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04/02/2012 |
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2012 NWMT
OPEN PRACTICE
Thompson
International Speedway
by
Polly Reid |
Rain
and snow in the area delayed open practice by a day
at Thompson International Speedway for the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour but by Sunday at 12noon when
engines fired, ten teams took advantage of the track
time to shake down their rides in preparation of the
season opening Icebreaker two short weeks away.
On hand to practice was Todd Szegedy, Ryan Preece,
Ron Yuhas, Bryon Chew, Eric Beers, Donny Lia,
Patrick Emerling, Richie Pallai, Jr, Rob Fuller and
Eric Berndt.
“We re-grouped, have two new chassis’, Troyer, two
brand new cars, everything’s different.” said Bryon
Chew who unloaded one car for testing. “We’re just
shaking some stuff down today, we’re pretty close
here, when it’s cold out it’s hard to tell, but so
far I like it. A couple of adjustments, but so far,
it’s good.” Chew has set the bar this year for
himself- “Do a lot better than last year. Top ten in
points, win a race and have some fun.”
2011 Rookie of the Year, Patrick Emerling was rather
stealth looking in a black unlettered car. The
Orchard Park, NY driver will be back for the
Icebreaker with his familiar #07. “We’re running the
whole series in the Chassis Dynamics cars. We have a
different team than last year- Mike Paquette is the
crew chief. We’re excited, I just drove the car and
it’s awesome.” Emerling didn’t hesitate adding, “I
think with the team we have this year, we’re going
to be a contender.”
Be on the look-out this year for Rob Fuller to run
all the Thompson and NHMS events. Fuller is teamed
up with NY crew chief Jeff DeMinck who is a car
owner himself of a Sunoco Modified competing at
Spencer Speedway with driver Mike Leaty.
2003 Champion Todd Szegedy, reunited last year with
crew chief Phil Moran, collected three wins in 2011
and contended for the title finishing second for the
season. The venues Szegedy won at in 2011 could not
have been more diverse- Monadnock, New Hampshire and
Lime Rock- a sure sign of a driver and team
adaptability. “Our goal this year is top ten’s. We
have to get more wins too. Our qualifying last year
was phenomenal- we only qualified out of the top ten
once and that was at Stafford- we were the second
car out, it had rained- I’m glad it’s going to be on
practice speeds, that’s the fairest way. Every race
at Stafford last year I was in the top five to go
out for qualifying, the track that really matters,
we went out early every time.” Szegedy was busy
shaking down two cars in practice. “I think the
person that finishes in the top ten in every race is
going to win. I would take a top ten in every race
and win a championship over winning races.” Szegedy
will also be running select Valenti Modified Races
this year.
Two-time NWMT Champion Donny Lia returns this year
in a familiar seat- the Bob Garbarino #4 Mystic
Missile. “It’s a good feeling to be racing here.
This place is familiar, the car is familiar, it’s
comfortable so far. We’re trying different things,
learning a little bit- it’s nice to be back. We’ve
got a good team- I’m looking forward to it-
hopefully we’ll have a good time.” A new face will
be calling the shots this year as crew chief- Danny
Laferriere. But no worries about team chemistry
here, Laferriere has been with the Mystic Missile
crew since 2007. “I have faith, I believe in this
deal and when you believe in something, there is a
confidence.” What else is Lia looking forward to
this year? He and his wife Nancy are expecting their
second child in July.
There is a new paint scheme this year for the #16
Eric Sanderson Flamingo Motorsports modified- two
cars unloaded for practice, one with the familiar
2011 look and the other, dramatically different for
2012. The session today will help determine which
one will be at the Icebreaker. Ryan Preece seemed
pleased with both. “They are both really good, it
comes down to which one Sly (Szaban) wants to run.
We’re having a good time, the cars are good right
off from where we started last year. I’m looking
forward to it- the Icebreaker can’t come quick
enough.” The Berlin, CT driver has nothing but the
highest of expectations for the season. “Win some
races and be in contention for the championship at
the end of the year. I mean everything is here to do
it so I don’t see why we shouldn’t be able to go for
it.”
A full NWMT season at this point is not in the
future for Richie Pallai, Jr. the Yorktown Heights,
NY driver will however make the most of every lap
including practice today. “Right now we’re going to
run about 10 Tour races, Riverhead and a good amount
of MRS- pick and choose races. Like right now, we’re
not going to Monadnock for the Tour race but if
we’re up in there in points, we might end up going,
it all depends on that. We’re going to run the big
money open shows too.” Pleased with practice, Pallai
noted they have new power under the hood from Bob
Bruneau. “Definitely like that, the car is very
good. We found a few problems with the new car over
the off season….we’re very excited. If feels really
great to be back out on the track especially since
hockey ended three weeks ago.” While Pallai was not
sure what the track would give them today, he noted,
“the best guys are here today so it’s a good gauge.”
His first Tour start came in 2004 however it was not
until 2011 that Eric Berndt ran his first full NWMT
season. “The plan is to run the full season this
year,” said Berndt who explained it will be in two
different cars, same as last year. “We’re looking to
better what we did last year.” Berndt was in the
hunt on several occasions and there is no reason to
believe it will not be the same again this year
except add a little twist- “We need a little luck.”
Berndt’s best finish of the 2011 season was a top
five at Thompson in June.
Ron Yuhas spent the day testing two Tour cars at
Thompson, a track where he recorded his first career
podium finish in 2007. “We’re not here to set any
land speed record, it’s more to just take the cars
out, run them, make sure we don’t have leaks, get
the brakes good, shake the cars down, that was our
main objective today and we accomplished that.”
Looking ahead, Yuhas is realistic about the fast
approaching season. “I think our goals are a little
bit different depending on the race track. Here, at
Thompson, it’s one of our better race tracks, we
have a lot of experience here so our goal is
probably a top five. The reality is, we have really
great equipment, but we’re probably an underdog
team. Places like Loudon, we’ve done well there,
expectations there will be different than our goals
at Bristol. Our Achilles heel is Stafford, to have a
good run there would be an accomplishment.”
2011 was a career best for Eric Beers on the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour finishing 3rd in points. The
Northampton, PA driver is again behind the wheel of
Dave DeLange’s #45. “We’re trying some new stuff-
we’re getting better every time we go out there. We
have a couple more things yet to try and see if we
can get going even a little bit better.” While a win
escaped Beers last season, he completed all but two
laps recorded for the season, a Tour high. “Our goal
is to get into victory lane, we were so close last
year numerous times and something happened. I’m
pretty confident we’ll be there. We’ll build on what
we did last year and go a little further.”
Once the green flag drops, all the effort and work
since the last checker flag flew last fall will
indeed pay off. The next two weeks will fly by for
some, drag for others. One thing for sure, the
competition will be as strong as ever this year. See
you at the Icebreaker! |
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Source: Polly Reid / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted: April
2, 2012 |
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