Bock Moving to NASCAR WMT
Legend Car Grad to Compete in Modifieds and Super LM
Brendon Bock of Franklin Square, NY will pursue a limited NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule driving the No. 29 car. Bock will be trading the No. 33 that came with his Legend Car for the one his father used. He plans to enter five races at Riverhead Raceway (1), Stafford Motor Speedway and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (2 each).
“Modifieds have always been around me,” Bock said. “I’m very close to those, all my guys knows those well. It just makes sense to run a Modified for us.”
An expanded schedule is dependent on sponsorship. Bock wants to add Bristol after attending last year’s race. ” I really want to try Bristol, but I don’t know how that might shape out in the future. I went to watch it last year, I just loved it so much.”
Bock will enter selected NASCAR Whelen All-American Series races at Riverhead. He will use the events for additional seat time at the quarter mile oval. Bock enjoys the fact that he will be able to continue to race with some of his friends who are moving up to the Modifieds.
“The Modifieds are so special. They’re so sick, they’re so powerful and they look so badass. It’s just hard to find something that compares to them on the big asphalt tracks.”
Bock’s goal is top ten finishes, especially after racing Stafford or Thompson for the second time. “Hopefully we’ll be a lot better and improve and you can really see how much I have improved from the beginning to the end of the season.”
“I’m not only going to be learning the car, but I’m going to be learning the tracks up against most racers who have a ton of experience in both. So there’s a few challenges that I’m going to have to get used to. A top ten would be really cool. I’m just looking to learn a lot this year and keep the car together.
Similar to last season, Bock will compete in the World Series of Asphalt Racing at New Smyrna (FL) Speedway. Bock will be competing on all nights with his Modified and Super Late Model.
“I just really like that track and Speedweeks altogether. It’s like the most fun I’ve ever had is Speedweeks. There’s so much racing in one week and with the days repeated as they are you can really learn from your mistakes that you made in the race prior to it, unlike say with the traveling series races they’re not every week.”
The 17-year-old second-generation driver will also build on his Super Late Model experience from last year. Bock made three PASS South Super starts with a best finish of twelfth at Caraway. He will be splitting his time this season between the PASS South and the Southern Super Series.
“With the starts in the PASS South Series, we’re improving with every finish, so that’s always a good sign. The North South Shootout was a lot of fun and we definitely had a good car. This year I’m looking to run at least solid top five finishes would be cool. I’d be stoked to get my first win out there. I’m not really sure how many races that we are going to run this year. I want to run a few races at Five Flags. I want to focus on the bigger races in the Super Late Model ’cause those are like so important.”
“I’ve got to thank first and foremost my mom and dad for supporting me. I’ve got to thank my uncle Glen, my uncle Paulie, my uncle Vinny.” The team’s sponsors are Draco Springs , A&S Bagels of Franklin Square, The Joie of Seating, Long Island Performance, and Pro-System Brakes.
A former champion at Mountain and Riverhead, Bock has competed in the Legend Cars for three seasons with an estimated 27 wins. He won at Bethel, Riverhead, Stafford, Wall, and Waterford last year. He won at Mountain in 2013.
“I really like those cars. Those cars are a lot of fun to drive ’cause they’re just so small and they don’t have a lot of grip. I’ve been racing those for three years and I’ve really become accustomed to them. I’m a little upset to be leaving them, but I know better things are ahead.”
“Legend Cars are always very competitive. The hardest part in racing and traveling is trying to beat the home track guys that race there every week. We raced each track a few times and have some experience there. Overall in the Legends, I was able to pretty much adapt very quickly to the tracks, so hopefully that will happen in the Modified as well.”
“We raced them a lot of times in the past few years and all of those races have really helped me learn a bunch of things that I can apply into the bigger cars. The Super has just about as much power as the Modified, but the tires on the Modified definitely help it turn better and make it almost a second faster at New Smyrna. So it will still be a step t to get used to, but it shouldn’t be too big. we can handle it.
A former national Quarter Midget champion, Bock has titles with the QMRA in Texas and USAC. One of USAC’s biggest events was held in the infield of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Bock raced in the USAC Ford Focus Midgets before moving up to Legend Cars.
Brendon’s father George made five NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts from 1998-2000.
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com
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