(Stafford Springs, CT) — After back-to-back Street Stock track championships at Stafford Speedway, Travis Downey is making the jump to the SK Light division for 2026, where he’ll compete for R.A.D. Auto Machine Rookie of the Year honors.
Downey, who ran the #42 in the Street Stock division for the past five seasons, will switch to the #41 for his rookie campaign. He purchased an SK Light car from Jeff and Alex Pearl and will carry sponsorship from P.J. Ladola and Sons Electrical Contractors along with associate sponsors including Sullivan Automotive, Mutch Nicer Enterprises, Sanger Family Properties, Canton Well Drilling LLC, Traditional Adventures TV, RD Logging & Firewood, Coderre Farms, Canton West Avon Oil, GP Fence, Squid Decals, Cindy Burdick Motorsports, Tidy Services, Installations Plus, and Fieldstone Masonry.
“I really wasn’t sure what I was going to do this season,” said Downey. “We wanted to move up from the Street Stocks, but we weren’t sure if it was going to be a Limited Late Model or a Late Model. A deal came along to pick up an SK Light roller from Kevin Finkbein so we got the car and started working on it. While we started working on the car, another opportunity came up for us to purchase a car from Jeff and Alex Pearl, so we bought that car.”
Downey heads into 2026 with no prior experience in an open-wheel modified racecar — a situation he’s been in before. When he started racing at Stafford in 2021, he had never driven a Street Stock either. He went on to win Rookie of the Year that first season, then captured 8 wins and back-to-back track titles over the next four years.
“I really have no idea what to expect, but I also don’t really have any worries,” said Downey. “I feel like I’m a pretty adaptive driver. Hopefully it won’t take very long for me to get adapted to the SK Light car. My main goal is going to be to finish all the races and get as much seat time as I can because you can’t learn anything if you’re not out on the track.”
Championship-winning SK Modified veteran Jeff Pearl will serve as a resource and advisor throughout Downey’s rookie season.
“I’ve already got a lot of information from Jeff Pearl and he told me that he’d help walk me through any issues that might pop up during the season,” said Downey. “The competition will definitely be a lot more challenging than the Street Stocks. A lot of those drivers have been doing this for a long time now and they know what they’re doing, so it’s going to be a lot for me to catch up to their pace.”
Downey will make his SK Light debut during the 54th Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler®, scheduled for April 25-26 at Stafford Speedway. SK Light qualifying duel races on Saturday, April 25, will set the field for a 30-lap feature on Sunday, April 26
