{"id":23637,"date":"2018-07-12T07:15:21","date_gmt":"2018-07-12T11:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/?p=23637"},"modified":"2018-07-11T22:16:04","modified_gmt":"2018-07-12T02:16:04","slug":"stricklands-positive-attitude-stronger-than-any-handicap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/2018\/07\/stricklands-positive-attitude-stronger-than-any-handicap\/","title":{"rendered":"Strickland\u2019s positive attitude stronger than any handicap"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Strickland\u2019s positive attitude stronger than any handicap<\/strong><\/p>\n

WATERFORD \u2014 Chris Strickland of Uncasville comes to the New London-Waterford Speedbowl every Wednesday looking for action and improvement, not sympathy.<\/p>\n

Some would think the second year X-Car driver would be at a disadvantage \u2014 he lost his right hand in 2006 while serving in the Army in Iraq.<\/p>\n

Strickland, however, doesn\u2019t view it that way.
\n\u201cI never consider myself to be handicapped,\u201d Strickland said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t affect anything that I do. A lot of people think I have an automatic transmission because I would have trouble shifting, but I have a standard. And I shift just great.
\n\u201cIn certain situations, I might be at a disadvantage. But with the right support group and the right attitude, there\u2019s nothing anyone else can do that I can\u2019t do.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t just race one-handed. I do 99 percent of the work on my car by myself. It gives me a lot of satisfaction. No matter where I finish, I feel like I\u2019ve accomplished something.\u201d
\nStrickland will be trying to accomplish something special Wednesday night when he competes in the crown jewel of the X-Car season \u2014 a 35-lap feature as part of Wild and Wacky Wednesday at the Speedbowl. It will be the highest paying race in the history of the X-Car division \u2014 lap money will be distributed in addition to many contingency bonuses. In addition to the X-Cars, the Super X-Cars, Legends and Bandoleros also will be in action. The action is scheduled to get under way at 6:45 p.m. with X-Car heat races.
\nStrickland is coming into Wednesday\u2019s big event with some added confidence.
\n\u201cThis is still like a rookie year for me,\u201d Strickland said. \u201cLast year after five races, my motor blew. It\u2019s been a struggle trying to find a set-up that works.\u201d
\nAnd there was an unexpected health problem \u2014 a kidney stone issue.
\n\u201cI tried to race and when I strapped in, I really was in severe pain,\u201d Strickland said. \u201cThat was the night I wrecked \u2014 it made the pain even worse.\u201d
\nDespite that setback, however, Strickland says he is making some real progress in 2018. He is in 19th place in the standings out of 31 drivers.
\n\u201cLast year at this time, we were running 19.8 second laps,\u201d Strickland said. \u201cThis past Wednesday, we were running 18.7s. I\u2019m learning to run a more consistent line and I\u2019m getting better every week. I think I\u2019m a lot smoother as the race goes on.\u201d
\nStrickland is looking forward to the 35-lapper because of what happened last year.
\n\u201cI think it was my breakout race,\u201d Strickland said. \u201cI was second for most of the night, but I blew a tire at the end. If it were a regular 25-lapper, I would have finished third. \u201c
\nAnd then Strickland would have achieved his ultimate goal \u2014 to finish among the Top 3 and wind up on the podium.
\n\u201cSo far my best finish in 11th at the season opener, and I do have a top 10 finish at Seekonk Speedway,\u201d Strickland said. \u201cMy ultimate goal is to run up front and be competitive with all the best drivers.\u201d
\nBeing involved in racing is part of a family tradition for Strickland.
\n\u201cMy grandfather owned a speed shop and used to drag race and my dad worked at the Speedbowl and used to help a lot of people,\u201d Strickland said. \u201cBut if it wasn\u2019t for Phil Evans, I never would have got inside a race car.\u201d
\nEvans is one of the Speedbowl\u2019s all-time top Mini Stock drivers and is currently competing in the Sportsman division.
\n\u201cWhen I lost my hand and came back from Iraq, he was running Soup Civardi\u2019s No. 93 Mini Stock and he actually talked me into running in an Enduro,\u201d Strickland said. \u201cAnd I was actually going for the lead in that race when I got wrecked. I started 49th out of 50 cars and I actually got as high as second,\u201d
\nThat convinced Strickland that he might have a bright future at the Speedbowl. He bought an X-Car from two-time champion Dave Gargaro Jr. and went to battle.
\n\u201cI decided to see if I could do it,\u201d Strickland said. \u201cAnd every week I get faster. It\u2019s all about being more confident in traffic. People like to push you around when you\u2019re not aggressive so I\u2019m learning how to fight for position.
\n\u201cOne of the hardest parts for me is that the people who help me, like Phil Evans and Allen Coates, know Mini Stocks and Sportsman cars, but we\u2019re learning as we go when it comes to the front-wheel drive X-Cars. No matter how fast you go, it\u2019s how you handle in the corners that matters.\u201d
\nStrickland\u2019s sponsors include Motor Sports Nation, Evans Carpentry, Thib\u2019s Barbershop, Yost Home Improvement and Benoit\u2019s Signs of Norwich.
\nStrickland\u2019s dad helps him in the garage, along with Evans. He hopes all the work pays off Wednesday night for the extra-distance race.
\n\u201cI\u2019m just glad we still have the Speedbowl to run at,\u201d Strickland said. \u201cThe management has gone above and beyond the call of duty to line up all this contingency money for Wednesday\u2019s race.
\n\u201cI\u2019m really proud to be part of the X-Car division, We have the most cars, and we have some great racing. We do have our drama, but it stays in the pits, not on social media.
\n\u201cTonight\u2019s race is huge. I wasn\u2019t expecting as many people to step up and become lap sponsors and contingency partners. I hope we can put on a great show.\u201d
\nExpect Strickland to play a huge part of it. He is known to his fellow competitors as \u201cNubsy,\u201d a name that he views as a token of affection and respect from his fellow competitors.
\n\u201cI have that name plastered all over my car,\u201d Strickland said. \u201cAs long as I go out on the track, turn left and come away with a smile, I\u2019m happy.\u201d
\nThe fans are happy too. Strickland wants to be known for one thing \u2014 his competitive spirit.
\nWild and Wacky Wednesday notes
\nThere is still time to become a contingency partner for Wednesday\u2019s race. Contact the track\u2019s social media director, Mike Serluca, at MikeS@speedbowlct.com to become involved. All the lap sponsorship has been sold, but contingency partners are still needed \u2026 All four of the weekly point battles are tight as the Wednesday season approaches the midway mark. In the Legends, Peter Bennett, thanks to his two wins, owns a seven-point lead over John O\u2019Sullivan. Bennett, O\u2019Sullivan and Blaskey have two wins apiece while Colin Haley has one win \u2026 Dave Yardley\u2019s lead in the Super X-Car division has been reduced to seven points over Marc Shafer, who leads the division with three wins, ,,, Corey Caddick has a six-point advantage in the X-Car division over Eddie Loomis who moved back into the point race with a second-place finish last week \u2026 Maddie Harkin not only leads the Bandolero division by nine points over Nicholas Hovey, she also leads the division with four wins. No one else has more than one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Strickland\u2019s positive attitude stronger than any handicap WATERFORD \u2014 Chris Strickland of Uncasville comes to the New London-Waterford Speedbowl every Wednesday looking for action and improvement, not sympathy. Some would think the second year X-Car driver would be at a disadvantage \u2014 he lost his right hand in 2006 while serving in the Army in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut","category-waterford-speedbowl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23637"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23638,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23637\/revisions\/23638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}