J.J. HILL SET TO DEFEND LATE MODEL 100 TITLE AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY ON AUGUST 19th
(Stafford Springs, CT)—The Late Model division at Stafford Speedway will
take center stage next Friday night, August 19th, with the 18th Annual
running of the Late Model 100. Fresh off his first Late Model feature
victory of the 2011 season last Friday night, Stafford Motor Speedway Late
Model driver J.J. Hill is ready to defend his Late Model 100 victory of one
year ago, which was also his first career Late Model victory at the
Connecticut half-mile facility.
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“We’re looking forward to the race,” said Hill. “We had some bad luck for 3
weeks in a row, so last Friday we came to the track with a little different
setup, and it worked out for us. The car seemed to stay pretty consistent
throughout the run where other guys look like they slowed down a little at
the end. It was good to get a win for everyone on the team and it was good
to get a win for our sponsor Ticket Network.com. We have had a lot of bad
luck this season and we finally had some the right kind of luck last Friday
night with the race going green. Picking up that win last Friday night
really turned our season around.”
Hill’s victory last Friday night came in a 30-lap race that ended up going
from green to checkered. In a 100-lap event, there is usually a stretch of
the race that sees a long green flag run, which could end up playing right
into Hill’s hands as he enjoys the longer races.
“I’ve always liked the longer races and the long green flag runs,” said
Hill. “You can take your time getting to the front where in the 30-lap
races you really have to go right away. I don’t feel like I ever overuse
the car, but at the start, if there’s a move that I’m not sure about, I can
take another lap or two before trying to make the pass. And if you’re
faster than the car in front of you, you’re eventually going to get by, so
you can take your time. We’re not sure what to expect with the tires if we
have a long green flag run in the 100. I think in last year’s race we went
50 green laps at one point and our car seems to get faster the longer we
run, so that definitely adds some confidence for us going into the race. I
think the tires are going to play a big factor. I don’t like going out for
a feature with brand new tires, so last year, we scuffed in 4 new tires the
week before the 100 during a practice and I think we’ll probably do the same
thing this year. We might scuff only 3 tires because we don’t abuse the
left front all that much and we might start the race with a little less
stagger.”
Hill’s win last Friday night vaulted him into 8th place in the Late Model
championship point standings. Hill is currently 96 points behind
championship leader Ryan Posocco but he is only 20 points behind Corey
Hutchings in fifth place. If Hill can repeat his 100-lap victory from one
year ago, it would give him and his #41 TicketNetwork.com team some added
momentum for the final five races of the 2011 season as they try to hit
their preseason goal of a top-5 finish in the points standings.
“Another win in the 100 would be huge for us,” said Hill. “At the beginning
of the year, my goal was to finish in the top-5 in the points standings. We
’re 96 points behind Ryan so the championship might be a little far fetched
for us this year, but I feel like we can be in the top-5 and there’s still a
chance for us to get there. We’ve had a strong car all year long but we’re
still looking for something extra. If we can keep the car clean, stay
focused, use some patience, and put ourselves in the right place for the end
of the race, I think we have a chance at winning the 100 again.”
Tickets for the 18th Annual Late Model 100 are priced at $18.00 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 $20.00 for all ages. As always, Stafford
Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.
For more information, or to order tickets, please contact the Stafford Motor
Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com