In his 2025 rookie season, Street Stock driver PJ Evans captured his first career Stafford victory to go along with an 8th place finish in the standings. Evans’ sophomore season sees him currently sitting 4th in the Street Stock standings with 4 podium finishes among his 9 top-5 and 12 top-10 finishes. But one thing that has eluded Evans and the #12 Evans Carpentry Services team is a victory. Evans finished second in the Midstate Site Development 30 earlier this season for his best finish of the season to date, but he and his team are hungry for a win.
“The season hasn’t been too bad,” said Evans. “We’ve been up and down, back and forth. We’ve been trying different setups with the car every week because we feel like the track is different from last season. We had some motor issues at the beginning of the year but we’ve got that fixed and now we’re just fighting the chassis. It hasn’t been a terrible year but it could definitely be a lot better.”
For Evans and the #12 team, the underlying issue that they are trying to remedy is to make their car good for the entire 20-lap distance of their feature events rather than a car that is strong for only five or six laps before falling off.
“Normally in practice we’re usually around 5th or 6th and I feel like I’m a better driver in the race but the car just isn’t faster than a 5th place car right now,” said Evans. “It’s been a struggle for us with the chassis. At the beginning of the year the motor was an issue where it was down on power and I couldn’t keep up with the other front runners. It seems right now like we hit on something one week, then fall off the next week, and then we’re right back on it the week after that. We just have to find that perfect spot with the car where it can be consistent and fast for the whole race rather than being good for 5 or 6 laps, which is where we’re at right now. I think we’re within reach of that first win and if we can get the car good enough to stay up front I think we can get a win before the end of the season and we’ll be trying our hardest for sure.”
Despite not having a victory to their credit thus far in 2026, Evans and the #12 team have finished seventh or better in 12 of the 14 races. If not for consecutive DNF’s on May 22 and May 29 that left Evans 13th and 16th in the finishing order, he would be contending for third or second in the standings. With only 6 races left to close out the 2026 season, Evans is more focused on capturing his first win than stacking points.
“I’m not too worried about points at this stage,” said Evans. “We’re definitely happy to be fourth in the points and without our 2 DNF’s this season we’d be a lot closer to the front but right now we’re just going out to have fun and go for wins while trying to make the car better. Once we find the small tweaks we’re looking for on the car, we’ll be able to contend for wins in the last quarter of the season. It’s definitely been a little frustrating because we know we can do it and we know we have the car that can do it, it’s just been a pain for us fighting the chassis. Thanks to my Mom, my Dad, TS Motorsports, Team Critical, Evans Carpentry Services, Tom Fearn, MSM Motorsports, Jesse Police, EV Exterminating, NNC Seal Coating, my Uncle Joe, and everyone else who helps us out, it’s all greatly appreciated.”
Evans will continue his quest for his first win of 2026 this Friday, August 21st, which is Maybury Back to SKool Kids Night. August 21st is a weekly racing program that will see Stafford’s SK Modified®, Late Model, SK Light, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock all in feature action along with two Big Wheel races for kids ages 3-7. Tickets are available now online and can also be purchased at the admission gates. If you can’t attend in person, don’t miss the action—tune in to the live stream on FloRacing, the official streaming partner of Stafford Speedway.
Order Friday, August 21 Maybury Back to SKool Kids Night Tickets
For more information, visit staffordspeedway.com, follow Stafford Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
