The desire of Neil Stratton to compete in the Short Track Super Series event at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, South Carolina, should be evident from his effort to haul there from Vermont. However, when his tow vehicle broke down on Wednesday, February 23, at 9 p.m., near Allentown, Pennsylvania, he didn’t let that prevent him from making the race.
“We were cruising along and we needed a bathroom break,” Stratton, 37, of Bennington, Vermont, said. “I got off the highway, stopped at the light, and the truck wouldn’t go forward. I popped it out [of] and back into gear, and got going with the transmission slipping as we headed into a hotel parking lot.”
Stratton shared his predicament on social media. Short Track Super Series sponsor Dave Prime, of Mac Tools, reached out to him to see if he could find anybody in the area to help.
“Then, Heather and Brett Deyo, [of the Short Track Super Series,] shared my post,” said Stratton. “My phone lit up with offers of help.”
In another car, Stratton’s father, Hector; car owner, Barry Becker; and friend John Vanorman were following Stratton. In Stratton vehicle, he had his wife, Heather, and son Brayden.
“My dad, Barry, and John headed back to Vermont to get another truck — it would be the fastest solution that would get us to the races,” Stratton said. “They immediately hit the road at 9 p.m. We decided to get a bit of sleep, and at 5 a.m. I was woken up. They were back with Barry’s truck already. That’s a 504-mile round trip — changing vehicles and returning — in less than eight hours.”
Stratton left his broken truck behind and continued his journey to make Thursday-night practice.
“We were an hour late for practice,” said Stratton. “I threw on my fire suit and got right out there. We had some carburetor and brake problems to straighten out, but the car handled well.”
On Friday, Stratton drew a 67 and started 13th in his heat race. His performance in the heat relegated him to the consi on Saturday, where he finished seventh. Stratton missed qualifying for the $25,000-to-win feature.
During his time in South Carolina, a Vermont tow truck operator, who had to haul a car to Philadelphia, offered to pick up Stratton’s broken pickup on his way back to Vermont.
“I was just happy to be there at Cherokee Speedway,” Stratton said. “It was 75 and sunny in South Carolina. They were dealing with a blizzard back home in Vermont.”
After the race, Neil Stratton returned home and back to work delivering Wise potato chips and Snyder pretzels. Next week, he intends to travel to Delaware for the Short Track Super Series event at Georgetown Speedway on March 10–12.
“We will go where the money is,” said Stratton. “The [Short Track Super Series] shows are the best there are. Racing is expensive, and at least there’s a chance to make some of cost back.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
