Chris Pasteryak (Photo: Jim DuPont)
By Denise DuPont
The 2018 race season was a roller coaster ride for NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver Chris Pasteryak and his race team.
We have learned to Chris Pasteryak, of Lisbon, to race the family’s famous #5 and #75 Modifieds with the leaders, but his year their Modified had been off its mark.
For the final event of the Whelen Modified Tour season – the Sunoco World Series 150 at Thompson Speedway – the family made the decision to try an LFR chassis.
They rented a black LFR Modified and retrofitted it with a #75 throwback scheme in honor of Pasteryak’s uncle Carl.
For a while it appeared that Pasteryak still was not quite where he wanted to be in the field and then suddenly he was up there with the leaders.
Coming from the rear of the pack, Pasteryak ended up ninth in the World Series 150.
“I know that we only finished ninth, I think that we had a bad tire to start because it was really good off the get go and then after the first caution something happened,” Pasteryak said. “The right rear tire blistered in a bunch of spots and the stagger did not take off. The car just really went to chunk. Then we went a lap down.”
The first half of the race Pasteryak had difficulty cracking his way past 15th place. He was lapped by the race leader on lap 56 and remained one lap down until he received the free pass. As the race went on he continued to lose ground. Pasteryak pitted on lap 126 to change tires and then the car started to perform.
“We put three tires on it and then we placed a change tire on the right rear,” Pasteryak said. “I was then like “Whoa!” [The car] woke right up and it was good.
“I got the Lucky Dog and was the last car on the lead lap. We came in, we put another right rear on – we had nothing to lose. Then the car was really, really good at the end. I was very happy with it.”
Finishing ninth after a year where the Pasteryak team was unable to get their car the way they wanted to perform was like a win. They will not give up on their old notebook and car but will go forward in 2019 with some changes.
“We have some good notes for next year,” Pasteryak said. “Working with [LFR owner Rob Fuller] was really good. He took a lot of the burden off of me where I could just focus on driving the car and less on what to change in it. So I think that we have a lot of positives going for next year already.”
Pasteryak said he is already looking forward to 2019 with an LFR chassis.
“Yes I am going to keep my Troyer car but we are going to give [LFR] a whirl,” Pasteryak said. “I think that there is a lot of potential there and sometimes change is fun.”
Good for you Chris! Good Lick in 2019 and beyond! It was nice meeting you @ The Fall Final @ Stafford Motor Speedway. Ironically we were talking about The Silver Bullet Coors #75 that Carl used to run on The Tour. I thought it was awesome to see that retro paint scheme on the car. It must have been good luck 🍀 for you to finish P9. That is a great run to build on for next year in The LFR stable!
Tire management is indeed crucial. The guy that managed tires for the 2 when it was on a dominant run has been on the 51 team this year. See the difference? LOL!!!!!
Something in that article caught my attention. Chris stated that yes they still have their TROYER car, but are going to give LFR a whirl. Wonder if that TROYER will take a trip to Billy Colten this winter for updates? Also wonder if they’ll actually buy an LFR car, then see which performs better for their situation. At the 2018 Speedwell’s Eric Goodale brought out a new SPAFCO ride, but went back to his TROYER, while he got the new car lined out. From the sounds of things there are going to be between 3 and 10 new LFR customers next season, and provided they are oufitted properly, and Rob has the time to devote to each team, it should prove interesting. If anything, Rob Fuller and LFR made allot of teams take a step back and evaluate their program.
Goodfella every one who reads your tire management post who is involved with the Tour
is well, at you that did not happen THE GUY did not go to the 51 i could say more but
i will just sit back and read another one of your crazy thoughts.
dareal, Now I know you’re clueless, the two tire guys (JR Boccanfuso & Scott Makszin) on the 51 team have been with Justin for several years. Timmy Armbruster from the #2 team went part time this year, he helped Max Z and Doug Coby for a few races each.
No Just Me, it is you and Racer that are clueless.
Luckily for you, dumb people always know they are right, and everyone else is wrong. You must feel good all the time. You will never experience what it is like to be wrong, and you’ll never know.
The 51 had that domination that the 2 had in previous seasons. The 2 lost it, it was lost out there. That was due to the talent that left the 2 and is now on the 51. The 2 lost crucial talent to the 51.
The other thing to realize is that lap times are not getting faster. It’s not the hardware, it’s who knows how to make the hardware work.
Dareal, really everyone is stupid except for you. Riddle me this, how many track championships have you won, in any division? How many times has your team finished in the top 3 in points? Again in any division. How many race wins do you have? How many championship winning cars have you built for any division? Most of your posts show me that if your looking for the stupid one, look in the mirror.
Rob p. = humphry
Track Championships: Not important. We run touring series. Series championships are what it’s all about.
Top 3: Numerous.
Race wins: Many, many, many over the years.
How many championship cars built? I’ve helped design & build numerous championship winning cars.
Here’s the secret: They all run the same tires. Do you understand what that means?
” they all run the same tires”. Thanks I needed a good laugh. Yes the tires may say Hoosier, but that’s where the similarity ends. Even 2 tires made from the same batch, inflated to the same pressure can act differently. Many other suspension parts act on the performance of a tire. Even the number of laps, or heat cycles affect a tire. ” They all run the same tires… That’s the secret”
LMFAO. Get a clue.
And Dareal who’s car was your championship winning design?
They all run the same tires. And a good tire guy can make a world of difference, as shown with what has happened with the 51 and 2. Or just someone that knows about tires, how to prep them, etc.
But what connects the tires to the driver is another story. That’s where the teams get differentiated. They all think they have a secret set up, but the finishing order and standings are what ranks them and proves who knows the best. And then, teams lose some expertise, and that also shows in the race results and standings.
