Andy Seuss and his #70 Rockingham Boat/Stuarts Automotive went to Lee USA Speedway (NH) on Friday July 11th looking for a win in the True Value Modified Racing Series. Andy finished second in the first heat race and then went on to start the race in fourth place.
But the team had a challenging race ahead of them.
“It was a tough day,” said Seuss. “We struggled a little bit. We were up to fourth and we were starting to fad a little bit. We maybe could have been able to hold on to a top five. But we were really shooting for the win because we are not running for points.”
Since the team was striving for a win they took a risk to give up the fourth position on the racetrack and pitted to tweak the car during first caution on lap 28.
“We took a gamble and came in to fix the car. I never really got the right balance and traffic was tough.”
That was not enough so Andy brought the car back in on lap 83 with only 13 laps left in the race to try and tweak it some more.
Andy races with the #10x of eventual winner Ed Dauchenhausen at Lee. (Jim Dupont Photos)
“We made it up to tenth. A top ten finish in the True Value Series is not bad. We were just happy to see the car finish and we will get ready for Seekonk.
“I think that we might have been able to finish better if we hadn’t pitted. But we were just shooting for the win. We are not running for points. If I had faded back to sixth or so it really would not have been a huge difference for us from sixth to tenth. It just did not quite pan out.”
It seems strange that the team who won an Oktoberfest race found themselves back at Lee and struggling. Why did the team find themselves in that situation?
Talented Driver Brings Home Top-10 Finish
“We are just trying things with the chassis setup. We have always struggled under the lights there. When it is during the day like Oktoberfest for the past three years we have been on the podium and won. So we have the daylight setup figured out but we are just working on the night time setup there.”
The #70 team has taken some pressure off of competing in northern modified races by setting their goals to race where they can and when they can rather then concentrating at one track or division.
“It is a lot easier when you are not chasing points just for when the bad luck hits. I guess you are just not that much more not disappointed. As much as I want to go out and win every race, it does not get frustrating to look at you slide back in points or anything like that.”
The main focus for Seuss this year has been to run with the NASCAR
Whelen Southern Modified Tour with the Advance Auto Parts Riggs Racing
#47 and fit in other racing up North when they can.
“Racing in the North it is has been great. We get to just pick and choose
what we want to race and what we want to race. It allows me to be really focused and not worry about points up north. When I do go down South that I is what I am focused on this year so it helps a lot.”
After the Lee Speedway race, the Rockingham Boat/Stuart Automotive Race team selected to take time out to give back to the community. The team brought their #70 race car to the VFW facility in Raymond, NH to help the veterans promote support for their new building.
“I enjoy doing these types of activities especially for the veterans and everything that they have done for our country,” said Seuss. “Any time that we can help them, we offer our services.”
Seuss joined the car at the event to sign autographs for fans who came to see the team’s car and to meet Seuss while supporting VFW efforts.
“They are trying to sell bricks for their walkway at the new VFW to help them with the cost of the new facility. So if putting the car on display helps attracts a few people and helps them out then we are fine with doing that.”
Seuss' team makes a pitstop during the race. (Jim Dupont Photos)
