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07/10/2014 |
RICHARD
SAVARY RIDING HOT STREAK AS VMRS RETURNS
TO STAFFORD SPEEDWAY ON JULY 18 FOR LINCOLN TECH 80 |
As
the Valenti Modified Racing Series prepares to
return to Stafford Motor Speedway on July 18 for the
Lincoln Tech 80, Holbrook, MA native Richard Savary
is riding a hot streak. Savary has won the last two
VMRS races leading up to the Lincoln Tech 80 and he
has three wins overall this season, giving him the
distinction of being the only VMRS driver with more
than one victory thus far in 2014.
“So far, so good,” said Savary. “We had a tough
start to the year, we didn’t finish the first two
races and that put us behind the 8-ball a little.
Our mindset after that was let’s see if we can go
win some races and have fun. I think the biggest
thing for us was the team coming together. We added
Joey Kourafas to the team last year and we won at
Thompson last season, which was our first win. Joey
regrouped with us over the winter and he’s been
calling the shots this year. We’ve been fast at
every race we’ve been to. We were fast last time out
at Stafford, we just had a bad draw and we had to
start in the back after qualifying through the consi
and we ended up finishing 10th. That race ran really
clean, there were only one or two yellows, so there
was no chance to get back towards the front. But we
did turn the fastest lap of the race on the last lap
of the race so the car was fast but the finish
didn’t show how good the car was running.”
Savary’s new crew chief on the #99 Alloy Wheel
Repair team is a former driver with ties to Stafford
Speedway. Kourafas won the very first Late Model
Stock Car North feature event at the Inaugural Fall
Final in 1973 at Stafford.
“Joey has been the biggest change for us,” said
Savary. “It took me almost 2 years to convince him
to come on with us. He was at the races and I asked
him to come on just as a driver advisor and that’s
how we got started. Last year we had a couple of
changes in the team and we asked him if he wanted to
become the crew chief and we had a string of top-5
finishes and a win at Thompson.”
Savary has enjoyed past success at Stafford. In 6
previous VMRS starts at Stafford, Savary has 2 top-5
and 5 top-10 finishes. Despite his success at
Stafford, he says he is at a disadvantage racing
there compared to some of the drivers who race in
the SK Modified® division every week. But that won’t
dampen his enthusiasm for returning to Stafford and
having another top-5 finish.
“I’d say Stafford is one of, if not the most
prestigious track that we run on with the VMRS
Tour,” said Savary. “We had a podium at Stafford
last year and to have a good run at Stafford means a
lot. We’ve had some good runs and some good finishes
at Stafford, but the two turns are different and you
can pass cars differently in turns 3+4 than turns
1+2 and the track is its own beast so to speak. Guys
like Teddy [Christopher], Keith [Rocco], Ryan
Preece, Rowan Pennink, that race there every week
have a huge advantage over guys who run there only a
couple times a year. They know where to move the
cars around, they know the lines, they know what to
expect for a feel in the car, and they know the
difference between running practice and the race.
There’s a lot of variables and it’s so different to
drive that a regular has a huge advantage and
Stafford has some very good regular drivers. It’s
not unexpected to see those guys all running up in
or near the top-5. When we can get up and run with
those guys in the top-5 at Stafford, I feel like
we’re doing pretty well.”
Savary’s recent hot streak has also vaulted him back
into the thick of the VMRS championship chase after
his subpar finishes in the first two races of the
season. But despite his recent good fortunes, Savary
says he and his team are not focused at all on
points and are just out to win races, which gives
the team a different mindset on the race track.
“We’re not looking at points at all,” said Savary.
“We chased points last season because of the $10,000
bonus to the champion and I felt like that took a
bit away from our racing. Not that we wanted to get
off to a bad start this year, but after we had
problems in the first two races, it was like points
aren’t an issue anymore and let’s go racing. From
that point on, we’ve been pretty fast everywhere
we’ve gone. I think that is an advantage for me
because the first three or four guys in the
standings are worrying about points and every finish
is important while I’m not thinking about anything
but winning the race. At Monadnock all the cars I
passed in the top-3 or 4 at the end of the race were
the top points guys. I feel good and if we can bring
the same type of car back that we had the last time
at Stafford and draw a little better number and have
a better starting spot, we can be there at the end.
There’s probably 4 or 5 of the regulars that I
mentioned who have an advantage at Stafford so I’ll
go out of my way to try to follow them in practice
and watch their heat races to study what they’re
doing. They’re winning races so why not try to see
what they’re doing different and how they’re getting
through the turns and then try to figure out what
feels the best in our car.”
The July 18 Lincoln Tech VMRS 80 will be the second
of three VMRS events to be held at Stafford during
the 2014 season. The VMRS will return on August 29
for the 5th Annual VMRS 80. Tickets for each race
are priced at $27.50 for adult general admission,
$5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5
and under are admitted free of charge when
accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating is priced
at $30.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include
10% CT Admission Tax. Stafford Speedway offers free
parking with free overnight parking for
self-contained RV’s available.
For more information about the 4th Lincoln Tech VMRS
80, please contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track
office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com. |
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Source: Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted:
July 10, 2014 |
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