The Whelen NASCAR Modifed Tour is headed into uncharted waters this weekend.
Not only is the Musket 250 the longest race of all time, live pit stops are expected to take place throughout the event. But the $25,000 that goes to the winner of the contest and the $100 bonus for each lap a driver leads are more than enough incentive to get drivers excited for 250 laps around the Magic Mile.
The strain on the engines is expected to be enormous, but Ryan Preece is confident that most of the drivers’ equipment will make it to the checkered flag.
I don’t feel reliability will be a concern,” Preece told Short Track Scene. “As long as you’re aware of not over heating the motor in the draft, and that’s the main thing, you should be fine.”
Solomito agreed, while noting that nobody truly knows what to expect when the green flag drops.
“I think we’ll see a pretty good race,” the 2017 Tour runner-up said. “There’s probably going to be a good amount of cars left at the end as long as there aren’t any huge wrecks and nobody blows up in front of the field… We’ve changed a lot of things. We’ve been putting coolers on everything. It’s going to be interesting to see where longevity is, not just for our team, but for everyone.”
The 2018 season has been a struggle of sorts for Solomito, but he’s taking it in stride. Winning such a massive event could make or break the season for the No. 16 team.
“What are you going to do?” said Solomito on the team’s lack of speed this season. “Some years you’re really good and some you’re a little off… We know the situation. Points are kind of out the window at this point.”
With so much money on the line, and points racing out of the picture, expect Solomito, as usual, to hit the ground running in his ground-pounder.
“I run hard from lap one to the finish,” he said. “The action will probably pick up towards midway… Hopefully there’s a good crowd at the track Saturday.”
Expect Ryan Preece and Timmy Solomito to be right in the thick of things for the entirety of the Musket 250 Saturday.
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