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03/27/2015 |
SZEGEDY EXCITED
ABOUT PROSPECTS FOR 2015 NAPA SPRING SIZZLER AND NWMT SEASON
DRIVING FOR BOB GARBARINO'S MYSTIC MISSILE TEAM |
After
a season of partial rides on the NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour, the Valenti Modified Racing Series,
and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series,
Ridgefield native and 2003 Whelen Modified Tour
Champion Todd Szegedy will return to full-time WMT
status behind the wheel of Bob Garbarino’s famed #4
Mystic Missile machine. Garbarino has won
championships and Spring Sizzlers with Donny Lia and
Bobby Santos, III as his drivers and Szegedy is
relishing the opportunity to drive Garbarino’s car.
“It’s a great opportunity,” said Szegedy. “I’m glad
I stayed in it because I could have easily said I’m
taking the year off and separate from racing but I
didn’t. I ran for Kevin Stuart on the MRS and had a
great opportunity to drive for Rob Fuller on the
Tour. I also drove a couple of races for Bill Park
at Riverhead, so I ran almost 30 races total last
year. I think that really helped me a lot and it was
a big benefit to stay in it. An opportunity with Bob
came along and who wouldn’t want to drive his car?
The Mystic Missile has a lot of history and Bob has
a lot of history on the Tour. It’s an amazing
opportunity and I want to go out and have a good
time, finish races, and leave the track knowing I
did the best that I could. It’s definitely an honor
that Bob chose me to drive his car and I want to
make the best of the opportunity.”
Another feather in Szegedy’s cap will be reuniting
with Don Barker, who he won a championship with back
in 2003. Barker will serve as Szegedy’s crew chief
and Szegedy thinks they can be successful right
away.
“To cap things off, Don Barker is going to crew
chief the car,” said Szegedy. “Don and I have stayed
in contact through the years even when we weren’t
racing together. I consider him a great friend and
he’s a very smart guy. He’s really knowledgeable
about these cars and I really think we’re going to
have a good year. I believe we can be a contender.
The equipment is there, the will to succeed is
there, and the team has a lot of experience. I’m
more motivated than I’ve ever been to go out and win
races and to win a championship. It’s going to be
difficult because we’ll be up against a lot of tough
competition but that’s never scared me before. I’m
up for the challenge and the only thing we can do is
go out there and do the best we can. If things go
our way, we will be a contender for wins and for the
championship. We just have to make the right
decisions and the right calls and we’ll see what
happens at the end of the year.”
When it comes to the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler,
Szegedy has compiled a stellar career record. In 13
Sizzler starts, Szegedy has posted 6 top-5 and 7
top-10 finishes, with a best finish of second on
three different occasions. Szegedy has finished
second behind Ted Christopher in 2006 and 2009 and
he had perhaps his best Sizzler run in 2007 when he
drove from 22nd up to second behind Donny Lia, who
was driving Garbarino’s #4 car. Matching his
personal success up with Garbarino’s success in the
Sizzler, Szegedy thinks he had a very good chance at
taking the checkered flag in this year’s edition of
“The Greatest Race in the History of Spring.”
“I’ve been very fortunate that every race car I’ve
gotten into has been a car with an opportunity to
win,” said Szegedy. “The Sizzler is definitely on my
list of races to win but I want to win at every race
track. I’m thankful that I’ve been given the
opportunity, it’s nice to know that people still
believe in me. I think that the races I did for Rob
last year really helped me out tremendously. I had
no idea if I would be racing this season just a
couple weeks ago, so I’m extremely excited and I’m
very motivated. I’m looking forward to getting back
to the track and I always look forward to Stafford
because it’s one of my favorite tracks. I think my
performance with Rob Fuller was the reason why I got
the ride with Bob. It’s tough for me to really nail
down one particular Sizzler memory, but I’m hoping
that by this time next year I can say that my
favorite Sizzler memory was winning the race in
2015.”
While Szegedy has a busy 2015 planned, he doesn’t
yet have anything lined up for the SK Modified®
division. Szegedy drove one race for Steve Greer
last season and he says if an opportunity came along
to drive an SK, he would jump at the chance.
“I have no plans for an SK this year,” said Szegedy.
“If an opportunity were to come along, I would
definitely do it. I always enjoy racing SK’s and
last year they had the best racing I’ve seen in
years in the SK Modified® division.”
Szegedy will begin his quest for his first NAPA
Spring Sizzler victory with practice and Coors Light
Pole Qualifying on Saturday, April 25th as part of
the 44th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler. The
200-lap NAPA Spring Sizzler will run on Sunday,
April 26 at approximately 3:15pm following the NAPA
Pit Party from 11am-12noon and the SK Modified® and
Late Model feature events beginning at 1pm. 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 44th 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:
March 27, 2015 |
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