Szegedy’s Wisk Ford Cleans Up in Whelen Mod Qualifying
Lakeville, CT — In qualifying for tomorrow’s NASCAR Whelen Modified “66/99” Presented by Town Fair Tire at Lime Rock Park, Todd Szegedy put his #2 Wisk Detergent/A&J Romano Construction Ford won the Coors Light Pole Aawrd with a “suck it up” effort in the final group of qualifiers, turning a :53.902 lap to nip Ronnie Silk, in the same group, who had stuck in a :54.186 just moments before.
On Szegedy’s first hot lap – each qually session was long enough for the drivers to get four laps in – he went four-off exiting the Downhill. He kept his foot in it, made the fix with his hands and didn’t let the close call faze him.“I just sucked it up, put it behind me,” he said with a smile. “I’ve been racing long enough that, well, I’d be disappointed in myself if I weren’t able to do that.”
His next lap was the pole setter.
“The Downhill is much tighter (less grip) than last year and I pushed a bit too much. Got it right the next time around, though.”
Szegedy is now two-for-two in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour qualifying at Lime Rock Park – he took pole last year with a :53.009 – and marks his ninth career WMT pole and his second this season. When the tour made its inaugural visit to LRP last year, Szegedy led all but the last four laps, settling for second after Dale Quarterley’s fresh set of Hoosiers took him past Szegedy for the win.
After today’s pole-winning effort, Szegedy said, “It’s true, there was a lot of pressure on me and my crew chief. Everybody expected us to take pole again! There, we did it, Part I is done. Let’s go win Part II.”
Qualifying for NASCAR Whelen Modified “66/99” Presented by Town Fair Tire
Friday, Sept. 16, 2011
Best lap during 4-minute sessions of groups of four, based on practice times, of 1.5-mile, 8-turn (New Uphill) Lime Rock Park road course
1. Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., :53.902, 100.182 mph
2. Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, Conn., :54.186
3. Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., :54.268
4. Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., :54.657
5. Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., :54.718
6. Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., :54.779
7. Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, N.Y., :54.931
8. Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., :55.011
9. Teddy Christopher, Plainville, Conn., :55.340
10. James Civali, Meriden, Conn., :55.693
11. Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, N.Y., :55.845
12. Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., :55.907
13. Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., :55.915
14. Doug Coby, Middletown, Conn., :56.319
15. Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa., :56.444
16. Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., :56.817
17. Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., :56.929
18. Eric Berndt, Cromwell, Conn., :58.185
19. Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., :58.328
20. Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., :58.611
21. Bryon Chew, Mattituck, N.Y., no time (gearbox)
Also on the slate are two formula car series: Formula F1600 and FF2000. Both championships are sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing and are proving grounds for the best young talent climbing the motorsports ladder. Both series have two races on Saturday, and both had two qualifying sessions today.
In qualifying for the first Formula F1600 race, Jim Goughary’s :53.356 (classic course) edged Ryan Leach’s :53.385, with Tim Kautz and Bill Valet making up the second row. For the second race, it was Goughary (:53.475) and Leach (:53.560) again, followed by Colin Thompson and Forrest Hull.
In FF2000, Remy Audette and Robert La Rocca were just as close in their race-one qualifier, Audette’s :50.439 nipping La Rocca’s :50.478 for front row honors, with Tim Minor and Tim Paul in the second row. For race two, Audette (:50.043) beat Chris Livengood (:50.157), with row two made up of La Rocca and Angel Benitez.
A final Mod practice session is set for 9:45 a.m. Saturday, with the green flag for the NASCAR Whelen Modified 66/99 Presented by Town Fair Tire set for 1:30 p.m.
Sources:Rick Roso/Lime Rock Park PR