Andy Seuss and his Stuart's Automotive/Rockingham Boat team only took part in the final three nights of the 43rd Annual World Series of Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway this year, but the former Modified champion of the series made those nights count by ending Florida Speedweeks on a high note.
Seuss finished 11th on Thursday night and ninth on Friday night, but was in contention to win on Saturday night. The race appeared to be shaping up as a battling between this year's champion, Ted Christopher and Seuss until Seuss had a tire go flat.
“We were right up there and the car was flawless,” said Seuss. “I was just trying to figure out how I was going to set him up and then the car got real tight. We had picked up some debris on the right rear and it was shrinking. By the time we came in, there was only about seven pounds of air in it. We only had an inch of stagger where we usually run four, so it tightened up pretty good. Fortunately, it wasn't a 50 or 100 lap race because it would have been off the rim in a couple of laps.
“You can't give Teddy and inch and he won't give you an inch. You've got to race him hard. One of the nice things about racing down here is that you can race hard like that and most of the time, you'll come out pointed in the right direction.”
Seuss ended up finishing third in the final night of racing at New Smyrna, which gives his team a healthy shot of momentum heading into 2009.
“That was big. Last year, we had a really good run in the last race of the week and plowed into the wall pretty good. We had to basically scrap the whole car. So to come out of here this year and only have to tinker with a few things is big. We can get it ready for Thompson now.”
In 2009, Andy Seuss will split his time between the #47 Advance Auto Parts Modified fielded by Riggs Racing on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour and the #70 Stuart's Automotive/Rockingham Boat Modified fielded by his family's team in selected NASCAR Whelen Modified and True Value Modified Racing Series events.
