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09/27/06

Hirschman Hopes To Continue 2006 Success
In Tour “Fall Final” At Stafford

    The race for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour 2006 Sunoco Rookie of the Year is still up for grabs as the series heads to Stafford Motor Speedway for the Carquest Fall Final on Oct. 1. Matt Hirschman, of Northampton, Pa., is currently second in the rookie standings, trailing James Civali, of Meriden, Conn., by 23 points.
    Hirschman, who served as the championship crew chief for his father, Tony, in 2004-05 before taking up his own Whelen Modified Tour driving career, is hoping to close the gap in the Sunoco rookie standings this weekend.
    “Stafford has been our best track this season,” said Hirschman. “I was a little surprised because it’s known as a tough place for rookies. We’ve had three top-10 finishes there including a fourth which was my best finish of the season. I’m looking forward to going back.”
    Although Hirschman trails Civali, only the 12 best finishes are counted toward the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title. With 13 races in the books, Hirschman has an opportunity to make up some ground and “drop” a few finishes from earlier in the season.
    “We didn’t start out as well as I would have liked,” said Hirschman. “It put us behind in the point standings and the rookie standings .But since the beginning August we have been running much better and put together some good finishes.”
    Hirschman, who is sponsored by Furnace and Duct and Ed Bennett Properties, is pleased with the results so far in 2006.
    “The rookie class in 2006 is very talented,” said Hirschman. “This is one of the best groups - maybe the best group of rookies - this series has had. Of course winning the Rookie Title is the goal but we’re also pleased where we are in the standings.”
    Qualifying for the Carquest Fall Final is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 30. The 150 lap feature is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 1. Mike Stefanik leads Ted Christopher in the series standings by 104 points with 3 races remaining.

CARQUEST FALL FINAL NOTES:

* Posted Awards: $83, 893
* Bud Pole Qualifying is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 30. The fastest 27 cars will transfer.
* Five provisional positions (Two based on 2006 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour owner points, two on 2006 driver points and one past champion provisional) will bring the starting field to 32 cars.
* The 150 lap race is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m.
* The series qualifying record at Stafford is 18.102 seconds (99.437 mph) set by Mike Ewanitsko in 2001.
* The Carquest Fall Final is the fourth of four events scheduled to be held at Stafford in 2006. Doug Coby was the winner of the Carquest Tech-Net Spring Sizzler in April. John Blewett III won the Connecticut Classic in July. James Civali was the winner in August.
* Tony Hirschman is the defending champion of the Carquest Fall Final.
* There have been 81 Whelen Modified Tour races at Stafford. In August, James Civali became the 25th different driver to win a Whelen Modified Tour race at Stafford.
* The Fall Final is one of the oldest races on the series, dating back to the series inception in 1985. It has taken place every year except for 1988. Drivers currently competing on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour who have Fall Final victories include; Wayne Anderson (94), Ted Christopher (01), Tony Hirschman (99, 04, 05) Jerry Marquis (00, 03) Reggie Ruggiero (87,89), Mike Stefanik (90,92,93,95,98, 02) and Jamie Tomaino (86).

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Top 10: Mike Stefanik 1992, Ted Christopher 1888, Eddie Flemke 1831, James Civali 1796, Todd Szegedy 1788, Tony Hirschman 1751, Jerry Marquis 1703, Eric Beers 1582, Chuck Hossfeld 1570 , Donny Lia 1543

Up next: Following the Carquest Fall Final at Stafford, the Whelen Modified Tour heads to Waterford ( Conn. ) Speedbowl on Sunday, Oct. 8th for the rescheduled Whelen VFD 150.

Source:  Mark Mockovak/NASCAR WMT PR
Posted:  September 27, 2006

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