 THOMPSON,
CT (April 10, 2005) -- Hoosier tires provided by Hoosier
Tire East were part of the closest finish in NASCAR Modified Tour history when
Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT edged out Zach Sylvester of Lebanon, CT by
mere inches on the final lap of the Icebreaker 2005 at Thompson International
Speedway on Sunday. It was a three-car battle for the win over the last
two laps of the event. Chuck Hossfeld of
Buffalo
,
NY
and Sylvester had battled for the lead when the race resumed on lap 148 after a
caution. The two diced back and forth opening the door for Christopher to take
the win. It was his second consecutive Icebreaker win.
The
three cars in the fray were incredible despite being in varying stages of their
tire's heat cycles. Hossfeld changed tires around lap 50, Sylvester at lap 72
and Christopher at lap 105. In the end, the seventh starting Christopher
was able to edge out Sylvester with Hossfeld directly behind in third. This was
the first race on the new Hoosier tire for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series.
Thirty-eight
cars started the race with the winner pocketing $7,550 for the top finish.
Drivers leading during the event included; Eddie Flemke (1-8), Donny Lia
(9-10), Ted Christopher (11-36, 38-52, 54-76, 153-154), Chuck Hossfeld (37),
Rick Fuller (53), Tony Hirschman (77-134) and Zack Sylvester (135-152). The
race was slowed 10 times for cautions for a total of 63 laps.
TIRES: 27.0x13.0-15 640 D2720 (RR), 27.0x13.0-15 500 D2620 (RF),
26.0x13.0-15 500 D2420 (left side).
Quote from race winner Ted Christopher: "The Hoosier tires are
fantastic. Now we have a tire we can work with at every tour event. Hoosier has
done a great job over the winter."
Quote from Irish Saunders, Hoosier Open Wheel Asphalt Product Manager: "The
tires did what they were supposed to do. They allowed the racers to put on a
great race and proved to be 'racer friendly.' I am very pleased with how the
tires performed in the first event of the season."
For more information about the race, visit www.nascarregionalracing.com
or www.modseriesscene.com.
In other
asphalt Modified action, Waterford Speedbowl hosted their opening day
festivities with Ron Yuhas of
Groton
,
CT
taking the win on Hoosier racing tires. Rick Kirkendale from
Lehighton
,
PA
bested a field of 27 Modifieds at
Mahoning
Valley
to score the victory. Jimmy Wismer (Late Models), Lonnie Behler (Street
Stock), T.J. Gurksy (Factory Stock), Todd Baer (Pro-Four) and Jeff Burton
(4-Cyl.) also took victories on Hoosier tires over the weekend.
Special thanks to Hoosier Tire East's Dale Wolbrink for providing many of
the details used in this report.
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