|
LIA TKES 5TH PLACE AT STAFFORD
Stafford
Springs, Conn. – With
a motor that overpowered clutch problems, Ted Christopher
broke a year-long winless streak on the NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour by holding off Todd Szegedy to win
the the New England Dodge Dealers 150 Saturday night
at Stafford Motor Speedway.
It was Christopher’s seventh win at the track where he is the all-time
winningest driver and the points leader in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series’ SK
Modified Division. But it was his first trip to Victory Lane on the Whelen
Modified Tour since Aug. 17, 2006 at Thompson (Conn.).
Christopher (No. 36 Al-Lee Installations Chevrolet) battled runner-up Szegedy
(No. 2 Wisk/Snuggle Ford) and third-place finisher Mike Stefanik (No. 16 Diversity
Metals Pontiac) during several restarts over the final 38 laps. Christopher
said that his clutch was slipping on each restart.
“I had to start in fourth (gear),” Christopher said. “I figured
if I stayed on the bottom, if (Szegedy’s) going to go to the outside,
he can go outside.”
Christopher led 58 laps before pitting on lap 76. He quickly worked his way
back up front and retook the lead on lap 114.
“It was fun,” Christopher said. “I passed a lot of cars and
had a lot of fun.”
Doug Coby, making his first start of the season for the No. 77 Race Against
Cancer Foxwoods/Subway Pontiac, finished fourth. Donny Lia (No. 4 Dodge), who
won the first two Whelen Modified Tour stops of the season at Stafford, was
fifth.
Matt Hirschman, Jerry Marquis, Eric Beers, Jimmy Blewett and Woody Pitkat rounded
out the top 10. Pitkat, the national leader in the NASCAR Whelen All-American
Series standings, won his fourth straight SK Modified feature at Stafford earlier
in the night and was the Whelen Modified Tour’s Sunoco Rookie of the
Race.
Szegedy took the lead briefly on restarts on lap 126 and 138, and each time
Christopher was able power back in front.
“I was really strong on every restart,” Szegedy said. “But
Teddy, the motor he’s got in that thing – he’s got power.
I could have blocked him, but there was no sense. He would have gotten by
eventually.”
NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR-New England Dodge Dealers 150 Results
Saturday
At Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT
Lap length: 0.5 miles
| Fin |
Start |
Car # |
Driver |
Laps |
Money |
Status |
| 1 |
8 |
36 |
TED CHRISTOPHER |
150 |
$7,300 |
Running |
| 2 |
2 |
2 |
TODD SZEGEDY |
150 |
$4,000 |
Running |
| 3 |
21 |
16 |
MICHAEL STEFANIK |
150 |
$4,850 |
Running |
| 4 |
20 |
77 |
DOUG COBY, III |
150 |
$2,600 |
Running |
| 5 |
4 |
4 |
DONNY LIA |
150 |
$2,850 |
Running |
| 6 |
6 |
59 |
MATT HIRSCHMAN |
150 |
$2,500 |
Running |
| 7 |
25 |
00 |
JERRY MARQUIS |
150 |
$2,150 |
Running |
| 8 |
12 |
94 |
ERIC BEERS |
150 |
$2,050 |
Running |
| 9 |
16 |
12 |
JIMMY BLEWETT |
150 |
$2,250 |
Running |
| 10 |
19 |
79 |
WOODY PITKAT |
150 |
$1,850 |
Running |
| 11 |
11 |
46 |
DICK HOULIHAN |
150 |
$2,400 |
Running |
| 12 |
5 |
48 |
TONY HIRSCHMAN, JR |
150 |
$2,175 |
Running |
| 13 |
29 |
06 |
BILLY PAUCH, JR |
150 |
$1,500 |
Running |
| 14 |
26 |
64 |
ERIC BERNDT |
150 |
$1,075 |
Running |
| 15 |
27 |
99 |
JAMIE TOMAINO |
150 |
$2,000 |
Running |
| 16 |
13 |
90 |
RENEE DUPUIS |
150 |
$1,025 |
Running |
| 17 |
3 |
0 |
DANNY SAMMONS |
150 |
$1,850 |
Running |
| 18 |
24 |
33 |
WADE COLE |
150 |
$1,675 |
Running |
| 19 |
28 |
93 |
ROWAN PENNINK |
150 |
$1,800 |
Running |
| 20 |
7 |
19 |
RONNIE SILK |
150 |
$1,875 |
Running |
| 21 |
23 |
5 |
CHARLES PASTERYAK |
138 |
$900 |
Accident |
| 22 |
10 |
21 |
RICHARD SAVARY |
134 |
$1,575 |
Running |
| 23 |
1 |
09 |
BOBBY GRIGAS, III |
132 |
$1,250 |
Electrical |
| 24 |
30 |
8 |
GLENN TYLER |
130 |
$1,225 |
Accident |
| 25 |
17 |
28 |
JAMES CIVALI |
129 |
$1,950 |
Running |
| 26 |
15 |
14 |
REGGIE RUGGIERO |
117 |
$1,164 |
Accident |
| 27 |
22 |
58 |
KEVIN GOODALE |
115 |
$1,450 |
Accident |
| 28 |
14 |
10 |
ED FLEMKE, JR |
114 |
$1,550 |
Running |
| 29 |
32 |
9 |
JAKE MAROSZ |
113 |
$750 |
Running |
| 30 |
18 |
40 |
RYAN PREECE |
84 |
$1,450 |
Running |
| 31 |
31 |
05 |
JOE HARTMANN |
72 |
$1,150 |
Radiator |
| 32 |
9 |
3 |
BOBBY SANTOS, III |
6 |
$750 |
Accident |
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 27 minutes 42 seconds
Margin of Victory: .430 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: T.Hirschman (98.966 mph, 18.188 seconds)
Caution Flags: 13 for 73 laps.
Lead Changes: 11 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: B.Grigas 0; T.Szegedy 1-14; D.Lia 15-18; T.Christopher 19-76; D.Lia
77-85; B.Grigas 86-111; M.Stefanik 112-113; T.Christopher 114-125; T.Szegedy
126; T.Christopher 127-137; T.Szegedy 138-140; T.Christopher 141-150.
Standings: 1. D.Lia, 1439; 2. M.Hirschman, 1347; 3. T.Szegedy, 1310; 4. R.Silk,
1232; 5. J.Civali, 1226; 6. T.Christopher, 1220; 7. Ji.Blewett, 1216; 8. M.Stefanik,
1186; 9. J.Tomaino, 1099; 10. J.Marquis, 1066.
|
