Todd Szegedy And Rob Fuller Motorsports Roll Through New LFR Chassis Testing In Loudon

Todd Szegedy celebrates a Whelen Modified Tour victory last September at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)

The new LFR Chassis Tour Type Modified chassis will get its first chance in competition for NASCAR Camping World RV Sales 301 weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July.

But the chassis got its first chance to roll around the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway oval in Loudon earlier this week in testing.

Todd Szegedy, who will compete in the Rob Fuller Motorsports owned ride in the July 11 Whelen All-Star Modified Tour exhibition shootout and the July 12 Whelen Modified Tour New England 100 in Loudon, was behind the wheel for testing Monday in Loudon.

The new chassis was developed by Moorseville, N.C. based LFR Chassis, a new company started by Rob Fuller earlier this year.

“The car really drove extremely well,” Szegedy said in a release. “It responds very well to changes. Even the minor changes that we made, I was able to feel a difference. That tells me that the car is in great balance.

“Racing at Loudon in the Modifieds is like racing [Sprint Cup] cars at Daytona. You can catch a draft ten cars back and the handling can change when you get around other cars. We did get the chance to practice with a few other racecars and test the LFR chassis in this scenario. In our new LFR car I could be leading, the middle car or the back car and the characteristics in handling of the car did not change at all. I was very impressed with that.”

“I was very impressed with the workmanship and the potential adjustability with the car. I was also impressed with the amount of room the driver has. Traditionally all modifieds have at tight cockpit. The tinwork is usually very high. This car is low and you can get a full range of movement with the car. The dash is set up really nice as well. It is a very classy looking car.”

Fuller is typically the driver for his Rob Fuller Motorsports team. The Sprint Cup weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will mark the first time he will have a hired gun driving for him.

“I was very impressed working with Rob,” said Szegedy, a former Whelen Modified Tour champion who is running full-time this year – and is the current points leader – on the Valenti Modified Racing Series. “Since he’s a driver, it really helps our communication. He would communicate what changes were being made to the car and what I should feel on the track and he was spot on.”

Said Fuller: “This [research and development] work will help future LFR Chassis customers so they have a general baseline setup on hand. It was great having that full day session with Todd. With over 30 years of racing experience, Todd has driven multiple types of chassis in many different racing series throughout his career. His positive feedback on the LFR Chassis was exactly what we had hoped. The complements given to me by other crew members was amazing. The car was very fast but to get compliments from guys that have been in this division for years was really the highlight of my day. I know what kind of car we are preparing but the reception was still unknown. This garage area is full of talented, hard working racers and to get the feedback we did was truly amazing.

“The communication between us went really well. Being in these cars for so many years, it’s easy for me to tell a driver how a change is going to feel. That communication is key to getting the right setup to win races. Just with that one-day test, I think we’re there. I can’t wait to get back here in July.”

Szegedy won in last year’s Whelen Modified Tour event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“Without a doubt this car is extremely capable of winning,” Szegedy said. “When we were done with the test session I told Rob to put the car in bubble wrap. We don’t need to make any changes or even touch it until the races in July.”