For 2002, with IHRA counting only the best six of up to eight national event finishes toward the Modified championship, Seward decided he could spare the time from work to make a run for the title. So, with sponsors LunaseaMedia Productions and Precision Alignmen

t on board his 1997 B/Econo dragster, he won the season opener at Rockingham, repeated the feat in Richmond, then finished runner-up at Cordova, IL, and Leicester, NY. By the time he reached Norwalk in late August and successfully defended his race win, Seward had clinched his first championship. "That was probably the most exciting part of the whole year -- winning the race and getting to wrap up the championship all at the same time."

Despite the great results, Seward insists they didn't come easy. "Tony Stephenson was right on my heels the whole year, keeping the pressure on, and of course Anthony Bertozzi, he's always in there, and Mike Lyons -- who is practically like a teammate to me, except neither one of us has any money -- he was the defending champion, so you could never take him lightly. I'm not a bad racer, but I'm not a great racer, either," Seward readily admits. "I had the breaks when I needed them and was good when I had to be. It was that type of thing. It feels good to beat all those guys; especially Anthony, since he dominated this class for so long."

There's little doubt that Seward would prefer to defend his Modified championship in 2003, but with a new chassis on the way from Mike Spitzer and a new 15-degree Chevy engine in the works, he also feels ready to take his career to the next level. His best Modified E.T. was a 7.082 in qualifying for the season-ending IHRA event in Rockingham, but Seward realizes he'll have to run consistent 6.90s next year in running a few NHRA national events while concentrating on the Division 3 schedule.

Seward credits his mother, Peggy (shown), and father, Bruce, with much of his success in drag racing. Eight-year-old son Robbie, along with sister Lindsey and her husband, Chris Trausch, also contribute to the effort, he adds.

"The evolution of IHRA's expansion actually helped kill Modified, but at the same time it forces my hand to go do what I really want to do anyway," he reasons. "And I was fortunate enough to win some money this year, so I actually have some funds to put together a competitive Comp Eliminator car."

And although he's planning to leave the IHRA fold, Seward stresses he feels great honor in being its final Modified champion. "This has been a tremendous year and I really don't think it's sunk in yet," he says. "I mean, to be a champion in racing is something I've dreamed about all my life. And to finally get to do it, and do it in the last year I had a shot at it in Modified is just overwhelming."

 

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