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SZEGEDY JOINS
MYSTIC MISSILE RACING
Title Trio Comes Together With Szegedy, Garbarino, Barker |
 The
Mystic Missile silo has been reloaded.
Following a lengthy offseason of uncertainness as to
whether Mystic Missile Racing would return to the
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2015, the team has
been retooled with the championship pedigrees of
driver Todd Szegedy and crew chief Don Barker.
The No. 4 “Mystic Missile” Dodge team traces its
roots in NASCAR modified racing to the early 1960s,
and it has won three championships in the last
decade with drivers Donny Lia (2007, `09) and Bobby
Santos (2010).
When Lia’s third stint with the team ended shortly
after the 2014 campaign, car owner Bob Garbarino was
non-committal for much of the offseason as to what
the team’s next step would be. With the 2015 season
fast approaching, a plan has come together.
“It is a complete honor for me that I was chosen,”
Szegedy said. “That car has so much history, and Bob
has a lot of history.”
Szegedy brings to the team a résumé that includes 18
wins, 10 poles and 115 top 10s in 187 career starts.
He won the tour title as a second-year driver in
2003 with the No. 50 team owned by Barker, and was
twice the runner-up with Mike Smeriglio III Racing
before his departure following the 2013 season.
The Ridgefield, Connecticut, native made six starts
last year in a part-time role, five in the No. 15 of
Rob Fuller Motorsports, highlighted by a runner-up
finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September.
“You always want to have a full-time ride, but it
was a non-stress year,” Szegedy said. “Rob and I got
along very well and I was very thankful for the
opportunity he gave me. I had a really good time.
“And I think staying involved in racing in general
was also important. If I had just taken the year
off, my chances of being in the No. 4 now would be a
lot slimmer.”
While the veteran of 11 full-time Whelen Modified
Tour seasons acknowledges that things don’t always
go as planned, he enters the partnership with
renewed enthusiasm.
“I’m very confident we can go out and win races
right away and contend for a championship,” Szegedy
said. “I have confidence in the team, in the crew
chief and in Bob, knowing that he’s going to give me
the equipment and the car that can go out there and
win races.”
The addition of Barker to the team as crew chief for
2015 is one of the main reasons why Szegedy exudes
confidence. Barker led Szegedy to the first 13
career wins, and five top-five points finishes.
“Don and I have a great history together,” Szegedy
said. “Don has a lot of knowledge. We have a
phenomenal race team here that is being developed.”
The new triumvirate will see its first action
together with the season-opening Icebreaker 150 on
Sunday, April 12 at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway
Motorsports Park.
“I just want to go racing, have a good time and be
competitive,” Szegedy said. “I know that with Bob’s
equipment and that team, I think it’s going to be a
really good year, so I’m really looking forward to
going racing.”
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Source:
Jason Cunningham / NASCAR
Posted:
March 18, 2015 |
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