln Tech Smackdown belt that was presented last season.
“Lincoln Tech has done an outstanding job and I’ve been fortunate enough to win a bunch of different Lincoln Tech races going all the way back to the Late Model days,” said Woody Pitkat. “I won a hood from Lincoln Tech that all the students who painted it autographed it and it actually hung in Lincoln tech for a while and now I have it back. The trophy I got last year was really cool being made out of car parts so they do a really great job.”
When it comes to Open Modified racing at Stafford, Pitkat is the winningest driver with 6 career wins. Pitkat won a single event in 2020 and he followed that with 3 more open modified wins in 2022 and 2 wins in 2023. Pitkat has yet to win a race this season but if there is any track where Pitkat can get his season turned around, it would be Stafford where he has 83 career wins spread across 5 different divisions.
“I don’t know if I’ll be as confident as I would be in the past since we’ve been struggling a little this season,” said Pitkat. “We tried something different with the car and we’re still working the bugs out or as I like to say it’s a project that we’re still trying to master. We’ve shown flashes of running good this year, we started 15th and finished 3rd at the Sizzler® and even the last Stafford race, we were running in second before we tried something on our pit stop that bit us and we finished 11th. Mike Holmes and Cam McDermott and all the guys are working hard so it’s not for a lack of effort, we’re just trying to get better and we’ll see what happens. I’d like to win the race again after winning last year and probably even more so I want to win this year just because of the struggles we’ve had this season. With the success we’ve had at Stafford the last few years, it’s kind of raised the bar pretty high for ourselves and anything outside of the top-5 is not ok for us. We found something at White Mountain with the #88 car and hopefully we can bring that to this car and it will react well enough for us to be able to contend for another win.”
The Lincoln Tech Open 80 is scheduled for this Friday, August 16. Stafford’s SK Modified®, Late Model, SK Light, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions will join the Open Modifieds in feature action. Tickets for the Lincoln Tech 80 are available now online at StaffordSpeedway.com/tickets and tickets will also be available for purchase at the admission gates. Tickets for the Lincoln Tech 80 are $30.00 for adults, $10.00 for kids 6-14, and free for kids 5 & under. Reserved seating is priced at $35.00 for all ages and pit passes are $45.00 with a valid 2024 Stafford Competition License and $50.00 without a Stafford license. If you are unable to attend the event, tune into the live stream on FloRacing, the official streaming partner of Stafford Speedway.
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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