Story By: SCOTT RUNNING / STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY – STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT – For any driver, a first victory is a special occurrence and the Friday, August 16 Lincoln Tech 80 program at Stafford Speedway welcomed two new winners, Steven Chapman and the #14 Chapman Apartment Homes team in the SK Modified® division, and Amanda West and the #15 McKinney Construction team in the SK Light division.
New winners have been a theme at Stafford in 2024 with Chapman and West becoming the 8th and 9th different first-time winners during the 2024 season. Chapman’s win was his third overall career win at Stafford but first in the SK Modified® division, while West’s victory was a first in any division at Stafford.
“It means the world to us,” said Chapman. “We’ve struggled a little this season and we’ve been chasing the car every week in the shop. We weren’t fast enough to win yet so we’re always changing something and last week we did a little more on the car than in previous weeks and that work paid off. It was definitely a relief and it was a big hump to get off our backs with our first win.”
“It was definitely awesome and it feels like a big weight was lifted off of my shoulders after all those years not getting a win,” said West. “Going forward now I can just run my race and not have that weight on my shoulders any more. The outpouring of love and support from everyone was pretty crazy and it really helped lift up my spirits knowing that many people root for me.”
Both Chapman and West are well aware of the old racing adage that goes something to the effect of ‘once you win your first race, the others come a lot easier.’ Both drivers heard the adage after their races Friday night and they are both hoping that it will ring true for each of them and they can find themselves back in NAPA Victory Lane again before the curtain comes down on the 2024 season with NAPA Championship Night on October 4th.
“Everyone always says that once the first win comes, they start filing in after that so hopefully that holds true and we can get a couple more wins or at least one more win before the season ends,” said Chapman. “I’m hoping we’re going to win more races, but with the new tire rule this year, it evens everyone out so much. We’ve had several new winners with Troy Talman, Mikey Flynn, and myself and a lot of the guys who were winning most of the races in previous years are now more equal to the rest of the field. The division is so deep and the racing is so much more competitive, anyone can win a race.”
“I knew we were capable of winning and we had it in us, but some weeks are harder than others,” said West. “For sure there were weeks where I was pretty down but you just have to keep a positive attitude and this is a big pick me up and a huge confidence builder for the entire team. I really hope it will be easier to win a second race this season, I probably heard that from about 20 or 30 people last Friday night. The wait was definitely worth it.”
With their respective feature victories, Chapman boosted himself into 10th place in the 2024 SK Modified® standings while West is now tied for third place with Alexander Pearl in the SK Light standings. Both drivers are looking to finish the season out strong after collecting their first wins.
“Our goal is to keep on doing the best we can,” said Chapman. “We’re still learning a lot, it’s only our second year in the division. Hopefully we can get at least one more win and we’re 10th in the standings and we’re focused on finishing strong and continuing to improve our notebook.”
“For last Friday, we switched from our Chassis Pro car to a Troyer car to see if we could get a little more out of the Troyer,” said West. “Hopefully we can carry this momentum over to the remainder of the season and maybe get a second win before the season ends. Last Friday we made some changes on the car that were out of our comfort zone and not something that we would normally change, but maybe that’s just what we need to do in the last few races.”
Chapman and West will get their first opportunity at victory #2 this Friday, August 23rd. The Aug. 23 program will see Stafford’s Late Model division run twin 30-lap feature events along with the SK Modified®, SK Light, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions all in action. Tickets for Aug. 23rd are available now online at StaffordSpeedway.com/tickets and tickets will also be available for purchase at the admission gates. Tickets for the Aug. 23rd are $20.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids 6-14, and free for kids 5 & under. Reserved seating is priced at $25.00 for all ages and pit passes are $40.00 with a valid 2024 Stafford Competition License and $45.00 without a Stafford license. If you are unable to attend the event, tune into the live stream on FloRacing, the official streaming partner of Stafford Speedway.
