Szegedy Earns First Win Of 2008 At Thompson
Veteran Nabs 13th Career Victory
Thompson, CT — 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.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR