To open the 2022 season, the Camping World SRX Series expanded its horizons with two stops at tracks that did not host an SRX race in 2021. Now, the Superstar Racing Experience returns to the place where it held its first ever race, a familiar haunt for both the series and many of the greatest race car drivers to ever come from the northeast.
The third race of the 2022 SRX season sees the series return to Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, Conn., which hosted the inaugural SRX race in 2021. Not much has changed at Stafford, as this relatively flat half-mile racetrack continues to be a historic and major destination for racers in New England and the Tri-state area.
Although a national television audience on CBS got familiar with Stafford last summer, here's an extensive look at Stafford Motor Speedway, its history, and some of its most legendary drivers.
Biggest Races
The calling card of Stafford Motor Speedway is its SK Modified division, the track's signature division for modified cars. The SK Modifieds were the brainchild of track president Jack Arute, who introduced the concept as a means of keeping the cost of racing modifieds down and making modifieds a viable racing discipline into the future. Generally, divisions in Stafford's weekly racing series are split between SK Modifieds and "Open" Modifieds, as well as other stock car series like late models and street stocks.
The biggest race of Stafford's season is the annual Spring Sizzler, which recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary. The Spring Sizzler has been won by some of the greatest modified racers in history, a group that includes NASCAR Hall of Famers such as Richie Evans and Mike Stefanik.
Notable Drivers
The list of track champions at Stafford reads like a who's who of NASCAR modified legends and stars of the northeast racing scene, several of whom eventually made it to the NASCAR Cup Series. Modified legends such as Fred DeSarro, Richie Evans, Ted and Mike Christopher, Reggie Ruggiero and Mike Stefanik all won Stafford's track championship in modifieds. So too did 1986 Daytona 500 champion Geoff Bodine, longtime NASCAR drivers like Greg Sacks and Ron Bouchard, and present-day driver Ryan Preece.
Others to have raced and won at Stafford include the late Charlie Jarzombek, NASCAR Hall of Famer Jerry Cook, Jimmy Spencer, Steve Park, Randy LaJoie, Mike McLaughlin and many more. In 2020, Stafford released its list of the 50 greatest modified drivers in track history, which includes many of the names mentioned here.
Local All-Star
The SRX local All-Star for Stafford Motor Speedway is Matt Hirschman, who earned an SRX ride by virtue of winning this year's Spring Sizzler. A 39-year-old from Northampton, Pa., Hirschman has followed in the footsteps of his father, Tony Hirschman, by putting together a great racing career of his own.
Hirschman has raced on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour since 2005, winning five career races and finishing second in the points standings in 2008. Nicknamed "Big Money Matt," Hirschman has developed a reputation for showing up and showing out in big races -- particularly in the Richie Evans Memorial at New Smyrna, a race he has won five out of the last six years and six times overall.
Hirschman has a big act to follow, as local All-Star Doug Coby won last year's SRX race at Stafford. Coby ended up parlaying that into a one-off in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where he earned a 12th-place finish at Bristol.
Did You Know?
In addition to its long history in modifieds, Stafford has also hosted many stock cars races through the years, most notably the NASCAR East Series. Future NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. won twice at Stafford in East Series competition, first in 2001 and again in 2003.
