Calverton, NY: TS Haulers Motorsports in
association with Nucom Manufacturing has announced their intentions
to compete for the Riverhead Raceway and NASCAR Regional
championships in 2005 with Howell, New Jersey driver Jimmy Blewett.
The 24-year-old Blewett has already established a strong resume,
including Wall Township Speedway Modified championships in 2001 and
2002 as well as Turkey Derby titles in 2003 and 2004. TS Haulers
Motorsports won the Stafford Motor Speedway SK Modified championship
in 2002 and competes on a limited basis with the NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour. Nucom designs, develops and manufactures
precision-machined components and assemblies used on brake, steering
and suspension for racing and various North American customers.
“I’m looking forward to having a strong season
with TS Haulers,” states Blewett. “I have great confidence in the
team and the people throughout the organization. I can’t say enough
how thankful I am to Ed Partridge and Rich Niemiec for giving me
this opportunity. My father has won a Riverhead championship and my
brother, John, has won features races there, so I’m looking forward
to carrying on the family tradition of success.”
Niemiec, a principal of Nucom and the architect
of the deal sounded very excited about the future of this
association. “This will give Nucom an opportunity to do some further
testing on some new products and a ‘revised front suspension’ that
Nucom will be introducing this year. Jimmy brings an impressive
track record to the team. In four years of racing he has accumulated
two track championships and 27 feature wins at four different
speedways. More importantly, for a young driver he brings the right
mindset and attitude with him. His record proves he has the maturity
and certainly the ability to win races and championships. Jimmy is a
blue-collar kind of guy and hasn’t had things handed to him by
birth; he earns everything he gets. He gets up at 6:00 a.m. every
day to work in the family business. That speaks volumes about his
desire and commitment to succeed and he is very grateful for this
opportunity. You have to like a young man like that.”
Niemiec will handle the crew chief
responsibilities for the new team and brings with him a wealth of
experience and success. He has worked with several top drivers at
Riverhead, from the mid-1970’s with legendary Fred Harbach through
the 80’s and 90’s with Tom McCann and most recently Frank Vigliarolo.
“I’ve been involved with a number of drivers at Riverhead and have
always fielded competitive racecars,” he declared. Although he has
only been involved in seven full seasons over the years,
back-to-back Riverhead championships with Vigliarolo in 1999-2000
and 30 career feature wins underscore the fact that Niemiec knows
what it takes to make a racecar handle at the tight quarter-mile
track.
Engines for the team will come from Performance
Engines by Billy the Kid in Connecticut. Associate sponsors include
Brembo Brakes, Bilstein Shocks, Vogtland Springs and RPM Dyno
Service. The crew will consist of people Niemiec has worked with
during his prior efforts at Riverhead and will include Dave Conanico
as General Manager and Sam Lipiro, Jr. as Engine Tuner. Niemiec
says, “It will be good to get the old gang together and take another
shot at the Riverhead and Regional championships.”
Sources: Bruce Boucher/TS Haulers
PR
Posted: February 11, 2005
