(Stafford Springs, CT)---With the 2012 Stafford Motor Speedway season concluded, the speedway will honor its track champions at the 43rd Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 16th at the La Renaissance Banquet Facility in East Windsor.  A crowd of over 500 guests is expected to be on hand as the Connecticut half-mile hands out its post-season awards.

In addition to recognizing the 2012 track champions, other prestigious awards, including Most Improved Driver, Most Popular Driver, the SPAFCO Race Chassis & Parts Rookie of the Year Awards, and the UNOH Ultimate Track Mechanic of the Year Award will also be presented.  Stafford Motor Speedway will also recognize the top-20 finishers from the 2012 SK Modified®, Late Model, SK Light, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock points standings.

Headlining the night’s festivities, Ted Christopher will be recognized as the 2012 SK Modified® Champion, which is his 8th career SK Modified® championship; Woody Pitkat will be honored as the 2012 Late Model track champion for the second time in his career; Zach Aszklar will be honored as the SK Light Modified champion; Cory Casagrande will be honored as the 2012 Limited Late Model track champion; and Cliff Saunders will be honored as the 2012 DARE Stock track champion.  Aszklar, Casagrande, and Saunders are each first-time champions.

Stafford Motor Speedway Most Popular Driver candidates include Todd Owen, Ryan Preece, and Kyle Spencer from the SK Modified® division, Tom Fearn, Jim Peterson, and Woody Pitkat from the Late Model division, Jay Goff, Dylan Kopec, and Ronnie Williams from the SK Light division, David Arute, D.J. Burnham, and Duane Provost from the Limited Late Model division, and Andy Marchese, Doug Phelps, and Cliff Saunders from the DARE Stock division.  The Most Popular Driver winners were voted upon by the fans, who submitted Most Popular Driver Ballots from the PitStopper Magazine to the Speedway Office throughout the 2012 season.

Reliable Welding and Speed Rookie of the Year honors will go to Matt Galko from the SK Modified® division, Kevin Gambacorta from the Late Model division, Joey Ferrigno from the SK Light division, and Josh Wood from the Limited Late Model division.

The Most Improved Driver Award will be presented to one driver each from the SK Modified®, Late Model, SK Light Modified, and Limited Late Model divisions who exhibits the greatest degree of improvement in on-track performance over the past season.  Most Improved Driver winners are selected and voted upon by a committee of Stafford Motor Speedway management and track officials.

The UNOH Ultimate Track Mechanic of the Year Award will be presented to the registered Stafford mechanic whose driver scored the most points in their best 14 finishes this season at Stafford.

Tickets to the 43rd Annual Stafford Motor Speedway Champions Awards Ceremony are $45 per person and can be ordered by calling the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at (860) 684-2783, or by downloading an order form from www.staffordspeedway.com and mailing the form to the track office.

Hotel room reservations are available by calling the Clarion Inn in East Windsor, phone 860-623-9411.  Shuttle service to and from LaRenaissance is available.  Reservations made after November 2, 2012 for the Clarion Inn will be subject to space availability.  Please call early if you plan on making room reservations and refer to the group name, Stafford Motor Speedway.

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