|
TIMMY
SOLOMITO CARRYING WINNING MOMENTUM
INTO AUGUST 5 STAFFORD 150 |
When
the green flag drops on the Stafford 150 on August
5th, Timmy Solomito and the #16 Diversified Metals
team will have winning momentum on their side. The
combination are the most recent Whelen Modified Tour
winners notching a win at Monadnock Speedway.
Solomito has come close to winning races at Stafford
in the past and with momentum on his side, he is
hopeful of capturing his very first Stafford
victory.
“Any time you win a race, you carry over some
momentum,” said Solomito. “The confidence is
definitely there and all the guys are working hard
and producing some really fast racecars. We’ve been
close at Stafford in the past and we’ve had some
really strong runs there so hopefully we can find
that little bit extra we need and that can catapult
us to a victory or a really strong finish.”
As Solomito works through his second season together
with the #16 team, he has recorded the first 3 NWMT
wins of his career. In 6 Stafford starts with the
#16 car, Solomito has 3 top-5 and 4 top-10 finishes.
Despite the positive numbers Solomito has accrued
behind the wheel of the #16 machine, he says that
Stafford wasn’t always his favorite track but he is
confident that his first Stafford win isn’t far
away.
“I used to struggle at Stafford for a while and once
I started driving the 16 car, the Flamingo team and
Sly Szaban have a good setup there and it really
helped me pick up some speed,” said Solomito. “We’ve
been close but we just haven’t been able to
capitalize and hopefully next Friday we can have a
good qualifying run, good track position, and be
there for the end of the race. Winning 3 times this
season has definitely given me more confidence and
I’ve learned a lot. The 16 team has been very
patient with me and Sly has taught me a lot. It’s
really a team effort and I can’t thank Eric
Sanderson and everyone on the team enough for giving
me an opportunity and sticking with me and I’m just
happy we finally have a chance to win some races
together.”
With track position being at a premium on the Whelen
Modified Tour, Solomito will need to improve on his
qualifying. In the first two stops for the NWMT this
season at Stafford, Solomito has qualified 12th for
both the NAPA Spring Sizzler in April and the TSI
Harley-Davidson 125 in June. Solomito knows the key
to a good finish and being able to contend for a win
all starts with a good qualifying lap to start up
front. With the race being 25 laps longer than the
TSI Harley-Davidson 125 back in June, the race is
open for strategy calls to possibly get the car into
position to win.
“You’re going to want to have a good qualifying lap
so you start up front and hopefully stay up front
for the whole race,” said Solomito. “Coming through
the pack is always tough at Stafford and you can get
caught up in something or burn the tires up. I think
a top-6 or a top-8 would be a good starting spot. We
had a pit road penalty during the Sizzler and got
sent to the back but we were fortunate enough to
have enough restarts and time to get back up to
fourth so it can be done, but it’s a lot tougher
than starting up front. You can really wear out a
set of tires at Stafford so you’ll have to think
about that to save something for the end of the race
where hopefully we’ll be in a position to go race
for the win. Some days at Stafford it seems harder
to pass than others. It’s going to all depend on
what the guys up front do. The cars are so equal now
that it’s really hard to pit late and make a charge
on new tires. I definitely think you’re going to see
most everyone make at least one stop for fresh
rubber.”
The August 5th Stafford 150 will be the third of
four Whelen Modified Tour events to be held at
Stafford during the 2016 season with the NWMT
returning on October 1-2 for the NAPA Fall Final.
Tickets for the Stafford 150 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 $35.00 for all ages. All
ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information, 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:
July 28, 2016 |
|
|