Top 5 Effort for Bock
Brendon Bock charged from 18th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Saturday to recorded his first top five of the season. Bock was mad because qualifying was canceled. His car was first and third in the two scuff sessions run prior to the Eastern Propane and Oil 100.
Bock was battling a loose car in the center and off the corners. Changes at halfway made the car better and allowed the Franklin Square, NY driver to return to the top five.
Bock was following the battle for the lead in the closing laps. Contact between Doug Coby and Ryan Newman brought out the caution with two laps remaining.
“Man, that was wild,” Bock said. “I knew once they started all crisscrossing that they would be a lot slower and I started to reel ’em in a little bit. I feel like if they started to do it maybe like 2 or 3 laps earlier I would have been able to get to ’em at the end but I got fortunate that they got together and we were able to close up and get a solid top 5 finish.”
Bock feels the Meadow Brook Collision No. 29 team has momentum for the next race at Loudon in September. It also gave the team a boost after steering problems caused DNFs in their last two starts.
“This really boosts our tour confidence. … It’s just big momentum for the whole team. We desperately needed this good finish to raise our morale again and right now the next move is to hopefully get a weekly win at Riverhead (NY, Raceway).”
Bock has been competing in an SK Modified® for Keith Rocco at Stafford (CT) Motor Speedway. He also has top five finishes in the NASCAR Modifieds at Riverhead. He has three consecutive wins at Riverhead in INEX Legends.
“It’s great being able to run Friday and Saturday. That’s the biggest thing we were missing last year was seat time. A lot of the top guys they race more than once a week and just getting seat time at Stafford and Riverhead it just keeps me fresh keeps us good.
“That’s fun racing against all my friends over there. It’s a little bit less stress, a little bit less serious, and a lot of fun.”
The part-time driver will run the upcoming NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races at Stafford, Thompson (CT) Speedway Motorsports Park, and Bristol (TN) Motor Speedway. Rain has plagued the Bristol event in recent years. Bock cannot afford a delay as he returns to the University of Alabama the next day.
“I really gotta thank my mom and dad for supporting me with everything I do. Meadowbrook Collision, Long Island Performance, A&S Bagels. My uncles Glen, Uncle Paulie. My spotter, Greg. J.J. for coming out and helping me this weekend. Honda Rob, Colin. He’s 20 about my age. The only other young guy on the crew. He travels with me as often as he can. He’s really dedicated. I also gotta thank Anthony. Anthony came apart last year and he’s another one that’s been dedicated all year.”
Sources: Nicholas Teto, YankeeRacer.com
Racing-Reference.info