TC has always enjoyed racing at Riverhead Raceway. The tight confines of the quarter-mile bullring on Long Island fit his driving style perfectly. He has enjoyed success there, winning twice previously headed into last Saturday night’s Miller Lite 200. Leaving the track after the race that figure had grown to three.
His weekend began at Stafford driving the DiPisa #81 SK Modified. He began the night’s 40-lap feature in the 15th position. Teddy steadily worked his way to the front and at the checkered flag he crossed the finish line in second. However a post-race inspection uncovered a minor infraction with the flywheel and he was disqualified.
Saturday he headed over to the Island and jumped into the cockpit of the Al-Lee Installations #36 of car owner Eddie Whelan. Some intense work back in the shop headed up by mater mechanic Richie Niemiec yielded instant results. The car was quick right off the trailer and after some minor adjustments they parked the car halfway though the practice session and prepared for qualifying. The car continued to be quick and TC earned the Bud Pole Award by turning the fastest lap.
Teddy redrew the eighth starting spot for the feature and at the drop of the green flag he went right to work. By lap 20 he was already up to fifth and he moved into third just past the 50-lap mark. His march to the front continued and on lap 65 he blasted by race leader Chuck Steuer to take the top spot. From there he was never seriously challenged and took the checkered flag first by a margin of .44 second over Chuck Hossfeld and Jerry Marquis. His second victory of the season and 25th of his career moved him up one rung to second in the 2006 WMT point standings, just 43 behind current leader Mike Stefanik.
“Friday night at Stafford was very disappointing,” noted TC. “The car was really hooked up and I could drive it anyplace on the track I wanted to. We had a new motor under the hood and the performance was better but still not quite up to what it should be. I finished second but then in tech we came up 3 ounces light in the flywheel. The overall weight of the transmission was 6 ounces above the minimum so there was no competitive advantage gained, but the Stafford officials decided to disqualify us anyway. It didn’t make sense but you can’t fight City Hall.
“The car was fast right out of the box at Riverhead. Richie has been working very hard on the chassis and we were right on the money. I drove right to the front in the race and was never seriously challenged after that. I’m happy to give Eddie Whelan and the crew a win at their home racetrack. I love racing at Riverhead. We are right in contention for the championship and I think we are just going to get better as we move toward the end of the schedule.”
Teddy will be doing double duty this Friday night at Stafford. He will be back in the #36 for the 16th Annual New England Dodge Dealers 150, the ninth of 16 races on the 2006 WMT schedule. He will also be back in the DiPisa #81 SK for another week.
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