Story By: SCOTT RUNNING / STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY – STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT – With Stafford Speedway’s SK Light division partaking in double features this Friday night, Aug. 30th as part of Maybury Back to SKool Kids Night, Ron Midford, Jr. will be in search of his first SK Light victory with his #76 Constantine Paving and Sealing car.
Midford is in the midst of his third full season of SK Light competition after winning 30+ features and 2 championships in the Senior Champs division of Wild Thing Karts and is looking to go one position higher after posting a career best finish of second place in the season opening NAPA Spring Sizzler® event.
“I like racing whenever we can go race, whether it’s 1, 2, or 3 features in a night,” said Midford. “We’re good with our tire situation with 3 tires. Keith Rocco sets the car up every week and we just refreshed the motor a couple weeks ago. We’re giving it everything we have and I would like nothing more than to put the #76 in NAPA Victory Lane. I have a great group of sponsors with Constantine Paving and Sealing, Casella Waste Services, General Landscaping, Midford Motors, Bolles Motors, Doreen’s Country Pet Grooming, Lincoln Tech, Bolles Race Cars, and Eastern Transportation and Rentals. I have a great crew between my Dad, Jay DeLorge, and John Sellew, and we’re trying as hard as we can to get that first win.”
Before joining the SK Light division as a rookie driver in 2022, Midford made 2 starts in Stafford’s Street Stock division during the 2021 season. Through the first 12 races of this season, Midford has already matched his career high in top-5 finishes and one more top-10 finish will equal his career best. Midford says he is still learning and improving as a driver each and every time he goes out onto the race track.
“I feel like I’ve definitely improved,” said Midford. “When I first started out I wasn’t sure what to expect going from the small track to the big track but once you get the hang of it, it gets a lot better. I’m still learning every time I go out on the track and I’m always watching in-car cameras to try to observe and take in as much information as I can.”
With Tyler Chapman winning half of the 12 races held during the 2024 season, there hasn’t been many feature wins to go around for other SK Light drivers. Midford finished second behind Chapman in the season opening race and he has been trying to get his car back to that point ever since.
“He is a good benchmark for us to measure ourselves against,” said Midford. “He wins a lot and when you’re comparable to him with speed, that’s always a good measure of how well you’re doing. We were right on his bumper in the first race of the season for the last lap or two and we need to get that back to get our first win.”
In addition to seeking his first career SK Light feature win, Midford will also be looking to maintain his place in the SK Light points standings. Midford comes into the Aug. 30 Maybury Kids Night double header sitting fifth in the SK Light points and his goal is to maintain that position for the remainder of the year.
“We’re used to racing for points after winning those couple kart championships and being in the top-5 right now, our goal is to maintain in the top-5 and possibly improve our position,” said Midford. “This is only our third full year racing in any type of Friday night division and to be fifth in points would be a pretty big accomplishment for us. We always want to do better but a top-5 finish would be great.”
This Friday, August 30th will be Maybury Back to SKool Kids Night. The Aug. 30 program will see Stafford’s SK Light cars run twin 20-lap feature events along with the SK Modified®, Late Model, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions and a kids big wheel race. Tickets for Aug. 30th are available now online at StaffordSpeedway.com/tickets and tickets will also be available for purchase at the admission gates. Tickets for Aug. 30th are $20.00 for adults, and free for all kids 14 & 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.
