WATERFORD – At Stafford Motor Speedway, SK Modified division driver Sean Foster does his best to stay on the good side of race officials overseeing the action at the track.
Tom Fox (left) and Sean Foster watch the action from the official’s tower Saturday evening at the Waterford Speedbowl
Going forward at the Waterford Speedbowl, Foster will be learning what it’s like being on the other side of the fence from the competition.
Foster was at the Waterford Speedbowl Saturday making his debut as part of the track’s officiating crew.
Saturday former Waterford Speedbowl race director and current Stafford race director Tom Fox was at Waterford helping out track officials for the evening and he had Foster in tow shadowing him for the evening.
For the time being Foster will serve in a role as a track spotter.
“He has been persistent in his quest to get a start in race management as a career choice,” Waterford Speedbowl owner/race director Terry Eames said. “That’s rare. Most short track race officials have a day job outside the industry. … To start, he is going to help with race spotting. We will probably rotate him into a few different positions.”
Foster, a second generation racer, began competing at Stafford in 2006. He won a championship in the track’s Limited Late Model division in 2007 and moved up the track’s premier SK Modified division in 2009.
He said management in short track racing is something he’s passionate about pursuing.
“I’ve been an electrician since I was kid,” Foster said. “It’s finally clicked to me that my passion is being around this sport. I’m not going to make a career out of driving so I’d like to make a career out of turning things around in short track racing.
“I’m totally interested in fixing a sport that I feel is not where it should be. Obviously over the years the sport has been dwindling locally and nationally. Seeing the local sport like die in front of my eyes in some ways, it bothers me.
“Last winter I was sitting on my couch one night and I was just fuming mad about things with the sport and I opened up notebook and started writing things down and before I knew it I had pages and pages and pages of ideas and thoughts. I guess in the long
haul, my passion is this.”
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“..and I was just fuming mad about things with the sport and I opened up notebook and started writing things down and before I knew it I had pages and pages and pages of ideas and thoughts.”
There are many in the stands thinking the same thing, so Sean, I hope you have good luck. Fix it.
and a lot of competitors are staying home also.
Sean Foster this is for you – I’m sure that one of the things on top of your list is low purses…so tell me why when a track has a show that pays 5k to win and 300 to qualify, you and 90% of the race cars don’t show up at the race?????? this is why purses are so low, why would a track pay more money when they don’t get anymore cars????? I’m putting the blame on the competitors this time – seekonk should have had 50 cars not 20 sk’s and 6 sk lites.
Laura if they were allowed to run the tires they had you might have. But they had to buy at least four new tires probably more like 8, and at 160 each plus fue,l entrance fees, food, etc.. your taking about 300……. That’s two tires at best. No wonder they didn’t show up.