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01/22/2015 |
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NEW NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR COMBINATION READY FOR NAPA
AUTO PARTS SPRING SIZZLER AT STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY |
When the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour descends upon
Stafford Motor Speedway on April 25-26 for the 44th
Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler, there will be
a new driver/owner combination in the field.
Riverhead native Tom Rogers, Jr. has teamed up with
car owner Bill Darrow for what they hope can turn
into a full-time effort on the Tour for the 2015
season.
 “I
was looking for some extra help because it takes a
lot of guys to run a tour car and Tommy has a few
crew guys and he’s also local right here in
Riverhead,” said car owner Darrow. “We got a car
from Flamingo and we have a Bruneau motor so I think
we should be pretty good. It’s a race by race deal
and we’d like to run all the races but we’ll see
what happens.”
“I’m always looking to get out and race on the
Tour,” said Rogers. “I had a couple of other deals
that I was working on but between Billy and Mike
Curtis, they asked me if I wanted to drive his car.
Billy was looking for some crew help and I’m
bringing about 80% of my crew from my #9 family car
with me so this deal works out for everyone. I
tested the car for Billy at Riverhead so Ronnie Silk
could run it down at the Turkey Derby. It’s a new
team but I think we’ll be competitive right off the
bat. I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t be
competitive. We have some good equipment, my team is
experienced on the Tour, Billy has Tour experience,
and I was competitive when I had my own team. We
need some sponsorship and we’re working on securing
some sponsorship.”
With a proven chassis/engine combination behind
them, the Rogers/Darrow combination may prove to be
a formidable opponent at the NAPA Spring Sizzler.
While Rogers only has 14 career NWMT starts, five of
them have come at Stafford. Rogers has a best finish
of 9th at Stafford, coming in the 2011 Sizzler and
he also qualified on the outside pole and led the
first 15 laps of the August Tour event the same
season. Rogers has also made 2 career starts at
Stafford in the SK Modified® ranks with a best
finish of 5th coming in 2005.
“I really enjoy racing at Stafford, it’s one of my
favorite tracks,” said Rogers. “Stafford to me is
like an oversized Riverhead. Both tracks have
different corners and you have to drive the car very
similar at either track. The track is great and
everyone at the track has been really great to me
the couple of times that I’ve showed up to race
there. We qualified outside pole back in 2011 and we
led a handful of laps and ran in the top-5 for most
of the race until a late race tire change.”
The 44th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler gets
underway Friday, April 24 with a practice session
for Stafford’s weekly divisions. The practice
session will be open to the public at no charge.
Action continues on Saturday, April 25 with Coors
Light Pole Qualifying for the Whelen Modified Tour
cars, along with heat and consolation races for
Stafford’s weekly divisions and the U.S. Legend
Cars. Saturday will wrap up with feature events for
the SK Light, Limited Late Model, DARE Stock, and
Legend Cars divisions. The Sizzler continues on
Sunday, April 26 with the NAPA Auto Parts Pit Party
followed by Stafford’s SK Modifieds® and Late Models
joining the Whelen Modified Tour in feature action.
Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of
Spring” are on sale now at the Speedway Box Office.
Tickets are priced at $38.50 for adult general
admission tickets, $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 will be priced at $42.00 for all ages. All
ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information on the 43rd Annual NAPA Auto
Parts Spring Sizzler, or to order tickets, 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:
January 22, 2015 |
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