{"id":4598,"date":"2011-03-15T21:10:45","date_gmt":"2011-03-16T02:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/?p=9076"},"modified":"2011-03-15T20:11:17","modified_gmt":"2011-03-16T01:11:17","slug":"michael-bennett-challenge-late-model-track-championship-2011-stafford-speedway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/michael-bennett-challenge-late-model-track-championship-2011-stafford-speedway\/","title":{"rendered":"MICHAEL BENNETT LOOKS TO CHALLENGE FOR LATE MODEL TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2011 AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

MICHAEL BENNETT LOOKS TO CHALLENGE FOR LATE MODEL TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2011 AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Stafford Springs, CT)—At the start of any racing season, optimism is
\nrampant and that is no different for Michael Bennett and the #64 Davidson
\nCo. Late Model team at Stafford Motor Speedway. The team had their most
\nsuccessful season with 2 wins last year, which helped them to finish 5th in
\nthe points standings. Bennett and his team have been hard at work during
\nthe winter and are looking forward to building upon the winning foundation
\nthey laid last season.
\n
\n\u201cWe\u2019re coming back with the same crew and the same car we had last year,\u201d
\nsaid Bennett. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone through the car and we\u2019ve fitted some replacement
\nparts and we had the motor refreshed by Billy the Kid. We were real happy
\nwith the performance of the car last year and we don\u2019t see any reason why we
\ncan\u2019t build on what we had going last year and win some more races this year
\nand contend for the championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett will once again carry the familiar colors of The Davidson Company, a
\nrelationship that began in 2006 when Bennett moved from the DARE Stock
\ndivision into the Limited Late Model division and won the track
\nchampionship. Bennett will also have help from a bevy of associate sponsors
\nthis season as he tries to chase the Late Model championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have Davidson coming back with us, but we also have a great list of
\nassociate sponsors this year,\u201d said Bennett. \u201cWe have a new sponsor with
\nVerizon Express Wireless, and we have Visual Perceptions, my grandfather
\nwith H+B Siding, my grandmother has been a big help, Ben Dodge with
\nStart\/Finish Productions, Bosco\u2019s Market & Deli, Hamm\u2019s Welding, B.A. Muzio,
\nBob Hitchcock and Kelly Iverson with Hitchcock Pool Water, Bingo, Randy\u2019s
\nTrucking, and the Tracy Family, Sue, James, Melissa, and Johnathan. I can\u2019t
\nthank each of my sponsors enough for their support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett has been among the title contenders for the past several seasons in
\nStafford\u2019s Late Model division, finishing 3rd in 2008, 6th in 2009, and 5th
\nlast year. The 2010 season also saw the Bennett team get into victory lane
\nmore than once during a season for the very first time. If not for a slow
\nstart to the 2010 season, Bennett feels like he and his team could have been
\nchampionship contenders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a real slow start to the season,\u201d said Bennett. \u201cWe wrecked the car
\npretty hard at the Sizzler, and then the next two races, we had a throttle
\nbolt break in the 100-lapper and in the third race a center link pin let go.
\nThat kind of stuff is going to happen from time to time, that\u2019s why it\u2019s
\ncalled racing, but I think that if we can have a better start to season this
\nyear, we can challenge Ryan [Posocco] and Woody [Pitkat] for the
\nchampionship. We won 2 races last year and I think we definitely could have
\nhad a couple more. A good start to the season can really help send us on
\nour way.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to consistency on the track, Bennett says that another area his
\nteam has to work on is the car setup in colder temperatures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ran really well last year, but we seemed to struggle a little towards
\nthe end of the year when the track temperature started getting colder,\u201d said
\nBennett. \u201cThe track temperature is really the key for us. We ran really
\ngood during the summer when it was warmer, but when it gets into late August
\nand September, you practice and qualify in the shade and then the race is at
\nnight with the sun down. It seemed like our car would tighten up when it
\ngot colder and you really have to keep up with making changes on the car
\nwhen it gets later in the season from practice and qualifying into the
\n race.\u201d<\/p>\n

As strong as Bennett and his team have been the past few seasons in the Late
\nModel division, there may be a speed bump in his quest for a championship.
\nBennett and his wife Lindsay are expecting their first child together on
\nSeptember 24th, which falls in between the Final Friday Night Shoot-Out and
\nthe CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend at Stafford.<\/p>\n

\u201cLindsay and I are expecting our first child together on September 24th, so
\nwe may need to have a plan if we are in contention for the championship,\u201d
\nsaid Bennett. \u201cMy only hope is that if we are in contention for the
\nchampionship, that the baby is born before the Fall Final so we can have the
\nbaby in all of the photos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett will begin his quest for a Late Model track championship at the 40th
\nAnnual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, scheduled for April 29-May 1. The
\nWhelen Modified Tour will headline the Sizzler with Stafford\u2019s five NASCAR
\nWhelen All-American Series divisions joining them on the card. Tickets for
\nthe “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” are on sale now at the Speedway
\nBox Office. Tickets are priced at $35.00 for adult general admission
\ntickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are
\nadmitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating is
\npriced at $38.00 for all ages. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers
\nfree parking with overnight parking available.<\/p>\n

For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
\n860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com
\n.<\/http:><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MICHAEL BENNETT LOOKS TO CHALLENGE FOR LATE MODEL TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2011 AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY (Stafford Springs, CT)—At the start of any racing season, optimism is rampant and that is no different for Michael Bennett and the #64 Davidson Co. Late Model team at Stafford Motor Speedway. The team had their most successful season with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[196,197],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-4598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut","category-stafford-connecticut","tag-stafford"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4598\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}