Throughout his racing career, Stafford Late Model driver Chris Meyer has typically been a slow starter, building momentum as the season progresses. However, the 2026 season has been a different story for Meyer and the #87 Mayday Oil / Casella Waste team. Meyer opened the season with 3 podium finishes, including a victory, along with a 6th place finish in the first four races. That strong start has placed the team near the top of the standings.
“Compared to previous seasons we definitely came out of the box quicker than normal,” said Meyer. “In the time I’ve been in the Late Models, it usually takes about a half a season to get rolling before we really show any speed. This year we came out of the box pretty quick and much better off than in the past. Thanks to Kevin from Mayday Oil and Casella Waste and the DiMauro family. USNE Power came on board with us this season and it’s been a huge positive to have someone like Dave Miller from USNE come on with us purely because he feels like we’re a team that can get the job done. BFR Chassis, we have a brand new car this season and it’s a fantastic car, R.A.D. Auto Machine makes huge horsepower, and all the contingency sponsors that help us out, iRacing, Manley, Paradiso Insurance, Leaf Racewear, and New England Racing Fuel. Also thanks to all my fellow competitors who show up to the track every week. We need more cars and I really appreciate everyone who comes out to race in the Late Model division.”
Since his 4-race run to open the 2026 season, Meyer has notched a second victory but he has also run into the trials and tribulations of a racing season. Meyer has four 7th place finishes and an 11th place effort but a 4th place run in the July 24th feature event has Meyer confident that more success is in the team’s future.
“I feel like we’ve lost our way a little bit, but at the same time, it’s been a bit of bad luck also,” said Meyer. “We had one night with a mechanical failure that took us out of the race when we were running 5th or 6th, and we’ve had a couple of nights where we were competing for wins and either I made some small mistakes or I got shuffled out. I feel really good. I think we had the best car last week and one of the best cars 2 weeks ago and I think this Friday the car will be even better. I feel like any given week we’re going to be one of the top guys fighting for the win with the speed we have in the car and how good the balance is right now.”
When Meyer first joined the Late Model ranks in 2022, he went through a winless season. He broke through with his first victory in 2023, doubled that total with two wins in 2024, and then raised the bar again with three victories last season. Meyer believes that, with a few different breaks, he could already have four wins this season and continue that year-by-year progression. At the same time, he knows just how competitive the Stafford Late Model division is and understands there are no guarantees. While he's confident the #87 team has the speed to win again, he also knows it's impossible to predict when that next trip to Victory Lane will come.
“The car isn’t lacking anything, we just need things to fall just a bit differently for us and our results would be a lot different, said Meyer. “We could easily have a few more wins than we already have this season, but it’s hard to win even one race. The car is definitely good enough and like I said, I feel like our last 2 races could have both been wins and we’d have 4 wins right now, but you just don’t know. Last year at this point, I don’t think we had a win yet and we ended up winning 3 times and the year before that we won back to back races during the middle of the season and finished with a bunch more podiums but no more wins.”
Currently sitting second in the Late Model standings, Meyer knows he will have to visit NAPA Victory Lane over the second half of the 2026 season to remain in contention, but rather than focusing on points, he is looking for more speed in the remaining races. With Meyer’s track record showing he normally gets hot in the second half of his racing career seasons, his confidence is only growing.
“My confidence is ramping up because this is the time of the year when personally I feel like I start to do my best work,” said Meyer. “I’ve been like that since I started racing. I take a bit of time to get going and then I do my best racing after the halfway point of the year. Last week we ran down the top-3 cars that were way ahead of me and those 3 cars are the class of the field looking at the speed charts every week. Michael Bennett and Adam Gray are the top guys and Darrell Keane is always at the top of the charts and we ran them down, which a lot of drivers wouldn’t be able to do. There’s still a lot of things that have to happen for us to be there so we’re not reading too much into it, just trying to make me better as the driver and make the car better. I think we’re right there with the speed and confidence is high.”
Meyer will look for his third win of 2026 this Friday, July 31st. Stafford’s SK Modifieds®, SK Lights, Limited Late Models, and Street Stocks will all join the Late Model cars in feature action. Tickets for this Friday are available now on Stafford’s website and fans can save $5 by purchasing tickets in advance.
