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Tag: Todd Szegedy

  • Tony Eury Jr. To Make Modified Crew Chief Debut

    Tony Eury Jr. To Make Modified Crew Chief Debut

    Todd Szegedy Will Pilot No. 15 15-40 Connection Modified At “The Last Great Colosseum”

    MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 15, 2016) – LFR Chassis will be back in action in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) at Bristol Motor Speedway, as Todd Szegedy and Rob Fuller Motorsports team up for the Bush’s Beans 150. The team is thrilled to announce that veteran NASCAR crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., will make his NWMT crew chief debut this week.

    Although this will mark Tony Eury Jr.’s first race as a NWMT crew chief, Eury has an impressive resume as a NASCAR crew chief and looks forward to broadening his list of accomplishments with Rob Fuller Motorsports in Bristol.

    “After getting to know Todd, I am excited to be his crew chief in Bristol,” said Eury. “I think we have a legitimate shot to win, and we’re going to have some fun with it as well. I’ve paid attention to how the track is from past modified races, and I think working on super late models every week can be applied to working on the modified car as well. We are going in with a game plan, but I might bring a few ideas to the table that we can try and see what happens!”

    Todd Szegedy, who is running a limited schedule in the NWMT with Rob Fuller Motorsports, will be back in the No. 15 15-40 Connection car. Although the Bush’s Beans 150 will be Szegedy’s only third race of the season with LFR Chassis, he is no stranger to competing in the modifieds at Bristol.

    Out of seven starts at Bristol, Szegedy has recorded three second-place finishes, along with a Top-5 finish in the series. Szegedy looks to record another solid finish at “The World’s Fastest Short Track,” a place he knows he can win at.

    “Bristol is my favorite track,” said Szegedy. “It’s got sheer speed, yet it’s fast enough where you need to respect the track. It’s got multiple racing grooves, which is what I really love about the track. I want to go there, get the pole and then win the race – it’s that simple. I think we are capable of doing just that with the equipment Rob provides.”

    Ryan Newman will also return to the NWMT with LFR Chassis in the No. 7ny Aggressive Hydraulics car. Newman has had success in his six NWMT starts at Bristol, recording two wins and three Top-5’s at the infamous short track. Rob Fuller will crew chief for Newman, as Newman looks to add on to his exceptional list of finishes at Bristol.

    “I’m looking forward to working with Ryan,” said Fuller. “I know we have a good baseline with the LFR car, so it’s just a matter of getting him where he’s comfortable. With those guys not running very often it’s tough to keep up, and the teams and drivers in this division are tough for sure. Hopefully, I can help these guys and we can have fun at the same time.”

    Fans can keep up with this week’s events at Bristol Motor Speedway by following LFR Chassis and Rob Fuller Motorsports on Facebook and Twitter at @LFRChassis.

    About LFR Chassis

    LFR Chassis, founded in 2014 by Rob Fuller, manufactures cutting edge racecar chassis that are user-friendly and provides high-end components and customer service to the top-tier modified and late model race teams across the nation. Daily operations are overseen by former NASCAR crew chief Tony Eury Jr. with Jeff Fultz leading the Late Model division and Ryan Stone on the modified side. LFR Chassis is located at 117 Crosslake Park Drive in Mooresville, N.C. To learn more, call (704) 662-3306 or visit http://www.LFRChassis.com.

    About 15-40 Connection

    Inspired by the fact that delayed diagnosis is holding down improvements in teen and young adult cancer survival rates, 15-40 Connection is driving a New Cancer Conversation to improve cancer survival rates for all ages. This means educating individuals to recognize subtle yet important health changes that need to be checked by a medical professional and to become active participants in their own health care by sharing and collaborating with their health care provider. For more information, please visit http://NewCancerConversation.org

  • Mike Stefanik Wins by Narrowest of Margins in NASCAR Whelen Modified Race

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]While it was almost too close to call, veteran NASCAR Whelen Modified racer Mike Stefanik took the checkered flag in the Town Fair Tire 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Stefanik, in the No. 66 Canto & Sons Paving/Robert B. Our Co. Ford, scored his 72nd career win over competitor Ron Silk by just 0.003 seconds. He is the sole leader with Modified victories at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with eight, including two of the last three.

