After a rookie campaign that saw him capture 3 top-5 and 5 top-10 finishes in 2025, Stafford Limited Late Model driver Norm Root, III has already surpassed those marks in his sophomore season.
Root and the #80 Root’s Auto Repair team have posted 6 top-5 and 11 top-10 finishes through the first 12 races of the season and they are looking to keep improving those numbers as they chase after their first feature win at Stafford.
“We expected to be better than we were last year and we’re still looking to get our first win,” said Root. “We’re getting closer and every week we’re trying to make improvements on the car. I think we’re pretty close and any week could be our week. We do everything ourselves on the car and we’re still a little bit off. We’re racing against people who have been racing at Stafford for years so I think we’re doing pretty well with what we have and little by little we’ll get there. I have a great team behind me with Peak Performance Fab and Michaud Orchard in Acton, Maine, and thanks to my Mom and Dad and my sister.”
As Root and his team chase after their first feature victory, they have been one of the most consistent teams in the Limited Late Model division this season. Root equaled his career best finish of third three times over the first 6 races of the 2026 season and he is one of only 4 drivers in the division to have recorded 11 top-10 finishes through the first 12 races.
“Consistency is the key and I think we’re the only car in the top-4 that hasn’t won a race yet this year,” said Root. “I’ve been trying to be consistent this season and we’ve had some bad finishes, but we’re still mid-pack. You have to finish all the races because if you don’t you won’t be there in the end. There’s certain adjustments that we’ve made that have gained us tenths of a second. If a championship should roll around our way that would be great, but I’m shooting for that first win.”
Root’s consistency currently sees him in 4th place in the Limited Late Model standings, only 10 points or 5 positions on the track, behind Travis Hydar. Being so close to the championship lead at this stage of the season would make many drivers have that be their focus, but for Root, he has winning his first race as his main focus.
“I’m not really a points person,” said Root. “The championship is cool and all but I’d rather have a bunch of trophies on the shelf than a championship. Winning a race is our main focus along with making the car better to have something even better to build on for next season. I feel like I’m more confident this season as a driver and how to race the track and we’ve made the car better. We’ve got several third place finishes this season so that’s been pretty good. That first win is in sight for us and I definitely think we can get there. The points will come as we do well and you have to see where everyone else is finishing. No matter what happens, it’s been a successful season for us and any time we can take the car home in one piece is a win.”
Root knows he faces an uphill battle to secure his first feature win as the level of competition in Stafford’s Limited Late Model division continues to grow year by year. The 2026 season has already seen 8 different winners in the first 12 races and there have been at least 8 different feature winners in the Limited Late Model division every year since 2021 with the exception of the 2023 season that saw 6 different winners.
“There have been 8 different winners this season and that’s pretty impressive,” said Root. “Usually there’s one guy who is running up front every week and winning a lot of races. You see Ryan Waterman in the Street Stock division, he is winning races like crazy and you don’t see that in the Limited Late Model division. It’s super competitive.”
In addition to the tough competition that Root faces on a weekly basis, he is also fighting some issues with his car, namely the braking system, in order to make his #80 machine a winning car.
“We’ve been struggling with the brakes since the start of the season,” said Root. “I’m still trying to work out what I’m looking for from them but everyone is within a tenth of a second of each other every week. Being at home and doing everything ourselves, we don’t really hear anything from other drivers and teams and it’s all from our own heads and seeing what we can make happen with the car. A win would be a huge relief off of my shoulders, we just have to get everything right on the car.”
