|
9/15/2010 |
TIGHT POINTS
RACE AS WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR COMES TO STAFFORD
FOR 38TH ANNUAL CARQUEST FALL FINAL WEEKEND |
|
As
the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour rumbles into Stafford Motor Speedway
for the 38th Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend, three drivers are
within 100 points of each other in the chase for the 2010 Whelen
Modified Tour Championship. Bobby Santos, III currently leads Ted
Christopher by 32 points and Mike Stefanik is third, 61 points
behind. With a stop in New Hampshire before the Tour hits Stafford
for the penultimate race of the 2010 season, all three drivers at
the top of the standings have strong Stafford credentials.
Santos was the class of the Tour field for the first two Stafford
races this season, winning two Coors Light Pole Positions and
finishing second and first. But a blown engine in the August Town
Fair Tire 150 left him with a 23rd place finish, while Christopher
finished fifth and Stefanik finished 2nd in that race. Even with the
23rd place showing last time out at Stafford, Santos has an average
finish at Stafford this season of 8.3. Santos also has wins in the
NEMA Midget and PRA Big Car Series at Stafford on his resume.
Christopher won the CARQUEST Spring Sizzler in April and finished
5th the last time out, but he finished a disappointing 12th in the
May TSI Harley-Davidson 125. Christopher has found his groove of
late at Stafford, taking his first SK Modified® feature victory of
the season three weeks ago and he won last week’s Shark Cycle 100
for his 110th career win at the Connecticut half-mile.
Of the three championship contenders, Mike Stefanik has the best
average finish of 4.0 with finishes of third, seventh, and second.
Stefanik has also been a master of the Fall Final in his career with
9 of his 20 career Whelen Modified Tour victories at Stafford coming
in the CARQUEST Fall Final event.
Perhaps the wild card in the 2010 points chase is Todd Szegedy.
Szegedy is currently fourth in the standings, 106 points behind
Santos, and he has had the best results at Stafford of any driver on
the Whelen Modified Tour. Szegedy has an average finish of 3.0 at
Stafford this season, and he won the Town Fair Tire 150 at Stafford
the last time the Tour visited. Szegedy also has a CARQUEST Fall
Final victory to his name as well, as he led the 2006 edition of the
CARQUEST Fall Final 150 from green to checkered.
With all four drivers in championship contention having excellent
records while racing at Stafford, it is anyone’s guess as to who
will be the championship leader when the checkered flag falls on the
CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend 150.
The Whelen Modified Tour cars hit the track for the first time
during CARQUEST Fall Final weekend on Saturday October 2nd with a
practice session from 11:00am-12:30pm. Time trials to set the field
will begin at 2:15pm on Saturday and the 150-lap race will take the
green flag at approximately 3:15pm on Sunday.
Tickets for the 38th Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend 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, October 2nd,
and Sunday, October 3rd portions of the Fall Final. 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. |
|
Source: Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted: September
15, 2010 |
|
|