Bobby Grigas, III has been in the midst of a bad-luck streak lately, but that started to turn around on Thursday night at Thompson International Speedway. It was an unlikely night for racing, with heavy rain causing flooding throughout the infield, pit area and midway during the afternoon of the race, but Grigas’ trip to the track was brightened by a top five in the Sunoco Modified race and a top 10 finish in the headlining NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour feature.
Grigas started the night off with a fifth-place finish in the James Paige-owned #09 Sunoco Modified, but had his work cut out when the Tour Modified race had its starting lineup based on points. That meant Grigas would have to start 19th.
Grigas slowly made his way to the front. Halfway into the race, he broke into the top five and then took the lead on lap 80. He would lead for a total of 29 laps before fading to a 10th-place finish.
“I was expecting rain and we would have been in good shape if that happened,” said Grigas. “It was good to be up there. That was the third or fourth race that I was leading and lost. So far I have not been able to lead the right one (lap) at the right time, but we finished the race and that’s good. It’s definitely better than what we have been doing. So we finished 10th. That’s not great, but it’s not bad either. It kind of bums you out when you are leading the race and end up only with a top-ten finish. We will get them next time.”
Those two next times will be on Thursday when the Sunoco Modifieds race again at Thompson and on Saturday, when the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour heads to Mansfield Motorsports Park (OH).
