Timmy Solomito Repeats In NASCAR Whelen Mod Event At Riverhead
Story By: JASON CUNNINGHAM / NASCAR – RIVERHEAD, NY – Six races into the 2017 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season, and Timmy Solomito is looking every bit the driver to beat for the championship.
After his breakout four-win campaign in 2016, Solomito has had an even better encore.
Saturday, the Islip, New York, driver returned to his home track of Riverhead Raceway and picked up his third win of the season. He held off David Sapienza on an overtime finish to take the Buzz Chew Chevrolet-Cadillac 200.
The Coors Light Pole Award winner, Solomito held serve for his seventh career victory. He also won this event last year. His No. 16 Starrett Tools Ford led three times for a race-high 151 laps, including the final 102 as a caution on Lap 196 pushed the race to 208 laps.
The runner-up was a career-best for Sapienza, a Riverhead native.
Doug Coby finished third while four-time Riverhead winners Ryan Preece and Justin Bonsignore crossed the line fourth and fifth, respectively.
Eric Goodale finished sixth with Rowan Pennink the last car on the lead lap in seventh. Tom Rogers Jr., Dillon Steuer and Max Zachem completed the top 10.
The win also allowed Solomito to extend his championship points lead to 13 over Pennink and 29 over Goodale. Bonsignore is fourth and Zachem is fifth, while defending tour champion Coby moved up to sixth.
Next up on the schedule is the Whelen Modified Tour All-Star Shootout on July 14 followed by the Nor’easter 100 the next day, both at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
| Pos | No. | Name | Sponsor | Laps | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Timmy Solomito | Starrett Tools | 208 | |
| 2 | 36 | David Sapienza | Sapienza Enterprise | 208 | 0.724 |
| 3 | 2 | Doug Coby | Mayhew Tools/Dunleavy/AJ Romano Const | 208 | 1.435 |
| 4 | 6 | Ryan Preece | T.S. Haulers, /Hoosier Tire of Calverton | 208 | 1.910 |
| 5 | 51 | Justin Bonsignore | Phoenix Communications, Inc. | 208 | 2.346 |
| 6 | 58 | Eric Goodale | GAF Roofing | 208 | 2.431 |
| 7 | 3 | Rowan Pennink | Cape Cod Copper/Buzz Chew Chevy Cadillac | 208 | 6.604 |
| 8 | 0 | Tom Rogers, Jr. | Stakey’s Pumpkin Farm/CAC Industries | 207 | 1 Lap |
| 9 | 45 | Dillon Steuer | Coram Materials | 207 | 1 Lap |
| 10 | 20 | Max Zachem | Anytime Realty/East End Statuary | 207 | 1 Lap |
| 11 | 82 | Ted Christopher | Horton Avenue Materials LLC | 207 | 1 Lap |
| 12 | 56 | Craig Lutz | Lutz Motorsports | 207 | 1 Lap |
| 13 | 89 | Matt Swanson | Starrett Tools | 207 | 1 Lap |
| 14 | 48 | Shawn Solomito | Eastport Feeds | 207 | 1 Lap |
| 15 | 85 | Jeff Rocco | Stuarts Automotive | 206 | 2 Laps |
| 16 | 64 | Rob Summers | Hoosier Tire East/Fast Track Electrical/Hughes Motors | 206 | 2 Laps |
| 17 | 46 | Woody Pitkat | Riverhead Building Supply | 205 | 3 Laps |
| 18 | 74 | CJ Lehmann* | IGA Food Markets | 205 | 3 Laps |
| 19 | 39 | Calvin Carroll* | Power with Prestige/Cruising w/Betty | 202 | 6 Laps |
| 20 | 06 | Vincent Biondolillo | Kennedy Long Island | 165 | 43 Laps |
| 21 | 21 | Ronnie Williams* | Gershow Recycling | 147 | 61 Laps |
| 22 | 29 | Brendon Bock | Meadow Brook Collision | 100 | 108 Laps |
| 23 | 10 | Jerry Solomito | Sabrosa Mexican Grill | 95 | 113 Laps |
| 24 | 01 | Melissa Fifield | Eastern Propane & Oil | 83 | 125 Laps |
| 25 | 33 | Wade Cole | Performance Engines/Kendall Oil | 67 | 141 Laps |
| 26 | 26 | Gary McDonald | Lakeland Landscaping Supply/TRC Electric | 41 | 167 Laps |
Race Statistics
Fastest Qualifier: Timmy Solomito, Time: 12.056 Seconds, Speed: 74.652 mph
Time of Race: 1 hour 0 minutes 7 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.724 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: T.Solomito (74.652 mph, 12.056 seconds)
Caution Flags: 7 for 56 laps
Lead Changes: 4 among 2 drivers
Lap Leaders: T. Solomito 1-31; R. Preece 32-63; T. Solomito 64-81; R. Preece 82-106; T. Solomito 107-208
* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
