(Stafford Springs, CT)—Much like Late Model Rookie of the Year Peter
Thickett, D.J. Burnham took an unconventional route to racing full bodied
stock cars at Stafford Motor Speedway. Burnham’s career path took a turn
from racing quads on dirt and ice to the asphalt of Stafford Motor Speedway,
where Burham piloted his #60 Burnham Racing machine to Reliable Welding and
Speed Rookie of the Year honors.
“This was the first time in my career racing in a car,” said Burnham. “I’ve
raced quads on dirt and ice, drag raced snowmobiles, and I did one race in
an off-road truck, so everything was totally different this year. We really
struggled the first half of the year with the setup of the car, but we found
something in the car halfway through the season and the car handled like a
dream for the rest of the season.”
The fix that Burnham and his team fitted to his car midway through the
season allowed them to pick up their first victory and gave them a strong
finish to the season that allowed them to finish in 5th place in the points
standings.
“Right before we won that race, we were ready to take a couple of weeks off,
that’s how bad we were struggling,” said Burnham. “We were starting up
front and going backwards, which wasn’t a lot of fun. We found we had some
stuff binding up in the car and once we fixed that, the car was really good.
That first win was the best feeling ever. I look at those pictures every
day and I still get that feeling in my chest. That win was much sweeter
after we struggled early in the year. Once we fixed the car, I got a lot
more comfortable and the car was handling better. I was learning something
about the car every week and we started to pass cars during the feature. We
didn’t expect to end the year in the top-5 in points or win a race, so we
exceeded our expectations. We figured we’d be a midpack car and maybe get a
couple of podium finishes, but by the end of the season, we felt like we
could finish on the podium every week. That win was a huge confidence
builder for myself and the team.”
For much of the 2011 season, the race for the Reliable Welding and Speed
Rookie of the Year title was a close duel between Burnham and Cory
Casagrande, who made the move up to the Limited Late Model division after a
season in Stafford’s DARE Stock division. Burnham was able to win the award
by a narrow margin and he has his sights set on continued success next
season.
“We really didn’t pay any attention to the standings until around 3 races to
go,” said Burnham. “We were more focused on making our car better. We’re
pretty happy with how we did and I think we showed everyone that we have a
competitive car and we’ll be pretty competitive next year as long as I don’t
forget how to drive over the winter. We met a lot of really great people
this year and made some new friends and I wish it didn’t have to end, we can
’t wait for next season.”
Burnham will officially be crowned the 2011 Reliable Welding and Speed
Limited Late Model 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.