Coby Drives Way Back To The Top; Second NWMT Title In Three Years
It was the worst finish of the season for Doug Coby. But in the end, it didn’t matter, as the Milford, Connecticut driver lifted the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour trophy for the second time in three seasons Sunday.
The 35-year-old finished 17th and two laps down in the season finale Sunoco World Series 150 presented by Xtra Mart at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. The race was won by defending tour champion Ryan Preece.
It was Coby and the No. 2 Dunleavy’s Repair/HEX Performance/Fox Shocks Chevrolet team, though, who earned the big trophy on the strength of an outstanding season that included a win and nine top fives in 13 races. Coby, who finished second in points to Preece last year, kicked off 2014 with a win in the non-points UNOH Battle At The Beach at Daytona International Speedway.
Donny Lia finished as the runner-up behind Preece Sunday, followed by Rowan Pennink, Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore.
Matt Hirschman, Spencer Davis, Eric Goodale, Max Zachem and 2014 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Timmy Solomito rounded out the top 10.
Preece led twice for a race-high 137 laps, including the final 73. A late caution pushed the race to 151 laps.
It was Preece’s first win at Thompson after four runner-up finishes at the .625-mile banked oval. Earlier in the day, Preece wrapped up the track’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Sunoco Modified Division championship.
Ted Christopher, the 2008 tour champion, entered the event as the closest challenger to Coby. Christopher, however, was involved in a wreck and finished 10 laps down in 20th.
With his win, Preece jumped up to finish second in points – 22 behind Coby. Bonsignore finished third, five points back of Preece, while Silk and Christopher completed the top five. Second through fifth were separated by nine points.
The Sunoco World Series 150 presented by Xtra Mart will air on FOX Sports 1 on Nov. 1 at 10 a.m.
Coby will be honored for his championship season along with NASCAR’s other touring series champions on Saturday, Dec. 12 at the NASCAR Touring Series Awards in the Grand Ballroom of the Charlotte (N.C.) Convention Center at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-Sunoco World Series 150 pres. by Xtra Mart
Unofficial Results
Sunday
At Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
Thompson, Conn.
Lap length: 0.625 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (2) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Ford, 151 laps, 76.075 mph.
2. (5) Donny Lia, Jericho, N.Y., Dodge, 151.
3. (16) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 151.
4. (12) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 151.
5. (10) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 151.
6. (24) Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 151.
7. (15) Spencer Davis, Dawsonville, Ga., Pontiac, 151.
8. (17) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 151.
9. (19) Max Zachem, Preston, Conn., Chevrolet, 151.
10. (11) Timmy Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Chevrolet, 151.
11. (9) Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, N.Y., Chevrolet, 151.
12. (3) Tommy Barrett, Jr., Millis, Mass., Chevrolet, 151.
13. (20) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 151.
14. (34) David Calabrese, Toms River, N.J., Chevrolet, 151.
15. (25) John Beatty, Jr., Merrick, N.Y., Chevrolet, 151.
16. (28) Wade Cole, Hartland, Conn., Chevrolet, 149.
17. (4) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 149.
18. (13) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Mass., Chevrolet, 146, accident.
19. (22) Kyle Ellwood, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 141.
20. (8) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 140, accident.
21. (23) Troy Talman, Oxford, Mass., Chevrolet, 137, accident.
22. (32) Melissa Fifield, Wakefield, N.H., Chevrolet, 133.
23. (36) Danny Watts, Jr., Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 131, mechanical.
24. (14) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Chevrolet, 130.
25. (30) Dave Salzarulo, Monson, Mass., Chevrolet, 120, accident.
26. (26) James Civali, Meriden, Conn., Pontiac, 116, accident.
27. (18) Derek Ramstrom, West Boylston, Mass., Chevrolet, 115, accident.
28. (6) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Chevrolet, 98, mechanical.
29. (27) Dave Sapienza, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 98, accident.
30. (31) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 91, rear end.
31. (29) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Pontiac, 91, mechanical.
32. (35) Jason Agugliaro, Islip, N.Y., Chevrolet, 80, mechanical.
33. (7) Keith Rocco, Wallingford, Conn., Chevrolet, 45, carburetor.
34. (33) Frank Vigliarolo, Jr., Mt. Sinai, N.Y., Chevrolet, 26, accident.
35. (1) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 17, accident.
36. (21) Shawn Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Chevrolet, 2, mechanical.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 14 minutes 26 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.689 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: W.Pitkat (119.579 mph, 18.816 seconds)
Caution Flags: 8 for 41 laps.
Lead Changes: 4 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: W. Pitkat 1-8; R. Preece 9-72; T. Barrett,Jr. 73-77; R. Pennink 78; R. Preece 79-151.
Standings: 1. D. Coby, 511; 2. R. Preece, 489; 3. J. Bonsignore, 484; 4. R. Silk, 483; 5. T. Christopher, 480; 6. B. Santos, 458; 7. E. Goodale, 440; 8. T. Solomito, 433; 9. W. Pitkat, 429; 10. P. Emerling, 419.