Trackside Now: The Spring Sizzler at Stafford Speedway - Sunday, April 27, 2008
TC Wins the Sizzler
NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour
April 27, 2008
Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT
Sunday, 4:28pm ET - Ted Christopher wins the Spring Sizzler. He's followed to the line by Eric Beers, Chuck Hossfeld, Mike Stefanik, James W. Civali, Rowan Pennink, Richard Savary, Jamie Tomaino, Todd Szegedy, and Glenn Tyler. It's Christopher's 28th career victory. Full rundown to follow.
Sunday, 4:24pm ET - GREEN again on lap 192, this time with a single file restart. Mike Stefanik in 3rd doesn't get a good restart and Chuck Hossfeld gets by him. Ted Christopher continues to lead Eric Beers as the laps tick down. Can Christopher hold off Beers and Hossfeld? We'll soon see.
Sunday, 4:18pm ET - After a 5 minute RED, the YELLOW comes back out and the field goes back GREEN on lap 184, but the field doesn't even make it successfully through turn 1. The back half of the field piles into the turn and most get back going again. Ted Christopher still leads Eric Beers, Mike Stefanik, Chuck Hossfeld, and James W. Civali under caution.
Sunday, 4:11pm ET - RED on lap 180 after Jimmy Blewett makes a hard impact with the SAFER barrier in Turn 1. He climbed out of the vehicle then expressed displeasure at Matt Hirschman before taking his mandatory ambulance ride. Blewett's 19 car was briefly airborne and needed the double hook to be removed from the track.
Sunday, 4:04pm ET - GREEN on lap 171 and it's Ted Christopher back in the lead again as he nudges Eric Beers aside. Mike Stefanik, Matt Hirschman and Chuck Hossfeld round out the top 5. YELLOW on lap 174 as the day ends prematurely for rookie Erick Randolph between turns 1 and 2.
Sunday, 3:58pm ET - GREEN on lap 159, YELLOW on lap 160 for a Jamie Tomaino spin coming out of turn 2. We'll be going back GREEN again on lap 163. Eric Beers, Chuck Hossfeld, Ted Christopher, Mike Stefanik, and James W. Civali are the top 5. YELLOW again once more on lap 166 for Frank Ruocco in trouble in Turn 1. Matt Hirschman has recovered from his earlier penalty and now sits in 6th.
Sunday, 3:52pm ET - After going GREEN on lap 146, Eric Beers has jumped out to the lead while Chuck Hossfeld, Todd Szegedy, Erick Randolph, and Kevin Goodale round out the top 5. YELLOW flies out lap 154 for a multicar pileup in turn 4, but all cars involved get in going. Kudos go out to the Eddie Flemke, Jr. team for getting that car back on track, though many laps down.
Sunday, 3:46pm ET - With 135 laps complete, it's still Ted Christopher on point and Eric Beers all over his back bumper. Mike Stefanik, James W. Civali, Todd Szegedy, Erick Randolph, Chuck Hossfeld, Kevin Goodale, Frank Ruocco, and Billy Pauch Jr round ouf the top 10 The YELLOW waves on lap 140 when Wade Cole spins coming out of Turn 2. Ted Christopher leads a pack of cars down pit road for fresh rubber, and Eric Beers reinherits the lead. Behind him it's Todd Szegedy, Erick Randolph, Chuck Hossfeld, and Kevin Goodale.
Sunday, 3:35pm ET - The GREEN came back out on lap 108 with Ted Christopher still in the lead. Eric Beers, with nearly 40 lap fresher tires is all over TC's bumper, and Mike Stefanik is watching them both from 3rd. Todd Szegedy and James W. Civali round out the top 5.
Sunday, 3:30pm ET - The GREEN waved on lap 96 and its Ted Christopher with a big lead over 2nd place James W. Civali. The remainder of the top 5 is Jamie Tomaino, Matt Hirschman, and Eric Beers. The YELLOW flies on lap 104 when Matt Hirschman gets into the back of Jamie Tomaino coming out of Turn 4 and spins the #99 out. Matt Hirschman is penalized for rough driving and will go to the rear of the field.