    “Believe it or not, I came out of Turn 4 and I thought this was going to be tight,” Stefanik said. “I actually physically sat up in the seat as much as I could and peered over the front of the car and rolled my eyes to see which bumper was ahead.”

    “I just wanted to win after such a hard fought battle,” Stefanik continued. “You hate to give them away because they don’t come often enough.”

    For Stefanik, this was indeed the closest finish of his long and storied career. And he made clear that he never tires of that winning feeling.

    “I’ve lost them, but not by that little bit,” Stefanik said. “Literally, I was looking across the cars to see which one was ahead. I’ve never done before that in my 36 years of racing.”

    “This feeling I have today never gets old,” Stefanik said. “I’m 54 years old and I still feel like I’m 21.”

    Stefanik has also been very good at the ‘Magic Mile’, a track that he has raced since the days of the Busch North Series. And his magic recipe for winning at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is fairly simple.

    “Put yourself in real good equipment, surround yourself with smart people, that’s A-1 because you can’t do it with a slug,” Stefanik said. “I like to overdrive the entry in this type of format and have a ballet-type perfect balance.”

    “It’s just a style of racing that I picked up on in the 90s and I don’t care if you win practice or where you start, just give me that nice set the tires down in the corner and some steam under the hood and we’ll be all set.”

    Stefanik’s prime competitor was Ron Silk, who finished that very close second in his No. 6 Reynolds Auto Wrecking/Schnitzer race car.

    “It was a lot of fun,” Silk said. “Whenever you get in the lead draft at New Hampshire, crazy stuff is happening the whole time.”

    “I don’t know what it looked like but it was a lot of fun in the car,” Silk continued. “Mike did an awesome job.”

    “I ran him up and he was able to hang onto it and beat me back to the line,” Silk said. “Congratulations to him.”

    This was also the closest finish that Silk has seen in his racing career. In fact, he was not sure even at the end of the race who won.

    “If it was 0.003 of a second, I’d say it was the closest finish I’ve been involved in,” Silk said. “But it sucks being on the wrong end of it I can tell you that.”

    The driver of the No. 52 Reynolds Auto Wrecking/Furnace & Duct race car, Doug Coby finished third. And he had to overcome quite a bit of adversity to achieve his best career finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    “My race was a little different than Ron’s because I pitted four times before the break, “ Coby said. “We were just struggling on that Nationwide rubber and Cup rubber really bad.”

    “We made the right adjustments at the break,” Coby continued. “We tried to make some smart moves at the end and ended up third.”

    “It feels awesome.”

    Eric Beers, piloting the No. 45 Horwith Freightliner/John Blewett, inc., and Todd Szegedy, driving the No. 2 Dunleavy Repair/A&J Romano Construction Ford, rounded out the top five finishers in the Modified Tour.

    Cup driver Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 7 Menards/Aggressive Hydraulics, finished 30th after a tire problem ended his promising run.

  • Ron Silk Makes Whelen Modified Magic with Third Win

    Ron Silk, driver of the No. 6 TS Haulers/Calverton Tree Farm Chevrolet, made three times a charm with a win in the New Hampshire 100 on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Silk, from Norwalk, Connecticut, started the race from the pole.

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”239″][/media-credit]This was Silk’s second career victory at the ‘Magic Mile’, his third win of the season and his seventh career win.

    “The car was really great right from the beginning,” Silk said. “After we didn’t make any adjustments at the pit stop, I was happy with the car. It got a little bit better throughout the race and I was able to get up there to the lead.”

    Silk said that pit strategy was important throughout the race, especially with the green flag runs, as well as the red flag rain delay.

    “It was definitely the right time to pit,” Silk said. “It went green for awhile. It would have been pretty tough to wait longer to take tires and get back through the field.”

    “I was confident,” Silk continued. “We’ve had a good car here all year.”

    Todd Szegedy, behind the wheel of the No. 2 Wisk Detergent/A&J Romano Construction Ford, finished second. This was Szegedy’s second win at New Hampshire and his 14th top-10 in 19 starts at New Hampshire.

    “Second is a phenomenal finish for us,” Szegedy said. “But we certainly didn’t have a second place car.”

    “We’ve got our homework to do,” Szegedy continued. “It’s fortunate we got second place but why were we so far off and basically struggled. It was a struggle for me to stay in the top five.”

    “That green-white-checkered, we started fourth,” Szegedy continued. “I had momentum and I knew I could push Ronnie. But I had absolutely zero for him.”

    The third place finisher was Justin Bonsignore, from Holtsville, New York. The driver of the No. 51 M3 Technology Chevrolet scored his best finish ever at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Bonsignore was the 2010 Sunoco Rookie of the Year on the Whelen Modified Tour. He finished fourth in August, so this third place finish was also his career best.

    “It was pretty eventful,” Bonsignore said. “The air cleaner came off about 20 laps in and we rode around until the yellow came out for the rain.”

    “We replace that and took tires then and that put us a little bit behind,” Bonsignore continued. “We stayed out and the car was good.”

    “Luckily that last restart, we mixed it up on that last lap and came home third.”

    “We’re only a second year team,” Bonsignore said. “I’m really proud of what we’ve built.”

    “To be contending for wins is really cool to do.”

    As is tradition at New Hampshire, the race had its share of drama. One source of drama was the weather, with sprinkles breaking out on the track, delaying the race.

    The other source of drama was for the only Cup driver in the competition. After his win disqualification at the last Modified race, Ryan Newman, who qualified fourth, blew the engine of his No. 77 Aggressive Hydraulics/Menards Chevrolet.

    Newman finished a disappointing 28th out of 29 spots, after the tell-tale smoke flowed from his race car on lap 60 of the race.

    The final drama of the race had to do with the points battle for the Whelen Modified Series championship. Szegedy came into the race leading the points by 12 points over Silk.

    “It’s a lot of fun, especially battling with a guy like Todd Szegedy,” Silk said. “He’s a good friend of mine.”

    “I kind of kept tabs on him throughout the race today and when I saw he was second, I said ‘Damn, I’m not going to gain too many points today.’

    “It’s going to go right down to the wire it looks like,” Silk continued. “It will go right down to the world series there at Thompson (International Speedway).”

    “This is how you win a championship,” Szegedy, the other points challenger, said. “You’ve got to use your head, stay out of trouble, and I’m being a nice guy because I want to win that championship.”

    After Silk, Szegedy and Bonsignore, rounding out the top five were Ted Christopher, driver of the No. 36 Al-Lee Installations, and Eric Beers, behind the wheel of the No. 45 Horwith Freightliner/John Blewett, Inc.

    Erick Rudolph, Zane Zeiner, Mike Stefanik, Matt Hirschman and Eric Goodale rounded out the top ten. Stefanik, who finished eighth, was the ‘comeback kid’ after spinning and going a lap down early in the race.

  • Todd Szegedy Lucky in Lime Rock and Hopefully in Loudon

    Todd Szegedy Lucky in Lime Rock and Hopefully in Loudon

    Todd Szegedy, driver of the No. 2 Wisk Detergent/A&J Romano Construction Ford in the Whelen Modified Series, was given a penny that brought such good luck at this past weekend’s race at Lime Rock Park that he not only started on the pole but also ended up in Victory Lane.

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: hometracks.nascar.com” align=”alignright” width=”262″][/media-credit]Without a doubt, Szegedy is hoping that his precious penny will continue to bring good luck at this weekend’s race at the ‘Magic Mile’ in Loudon, New Hampshire.

    Szegedy got lucky at Lime Rock when he met Mrs. Griffin, a fan participating in a hospitality event prior to the running of the Whelen Modified 66/99 Presented by Town Fair Tire at Lime Rock Park.

