(Stafford Springs, CT)---After finishing a career best third in the 2017 SK Modified® standings at Stafford in his family owned car, Ronnie Williams made the move to the #50 team owned by Les and Tina Skowyra and led by crew chief Adam Skowyra for the 2018 season. In switching teams, Williams faced a new chassis and a new crew, but things came together quickly for the new combination and last Friday they clinched the 2018 SK Modified® track championship with one race still to go.
“Now I can talk about being champion,” said Williams. “It’s kind of weird because it really hasn’t sunk in yet since we still have one more race left this season. It’s definitely an amazing feeling to clinch the championship with this group of guys. I thought at the beginning of the year that there was no reason why we couldn’t win the championship. I had a new chassis going from CD to Troyer, a different engine builder, different tire guy, different spotter, and I’m not a guy who likes change at all. I’ve been chewing the same type of gum for 10 years and when I go into a restaurant they already know what I want, I don’t have to order anything. There were a lot of new components and I knew that they ran well last year so there was a little bit of added pressure on me, but in the end it all paid off.”
“You always hope you can have a season like we did,” said crew chief Adam Skowyra. “We had all the equipment, Ronnie had experience, and the whole team had experience so you hope you can come out of the gate swinging for a championship but the odds are stacked against you. Everyone jelling together right from day one is the main reason why we were able to be champions this season. It was awesome to be able to clinch the championship one race early. Now we can go to the Fall Final and have some fun trying to win the race. Last year the Fall Final was pretty stressful for us all. The last month the points were always on our minds and when we took the checkered flag this past Friday night, it felt like a 10,000 pound weight had been lifted off our shoulders.”
Any question marks about the new combination of Williams and the #50 team were quickly put to rest with back to back second place finishes to open the season. Following what would be his worst finish of the 2018 season to date with an 18th place finish on May 11, Williams and the #50 Les’s Auto Center team took off on an 11 race stretch that saw them finish outside the top-5 only once. That stretch of races helped catapult Williams and the #50 team into the points lead, a position they never relinquished.
“We really didn’t have any bad races this year, there was only one race where we had any issues and we still got back on track and finished that race a lap down,” said Williams. “For us to put ourselves in a position to clinch the championship with one race still to go really shows that all of our hard work paid off. I really drew the easy job driving this car. All the guys on this team bust their butts in the shop every week and I have the honor and privilege to go out and do what I love to do every Friday night. This championship season is thanks to a great crew and all of our sponsors, Empower Financial, Les’s Auto Center, Alltown Sanitation and Recycling, Centurn Machine, Napa of Tolland, Palmer Paving, Pettit for the awesome power, Williams Race Gears, and Flamingo Motorsports.”
Becoming a track champion in the SK Modified® ranks and joining the long list of distinguished track champions that have called Stafford Speedway home over the years is a dream come true for Williams. Source: Scott Running Stafford Speedway Press Release
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