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04/19/2012 |
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STAFFORD
MOTOR SPEEDWAY CARQUEST
CHAMPIONS FOR CHARITIES DRIVER SPOTLIGHT:
TODD SZEGEDY |
 Stafford
Motor Speedway has again lined up an impressive
field of current and former open wheel champions for
its CARQUEST Champions For Charities Event as part
of CARQUEST Super Saturday on June 30th. During the
coming weeks, SMS will offer a profile on each of
its championship winning drivers and the charity
they will be racing for. This week's CARQUEST
Champions For Charities spotlight falls on 2003
NASCAR Whelen Modified Series Champion Todd Szegedy,
who will be racing to help support The Foundation
For Life.
The Foundation For Life is an organization that
provides funding in Connecticut for underprivileged
children. Their motto is to make children’s dreams
come true by providing scholarships, bikes, school
clothes and supplies, various playgrounds in CT, and
provide volunteers to teach Junior Achievement in CT
elementary schools. They have also assisted in the
ABC Extreme Makeover Home Edition in Bridgeport, CT
by paying off the owner’s mortgage. Since 2006, the
Foundation for Life has distributed over $350,000 to
organizations in Connecticut who are working to
better the lives of those in need throughout the
community.
“The Foundation for Life is a great organization
which gives back to communities who are in need of
giving throughout the state of Connecticut,” said
Szegedy. “We didn’t raise as much money last year as
we would have liked, so hopefully we can get some
more people to come on board with us this year. I
know the economy is tough, but the money all goes to
a very good cause. We have a lot of people around us
who like to support The Foundation For Life, so
we’re hoping we can pick up some more donations and
have a larger total than we did last year.”
After having never driven a Wild Thing Kart Senior
Outlaw before, Szegedy put in a fine showing in last
year’s 15-lap CARQUEST Champions For Charities
event. Szegedy started 8th and he worked his way
through the field to take 4th place at the checkered
flag after not being able to make it to the track in
time for practice.
“Last year’s race was awesome,” said Szegedy. “I
couldn’t get out of work early enough to make it for
practice and those karts are very line sensitive. It
was a lot of fun to drive and it was fun watching
the guys struggle to drive the karts around the mini
mile. After the race was over, there wasn’t one
driver who didn’t have a smile on their face, we
were all swapping spots like crazy. I hope I can
make it for practice this year to get a better idea
of how the kart will drive and I’m sure we’ll all
have as much fun as we did last year.”
In addition to preparing for his CARQUEST Champions
For Charities duties, Szegedy is also busy preparing
for the 41st Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler
next weekend. After a crash left him with a 27th
place finish in the season opening Whelen Modified
Tour event, Szegedy will look to get his 2012 season
back on track with a strong effort at Stafford.
“I’m looking forward to the Sizzler,” said Szegedy.
“I’ve been close to winning that race before and the
Sizzler is definitely on my list of races that I
want to win. We didn’t qualify as well as we would
have liked at Thompson, but we knew the car was
going to race well. We pitted for tires and it
seemed like all heck broke loose and we got caught
up in a wreck. It seems lately like it’s a 50/50
deal if you’re going to get caught up in something
after pit stops and we’re starting the season out
behind again like we did last year. But the team is
phenomenally strong and we have good equipment, so
we have what it takes to overcome our Thompson
finish. If you look at last year, we wrecked in the
first two races and we ended up getting into the
points lead later in the season, so it can be done.
With the short schedule this year, we’ve used our
one mulligan, but we feel pretty confident going to
Stafford. Phil Moran, my crew chief, has been around
a while, we have good cars, and I’m very comfortable
at Stafford. Generally I’ve been able to make passes
on the bottom and on the outside, so we just have to
hang around in the top-5, stay out of trouble, and
be there at the end to have a chance to fight for
the win.”
The starting lineup for the CARQUEST Champions For
Charities feature event will be determined by how
much money each driver raises for their selected
charity. The starting grid will be set with the
drivers who have raised the most money starting up
front. Fans are encouraged to get involved in the
event by donating to their favorite driver or
favorite charity. To make a donation to The
Foundation For Life on behalf of Todd Szegedy, and
for more information on the event, please refer to
the CARQUEST Champions for Charities donation page
located at
www.staffordspeedway.com.
Stay tuned to
www.staffordspeedway.com
for more driver spotlights and exciting information
regarding the CARQUEST Champions for Charities
event.
CARQUEST Super Saturday will take place on Saturday,
June 30, 2012 and will feature the ISMA Super
Modifieds, NEMA Midgets, and Pro-4 Modifieds in
addition to the Senior Outlaw Wild Thing Karts.
Tickets for CARQUEST Super Saturday are on sale now
at the Speedway Box Office and are priced at $33.00
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 $35.00 for all
ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission
Tax. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free
parking with overnight parking available.
For more information, or to order tickets to the 9th
Annual CARQUEST Extreme
Tuesday event, 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
19, 2012 |
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