RUDOLPH LOOKS BACK ON A VERY SUCCESSFUL SEASON
Erick Rudolph and the DeLange Racing team are in the final phase of
the 2008 racing season. The 16-year-old Ransomville, New York driver
has enjoyed a level of accomplishment that can best be portrayed as
both historic and triumphant. It would be noteworthy for any driver,
but at such a young age it is truly an extraordinary feat.
Rudolph's mastery at his home track, Dunn Tire Raceway Park in
Lancaster, included twin track point championships in both the
Modified and SST Sportsman divisions; the first time in the 50-year
history of the speedway that one driver has achieved such honors. He
swept all seven regular season SST features and won twice in the
Modifieds. Erick drove the #45 Original Pizza Logs/PrimeTyme
Motorsports/Brigham Concrete car to Victory Lane in a Super Short
Track Tour race at Wyoming County International Speedway in Perry in
late August. The talented teenager also won a 75-lap feature for the
NASCAR Weekly Modifieds at Spencer Speedway in Williamson on June
20.
The DeLange team also branched out in 2008 to follow the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour for the first time on a limited basis. Racing
at the highest level for Modifieds, Rudolph learned quickly and
improved with each race. He finished the season with five top-ten
finishes, including his last four starts on the premier Modified
series, and posted his initial top-five finish in the season-ending
Fall Final/World Series 150 at Thompson Speedway in Connecticut.
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. It was a
perfect foundation to build upon for 2009.
"This year was our first experience on the NASCAR Modified Tour,"
Rudolph explains. "I honestly expected we would run in the middle of
the pack as we gained experience at that level, preparing to run a
few more races next year. But we did so well that our plans now are
to run the full Tour schedule in 2009. I think we're capable of
being very competitive."
One event remains on the 2008 DeLange Racing calendar. They will
race 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