10/29/06

Todd Szegedy Scores Second Win of the Season at Stafford;
Mike Stefanik Earns 9th NASCAR Championship

    Todd Szegedy of Ridgefield, Conn. closed out the 2006 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season with a wire-to-wire win in the Carquest Fall Final at Stafford Motor Speedway and Mike Stefanik of Coventry R.I. officially was crowned the series champion.
    It was the second win of the season for Szegedy and the Wisk/Snuggle Ford race team and the 10th of his career. The victory moved Szegedy into fifth in the final point standings. Szegedy was the winner of the Bud Pole way back on Sept. 30 when he set fast time in qualifying. Inclement weather postponed the Fall Final, making it the last event of the 2006 season.
    Stefanik finished the race sixth in the Diversified Metals Chevrolet. All Stefanik needed to do was start the race to assure himself of his seventh NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Championship. It was the ninth overall NASCAR championship for Stefanik placing him in a tie with Richie Evans as the all time NASCAR Championship leader.
    Ken Barry was the runner-up in the race and put pressure on Szegedy in the closing laps, but fell short by .22 seconds. Zach Sylvester came all the way from the 28th starting position to finish 3rd. Defending series champion Tony Hirschman finished fourth and John Blewett, III rounded out the Top-5.
    Eddie Flemke of Southington, Conn. finished ninth in the race and earned enough points to place second in the final series standings one point ahead of Ted Christopher. Christopher finished 25th completing only 50 laps because of an accident.

    Unofficial results of Sunday’s $83,893.00 Carquest Fall Final NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race with driver's starting position in parentheses, hometown, make and model of car, laps completed,
winner's average speed, reason out (if any) and prize money.

 1.   (1)  Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield Conn., Ford,150, 64.516 mph, $7,250
 2.  (19) Ken Barry, Griswold Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $3,800
 3.  (28) Zach Sylvester, Lebanon Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $3,600
 4.   (2)  Tony Hirschman, Northampton Pa., Chevrolet, 150, $3,600
 5.  (12) John Blewett, III, Howell N.J., Chevrolet, 150, $1,900
 6.   (9)  Mike Stefanik, Coventry R.I., Chevrolet, 150, $2,500
 7.   (4)  Donny Lia, Jericho N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $2,400
 8.  (26) Ronnie Silk, Norwalk Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $2,100
 9.   (3)  Eddie Flemke, Southington Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $2,150
10. (18) Jerry Marquis, Broad Brook Conn., Dodge, 150, $1,900
11. (27) Eric Beers, Northampton Pa., Chevrolet, 150, $1,900
12. (21) Matt Hirschman, Northampton Pa., Dodge, 150, $1,775
13. (13) Doug Coby, Milford Conn., Pontiac, 150, $1,750
14. (20) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $1,025
15. (22) Chris Pasteryak, Lisbon Conn., Pontiac, 150, $1,000
16. (29) Jamie Tomaino, Howell N.J., Ford, 150, $1,675
17. (31) Danny Sammons, Trenton N.J., Chevrolet, 150, $1,350
18.  (6)  Chuck Hossfeld, Buffalo N.Y., Pontiac, 148, $1,625
19. (23) Jimmy Storace, Kingston N.H., Chevrolet, 148, $1,300
20. (17) Thomas Bolles, Ellington Conn., Chevrolet, 143, Flat Tire, $875
21. (14) Ron Yuhas, Groton Conn., Chevrolet, 142, $1,550
22. (11) James Civali, Meriden Conn., Chevrolet, 139, $1,625
23. (32) Wade Cole, Riverton Conn., Chevrolet, 85, Ignition, $800
24. (30) Anthony Sesely, Matawan N.J., Chevrolet, 63, Rear End, $1,500
25.  (5)  Ted Christopher, Plainville Conn., Chevrolet, 50, Acc, $1,600
26.  (7)  Dick Houlihan, BridgewaterMass.,Chevrolet,30,Handling, $1,500
27.  (8)  Reggie Ruggiero, Rocky Hill Conn., Chevrolet,29,Accid, $1,200
28. (25) Rob Summers, Manchester Conn., Pontiac,21, Accident, $1,500
29. (15) Eric Berndt, Rocky Hill Conn., Chevrolet, 8, Engine, $800
30. (10) Jimmy Blewett, Howell N.J., Chevrolet, 7, Accident, $1,500
31. (16) Rick Fuller, Auburn Mass., Chevrolet, 7, Accident, $800
32. (24) Jon McKennedy, Chelsford Mass., Chevrolet, 0, DNS, $0

Failed to Qualify: (6) Glen Tyler * (#8), Billy Pauch, Jr. (#06), (#5), Dave Etheridge (#54), Thomas Rogers (#51), Jake Marosz (#9).
Time of Race: 1 hrs. 9 mins, 45 secs Average Speed: 64.516 mph Margin of Victory:.22 Seconds
BUD POLE AWARD: Todd Szegedy, 2 Wisk/Snuggle Ford
FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD: Ken Barry, 21 Superior Oil/Lombardi Inside Out Chevrolet
POWERADE POWER MOVE OF THE RACE: Zach Sylvester, 15 TAS Country Homes Chevrolet
SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Ronnie Silk *, 19 Major Motion /Silk Plumbing & Heating Chevrolet
Caution Flags: Laps 4-6; 8-17; 23-26; 31-34; 51-56; 59-63; 76-80; 128-132. 8 for 42 laps.
Lap Leaders: Todd Szegedy 1-150.
Total Laps Led: Todd Szegedy 150. 0 changes involving 1 drivers.

Unofficial Top 20 Driver Points: Mike Stefanik 2457, Eddie Flemke 2248, Ted Christopher 2247, Tony Hirschman 2170, Todd Szegedy 2165, Jerry Marquis 2096, James Civali * 2087, Donny Lia 2029, Zach Sylvester 1997, Eric Beers 1888, Matt Hirschman * 1873, Chuck Hossfeld 1852, Dick Houlihan 1833, Doug Coby 1792, Jimmy Blewett 1754, Jamie Tomaino 1693, Ken Barry 1642, Ron Yuhas 1614, Ronnie Silk * 1599, Anthony Sesely * 1623

* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contender

Source:  NASCARtouring.com/WMT PR
Posted:  October 29, 2006