Last weekend was a busy time for TC. He ran three races in three days and came away with three top-ten finishes. And yet he didn’t win, so it was not a successful weekend. Teddy’s thoughts were summed up in two words – “not bad”.
The weekend began on Friday night at Stafford in the #13 SK Modified. This was the second time out for the car and progress is being made. TC started the 40-lap feature in sixth and had to pit once for some adjustments. He came back to finish where he started. As Teddy explained, “We’re still getting used to the car but we’ve learned a lot and we get better each week.”
Saturday night TC was at Monadnock in the Czarnecki Brothers #11 Modified for a True Value Modified Racing Series 100-lapper. In some ways, just running the race was a victory of sorts after it was rained out twice previously. Teddy started from the fourth spot and ran a steady race to finish seventh. His evaluation of the race was simple and right to the point. “We were just too loose.”
On Sunday TC headed south to New Jersey and Wall Township Speedway. He is not a stranger to the seaside quarter-mile oval, having raced there many times over the years. This was the first of three “Flash” races on the current Whelen Modified Tour schedule, with each event using heat races to qualify for a reduced lap feature with a reduced purse offered. Caution laps were not being counted. It is an experiment NASCAR is trying to bring some additional tracks to the schedule.
The racing was about as expected – numerous cautions during all three races for a string of mostly minor incidents on a tight and tricky track. One would expect teams with local experience to have an advantage and that is how the racing played out. The Blewett brothers finished first and second in the feature, Jimmy beating John III, followed by Connecticut driver Reggie Ruggiero in the New Jersey based #41 owned by Dick Barney. TC ended up the top “outsider” at the checkered flag with a fourth place finish in the Eddie Whelan #36. He started the 50-lapper in fourth, fell back as far as sixth, and then worked his way back up to finish where he started.
“We had a good racecar at Wall,” explained Teddy. “We drew the sixth starting position in the second heat and ended up finishing second to John Blewett. That put me fourth spot to start the feature behind the three best locals. I was running the outside and trying to move up but when I got next to John and Reggie they just pushed up into the side of me and I kept losing ground. I dropped as far back as sixth but I just kept plugging and in the end I got back to fourth. It was a decent finish but we had a better car than that. It’s just hard to make up much ground when you’re racing good cars on a small track like this.”
TC was pointed in his opinions about the “Flash” race configuration. “I didn’t like the format. I know NASCAR is trying to find a way to get more tracks on the Tour schedule but I don’t think this is the way to go. We ended up running over 90 laps of caution in a 50-lap feature. The heat races weren’t much better. That’s not good for the teams and can’t be too exciting for the spectators. Maybe that’s why there was such a poor fan turnout today. The aggravating part is that it’s the same cars always causing the problems. I think most of us that run the Tour hope that NASCAR will drop this format at the end of the year and try something different for next year.”
This weekend Teddy will be back at Stafford on Friday night in the #13 SK Modified. On Saturday night he will head north to All-Star Speedway (formerly known as Star Speedway) in Epping, New Hampshire. The 1st Annual USG Modified Thunder 150 offers a rich purse for the Modifieds paying $4,000 to win plus $15,000 in lap money. The race is also a qualifier for the North-South Shootout at Concord Motorsport Park in November. A race like this is sure to draw a star-studded field of Modifieds and TC is taking dead aim on Victory Lane.
|
