Last week the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was at Thompson International Speedway for the Budweiser 150. It proved to be a big night for TC as he picked up his third WMT victory of 2006 and closed some ground on point leader Mike Stefanik in the battle for the championship. On Friday night Teddy headed back to Stafford in the DiPisa #81 but was an early retiree from the SK Modified feature with engine woes.
In practice at Thompson on Thursday afternoon the Al-Lee Installations #36 was off the mark as TC struggled with a tight racecar. The problem persisted in qualifying as Teddy posted the 20th fastest time. Some final adjustments were made before the race and TC was optimistic about his chances.
The optimism was justified as Ted steadily worked his way forward up into the top-ten. New crew chief Brad LaFontaine made a good call to pit just past the halfway mark for fresh rubber and some final adjustments. TC returned to the track and went back to work. He climbed into the top-five and began to chase down race leader John Blewett. By lap 110 Teddy was up to second and the battle for the lead was underway. On the 116th circuit he took over the lead for the first time but Blewett kept the pressure on. Blewett retook the lead on lap 132 as the pair battled fiercely. It came to a head on lap 141 as they raced side-by-side off turn two and there was contact. Blewett slammed the wall, ending his night. TC managed to hang on and reclaimed the lead. He was never headed in the final three laps of green flag racing and took the checkered flag first by a margin of 1.02 seconds over Tony Hirschman.
“It ended up being a good day for us,” smiled Teddy after the race. “We struggled with a tight racecar in practice and qualifying. We finally found a problem with the setup and had a good car to start the race. I worked my way up into the top-ten and then Brad made a good call to pit just past halfway. The car was perfect after that and I got to the lead. John (Blewett) was strong and we had a really good battle for the lead, swapping it back and forth and racing really close without a problem. Coming off turn two we both got loose and there was contact. John ended up in the wall, nothing intentional, just hard racing. I hated to see it happen because John races you hard but clean. But it was a good win for the team and we gained a few points toward the championship.”
There are no races scheduled for TC this weekend. He wants his fans to know he will not be at Stafford in the SK for the final two Friday nights in August. He hopes to return in a new ride in September.
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