Away from the Island NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour 

Pennink Puts Ole Blue Back Into Victory Lane

rgeepro Comments

Rowan Pennink outdueled Bobby Santos on a restart with three laps to go and drove on to victory in the Icebreaker 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

Sunday marked the third career victory for Pennink, and first since the 2013 season, which also came at Thompson. It was also the first points race victory for the famed “Ole Blue” No. 3 Cape Cod Copper Chevrolet since 2009. The Boehler Racing team, which has six NASCAR Modified championships, is celebrating its 60th season.

Coors Light Polesitter Timmy Solomito rallied in the closing laps to finish second and Max Zachem crossed the line third. Santos, who was leading the race on the Lap 147 restart, settled for fourth with Patrick Emerling fifth.

Eric Goodale, Matt Swanson, Woody Pitkat, Justin Bonsignore and Todd Szegedy brought home the top 10.

Pennink led a race-high 109 laps. The race was slowed by caution five times for 35 laps.

Solomito leads Pennink by four points (90-80) in the championship standings after two races, and Zachem is third — 10 points back of Solomito.

The Whelen Modified Tour will return to action April 30 at Stafford (Connecticut) Motor Speedway.

 

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-Icebreaker 150 Results

Saturday

At Thompson International Speedway

Thompson, Conn.

Lap length: 0.625 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

  1. (4) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 150 laps, 67.111 mph.
  2. (1) Timmy Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Ford, 150.
  3. (13) Max Zachem, Preston, Conn., Chevrolet, 150.
  4. (8) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Chevrolet, 150.
  5. (9) Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, NY, Chevrolet, 150.
  6. (12) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150.
  7. (19) Matt Swanson, Acton, Mass., Ford, 150.
  8. (16) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 150.
  9. (11) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, NY, Chevrolet, 150.
  10. (15) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Chevrolet, 150.
  11. (14) Dave Sapienza, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150.
  12. (10) Brendon Bock, Franklin Square, N.Y., Chevrolet, 149.
  13. (21) Ron Silk, Norwalk, CT, Chevrolet, 149.
  14. (23) Kyle Ellwood, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 147.
  15. (28) Bryan Dauzat, Alexandria, LA., Chevrolet, 147.
  16. (22) Andrew Krause, Holmdel, N.J., Chevrolet, 146.
  17. (6) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Chevrolet, 144, accident.
  18. (26) Calvin Carroll, Newton, N.J., Chevrolet, 144.
  19. (5) Craig Lutz, Miller Place, N.Y., Chevrolet, 143, accident.
  20. (25) Wade Cole, Hartland, Conn., Chevrolet, 143.
  21. (24) Brad Vanhouten, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 141, accident.
  22. (31) Walter Sutcliffe Jr., East Haven, Conn., Chevrolet, 141.
  23. (29) Melissa Fifield, Wakefield, N.H., Chevrolet, 141.
  24. (18) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 134, accident.
  25. (2) Chase Dowling, Roxbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 133, electrical.
  26. (27) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Chevrolet, 125.
  27. (20) Rob Summers, Manchester, CT, Chevrolet, 119, rear end.
  28. (17) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 58.
  29. (7) Shawn Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Chevrolet, 56, accident.
  30. (30) Gary Byington, Unionville, Conn., Chevrolet, 31, handling.
  31. (3) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 1, accident.

Race Statistics

Time of Race: 1 hour 23 minutes 49 seconds

Margin of Victory: 0.813 seconds

Fastest Qualifier: T.Solomito (119.250 mph, 18.868 seconds)

Caution Flags: 5 for 35 laps.

Lead Changes: 4 among 4 drivers.

Lap Leaders: T. Solomito 1-20; R. Pennink 21-126; R. Silk 127-134; B. Santos 135-147; R.

Pennink 148-150.

Standings: 1. T. Solomito, 90; 2. R. Pennink, 86; 3. M. Zachem, 80; 4. J. Bonsignore, 73; 5. W. Pitkat, 72; 6. M. Swanson, 70; 7. A. Seuss, 69; 8. E. Goodale, 64; 9. R. Summers, 61; 10. R. Silk, 60.

 

Source: Jason Christley/NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications