Civali in Hillbilly 79 Again for Bristol
James Civali of Meriden, CT will attempt to make Wednesday night’s Bush’s Beans 150 at Bristol (TN) Motor Speedway. Civali’s last race was substituting for Spencer Davis at Riverhead last month and he will be back in Susan Hill’s Hillbilly Racing / Coors Light No. 79. Civali will run in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour as the team is higher in owners points (11th compared to 23rd). Teammate Joe Ryan Osborne will be in the No. 19 car.
Civali’s deal for Bristol came together last winter with the team planning to run two cars.
“That was something he always wanted to do and me and David have always been friends,” Civali said. “He likes it when I drive his cars, so it’s going to be good.”
Civali will be driving a Troyer car while his teammate will run the Raceworks car with a Troyer clip. This is a departure from his prior races with Raceworks cars.
“The downside with what the Hillbillys have right now is everything’s different than what we’ve run there in the past. … It’s going to be altogether different than what we’ve run there in the past, so hopefully we’ll be as good as we were with the Raceworks car. But it is going to be completely different than what we’ve run there.”
While Civali crashed out of the inaugural Bristol race, he finished third and fourth driving for the team in 2010-11.
“We did a tire test there and we went pretty good. … I got a lot of laps there. I don’t know, just the way our car was setup we just ran really well there.”
Civali expects the racing to be closer to what last year’s race with a record 9 lead changes.
“I think what you’re going to end up with is more cars that are closer to the same speed. I think the first two times we went there, there was only a few guys that could go full speed. Now that they’ve gone a few times and they’ve got a decent notebook, where they can kind of share information, you’ll see more along the lines of 10 or 15 guys that are going to be fast instead of only a handful of guys.”
“The downside with what the Hillbillys have right now is everything’s different than what we’ve run there in the past. We had Raceworks cars in the past there and this is the first year where we’ve got I’m gonna run the good Troyer car the old Troyer car and his other car that they’re taking isn’t a full Raceworks car. It’s got a Troyer car front clip on it so it’s going to be altogether different than what we’ve run there in the past so hopefully we’ll be as good as we were with the Raceworks car but it is going to be completely different than what we’ve run there.”
Civali may have some additional races later this season for an undisclosed team.
“What we’re looking at is running a couple of more tour races with someone, but we’re not 100 percent that that’s going to happen.”
Civali said he expects Les Hinckley, III to return to Wayne Darling’s No. 52 for the NorthEast Race Cars Tri Track Open Modified Series race at New London-Waterford (CT) Speedbowl.
He finished second driving for Wayne Darling at Seekonk (MA) Speedway during their annual Open Wheel Thursday race July 2.
“It was a pretty good feeling to be able to get into that car. I haven’t been there before in a Modified and run like we did. I was really happy with that and … the car was as good as we thought it was going to be. And I think it really showed that I can just jump back in it and be win, which you never know. When a guy’s been out for two years, you never know if they can just jump back into it.”
Civali has not competed on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour regularly since 2011. He must make the most of his limited schedule before another ride becomes available.
“I think that’s the key. I think it shows that I’m the kind of a driver if you want to run a one of show I’m one of your best options and other drivers like that. Teddy’s (Christopher) a lot like that … I started racing with the Hillbillys, ran a couple of one off shows with them, and we won a few races down at some oddball tracks that I’d never even heard of. And it’s just for some reason I am really good at adapting and doing new things and I kind of really shine when I don’t know the track and I can adapt really quickly.”
Civali showed his ability to conquer new tracks in 2007. Two wins on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with Don King came in the inaugural race at Mansfield (OH) Motorsports Speedway and at Claremont (NH) Speedway, where the series returned after a 22 year absence.
He also won on October 20 in his first start with the Hillbilly team at Franklin County Speedway in Virginia.
“Never even heard of the place, we showed up there and put it on the pole and won the race with the Hillbillys. … All the Myers were there, Fleming. They were all there. I don’t know. We were just so much better and then Orange County was another one. We didn’t win, but we led I think 85 of the 100 laps and we led almost every lap until right at the end. We got a flat tire and we ended up spinning out. It’s just weird like that.
Banked tracks also suit Civali, citing his success at New Smyrna (FL) Speedway. “It could be just our car’s setup or my driving style just suits the high banked tracks a little more.”
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com