Matt Swanson looking for a Sk Lite Modified championship at Stafford in his rookie year

Matt Swanson moves from the Modified Tour Type cars to the Sk Modifieds at Stafford Motor Speedway. Credit: Matt Swanson photo.) Acton’s Matt Swanson moves from the Modified Tour Type cars to the Sk Lighht Modifieds at Stafford Motor Speedway. Credit: Matt Swanson photo.)[/caption]

By Lou Modestino

In the short 9 -year life span of Stafford’s SK Light Modified division, the track championship has been won three times by a rookie driver. The 2015 season could see a fourth rookie champion in 10 years. Acton native Matt Swanson will look to join Michael Gervais, Jr., Matt Galko, and Jeremy Sorel as rookie champions when he makes his Stafford SK Light debut at the April 24-26 NAPA Spring Sizzler. Swanson is making the move to Stafford after winning the Modified track championship at Star Speedway as a 14-year old this past season.

“Being 14, it was a huge achievement and a big honor for me to be able to win the championship this season and put my name on the board with guys like Bobby Santos, III who have won championships at such a young age,” said Swanson. “I’ve been racing Tour-Type Modifieds for 2 seasons now at Star Speedway. We won rookie of the year last year and we won the championship this season. We really like Stafford and we think it’s a really nice facility to race at.

“There’s always great crowds on Friday nights, there’s a real family atmosphere, and I’ve wanted to race at Stafford ever since I was a kid. Being able to race at Stafford in any class will be a real honor for me. I’m counting down the days already until the Sizzler. It’s only been a few weeks since the race season ended, but I’m ready for it to get back started up again.”

Swanson faces an unusual situation in his move to Stafford’s SK Light division. Whereas most rookie drivers in the SK Light ranks are making a step up in horsepower, Swanson will actually be making a step down in horsepower. Although Swanson might not be facing the same challenges that most other rookie drivers go through, he still says there is a learning curve that he will have to adapt to in his first season of SK Light competition and he has his eyes on the $1,000 Rookie of the Year bonus from R.A.D. Automachine and T/A Engines.

Source: Stafford Press Release