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04/04/2014 |
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ROWAN PENNINK
SEEKING FIRST NAPA SPRING SIZZLER VICTORY
AT STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY |
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 In
the 8 NAPA Spring Sizzlers run since 2006, only 4
drivers, Doug Coby, Donny Lia, Ted Christopher, and
Doug Coby, have visited victory lane. But one driver
who has quietly put in some great Sizzler
performances and is on the verge of breaking into
that Sizzler winners club is Huntingdon Valley, PA
native Rowan Pennink. In only 6 career Sizzler
starts, Pennink has accumulated 3 top-5 and 4 top-10
finishes with a career best finish of second in
2011. Coming off a win in the 2013 season ending
race, Pennink is feeling good about his chances of
putting his #93 Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner
Chevrolet into NAPA Victory Lane.
"I think we're looking real good," said Pennink. "We
have 2 cars together and we're working on a third
car. I'm excited for the season after we ended last
season the way we did. We had some real strong runs
in the last couple races and I'm looking to continue
on that note and see if we can't bang out some more
good races at the start of the year. Last time at
Stafford we had a real strong car but it wasn't
quite as strong as a couple other guys. I think
we've hit on a couple of things with the car and I
hope we can go to Stafford and win. I've been real
close before and hopefully this will be the year we
nail a win down. The Sizzler is one race that
everyone wants to win and winning that race would
mean a lot to me. I always wanted to win the World
Series at Thompson and we got that out of the way
last year and I can't wait to get to Stafford to see
what we can do."
While some drivers made the trip to Florida in
February to race at Daytona or New Smyrna, Pennink
kept his skills sharp by participating in a pair of
Indoor TQ Midget races in Atlantic City and Trenton.
"I ended up racing a TQ midget in the indoor races
at Atlantic City and Trenton," said Pennink. "We ran
pretty good but the results we had didn't show how
well we ran. Racing those things is about as crazy
as a race as you're going to get and it helps keep
you on your toes since reaction time is everything
with those cars. We didn't go down to Florida this
year so we made sure to be racing something this
winter."
Pennink will have several factors in his favor as he
chases his first career Sizzler checkered flag. The
longer race distance of 200 laps opens up the race
to different strategies and the longer distance fits
Pennink's driving style nicely. Pennink can also
lean on his SK Modified® experience as he made a
return to the division last season for the first
time since the 2007 season.
"We normally do something a little different with
the car setup for the day races versus the night
races," said Pennink. "Being 200 laps, I like the
longer races because they suit my driving style and
it brings more pit strategy into the race. When the
races are 150 laps, everybody wants to pit at the
same time but with 50 extra laps, people change up
their strategy and it brings a different aspect to
the game. The SK experience last season was good for
me. Any time you're running around a track like
Stafford, which is one of the hardest tracks to
drive, finding little things like managing your
driving line can definitely help you out when you
get into the tour car."
Although Pennink had a string of bad races last
season, he tied his career best finish in the points
standings by finishing fourth. After winning the
Modified Racing Series championship last season,
Pennink says if he can get some luck on his side
this season, he can be a contender for the Whelen
Modified Tour championship as well this season.
"Our goal is to be racing for the championship at
the end of the year," said Pennink. "We've had a
strong team the last couple years and we finished
fourth last year. We had a streak of bad races at
the end of the year but looking back if we had
finished in the top-15 in each of our bad races we
would have been right there for the championship. We
flipped the car at Thompson and at Bristol we had a
flat tire on the first lap and got caught up in a
wreck. We just need to have a little bit better luck
this year and do things a little bit differently
than we did last year and I think we could be right
there."
The 43rd Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler gets
underway Friday, April 25 with a practice session
for Stafford's weekly divisions. The practice
session will be open to the public at no charge. The
run for the Coors Light Pole position gets underway
on Saturday, April 26 with time trials for the
Whelen Modified Tour cars, along with heat and
consolation races for Stafford's weekly divisions.
In the 34 Spring Sizzler events run since 1980, the
fast qualifier has gone on to win the race only 8
times. Saturday will conclude with feature events
for the SK Light, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock
divisions as well as a feature event for the
Northeast Mini Stocks. The Sizzler concludes on
Sunday, April 27 with the NAPA Auto Parts Pit Party
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. As always,
Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with
overnight parking available. All tickets are good
for both Saturday and Sunday admission. All ticket
prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information on the 43rd annual NAPA Auto
Parts 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 4, 2014 |
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