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09/16/2011 |
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NASCAR WHELEN
MODIFIED TOUR
'66/99' PRESENTED BY TOWN FAIR TIRE QUALIFYING
by
Polly Reid |
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 After
topping the charts in both NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour “66/99” presented by Town Fair Tire practice
sessions here at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, CT,
Todd Szegedy in the Wisk Detergent/A&J Romano
Construction Ford followed up his time around the
1.5 mile road course with a 53.902 second lap,
100.182 mph to score the Coors Light Pole Award, his
second pole award of the season.
“It’s always nice to be the quickest car,” smiled
Szegedy. “That’s half the battle that’s over with.
Start up front and hopefully we’ll stay out of
trouble.”
Following Szegedy in the line up will be points
leader Ron Silk in second, Erick Rudolph third,
Justin Bonsignore and Mike Stefanik the top five.
Szegedy of Ridgefield, CT was aware he would be
closely watched. “I know a lot of people expect me
to get the pole but that puts a lot of pressure on
you because now you really want to do well. The
track is a lot different than last year, there was a
lot of nose grip and this year it’s very tight, you
know we’re a second off from last year.”
“Mike Smeriglio gives me phenomenal equipment- Phil
Moran, the countless hours he spends on these cars
is just absolutely phenomenal. He spent all last
Monday night, he was in the shop all night long, he
slept there to make sure this car was perfect for
me. He felt a lot of pressure too to make sure it
was right.”
“I still haven’t figured out the tricks,” said
Szegedy about adjusting to a road course, even with
his past experience. “I know I can pick up another
second or more, as crazy as it sounds, but I really
believe I can just by driving the corners better. I
feel I’m messing up in some corners that I could
carry more speed, I’m not going to say which
corners, but I feel I can carry a lot more speed and
that’s going to pick up a lot more time. I need to
figure out my entry, back to the throttle - not
running a road course on a regular basis, you have
to figure it all out again.”
Szegedy who led the inaugural event one year ago,
dominated until the closing circuits when Dale
Quarterly on fresh Hoosiers made the pass for the
win. “We do know that tires make a big difference
and there will be a tire change tomorrow- it’s just
a matter of when, we’re not sure.”
“To me, it’s a challenge,” added Szegedy about the
road course on the NWMT schedule.” “I wish I could
come here every weekend and run. If I was a
multi-millionaire there is no doubt I would be
here.”
Saturday, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has a
‘warm-up’ session at Lime Rock from 9:45am to
10:10am before the green flag drops on the “66/99”
presented by Town Fair Tire main event at 1:30pm. |
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Source: Polly Reid / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted: September
16, 2011 |
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