(Stafford Springs, CT)---Stafford SK Light driver Dylan Kopec will close out his 2012 season with a busy weekend at the CARQUEST Fall Final.  In addition to his #66 SK Light ride, Kopec will make his SK Modified® debut in a car owned by Rich Vasseur.  Kopec and his father Chris have been helping Vasseur’s daughter in the Wild Thing Kart Series on Monday nights at Stafford, and that assistance prompted Vasseur to ask Kopec if he wanted to drive his car in the CARQUEST Fall Final SK Modified® feature.

“It’s going to be pretty cool,” said Kopec.  “At the beginning of the year, they got into the kart racing and we’re familiar with that since we just came from there.  Rich asked us for some help and we’ve given him a hand and scaled the kart a few times at our shop.  Rich and his family are all such nice people and at the second to last kart race, Rich asked me if I wanted to drive his car at the Fall Final.  It was Rich’s way of thanking us for helping his daughter out with the kart, and it’s pretty cool of Rich to give me this opportunity.”

Now that Kopec has the opportunity to drive the car, he and his father Chris have been busy getting the car prepared for this weekend’s competition.

“Rich dropped the car off and we’ve been working on it for the past week,” said Kopec.  “We had it on the scales and we’re trying to get it to where I like it.  We have to adjust the steering wheel so I can see over it because Rich is a bit taller than me.”

Kopec is finishing his second season of SK Light competition, and with 8 wins this season, he feels confident that he will be able to quickly acclimate to the SK car.

“With 2 years in the Lights, I’ll have some seat time behind me and the SK has got a little more power, but we had a 4-barrel on the car at Thompson and I could hang with them,” said Kopec.  “I’ll take all day Friday to get used to it.  I don’t think there’s much difference between the SK and SK Light, we’re usually only about 4 or 5 tenths of a second slower than the SK cars.  For practice, I know some of the guys, so I’ll try to get behind them and see what they run for a line versus what I run for a line.  I know there’s going to be a little difference because you’re carrying more speed into the corner with the SK.”

Although Kopec has enjoyed a dominant season with 8 trips to CARQUEST Victory Lane in SK Light competition, he has a more modest goal set for himself as he prepares to make his SK Modified® debut.

“I’m hoping for the best finish I can get,” said Kopec.  “It would be cool to be up front, but we just want to get a solid finish and keep the car in one piece.”

Tickets for the September 29th & Sept. 30th 40th Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend 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 will be priced at $42.00 for all ages.  All CARQUEST Fall Final tickets are good for admission on both Saturday and Sunday.  All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax and Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available. 

For more information on the 40th Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend, 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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