NOTEBOOK: Tinio Putting Best Foot Forward
Custer’s Speedway Program Up To Speed, Suarez Lends Help
LOUDON, N.H. – In July of 2012, Tinio Racing made its first career appearance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race, one that didn’t exactly get off to an auspicious start.
The Massachusetts-based crew scrambled just to find its way around the sprawling New Hampshire grounds and scurried to have the car ready to practice when the track went green for Modified teams.
Fast-forward to 2013, and Santos was fastest in the 90-minute Whelen Modified Tour practice Friday morning before qualifying fifth for Saturday’s F.W. Webb 100.
Photo Galleries by Paul Fohlin
[ACT & NASCAR K&NPSE]
[NASCAR Sprint Cup]
[NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour]
Photo Galleries by Nicholas Teto
[Short Track Sat.]
[Sylvania 300]
“They’ve done an awesome job,” Santos said, chuckling at the memory of his first trip to New Hampshire with the team last summer. “It was a brand-new team last year, and they’ve come a long way. I think the more we race together, the more we learn, everyone is jelling more and more. It’s a lot of fun.”
After starting 17th in each of two events at the track in 2012, they now boast top-five qualifying efforts in each of the two races here this season. Santos was caught up in a multi-car wreck back in July and ended up 24th, and now the focus is squarely on finishing off a strong weekend from start to finish.
While topping the speed charts in practice and qualifying in the top five are signs that the program is firing on all cylinders, Santos knows that racing in the draft at New Hampshire is a completely different animal.
“Compared to a Thompson or a Stafford, (practice and qualifying) is probably not as important,” Santos said. “The race is such a different story here. But it’s good for the guys, it’s good for the team. It’s more good mentally than anything to be fast in practice here.”
CUSTER’S NEXT STAND: Cole Custer clearly has a handle on speedway racing. His crew chief Matt Goslant, however, might have a better grip on it.
Custer posted the fast time in practice for the North American Power 100 Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, then went out and won his second 21 Means 21 Pole Award presented by Coors Brewing in the afternoon. It was Custer’s second pole of his rookie season in the series – the other coming at Iowa Speedway in August, where he led every lap en route to his first career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East career.
“I just can’t believe how good we are right now,” Custer said. “Matt’s really good at setting up the car on the bigger tracks. I think our cars on the bigger tracks are little bit better – our short-track cars aren’t all the way there yet. But on the big tracks, we’ve had a lot of success, and we think we’re pretty good.”
The driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Chevrolet owned by Ken Schrader may only be 15 years old, but the California native wasn’t puzzled by his first-ever trip to the 1.058-mile oval. With Goslant’s experience – he spent time last season as a crew chief for Sergio Pena at Rev Racing – Custer’s learning curve has accelerated.
Goslant and crew obviously brought a good piece to New Hampshire.
“We brought a brand new car here, and we put a lot of time to it,” Custer said. “The guys did a great job. The car’s really good, and I think we’ve got a really good long-run car, too. I really just think we’re going to be the one to beat (this weekend).
“It’s pretty bumpy here getting into the corners. That surprised me a little bit, but there was nothing that I really didn’t expect.”
DEBUT OF SORTS: Brandon Watson is making his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut this weekend, but he’s no stranger to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Watson, of Ontario, competed in a Late Model invitational event at the track in 2011.
“It was fun,” Watson said of his first day in the K&N car Friday. “It’s the first time down here in a couple years, and my first time in a K&N car. It was quick. It was a little shaky at the start, but we got going and the car was good.
“I tested the car last week at a smaller track to try and get used to it. I was here a couple years ago in (Late Model), and it’s quite a bit different, obviously. It took a few laps to get used to it, but I feel good now and hopefully we have a good run.”
Watson qualified 12th in the 30-car North American Power 100 field.
“The goal is obviously to win, but a good run I think would be a Top-10 or something like that. That would be ideal for us,” Watson said. “It’s my first time out in this series, so we’ll just try and get a top 10, top five or whatever we can get. We’ll see what happens.”
BETTER START: Jacob Dore of Sanford, Maine, is hoping that things go better this time around at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The 2013 Star Speedway track champion in the Tour-type Modified division crashed in practice before making his Whelen Modified Tour debut at New Hampshire back in July, but he found a way to finish 12th after capitalizing on some attrition in the field. On Friday, Dore was back and felt like he had a much better handle on his No. 19 ride.
“We’re getting a lot better. We didn’t have much seat time in July – crashing early in practice. We started off really well in comparison to where we thought we’d be,” said Dore, who qualified 22nd for the F.W. Webb 100. “We tried tucking in the draft a little bit (in practice), and I was better chasing cars than I was leading them, which is typical for me. We’re comfortable alone right now… Hopefully we stay in the draft in the race.”
There are some differences between New Hampshire and Star Speedway, most notably the size. While Star is a tight, quarter-mile bullring, New Hampshire is a big, wide, flat 1.058-mile with long straightaways. Dore tried leaning on Ryan Newman – a seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole winner at NHMS – who was parked next to him in the Tour garage for some advice.
“As Ryan Newman told me before, it’s only four times the size, so if you count to six down the straightaway (to hit the marks), you count to 24 here – but it’s not quite that easy,” Dore said. “It’s a little different. You have to make sure you don’t use any brakes here, where as at Star we really pound on them. At Star, you really wrestle the car but here you’re trying to float it.
“It’s more like Beech Ridge (Motor Speedway) – it’s not quite the same, but it’s that mentality where you don’t want to use the brakes. You want to roll off the gas and roll into the corners. It’s quite a bit different, but it’s still an open-wheel car. It’s fun.”
GIVING BACK: Rev Racing driver Daniel Suarez has seen his sponsor – “Visit Acapulco” – help him out many times over the last year and a half, and this time around it’s Suarez who is lending a helping hand.
“The last week and a half, we have been donating food and many stuff to our friends and brothers from Acapulco,” said Suarez, who has watched in horror as the aftermath of Hurricane Ingrid and, more recently, Tropical Storm Manuel left the area ravaged. According to reports, nearly 100 people have died and dozens more still remain missing.
“They are having real problems with the weather – lots of problems with rain over there right now. It’s hard for all of them. Many people lost almost everything, houses and sometimes sons and other family. We try to do something for them.”
Suarez, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, who sits sixth in the K&N Pro Series East standings with one win, still races full-time in the NASCAR Toyota Series in Mexico. With three races remaining, he is third in the standings in that series.
This weekend at New Hampshire, Suarez has a special decal affixed to his No. 6 Toyota in honor of Acapulco.
“We’ve done many food and (other donations) for those people, just so they can try and put something on the table to help,” Suarez said. “Because they are my sponsor and they’ve supported me the last year, and at this moment when they need some support themselves, we really want to be there for helping everybody.”
Sources: Travis Barrett, Special to NASCARHomeTracks.com