HAYNES MATERIALS 150 AT STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY 

This past Friday night, the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series ‘Haynes 150’ took place at Stafford Motor Speedway (Stafford Springs, CT). Among 46 entries – vying for just 31 starting spots - teammates and FMS regulars Renee Dupuis and Dave Etheridge were on hand. 

For this event, just getting to the race track proved to be a challenge for Dupuis’ team. After severely damaging the car at Nazareth the prior Sunday, the team worked tirelessly to make repairs. In fact, the team began on Tuesday night (when the chassis was picked-up from the frame shop) with a bare chassis and worked literally day and night to prepare for NASCAR’s inspection on Friday afternoon – no small feat. 

Unfortunately, from the start, Stafford proved to be an uphill battle. Renee managed only one brief practice session after a broken driveshaft wreaked havoc on the drivetrain on her No. 90 machine. With almost no practice, she was forced to take a provisional starting position – while Etheridge failed to make the field. 

Early on, Renee bent the steering rack and struggled with the ill handling car for most of the event – eventually coming home in 22^nd position. More important, following such a devastating accident, the team realized their goal of making it to the track – getting into the show – and finishing the race. Because of the team’s efforts – they were basically able to maintain their position in the seasonal point standings (19^th out of 63 drivers). 

Next up, the NASCAR FMS division makes their first of two visits to the ¼- mile Riverhead Raceway (Riverhead, Long Island, NY) this coming Saturday for the ‘Miller Lite 200.’ To date, 48 teams have filed entries – making their bid for just 28 starting spots (Riverhead annually boasts the smallest starting fields of the entire Series). We’ll be sure to inform you of the outcome following the race.