Sunday, 3:23pm ET - It's heartbreak for young Ryan Preece on this day. With a healthy lead, a puff of smoke comes from his #3 machine, and his day ends. The lap 90 YELLOW puts Eric Beers in the lead and he leads a whole pack of cars to pit road. Inheriting the lead after the pit stops is Ted Christopher, who is followed by James W. Civali, and Jamie Tomaino.
Sunday, 3:18pm ET - At this point in the race, young Ryan Preece is the class of the field. Eric Beers is the only one close to the young man, and Jimmy Blewett is almost a full straightaway back in third. Mike Stefanik and Richard Savary still round out the top 5.
Sunday, 3:15pm ET - None of the leaders elected to pit under this caution and we're back GREEN on lap 66. Ryan Preece jumps back into the lead but this time is followed by Eric Beers. Jimmy Blewett, Mike Stefanik, and Richard Savary round out the top 5.
Sunday, 3:10pm ET - Cautions do seem to breed cautions as we've got another YELLOW here on lap 59 for a big wreck on the backstretch involving Icebreaker winner Eddie Flemke, Jr, Joe Hartmann, Glen Reen, Carl Pasteryak, and Sean Patterson. All drivers were able to exit their vehicles under their own power, but Flemke's #10 needed the double hook to make it back to the pits.
Sunday, 3:05pm ET - Among the leader pack of cars, only Jamie Tomaino and Ted Christopher elected to make pit stops. We'll be going back GREEN on lap 54. Ryan Preece and Jimmy Blewett pull away from the pack initially but Preece quickly breaks away on his own.
Sunday, 2:59pm ET - Still green here at Stafford. Ryan Preece continues to hold the point and has also started to put several of the slower cars a lap down. Problems however for Rob Summers who had been in 2nd place. Looks like he may have had a tire go down. The subsequent debris brings out the YELLOW on lap 49. Will any of our leaders take advantage of this caution for pit stops? We'll soon see.
Sunday, 2:56pm ET - We have a new leader. Young polesitter Ryan Preece has driven to the front and is pulling away from Rob Summers. There's another good gap back to 3rd place Mike Stefanik.
Sunday, 2:54pm ET - Finally staying green for a bit, though not for lack of effort. For early into a race there's a lot of aggressive driving going on out there. Rob Summers leads Ryan Preece, Mike Stefanik, Jimmy Blewett, and Eric Beers with 26 laps complete. Meanwhile, Rick Fuller pulls the #77 behind the wall.
Sunday, 2:49pm ET - GREEN FLAG - Back green again on lap 12 with Rob Summers still in the lead. Ted Christopher and Ryan Preece both pass Jimmy Blewett on the restart.
Sunday, 2:43pm ET - GREEN FLAG - Lap 6 the green waves again but once again is followed by another immediate YELLOW on lap 7 for several cars getting together on the backstretch. Jake Marosz and Ronnie Silk needed tows back to the pits but the rest of the cars were able to get it back going again.
Sunday, 2:38pm ET - GREEN FLAG - Rob Summers leads lap 1, followed by Jimmy Blewett, Ted Christopher, Ryan Preece and Eric Beers. YELLOW FLAG before the lap is completed, several cars getting together in turn 1.
Sunday, 2:30pm ET - Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell has just given the command to fire engines to the drivers of the Whelen Modified Tour. The race should begin in a few more minutes.
Sunday, 1:38pm ET - The SK Modified® race has completed. The top 5 were: Rob Summers Jr, Woody Pitkat, Chris Jones, Keith Rocco and Doug Coby III. The Whelen Modified Tour cars will be rolling onto the track once Victory Lane is complete and are scheduled to begin shortly.
Sunday, 12:50pm ET - The command to fire engines has been given to the SK Modified® drivers, the first feature on tap today here at Stafford Motor Speedway. The Whelen Modified Tour is scheduled to roll off at approximately 2:30pm ET.
