Coby Back To Victory Lane: Takes First Whelen Mod Win Of ’17 At Seekonk
Story By: KYLE SOUZA / NASCAR – SEEKONK, MA – Doug Coby finally found himself back in Victory Lane on Saturday night.
The Milford, Connecticut driver dominated the second half of the Seekonk 150 at Seekonk Speedway and captured his first win of the 2017 season. He took the lead from Matt Hirschman on lap 63 and led all but one lap in the final stages en route to the win.
“We just had an awesome car,” Coby said. “My guys made awesome adjustments for the feature. When you can’t pit for tires, you have to be stout off the truck. You have to know what to do for race. The car was just awesome. I’m really happy to get Mayhew Tools their first win with us.”
The win was the 23rd career in Whelen Modified Tour action for Coby and his first at the third-mile of Seekonk. The only blunder for Coby, who started fourth, came at lap 63 when Coby and Hirschman got together battling for the lead. While Hirschman spun, Coby was able to continue without damage and stayed at the front of the race until the checkered flag flew. He held off challenges from Ryan Preece and Anthony Nocella in the final dash to the finish on Saturday.
Coby crossed the line 0.251 seconds ahead of Nocella. Prior to Saturday, Coby had three consecutive second-place finishes in Whelen Modified Tour competition.
With his third-place finish, Preece took the points lead by two points over Coby. Rowan Pennink is third, three points back, while Timmy Solomito is fourth, 11 points back. Solomito crashed out while running inside the top five and finished 22nd.
Justin Bonsignore was sixth, followed by Hirschman, Max Zachem, Gary McDonald and Wade Cole. Earlier in the day, Hirschman won his fourth career Coors Light Pole Award.
The Seekonk 150 will air on NBCSN Saturday Sept. 2 at 9:30 p.m.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to the track next Saturday night, Sept. 2, at Oswego Speedway in New York.
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | B/Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 2 | Doug Coby | Mayhew Tools/Dunleavy/AJ Romano Chevrolet | 150 | 48 | 5 | Running |
| 2 | 13 | 92 | Anthony Nocella | Nocella Paving/Airgas Chevrolet | 150 | 42 | Running | |
| 3 | 2 | 6 | Ryan Preece | TS Hauler Chevrolet | 150 | 42 | 1 | Running |
| 4 | 19 | 89 | Matt Swanson | Starrett Tools Ford | 150 | 40 | Running | |
| 5 | 5 | 36 | Dave Sapienza | Sapienza Enterprise Chevrolet | 150 | 39 | Running | |
| 6 | 15 | 51 | Justin Bonsignore | Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet | 150 | 38 | Running | |
| 7 | 1 | 60 | Matt Hirschman | Pee Dee Motorsports Chevrolet | 150 | 38 | 1 | Running |
| 8 | 12 | 20 | Max Zachem | Anytime Realty/Robert B Our Chevrolet | 150 | 36 | Running | |
| 9 | 25 | 26 | Gary McDonald | Lakeland Landscape /TRC Electric Chevrolet | 150 | 35 | Running | |
| 10 | 22 | 33 | Wade Cole | Perf. Engines/Kendall Oil Chevrolet | 149 | 34 | Running | |
| 11 | 8 | 64 | Rob Summers | Hoosier Tire East/Fast Track Elect/Hughes Motors | 148 | 33 | Running | |
| 12 | 6 | 3 | Rowan Pennink | Cape Cod Copper/Dicky’s Clam Shack/Bay State | 148 | 32 | Running | |
| 13 | 11 | 46 | Craig Lutz | Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet | 148 | 31 | Running | |
| 14 | 17 | 58 | Eric Goodale | GAF Roofing Chevrolet | 148 | 30 | Running | |
| 15 | 14 | 82 | Ted Christopher | Horton Avenue Materials Chevrolet | 146 | 29 | Accident | |
| 16 | 9 | 21 | Ronnie Williams * | Gershow Recycling Chevrolet | 144 | 28 | Running | |
| 17 | 23 | 1 | Melissa Fifield | Eastern Propane & Oil Chevrolet | 143 | 27 | Running | |
| 18 | 21 | 38 | Manny Dias * | Perf Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan’s Chevrolet | 142 | 26 | Running | |
| 19 | 16 | 85 | Jeff Rocco * | Stuarts Automotiive/J&R Pre-Cast Chevrolet | 138 | 25 | Accident | |
| 20 | 24 | 78 | Walter Sutcliffe Jr. * | Last Minute Racing Chevrolet | 125 | 24 | Accident | |
| 21 | 18 | 66 | Shawn Solomito | ACME Sanitary/Starrett/New England Gear Chevrolet | 118 | 23 | Accident | |
| 22 | 7 | 16 | Timmy Solomito | Starrett Racing Ford | 63 | 22 | Accident | |
| 23 | 10 | 24 | Andrew Krause | Supreme Manufacturing Chevrolet | 63 | 21 | Accident | |
| 24 | 3 | 0 | Jon McKennedy | Brady Bunch Racing/Copeland Toyota Chevrolet | 63 | 20 | Accident | |
| 25 | 20 | 39 | Calvin Carroll * | Power with Prestige/Cruising w/Betty Chevrolet | 47 | 19 | Ignition |
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Matt Hirschman, Time: 11.974 Seconds, Speed: 99.215 mph
Time of Race: 0 hrs., 46 mins, 38 secs Average Speed: 63.688 mph Margin of Victory: 0.253 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 22-25; 49-55; 63-70; 120-123; 127-131; 139-141; 145-147. 7 for 34 laps.
Lap Leaders: Matt Hirschman 1-62, Doug Coby 63-123, Ryan Preece 124, Doug Coby 125-150.
Total Laps Led: Doug Coby 87, Matt Hirschman 62, Ryan Preece 1. 3 changes involving 3 drivers.
CONTINGENCY AWARDS
Top 10 Driver Points: Ryan Preece 413, Doug Coby 411, Rowan Pennink 410, Timmy Solomito 402, Justin Bonsignore 399, Eric Goodale 379, Dave Sapienza 352, Matt Swanson 348, Max Zachem 337, Rob Summers 327
Next Race: Oswego
* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
