A Collection of Recent News Snippets
UIG Recognized on NASCAR’s website
Just prior to the running of New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s New England 100, NASCAR posted the news release ‘UNION Insurance Group Goes Full-Time in NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Tour’ to the Home Tracks section of their website. The release marked some much anticipated publicity for the Chicago-based insurance agency.
UNION Insurance Group President Chris DeCaigny – who was standing on Loudon’s pit road when the release was published – was pleased to see his agency receive recognition for their support of the lone-female in one of NASCAR’s most competitive Series.
Boilermaker Reporter
The team received even more press in the Boilermaker Reporter – the official publication of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. Renee is a third generation Boilermaker – working in the office of the Northeast Area Apprenticeship Program since graduating with honors from the University of Connecticut.
The story appears in both the print and on-line versions of the Reporter.
Make-A-Wish Foundation
When leaving the Driver’s Meeting at NHMS, Renee was approached by NASCAR with an opportunity to spend some time with a visiting Make-A-Wish family. She jumped at the chance – meeting the Full family from Minnesota. Renee Full (it turns out the two shared the same first name) had traveled half way across the country to have her wish of meeting Sprint Cup Champion Jimmy Johnson fulfilled.
The group – escorted by two State Police officers – walked out on to pit road, where Renee spoke with the family – answering questions and bantering back and forth about racing in general. Together they watched some qualifying runs for the Nationwide Series. Renee then enlisted the help of Phil Kurze (Whelen Engineering’s Motorsports Director) to help her new friend obtain Danica Patrick’s autograph.
“I had a wonderful time with the Renee and the Full Family,” said Renee. “I’ve never had the chance to work with Make-A-Wish before, but it’s something I would like to continue doing. It was a really powerful experience. Knowing she is a Jimmy Johnson fan, I was happy to see him win on Sunday – I hope the family made it down to victory lane. We exchanged contact information – I plan to stay in touch.”
To learn more about Renee’s journey, please click here.
The UIG No. 90 heads under the bridge at Lime Rock. Hodge Photo.
Lime Rock Park Test Session
On Tuesday, June 29, the No. 90 team headed out to Lime Rock Park (Lakeville, CT) to participate in an open-test session – in anticipation of the race to be held there on July 3.
The team ran several laps, despite having clutch/transmission issues.
“We had some mechanical issues – but that’s part of the reason we went. Obviously, it was important to run laps, but we also wanted to make sure we had the car sorted out. I’ve spent a number of days out at Lime Rock this spring – trying to learn how to run a road course – but it was pretty different in a Modified. I’m glad we went.”
Accident Hinders NHMS Run
A specially-prepared car (with a chrome-nose) was ready for action at NHMS. The car never made it to the big-show on Saturday. Hodge Photo.
This past weekend, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour traveled to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the first of two visits to the facility during the 2010 season.
For the Tour, the event began on Thursday with a late-morning practice session. Not too deep into practice, Renee backed her UNION Insurance Group Chevrolet into the second turn wall. With significant chassis damage, the team was forced to return to their Connecticut-based race shop to retrieve their second car.
“I put us behind the 8-ball by wrecking in practice,” said Renee. “I hate that it happened – the whole crew had to hustle to get the second car back to Loudon. It was a lot of long hours in the shop and, in the end, it wasn’t the combination we wanted to run there. We had to do what we had to do to salvage some type of finish.”
Starting from a provisional starting position of 35th, Renee moved up several positions during the course of the event – eventually crossing the finish line in 20th position. The team remains ranked 19th in the season-long points battle.
Please take a moment to view photos from New Hampshire in our on-line gallery.
Next up, NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Tour heads to Lime Rock Park Speedway (Lakeville, CT) for the Series’ only road course appearance on the schedule. In advance of the race, the team will participate in an open test at Lime Rock on Tuesday, June 29.
1st Annual NEW YORK Shoot – Shoot For A Cure
Alicia and Renee at the UNION Insurance Group sponsored station.
On Saturday, June 19 Renee and team member Justin Dutton traveled to Clinton, NY to attend the Shoot For A Cure sporting clays event at the Clinton Fish and Game Club.
Proceeds from the 1st Annual NEW YORK Shoot benefited the ‘Christin Gachowski Martin Foundation’
Renee and Justin were joined by Alicia Fidler – their friend and UNION Insurance Group’s Director of Sales and Marketing. The trio spent much of the day traveling to 14 different sporting clays stations. Where, at each station, each team member shot three or four pair.
“I was a total newbie, having never shot sporting clays,” said Renee. “But, Shoot For A Cure is so well organized, there were plenty of knowledgeable instructors to help me along the way.”
“It’s certainly not easy,” she continued. “As you move from station to station the clays come from different directions, distances, angles and heights.”
After the shoot, the participants enjoyed lunch followed by an awards ceremony and raffles.
Prior to the awards, Mark (Gagliardi – SFAC’s National Event Chairman) gave an impassioned speech on how far leukemia cure rates have progressed in a relatively short time frame. Also, he spoke of the simple process of becoming a stem cell donor.
“While I was impressed by the entire event, I was particularly interested in the raffle items. You see, I was raised in a household where purchasing American-made products was emphasized. And, as each and every item came across the table it was neat that they were all American-made. That was cool. Personally, I think it would go a long way in helping our economy if we made a habit of purchasing products made in America.”
Please take a moment to view photos from the event in our gallery.