Sunday, 10:25am ET - Good morning from Stafford Motor Speedway, where the second event of the Whelen Modified Tour season, the 37th annual Spring Sizzler, is being held. Wireless problems have been beat into submission and everything looks to be good to go for updates today. Qualifying was held yesterday, with 17 year old Ryan Preece earning his first career Pole Award. Here's the starting lineup as well as todays tentative schedule. Keep checking back for updates throughout the day.
Rick Fuller (C) is a previous winner of the Spring Sizzler. He'll start 15th today. (SMS Photo)
Sunday, 10:10am ET - If you are following this live this morning and want to be entertained, click on over to the Carey and Coffey show on ESPN Radio 940/1150. They are broadcasting live from the track between 10am and Noon today and also archive their recordings. Their lineup for this morning includes Jimmy Blewett and Ryan Preece.
Hosts Matt Carey and Jay Coffey have become pretty good buddies of us here at Speed51.com and have had a few of our own guys like Bob Dillner and Mike Twist on the show on occasion. They manage to do a great job of combining their knowledge of racing with humor and are worth listening too.
Sunday, 10:05am ET - To learn all about the fact of the Spring Sizzler, click here
Sunday, 10:00am ET - We're having some connection issues from the track this morning. It seems like the laptop wireless cards that we use do not like to work in the state of Connecticut (a simular problem was had at Thompson International Speedway's Icebreaker earlier this month), but hopefully we'll be right online to bring you the news and happenings from today's Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway.
1. (1) Rob Summers
2. (00)Frank Ruocco
3. (19) Jimmy Blewett
4. (46 ) Eric Beers
5. (36) Ted Christopher
6. (59) Matt Hirschman
7. (3) Ryan Preece
8. (4) Chuck Hossfeld
9. (58) Kevin Goodale
10. (16) Mike Stefanik
11. (99) Jamie Tomaino
12. (28) James Civali
13. (79) Ronnie Silk
14. (64) Eric Berndt
15. (77) Rick Fuller
16. (45) Erick Rudolph
17. (11) Anthony Sesely
18. (93) Rowan Pennink
19. (21) Richard Savary
20. (05) Joe Hartmann
21. (33) Wade Cole
22. (8) Glenn Tyler
23. (2) Todd Szegedy
24. (75) Carl Pasteryak
25. (06) Billy Pauch, Jr.
26. (90) Renee Dupuis
27. (09) Bobby Grigas, III
28. (0) Danny Sammons
29. (12) Ken Heagy
30. (10) Ed Flemke, Jr.
31. (14) Reggie Ruggiero
32. (9) Jake Marosz
33. (32) Tom Abele, Jr.
34. (17) Glen Reen
35. (53) Sean Patterson
11:00 AM Pit Party Begins
12:00 N Pit Party Ends
1:00 PM SK Modified® Feature (40 Laps)
Approx 2:30 PM Whelen Modified Tour Feature (200 Laps)
Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell stands with Whelen Engineering's Phil Kurze prior to the start of the race. (Speed 51 Photo)
1. Ted Christopher
2. Eric Beers
3. Chuck Hossfeld
4. Mike Stefanik
5. James W. Civali
6. Rowan Pennink
7. Richard Savary
8. Jamie Tomaino
9. Todd Szegedy
10. Glenn Tyler
11. Kevin Goodale
12. Ken Heagy
13. Glen Reen
14. Matt Hirschman
15. Anthony Sesely
16. Danny Sammons
17. Tom Abele, Jr.
18. Eric Berndt
19. Sean Patterson
20. Frank Ruocoo
21. Wade Cole
22. Billy Pauch, Jr.
23. Jimmy Blewett
24. Erick Randolph
25. Carl Pasteryak
26. Renee Dupuis
27. Ed Flemke, Jr.
28. Ronnie Silk
29. Ryan Preece
30. Bobby Grigas, III
31. Joe Hartmann
32. Reggie Ruggiero
33. Rob Summers
34. Rick Fuller
35. Jake Marosz
Sunday, 6:15 PM ET - UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
The Top 3 Finishers (L to R): Eric Beers (2nd), Ted Christopher (1st), Chuck Hossfeld (3rd). (Jim DuPont Photo)
