Stafford Speedway Receives First Entry Blanks for 39th Annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST
Stafford Springs, CT — Stafford Motor Speedway has received its first entries for the 39th annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST and the entries come from opposite ends of the Sizzler spectrum. The first entries for the 2010 Tech-Net Spring Sizzler are Richie Pallai, Jr. and Mike Stefanik. Pallai will challenge for Whelen Modified Tour Rookie of the Year honors in his first full season of Whelen Modified Tour competition and he is looking to make his Tech-Net Spring Sizzler debut while Stefanik is one of the most storied drivers in the history of the race.
Stefanik has made 18 career starts in “The Greatest Race in the History of Spring” and has 4 Sizzler victories to go along with 11 top-5 and 14 top-10 finishes. Stefanik is also the winningest driver in Whelen Modified Tour history at Stafford with 20 career victories at the Connecticut half-mile facility. Stefanik is also the career Whelen Modified Tour leader in pole positions at Stafford with 15.
Coors Light Pole Qualifying is going to be the test for Pallai. With only one race finish from the 2009 season, he is 42nd in 2009 WMT owners points and 44th in the 2009 WMT driver standings, so he will have to put in a qualifying lap fast enough to place himself in the starting field of 33 cars. Pallai attempted to make his Whelen Modified Tour debut in May 2009 in the TSI Harley-Davidson 125, but he missed qualifying by .004 seconds. In his second attempt of the 2009 season at the CARQUEST Fall Final, Pallai time-trialed third fastest and he ran in the top-5 for the first half of the race before a bad tire on his pit stop caused him to fight a loose car for the second half of the event and he finished 17th.
The 39th annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST is the first race of the 2010 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season at SMS, and is scheduled for April 23-25, 2010. The 2010 Tech-Net Spring Sizzler kicks off on Friday, April 23rd with pit gates opening at 10:00am with a practice session running from 1:00pm to 7:00pm for Stafford’s weekly divisions. The General Admission grandstands will be open to the public at no charge for the practice session. The G.A. Grandstands will open at noon.
Action continues on Saturday, April 24th with Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the Whelen Modified Tour cars at 1:30pm, followed by heat and consolation races for Stafford’s weekly divisions. Saturday’s events wrap up with feature events for Stafford’s SK Light Modified, Limited Late Model, and DARE Stock divisions.
The Sizzler continues on Sunday, April 25th with the famous Stafford CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party kicking off the day’s activities from 11:00am to 12:00pm, with 270 laps of feature racing to follow. Stafford’s SK Modifieds® and Late Models will join the Whelen Modified Tour 200-lap Tech-Net Spring Sizzler as the feature events of the day.
Tickets for the Tech-Net Spring Sizzler are available and on sale now at the Stafford Motor Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $35.00 for adult General Admission, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 & under are free. Reserved seating is $38.00 for all ages. All tickets cover both Saturday and Sunday admission to the Sizzler. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.
For more information, or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR