Pitkat Breaks Into Victory Lane at Stafford

Young Racer Solidifies A Strong Start With a Victory

With the racing season still very young in New England, most drivers would be satisfied with a string of top-five and top-10 finishes.  They might shrug off a near-win as “just racing” and walk away happy with a result of fourth, fifth or ninth after every race.

But Woody Pitkat isn’t just a race car driver – he’s a proven champion.  Last season, he won the track title at Thompson International Speedway (CT), the Late Model championship at Stafford Motor Speedway (CT) and the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series regional title.  The fact that he was about to enter the month of June with no victories yet in 2007 got Pitkat a little bit down.

Instead of feeling blue, Pitkat just went to work and rededicated the efforts of himself and his team.  That approach paid off on Friday night at Stafford when Pitkat captured the 40-lap SK Modified main event.

“For the past couple of weeks we just have not had any luck and we finally turned it around,” said Pitkat.  ”We changed a few things on the car this year to try to get it better than last year. We tried to get up on the competition.  Instead, we struggled a little bit this year.   The race shop moved up the street and that has taken a little bit to adjust to.

Woody Pitkat and his team enjoy victory lane at Stafford.  (Jim DuPont Photo)

“Last week, we had a problem on the car and afterward we all sat down because we were killing ourselves. We put our heads together and we talked.  We gave everybody a job and now we just have to keep at it.  We turn off our cell phones.  It is only one night a week for five to six hours.  We have to come and think of it as a job and do what you have to do.  Then you have the rest of the week to screw around. The team had no problems tonight with that and here we are [in victory lane].”

Pitkat started out the night at Stafford by finishing fourth in the Late Model feature.  He jumped out of that car and into the SK Modified, where he also started fourth.  For the first few laps he had difficulty adjusting and driving the car, but soon he settled right in.

“We usually drive the SK car first and then the Late Model,” said Pitkat.  “That way it is not hard to adapt.  When you run the Late Model and then the SK it takes a couple of laps to get used to it. The first couple of laps I was switching all over the place like a maniac. Then I said, I have to remember that I am in the SK.”

After settling down, Woody went high and low on the track and managed to take over the lead on lap six from Zach Sylvester.

“I just kept trying to make my marks.  My spotter kept telling me to keep doing what I was doing.  It is so hard when you take the lead early like that.  It’s nice to start up front and get the lead, but I would rather come from the back and take the lead when there are less laps to go.”

The race completed 20 green laps of racing when the first caution of the evening came out.  On the race restart, Woody went back to second position after Sylvester moved under him.

“I spoke to Zach and he said it came as a surprise to him that I slowed down so fast and that was why he got into me.”

Before the race was over, Ted Christopher and Todd Owen were in the mix, vying for the top four positions with Sylvester and Pitkat.  On lap 33, Pitkat wrestled away the lead from Sylvester one more time and kept all of the other pursuers at bay until the finish.

There was a little bit of contact with Pitkat’s move for the lead, but it was considered to be “just racing”.

“I did not want to get into Zach as bad as I did, but I figured that he did it to me,” said Pitkat.  “No harm, no foul.  He came over and said he respected it and he was fine with it.  He was happy and thought that it was a good race.”

Christopher followed Pitkat to the front past Sylvester to take second.  For the rest of the race Pitkat had to endure TC on his bumper and rear view mirror.

“I felt some concern when Teddy was coming.  He is a class act and one of the best SK drivers in the Northeast.  I just set my own pace and kept my own rhythm and laid the laps down.  Teddy was coming and he was quick.  I had to keep him to the outside.

“We had a good car and we had a good starting spot, but in the middle of the race it was caution, caution, caution.  Once the race got going and I got a rhythm and got going I was OK.”

Pitkat returns to action this Thursday night at Thompson International Speedway, where he will chase after the checkered flag in the Sunoco Modified ranks.

Pitkat's #52 SK Modified (Top) and #48 Late Model (Bottom).  (Rick Ibsen Photo)