July 18th, 2014
Capitalizer: Ronnie Williams Scores First Career SK Modified Win At Stafford Speedway
A www.racedayct.com article
STAFFORD – After being involved in a late race wreck while racing for the lead on July 11 at Stafford Motor Speedway, Ronnie Williams said he needed to change his luck.
“I changed up some things,” Williams said. “I’m very superstitious. I changed my shirt, did a few different things. I just needed some luck. I definitely got some luck.”
The fireworks went off in front of him with two of the top drivers at the track Friday and Williams was in the perfect position to capitalize.
After Ryan Preece was black flagged for an accident with Keith Rocco in a battle for the lead, Williams took over the top spot and then held off Sean Foster over the final three laps to win his first career SK Modified feature Friday at Stafford Motor Speedway.
And while Williams, a 17-year old division rookie from Tolland, celebrated, Rocco and Preece were left fuming in the pits.
Foster, of Ellington, was second and Ted Christopher of Plainville third.
Rocco went to the lead past Williams on lap six. Preece was up to second not long after, setting up an epic battle at the front for the next 26 laps.
Rocco and Preece traded the lead six times from lap 12 to lap 38, running side-by-side at the front for most of that stretch, with Rocco riding the outside lane much of the time.
But the battle ended ugly on lap 38 when Rocco, leading, got tapped by Preece coming off turn two. Rocco ended up going head-on into the backstretch wall and Preece was black-flagged for over aggressive driving.
“We ran what, 20, 30 laps side-by-side, wheel-to-wheel and never touched a wheel? Rocco said. “Great racing. And I ran on the top for whatever, 20 laps. I was happy, we ran clean. I got by him and went to the bottom and gave him the top and I ended up in the fence.
“I gave him the whole outside. I couldn’t have given him any more racetrack. He ran on the bottom for 20 laps, that was his turn to run up top. It sucks because it would have been in the record books probably the longest anybody has run side-by-side like that. It was like I was driving down the highway next to someone. Never once did I worry about him running me up, never once did I worry about him hitting me. I was having an absolute blast and it’s shame it had to end like that.”
Preece immediately paid a visit to race director Tom Fox following the event to argue the call to put him to the rear of the field after the incident.
“It’s a tough job, but this is my life and this is how I make my money,” Preece said. “We raced side-by-side for 20 laps, he wanted to protect the bottom out there. I would have done the same thing. But when you get off the throttle and you hold it to the bottom and the other guy is going to the top, I don’t know what to say. Going off the corner, I’m full throttle, so is he. He gets off the gas or whatever, I don’t know.”
Williams was just happy to be ready when things went bad in front of him.
“I was just waiting for something to happen,” Williams said. “I thought something would. I was trying to save a little bit. And it definitely worked out in my favor.”
It was the second consecutive podium for Foster, who finished third on July 11. Foster led Williams at the line on the lap 38 restart, but lost the lead the next lap. He had a run to the outside of Foster on the last lap, but came up short by half a car-length.
“This is going to be a streak of things to come,” Foster said. “I really have got to give a hat’s off to Ronnie Williams. He did a wicked awesome job. We didn’t even touch once. I wish I could have had it over. I had a lot of options on the last turn. When I got on the gas it was just a little bit less than I was hoping it would have.”
Capitalizer: Ronnie Williams Scores First Career SK Modified Win At Stafford Speedway
A www.racedayct.com article
STAFFORD – After being involved in a late race wreck while racing for the lead on July 11 at Stafford Motor Speedway, Ronnie Williams said he needed to change his luck.
“I changed up some things,” Williams said. “I’m very superstitious. I changed my shirt, did a few different things. I just needed some luck. I definitely got some luck.”
The fireworks went off in front of him with two of the top drivers at the track Friday and Williams was in the perfect position to capitalize.
After Ryan Preece was black flagged for an accident with Keith Rocco in a battle for the lead, Williams took over the top spot and then held off Sean Foster over the final three laps to win his first career SK Modified feature Friday at Stafford Motor Speedway.
And while Williams, a 17-year old division rookie from Tolland, celebrated, Rocco and Preece were left fuming in the pits.
Foster, of Ellington, was second and Ted Christopher of Plainville third.
Rocco went to the lead past Williams on lap six. Preece was up to second not long after, setting up an epic battle at the front for the next 26 laps.
Rocco and Preece traded the lead six times from lap 12 to lap 38, running side-by-side at the front for most of that stretch, with Rocco riding the outside lane much of the time.
