Preece King Of The Bullring at Waterford
Ryan Preece continued his mastery of bullrings.
The 24-year-old Berlin, Connecticut, driver picked up his 12th career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory Saturday night in the Mr. Rooter 161 at New London-Waterford Speedbowl.
It was Preece’s second win at the Speedbowl and seventh tour win on a track that is three-eighths of a mile or smaller. He also has a win on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour on the quarter-mile at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
To get the win, Preece had to hold off defending tour champion Doug Coby in a green-white-checkered finish that pushed the race to 165 laps. Preece’s No. 6 TS Haulers/East West Marine Chevrolet crossed the line .109 seconds ahead of Coby.
Ted Christopher finished third, followed by Max Zachem and Woody Pitkat.
Preece led a race-high 117 laps, including the final 36. He originally took the lead from Donny Lia on Lap 47 and only lost it briefly to Coby. Lia won the Coors Light Pole Award earlier in the day.
With the win, Preece took the points lead over Coby by one and Pitkat by two.
Bobby Santos, Patrick Emerling, Rowan Pennink, Spencer Davis and Keith Rocco completed the top 10 in the race.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be right back at it Friday, June 5 with the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 at Stafford (Connecticut) Motor Speedway. Pitkat picked up the win the last time the tour visited Stafford on April 26.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-Mr. Rooter 161
Unofficial Results
Saturday
At New London-Waterford Speedbowl
Waterford, Conn.
Lap length: 0.375 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (6) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 165 laps, 47.293 mph.
2. (4) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 165.
3. (20) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 165.
4. (33) Max Zachem, Preston, Conn., Chevrolet, 165.
5. (10) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 165.
6. (11) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Chevrolet, 165.
7. (15) Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, N.Y., Chevrolet, 165.
8. (12) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 165.
9. (14) Spencer Davis, Dawsonville, Ga., Pontiac, 165.
10. (2) Keith Rocco, Wallingford, Conn., Chevrolet, 165.
11. (17) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 165.
12. (3) Timmy Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Ford, 165.
13. (23) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 132.
14. (19) Dave Sapienza, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 165.
15. (8) Derek Ramstrom, West Boylston, Mass., Chevrolet, 165.
16. (22) Jeff Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 165.
17. (29) Chase Dowling, Roxbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 165.
18. (27) Dave Salzarulo, Enfield, Conn., Chevrolet, 164.
19. (24) Shawn Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Chevrolet, 160.
20. (5) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Dodge, 158, suspension.
21. (31) Troy Talman, Oxford, Mass., Chevrolet, 158, handling.
22. (1) Donny Lia, Jericho, N.Y., Chevrolet, 144.
23. (7) Brendon Bock, Franklin Square, N.Y., Ford, 139, accident.
24. (9) Tom Rogers, Jr., Patchogue, N.Y., Chevrolet, 137, accident.
25. (18) Steve Masse, Bellingham, Mass., Chevrolet, 137, rear end.
26. (16) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 132, accident.
27. (13) Jon McKennedy, Chelmsford, Mass., Chevrolet, 111, accident.
28. (25) Johnny Bush, Huntington Station, N.Y., Chevrolet, 110, accident.
29. (26) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Pontiac, 101, accident.
30. (32) Wade Cole, Hartland, Conn., Chevrolet, 62, handling.
31. (30) Anthony Nocella, Woburn, Mass., Chevrolet, 32, accident.
32. (28) Melissa Fifield, Wakefield, N.H., Chevrolet, 19, handling.
33. (21) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 11, accident.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 18 minutes 30 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.109 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: D.Lia (96.670 mph, 13.965 seconds)
Caution Flags: 12 for 73 laps.
Lead Changes: 3 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Lia 1-46; R. Preece 47-127; D. Coby 128-129; R. Preece 130-165.
Standings: 1. R. Preece, 130; 2. D. Coby, 129; 3. W. Pitkat, 128; 4. B. Santos, 112; 5. E. Goodale, 110; 6. P. Emerling, 106; 7. R. Pennink, 104; 8. T. Szegedy, 101; 9. T. Christopher, 101; 10. D. Lia, 98.