Branden Dion Finding Rookie Success in Stafford’s SK Light Division
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Since Stafford Motor Speedway instituted its SK Light Modified class in 2006, the division has seen a fair share of rookie drivers find success by not only winning feature events, but championships as well. The 2014 season has seen another great crop of rookie drivers and Tauton, MA native Branden Dion has quietly made himself a championship contender by finishing all but one of the 10 SK Light features thusfar in the top-9. After his only finish outside of the top-10 back on May 2nd, Dion has climbed his way from 13th in the points standings to his current position of third in the standings, 42 points behind leader Jeremy Sorel.
“I would say this season has been pretty awesome so far,” said Dion. “We’ve gained a lot of experience and we’ve had a lot of fun. Our goal for this year was to be consistent and have fun and I’d say we’ve done that so far. The first couple weeks of the season we really gained a lot of experience and knowledge about the car. We keep working on the car every week, we don’t make too many changes at once, and we’ve been consistent with our adjustments to the car. The results have definitely surprised us but we’re happy with how things have gone for us.”
Dion is a graduate of the Wild Thing Karts program that runs on Monday nights at Stafford on the mini-mile and he also has experience running Mini Cups, Legend Cars, Sport Trucks, and Late Models at Seekonk prior to his foray into the SK Light ranks this season. Dion had his best finish last Friday night, finishing second by less than half a car length as he drag raced to the checkered flag with Joey Ferrigno.
“We almost had the win, we were really close,” said Dion. “It was a little disappointing at the time, but then you realize that things could have been worse and we could have gotten shuffled back or something like that. We were all very happy with that second place finish.”
While he continues to gain experience combined with his #04 Triple D Racing Team’s consistency, Dion thinks his first win could be right around the corner.
“I’m hoping a win will be coming soon for us,” said Dion. “I’d be content if we could get at least one win this season. I think it’s right around the corner for us, we’re just off by a little bit. Our main goal now is to finish the season in the top-5 in the points standings and keep the car in one piece. I’m hoping things stay like they have and we can keep on getting consistent finishes. A win would be huge for us in our first year at the track and it would mean a lot to us. I have to thank my Mom and Dad for everything they do for me and Douglas King Builders and Triple D Racing for their support.”
There have been two previous rookie track champions in the SK Light division with Michael Gervais, Jr. winning in 2009 and Matt Galko in 2010. Dion would like to make himself the third rookie driver to win the SK Light championship but he will have to overtake Sorel, who himself is trying to become a rookie track champion. If Dion can continue his string of consistent finishes, he will definitely be a championship contender all the way to the NAPA Fall Final Weekend on Sept. 27-28.