Catchfence

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 9, 2010) – Erick Rudolph drove his No. 98 Mohawk N.E. / Original Pizza Logs Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish, after starting on the front row. Rudolph’s top-five finish marked his third top-10 in a row and fifth top-10 of the 2010 season, moving him to sixth-place in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) point standings.

The 18-year-old started the one-day show at Stafford Motor Speedway with practice, where he posted the seventh-fastest lap-time of 18.441 seconds (97.609 mph). In qualifying, the Heinke-Baldwin Racing (HBR) Development Driver posted the fifth-fastest qualifying lap, with a time of 18.397 seconds (97.842 mph). After the redraw of the top-six qualifying times, Rudolph pulled the second-place starting spot.

Rudolph took the green flag to the Town Fair Tire 150 from the front row and did not look back. In the first lap, the Ransomville, N.Y., native drove around pole winner Bobby Grigas to take the lead. During the next 10 laps, he drove his No. 98 Mohawk N.E. / Original Pizza Logs Chevrolet to a half-straightaway lead on the second-place car of Mike Stefanik.

As Rudolph came up on lapped-traffic, his lead shortened as Stefanik closed the gap to two car-lengths. Clearing lapped-traffic by lap 35, Rudolph hung onto the lead. An incident in turns one and two on lap 48 brought out the first caution of the night. Rudolph, along with the rest of the leaders, took the opportunity to hit pit road on lap 49. The HBR team got to work on the No. 98 car, changing three tires and making an adjustment. The Mohawk N.E. / Original Pizza Logs Chevrolet came off pit road in sixth, after leading the first 50 laps of the race.

Nearing halfway, Rudolph moved into the top-five and missed two incidents on lap 59 and 69. By lap 100, Rudolph held the fourth position. A red flag flew on lap 100 to clean up the blown motor of fellow HBR Development Driver Bobby Santos.

The race resumed on lap 108 and stayed green for the last 42 laps. Rudolph, along with the top-seven cars, checked out from the rest of the field, as he held on to his position. In the last 10 laps, Rudolph raced hard with Stefanik and Ron Silk for second place. Rudolph settled for a fourth-place finish in his 10th start at Stafford Motor Speedway, . Todd Szegedy took the checkers for his first win of the season.

“We had a little mishap in the pits, but we led the first 50 laps,” explained Rudolph. “We came in to the pits and back out in the sixth position. We got passed a couple of cars, but the car just wasn’t the same as earlier in the race. After the changes, the tires went back to the way we didn’t want them, so the car wasn’t as good as early in the race. I’m happy with a solid fourth-place finish and feel like I am getting more laps and comfort with Stafford.”

The Town Fair Tire 150 from Stafford Motor Speedway will air on VERSUS on Wednesday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. EST. The next race for Rudolph and the HBR team will be the Budweiser King of Beers 150 at Thompson Motor Speedway on Thursday, August 12.

About Heinke-Baldwin Racing

Heinke-Baldwin Racing was formed in 2009 by H&H Motorsports owner Al Heinke and Tommy Baldwin Racing owner Tommy Baldwin. Both Baldwin and Heinke grew up racing in New England and saw an opportunity to work together to help young drivers pursue their dreams to race.

In 2010, the team’s freshman year, HBR is fielding the No. 98H for driver Jimmy Phelps in the Super DIRTcar Series, with sponsorship from Wave Energy Drink. They will also be fielding the No. 98 for driver Erick Rudolph in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, with additional sponsorship from Pizza Logs, Brigham Concrete and PrimeTyme Motorsports.

- Activ8 Communications Press Release