$25,000 CARQUEST Triple Crown Bonus Unveiled at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — CARQUEST Auto Parts has been a mainstay at Stafford Motor Speedway for over 25 years sponsoring a wide array of events at the half-mile. For the first time CARQUEST will sponsor three Whelen Modified Tour events in 2013; “The Greatest Race In The History Of Spring”, The CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, the mid-summer CARQUEST 150, as well as the final race of the season, The CARQUEST Fall Final Weekend. The three events will create something that has never been seen on the Whelen Modified Tour, an opportunity to win the CARQUEST Triple Crown and $25,000 in bonus money.
The CARQUEST Triple Crown creates a unique opportunity for a Whelen Modified Tour driver to take home some extra cash. Any driver who is able to win all three CARQUEST Whelen Modified Tour events will walk away with a $25,000 bonus.
“After signing on to a third Whelen Modified Tour race we wanted to create something special for the drivers and the fans,” explained Rich Pallai, VP of Marketing at CARQUEST Auto Parts. “The CARQUEST Triple Crown is a great addition to the CARQUEST event lineup for the 2013 season. The $25,000 bonus is a great opportunity for drivers and will add a little extra excitement for the fans.”
To win the $25,000 bonus a Whelen Modified Tour Competitor must win all three of the CARQUEST Auto Parts sponsored events. The 42nd Annual Tech-Net Spring Sizzler, dubbed “The Greatest Race In The History Of Spring”, kicks off the 2013 racing season on April 28th at Stafford and is also the first race of the CARQUEST Triple Crown chase for $25,000. The next segment of the CARQUEST Triple Crown is the August 2nd CARQUEST 150, and the final event that makes up the chase is the CARQUEST Fall Final on September 29th. Big money will be up for grabs to the driver that wins all three CARQUEST events.
“CARQUEST has been backing Whelen Modified Tour events at Stafford since 1989 a total of 42 races,” said Mark Arute, President of Stafford Motor Speedway, “Rich came to me with the concept of the CARQUEST Triple Crown and I knew it was a perfect fit. It’s another first for CARQUEST Auto Parts and Stafford Motor Speedway, an opportunity for Whelen Modified Tour teams to achieve something they have never seen, a triple crown.”
The Whelen Modified Tour is a very competitive series but it is definitely possible for a driver to win the CARQUEST Triple Crown bonus money. In 2012, Doug Coby was able to reach victory lane 3 out of the 4 times the Whelen Modified Tour visited Stafford. But if he were to win the same races in 2013 as he did in 2012 he would not win the CARQUEST Triple Crown because he did not win the Fall Final. Coby will obviously be a contender for the Triple Crown.
“This is awesome that CARQUEST and Stafford are doing this,” said Coby. “Nobody does stuff like that any more. I wish more tracks would do something like this. It’s going to be pretty cool if you win the Sizzler and you’re running second in the August CARQUEST 150, it’s going to be an interesting decision to try something to win the race. I won three of the Stafford races last year and Teddy [Christopher] and [Mike] Stefanik have done it before, so it is possible that someone can win those three races, although the odds are certainly stacked against you. I think it’s unlikely that someone will end up winning the three CARQUEST races, last year we won the wrong three races, but it’s going to be an awesome bonus to go chase after. I think all the guys on the Tour are going to be real excited and this CARQUEST bonus shows that CARQUEST and Stafford really want to make their shows exciting for the drivers and the fans.”
The Whelen Modified Tour will also make a stop at the half-mile on May 24th for the TSI Harley Davidson 125; this event is not part of the CARQUEST Triple Crown. A good finish in the TSI Harley Davidson 125 will be the main focus that night which could propel the winning team to the next segment of the CARQUEST Triple Crown on August 2nd.
Tickets are available for all the Whelen Modified Tour Events including the CARQUEST Triple Crown series and may be purchased by contacting the Stafford Motor Speedway Office at 860-684-2783 or by visiting the Online Ticket Ordering section of www.staffordspeedway.com.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Sources: Paul Arute/Stafford Motor Speedway PR