RUDOLPH ACHIEVES CAREER-BEST FINISH IN
NASCAR TOUR FINALE
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour brought down the curtain on their
2008 season last Sunday afternoon with the 2008 Fall Final at
Thompson International Speedway in Connecticut. Ransomville, New
York driver Erick Rudolph and the DeLange Racing team persevered to
garner a fifth place finish, their best-ever result on the premier
Modified series.
Rudolph battled an ill-handling car in the initial stages of the
race. The team made the decision to pit early to fine-tune the
set-up on the #45 Original Pizza Logs/PrimeTyme Motorsports/Brigham
Concrete machine, and then fell in at the rear of the field. From
that point the talented 16-year-old driver used a blend of patience
and power to steadily work his way forward. At the checkered flag he
crossed the finish line in fifth place, ending his rookie Tour
season with his peak performance.
"At the beginning of the race we didn't like how the car was
handling," explained Rudolph. "We pitted early to make some
adjustments, figuring we would have enough laps left to get to the
front. After that the car was where it needed to be to go the
distance. My style is usually not to be aggressive so the car stayed
good the rest of the race. Most of the other cars still had to pit
so I didn't have to pass my way to the front to gain track position.
The restarts didn't help us because it took a couple of laps for my
car to get going, but the longer stretches of green flag racing
worked to our advantage. I think if it had stayed green at the end
of the race we could have gained another position or two, but we're
happy with our finish today."
The DeLange team was very pleased with their season Tour results.
Erick was named the Sunoco Rookie of the Race at the Fall Final, his
sixth such award on the 2008 Tour schedule in nine races. He ended
the season with five top-ten finishes, including his last four
starts on the foremost Modified series. It will give the DeLange
team and their exceptional young driver a boost over the winter as
they prepare to run the full NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule in
2009.
One race remains of the 2008 DeLange Racing calendar. They will
compete in the Sixth Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South
Shootout at Concord Motorsport Park in Concord, North Carolina on
November 7-8.
THE END