{"id":4661,"date":"2011-03-27T14:03:21","date_gmt":"2011-03-27T19:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/?p=9076"},"modified":"2011-03-27T08:04:37","modified_gmt":"2011-03-27T13:04:37","slug":"5-time-sk-modified%c2%ae-champion-bob-potter-recalls-inaugural-carquest-tech-net-spring-sizzler-stafford-speedway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/5-time-sk-modified%c2%ae-champion-bob-potter-recalls-inaugural-carquest-tech-net-spring-sizzler-stafford-speedway\/","title":{"rendered":"5-TIME SK MODIFIED\u00ae CHAMPION BOB POTTER RECALLS INAUGURAL CARQUEST TECH-NET SPRING SIZZLER AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

5-TIME SK MODIFIED\u00ae CHAMPION BOB POTTER RECALLS INAUGURAL CARQUEST TECH-NET SPRING SIZZLER AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Stafford Springs, CT)—When the green flag falls on the CARQUEST Tech-Net
\nSpring Sizzler on May 1st this year, it will mark the start of the 40th
\nedition of \u201cThe Greatest Race In The History of Spring.\u201d The CARQUEST
\nTech-Net Spring Sizzler is the longest continuous running event on the
\nWhelen Modified Tour calendar and the Sizzler has had some of the biggest
\nand best names in modified racing find their way to CARQUEST Victory Lane.
\nThe Spring Sizzler was born in 1972 with Dr. Dick Berggren, Lew Boyd, and
\nBruce Cohen putting the race together at a time when all the prestigious
\nevents were held in the fall. Their new idea for a major race in the
\nspringtime was an overwhelming success with over 100 cars in the paddock
\narea and an overflow crowd of 11,500 packing the Stafford grandstands. Jack
\nArute purchased the rights to the race from Berggren, Boyd, and Cohen after
\nthat inaugural Sizzler and it has been the showcase event of the Stafford
\nschedule every year since.
\n
\nAs part of the celebration of 40 years of the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring
\nSizzler, Stafford Speedway is inviting drivers who took part in the
\nInaugural Spring Sizzler to take part in a special pre-race. One of those
\ndrivers is Bob Potter, who after placing ninth in that inaugural Sizzler,
\nwould go on to record 5 Stafford SK Modified\u00ae track championships, a record
\nthat stood until 2007 when Ted Christopher recorded his sixth Stafford track
\nchampionship. Driving for Roger Bonville in the #110 Coupe, Potter recalls
\nthe grand spectacle that was and continues to be the CARQUEST Tech-Net
\nSpring Sizzler.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Spring Sizzler was one sensational race, I can tell you that,\u201d said
\nPotter. \u201cI had never seen so many cars in the pits as there was for that
\nrace, it was like a Race of Champions event. It was a short race and the
\npurse money was out of sight. There were cars from all up and down the east
\ncoast, so you were going up against the best of the best. That first race
\nwas run what you brought, so there were dirt cars, asphalt cars, fuel
\ninjected cars, there were a lot of different cars. The crowd was also huge
\nfor that race, there were so many people there, I remember people sitting on
\nthe banks and I think they eventually had to start turning people away at
\nthe gate.\u201d<\/p>\n

With so many cars on hand, there was an extra premium placed on qualifying
\nthrough one of the four heat races. If a driver couldn\u2019t get qualified
\nthrough their heat race, there were two last chance consi races to get into
\nthe field.<\/p>\n

\u201cQualifying was very tough,\u201d said Potter. \u201cWith the cars and the drivers
\nthat were on hand, you really had to have everything going right for you to
\nget qualified. We had been pretty good at Waterford and between Waterford
\nand Stafford there wasn\u2019t much that we had to change on the car, so we felt
\nlike we were pretty prepared when we showed up at the track. We had a big
\nblock and a small block engine, and we decided that we needed all the power
\nwe could get, so we came with our big block to Stafford. It was a huge
\naccomplishment for us to make the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Potter finished the race in 9th place, just behind Bob Santos in the #09
\nCoupe, which earned him $450 of the then record $15,000 purse that was
\noffered for the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember it was a short race and there weren\u2019t a lot of cautions,\u201d said
\nPotter. \u201cI think I followed Bobby Santos around the track for half of the
\nrace. It was an all out race with no pit stops to change tires or anything
\nlike that. Those guys really stuck their necks out with the purse they
\noffered to us. And it wasn\u2019t just the money, there was a ton of
\ncontingency. I don\u2019t think that there was anyone who went home without
\nsomething. There were rocker arms, camshafts, intakes, clutches,
\ncarburetors, shocks, springs, and other parts that were part of the
\ncontingency. I remember we got a set of rocker arms along with our purse.
\nThere weren\u2019t any unhappy owners or drivers that day, everyone went home
\nwith something.\u201d<\/p>\n

