NASCAR

SMT: Andy Seuss Asheboro finale summary

Andy Seuss Finishes First Year with Riggs Racing in Victory Lane Seuss Makes NASCAR Whelen Southern Mod Tour Finale Count with Dominant Win HAMPSTEAD, NH (October 6, 2008) -- When longtime frontrunners in the Southern Modified ranks Riggs ...

Edited: Oct 7, 2008, 4:57 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Andy Seuss Finishes First Year with Riggs Racing in Victory Lane
Seuss Makes NASCAR Whelen Southern Mod Tour Finale Count with Dominant Win

HAMPSTEAD, NH (October 6, 2008) -- When longtime frontrunners in the Southern Modified ranks Riggs Racing selected Andy Seuss to be the driver of their championship-winning machines on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour in 2008, waves were made throughout the Mod scene. The Riggs family had won scores of races with legendary Modified drivers over the years, so why would they choose to put a 21-year-old kid from New Hampshire in their Advance Auto Parts / Q Racing Oil ride?

Well, that answer was given throughout the 2008 season, as Seuss competed for victories week in and week out. But, because Seuss had not tasted victory in 2008, there were still a few naysayers out there wondering if the right choice had been made.

In the 2008 SMT season finale at Caraway Speedway on October 4th, Seuss made it a point to quiet the non-believers and prove that he and the Riggs Team will be a threat for the title in 2009. Focused, the 21-year-old racer put an exclamation point on the reasons why he was the right choice on Saturday, as Seuss scored his second-career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour victory and his first with Riggs Racing.

"Finally," an excited Seuss exclaimed in victory lane. "I'm just so happy. It's been a long time for me down here on this Southern Tour and almost as long for Riggs Racing since Junior Miller left, so I'm glad we were able to get through this season and get us a win before we go on to next year and win a couple then."

Seuss made it to the front of the field early in the SMT finale. In fact, he worked his way to the top spot from his fourth-place start in only nine laps. Several suitors tried to dethrone Seuss from the lead, but the young racer was not going to be denied as he led from that point until the fall of the checkered flag.

"It wasn't planning it (to get to the front that early), but when Tim (Brown, pole-sitter) wanted to go pretty hard, he had a freight train of cars behind him. So, I had to go. It worked out well because a door opened up on the outside of Jason (Myers) and I just kind of went. The #93 (Brandon Ward) and #83 (Brown) had been real fast here, so I just kind of waiting to see and the car just stayed under me the whole race.

"I thought it was a little too free at the start of the race, but it just stayed perfect because I like a free car. The thing was awesome and it got even better at the end. I was a little worried about pulling the trigger early and going hard when they were telling me to, but it got better the harder I drove it."

Even when a series of late-race caution flags closed the field to Seuss' bumper, neither his nor his Riggs Racing teammates' confidence waned as the laps clicked off.

"These guys worked their butts off today. They changed everything right down to the spindles. All I was thinking was, 'be perfect' every time those cautions came out. They kept telling me I had really good restarts, then the caution would come out again and they'd tell me I just needed one more good one.

"Everything about this car was awesome. It shifts awesome, which makes my job real easy, and it just gets right down into turn one. I can't thank the guys on the Riggs Racing team enough, plus Advance Auto Parts, Q Racing Oils, Stuarts Automotive and Rockingham Boat. It takes a lot of people for me to get here. A lot of people sacrifice a lot to get me to the track, including my guys and my family, so I can't thank them enough."

The win was Seuss' second on the Southern Modified Tour. Seuss won the inaugural SMT event at Music City Motorplex in Nashville, TN in April of 2007. Because he and the Riggs team had gone more than a year without a victory, Seuss was not going to let their first one as a team slip away -- even after the checkered flag flew.

"I didn't see the white flag and I wasn't even lifting until they told me to after the race. Once I saw the caution lights come out after what I think was the last lap, I figured I was alright. I just kept going. It's been a long time. We've been so close. These guys deserve it. We'll go into the winter and be very happy about this one."

Seuss finished his first full year on the Whelen Southern Modified Tour fourth in points with one victory, six top-fives and nine top-10 finishes.

While the Southern Modified Tour season is over, Seuss' season is not. The young driver will continue to compete in his family-owned #70 car at select events in his native New England and beyond as much as he can until the 2009 SMT season kicks off in the spring.

-credit: www.andyseuss.net.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article SMT: Asheboro finale race results

Next article ES: Stafford: Rain makeup season finale preview

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

MotoGP Malaysian GP: Marc Marquez takes dominant win to inch closer to title

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

1 h

MotoGP Malaysian GP: Marc Marquez takes dominant win to inch closer to title

MotoGP riders step up pressure in final bid to avoid Qatar Grand Prix

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

1 h

MotoGP riders step up pressure in final bid to avoid Qatar Grand Prix

Live: MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix as it happens

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

2 h

Live: MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix as it happens

Carson Kvapil gets Rodney Childers a clock and the O'Reilly Chase is wide open now

NASCAR O'Reilly

NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly

Martinsville II

3 h

Carson Kvapil gets Rodney Childers a clock and the O'Reilly Chase is wide open now

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts