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