(Press Release from Stafford Motor Speedway)
Rowan Pennink
When the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour rolls into Stafford Speedway on Aug. 5 for the Stafford 150, Rowan Pennink will be looking to repeat his double feature winning effort from back in May when he won the VMRS 80 and the SK Modified feature in the same night.
Fresh off of a season best second place finish in the Whelen Modified Tour’s most recent race at Monadnock, and Pennink feels like all the pieces are in place for a second double win.
“That would be really cool to not only do it with the MRS and SK cars but to do it with the Tour car and SK in the same year,” said Pennink. “We’re certainly going to give it our best to accomplish that goal. We’ve been working all season to put together good runs like we had at Monadnock. Last time we were at Stafford we had a pretty good car and I’m hoping to go back there and have another good finish.”
One area where Pennink might have an advantage over the rest of the NWMT field is the fact that he races every Friday night in the SK Modified® division. Pennink has been able to stay in tune with how the half-mile track has changed since the last NWMT race in June and he feels like that might give him a small advantage once the green flag falls.
“I think it might be a little advantage for us,” said Pennink. “The track definitely changes from the beginning of the year to when it turns to the heat of the summer now. We might be able to use a little bit of what we’ve changed on the SK car for setup and carry that over to the Tour car.”
While qualifying will be important, with the race distance of 150 laps for the Stafford 150, Pennink feels like the race will be wide open for some strategy calls to possibly shake things up.
“It’s always important to qualify up front at Stafford,” said Pennink. “It seems that during the summer it gets tough to make passes with the Tour car. Whether it’s pit strategy or starting up front and staying there for the whole race, you have to be up front at the end. It’s not going to be like in the past where you could charge through the field with fresh tires. I think there won’t be much difference in the car setup between this race and the 125 in June, but more the pit strategy with when to pit and see what everyone comes up with to get the best track position and the best tires for the end of the race.”
The August 5th Stafford 150 will be the third of four Whelen Modified Tour events to be held at Stafford during the 2016 season with the NWMT returning on October 1-2 for the NAPA Fall Final. Tickets for the Stafford 150 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. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
It’s nice to see Ole Blue running up front again