LONDON, ON- Reigning Delaware Speedway champion Matt Pritiko will enter Round 3 of the APC United Late Model Series on June 26th intent on scoring his first tour win in front of his hometown crowd.
“It always means just a little bit more when you’re racing in front of your friends and family,” says Pritiko. “We’ve been working on our Delaware program from the moment we brought the car home on championship night. It’s even better than it was last season”
The London, ON-based driver will find himself matched against the top Pro Late Model talent from across Ontario, as he aims to improve upon his 7th place finish earned in Round 2 of the tour at Flamboro on June 6th.
“This tour has done nothing but good for the Pro Late Model division,” explains the personable star. “If you had told me last year that we would be standing in this shop preparing for a 30-car field at Delaware, I would have told you that you were crazy”
“Seeing the level of talent that Luke [Ramsay] and his team have been able to attract is pretty incredible. The first two shows have been some of the toughest racing I’ve ever faced in a Late Model”
When asked about a potential home track advantage, Pritiko insists the work of his team on race day will likely play a far bigger role than his familiarity with the speedway.
“The cars don’t know what track they’re on,” says the former Great Canadian Race winner. “No matter how fast it was last season, or how good it turned on opening night here, we’re going to need to do it all over again. Home track advantage is in the mind of the driver. But, if your car isn’t working – it really doesn’t matter how many laps you have under your belt”
“Our advantage is knowing how our car is going to react to the track conditions. Delaware can throw a curveball or two at you as the night goes on – and I’m not sure the guys that don’t race here on a regular basis are going to be anticipating that”
The former road course standout goes on to add that his team is paying little mind to which of his competitors hold prior accomplishments at Delaware, and are instead concentrating on what they will need to do to wheel their familiar No. 21 to victory lane.
“I’m not paying any attention to who has experience here and who doesn’t,” insists Pritiko. “When it comes time to go to work, I know that our team will be ready. That’s all that matters. We need a win to push us into the top of the standings before the mid-season point – and I can’t think of a better track to do it at than Delaware.”
Details for Friday’s event, including gate times and advanced ticket sales, can be found at www.DelawareSpeedway.com.
Matt Pritiko’s 2015 season is made possible thanks to the support of Global Warranty, Cadillac Industrial Cleaning, Palasad: London’s Best Entertainment & Eatery, NAPA Certified Body Shop, Burwell Auto Body, SellToWin.com, In2Communications.
Fans can follow along with Matt all season via his Matt Pritiko Motorsports page on Facebook, or on Twitter @MattPritiko and be sure to visit the official www.MattPritiko.com.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
Discussion about this post