RPW Column: Nick Anglace’s Continuing A Family Tradition At Stafford Motor Speedway

Column By: BRITTANY NUTILE / RPW – STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT – Friday night, Nick Anglace won his first race at Stafford Speedway in the SK light division.

Nick has had a very fast car for the first three races of the season but has had things go wrong that he couldn’t control.

Friday’s finish was a nail-biter.   Racing between Anglace and Alexander Pearl was super competitive and they were both hard racing for the lead and the finish.

Anglace won his heat and started the feature in fourth.  He stayed in the top 5 for the entire feature and knew he had something for Pearl and the others in the top 5.

“I was running second and Pearl started to pull away,” Anglace said.  “I knew my car was really good on the short run and Pearl was better on the long run.  I was just hoping a caution would come out to give me an opportunity to battle for the win against somebody who I admire as a driver and respect to the fullest extent when we are at the track.”

Nick then talks about the last couple of laps.

“When the caution finally came out with only a few laps left, I knew it was going to be a challenge,” he said.  I knew it was going to be tough against a proven driver.”

These young drivers in the SK light division put on really a good race every week. They are so competitive and just have a drive to win and can’t wait to compete every week.

When someone gets their first win, you see them week in and out, fighting up in the front and trying to get that win and ffthen finally getting, its pretty neat to see. Nick was one of those, you can tell it was really emotional and just a really good feeling to win at Stafford Speedway finally. “Once I crossed the line, I was just holding my breath waiting for the official call and when it finally came over the radio, I became an emotional wreck inside the car, not because of me winning the race but because I knew that all of the hard work my father puts into the car has finally paid off and I was finally able to make him proud.”

Nick has been racing at the age of 7. He raced for a couple of years then come back in 2017 to practice his dad’s SK light.

“We practiced the car a couple of times, and my times were competitive with everyone else,” he said. “My first race was the last race of 2017. I have been racing SK lights ever since.”

Nick mostly races the SK lights at Stafford Speedway and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

“I have raced an SK mod at Waterford but, mainly I am open to racing on other tracks,” he said. “If there’s an opportunity in any division, I’m going to take it.”

Nick’s father, Vinnie, started racing in the early 90s where he competed in the SK mods at Waterford.

“Through his love for the sport and tracks in CT, it was almost inevitable,” he said. “I knew one day he would put me in my own car and pass on the love of racing to me.”

After Friday’s win, Nick was emotional because it means so much to him and his family to win at Stafford.

“It means a lot because without my dad and his knowledge, we wouldn’t be at the racetrack every week,” he said. “He makes sure that every week I show up with a competitive car and a chance to win the race. Ever since I stop playing football, it was cool because we have a sport that we are both invested in that we can bond over and work together as a team.”

That’s what racing is all about, family coming together and building this bond of father and son that not most sports have. That is something that is special about home tracks and seeing that relationship grow. Then watching them cheer for their son, winning his first race at Stafford Speedway, is really special to watch.

Family in racing is everything. If you don’t have that support system, you’re probably not going to get too far in the racing world.

It’s nice to see the father-son duos working on the cars in the pits and like Nick, having a dad like Vinnie, who used to race and knows what they are supposed to be set up like. He understands have how to make a fast car and win. There aren’t too many left in racing that are father-son teams. However, in the SK light division there’s a few father-son duos like George Bessette Sr. and Jr., Alexander Pearl and his father, and Nick and Vinnie Anglace.

It’s just really cool and special to see that still in the pits today.