Erick Rudolph Scores Top-10 at Stafford Motor Speedway's Spring Sizzler

Heinke-Baldwin Racing (HBR) driver Erick Rudolph finished ninth in the rain-delayed Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST Saturday at Stafford Motor Speedway. Rudolph returned to the Stafford, Conn. track for the second weekend in a row after the April 25 event was rescheduled due to rain.

He began Saturday's on-track activities with happy hour practice and finished with the 12th fastest car. Rudolph and the No. 98 H.D. Segur Insurance/Original Pizza Log Team qualified for the race in third position but started eighth after the qualifying redraw.

Rudolph and his HBR team began to work their way to the front, slowly gaining spots. Rudolph had a strong car until, halfway through the race, the transmission broke. The young driver was able to continue racing, but he lost the ability to use his lower gears.

"The race started well," Rudolph said. "We lost the transmission about halfway through the race. I was starting in high gear, which did not help on the restarts."

The transmission issues forced Rudolph to struggle on the restarts and lose positions initially. Throughout green flag runs, however, he worked pass his competitors to finish in ninth place.

"I would lose a couple spots on the starts and then would try to get a few back," Rudolph explained. "At the end of the race, there were so many yellows that I was steadily dropping back. I kept trying to work my way back up, and we were able to hang on to ninth place."

Despite his troubles, Rudolph was happy with the finish. "The last two years, we have not had good luck in the Spring Sizzler," he said. "I was really glad just to get a solid finish. All things considered it wasn't a bad weekend for us. We're happy with the results."

Following his top-10 finish at Stafford Motor Speedway, Rudolph jumped nine spots in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour point standings and now sits in the 10th position.

Rudolph has a few weeks off from the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, before returning to Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday, May 28 for the TSI Harley-Davidson 125.

About Heinke-Baldwin Racing

Heinke-Baldwin Racing was formed in 2009 by H&H Motorsports owner Al Heinke and Tommy Baldwin Racing owner Tommy Baldwin. Both Baldwin and Heinke grew up racing in New England and saw an opportunity to work together to help young drivers pursue their dreams to race.

In 2010, the team's freshman year, HBR is fielding the No. 98H for driver Jimmy Phelps in the Super DIRTcar Series, with sponsorship from Wave Energy Drink. They will also be fielding the No. 98 for driver Erick Rudolph in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, with additional sponsorship from Pizza Logs, Brigham Concrete and PrimeTyme Motorsports.