Bobby Grigas, III showed his strength as a rising star on the NASCAR Whelen Modified during the TSI 150 at Stafford Motor Speedway (CT). Grigas qualified third and battled with eventual winner Chuck Hossfeld for the lead early on. Grigas won his share of the battle too, staying in the lead for a total of 53 laps.
“At Stafford I time trialed third,” said Grigas. “I am psyched that I can do as well as I do with people that are on the Tour that have years of experience. I am just fortunate enough to be able to do as well as I have. Stafford is a tough track but I like racing there.
“The race when really well for us too. It was good to have a car that could run up front like that and early on, it was perfect. We learned a few things too that will help us even more in the future.
A shot at a great finish ended though with a mid race pit stop. On lap 90, there was a caution and all the lead cars pitted. Despite the best efforts of his hard working team, Grigas got caught in the pits and fell deep in the field.
“The way that everyone pulled into the pits, I got blocked in there. Everyone pulled in at an angle and then moved their hoses and guns all around them. So we ended up having to go backward to go forward.”
Bobby Grigas, III (#09) races with eventual Stafford winner Chuck Hossfeld (#4). (Jim Dupont Photos)
Grigas rolled on to finish 15th. He is currently ranked 11th in the WMT standings and is very happy with the season that he is having so far.
“Everything has been going very well this year,” said Grigas. “I really have to thank everyone associated with this team for that - from my parents to everyone on the pit crew. They are working really hard and that is allows me to have good races like this.”
Grigas' next NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event will come on June 19th at Thompson International Speedway (CT).
In the meantime, Grigas will race in the Sunoco Modified division at Thompson International Speedway each Thursday night, driving the #09 James Paige-owned Sunoco Modified.