The race was 80 laps long and the race was completed in just under 30
\nminutes with Fred DeSarro coming home as the winner in the Len Boehler owned
\n\u201cOle Blue\u201d #3. Ed Flemke had dominated the race, taking the lead from pole
\nwinner Bobby on lap-7 and he held the lead until lap-71 when his water pump
\nfailed and dropped him out of the race after it looked like he had victory
\nwell within his grasp. DeSarro led the final 9 laps to take the checkered
\nflag and a winner\u2019s check of $2,250. Flemke made up for his Sizzler
\ndisappointment one year later as he took the Bob Judkins #2x to victory with
\nDeSarro right behind him. The Boehler owned car would not return to
\nCARQUEST Victory Lane in the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler until 2004
\nwith Jerry Marquis as the driver.<\/p>\n

Further tracing the pedigree of CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler champions,
\nthere have been 22 different winners in 39 races with 8 drivers winning the
\nrace multiple times. Of the 22 CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler winners, 9
\nhave won a Whelen Modified Tour championship. Ted Christopher leads all
\ndrivers with 6 career Sizzler wins, Mike Stefanik has won the Sizzler 4
\ntimes, while Maynard Troyer, Richie Evans, and Rick Fuller each have 3 wins,
\nand Greg Sacks, Reggie Ruggiero, and Mike Ewanitsko have each won twice.
\nThose who have won the Sizzler once include: Fred DeSarro, Ed Flemke, Bugsy
\nStevens, Geoff Bodine, Bob Polverari, Jimmy Spencer, Brian Ross, Jeff
\nFuller, Jan Leaty, John Blewett, III, Jerry Marquis, Tony Hirschman, Doug
\nCoby, and Donny Lia. Christopher will try to add to his hefty Sizzler win
\ntotal and break a tie he currently holds with Troyer as the only drivers to
\nwin the Sizzler three years in a row.<\/p>\n

The 40th Annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler gets underway Friday, April
\n29 with a practice session for Stafford\u2019s weekly divisions. The practice
\nsession will be open to the public at no charge. The run for the Coors
\nLight Pole position gets underway on Saturday, April 30 with time trials for
\nthe Whelen Modified Tour cars, along with heat and consolation races for
\nStafford\u2019s weekly divisions. In the 31 Spring Sizzler events run since
\n1980, the fast qualifier has gone on to win the race 7 times. Saturday will
\nconclude with feature events for the SK Light, Limited Late Model, and DARE
\nStock divisions. The Sizzler concludes on Sunday, May 1 with the CARQUEST
\nBelts and Hose Pit Party followed by Stafford\u2019s SK Modifieds\u00ae and Late
\nModels joining the Whelen Modified Tour in feature action.<\/p>\n

Tickets for the \u201cGreatest Race in the History of Spring\u201d are on sale now at
\nthe Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $35.00 for adult general
\nadmission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and
\nunder are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved
\nseating is priced at $38.00 for all ages. As always, Stafford Motor
\nSpeedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.<\/p>\n

For more information on the 40th annual CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler\u00ae,
\nor to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
\n860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

5-TIME SK MODIFIED\u00ae CHAMPION BOB POTTER RECALLS INAUGURAL CARQUEST TECH-NET SPRING SIZZLER AT STAFFORD SPEEDWAY (Stafford Springs, CT)—When the green flag falls on the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler on May 1st this year, it will mark the start of the 40th edition of \u201cThe Greatest Race In The History of Spring.\u201d The CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[196,197],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-4661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut","category-stafford-connecticut","tag-stafford"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4661\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}