Szegedy Earns First Win
of 2008 at Thompson
Preseason favorite Todd Szegedy broke through for his first
win of the 2008 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season Sunday
afternoon in the Sunoco Modified Mania 150 at Thompson
International Speedway.
Szegedy (No. 2 Wisk-Snuggle Ford), who ran inside the top
five for most of the afternoon, took his first lead of the race
on Lap 132 and held off numerous charges by Ronnie Silk (No. 79
Hill Enterprises/Coors Light/Sunoco Pontiac) in the last 22 laps
for his 13th career victory, and third at Thompson.
Silk, who entered the event on a two-race winning streak at
Thompson, led seven laps in the race but could not get past
Szegedy despite three restarts in the closing circuits.
Doug Coby (No. 28 Ramar-Hall/Genesis Shocks Chevrolet) came
home third in the race, his second such finish in as many starts
this year.
Long-time series veterans Reggie Ruggiero (No. 14 Atlantic
Sprinkler Chevrolet) and Rick Fuller (No. 77 Toyota Certified
Used Vehicles) came home fourth and fifth, respectively, for
their best finishes of the year.
Fuller was honored prior to the race as part of NASCAR’s
Celebration of 60 Years of Modified Champions. Sunday’s finish
was the 145th top five of his career.
Bobby Santos, Billy Pauch Jr., Matt Hirschman, Rowan Pennink
and Eric Beers rounded out the top 10 finishers in the race.
Series points leader Ted Christopher started on the pole with
Saturday’s qualifying rained out. Christopher, who led all 157
laps last time out at Mansfield (Ohio) Motorsports Park, paced
the field in the first 125 on Sunday at Thompson, but pitted on
Lap 124 and never made it back to the front. Despite a 14th
place finish, he retained a 63-point lead over Chuck Hossfeld
with 11 races in the books.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will now move on to New
Hampshire Motor Speedway for the 12th race of the 2008 season on
Saturday, Sept. 13. Green Flag for the New Hampshire 100 is set
to drop at 1 p.m. For ticket information please visit New
Hampshire’s official Web site (nhms.com).
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-Sunoco Modified Mania 150
Results
Sunday
At Thompson International Speedway
Thompson, CT
Lap length: 0.625 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (6) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 153 laps, 82.992
mph, $7,700.
2. (5) Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Pontiac, 153, $3,400.
3. (12) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 153, $2,400.
4. (28) Reggie Ruggiero, Rocky Hill, Conn., Ford, 153, $2,800.
5. (22) Rick Fuller, Auburn, Mass., 153, $2,150.
6. (21) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Chevrolet, 153, $1,550.
7. (26) Billy Pauch, Jr., Frenchtown, N.J., Dodge, 153, $1,850.
8. (10) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 153,
$1,850.
9. (3) Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 153, $1,750.
10. (7) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 153, $1,725.
11. (13) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 153, $1,600.
12. (18) Danny Sammons, Hamilton, N.J., Chevrolet, 153, $1,575.
13. (17) Bobby Grigas, III, Marshfield, Mass., Chevrolet, 153,
$1,550.
14. (1) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 153,
$1,625.
15. (2) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, N.Y., Dodge, 153, $1,600.
16. (32) Tony Ferrante, Jr., New Hyde Park, N.Y., Chevrolet,
152, $1,075.
17. (20) Joe Hartmann, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 151, $1,450.
18. (14) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $1,425.
19. (19) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $1,380.
20. (24) Tom Abele, Jr., Norwich, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $1,675.
21. (25) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 148, $1,350.
22. (4) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 142, accident,
$1,425.
23. (30) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Chevrolet, 142, $900.
24. (29) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 136, $875.
25. (15) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Mass., Chevrolet, 134, accident,
$1,250.
26. (8) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 131, steering,
$1,325.
27. (11) Ryan Preece, Kensington, Conn., Chevrolet, 130, $1,200.
28. (16) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 109,
accident, $1,200.
29. (27) Richard Savary, Canton, Mass., Chevrolet, 34,
suspension, $1,400.
30. (9) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 33,
$1,300.
31. (31) Eric Berndt, Cromwell, Conn., Chevrolet, 23, accident,
$800.
32. (23) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 23, suspension,
$1,200.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 9 minutes 8 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.141 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: F.set per rule book, rain (mph, seconds)
Caution Flags: 8 for 34 laps.
Lead Changes: 2 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Christopher 1-125; R. Silk 126-131; T.
Szegedy 132-153.
Standings: 1. T. Christopher, 1625; 2. C. Hossfeld, 1562; 3.
M. Hirschman, 1556; 4. T. Szegedy, 1509; 5. R. Silk, 1508; 6. M.
Stefanik, 1475; 7. E. Beers, 1447; 8. R. Pennink, 1366; 9. J.
Blewett, 1354; 10. E. Flemke,Jr., 1302.
Source: Jason
Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR
Posted:
September 7, 2008
