NASCAR

BNS: Stafford: Tops Racing race notes

Wolfe seventh again at Stafford STAFFORD SPRINGS, Connecticut -- Paul Wolfe and the Tops Friendly Markets Racing Team took on 29 NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch North Series opponents here at Stafford Motor Speedway Friday, May 9 in the ...

Edited: Dec 22, 2003, 5:59 AM

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Wolfe seventh again at Stafford

STAFFORD SPRINGS, Connecticut -- Paul Wolfe and the Tops Friendly Markets Racing Team took on 29 NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch North Series opponents here at Stafford Motor Speedway Friday, May 9 in the series' second race of the season. Wolfe qualified fifth for the New England Dodge Dealers 150 with a time of 20.15 seconds at the half-mile short track and finished the night in seventh place. It marked the second time in as many races that the team came away with a seventh place finish.

"Looking at the big picture, the team is satisfied with our run tonight," Wolfe said. "We thought we had a better car though. We were very tight all night. When I tried to accelerate, the car would just push up the track. We ended up getting shuffled back a few times."

Wolfe, who now sits sixth in Busch North Series points standings, drove the Tops Dodge to as high as third in the race during laps 4-37. After Wolfe lost several spots over the next 40 laps, a solid pit stop on lap 79 brought him out ninth. Wolfe managed to keep the Tops Dodge out of trouble all night, despite eight caution flags in the race. On lap 129, the No. 52 car of Jerry Marquis spun directly in front of Wolfe on the front stretch and caused a smokescreen. Wolfe hit the brakes hard, touched Marquis, and went low to avoid a certain T-bone collision.

"That was a close one," Wolfe said. "Our tires got together, and the steering wheel was knocked out of my hands for a moment." Martin Truex, Jr., who also won the Bud Pole, dominated the entire race and led all 150 laps for the victory. Andy Santerre, Ryan Moore, Matt Kobyluck and Tom Carey rounded out the top five.

The race will air on television on SPEED Channel (Adelphia Digital Cable Channel 122, Time Warner Digital Cable Channel 103) on Monday, May 12 at 8 p.m. The New England Dodge Dealers 150 is the first of 12 Busch North Series events scheduled for national telecast by SPEED Channel in 2003. The SPEED Channel Craftsman Truck Series team of Rick Allen, Phil Parsons and Ray Dunlap will call the action.

Next on the schedule for Wolfe and the Tops Racing Team is the Local Dodge Dealers 150 at the new Lake Erie Speedway in Erie, Pennsylvania. The Busch North Series makes its first ever visit to the 3/8-mile track on Sunday, May 18.

Tops Markets, LLC is one of six retail operating companies under Ahold USA, one of the leading supermarket operations in the U.S. Tops currently operates 159 Tops Friendly Markets and 205 convenience stores in New York, Pennsylvania and northeast Ohio.

The No. 9 Tops Dodge is operated by Tommy Baldwin Racing North (TBRN), a subsidiary of Tommy Baldwin Racing. TBRN is co-owned by NASCAR veterans Tommy Baldwin and Eddie D'Hondt.

For updated information about Wolfe and the Tops Racing Team, visit www.paulwolfe.net.

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