Rob Richardi Looks to Continue Winning Ways at Stafford in CARQUEST Super Saturday
Stafford Springs, CT — After winning the Pro-4 Modified championship last season, Rob Richardi, Jr. has gotten his title defense off to a great start with three wins in the first four races of the 2013 season. After finishing third in last year’s CARQUEST Super Saturday and winning the CARQUEST Fall Final race, Richardi is looking forward to keeping his great 2013 season going with another top finish at Stafford.
“The way the car has been this year, I think we’ll have a good shot at it,” said Richardi. “The car has been a rocket everywhere. I feel like I’m a little underpowered compared to some of the other cars, but the car gets through the corner a lot faster and we can keep the momentum up. I’ve always had really good runs at Stafford and I love Stafford, I like the speed. You barely have to crack the throttle in the corner and you don’t use a whole lot of brake. It’s a really fun racetrack and you can get up on the outside if you have a good car.”
Richardi has been working with Doug Coby’s Whelen Modified Tour team and he credits that work for much of his success this year with managing his tire stagger.
“Working with John McKenna on Doug Coby’s team has helped me ten-fold this year,” said Richardi. “I’ve been able to hit my stagger perfectly at every race this year. A lot of times, we just make small adjustments with the tires from the heat to the feature rather than changing shocks or something big like that.”
The combination of Richardi’s past success and his newfound setup help has him feeling confident that he will be a contender for the checkered flag for CARQUEST Super Saturday.
“In addition to the tires, I’ve learned a lot about other aspects of the setup,” said Richardi. “I never used to think to check my roll center or adjust the bump steer. If the setup is close and you just need that little bit extra, 99% of the time I can make a small adjustment and I can get the car right where I want it.”
Although Richardi has been the dominant car this year on the Pro-4 Tour with 3 wins in 4 races, the competition has been tight as Richardi only has a 6-point lead in the chase for the 2013 championship.
“Dan Meservey won the race last year and he’s coming back, so we should have a good race between us,” said Richardi. “Andy Major is fast this year, Robin Berghman has been flying this year, and we have some really good competition this year. I’ve won 3 of the 4 points races we’ve had this year but Robin has been in the top-3 in every race and we only have a 6 point lead, which is 3 spots on the track. If something happens, or we fall back, it can all end in a flash. We’ll have a couple of new sponsors on the car for this race, Local 25 Teamsters and Autism Speaks of Massachusetts along with our regular sponsors, Ace Auto Body, Sisters by Design, Richardi Automotive, and Wild Child Signs and we hope we can give them a good run.”
Tickets for the June 29th CARQUEST Super Saturday event are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $33.00 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating will be priced at $35.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
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: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR