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.