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By Kevin Rice
Photo Michael Jaworecki/Myracenews
RICHMOND, VA- A trio of young drivers readied for tonight’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150 event for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour by putting themselves into the top four in afternoon practice at Richmond Raceway. Fastest among those 28 cars who made laps was Austin Beers.
Beers’ success might seem unexpected to some, but he has finishes of sixth and eleventh in his two previous NWMT outings at the Virginia oval, as a rookie. He spent time at the top of the board midway through practice, and then he retook the top spot with a lap at 21.244 seconds around the 3/4-mile oval.
“We unloaded off the truck really good,” Beers said. “We were a little tight in the center. Sly (Szaban- crewman) made an adjustment that really worked. After that we stickered up and put a good lap on the board. Then we did a long run there at the end and the car still felt pretty good.
“We are happy with our car for the race and look forward to qualifying. I’ve been here two times now. It is good to come back to a track that I have laps on. The car is really good. I can’t than the crew enough for everything they do.”
Beers credited a more modern form of preparation for his success off the trailer.
“Me and my buddy Bryan Narducci, who was fourth in practice, we have run some laps on IRacing here and it’s pretty realistic honestly,” the Northampton, Pa., driver noted. “That actually helped us go here today.”
Second in practice wasn’t much of a surprise either, as Tommy Catalano picked up right where he left off at Richmond last year, putting the Ontario, New York based 54 second on the board with a final practice run. He also was at the top of the board early in practice.
“We pretty much went right by the book from last year,” he confirmed. “We were at the top for a long time in practice. Got knocked back to third and then bounced back up to second there at the end. We’re happy. We tried a couple of different sets of tires, mocked on some change tires. All of the tires seem to feel good, so I think we’re going to be in good shape for tonight.”
Last year’s Richmond winner Justin Bonsignore was third fastest. He appears ready for another podium finish if practice is any indication.
“Car came off the truck with good speed,” he noted. “I think we will be just how we were the last couple of years here. It will race really good. Maybe we can free up the car a little bit more for qualifying and have a shot at the pole, but either way I think it is going to race really good.”
Bryan Narducci made his first laps in the Boehler car and showed that he can certainly have speed at Richmond, staying among the top five throughout practice. New Jersey’s Andrew Krause rounded out the top five.
Matt Hirschman never turned a lap after a broken oil fitting was discovered on his ride. He was in and out of the car twice, but only with it on jack stands throughout the session. Bryan Dauzat also didn’t make any laps after his car didn’t fire. The practice was halted for about 15 minutes moments after it began after Walter Sutcliffe’s car developed a fluid leak that forced track crews to circle the track and make it raceable again.
Qualifying is set to begin at 4:15 pm today, with the race tentatively set for a 6:30 pm start. There has been unofficial talk of moving the start time up by as much as 30 minutes, but nothing official has been announced. Rain chances are highest from 5-10 pm. Potentially the race could start later tonight, or even tomorrow if weather interferes, but NACAR has not yet announced their plans if the weather does interfere.
Richmond NWMT Final Practice Times:
1. Austin Beers 21.244, 2. Tommy Catalano 21.317, 3. Justin Bonsignore 21.339, 4. Bryan Narducci 21.373, 5. Andrew Krause 21.376, 6. Doug Coby 21.401, 7. Eric Goodale 21.413, 8. Tyler Rypkema 21.438, 9. Patrick Emerling 21.456, 10. Justin Brown 21.461. 11. Ryan Newman 21.467. 12. Ron Silk, 13. Kyle Bonsignore, 14. Ed McCarthy, 15. Anthony Sesely, 16. Jon McKennedy, 17. Kyle Ebersole, 18. Craig Lutz, 19. Bobby Labonte, 20. Dave Sapienza, 21. Max McLaughlin, 22. JB Fortin, 23. Ken Heagy, 24. Cory Dimatteo, 25. Tim Connolly, 26. Gary McDonald, 27. Melissa Fifield, 28. Walter Sutcliffe. No Time: Matt Hirschman, Bryan Dauzat.
