Top Modified Talent Gears Up for 80-Lap Showdown at Stafford’s GAF Roofing Modified Masters
(Stafford Springs, CT)—The countdown is on for the GAF Roofing Modified Masters at Stafford Speedway. With just over a week to go the entry list continues to grow, already nearing 30 cars for the Wednesday, July 16, 80-lap Monaco Modified Series event. Headlining the field is NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece, a hometown favorite, who will be joined by a host of the best modified drivers in the country in the chase to take home the checkered flag.
#00 Michael Christopher Jr
Michael Christopher, Jr. is quite possibly the hottest driver going at Stafford at the moment, having won three consecutive SK Modified® races. Christopher has yet to finish lower than 8th place in six starts this season and his three wins in a row see him atop the SK Modified® standings. Christopher will once again be behind the wheel of the Jimmy Paige owned #00 Jimmy Paige Plumbing & Heating car that he qualified third and ran in the top-10 at the NAPA Spring Sizzler® before retiring from the race with 31 laps complete.
“We showed some promise in our last race together at Thompson and we ran really well,” said Christopher. “The car has always been stable, we just struggle with tires. I think being good at Thompson means that we’re going to be pretty good at Stafford. I’m still riding the high and feeling confident about my own abilities so I think I can carry the momentum from the SK car over to the Monaco car. It’s going to be a stout field so we definitely have to be on top of our game, not only me but with the car as well, and that’s what it’s going to take.”
#15 Jake Johnson
Jake Johnson was another standout NAPA Spring Sizzler® performer, leading a total of 48 laps during the race before a wreck ended their day early. Johnson won his last start with the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series at White Mountain and he will be looking for some Stafford redemption behind the wheel of his family owned #15 Lin’s Propane Tanks car.
“We’re definitely excited for the race,” said Johnson. “We showed some success the last time out at Stafford in the Sizzler® so we should have a pretty good racecar and Monaco races are always fun. We have some momentum coming off the win at White Mountain so hopefully we can have another good run. We’ll be trying to get the car into the top-5 and then see what we can do at the end of the race. There’s always good competition at Stafford and Stafford always puts on a good show, so it could be up to anyone with strategy. We led the Sizzler® from I think lap-15 to around lap-65 when we got into a wreck right after the pit stops. We had good pace in the car and we’ve only found more speed in the car since then, so hopefully we can make the car even better than it was.”
#06 Tyler Chapman
Tyler Chapman is the defending SK Light champion at Stafford and he is also the leading NAPA Rookie of the Year candidate in the SK Modified® division. Chapman recently joined forces with the Les Hinckley #06 team and after finishing 11th in their first race together at Seekonk, Chapman will be looking to put the #06 Glastonbury Oil car in the top-10 at his home track.
“We’re excited for the race,” said Chapman. “It’s a new challenge for me. We ran the race at Seekonk and that went fairly well for us by finishing 11th and staying out of trouble. The team is awesome, everyone is happy, and we hope to keep it that way. The car is great and the car has a lot of speed in it, we just have to get it dialed in. It definitely has way more power than the SK or SK Light car and we’ll find out when we get to the track if I have a good handle on that or not.”
The Monaco Ford Modified Tri-Track Series will be joined in the GAF Roofing Modified Masters event by Stafford’s SK Lights, who will race their 40-lap King of the Crate feature event. Tickets are available now online at StaffordSpeedway.com/tickets 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.
For more information, visit staffordspeedway.com, follow Stafford Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
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