But the battle ended ugly on lap 38 when Rocco, leading, got tapped by Preece coming off turn two. Rocco ended up going head-on into the backstretch wall and Preece was black-flagged for over aggressive driving.
“We ran what, 20, 30 laps side-by-side, wheel-to-wheel and never touched a wheel? Rocco said. “Great racing. And I ran on the top for whatever, 20 laps. I was happy, we ran clean. I got by him and went to the bottom and gave him the top and I ended up in the fence.
“I gave him the whole outside. I couldn’t have given him any more racetrack. He ran on the bottom for 20 laps, that was his turn to run up top. It sucks because it would have been in the record books probably the longest anybody has run side-by-side like that. It was like I was driving down the highway next to someone. Never once did I worry about him running me up, never once did I worry about him hitting me. I was having an absolute blast and it’s shame it had to end like that.”
Preece immediately paid a visit to race director Tom Fox following the event to argue the call to put him to the rear of the field after the incident.
“It’s a tough job, but this is my life and this is how I make my money,” Preece said. “We raced side-by-side for 20 laps, he wanted to protect the bottom out there. I would have done the same thing. But when you get off the throttle and you hold it to the bottom and the other guy is going to the top, I don’t know what to say. Going off the corner, I’m full throttle, so is he. He gets off the gas or whatever, I don’t know.”
Williams was just happy to be ready when things went bad in front of him.
“I was just waiting for something to happen,” Williams said. “I thought something would. I was trying to save a little bit. And it definitely worked out in my favor.”
It was the second consecutive podium for Foster, who finished third on July 11. Foster led Williams at the line on the lap 38 restart, but lost the lead the next lap. He had a run to the outside of Foster on the last lap, but came up short by half a car-length.
“This is going to be a streak of things to come,” Foster said. “I really have got to give a hat’s off to Ronnie Williams. He did a wicked awesome job. We didn’t even touch once. I wish I could have had it over. I had a lot of options on the last turn. When I got on the gas it was just a little bit less than I was hoping it would have.”
December 31st, 2013
Ronnie Williams Moves From SK Light To SK Modified® Division For 2014 Season
A www.staffordspeedway.com story
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Motor Speedway’s SK Modified® division has added Ronnie Williams to its 2014 SPAFCO Rookie Class. The Ellington native has spent the past two seasons in Stafford’s SK Light Modified division, where he has accumulated 4 wins and two 6th place finishes in the points standings. Williams joins fellow SK Light drivers Chase Dowling and Troy Talman as 2014 SK Modified® rookies in what should be a great duel for rookie of the year honors.
“I think we decided that we ran really well this year in the SK Lights and we were a contender every week,” said Williams. “We had a couple nights with crashes but for the most part we were getting podium finishes and we got a couple of wins, so that’s why we’re moving up. Of course I’m a little nervous, I’m going to be going up against the best drivers in the Northeast like Ted Christopher, Ryan Preece, Keith Rocco, and the list goes on and on. But at the same time, it’s going to be pretty cool because I’ve been watching some of these guys race since I was 2 years old so I feel like we’ll have a lot of fun this year.”
As Williams prepares for his transition from SK Light to SK Modified®, he and his AdviceOne and NAPA of Tolland team have bought the former #89 car driven by Woody Pitkat and Rowan Pennink the last three seasons at SMS. The #89 car won 5 races and finished second and third in the points standings with Pitkat driving, so Williams knows that he has a good car on his hands. Another factor that Williams will have in his favor as he sets out on his rookie season will be his crew chief, Stash Butova. Butova has won a championship with Frank Ruocco in the SK Modified® division and Williams feels that the combination of having a winning car and crew chief will help him to ease his learning curve.
“It definitely feels good to know we have a good car, it’s up to me now to see if I can do something with it,” said Williams. “The pressure is on but I’ll have Stash helping me out and I think we’ll have a fun year. Stash is like a god of race tracks, he knows what to do with the car, I tell him and he does it. I know he’ll have the car right and hopefully we can put the car into victory lane. Stash has worked with Frank Ruocco for years and they’ve won a championship together so I can maybe get some help from Frank if I need and having Stash helping us out is definitely a good thing.”
In addition to having a car that has been driven to victory lane by two different drivers along with a championship winning crew chief, Williams will have the very same crew and sponsors returning to help him get his #59 car to reach its ultimate goal, which is winning a feature. Williams also knows that the first several practice sessions that he participates in will go a long way in helping him and his crew develop a car setup that will help make them weekly contenders.
