Change of Plans: Medeiros Enters Blastoff Weekend at Waterford
Carl Medeiros, Jr. is thankful for rain this weekend. The Westport, MA driver will be able to finish working on his Modified in time for practice at Seekonk Speedway on Saturday. He will enter the rescheduled Blastoff Weekend at Waterford Speedbowl on April 12-13.
Medeiros will drive his father’s #50 modified. SMG Motoring, Henry’s Diesel Performance and Just Your Way Screen Printing are supporting his rookie Valenti Modified Racing Series campaign. His father Carl Sr, uncle Jim, uncle Mark, Robbie, Keith, and Kevin are the crew members.
The team will pursue the Mr. Rooter Rookie of the Year Award in a former Kevin Stuart car. Medeiros is “just hoping to get (the) car in the show and at the end of the night roll the car in the trailer. Hopefully, (I can) capture that Rookie of the Year title.”
“(The) VMRS has a lot of good cars and a ton of good names, some of the best modified drivers in the northeast,” Medeiros said. “I’m just happy to say that I’m running with these guys.”
“It’s the best touring series in America,” Medeiros said. “The fan base that it carries is amazing. The competition is the best out there and the division is fair. The tech rules apply to everyone and besides, what else is cooler that a tour type modified in New England!”
Medeiros plans to compete in the Tri Track Modified Series at Lee USA, Star and Seekonk. He cites the “good competition and great purse money.”
Medeiros is the reigning NEMA Lites champion, the junior series of the Northeastern Midget Association. Medeiros has 48 career starts, 7 wins, 25 top 5s and 40 top 10s.
“I am very pleased with last season and we probably won’t have another season like that for a few years,” Medeiros said. “It had the highest highs and we won a lot of races. We were super dominant throughout the summer months and used that momentum to carry us to a championship.”
Medeiros had planned to enter the NEMA Lite race at Waterford, but he is unsure if he will race it again. Medeiros hopes to sell the #50 car before the rescheduled race. If someone offered Medeiros a ride, he would drive a limited NEMA Lites schedule.
Medeiros raced a TQ Midget in the Turkey Derby at Wall Stadium Speedway. He ran as high as second place until “ something stuck internally, which created extreme oil pressure resulting in the oil filter blowing off the motor,” Medeiros said. “We are having the motor rebuilt and we are all excited to see what it will do on the dyno and in the car on the track.”
A schedule of Medeiros’ TQ Midget events will be released later this week. “We are hoping to run a few outdoor shows and chase some money,” Medeiros said. “We are looking to invest more time into our indoor program to get a better result.”
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com