ED FLEMKE, JR.
LOOKS TO CARRY WINNING MOMENTUM INTO
37th ANNUAL TECH-NET SPRING SIZZLER AT STAFFORD
SPEEDWAY
As the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour heads to Stafford for the first of
four visits during the 2008 season, Ed Flemke, Jr. finds himself in an
unfamiliar position. Flemke won the season opening race for the first
time in his career and he sits atop the championship standings as he
readies for the 37th Annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler. Flemke and his Gary
Teto owned team look to carry their winning momentum into Stafford.
“I’ve never in my life won a season opener, usually I never
finish the first race” said Flemke. “All the guys on the team work so
hard during the winter to get the car ready and winning showed that all
the hard work does pay off, which can be a contagious thing for the race
team and really give us a boost
for the season. If you start off the season with trouble in the first
race or two, it can take you the entire rest of the season to try to dig
yourself out of that hole from the start, so this is definitely a good
start to the year for us.”
Flemke will look to add his name to the Stafford record books as a
Spring Sizzler champion, an honor that has been bestowed upon 22
different drivers, including his father. Flemke, Sr. nearly won the
inaugural Sizzler in 1972 before a faulty water pump eliminated him from
contention after dominating the event. Flemke, Sr. came back to Stafford
the following year with another dominating performance that enable him
to take the trip to victory lane that had eluded him one year earlier.
The Sizzler winners list reads like a who’s who of Modified racing and
should Flemke add his name to
that list, it would be a huge personal accomplishment to join his father
as a Sizzler champion.
“It would mean a lot to me to be able to win the Sizzler and
join my dad,” said Flemke. “I’m always compared to him and he set a very
high standard to measure up to. At the same time, you can’t put too much
pressure on yourself, you just have to take things as they come. I
remember one year I
was racing at Stafford and it happened to be my father’s birthday. I
came to the track that night and I had it in my mind that I was going to
lap the field that night. Then I went out and I think I ended up hitting
everything except the pace car. That situation repeated itself a few
years later, and I took a whole different approach. I didn’t say
anything to anyone all night long leading up to the race and I ended up
winning the race that night. Dad always told me you win some, you lose a
lot, and the rest get rained out. I think if you take that attitude with
you, things tend to work out.”
Flemke’s win at the season opening event also places him atop
the chase for the 2008 Whelen Modified Tour championship, a position
that Flemke has never occupied at season’s end in any division
throughout his racing career. Flemke has twice finished second in the
points standings, in 2004 behind Tony Hirschman, and again in 2006
behind Mike Stefanik. Flemke hopes to follow in the footsteps of Donny
Lia, who used a Sizzler victory last year to propel himself to five more
wins and the 2007 championship.
“The championship is the number one thing in racing right
now, it’s the goal of everyone at the start of the season,” said Flemke.
“We look at the points and see where we’re at, but my dad always told me
that if you get enough wins that the championship will take care of
itself. I’ve never won a championship in my career in anything, so
winning a championship this year would be a great personal achievement.
It would definitely put an exclamation point on my career instead of a
period. If my racing career ended today, I’d be proud of what I’ve been
able to accomplish and I’d like to think that my dad would be too.”
Flemke and the Whelen Modified Tour take to the Stafford
half-mile for the first time on Saturday, April 26 for practice and
Coors Light Pole Qualifying. The Whelen Modified Tour cars along with
cars from Stafford’s five weekly divisions will be on hand from
11am-noon on Sunday, April 27 for the CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party
with the 200-lap Tech-Net Spring Sizzler hitting the track at
approximately 2pm.
Tickets for the 37th Annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, “The
Greatest Race in the History of Spring,” are now on sale at the Stafford
Motor Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $35.00 for adult
general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, $38.00 for
reserved seats, and free for
children ages 5 & under. Tickets are good for admission to the Saturday
April 26, and Sunday, April 27 portions of the Tech-Net Spring Sizzler,
with the Friday, April 25 practice session open the public free of
charge.
As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers plenty of free
parking with overnight weekend parking available.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway
track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com.