    “We went to a meet and greet and they asked me and my crew chief questions,” Szegedy said. “At the end of the meet and greet, she came up to me and gave me a penny.”

    “She said this was a lucky penny and she had given it to another driver and he won the race and won many more after that.”

    “I’m a superstitious guy so it’s tough for me to accept those kinds of things,” Szegedy continued. “But I took it and put it in my pocket and left it there for the race.”

    “Maybe it brought me good luck, I don’t know,” Szegedy said. “But I still have that lucky penny and I’m going to hold onto it.”

    It actually took more than just luck to pull off this race win, from an uneventful start to a crazy late race restart.

    “The first half was somewhat uneventful and I just got into the early lead and that set a nice pace,” Szegedy said. “Basically we knew that we were going to have a fuel stop at Lap 20. So, I just hit my marks and tried not to make any mistakes until we had that first caution.”

    “When we had a late caution, that’s when a lot of the action began,” Szegedy continued. “We had a great pit stop and came out in fourth.”

    “Some guys took two tires but we took four,” Szegedy said. “So, on the restart, a lot of the mayhem happened.”

    “There were a lot of cars going through the dirt and I went through the dirt a few times,” Szegedy continued. “It was pretty exciting and I’m sure it was fun for the fans to watch.”

    “Eventually we went on to win, but it was a tough effort,” Szegedy said. “We definitely overcame a lot in that race.”

    Szegedy said of all of his races this season, this was his toughest, especially since it was on a road course where discipline is king. Yet in spite of worrying about his fuel pressure, which was dropping at the end, his luck held out to that checkered flag.

    “In road racing, it’s very easy to make mistakes,” Szegedy said. “I went off the track twice.”

    “When I put new tires on the car, it was really tight and when I tried to take a turn, I just went straight like I had a flat tire,” Szegedy continued. “I had to keep my cool and pass these guys when I could.”

    “At the end, we started losing fuel pressure so I was thinking ‘Oh my God, we’re going to run out of fuel,’ Szegedy said. “I didn’t know if I was going to win until I took that checkered flag.”

    “It was a very nerve-wracking race for sure,” Szegedy continued. “Without a doubt it was quite a release when I crossed that finish line. It was a well-earned win for sure.”

    With Lime Rock behind him, Szegedy now turns his attention to racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. And he has his work cut out for him and his team, changing out his road race car to one that can tackle an oval so he can take on the ‘Magic Mile’  mayhem.

    “First of all, it’s a lot of work to turn the car around, from a road course to an oval track,” Szegedy said. “So, we’ll be working pretty hard until Wednesday.”

    “Loudon is another nail-biting race because you never know who is going to win until that last lap,” Szegedy continued. “In every race, I’ve ever been in at Loudon, there are always late race passes and last lap crashes and exciting finishes.”

    Szegedy actually won at the last Loudon race, however, it came at the expense of Ryan Newman, who was disqualified after a ‘flagrant foul’ was called by NASCAR for illegal engine issues in the car.

    “The first Loudon I ran this year, I finished second but I ended up winning because Newman was disqualified,” Szegedy said. “We got the trophy and we got the cash.”

    “Everybody runs in the grey area but if it’s blatant, it should have been definite disqualification,” Szegedy continued. “NASCAR made the right call on that.”

    “I felt bad for Ryan though as he didn’t know,” Szegedy said. “But, hey if it’s blatant, then disqualification fits the crime. I think it should be that way with anybody.”

    Will Newman be Szegedy’s biggest competition this week at the New Hampshire 100 at Loudon this weekend? Szegedy actually thinks that there many who can give him a run for his money, including Newman, as well as some of the other Whelen Modified Series regulars.

    “There are quite a few guys that are my competition,” Szegedy said. “I cannot even name them all.”

    “I couldn’t even tell you who will be the top dog because it’s always different,” Szegedy continued. “You just never know at Loudon.”

    “I’m excited to go there.”

