2007 CARQUEST Fall Final
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| Race::2007 CARQUEST Fall Final | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||
| Stafford | |||||||||
| 150 L, 75 M | |||||||||
| September 30, 2007 | |||||||||
| Fin | St | # | Name | Make | Laps | Led | Status | ||
| 1 | 14 | 16 | Mike Stefanik | Chevy | 150 | 59 | running | ||
| 2 | 3 | 48 | Tony Hirschman | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 3 | 9 | 36 | Ted Christopher | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 4 | 5 | 59 | Matt Hirschman | Dodge | 150 | 31 | running | ||
| 5 | 6 | 19 | Ronnie Silk | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 6 | 10 | 28 | James Civali | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 7 | 2 | 4 | Donny Lia | Dodge | 150 | 1 | running | ||
| 8 | 16 | 77 | Rick Fuller | Pontiac | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 9 | 17 | 3 | Bobby Santos | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 10 | 25 | 14 | Reggie Ruggiero | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 11 | 11 | 10 | Ed Flemke, Jr. | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 12 | 19 | 58 | Kevin Goodale | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 13 | 13 | 09 | Bobby Grigas, III | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 14 | 27 | 93 | Rowan Pennink | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 15 | 1 | 2 | Todd Szegedy | Ford | 150 | 59 | running | ||
| 16 | 12 | 12 | Jimmy Blewett | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 17 | 20 | 21 | Richard Savary | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 18 | 8 | 46 | Dick Houlihan | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 19 | 7 | 94 | Eric Beers | Chevy | 150 | 0 | running | ||
| 20 | 31 | 05 | Joe Hartmann | Chevy | 149 | 0 | running | ||
| 21 | 18 | 11 | Anthony Sesely | Chevy | 149 | 0 | running | ||
| 22 | 33 | 9 | Jake Marosz | Chevy | 148 | 0 | running | ||
| 23 | 28 | 64 | Eric Berndt | Pontiac | 147 | 0 | running | ||
| 24 | 30 | 33 | Wade Cole | Chevy | 146 | 0 | running | ||
| 25 | 23 | 5 | Charlie Pasteryak | Chevy | 140 | 0 | running | ||
| 26 | 26 | 90 | Renee Dupuis | Chevy | 136 | 0 | clutch | ||
| 27 | 32 | 8 | Glenn Tyler | Chevy | 121 | 0 | running | ||
| 28 | 22 | 79 | Woody Pitkat | Pontiac | 108 | 0 | suspension | ||
| 29 | 24 | 06 | Billy Pauch, Jr. | Dodge | 106 | 0 | accident | ||
| 30 | 15 | 00 | Jerry Marquis | Chevy | 68 | 0 | accident | ||
| 31 | 4 | 40 | Ryan Preece | Chevy | 18 | 0 | accident | ||
| 32 | 21 | 75 | Carl Pasteryak | Pontiac | 5 | 0 | accident | ||
| 33 | 29 | 99 | Jamie Tomaino | Ford | 2 | 0 | engine | ||
The Race::2007 CARQUEST Fall Final was a Whelen Modified Tour event held at Track::Stafford Motor Speedway on September 30, 2007. Mike Stefanik continued to build his series stature by claiming yet another victory, holding off Tony Hirschman, Jr. Donny Lia was 7th and now held a 184-point championship lead on Todd Szegedy (15th).
Race Review
Edit
Stafford, Conn. - Donny Lia's 2007 season has been so successful, he was able to clinch the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship with a race remaining on the schedule.
Lia, with six wins and 11 top fives in 15 races, finished seventh in Sunday's Fall Final at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway. Combined with Todd Szegedy's 22nd-place finish, Lia improved his points lead over second-place Szegedy to 183 and earned Lia his first career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship.
"Numb - just feeling numb," said Lia of his reaction. "I'm just so happy we won the championship for my race team."
Defending Whelen Modified Tour champion Mike Stefanik won his first race of the season. He led the final 59 laps to finish ahead of runner-up Tony Hirschman and third-place Ted Christopher. Matt Hirschman and Ronnie Silk were fourth and fifth respectively.
Following the race, Stefanik stopped by Lia's celebration in Victory Lane to congratulate the new champion. The Whelen Modified Tour finishes its season with the World Series of Speedway Racing Oct. 14 at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway.
Lia entered Sunday's CARQUEST Fall Final 150 needing a finish of ninth or better to clinch the title by starting the World Series. But when Szegedy spun on lap 97 while running in the top 10, the door opened for Lia to wrap up the title early. In the process, he earned the first NASCAR Modified title for long-time car owner Bob Garbarino. Garbarino has running a Modified since 1961.
"What makes me so proud is to win the championship for Bob Garbarino," Lia said. "The guy is just an amazing person."
Garbarino said it didn't sink in until he started getting congratulations from some of the people that he's competed against for years, like fellow car owner Art Barry and Stefanik.
"You start to get that 'This is really something' feeling," Garbarino said. "You start to understand, to really really it."
QualifyingEdit
Eric Beers was the man to beat in qualifying, turning in a speed of 18.267 seconds on lap two to take the pole. His time equaled 98.538 seconds. Following the post qualifying redraw, Beers found himself starting 7th. Todd Szegedy would instead start on the pole position, with points leader Donny Lia on his outside. Eventual winner Stefanik would start 14th.
Three drivers failed to qualify for the 2007 CARQUEST Fall Final:
- #17 - Jeff Malave
- #96 - Howie Brode
- #82 - Mike Christopher
Race DataEdit
Time of Race: 1 hour 10 minutes 59 seconds Fastest Qualifier: Eric Beers (98.538 mph, 18.267 seconds) Caution Flags: 8 for 42 laps. Lead Changes: 4 among 4 drivers. Lap Leaders: T.Szegedy 1-10; D.Lia 11; T.Szegedy 12-60; M.Hirschman 61-91; M.Stefanik 92-150.
Standings: 1. Lia, 2392; 2. Szegedy, 2209; 3. Civali, 2111; 4. Silk, 2102; 5. M. Hirschman, 2102; 6. Christopher, 2095; 7. Stefanik, 1935; 8. Blewett, 1795; 9. Tomaino, 1754; 10. Flemke Jr., 1745.
