Renee chats with Ralph Sheheen - Versus' pit road reporter. Hodge photo.

On Friday, NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Tour competed at Stafford Motor Speedway (Stafford Springs, CT) for the 20th annual Town Fair Tire 150. Friday’s race marked the third of four visits to the .5-mile speedway during the 2010 season.

As customary, the teams in attendance began the day with a 90-minute practice session, followed by qualifying.

Following the WMT’s standard autograph session on Stafford’s midway, the green flag waved at about 9:40 PM.

The UNION Insurance Group Chevrolet started deep in the field, but steadily worked forward. When the first caution waved on lap 48, the team pitted for fresh rubber along with most of the field. The race resumed on lap 57, but was followed by a string of cautions – during which the team was awarded the Lucky Dog pass. During one of several cautions the team decided to pit for chassis adjustments. By about the lap 100 mark, the team restarted in a race-high of 11^th place. When the checkered flag fell 50 laps later, Renee crossed the line in 13^th. With the finish, the team remains 17^th in points.

“The guys did a great job in the pits and after the stops, the car was much better. It’s probably the best we’ve run at Stafford all season. But, I think that’s more a reflection on getting our brake situation finally solved,” offered Renee. I’m glad we’re leaving here in one piece – it’ll make this week a little easier.”

For those who weren’t able to make it out to the track, the Stafford race will be televised on Wednesday, August 11 at 7 PM ET on Versus.

As Renee alluded to, the team faces another tight turn around as they head to Thompson International Speedway (Thompson, CT) on Thursday, August 12 for another 150-lap feature. The Thompson event marks the third of four races in a span of 18 days.

“I’m looking forward to Thompson. It’s my favorite track and we ran really well in this race a year ago.”

NASCR’s Whelen Modified Tour rolled into Riverhead (Riverhead, Long Island, New York) for the running of the ‘Riverhead 200’ on Saturday night.

The day began with an hour long practice session, followed by qualifying and a 25-lap heat race. In the end, Renee took a provisional starting position and started 27^th in the field.

Starting from the back, the team began the race with a strategy of just trying to stay on the lead-lap, while avoiding any accidents. Riverhead Tour races are notorious for being caution-filled, as it’s a track where passing is difficult.

That plan came to a tire screeching haul on lap 26 when Renee spun to the infield after being hit from behind by the 88 car (Riverhead regular Dave Brigati). At that point, the car went a lap down as Renee attempted to pull back onto the race surface.

“We obviously weren’t happy to flat out get turned, but we kept at it hoping to get the lucky dog,” offered Renee.

That opportunity never came. On lap 73, Renee was again dumped by the 88 car entering turn three. This time, several other cars piled in – with significant contact to the left rear of the No. 90 car. The team pitted and changed the left rear, speedily returning the car to competition. Just a few laps later, Renee felt something let go in the rear of the car and pulled to the infield. Upon inspection by the crew, a broken left-side axle was found. Versus’ broadcast footage of the accident can be found in this video clip (the accident is featured at about the 2 minute 10 second mark).

Renee explained: “Axles don’t usually just break. The guys soon discovered that the contact in the left rear was severe enough to bend the axle tube. When we went back out, the tube was rubbing on the axle – and that friction quickly caused the axle to snap. If we had put another axle in, the same thing would have just happened again. Aside from replacing the straight rear with a quick change – which wasn’t going to happen in the time we had left, we didn’t have any option but to take a DNF (did not finish).”

The team was credited with a 25^th place finish and remains 17^th in points.

“I was clearly pissed to get wrecked by the same guy twice. There’s no history between us and there was absolutely no reason for him to get into me. I expressed my frustration. Twice. During the second confrontation – when his crew members started to get a little too mouthy for my liking – he shut them up by flatly admitting that he just plain wrecked us both times. He didn’t have much else to offer other than, in his opinion, ‘that’s short track racing.’ I don’t know, maybe he’s watched too much Madhouse or something – but that’s not short track racing.”

Riverhead marked the start of a busy stretch for the WMT – with four races scheduled over just 18 days. The team will race again this Friday night at Stafford Motor Speedway (Stafford Springs, CT) for a 150-lap race.

On Friday night, of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returned for the second of four events to be held at Stafford Motor Speedway (Stafford Springs, CT).

The event began with a mid-afternoon 90-minute practice session. The No. 90 UNION Insurance Group Chevrolet ran respectable times amongst an incredible competitive field (a tenth of a second was the difference between 10 spots).

Qualifying was slated for 6 PM. The team drew a dreaded early position for time – going out 7^th of the 33 cars to attempt to qualify for the 31-car field. As predicted, Renee qualified poorly in the 26^th spot.

