Hector Stratton Returning To Racing In 2018 After One Year Away From Sport

Story By: MANDEE PAUCH / STRATTON RACING – BENNINGTON, VT – After a year on the sidelines, the veteran driver out of Bennington, VT, Hector Stratton, will once again be strapping into a modified.

After 40+ years in racing, Stratton made the decision to hang up his helmet for good, in 2016, at least that’s what he thought.

Surprisingly, coming out of retirement wasn’t Stratton’s decision, if anything, he didn’t know about it at all.

For Hector and his children, racing has always been a family sport. Due to finances and the cost of the sport, Stratton chose to retire and in return help his son, Neil Stratton, weekly at Albany-Saratoga.

“I love racing, but the financial part of it is such a heavy burden, especially when you’re trying to run a two-car team,” Stratton said. “When I retired, all of my help and sponsors went over to my son, so it worked out. I was still at the track every week last year, helping Neil on the car.”

For Stratton, he enjoyed being able to help his son, but like most drivers, it’s never easy being at a track and not racing, especially when you’ve been doing it for as long as he had.

“It’s hard to watch,” added Stratton. “After you’ve raced for that long, it’s real hard. I missed it a lot, but I thought I was adjusting well.”

Little did Stratton know was that his other son, Hunter Stratton, had bigger plans for his father.

“One thing that really gets me emotional is racing,” Hunter said. “Watching my dad race has been a big part of my life. I never was involved with the car because I was always too busy with basketball. Racing is big in my life and knowing my dad has so much more left in him is what wanted me to bring him back.”

During the off season, Hunter was able to pull off the surprise of a lifetime.

“The past seven years of my dad’s career, he took a big time back seat to my brother,” Hunter said. “Being a family owned team, there’s obviously only so much money. We didn’t have enough money to put into two cars. My dad sacrificed for my brother, which he’s done for all of us his whole life. It wasn’t fun for him anymore because he didn’t have a car that could compete at a high level. I know he can still compete with anyone if he has the right equipment and I knew that I could put together one of the best cars he’s ever had. I just want to see him get back out there and compete. It’s his life and that’s where it all came from.”

Hunter, who is now the Regional Director at Zero Gravity Basketball, always wanted the opportunity to be involved in racing and has finally found a way to be a part of the team by becoming a car owner.

“We had an idea he wanted to race again,” Hunter said. “He wanted to get back into it one way or another. He’s a competitor and I wanted him to be able to compete at the highest level so all of this just kind of happened.”

Thanks to Hunter and his helpers Jade Stratton, Neil Stratton, and Scott Duell, Hector is able to get back to doing what he loves.

“Those three really helped get the wheels in motion on this entire project,” Hunter noted. “Scott and Neil both gave me great advice and helped me budget for the car while making sure we got the right equipment to fit my dad’s style. My sister, Jade, has always been someone that I could talk to and was there throughout the entire process to help in any way she could, even if it just met having someone I could talk to.”

With the extra assistance during the off season, Hunter was able to put together a deal his father couldn’t turn down.

“Hunter decided he wanted to build a car,” added Hector. “He asked me if I’d drive it. I tried talking him out of it because I know the expenses that go into this sport. He wanted me to order a car, I wouldn’t do it, so my kids instead went behind my back and ordered it on their own.”

“It’s hard to see your son work hard for his money then see him spend it on a race car,” Hector said. “When we were running two cars in 2016, we were struggling to just keep good tires on the car. That’s exactly what I told Hunter, but he did it anyways.”

Despite the anger and the stress of finances, Hector’s family is a born and raised racing family who work together and race together.

All children dream of being able to give back to their parents. Hunter was able to do just that.

“I can’t describe it,” Hunter said. “It was one of the coolest moments in my life when I told him. My dad has done so much for me growing up, so being able to tell him that was the coolest moment of my life for sure.”

The 1993 Albany-Saratoga Champion will be dusting off his helmet and strapping behind the wheel of the No.87 modified once again. Hector’s first race of the season is set for Friday, May 11th at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.