(Stafford Springs, CT)---After a successful rookie season that saw him drive to victory lane and finish 9th in the points standings behind the wheel of the #19 Steve Greer owned entry, North Haven native Tyler Hines will return to the SK Lights with a new car.  Hines and his family have purchased from Gunsmoke Stables the #27 car that was formerly driven by Earl Pelletier and they will renumber the car to 25 to match Hines’ hockey number with Greer providing the engine for the car.

“We bought Earl Pelletier’s old car and Steve Greer is going to let us use his engine for this year,” said Hines.  “We found out at the end of the year that Steve was going to use the car as a backup car for his MRS team, so we needed to find a car.  We can’t thank Steve enough for letting us use that engine, it really makes things a lot easier for us this year and I’m excited to have my hockey number back on the car.  I’ve had 25 as my hockey number for about 10 years, so it’s going to be nice to have my number back.”

With his feature victory last season, Hines was one of three rookie drivers and one of seven first time winners in the SK Light division.  Hines reached victory lane in only his third start in the division, and while he says he and his team were disappointed that they couldn’t add a second victory to their tally, he says the win was a bonus and something that the team can use to build on for his second full season of SK Light competition.

“Winning last year was a big surprise for us, especially since it was so early in the season,” said Hines.  “It was unexpected for us to win like that and it was also a little disappointing to us that we didn’t win another race.  We did have a lot of top-5 and top-3 finishes, so it was a successful season for us.  With having a full year under my belt and the same guys coming back on our team, I think we can have a pretty successful season.  We know we can win, so our goal for this year is to win more races than last year, get more top-3 finishes, and hopefully be a contender to win the championship.”

With a new car in the fold for the 2013 season, Hines will have to take full advantage of the first few practice sessions of the season in order to find a comfortable setup that will allow him to challenge for wins.

“We have a good basic setup we can put into the car and we’ll see if the car reacts like we think it should,” said Hines.  “Steve’s car was a good car and we need to get our new car on the same level that we had with Steve’s car last year.  The first couple of weeks of practice will be important for us to get the car dialed in.  Last year was a good year for me as far as learning the car and racing with the other guys and we’re looking to build off what we learned last year.”

Hines’ new #25 ride will carry sponsorship from Gunsmoke Stables Racing, Sunny Side Up Early Learning Center, and the Junior Wolfpack. 

“We’re still searching for some additional sponsorship,” said Hines.  “Last year we had great help from EGC Environmental Services and Leslie’s Jewelry, so we’re hoping that maybe they’ll come back on board with us and we’re always looking for someone who might want to work with our team and sponsor us.”

The 2013 SK Light season kicks off with the 42nd Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler on April 26-28.  Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” may be ordered by calling the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $38.50 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating is $42.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. 

For more information on the 42nd Annual CARQUEST TECH-NET Spring Sizzler®, or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.

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