    With his luck at Lime Rock and hopefully more of the same at Loudon, Szegedy acknowledged that he has had one of his luckiest seasons ever.

    “Without a doubt, we’ve accomplished what we wanted to accomplish and more,” Szegedy said. “We’ve won races. We’re now in the points lead.”

    “It’s been an absolutely amazing season,” Szegedy continued. “Whatever happens from here on out, happens. We’re happy with what we’ve got right now and we’re going to continue to do what we’re doing.”

    In spite of that confidence, will Szegedy have his lucky Lime Rock penny with him at Loudon?

    “I definitely will have it in my pocket,” Szegedy said. “Without a doubt.”

  • Ryan Newman Works Magic for Third Consecutive Whelen Modified Series Win

    Ryan Newman worked his magic at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway by winning his third consecutive Whelen Modified race. And Newman did so in style, taking the No. 7 Aggressive Hydraulics/Menards Chevrolet from the pole position to victory lane in the F.W. Webb 100.

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”213″][/media-credit]This was Newman’s 8th career Modified Series start and his 4th career win. Three of those victories have come consecutively at the New Hampshire track known as the ‘Magic Mile.’

    “We had a really good car today and I’m proud of this team,” Newman said, holding his daughter in Victory Lane. “We didn’t know what was going to happen if a yellow came out. But it all worked out.”

    “I didn’t really know what to expect with the race and how it was going to unfold,” Newman said. “Typically we have multiple cautions here.”

    “Our car was really loose and I really had to manage the steering wheel,” Newman continued. “It seemed like the track wasn’t like it was in practice and we struggled a little bit with that part.”

    “We were the tightest of the loose guys and that was all it took,” Newman said. “We had a lot of fun.”

    Kevin ‘Bono’ Manion, Newman’s team owner and crew chief, echoed his driver’s thoughts on the historic win.

    “It’s really special,” Manion said. “We won here as a team in the early 90’s and as a kid to come up and race with the Cup guys was really cool.”

    “So, to come back here and learning the aspects of owning a car, it’s really special.”

    Newman and Bono both reiterated their desire to see more Cup and Whelen Modified race combination dates, naming Richmond, Phoenix and Martinsville as just a few possibilities.

    “The one mile tracks for sure fit this car,” Manion said. “I think Richmond would be an incredible Modified track. This is a great Series and they put on a great race.”

    “We just like it when it’s convenient,” Newman said. “And at the same time, it’s good for NASCAR Whelen Modified Racing to have quite a few people sitting in the grandstands. So, it works out good.”

    Runner up Todd Szegedy, driver of the No. 2 Wisk Detergent/A&J Romano Construction Ford, secured his fourth top-five finish in six races of the 2011 season.

    “Second to me was kind of a win,” Szegedy said. “We beat all the regulars.”

    “We’ve had some bad luck here for the last three or four races so this was definitely a good run,” Szegedy continued. “We had a great car.”

    “At the end, I went into fuel conservation mode, so I started backing out of it a little bit,” Szegedy said. “I could run up on Ryan a little bit but I’d get free off so I never could make a good move on him.”

    “Ryan made it interesting,” Szegedy continued. “So, good for him anyways.”

    “I think we’ve got some work to do,” Szegedy said. “We’ve got to drive the track different and set the car up different. He’s not unbeatable. We’ll just have to work harder.”

    Ron Silk, driver of the No. 6 T.S. Haulers/Calverton Tree Farm Chevrolet, scored the third position. This was Silk’s fourth podium finish in six races this year.

    “I was surprised how long it went green,” Silk said. “All my guys did a great job all weekend and we made about a thousand adjustments since we got here.”

    “I got a little bit close to Newman on the last lap but I just got up in the loose stuff,” Silk continued. “And once you get up there, you just can’t get out.”

    Matt Hirschman, driving the No. 3 Cape Cod Copper/Riverview Chevrolet, finished fourth. And Doug Coby, behind the wheel of the No. 52 Reynolds Auto Wrecking Chevrolet, rounded out the top five.