|
|
|
09/20/2012 |
|
|
RONNIE SILK
HOPING TO REGAIN CHAMPIONSHIP MOMENTUM
AT STAFFORD IN CARQUEST FALL FINAL |
 When
defending Whelen Modified Tour champion Ronnie Silk
won at Bristol, he was second in the points
standings, 27 points behind Doug Coby. After
finishes of 18th and 9th in the next two races
following his Bristol victory, Silk has fallen to
third in the standings, but he has picked up another
8 points on Coby, and he is now 19 points behind.
While Silk thought the Bristol victory would be the
gateway to bigger and better things for him and the
#6 T.S. Haulers team, he says things quite haven't
gone to plan, but that he plans to rectify that
situation at Stafford.
"I really thought the Bristol win was going to give
us some momentum, but we didn't run as good as we
wanted to at Thompson or Riverhead," said Silk.
"Bristol is an awesome place to win a race at, it's
such a spectacle. I really thought that was going to
get us going and get us on the right foot to start
the end of the year, but it didn't so we're going to
start that this weekend. If you look at the points,
a couple weeks ago Doug was 40 something points
ahead and now it's down to 9. With us being third,
we just want to fight for wins and win races. If we
can do that, the points will take care of
themselves."
For Silk, the Stafford races have been both good and
bad. He has finishes of 4th and 3rd in the April and
May races, and he was running in the top-5 in the
August race before a broken fuel pump helped
relegate them to a 22nd place finish. But despite
the up and down nature of his Stafford season
thusfar, Silk is confident of his chances in the
CARQUEST Fall Final on Sept. 29 & 30.
"We feel pretty confident coming to Stafford," said
Silk. "The last race I felt like we had a car
capable of winning the race and we broke the fuel
pump early. We got back out and we ran some really
fast laps and the car drove really well. So I'm
looking forward to going back to Stafford and if we
can run like we did last time we'll be in the middle
of it as long as we don't break another fuel pump.
Doug [Coby] has been really strong at Stafford
winning all three races, so I would say the odds are
against him winning again, but we'll see. Stafford
is where I started racing and cut my teeth, so I'm
looking forward to going back there."
In preparation for the CARQUEST Fall Final, Silk
says the track conditions should be somewhat similar
to the CARQUEST Spring Sizzler in April, rather than
the two races in May and August.
"I don't think the race will be too much different,"
said Silk. "The guys who are fast will qualify up
front and whoever doesn't have problems and makes
the best changes throughout the race is going to
win. It's not a different format than what we're
used to running, so I think it's going to be a
typical Fall Final race. Normally at the beginning
and the end of the year, the track has a lot of
speed and grip in it, while the two summer races are
a bit more challenging with the track being hot and
having a lot of rubber on it. We know what it takes
and what we need to do to the car to win. We just
have to go out and do it and stay out of trouble. If
you put yourself into position enough times, you'll
eventually win some of these races. The first step
is to be up front and be in contention and then do
what it takes at the end to win the race. And we
also have to beat the 52 [Coby}."
While Silk currently sits third in the standings, he
has the experience of last season where he outdueled
Todd Szegedy for the championship to fall back on.
Silk also knows that he and his team have a tall
order if they want to win a second consecutive
championship.
"I dealt with all the championship stuff last year
and we were able to win it, so I think that takes a
little of the pressure off," said Silk. "Winning one
championship was a goal that everyone on the team
had and it was great to achieve that. If we are able
to do it two years in a row, that would make it all
the more special with how good of a run we've had
the last two years. But we have some work to do if
we're going to do that."
Tickets for the September 29th & Sept. 30th 40th
Annual CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend are priced at
$38.50 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 will be priced at
$42.00 for all ages. All CARQUEST Fall Final tickets
are good for admission on both Saturday and Sunday.
All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax and
Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with
overnight parking available.
For more information on the 40th Annual CARQUEST
Fall Final Weekend, 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. |
|
Source: Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted: September
20, 2012 |
|
|
