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09/30/2011 |
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CHRIS KOPEC
TAKING OVER HILLBILLY RACING #79 FOR
CARQUEST FALL FINAL WEEKEND AT STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY |
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 Chris
Kopec, a former regular competitor on the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour, will make his return to the
series this weekend at Stafford Speedway for the
39th Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend. Kopec will
take over the driving duties of the #79 Hillbilly
Racing car that was piloted by James Civali in the
first 14 events of the 2011 season.
“I got the call on Monday night and it was
definitely a surprise to me,” said Kopec. “I’m
excited about having the opportunity to drive again.
You always miss being in the driver’s seat and I
kind of got the bug again this year after driving
Dylan’s SK Light a couple of times. I feel bad what
happened with the Hills and James. The Hills have
good equipment and James is a good driver, for
whatever reason they just had some bad luck. With
this sport being performance based, I think maybe
the Hills were looking for something that will work.
We’re all friends and I wanted to make sure it
stayed that way before I accepted the ride. It’s
exciting for me to be back on the driver’s side of
the fence.”
After making selected Whelen Modified Tour starts
from 1990-1992, Kopec was a Tour regular from
1995-2003 before an injury kept him out of action
for the 2004 season. Kopec made 9 starts in the 2005
season, but he hasn’t been behind the wheel of a
Tour car since.
“I’m sure it will take a little getting used to
again,” said Kopec. “After that first practice we’ll
see how good or how bad I am, hopefully it will be
how good we are.”
For the 2011 season, Kopec has been turning the
wrenches on his son Dylan’s SK Light Modified and
after Dylan broke his wrist earlier this season,
Kopec took his son’s car out for two races and he
finished 6th and 4th.
“I don’t know how much those two races will help
me,” said Kopec. “These Tour guys all have so much
experience at Stafford. My goal is to get in the
race, keep the wheels on it, and it would be really
nice to be able to finish the race. The one thing I
have to do is finish better than Dylan, or he will
be busting on me all winter long! Stafford is a
first class track and it’s been a lot of fun coming
to the track every Friday this year with Dylan. It
will be a bit busy running back and forth between
the 79 and Dylan’s car, but hopefully we’ll have a
lot of fun this weekend.”
The 39th Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend kicks
off on Friday, Sept. 30 with pit gates opening at
12:00pm with a practice session running from 2:00pm
to 6:30pm for Stafford’s weekly divisions. The
General Admission grandstands will be open to the
public at no charge for the practice session. The
G.A. Grandstands will open at 2pm.
Action continues on Saturday, Oct. 1 with Coors
Light Pole Qualifying for the Whelen Modified Tour
cars at 2:15pm, followed by heat and consolation
races for Stafford’s weekly divisions. Saturday’s
events wrap up with feature events for Stafford’s SK
Light Modified, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock
divisions. Closing out the Saturday feature events
will be the Paradiso-Muska DARE Stock Shoot-Out, a
special 8-lap shoot-out all-star race for this
season's DARE Stock feature winners and several wild
card entrants. The CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend
continues on Sunday, Oct. 2 with the famous
Stafford CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party kicking off
the day’s activities from 11:00am to 12:00pm, with
the final SK Modified® and Late Model feature events
of 2011 being accompanied by the Whelen Modified
Tour 150-lap CARQUEST Fall Final.
Tickets for the CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend are
available and on sale now at the Stafford Motor
Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $35.00
for adult General Admission, $5.00 for children ages
6-14, and children ages 5 & under are free. Reserved
seating is $38.00 for all ages. All tickets cover
both Saturday and Sunday admission to the Fall
Final. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers
free parking with overnight parking available.
Tickets can be ordered by calling the Stafford Motor
Speedway track office at 860-684-2783.
For more information, 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: September
30, 2011 |
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