“I think we’re going to rent the track at some point before the season starts and then with the first practice sessions hopefully we can be all set and ready to go for the Spring Sizzler weekend,” said Williams. “The first couple weeks are going to be the key. I have to try and find a groove and get in it and maybe in practice follow behind some of the legends of the track and watch what they do. It’s definitely going to be a lesson and I’m going to have to learn. We can’t just go in and expect to win. It’s going to be a big challenge for me, but I love challenges. I think the longer races will help me. In the SK Lights you feel like you have to get up to the front right away, but in the SK races, you have time to feel what the car is doing and you can relax a little bit as you go through the field. You don’t have to get to the front right away. We have the same crew coming back and we have AdviceOne and NAPA of Tolland on board as sponsors and we’re still searching for more sponsors. Racing in the SK Modified® division has been something that I’ve always wanted to do. Racing in the SK Lights was awesome and racing in the SK Modifieds® at the Spring Sizzler gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.”
Willliams will hit the track for the first time in the SK Modified® ranks during the 43rd Annual Spring Sizzler on April 25-27, 2014. For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Ronnie Williams Moves From SK Light To SK Modified® Division For 2014 Season
A www.staffordspeedway.com story
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Stafford Motor Speedway’s SK Modified® division has added Ronnie Williams to its 2014 SPAFCO Rookie Class. The Ellington native has spent the past two seasons in Stafford’s SK Light Modified division, where he has accumulated 4 wins and two 6th place finishes in the points standings. Williams joins fellow SK Light drivers Chase Dowling and Troy Talman as 2014 SK Modified® rookies in what should be a great duel for rookie of the year honors.
“I think we decided that we ran really well this year in the SK Lights and we were a contender every week,” said Williams. “We had a couple nights with crashes but for the most part we were getting podium finishes and we got a couple of wins, so that’s why we’re moving up. Of course I’m a little nervous, I’m going to be going up against the best drivers in the Northeast like Ted Christopher, Ryan Preece, Keith Rocco, and the list goes on and on. But at the same time, it’s going to be pretty cool because I’ve been watching some of these guys race since I was 2 years old so I feel like we’ll have a lot of fun this year.”
As Williams prepares for his transition from SK Light to SK Modified®, he and his AdviceOne and NAPA of Tolland team have bought the former #89 car driven by Woody Pitkat and Rowan Pennink the last three seasons at SMS. The #89 car won 5 races and finished second and third in the points standings with Pitkat driving, so Williams knows that he has a good car on his hands. Another factor that Williams will have in his favor as he sets out on his rookie season will be his crew chief, Stash Butova. Butova has won a championship with Frank Ruocco in the SK Modified® division and Williams feels that the combination of having a winning car and crew chief will help him to ease his learning curve.
“It definitely feels good to know we have a good car, it’s up to me now to see if I can do something with it,” said Williams. “The pressure is on but I’ll have Stash helping me out and I think we’ll have a fun year. Stash is like a god of race tracks, he knows what to do with the car, I tell him and he does it. I know he’ll have the car right and hopefully we can put the car into victory lane. Stash has worked with Frank Ruocco for years and they’ve won a championship together so I can maybe get some help from Frank if I need and having Stash helping us out is definitely a good thing.”
In addition to having a car that has been driven to victory lane by two different drivers along with a championship winning crew chief, Williams will have the very same crew and sponsors returning to help him get his #59 car to reach its ultimate goal, which is winning a feature. Williams also knows that the first several practice sessions that he participates in will go a long way in helping him and his crew develop a car setup that will help make them weekly contenders.
“I think we’re going to rent the track at some point before the season starts and then with the first practice sessions hopefully we can be all set and ready to go for the Spring Sizzler weekend,” said Williams. “The first couple weeks are going to be the key. I have to try and find a groove and get in it and maybe in practice follow behind some of the legends of the track and watch what they do. It’s definitely going to be a lesson and I’m going to have to learn. We can’t just go in and expect to win. It’s going to be a big challenge for me, but I love challenges. I think the longer races will help me. In the SK Lights you feel like you have to get up to the front right away, but in the SK races, you have time to feel what the car is doing and you can relax a little bit as you go through the field. You don’t have to get to the front right away. We have the same crew coming back and we have AdviceOne and NAPA of Tolland on board as sponsors and we’re still searching for more sponsors. Racing in the SK Modified® division has been something that I’ve always wanted to do. Racing in the SK Lights was awesome and racing in the SK Modifieds® at the Spring Sizzler gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.”
Willliams will hit the track for the first time in the SK Modified® ranks during the 43rd Annual Spring Sizzler on April 25-27, 2014. For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