After qualifying, Renee participated in an autograph session on Stafford’s midway.

The125-lap feature eventually rolled off at about 10 PM. The race went green for 32 laps. When the next caution waved about 10 laps later, Renee brought the car to pit road for chassis adjustments and fresh rubber. When the car returned to the track, the brake problems that have plagued the team all season reared their ugly head.

“This has been a frustrating season – to say the least,” explained Renee. “The brake situation has had us completely stumped. Obviously, we went to the track thinking we had the problem solved. But, we didn’t – and we didn’t know that until race time. It’s just impossible to drive the car with major brake issues. It makes the car unpredictable and incredibly inconsistent.”

“Regardless, with Martinsville next week, we unloaded the car on Saturday morning and went to work. We borrowed some brake pressure gauges and immediately confirmed a serious problem. Eventually we found a clearance issue with the bias adjuster and pedal assembly. Some machine work on the Bridgeport solved the problem. But, to be certain we changed all the steel lines on the car too. Now, between the last three races, we have swapped out every brake component on the car.”

Whatever the case, the team was credited with an 18^th place finish and is now ranked 13^th in the season-long points battle.

“On an interesting side note, on Saturday night I got a call from Waterford,” explained Renee. “One of our crew guys was down there and was talking with Rob Summers (a fellow WMT racer) about our problem. They called me and Robbie and I talked. He said they chased the same exact problem for four races last season. We commiserated over the frustration, because – from the outside looking in – it appears like the driver just isn’t getting the job done. He went out of his way to call to make sure we had the problem properly addressed. He didn’t have to do that, but I’m very appreciative that he did.”

As Renee mentioned, the team is headed to Martinsville (VA) this weekend for a 200 lap race – which is scheduled to go off at 1 PM on Sunday, June 6. The race will air on SPEED at a date and time yet to be announced.

Renee signs an autograph for a young fan. Hodge Photo.

After a one week delay – because of rain showers – the 39^th annual Spring Sizzler event went off without a hitch at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 1.

The day began with Stafford’s annual ‘CARQUEST Belts & Hoses Pit Party.’ All of the teams in attendance participated in the hour-long festivities. Stafford’s Pit Party always provides a great opportunity for interaction between drivers and fans; and Saturday was certainly no exception.

Following the Pit Party the WMT held a brief 30 minute practice session.

“We were pretty happy with the car during practice. We did more than hold our own running with some top cars, so we figured we were good to go,” said Renee.

When the green flag dropped the UNION Insurance Group No. 90 held their own for a while, but eventually slipped back with a loose race car. With two long green flag runs to start the race off – and with a badly handling race car – the team made the decision to make a dreaded green flag stop.

“The car was so bad, we pitted under green for some chassis adjustments and fresh rubber. From there on out the car ran decent – but we were so many laps down, there was no sense in trying to run with anybody. At that point you just want to finish the day and not take any chance of wrecking the car.”

In the end, the team finished 18^th. Despite the disappointing run, they did however move up one spot in the point standings and are now ranked 12^th.

“We’ve identified a couple problem areas and will address them when we go back to Stafford at the end of the month.”

As Renee mentioned, the WMT is off until they return to Stafford on Friday, May 28 for the 20^th annual TSI Harley Davidson 125-lap event.

For photos from the weekend, courtesy of Mary and Howie Hodge, please check out our gallery.

Stafford Motor Speedway has postponed the racing activities for the 39th Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler to Saturday, May 1st (with a rain date of Sunday, May 2^nd) due to inclement weather.

On Saturday, May 1 the paddock area will open at 7:00 AM; with Stafford’s famous CARQUEST Belts and Hose Pit Party kicking things off from 11:15 AM to 12:15 PM. Following the Pit Party the Whelen Modified Tour will hold a brief practice sesion from 1:00 – 1:30 PM. It’s anticipated the WMT will be taking the green flag at approximately 3:15 PM. Stafford management has confirmed all rain checks will be honored.

Prior to the postponement, the No. 90 team participated in practice and qualifying for their 200-lap event.

“We were pretty happy with the car for most of practice. The first time we hit the track we turned laps in the 18.2s – which is plain fast at Stafford. We came in, made a couple of changes, and went back out and ran some 18.1s. Then on one of our last runs, we lost the front brakes going into turn one. We came in and the guys immediately went to work searching for the problem,” explained Renee.

After finding nothing obvious, the crew began swapping brake components – to no avail. Showing signs of obvious frustration, a couple of crew chiefs from other teams even stopped by and pitched in. With no real answers, but the problem temporarily solved, the crew sent the car onto the track for qualifying.

