Szegedy Ends Slump in Style

Todd Szegedy didn’t want to wait any longer.

The Ridgefield, Conn., driver dove underneath Donny Lia for the lead heading into Turn 3 of the white-flag lap and emerged with the victory Saturday afternoon in the F.W. Webb 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In the process, he ended a career-long 28-race winless streak on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman made a late bid for the lead coming out of Turn 4 on the final lap but settled for second. Lia, Bobby Santos and Patrick Emerling rounded out the top five.

Mike Stefanik finished sixth, followed by Eric Goodale, Ron Silk, Woody Pitkat and Ed Flemke Jr.

Ryan Preece finished 12th but was able to extend his points lead over Doug Coby to 41 (480-439) with two races remaining. Coby, the defending tour champion, finished 13th.

It was a frantic pace at the front in the first half of the race as the lead changed hands 15 times in the first 48 laps between the polesitter Newman, Preece and Santos. After the midway break Szegedy and Lia emerged as the frontrunners. The duo swapped the lead six times down the stretch, including Szegedy’s decisive pass between Turns 3 & 4 coming to the checkers.

The F.W. Webb 100 triumph was the 18th of Szegedy’s career and his third at the “Magic Mile.”

“It’s been tough. It’s been a struggle with racing on and off the track for me, so there’s a lot of emotion,” Szegedy said of ending the drought. “When you have a couple bad years it wears on you.

“It’s just nice to win. It’s why we do it. I don’t come here to run second or third, I come here to win, and when you don’t win it puts a lot of wear on you.”

Following the race Szegedy acknowledged the contact he made with Lia to make the last-lap pass, but the desire to end that winless drought provided the motivation to do whatever it took.

“I sent it in and drove it in as hard as I could,” Szegedy said. “I tried not to hit him, but I knew that we were going to hit.

“I don’t knock guys out of the way to get victories, but I needed this one really bad.”

Often the leader on the white flag lap at New Hampshire is in a precarious position. Lia found himself there on Saturday, knowing that he’d have to endure a hard charge from Szegedy on Lap 100.

“I stayed out front knowing that if I stayed out front, that was pretty much going to be the deal on the last lap,” Lia said. “I thought we’d just race that last corner out rather than doing what he [Szegedy] did, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

“You live and learn. I just won’t give that benefit of the doubt again, no matter who it is.”

The race, which aired live on Fox Sports 2, featured 23 lead changes among five drivers and was slowed by just three cautions.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to the track Sunday, Sept. 29 for the CARQUEST Fall Final at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway.

NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR-F.W. Webb 100

Unofficial Results

Saturday

At New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Loudon, N.H.

Lap length: 1.058 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

1. (4) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Chevrolet, 100 laps, 93.905 mph.

2. (1) Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind., Chevrolet, 100.

3. (2) Donny Lia, Jericho, N.Y., Dodge, 100.

4. (5) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Chevrolet, 100.

5. (17) Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100.

6. (7) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Chevrolet, 100.

7. (11) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100.

8. (10) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 100.

9. (13) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Pontiac, 100.

10. (20) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 100.

11. (12) Bryon Chew, Mattituck, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100.

12. (3) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Ford, 100.

13. (6) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 100.

14. (14) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100.

15. (18) Cole Powell, Mt. Brydges, Ont., Canada, Chevrolet, 100.

16. (19) Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100.

17. (15) Ron Yuhas, Jr., Groton, Conn., Chevrolet, 100.

18. (23) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 100.

19. (22) Jacob Dore, Sanford, Maine, Chevrolet, 100.

20. (24) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Ford, 99.

21. (21) Rob Fuller, Boylston, Mass., Chevrolet, 99.

22. (25) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Pontiac, 99.

23. (26) Wade Cole, Hartland, Conn., Chevrolet, 99.

24. (8) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 67.

25. (9) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 60, accident.

26. (16) Eric Berndt, Cromwell, Conn., Chevrolet, 23, electrical.

 

Race Statistics

Time of Race: 1 hour 7 minutes 36 seconds

Margin of Victory: 0.084 seconds

Fastest Qualifier: R.Newman (129.221 mph, 29.475 seconds)

Caution Flags: 3 for 11 laps.

Lead Changes: 23 among 5 drivers.

Lap Leaders: R. Newman 1-3; R. Preece 4; R. Newman 5-6; R. Preece 7; R. Newman 8-9; R. Preece 10; R. Newman 11-12; R. Preece 13; R. Newman 14-17; B. Santos 18; R. Newman 19; B. Santos 20; R. Newman 21-41; B. Santos 42-43; R. Newman 44-45; B. Santos 46-47; R. Newman 48-57; T. Szegedy 58-67; D. Lia 68-69; T. Szegedy 70-71; D. Lia 72-78; T. Szegedy 79-86; D. Lia 87-99; T. Szegedy 100.

Standings: 1. R. Preece, 480; 2. D. Coby, 439; 3. M. Stefanik, 414; 4. W. Pitkat, 407; 5. D. Lia, 405; 6. T. Szegedy, 402; 7. R. Pennink, 399; 8. J. Bonsignore, 397; 9. R. Silk, 392; 10. E. Goodale, 391.