(Stafford Springs, CT)—The 2011 SK Light season at Stafford Motor Speedway
saw Cody Gneiting outlast Tony Membrino, Jr. in a fight for the Reliable
Welding and Speed Rookie of the Year award that came down to the final race
of the 2011 season. Gneiting began his racing career in the quarter midget
ranks, where he scored 6 championships before moving into the Allison Legacy
Series. From there Gneiting made the move into the SK Light division, and
he posted 3 top-5 and 10 top-10 finishes this season in the #89 MTV
Solutions Pontiac to take home the Rookie of the Year honors.
“It was a pretty good season, but we wanted to do better,” said Gneiting.
“It didn’t take too long to get used to driving the car, I think the biggest
challenge was learning the other drivers since everyone has a different
driving style.”
Gneiting came out of the box strong, with three top-10 finishes in his first
four starts. By the halfway point of the 2011 season, Gneiting was cracking
into the top-5 and challenging for wins.
“I think we could have won this season,” said Gneiting. “The car was fast
enough to win and if we could have stayed out of trouble, I think we would
have had a good chance at winning a race.”
As strong as Gneiting and the #89 team were this season, their rookie
campaign was a season that was filled with uncertainty as to whether they
would finish the season or not.
“At the beginning of the year, we didn’t have much of a budget, so we weren’
t sure if we were going to be able to do a full season,” said Gneiting. “I
have to thank our sponsors MTV Solutions, MT Electric, and Reliable Welding
and Speed as well as my family for helping out a lot. I really have to
thank Todd Owen for his help. Todd helped us out a lot when we wrecked the
car and his help is what got us through the season. Todd was like another
sponsor on the car and we couldn’t have done this without his help.”
While Gneiting was eager to capture his first victory this year, he says
that he took a conservative approach in the final race of the year to secure
the Reliable Welding and Speed Rookie of the Year title.
“Winning the Rookie of the Year was a big deal for everyone on the team and
I didn’t want to let them down, so we took it easy at the Fall Final,” said
Gneiting. “I’d like to be able to come back next season and hopefully we
can find a sponsor to help things go a little bit easier for us next year.”
Gneiting will officially be crowned the 2011 Reliable Welding and Speed
Limited SK Light Rookie of the Year at the 42nd Annual Stafford Motor
Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 18 at the La
Renaissance Banquet Facility in East Windsor.
Tickets to the 42nd Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony
are $45 per person and can be ordered by calling the Stafford Motor Speedway
track office at (860) 684-2783, or by downloading an order form from
www.staffordspeedway.com
form to the track office.