“It certainly didn’t help that we had an early draw (the car went out 8^th in the qualifying order of 36 cars) and I probably was a little conservative not having confidence in the brake situation. Regardless, we qualified in the back of the field.”

“I’m happy that the race was postponed because we’re going to tear the braking system apart this week and get some answers. It’s a tight field again – same deal as Thompson – where literally hundredths of a second make the difference between ten spots. But, I know we have a good car and 200 laps to sort it out. We look forward to going back next week.”

This past weekend NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Tour returned to Stafford Motor Speedway (Stafford Springs, CT) for the running of the 37^th annual Carquest Fall Final.

Despite persistent rain showers on Saturday, the WMT hit the track for a few rounds of practice. And, despite posting the 10th fastest practice time during the brief session, the No. 90 car unexpectedly developed a problem under the hood.

After weighing all their options, the team principals decided to take a provisional starting position into Sunday’s field – then do a ‘start and park’ during the race.

“After putting our heads together we came up with a few options, but realistically none of them were any good,” said Renee. “We opted for a ‘start and park’ because we just can’t take the chance of hurting this engine. Looking at the big picture, basically we sacrificed Stafford so we could have the engine back together in time for the season-ending race at Thompson.”

As Renee stated, next up on the WMT’s schedule is Thompson International Speedway’s annual World Series of Speedway Racing. The three-day event – featuring 14 different divisions – will run on October 16-18.

TSI Harley-Davidson 100. Photo by Howie Hodge.

After a near month-long break in the schedule, NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Tour returned to Stafford Motor Speedway for the running of the 19^th annual TSI Harley-Davidson 100.

For the third stop on the 2009 schedule, 37 cars attempted to qualify for just 31 spots. Of the cars taking time, the No. 90 team posted the 21^st fastest time of the session.

Following qualifying, while the cars were sent to impound, Renee went to Stafford’s midway and participated in an autograph session.

Set to start the 100-lap race on the favored inside line, the No. 90 car unexpectedly required the assistance of a push truck to get started following driver introductions. After the jump, the car appeared normal – then completely lost power as the field was coming to the green.

“I don’t know if the battery died – and I don’t mean lost its charge – or if we had a short in the main electrical switch, offered Renee (the team has since learned a plate in the battery was knocked loose as a result of the accident during the previous race causing the battery to short). “Regardless, it ended our day before we even made a single lap. We obviously had no indication of a problem prior to the start of the race.”

“I should have guessed the day would turn out like this,” she continued. “We were out in Chicago on Thursday night for a reception for our sponsor – UNION Insurance Group – and our flight out (on the first flight available on Friday morning) was delayed. Luckily, we got out – but our plan didn’t go smoothly. Then, once we got to the track, we had problems in practice.”

“The May Stafford race is always a short field and, in the past, we haven’t even qualified for this race. We’ve worked hard to better our performance at Stafford and to have this happen is frustrating, to put it mildly.”

With another lengthy break in the schedule, the team will next head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the June 27 running of the New England 100 – a support race to the weekend’s headlining Sprint Cup race.

The Whelen Modified Tour made its first of four stops at Stafford Motor Speedway (Stafford Springs, CT) on Sunday, April 26. Sunday marked the 38th running of Stafford’s annual ‘Spring Sizzler’ event.

The weekend opened, for the WMT, with a mid-morning practice session on Saturday. Time trails followed and, despite a dreaded early draw (the car was just the 6th to take the track) – of the 36 cars on hand – the No. 90 team qualified 23rd fastest.

On Sunday the team participated in Stafford’s Pit Party. The hour-long event provided the thousands of fans in attendance with the chance to meet their favorite drivers and get an up-close look at the cars that would take to the track that afternoon.

Starting the 200-lap race from the favored inside lane, the team stuck to their strategy of just trying to stay out of trouble.

“We approached the race conservatively. We just wanted to stay on the lead lap for the first 150-laps. Then, the plan was to go racing for the last 50,” explained Renee.

Despite a good plan, the day quickly unraveled following contact with the 32 car – on just the 22nd lap. Following a solid trip into the outside retaining wall in turn four, the car was removed from the racing surface – with the aid of two wreckers.

The No. 90 car comes to rest with right-side damage. Photo by Howie Hodge.

“I thought we gave him plenty of room. Apparently not. I don’t know if he got loose and came up into us or if his spotter just cleared him too soon. I don’t really know what the deal was, other than it was way too early for something so stupid to happen.”

Regardless, the team will have the opportunity to try it all again as they return to Stafford on Friday, May 22 for their next WMT event – a 100 lap race. For more information on the event, please visit Stafford’s website.