TC has been knocking on the door for a win several times over the past few weeks, both on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and on Friday night’s at Stafford in the #13 SK. Each week it seems inevitable that he will end up in Victory Lane, but something always gets in the way. Once again last week Lady Luck intervened and it was another week of frustration.
At Thompson on Thursday night, Teddy qualified the Eddie Whelan #36 Modified fourth fastest for the WMT 150-lapper. Bad luck hit yet again as the right front tire picked up a rivet and went flat. Since this was an impound race, the team was penalized for changing the tire and had to start the feature at the rear of the field. Teddy put on a dazzling charge to the front and was up to second behind leader Donny Lia. He was sizing the leader up for a pass when bad luck stepped in for a second time. Raindrops began to fall and it quickly turned into a downpour that forced the race to be called complete after 94 laps, with TC one spot short of that coveted first win.
“It was a very frustrating day,” said Teddy. “We had a great car at Thompson. I time trialed fourth fastest and we were starting up front. Then we picked up a rivet in the right front and the tire went flat. Ed Cox wouldn’t give us a break and we had to start at the rear of the field. My car was fast enough to drive up to second under green. I knew I had the car to beat. Then it started to rain and our chance at winning went out the window. The car has been fast every week – the guys have it set up just the way I like it. We just need the bad luck to stay away from us and we’ll be winning races.”
Friday night’s program at Stafford was rained out – yet another bad break for a team on the cusp of victory. On Saturday night TC was at Seekonk driving the Czarnecki Brothers #11 in a True Value Modified Racing Series 100-lapper. He started the feature in eighth and for a short time ran in the top-five, but fought a losing battle with an ill-handling racecar and eventually faded back to finish 11th.
“The car was just horrible tonight,” explained Teddy. “It just wouldn’t handle at all. We’ve been off the mark for the past few weeks and we need to make some changes to the car. The way it is now I just can’t drive it. It’s no fun when you’re just fighting to hold on to what you have and not moving forward. I’m there to win.”
This weekend TC heads to one of his favorite tracks, New Hampshire International Speedway, for a 100-lap WMT race. Ted has enjoyed considerable success in the past at the Loudon oval, and with the car running so well in recent races he’s anxious to get there and start another NHIS winning streak. Practice and qualifying is Thursday and the race is set to take the green at 1:10PM on Saturday. On the off-day in between Teddy will be back at Stafford in the SK hoping to finally bust through into the winners circle. Sunday is scheduled to be a day of rest after all the traveling.
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