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04/08/2011 |
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JAMIE “THE
JET” TOMAINO STILL CHASING FIRST CAREER
CARQUEST TECH-NET SPRING SIZZLER VICTORY AFTER 27 YEARS |
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 In
NASCAR’s Daytona 500, Dave Marcis holds the record
for most career starts with 33, and A.J. Foyt holds
the Indy 500 record for most career starts with 35.
Jamie Tomaino, who has raced in 27 of the previous
39 Sizzlers, currently holds the CARQUEST Tech-Net
Spring Sizzler record for most career starts and he
will add to that total in this year’s 40th Annual
CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler. Tomaino's familiar
#99 Supreme Manufacturing Chevrolet will take the
green flag for the 28th time in this year’s edition
of “The Greatest Race in the History of Spring”.
Tomaino made his first career Spring Sizzler start
in 1980 and he has been in the Sizzler starting
field every year since 1989, a span of 22
consecutive races.
“I remember my first Spring Sizzler in 1980, we
finished around 20th and we won around 350 or 400
dollars,” said Tomaino, whose recollection was spot
on as he finished 22nd and won $365 for his first
Spring Sizzler start. “I’ve been racing at many
Sizzlers, and it’s a great accomplishment that I’m
still going today. I haven’t been able to win one
yet, but I still think that we can get to victory
lane. All drivers want to win the big races and the
Sizzler is definitely a race that I would like to
win. My whole career I’ve been close to winning some
big races, but I always seem to come up a bit
short.”
With 27 and soon to be 28 Spring Sizzler starts
under his belt, Tomaino has amassed a great deal of
memories throughout the years, but he says that the
memory that sticks out the most was a year that he
missed the race. “It was the first year of the Tour
in 1985 and I was leading the points heading into
the Sizzler,” said Tomaino. “Back then, there were
so many cars attempting to make the race, if you
didn’t make the top-10 in time trials, you had to
qualify through a heat race. We ended up qualifying
11th, so we had to go into the heat race to qualify.
We started on the pole for the heat race and we were
running in a qualified spot before I had a flat
tire. There was no infield pitting for the heat, so
we had to go into the consi, where they took 2 cars
to transfer into the race. We ended up finishing
third in the consi and we missed the race. That had
to be the sickest feeling I’ve ever had as we drove
back to New Jersey.”
Over the years, the qualifying format isn’t the only
thing that has changed. The race has changed from an
80-lap dash to a 200-lap marathon, and Tomaino says
the tire strategy has changed quite a bit.
“Back then, there was Goodyear, Hoosier, M+H,
Firestone, and McCreary,” said Tomaino. “It was an
80-lap race and you would see some guys come into
the pits 4 or 5 times to change tires. Now, we have
one tire and we only get 4 tires to change for
200-laps. A lot of times you would see guys change
from one tire company to another right in the middle
of the race. Some tires were better than others for
qualifying and some were better for the race. You
really had to buckle down and be on your game if you
wanted to qualify for the race back then, so if one
tire was a little bit softer than the others, a
driver might use one set of tires to get qualified
and start the race on, and then they would pit the
first chance they got to change to another type of
tire. Back then teams would come into the pits and
change all four tires at once. There would be two
jacks on either side of the car and there would be
four guys with air guns to change the tires.
Probably the best team at changing tires like that
was Mario Fiore’s #44 team.”
In addition to the tire strategy, Tomaino also says
that the track has changed as well as the line that
the drivers use to make their way around Stafford.
“The track in the 80s was much different than it is
now,” says Tomaino. “It used to be that the tires
wouldn’t last 25 laps unless you knew what you were
doing. I used to tell the younger guys back then
that I would be coming by to lap them in about 25 or
30 laps. The line has also changed, we used to run
much higher in the corners where now guys are
practically racing around the apron.”
After 27 previous trips to Stafford for the Spring
Sizzler, Tomaino still has the motivation to come to
Stafford and chase after his first career Sizzler
victory.
“Nothing ever changes, we still get pumped up to
come up to the Sizzler,” said Tomaino. “This is
something I said I was going to do when I was 10 and
I’ve been racing now for 38 years. Some people love
baseball, hockey, or basketball. I love racing and
I’ve been fortunate enough to still be going after
38 years. Our goal is to survive the first 175 laps
and then hope things fall into place for us in the
last 25 laps of the race.”
The 40th Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler
gets underway Friday, April 29 with a practice
session for Stafford’s weekly divisions. The
practice session will be open to the public at no
charge. Action continues on Saturday, April 30 with
Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the Whelen Modified
Tour cars, along with heat and consolation races for
Stafford’s weekly divisions. Saturday will wrap up
with feature events for the SK Light, Limited Late
Model, and DARE Stock divisions. The Sizzler
continues on Sunday, May 1 with the CARQUEST Belts &
Hose Pit Party followed by Stafford’s SK Modifieds®
and Late Models joining the Whelen Modified Tour in
feature
action.
Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of
Spring” are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office.
Tickets are priced at $35.00 for adult general
admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and
children ages 5 and under are admitted free of
charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved
seating is priced at $38.00 for all ages. As always,
Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with
overnight parking available.
For more information on the 40th annual CARQUEST
Tech-Net Spring Sizzler®,
or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor
Speedway track office at
860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com. |
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Source: Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted: April
8, 2011 |
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