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SOLOMITO
MUSCLES WAY TO LANGLEY VICTORY
Reclaims Whelen Modified Tour Points Lead With Second Win of
2017 |
Timmy
Solomito muscled his way past Doug Coby with seven
laps to go to score the victory in Saturday night’s
City of Hampton 150 at Langley Speedway – his second
victory of the season in the NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour.
Coby had dominated much of the event, leading all
but six laps, but Solomito closed in on him in the
closing stages of the 150 lap race at the .396-mile
oval in Hampton, Virginia. When Solomito finally got
to Coby’s rear bumper, he began to press the issue,
looking to the inside and the outside and repeatedly
giving shots to Coby. With seven laps to go, and the
third and fourth place cars of Max Zachem and Eric
Goodale joining the battle for the win, Solomito
executed the bump-and-run, which resulted in Coby
spinning.
Solomito then survived a restart with two laps to go
and survived overtime to clinch the win.
“I hate to race that way,” Solomito said. “We had a
really fast car tonight. I pressed him and tried to
get him to slip up. He slipped up a few times. I
showed my nose a couple times. I have a lot of
respect for Doug but he’s trying to win a race and
I’m trying to win a race. Unfortunately, tight
quarters, you’re racing on a small track, I hate to
win races that way but it happens, contact happens.
“Unfortunately, it’s racing. It is a contact sport
here and there and sometimes things happen. We
didn’t want that to happen but it’s hard racing. Two
guys going for the same piece of real estate for the
win. If I could go back, would I have done anything
different? Probably not. Everybody’s here to win.”
The win at Langley marks Solomito’s second of the
season. Earlier this year, he won the Whelen
Modified season opener at Myrtle Beach (S.C.)
Speedway and backed it up with a second-place finish
at Connecticut's Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
Despite an 11th place finish at Stafford, the strong
start to the season has Solomito thinking big
picture.
“We just have to keep it rolling and keep running
strong and having good finishes,” Solomito remarked.
“At the end of the day, every position counts. You
have to play your cards right and be there at the
end. You just have to finish every race. It’s not
always about winning as many races as you can, it’s
about finishing up front and running well.”
Doug Coby, who led 134 laps, ended up being
relegated to a 15th place finish after the contact
with Solomito.
“Timmy made his car faster, and we were just a tick
tighter,” Coby said. “We still had a fast race car,
a controllable race car. It was a good race, that’s
what the fans deserve to see. They don’t want to see
somebody walk away by a straightaway.”
As Solomito closed in, Coby said he expected the
race to come down to paint trading.
“I was expecting the bumper shots, the crossovers
and stuff,” Coby explained. “No matter what he was
trying to do, if I don’t give up the bottom, he
can’t get by me. That’s short track racing. You’ve
got the outside to go around, you’ve got the way
bottom to go around. If I’ve got a fast car and I’m
on the bottom, find another way around.”
Eric Goodale finished in second, his best result of
the season. Kyle Bonsignore finished third while Max
Zachem and Justin Bonsignore rounded out the
top-five.
Rob Summers, Rowan Pennink, Danny Bohn, Kyle
Ebersole and Matt Swanson completed the top 10.
Solomito took over the points lead with his victory,
leading by nine points over Rowan Pennink following
the race at Langley Speedway. Eric Goodale sits
third in points while Justin Bonsignore and Max
Zachem sit fourth and fifth.
The next race for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
will be held at Connecticut's Thompson Speedway
Motorsports Park on June 14th. |
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NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour-The City of Hampton 150 Results
Saturday At Langley Speedway, Hampton, Va.
Lap length: 0.396 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (3) Timmy Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Ford, 156 laps, 48.452
mph.
2. (2) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 156.
3. (13) Kyle Bonsignore, Bay Shore, N.Y., Chevrolet, 156.
4. (10) Max Zachem, Preston, Conn., Chevrolet, 156.
5. (9) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, NY, Chevrolet, 156.
6. (4) Rob Summers, Manchester, CT, Chevrolet, 156.
7. (5) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 156.
8. (6) Danny Bohn, Freehold, N.J., Chevrolet, 156.
9. (18) Kyle Ebersole, Hummelstown, PA., Chevrolet, 156.
10. (17) Matt Swanson, Acton, Mass., Ford, 156.
11. (15) Brendon Bock, Franklin Square, N.Y.,
Chevrolet, 156.
12. (14) Craig Lutz, Miller Place, N.Y., Chevrolet,
156.
13. (21) Calvin Carroll, Newton, N.J., Chevrolet,
156.
14. (7) Dave Sapienza, Riverhead, N.Y.,
Chevrolet, 156.
15. (1) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn.,
Chevrolet, 156.
16. (12) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet,
156.
17. (20) Gary Putnam, Vernon, Conn., Chevrolet, 156.
18. (8) George Brunnhoelzl III, West
Babylon, N.Y., Chevrolet, 156.
19. (23) Wade Cole, Hartland, Conn., Ford, 154.
20. (25) Walter Sutcliffe Jr., East Haven, Conn.,
Chevrolet, 123, handling.
21. (24) Melissa Fifield, Wakefield, N.H.,
Chevrolet, 119, engine.
22. (16) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Chevrolet,
109, accident.
23. (19) Spencer Davis, Dawsonville, Ga., Chevrolet,
88, distributor.
24. (11) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Chevrolet,
51, accident.
25. (22) Lauren Edgerton, Chesterfield, VA.,
Chevrolet, 43, handling.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 16 minutes 30 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.806 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: D. Coby (92.004 mph,
15.495 seconds)
Caution Flags: 9 for 44 laps.
Lead Changes: 5 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Coby 1-54; T. Solomito 55; D.
Coby 56-99;
R. Summers 100-107; D. Coby 108-143; T.
Solomito 144-156.
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Standings: 1. T. Solomito, 170; 2. R.
Pennink, 161; 3. E. Goodale, 148; 4. J. Bonsignore,
147; 5. M. Zachem, 143;
6. M. Swanson, 134; 7. W. Pitkat, 132; 8. R.
Summers, 131; 9. D. Coby, 119; 10. D. Sapienza, 117
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Source:
Jason Christley / NASCAR
Posted:
May 13, 2017 |
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