Lap times are not getting faster. That *should* mean something to a person with a functioning brain.
Let me remind everyone of bozos comments AGAIN after the first race of year , Troyer 1 2 3. , that must have been when the 51 tire guy was working for Troyer , or maybe they were Troyer brand tires, not sure , but that’s when the chassis obviously meant everything , amazing how things change
Can’t agree with you more elect. Some guys should keep their idiotisms to themselves. Yes TROYER won the first race, but you don’t base a season on one race. Once Bonsignore and the 51 team got used to the LFR car they were dominant. And the season ended LFR 1,2 and3. Still waiting to hear which Championship winning car Dareal designed.
I think we are going to wait a very long time to hear, he is having a hard time admitting the obvious, that LFR is on top right now , I know that can change at anytime and I’m sure then it will be all about the chassis
I’m still waiting to hear who was the tire guy that moved from the #2 to the #51. I’ve been doing tires on modifieds for a very long time and I know these guys. How about it dareal, who is this mystery person?
Hey Dareal. Your quote on Oct 25: ” I’ve helped design & build numerous championship winning cars”. Please let us all know which cars? Probably, most here would all love to hear . Rob P asked the same, on Oct 27, but I could not find the answer
Thanks
Hey Dareal. Your quote on Oct 25: ” I’ve helped design & build numerous championship winning cars”. Please let us all know which cars? Probably, most here would all love to hear . Rob P asked the same, on Oct 27, but I could not find the answer
Thanks
Poozer, remember the left right series at Stafford on Sundays, much like enduro racing , I think he was the man in chassis design , and top tire man , and crew chief, a legend in his own mind
Keep in mind Troyer has been building the majority of winning asphalt modifieds since 1976. This is to include SK, ROC, MRS, Tri-Track as well as the weekly tracks. Granted SPAFCO,Evans, Raceworks, KWIK, and more recently LFR have also built winning cars. Troyer still has managed to pass the test of time as the dominant majority builder of winning asphalt mods. With their large dealer base as well as customer service I have little doubt that this trend will continue. There is a lot more to modified racing than just the Whelen Tour.
@DaReal
The ONLY crew member change from 2017 to 2018 on my team was RYAN STONE. Every other crew member returned, no new ones added.
JR Boccanfuso & Scotty Makszin have been with our team since 2011, with the exception of 2014 when they helped Hirschman. We didn’t take any crew members from the 2 team.
Otherwise I follow along with these humorous posts quite often, and appreciate the kind words you have said all year. Guess I wasn’t TOO LAZY this year and drove hard 🙂
poozer13 says:
October 29, 2018 at 9:58 am
Hey Dareal. Your quote on Oct 25: ” I’ve helped design & build numerous championship winning cars”. Please let us all know which cars? Probably, most here would all love to hear . Rob P asked the same, on Oct 27, but I could not find the answer
The answer should be here somewhere http://www.pinewoodderbychampionships.com/
Justin Bonsignore says:
October 29, 2018 at 5:14 pm
@DaReal
The ONLY crew member change from 2017 to 2018 on my team was RYAN STONE. Every other crew member returned, no new ones added.
JR Boccanfuso & Scotty Makszin have been with our team since 2011, with the exception of 2014 when they helped Hirschman. We didn’t take any crew members from the 2 team.
Otherwise I follow along with these humorous posts quite often, and appreciate the kind words you have said all year. Guess I wasn’t TOO LAZY this year and drove hard
Dude, you don’t expect him to take your word for it, do you? If you need to dial in your flux capacitor stuff, to step up your game, just get in touch with Dareal – he pretty much invented those things.
PS. congrats to you guys, Stony is a good man.
Justin Bonsignore, first let me personally congratulate you for winning the 2018 NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR Championship. Great job! Your persistence, and car preparation was outstanding all season long. Second, thanks for clarifying what Dareal insisted was true regarding crew changes. Hope you have success in 2019 defending your hard earned Championship. In the mean time celebrate your achievement. Championships are hard to earn, and sometimes even harder to defend🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁
@JBon
Nice, well wordsmithed post. Carefully crafted. Can look like it means something.
Is there or was there, anybody from the 2 team ever on the 51 team? Anybody? Keep in mind, that the 2 and 51 teams have distinct team uniforms. I doubt you guys wear each others uniforms, do you? If so, why would somebody from the 2 team wear the 51 team uniform?
The talent pool is very small, not enough to go around. When someone leaves one team for another, the scales are tipped rather bigly.
Better job driving this season. Tire prep and tire management enabled that.
Steve & Rob – Thank you very much!
@DaReal
Other way around, we have had two crew members over the past 5 years leave our team to join the 2 team. None of their team members have joined ours.
Justin, thank-you for posting on this site! AND thank-you to you and your team for putting up the most impressive WMT season long performance of this century! I wondered if anyone would come close to any of the seasons that Coby and #2 put up, and honestly I doubted it would happen. Even with a bad start, they came back and won the championship. AND THEN… the 51 showed up this year!! In today’s world of ever tightening rules and the SPEC engines in place, I think when teams reach the top10% of the category, it all comes down to talent and ingenuity behind the wheel, in the pits, and in the garage. Your team completely captured the market in ALL categories this year! One word: DOMINATION!! As I used to yell and cheer at my boys’ sports teams, “GREAT JOB, DO IT AGAIN!!” 🙂
Justin congratulations on a job well done I was never a big fan but your starting to win me over by keeping your cool when someone calls you lazy first then pretty much a liar and I guess you weren’t much of a driver till this year either,good thing you had an understanding owner I guess , hopefully he keeps you around .Great job and best of luck next year to the whole team