Last Minute Change Leads to 19-Year-Old To Miss NHIS Race, But He Gains
Valuable Experience at NHIS and By Practicing Ted Christopher’s Racecar
Andy Seuss had high hopes leading into the New England 100 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at New Hampshire International Speedway. It was to be the 19-year-old’s Mod Tour debut in front of the largest crowd of any race all year long. A battery of local sponsors, led by Manchester Urology Associates, helped Seuss’ family-owned team to make entering the race possible and a not-so-small cheering section was ready to give their driver moral support from the stands
As it turned out, the race weekend was a huge learning experience for Seuss and his #70 team. Unfortunately, a series of circumstances kept him from making the starting field for the race.
Seuss entered the event without a single lap of experience at NHIS under his belt. Rain kept him from testing there as planned, and also delayed opening practice this past race weekend. With only slightly more than an hour to learn the track and make adjustments to his car, Seuss jumped right in. He posted speeds in practice that were more than good enough to get him into the starting field.
However, moments before qualifying was set to begin, the team was told that their front end was a little over an inch too narrow. The fact that the #70 team was unfamiliar with the NASCAR rulebook in their first race, led to the problem and it had to be fixed. A slightly wider rear wheel had to be mounted on the front. Without the opportunity to practice this new set-up, Seuss hit the track and posted a respectable lap that was the quickest of all non-qualifiers. Without a provisional start available, Seuss was forced to load up and watch the race from the sidelines.
“I’m disappointed that we did not make the race,” said Seuss. “The team worked so hard to get here and Manchester Urology Associates put their faith in us. We fell a little bit short. But everyone is a rookie sometime in their career and we learned a lot this weekend that will help us when we return here in September.”
On Friday, Seuss salvaged his weekend by traveling to Canaan Fair Speedway (NH) to practice a car that Ted Christopher drove to a second-place finish in an open Modified race there Friday night. Christopher was taking part in NASCAR Nextel Cup Series practice and qualifying at NHIS on Friday, so his #00 Joe Brady-owned team needed someone familiar with Modifieds to fill in for him. Their first choice was Seuss, who gladly accepted the job.
“It was a real honor to have been chosen by Joe Brady’s team and Ted Christopher to help them out. The team has won races from Florida to New England and I’ve always been a fan of the #00 wherever it races. We had a productive afternoon and Ted finished second in the race later on.”
Andy helped get the #00 of Ted Christopher ready to race at Canaan. (Jim Dupont Photo)
After that, Seuss stayed around NHIS as a fan. He might have not been able to race at the “Magic Mile”, but he was not about to miss the Modified action.
“New Hampshire is just an amazing facility that does a lot for Modified racing. As always, the race was awesome and I enjoyed it as a fan. I would have enjoyed it a lot more from the driver’s seat though and when we come back in September, that is where I plan to be.”
Seuss will next race in the True Value Modified Racing Series at Lee USA Speedway on Tuesday, July 18th.
