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TODD SZEGEDY
PREPARED FOR CALL BEFORE YOU DIG 150
AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY |
While
2003 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion Todd
Szegedy has always looked forward to racing at
Stafford, he is especially looking forward to coming
back to the Connecticut half-mile facility after
picking up not only his first win of the 2015 season
at Loudon, but his first win together with the Bob
Garbarino owned #4 Mystic Missile team.
“Stafford has always been a good track for me and my
goal for this year was to get four top-5 finishes
and we’re halfway to achieving that goal,” said
Szegedy. “It’s a good racing track and it’s a good
drivers track so I enjoy coming to Stafford. That
was a big deal to win at Loudon. It’s big to win any
race and it was nice to get our first win together.
That race was extra special for me because in 2013,
I took a win away from Donny Lia at Loudon, who was
driving Bob’s car at the time. By winning that race,
I feel like I gave a win back to those guys. I think
it’s very possible for us to win a couple more races
this season but it’s also going to be very tough to
do that. Getting our first win out of the way was a
great feeling but there are a lot of great drivers
and teams on the Whelen Modified Tour.”
Another reason why Szegedy enjoys racing at Stafford
is the amount of track experience he has through his
time as an SK Modified® regular plus his NWMT
experience. But now Szegedy has another reason to
look forward to coming back to Stafford. Szegedy’s
Loudon victory was the first time that the Mystic
Missile car had utilized the NASCAR Spec Engine and
Szegedy feels like that factor will give him and the
#4 team an added boost for the remainder of the 2015
season.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll be running that motor for the
rest of the year,” said Szegedy. “It’s a lot of work
to change the engines back and forth so I’d say it’s
probably going to be in the car for a while. We were
running pretty well with what we had so it’s going
to be interesting to see how the car will drive. The
first impression I got at Loudon with the new engine
is the car was easier to drive. It was less
aggressive on the bottom end which tells me it will
probably be better for the long run. We’ve been
looking for that little bit extra and maybe this
will be just what we need to get to the next level.
The engine is about 70 to 80 pounds lighter and
that’s weight that you can bolt on the car wherever
you want, which helps your center of gravity and
makes the handling much better.”
Although Stafford hosts four NWMT races, it may be
the track on the 2015 schedule that throws teams the
biggest curveball in terms of car setup. The NAPA
Spring Sizzler in April is 200 laps in length, while
the TSI Harley-Davidson race in June was 125 laps
long. The Call Before You Dig 150 and the NAPA Fall
Final are both the traditional distance of 150 laps
and Szegedy says that striking a balance between
setups for those three distances can be hard to
find.
“It’s hard to say how we’re going to prepare the
car,” said Szegedy. “Weather is going to play a big
role because it can be either a hot and humid day,
or it could be a cooler day. The #4 team has a great
notebook and I have a lot of experience at Stafford
so we’ll practice and hopefully make a few
adjustments to get a good starting position for the
race.”
While the NWMT will make one more stop at Monadnock
before coming to Stafford on Aug. 7, Szegedy has
climbed up to third in the 2015 standings with his
victory at Loudon. Szegedy is only 19 points behind
Ryan Preece in the chase for the championship but
Szegedy says that he is not at all focused on points
when he goes to the racetrack.
“I haven’t thought about points this season,” said
Szegedy. “My goal is to go to each race and do the
best that I can do and give my team the best
information that I can and if all that gets us a win
that’s great. I’m not going to change anything
because what I’ve been doing is working.”
Tickets for the August 7th Call Before You Dig 150
are on sale now and are priced at $33.00 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 is $35.00 for all ages and all
ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. Stafford
Motor Speedway offers plenty of free parking along
with overnight parking available for self-contained
Recreational Vehicles.
For more information, 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 23, 2015 |
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