BUDANO AND SHAFIROFF FOCUSED ON TASK AT HAND
Sat, 2009-08-08 11:00
NMCA’s Pro Street eliminator isn’t recession proof.
If anything, the state of the economy has inspired Scott Shafiroff and Vinny Budano to scrutinize their major racing decisions a little closer than in the past.
“There’s nothing out of the ordinary that we are doing this season,” said Budano, the three-time Pro Street world champion from Hicksville, N.Y. “With the economy the way it is, we have decided to stick to the Pro Street racing.” NMCA’s Pro Street eliminator isn’t recession proof.
If anything, the state of the economy has inspired Scott Shafiroff and Vinny Budano to scrutinize their major racing decisions a little closer than in the past.
“There’s nothing out of the ordinary that we are doing this season,” said Budano, the three-time Pro Street world champion from Hicksville, N.Y. “With the economy the way it is, we have decided to stick to the Pro Street racing.”
That game plan bodes well for Budano who has driven for Shafiroff the last five seasons in NMCA competition and finished runner-up to Mark Micke for the NMCA’s Scorpion Performance Pro Street division.
“Whereas we used to dabble in Pro Modified here and there and do some match racing, but we certainly aren’t traveling like we used to. We wanted to concentrate on something that had a championship with it.”
Budano trails Pro Street point leader Troy Coughlin by 100 and stands 100 ahead of third place Chris Rini.
Budano estimates the Shafiroff team cut the budget by approxmitely half over what they have spend in years past. He believes the team didn’t need to cut back that much but in today’s complex economy making that kind of a move made sense.
“A quarter of it was financially and another quarter was mental,” Budano added. “It’s hard to go out and spend money when the times are rough. You just try to hold onto some of it.”
The budget and travel schedules might have been adjusted for this season, but the dedication and intensity for racing hasn’t wavered in the least.
“I am never willing to throw away anything and we always race with everything we’ve got,” Budano said. “If Scott thought I detuned anything or backed the car down to save money, or even made an extra run on a pair of slicks, he’d fire my butt.”
Budget or no budget, they are here to race hard and win.
“Vinny and I do this for our enjoyment,” said Shafiroff as he pored over his 738 cubic inch Chevrolet engine. “We’ve always tried to make this fun and not take ourselves too seriously. We keep things within reason, and that’s why we race this association. To race once a month is what is in our program. Both of us work all day at the shop and this is our getaway.
“People love their racing. It might be a little different, but they will find a way.”
For Budano and Shafiroff, the former champions found a way to land Friday’s provisional top spot with a 6.363 elapsed time at 223.10 during the NMCA/NMRA All-Star Nationals in Concord, N.C.
If anything, the state of the economy has inspired Scott Shafiroff and Vinny Budano to scrutinize their major racing decisions a little closer than in the past.
“There’s nothing out of the ordinary that we are doing this season,” said Budano, the three-time Pro Street world champion from Hicksville, N.Y. “With the economy the way it is, we have decided to stick to the Pro Street racing.” NMCA’s Pro Street eliminator isn’t recession proof.
If anything, the state of the economy has inspired Scott Shafiroff and Vinny Budano to scrutinize their major racing decisions a little closer than in the past.
“There’s nothing out of the ordinary that we are doing this season,” said Budano, the three-time Pro Street world champion from Hicksville, N.Y. “With the economy the way it is, we have decided to stick to the Pro Street racing.”
That game plan bodes well for Budano who has driven for Shafiroff the last five seasons in NMCA competition and finished runner-up to Mark Micke for the NMCA’s Scorpion Performance Pro Street division.
“Whereas we used to dabble in Pro Modified here and there and do some match racing, but we certainly aren’t traveling like we used to. We wanted to concentrate on something that had a championship with it.”
Budano trails Pro Street point leader Troy Coughlin by 100 and stands 100 ahead of third place Chris Rini.
Budano estimates the Shafiroff team cut the budget by approxmitely half over what they have spend in years past. He believes the team didn’t need to cut back that much but in today’s complex economy making that kind of a move made sense.
“A quarter of it was financially and another quarter was mental,” Budano added. “It’s hard to go out and spend money when the times are rough. You just try to hold onto some of it.”
The budget and travel schedules might have been adjusted for this season, but the dedication and intensity for racing hasn’t wavered in the least.
“I am never willing to throw away anything and we always race with everything we’ve got,” Budano said. “If Scott thought I detuned anything or backed the car down to save money, or even made an extra run on a pair of slicks, he’d fire my butt.”
Budget or no budget, they are here to race hard and win.
“Vinny and I do this for our enjoyment,” said Shafiroff as he pored over his 738 cubic inch Chevrolet engine. “We’ve always tried to make this fun and not take ourselves too seriously. We keep things within reason, and that’s why we race this association. To race once a month is what is in our program. Both of us work all day at the shop and this is our getaway.
“People love their racing. It might be a little different, but they will find a way.”
For Budano and Shafiroff, the former champions found a way to land Friday’s provisional top spot with a 6.363 elapsed time at 223.10 during the NMCA/NMRA All-Star Nationals in Concord, N.C.
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