(Stafford Springs, CT)—For Stafford Late Model driver Tony Lafo, the 2012
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season is a chance for he and his #82 team
to continue to build upon the progress they achieved with their car during
the 2011 season. While a couple of hard crashes prevented the team from
competing in all of the races this past season, Lafo managed a best finish
of 8th and he finished the year in 16th place in the Late Model points
standings. While that points position might not sound all that promising on
paper, Lafo says his team made significant progress during the year and he
is looking to build upon that progress for the 2012 season at Stafford.
“We made some changes to the car that worked out pretty well for us this
year,” said Lafo. “The car was significantly faster this year than it has
been in years past. We used to start up front in heat races and we would
finish last, where now we won a couple of heat races, and we had some good
races this year, we just didn’t have a lot of luck. We had a couple of big
wrecks during the year, which really hurt us, but I think we’re right there
with the car. If we can have a few things fall right for us and have a
little luck on our side, I think we can get on the podium next season and
maybe even take home a trophy.”
For Lafo and the #82 team, the road to CARQUEST Victory Lane has been long
and arduous path to travel. But the team is currently rebuilding their #82
Chevrolet Monte Carlo and their resolve to knock down the door to victory
lane remains as strong as ever.
“Next season will be our 9th season at Stafford, and we never imagined we
would struggle like we have so far,” said Lafo. “We ran a Sportsman at
Waterford and we won a couple of races from 2000-2001, so it’s been a long
time since we won a race. We won a 16 race at Stafford, but we would like
to get a win in a main feature race.
We’re going to have the same car and crew for next season, we’re not making
any major changes, but we’re working on rebuilding the car right now and we’
re working on some new things for next season. We have a strong
determination to get a win and I think if we can continue our progress from
last year, we can be there.”
The 2012 Late Model season will get underway at the 41st Annual CARQUEST
Tech-Net Spring Sizzler on April 27-April 29, 2012 at Stafford. Stay tuned
to www.staffordspeedway.com for the full 2012 schedule of events, which will
be released in the coming weeks.