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12/13/2011 |
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IT WAS A GREAT YEAR FOR RACING (part 1)
Lost and Found
by
Denise DuPont |
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 Ron
Silk was honored at the Night of Champions Touring
Awards Gala in Charlotte, NC as the 2011 NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour Champion.
Ron Silk flashed a big smile as the reality of his
first modified championship sunk in.
“It was a great year,” said Silk reflecting on 2011.
“I am very proud of what we all accomplished this
year. I have a great team behind me and that is what
has made it possible for us to win.”
There are many talented drivers that compete in the
NWMT along with some of the very best equipment.
Silk expressed his thoughts on the competition when
he looked back on the seasons last race at Thompson
International Speedway.
“The competition is our series is really tough and
in any week there are almost ten cars that can win
the race. After all year what it came down to was
Thompson. It was really amazing we were pretty close
after all those races. We had some bad luck and so
did Todd (Szegedy) in that race. Luckily for us we
were able to have a little less bad luck than Todd.”
Just when the #6 team thought that there was no way
they could overcome their bad luck, they did,
returning to challenge for the championship. “It was
exactly like a caption I read “Lost and Found”. It
was very nerve racking. We ran long and cautious
going around trying to find a safe place to let the
race unfold. Then to see if we could go forward to
win it. Then we got caught up in someone’s blown
motor and the car got wrecked pretty bad. My guys
did a terrific job getting us back on the track. We
were a lot of laps down but we made a lot of laps
up. And it all worked out. Todd Szegedy had trouble
in the end and then Lady Luck was with us.”
“It was an amazing season,” said NWMT Champion car
owner Eddie Partridge. “I thought that we were going
to struggle because we had a new body and we tried
new traction in the back of the car. But it all came
together. We ran really good and we had a lot of
luck.
 Ronnie
(Silk) is a great driver. I am so happy the way that
it turned out.”
NWMT championship runner up Todd Szegedy was also
dealt his share of bad luck at Thompson. “I think
that it just came down to what it was meant to be.
Silk had all the bad luck and wrecked and all I had
to do was finish and then I got wrecked. So we did
everything right. There was nothing more that I
could have done. We definitely had the better team
especially the last half of the race. We had such a
big deficit that we had to overcome. We ran them
down, we did everything we could. We won races and
we won some poles everywhere we went. It just did
not work out.”
Now that the 2011 season has ended race teams will
head back to the garage and prepare for a new year
and all the new challenges that they will be dealt.
Notes From Night
of Champions Touring Awards Gala in Charlotte, NC.
What are you plans for
2012?
Ron Silk
“We are going to go back and try to win again. They
have already built a new car since Thompson. We are
getting all our stuff redone for next year so I
think we should be as good and maybe better next
year. We are just going to show up at the Ice
Breaker and go from there. We already made the
decision not to waste out resources doing other
races so we are just going to hunker down and we
will see what we can do on the tour next year.”
Eddie Partridge
“We are just going to run the tour (NWMT) full time
and a lot of “Riverhead Raceway.”
Todd Szegedy
“All the same, except we will finish one position
higher. All the same stuff. My busiest season is the
winter so I do not get to the shop as much. So the
crew chief and crew are going to rebuild the car and
we will see if we can make it better for next year.”
Rowan Pennink
“We had a great start to the season and hopefully we
can come back and have a good start again next year
but continue to keep it going
 that
way for the season.”
Justin Bonsignore
“I am really looking forward to 2012. I think that
we have a real good chance to compete with guys like
Ronnie, Todd and guys that are at the top of the
chart and field. I am ready for the off season to be
over already but there is a lot of work ahead and I
just cannot wait.”
“Next year we are going to concentrate full time on
the tour (NWMT) rather than running SK mods and
stuff like that. That is our plan and hopefully we
can be a stronger team by that.”
Along with the crowning
of the champion several other awards were given.
Len Boehler Award
Eddie Partridge
“Receiving the award really surprised me. I do not
know who selects the recipient, but I am very happy
to get it.”
Ron Silk
They are definitely very deserving and it is an
honor for them to get an award like the Len Boehler
Award.”
What was your most
memorable moment in 2011?
Todd Szegedy
“My most memorable 2011 moment is winning the race
at Lime Rock (Park). Road courses are my favorite I
wish we could have five tracks but then there are
other guys that wish that we never go to one again.
I grew up road racing and I have always had a heart
for it. Driving a road course and doing well shows
that you are well rounded in your skills. A road
course is very difficult, you have to hit your marks
and be very consistent.”
Rowan Pennink
“Finishing races second three times in a row.”
Justin Bonsignore
“It was a great year. It started out a little slow
and was not what we would hope. But that is what
keeps strong teams together and prevail through it.
We were able to turn our season around. We got our
first win in the second half of the season and we
contended almost every week. We had three top fives
and we could have finished off real strong at the
end.”
“I would have to say my first win, but then running
second to Newman (Ryan Newman) at Bristol (Motor
Speedway) and competing for wins at New Hampshire
(Motor Speedway) this year was just as big.”
“It was a great year. I was able to win the track
championship at Riverhead (Speedway) on top of
making the full time tour schedule. It was a lot of
fun, busy but fun.” |
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Source: Denise DuPont / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted: December
13, 2011 |
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