|
Mattioli Cousins run as high as 3rd in
Daytona / KONI Opener
January 29th, 2009, Long Pond, PA…..The Mattioli Cousins, Chase Mattioli and Nick Igdalsky, proved to be competitive right out of the box, with a 16th place finish in their Pocono Raceway KONI Mustang at Daytona’s Fresh from Florida 200 on Friday, January 23rd. They were driving the #47 Mustang for JBS Motorsports, and were teammates to the #37 driven by Jim Gue and Brett Seafuse. Gue and Seafuse posted a 5th place finish.
Chase, a 19 year old freshman at New York’s Fordham University, qualified the car, and started 18th out of a field of 69 cars. Chase was able to avoid a multi-car wreck on the first lap, and was running as high as 3rd before handing off the car to Nick.
“The first turn of the first lap there were cars crashing all around me, Chase commented. “I saw a hole, mashed the gas, and made it through. After that, I took my time and was able to move up to the front of the field. The car, the team and our teammates, Jim and Brett were incredible”, Chase concluded.
After the driver change, with Nick behind the wheel, they battled back from 21st position, caused by an on track incident, and fought back to post a 16th place finish.
“Our goal heading into our first KONI Challenge was to finish. I am happy with the 16th place finish but by no means satisfied, Nick commented. “We were running strong enough to come away with a top ten finish until I had contact with a slower ST car in the East Horseshoe. The damage was mostly superficial but the front left toe was knocked in and the brake ducts were knocked off. After the contact, the car really became a handful, both under braking and in the corners. But we did walk away with a respectable 16th out of almost 70 cars that started. This finish gives us a lot of confidence heading into Homestead in March. I think now that Chase and I know that we can run with these guys, our goals will be set higher from this point on. I really think we can crack the top ten on a regular basis. With just a little more time in the car, I am confident that we will be in position for some great finishes in our rookie campaign” Nick concluded.
|
