APRIL 9, 2019 – For the Stillwaggons, racing is definitely a family affair.
For most of their racing careers, Robbie Stillwaggon has led the way, with younger brother Ryan Stillwaggon following in his footsteps.
“Obviously my brother ran everything before me,” Ryan said. He grew up running quarter midgets for about eight years before taking two years off while his brother ran 270 micro sprints He then hopped into one himself before making the switch to 600 micros around the same time Robbie jumped in a 360.
“I followed him (Robbie) around with URC the whole time starting in 2006 and helped him with his car and in 2013 I got the opportunity to run a 305 (sprint) car,” Ryan said. “That was supposed to be one or two races and it turned out we ran all the races we could run when URC wasn’t running.”
Now, Ryan is embarking on his first full-time season in a 360 sprint car, but he’s no stranger to the class. He’s raced one off and one over the past few years, running half the 2018 season in one.
Reflecting on his 2018 campaign, Ryan said it was like two different stories.
“With the 305 we were competitive every time we hit the track,” the Burlington, New Jersey, native said. “We had two wins and should have had more wins, but we were a top-five car all the time.”
The 360 was a bit of a different story, with Ryan admitting that he has a bit more work to do to feel as comfortable in his 360 as he felt in his 305.
“With the 360 we really struggled last year,” he said. “I never could find the comfort that I had in the 305 in my 360 and we ventured to quite a few new tracks that I’d never raced before in a 360, or ever before in anything. It was a learning curve and it was really disappointing, our 360 season last year. I wish it would go better and I know it can go better.”
Ryan said he believes the challenge of the extra horsepower of the 360 presents the biggest learning curve.
“The 305 is relaxed and just real calm,” he explained. “Everything happens a lot quicker in the 360. Lap-time wise they’re probably only a second off, but the 305 just feels so much slower with everything it does, so it’s just so much easier to get more comfortable in the 305.”
And Ryan will now have the time to get comfortable in his 360 as he plans to run the entire Capitol Renegade United Racing Club schedule. He also hopes to make any extra shows he can at Selinsgrove Speedway and up in New York as well.
His main goal for the season is to gain a comfortableness in the 360 while remaining a top competitor in the series.
“I’d like to, by the end of the year, be able to run right around the top five no matter where we start,” he said. I’d like to be a consistent top-10 car by mid-season. I really just want to find a comfort level in the car and hopefully be good in traffic and learn from the new racetracks. We have all the stuff to be good, it’s just a matter of me getting good.”
Ryan looks forward to traveling with URC this season, as he said the club is “really just a good group of people – it’s almost like a big family traveling from race to race.”
Look for Ryan’s No. 11 machine at URC’s season opener this Sunday at Bridgeport Speedway.
- Catherine Hogue on Apr 10, 2019
- Article Date: 4/9/2019 by Catherine Hogue