The Driver!
|
|
|
|
The Driver! |
|
Mike Stoddard
Driver (23)
Crew (47)
Wife: Shirley Stoddard
Children: Casie, Tyler
Kettelville, NY
Mike started his career being one of the first seven street stock drivers at Five Mile Point. He ran there for 8 years before retiring.
Then almost 10 years later he decided to run again. This time he decided to run an IMCA modified at Penn Can. His first season at Penn Cann he tied for fourth in points with Bob Chapman.
In the 2000 season he ran at Penn Cann again and got his first and second IMCA feature wins. Dale Stevens joined Tyler on the pit crew. This time he tied for third in points with Bob Chapman.
In 2001 he decided to go back home to Five Mile Point. Chris Edwin joined the crew full-time and Corey Edwin helped out as well. Mike added his third feature win this season. He finished the season fourth in points after a very rough start. He also received the Most Improved Driver Award and Best Appearing Car Award.
In 2002 he had his best start ever with two consecutive wins. Although there were some rough times it seemed to make things better. 3 out of his four feature wins were preluded by extreme damage to the car. It was all worth while grabbing the Season Championship by a 1 point lead for the first time in his career. Mike won the Most Improved Driver Award and the Best Appearing Car Award for the second year in a row.
In 2003 he made the change along with Five Mile Point to the U.M.P. sanction. It was a rough season for the team finishing 6th in points with only 7 top 5 finishes. After a big wreck at Utica Rome in the NEARA series everything seemed to go down hill. Mike received the Most Popular Driver award as well as the Hard Luck award.
In 2004 the team transformed the Pro-Chassis into the ProKatt Chassis. The team redesigned the entire rear clip. Mike plans to run the Empire Series & NEARA Series as well as Regular shows at Brewerton, Five Mile Point, Skyline and maybe even Redline.
For 2005 he will be running in a Dirt Works chassis and going back to a 3 link setup. The ProKatt Chassis will be drivern by Tyler. Mike plans to do most of his racing locally this year. With two cars on the team this year it makes it more challenging to travl the long distances.
bravenet.com