(Stafford Springs, CT)—For Somers native Todd Owen, NAPA Victory Lane at Stafford Motor Speedway has been an elusive piece of real estate. Owen has 5 career SK Modified® feature wins at Stafford to go along with 7 ProStock wins. Although Owen was winless in 2013 and his feature win in 2012 was his first since the 2006 season, Owen is determined to drive his #81 into the winner’s circle this season.
“I feel confident going into the NAPA Spring Sizzler,” said Owen. “We have Cooker Construction back on board along with Barnes Pools and we just gained Start/Finish Motorsports as a sponsor. It’s been such a cold winter that we got a late start with the car. We just got the car back from the powder coater and we’re ready to go. We’ve gone through the car completely and made some changes to it. We’re starting off with a fresh motor and we need to be more consistent than we were last year. It’s going to be tough with my MRS schedule since we’re going to miss a couple of races but last year the two races I was supposed to miss it ended up raining so I was able to run at Stafford. I’m looking forward to the warmer weather and getting back to the weekly grind. My goal is to finish races. We had a bad wreck towards the end of the season and the car seemed like it didn’t come back like it was before that, so that’s why rebuilt it.”
Owen’s best finishes in the 2013 season were 2-second place along with 4 fourth place finishes. Owen and his crew have overhauled the car during the winter and with just a bit of luck on their side, they could find themselves in NAPA Victory Lane on more than one occasion this season.
“We had a couple of second place finishes last year and there were a couple of races we were leading late when the caution came out with a couple of laps to go,” said Owen. “We had a car that was capable of winning last year and we probably should have won 3 or 4 races the year before last, but it’s tough when you get those late cautions. The car is good, we were a top-10 car all the time, so it’s consistent. It’s exciting that NAPA has come on board and the SK 5k race with the fan vote should be a real neat deal and make for an exciting night. There will be some strategy to play out but I think when it comes down to the end it’s going to be the same players at the front. My vote is that the race is 100-laps long because the more consistent your car is the better off you’re going to be.”
Another area where Owen will be looking to change his fortunes around is on the Modified Racing Series where he will once again be behind the wheel of Jack Bateman’s #17 entry. Owen has yet to win a MRS race at Stafford, but he has been close on several occasions. Bateman’s crew has put in some good work on the car during the winter and Owen is excited for his chances at victory when the MRS comes to Stafford on June 20th for the Town Fair Tire 80, July 18th for the Lincoln Tech 80, and August 29th for the MRS 80.
“I’m really looking forward to the MRS races [at Stafford],” said Owen. “I’m excited that Jack (Bateman) is giving me this opportunity for 2 years in a row. The team has worked really hard over the winter, they’ve put together two new motors. They have great equipment and it wasn’t for a lack of effort last season, we just had some mechanical issues. Hopefully this year will be different.”
Todd Owen gets his first shot at NAPA Victory Lane when the 2014 SK Modified® season gets underway with the 43rd Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler on April 25-27. Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $38.50 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 seating is priced at $42.00 for all ages. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available. All tickets are good for both Saturday and Sunday admission.