STAFFORD SPRINGS, Conn. After a banner 2024 season that saw him tie the single season SK Light record of 10 wins in a single season at Stafford Speedway, Ellington, Conn. native Tyler Chapman will make the move up the open wheel ladder to Staffords premier SK Modified division this year and challenge for NAPA Rookie of the Year honors.

Were definitely excited to be moving up, said Chapman.  We saw on Facebook that Alexander Pearl was moving up with us this season so its cool to see someone moving up with me and we can fight it out on the track.

Weve always gotten along, hes always raced me clean, and weve been in the modifieds together since I got started, so it should be a lot of fun this season.

Since notching his first SK Light feature victory during the 2021 season, Chapman has gone on to win a total of 22 SK Light races, tying him with Chris Matthews for the most wins in the divisions history.  But in making the move to the ultra-competitive SK Modified division at Stafford, Chapman knows he is in for a tough fight to reach the kinds of victory totals he has become accustomed to reaching.

Were not expecting to have anywhere close to 10 wins or even a couple of wins, said Chapman.  Were going to try to go out there and hopefully win Rookie of the Year if we can and if a win comes along, then it comes our way.  But when youre racing against good drivers and guys who build the cars, its going to be tough.

While chasing NAPA Rookie of the Year honors along with his first SK victory, Chapman is looking forward to once again sharing the track with his brother Steven, who is heading into his third full season of SK Modified competition.

Were hoping we can get one win this season and its going to be a lot of fun racing with Steven again, said Chapman.  Its been a long time since we raced together.  I remember once I took him out by accident and then he got me back like 3 years later racing at Thompson so itll be exciting to see what comes along as were racing SK Modifieds.

In preparation for his move into the SK Modified division, Chapman made three SK Modified starts last season, finishing 16th driving Tom Bolles No. 76 car, and Chapman scored his first top-10 behind the wheel of Keith Roccos No. 57 car at the NAPA Fall Final.

Last year was pretty good in the SKs, said Chapman.  We finished second in our heat race driving Tommy Bolles car and our plan for that night was just to putt around.  We missed the setup a little bit for the feature, but it was good to get a feel of the car and how different it was from an SK Light car.  I also got to see how different the racing is between the two divisions.  Its a little different from the SK Lights and you really have to depend on your spotter to help you out.

Chapmans three SK Modified starts last season came in cars that he hadnt raced before and was unfamiliar with so he is looking forward to seeing what he can do in his own car that he has been driving for the last four seasons at Stafford.

Im excited to drive my car since Ive been driving the same car for the last 4 years now and I really havent changed much in height or weight, said Chapman.  Tommys [Bolles] car was setup to fit him in the car and Im pretty different in size compared to Tommy and we really didnt adjust anything when I drove Keiths car in the last 2 races, so 100% Ill be more comfortable in my own car.