Blewett Looks To Continue His
Winning Ways At NHIS
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(June 26, 2007) – John Blewett III (No. 66
Blewett Motorsports Chevrolet) was just about to hop on a plane last year
when he got the official news: He was the winner of the NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour race at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Blewett and James Civaili
(No. 28 Ramer-Hall/Liberty Limousine Chevrolet) were running neck and neck
when the caution flag flew on the final lap. While NASCAR reviewed the
finish, Blewett had to bolt from the track. He had a private plane waiting
for him at nearby Manchester Airport to take him back to his home state of
New Jersey. Blewett was in the hunt for the NASCAR Whelen All-American
Series title and wanted to get back to Wall Speedway to race that night.
He followed up his good
news from the track by winning the Modified feature at Wall. And when he
came back to NHIS for the fall race, Blewett took his time in Victory Lane
after picking up his second straight win on the mile oval.
“I was lucky last year –
my family put me in some really great equipment,” Blewett said. “Up there,
the engine, the car, the driver – all have to be in tune. We just seemed to
hit on it last year.”
Blewett had been to
Victory Lane at NHIS twice before driving for owner Curt Chase. And while he
said it took nothing away from his wins with Chase, last year was something
special.
“To go up there and prove
I could do it on my own,” Blewett said. “There was a lot of
self-satisfaction there.”
Blewett and Civali will
be among more than 40 drivers that will attempt to qualify for Saturday’s
New England 100.
Despite the disappoint
that accompanied having to hand the trophy back to NASCAR officials last
year, Civali can’t wait to get to NHIS.
“Real excited, actually,”
said Civali, who finished third in the fall race last year. “It should be
really good. We’re really psyched about it.”
Civali is second in
points, just 19 behind Donny Lia (No. 4 Mystic River Marina Dodge), despite
the fact that a flat tire midway through the rain-shortened race at Thompson
(Conn.) International Speedway last week left him with a seventh-place
finish in a car he thought was capable of winning.
Civali suddenly found his
groove at New Hampshire last year. He and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion
Tony Stewart put on some of the most impressive passing and drafting during
last July’s event. The secret, according to Civali, is to be able to relax
on the high-speed track.
“Your car doesn’t have to
be that fast,” Civali said. “You just have to race well, and draft and pass.
It just takes a little bit of comfort. If you’re comfortable with the track,
you’re going to be fast.
“You really have to look
around and pay attention to the race and not just what your car is doing.
That’s a race where you can go from 15th to the front in two or three laps.”
Civaili compared the
scenarios that play out when drafting in a Whelen Modified Tour car at New
Hampshire to NEXTEL Cup races at Daytona and Talladega.
Blewett agreed.
“I’ve lost four or five
races there on the last three laps,” Blewett said. “You try to get yourself
in position where you can be there in the final three or four laps.
Sometimes leading is not the best place to be. Other times, it is.”
For Blewett, “being
there” represents a chance to continue his dominance. Between 2000-2003, he
had two wins, three 3rds and a fourth in seven races at the track that is
the highlight of the Whelen Modified Tour schedule.
In the next two years,
though, he had only one finish in the top 20 – a 10th in 2005 – while Ted
Christopher (No. 36 AI-Lee Installations Chevrolet) was winning four
straight.
“Teddy replaced me as the
guy to beat,” Blewett said. “Now I’ve seemed to have got that back.
“New Hampshire is a race
that pretty much anybody in Modified racing looks forward to, whether you’re
a race fan, a driver, even a car owner. … They did such a great job with the
racetrack up there. I don’t think there’s ever been a bad Modified race
there.”
Blewett still plans a
busy weekend. He will qualify the Whelen Modified Tour car at New Hampshire
Thursday afternoon and then drive to Thompson for the weekly feature there
Thursday night. Saturday, the early afternoon start may preclude a trip back
to New Jersey but his sponsor that helped him out last year, Specialized
Machinery Transport, is on stand-by just in case.
“(Last year) I didn’t
have much choice but to get the hell out of there,” Blewett said. “(This
year) we’re going to play Saturday by ear.”
NEWS & NOTES
Christophers Back On
Track … Ted Christopher is coming off a
season-best second-place finish. He will be joined in the NHIS qualifying
effort by his twin brother Mike (No. 82 Ferguson Dodge), who is making his
first Whelen Modified Tour start of the season. It would mark Mike’s first
race since April 23 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway. Mike finished second
to Ted in the July 24, 2004 race at NHIS.
New Experience
… None of the top six drivers in points have a victory at NHIS. Points
leader Donny Lia had just two top 5s – a fourth and a fifth in 2004 – while
third-place Jimmy Blewett has none. Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Wisk/Snuggle Ford),
who is fourth in points, has finished second three times, most recently to
Ted Christopher in September 2004. Last year as rookies, fifth-place Matt
Hirschman (No. 59 Furnace & Duct Chevrolet) finished 24th and 13th, and
sixth-place Ronnie Silk (No. 19 Major Motion Transportation/Silk Plumbing
and Heating Chevrolet) was 10th and 12th. Defending Whelen Modified Tour
champion Mike Stefanik (No. 16 Diversified Metals Pontiac), currently
seventh in points, has six victories at New Hampshire. That ties him for
second at the track with Reggie Ruggiero, while Matt Hirschman’s father Tony
has seven wins.
Fast Facts
What:
New England 100, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Race
Where:
New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon, N.H.
When:
1:10 p.m., Saturday, June 30
Track layout:
1.058 mile paved oval.
Distance:
100 Laps, 105.8 miles.
Posted
Awards: $164, 095
TV:
SPEED (Enhanced replay premiers July 25, noon ET)
2006 winner:
John Blewett III
2006
polesitter: Zach Sylvester
Record:
Mike Ewanitsko, July 20, 2001, 132.742 mph; 28.693 sec.
Pre-race
schedule: Thursday – Practice
11:15-12:40 p.m. ; 2:35-2:45 p.m. Qualifying, 2:50 p.m. Note: All times
subject to change.
NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour Top 10: 1. Donny Lia,
764; 2. James Civali, 745; 3. Jimmy Blewett, 744; 4. Todd Szegedy, 728; 5.
Matt Hirschman, 721; 6. Ronnie Silk, 649; 7. Mike Stefanik, 621; 8. Jamie
Tomaino, 619; 9. Ted Christopher, 597; 10. Jerry Marquis, 591.
Source: Mark
Mockovak/NASCAR WMT PR
Posted:
June 26, 2007
