BOBBY GRIGAS, III COMES BACK FOR SPEEDWEEKS SECONDS

Last year, Bobby Grigas III’s first trip to New Smyrna Speedway for Florida Speedweeks didn’t quite end the way that he wanted it to. The young Massachusetts driver was quick in his first nights of ever racing a Modified, but partway through the week he came upon a spinning car in practice and had nowhere to go but head-first into the inside wall. Damage to Grigas’ #09 Mod was just too heavy to repair, so they loaded up and cut their schedule short.

One year later, Grigas is in a much different situation as Speedweeks approaches. He’s no longer a rookie and is now instead a proven winner in the Modified community, with two victories coming last summer at Waterford and Canaan. His Triple G Scaffolding team has a year of experience under their belts, too, and knows how to prepare a fast racecar. Possibly most important, though, is that Grigas returns to New Smyrna with something to prove after last year’s bout of bad luck there.

“I expect this year at New Smyrna to be a lot different, because I know what I’m doing with the car now,” said Grigas. “It wasn’t so much that I couldn’t drive it last year. That track is fast and I liked it. But I had never driven a Modified before, and I didn’t really have the right guys and the right setup. So on top of being behind the eight ball a little bit driving-wise, I didn’t have a good car.”

Not having to load up early is first on Grigas’ list of goals for this year.

“To be honest, I really just hope to make the car last all week. Last year, we only made it two nights, so hopefully we’ll do at least three this time.”

Speedweeks is unique because instead of racing 100 or 150 laps at a time like Grigas does in the True Value Modified Racing Series or on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, the majority of the features are only 25 laps in length. There isn’t much time for a driver to get his job done.

“It’s a tough week of racing. There are some strong racers there, and you only have 25 laps to win. There’s no time to relax. Everything goes in fast-forward. There’s no patience in that type of racing. If you’re patient, you won’t win any races.”

The short races play right into Grigas’ hands, though, since he is a naturally-aggressive driver who knows how to get to the front without delay. That makes the Speedweeks features a little bit easier for his crew to coach him for.

“Everyone who helps me out is telling me that they don’t have to scream at me to pace myself over the radio, like they do in a longer race. They want me to go faster every lap for these races.”

Speedweeks 2007 at New Smyrna Speedway kicks off February 9th and runs through the 17th.

For more information on Bobby Grigas III, please contact Mike Twist at (207) 590-1786 and be sure to check out Bobby’s website at www.bobbygrigasracing.com