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04/05/2013 |
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TODD SZEGEDY
LOOKING TO ADD
SIZZLER TROPHY TO HIS RESUME |
 Stafford
Motor Speedway has received its first wave of NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour entries for the 42nd Annual
CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, which will be held
April 26-28. Among the first group of entries is
2003 NWMT Champion Todd Szegedy, who is in search of
his first career Sizzler victory. Szegedy has won
races in Stafford's SK Modified® division, and he
has 4 career NWMT wins at the half-mile, but thusfar
his best career Sizzler finish has been a second
place effort in 2003, 2007, and 2009. Szegedy is
hoping that he can change that fact this year and be
the first driver to cross the start/finish line when
the checkered flag is displayed.
"The Spring Sizzler is very high on my list of races
that I would like to win," said Szegedy. "Before my
career is over, I want to have a Sizzler trophy.
We've not always had the best of finishes at the
Sizzler, but we've come close a couple of times. The
key for the Sizzler, or any race, is that you have
to be there at the end. I feel like if I can be
among the top-5 cars with 20-laps to go, I can be a
contender to win the race."
If Szegedy is to claim his first Sizzler trophy this
season, he has a good deal of momentum built up
heading into the 2013 season after his performance
in the UNOH Battle at the Beach that was run at
Daytona as part of SpeedWeeks. Szegedy put his #2
Dunleavy Truck & Trailer Repair machine on the pole
in Daytona and he led the first 126 laps before a
mechanical issue relegated him to a 21st place
finish. But with his teammate Steve Park winning the
race, things bode well for Szegedy and the Mike
Smeriglio, III owned team this year.
"I think we have some good momentum going into the
year after Daytona," said Szegedy. "Even though we
didn't get the finish that we deserved down in
Daytona, I was very happy with how well we ran.
After the race was over, you say coulda, woulda,
shoulda, but we lost a bolt on a lower control arm
and sometimes that stuff is unavoidable. But any
time we have a mechanical failure, we learn from it
and we make changes to make it better. I can
guarantee you that we won't have that problem again
and that's because I have the best team on the Tour.
I think that with how well I ran and with Steve Park
winning the race in one of our backup cars, that
just shows how much all the hard work that the guys
put in over the winter paid off. We had 2 cars that
ran awesome in Daytona, we have great positive guys
on the team, and I think we're going to have a
really strong year."
For Szegedy and the #2 team, a strong run at the
Sizzler will go a long way towards getting them back
into championship contention in 2013. The NWMT will
make four visits to Stafford in 2013, which Szegedy
acknowledges is one of his better tracks. The key
for Szegedy and his crew will be to eliminate bad
finishes and be more consistent throughout the
entire year.
"Our goal for the season is to be more consistent
and run strong every week," said Szegedy. "I feel
like the team has never been stronger than it is
right now and we just need to finish races. If you
look at last season, Doug [Coby] had a 4.1 average
finish for the season and that's what you need to
do. We had some good runs last year, we just fell
into some bad luck. If we could have eliminated our
bad luck last year, we would have been right there
in championship contention. I feel like Stafford is
one of my best tracks, it seems like I can pass
either on the inside or the outside whenever we come
to Stafford. The two corners are different from each
other and I really like that, I think it's a
definite advantage if you can figure the track out
and I think that we have a pretty good idea of what
it takes to get around Stafford. Hopefully we can
get into the lead early on and stay out front for
the rest of the day. But the competition will be as
tough as it's ever been and doing that is a lot
easier said than done. We're coming back with the
same equipment and if my guys can get me in the
top-5 with 20-laps to go, I like our chances to take
that Sizzler trophy home."
The 2013 CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler gets
underway Friday, April 26 with a practice session
for Stafford's weekly divisions with the general
admission grandstands open to the public at no
charge. Szegedy and the rest of the NWMT field hit
the track for the first time on Saturday, April 27
with a practice session in the morning and then the
race for the Coors Light Pole Position begins at
2:30pm. Also in action on Saturday will be heat and
consolation races for Stafford's weekly divisions as
well as the Northeast Mini Stock Tour. Saturday will
wrap up with feature events for the SK Light,
Limited Late Model, DARE Stock, and NE Mini Stock
divisions. The Sizzler continues on Sunday, April 28
with the CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party from
11am-12noon followed by Stafford's SK Modifieds® and
Late Models joining the Whelen Modified Tour in
feature action.
Tickets for the "Greatest Race in the History of
Spring" are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office.
Tickets 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 is priced at $42.00 for all ages. All ticket
prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information on the 42nd Annual CARQUEST
TECH-NET Spring Sizzler®, 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: April
5, 2013 |
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