Lime Rock Park Hoosier Tire Test Successful For Whelen Modified Tour
Hoosier Test Held In Advance Of July 3 Race
Lakeville, CT — Selected drivers from the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour participated in a test held by Hoosier Tire on Tuesday at Lime Rock Park.
In preparation for the Whelen Modified Tour’s inaugural visit to Lime Rock Park on July 3, drivers Ted Christopher, Rowan Pennink, Bobby Santos and Todd Szegedy took part in four 20-minute sessions throughout the afternoon at the Connecticut road course.
During the first session the teams raced on the “Optional Uphill” in Turn 5 and the new “Optional West Bend” in Turn 6. The remaining three sessions saw the teams continue to use the Optional Uphill, but not the second.
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“I think it went really well,” said Chad Little, Whelen Modified Tour series director. “Hoosier seemed to know what they needed and did their homework. They were pretty much spot-on.”
The test also allowed for NASCAR to gather other technical information in advance of the July race.
“I think we’re going to end up with a good package, gear-wise,” Little said. “I’m real pleased with it [the test]. Nothing jumped out at us as being a major issue.”
Szegedy, who has a background in road racing and has tested a Whelen Modified at Lime Rock previously, was also pleased with the results of the test.
“I think it was a success,” Szegedy said. “We got a little understanding of the type of transmission we need to run, and gearing. All in all, I think it was a great day.”
The cars were not outfitted with transponders on Tuesday, so official lap times were not kept. Szegedy’s team reported their unofficial fastest lap of the day was 54.07 seconds.
#13 – Ted Christopher
#93 -Rowan Pennink
#2 – Todd Szegedy
The July 3 race at Lime Rock will be the first on a road course for the Whelen Modified Tour since the 2000 season. There have been just six previous road course races in the 26-year history, all at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.
The Whelen Modified Tour will share the card on July 3 with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, which has raced at Lime Rock since 1993. The No. 35 K&N Pro Series East team had its new driver, Andrew Ranger, on hand at Lime Rock’s test day on Tuesday, which was open to other divisions as well. Additionally, Fadden Racing had Julian Camilo Albarracin behind the wheel in advance of his debut with the team in the July 3 race.
The next race on the 2010 Whelen Modified Tour schedule will be the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 on Friday, May 28 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway. Santos is the points leader after two races, 15 tallies ahead of Christopher. The last time out, also at Stafford, Santos was the pole winner and Christopher took the checkered flag.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR