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| Photo by Simply the Best, Crystal Snape |
(Stafford Springs, CT)---For Lisbon native Chris Pasteryak, the difference between his 2015 and 2016 seasons on the Valenti Modified Racing Series has been a stark contrast. At this time last season, Pasteryak was in the midst of an 8 race stretch that saw him win 5 times which had him in contention for the championship along with Woody Pitkat. Pasteryak is currently winless this season and he sits third in the points standings. Pasteryak is the defending champion of the VMRS 80 and he would like nothing more than another win to jump start the 2016 campaign with his #15 Ballard Mack Sales & Leasing / Dawley’s Collision & Custom team.
“A win would be big for us to get some momentum for the last couple of races in the fall,” said Pasteryak. “Seeing as we’ve been struggling a little bit, it would be nice to get back on the right path. We haven’t been having a bad year, but we haven’t had a good year either. Last year was just so good that anything by comparison would seem like we’re off a little bit. We ended up fifth last time at Stafford so we were pretty good. I think we have a pretty good notebook for Stafford this time of year and I always seem to run pretty well at Stafford in the fall. I feel good about our chances and hopefully we can have a trouble free night and not have to chase anything with the car.”
In order to drive his #15 machine to NAPA Victory Lane, Pasteryak and the rest of the VMRS field will have to devise a strategy of how to best manage their tires between the 10-lap heat races and the 80-lap feature.
“It’s a big challenge and it seems to change from race to race,” said Pasteryak. “Some races the track position is more important and then some races you can take it a little easy in the heat and play things out in the race. It all depends on where you’re starting in the heat race, how your lane goes right off the bat in the heat, and then how hard you have to run in the heat to put yourself in the best position for the feature. Some guys seem to have it figured out all the time and then some times you can go on a streak where you run hard in the heat because you think track position is going to matter and then you start second guessing yourself halfway through the feature. The best way I can put it is it’s a constant challenge.”
Another factor that Pasteryak will have on his side as he seeks his first VMRS win of the 2016 season is the time of season for the VMRS 80 at Stafford. Pasteryak has 2 career VMRS wins at Stafford and they have both come in the September race.
“We hope we can win again in September,” said Pasteryak. We normally go the same way with the car and then adjust to the track for each race and for whatever reason the car seems to go a little better in the September race at Stafford than in the other races.”
The Valenti Modified Racing Series will take to the track, this Friday, September 2nd with qualifying beginning at 6:15pm. Stafford’s five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions will also be in action. Tickets for this event are on sale now and are priced at $27.50 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seat tickets are $30.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. Stafford Motor Speedway offers plenty of free parking along with overnight parking available for self contained Recreational Vehicles.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
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