(Stafford Springs, CT)—For Anthony Flannery and the #25ct Fowler’s Auto Wrecking / Belltown Recycling team, good luck has been hard to find in 2022 when racing Open Modifieds at Stafford Motor Speedway. With 50 cars on hand for the NAPA Spring Sizzler® in April, Flannery was able to earn a starting position but a wreck not of his own doing ended his run. Flannery is hoping to not only get a top-10 finish this Friday night, August 19, in the Lincoln Tech Open 80, but also make it to the checkered flag.
“I’d be very happy with a top-10 finish and just finishing the race would be big for us since we haven’t had a lot of luck with the open car at Stafford this season,” said Flannery. “We qualified for the Sizzler out of 50 cars and we only lasted for a lap and a half before we got caught up in someone else’s wreck and we were done for the day. We missed the next race but came back for the third race. We were running in the top-10 and made it through the pit cycle but unfortunately only lasted a few more laps before the car blew up on me. We had a good car up to that point and any time we can get into the top-10 in one of these open races at Stafford, that’s a pretty big deal for a small team like ours. If we can stop the DNF’s from coming through, we’ll be very happy. I’m feeling pretty good about the race and hopefully we’ll have a little bit of lady luck on our side and we can finish.”
Prior to the start of the 2022 season, Flannery had less than 20 career starts at Stafford driving SK Modified®, Open Modified, or Modified Racing Series cars. In order to help himself get a little more acclimated with the Connecticut half-mile layout, Flannery has been racing a Todd Owen prepared SK Modified® car that he has piloted to 4 top-10 finishes in only 5 races.
“I’ve been running the SK Modified® for Todd and it’s always good to have more laps at a track,” said Flannery. “The cars drive totally different with the horsepower difference, but laps are laps and getting more laps definitely helps to get more comfortable. Those extra laps in the SK have given me a confidence boost in knowing how to get around the track a little better.”
Coming into the 2022 season, Flannery had only made 3 career SK Modified® starts without recording a top-10 finish. Now that he has four top-10 finishes in 5 races, Flannery knows what it takes to run in the top-10 at Stafford as well as learning patience that he can apply during the Lincoln Tech 80.
“I knew Todd had great stuff and he continues to give me a great car every week, the only thing is showing up halfway through the year we have no handicap and we have to start in the back,” said Flannery. “I go out to get laps and try not to affect anything with guys who are racing for points. If I make a crazy move, it might look good on FloRacing, but it only takes one or two bad nights for someone to get taken out of the points race so I’m trying to always be smart with my moves and that helps with keeping the car in one piece. In the open races, you can apply that patience from the SK races even a little further with the extra laps and extra power to work with.”
Even though Flannery will be pulling double duty this Friday night at Stafford, he will be able to put the majority of his focus on racing, as his Open Modified teammate and car owner Dave Etheridge (driver of #34 Open Mod) will miss the race, allowing the crew for the #25ct and #34 cars to give their full attention to Flannery’s car.
“It’ll be my first time doing double duty at Stafford,” said Flannery. “It’s going to be bittersweet that Dave won’t be racing, but that will just mean that I have extra crew guys for my Open car and there will be a lot less things that I have to worry about. Todd’s guys are all amazing and they take care of the SK for me so I can focus mostly on just driving the car. Whenever I try to do something on the SK the guys just push me out of the way and tell me that they’ve got it.”
Flannery heads into the Lincoln Tech 80 knowing what he will need in order to be among the contending cars when the race comes down to the final few laps.
“You’ll need to have a car with no damage on it so you have to be smart throughout the race, and you’ll need to have a good pit stop,” said Flannery. “You see a lot of guys either gain or lose a bunch of spots on pit road and it’s tough to make up spots on the track if you have a bad pit stop.”
The 3rd Annual Lincoln Tech 80 is scheduled for this Friday, August 19th. Stafford’s SK Modified®, Late Model, SK Light, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions will join the Open Modifieds in feature action. Tickets for the Lincoln Tech 80 are available now online at StaffordSpeedway.com/tickets and tickets will also be available for purchase at the admission gates. Tickets for the Lincoln Tech 80 are $30.00 for adults, $10.00 for kids 6-14, and free for kids 5 & under. Reserved seating is priced at $35.00 for all ages and pit passes are $45.00 with a valid 2022 Stafford Competition License and $50.00 without a Stafford license. If you are unable to attend the event, tune into the live stream on FloRacing, the official streaming partner of Stafford Speedway.
For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com, checkout Stafford Speedway on Facebook or Twitter, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
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