Gary Rice Shop Equipment to Continue Boosting SK Modified and SK Light Drivers at Stafford Speedway
(Stafford Springs, CT)—After joining the Stafford Speedway contingency program midway through the 2025 season, Gary Rice Shop Equipment will return for a full season in 2026. Gary Rice Shop Equipment will provide first place bonuses to each SK Modified® and SK Light feature winner with SK Modified® winners taking home an extra $150 and SK Light drivers an extra $125.
These two bonuses means Gary Rice Shop Equipment will contribute a total of $6,150 to Stafford’s open wheel drivers during the 2026 season, with the SK Modified® division having a first place prize pool of $3,150 and the SK Light division having a pool of $3,000.
“We love racing, especially the modifieds, and we really enjoy coming to the track to watch the races,” said Gary Rice, owner of Gary Rice Shop Equipment. “The business that I have and the line of equipment that we offer really caters to racers with shops. We do things like automotive lifts, air compressor systems, and tire machines and we offer a racer’s discount on shop equipment. I don’t think there’s any other company like ours that advertises with circle tracks like we do and we’ve found that it works pretty fast for us. It’s nice to have a big presence at a track like Stafford. Racing crews and drivers in the pits are just a big family where everyone helps everyone and we like to think we do the same thing.”
Speaking to the overly competitive nature of Stafford’s two weekly modified divisions, there were 8 different drivers who won a Gary Rice Shop Equipment bonus in the SK Modified® events and there were 9 different winning drivers in the SK Light races that took home a Gary Rice bonus during the 2025 season.
About Gary Rice Shop Equipment
Gary Rice Shop Equipment specializes in light to heavy duty lifts, storage lifts, air compressors, bulk fluid storage tanks, & a variety of other shop equipment. They also do hydraulic cylinder work as well as engine work ranging from racing engines to everyday street engines.
“We’re now a distributor for COATS Lifts, Tire Machines, and balancers so we can offer financing for competitors on those products and help make things a little cheaper,” said Rice. “We helped Wesley Prucker out with a new lift for his shop and the Christopher’s recently reached out to us about a new lift for their shop. We should be back on board this season with Meg Fuller and we might be back on Wesley Prucker’s car. We enjoy being able to help the drivers at Stafford out and have a good presence at the track. Depending on how the summer goes for us, we might do a Gary Rice Shop Equipment night at the track and sponsor a race.”
For more information, Gary Rice Shop Equipment can be found on Facebook by searching for Gary Rice Equipment & Service, LLC., on Instagram at GaryRiceShopEquipment, or by calling or texting 774-570-2327.
The first Gary Rice Shop Equipment contingencies of the 2026 season will be paid out as part of the 54th Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler®, set for April 25-26. The NAPA Spring Sizzler® kicks off on Saturday, April 25, with feature events for the Late Model, Limited Late Model, Street Stock, and Granite State ProStock divisions, along with SK Light qualifying duel races that will set the field for an extra-distance 30-lap feature event on Sunday, April 26.
Order 54th Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler® Tickets
Sunday, April 26, will play host to the 54th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®. Filling out Sunday’s racing card will be qualifying and feature racing for the SK Modified® division, the 30-lap SK Light Modified feature, plus the NAPA Pit Party.
For more information, visit staffordspeedway.com, follow Stafford Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
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