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PREECE
CONTINUES TO ROLL AT STAFFORD
Late Pass Of Coby Nets Third NASCAR Whelen Modified Win of
Season |
Ryan
Preece has been nearly unbeatable of late when he
straps behind the wheel of a race car.
Last weekend, Preece scored his first career NASCAR
XFINITY Series victory at Iowa Speedway. He marked
his return to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Friday
at Connecticut's Stafford Motor Speedway with
another trip to Victory Lane in the Stafford 150.
The Berlin, Connecticut, driver took the lead from
four-time tour champion Doug Coby on a Lap 148
restart and didn't look back. The win was the 18th
career in Whelen Modified Tour action for Preece and
also his seventh at the half-mile Stafford. He won
the NAPA Spring Sizzler at the track on April 30.
"I would have liked the restarts lane to go more my
way, but we had a really good car tonight," said
Preece, who started in the back after having his
qualifying lap disallowed for failing
post-qualifying technical inspection. "It was tough
to have to start in the back, but my car was in the
track all day. We've just had a great car all year
long. I enjoy doing this. I enjoy showing up and
knowing what I have and being successful."
Preece's No. 6 TS Hauler Chevrolet crossed the the
finish line 0.302 seconds ahead of Coby, while
Justin Bonsignore followed in third.
Although it looked like Coby was en route to winning
for the 11th time at Stafford after leading 135
laps, a few late caution flags allowed the rest of
the field to close to his back bumper. After a
multiple car crash on the frontstretch on lap 144,
Preece got his chance at Coby, lining up to his
outside on a restart with just two laps remaining.
When the green flag flew, Preece used the outside
lane and powered around Coby going into turn one. He
never looked back.
"I think the biggest thing was I had a better
left-rear tire to fire (on the restart)," Preece
said. "Having both fresher rear tires helped me be
able to get in front of him and have the right line
going into turn one."
Timmy Solomito took the championship points lead
with a fourth-place finish, while Jon McKennedy
completed the top five.
Rob Summers was sixth, followed by Dave Sapienza,
Craig Lutz, Gary Putnam and Matt Swanson. Rowan
Pennink, who held the points lead coming into the
event, finished 17th and is seven points behind
Solomito. Preece is fifth in points, one behind Eric
Goodale and Bonsignore and 26 back of Solomito.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to action on
Wednesday night, with the running of the Bud 150 at
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. From there, the
series will visit Bristol Motor Speedway on
Wednesday, August 16. |
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NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour - Stafford 150 Results
Friday At Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford Springs,
CT
Lap length: 0.5 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (27) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 150 laps, 61.114 mph.
2. (2) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 150.
3. (6) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, NY, Chevrolet, 150.
4. (10) Timmy Solomito, Islip, N.Y., Ford, 150.
5. (28) Jon McKennedy, Chelmsford, Mass., Chevrolet, 150.
6. (20) Rob Summers, Manchester, CT, Chevrolet, 150.
7. (14) Dave Sapienza, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150.
8. (1) Craig Lutz, Miller Place, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150.
9. (17) Gary Putnam, Vernon, Conn., Chevrolet, 150.
10. (19) Matt Swanson, Acton, Mass., Ford, 150.
11. (13) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Chevrolet,
150.
12. (18) Andrew Krause, Holmdel, N.J., Chevrolet,
150.
13. (15) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet,
150.
14. (25) Walter Sutcliffe Jr., East Haven, Conn.,
Chevrolet, 150.
15. (7) Ronnie Williams, Ellington,
Conn., Chevrolet, 148.
16. (22) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Chevrolet,
148.
17. (9) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon
Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 146, fuel .
18. (11) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet,
144, accident.
19. (5) Max Zachem, Preston, Conn.,
Chevrolet, 144.
20. (3) Brendon Bock, Franklin Square,
N.Y., Chevrolet, 141, accident.
21. (21) Calvin Carroll, Newton, N.J., Chevrolet,
119.
22. (4) Shawn Solomito, Islip, N.Y.,
Chevrolet, 111, accident.
23. (16) CJ Lehmann, Shirley, Pa., Chevrolet, 105,
accident.
24. (8) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn.,
Chevrolet, 54, overheating.
25. (26) Wade Cole, Hartland, Conn., Chevrolet, 44,
accident.
26. (12) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn.,
Chevrolet, 37, accident.
27. (23) Dave Salzarulo, Monson, Mass., Chevrolet,
26, mechanical.
28. (24) Melissa Fifield, Wakefield, N.H.,
Chevrolet, 21, power steering.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 13 minutes 38 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.302 seconds
Caution Flags: 9 for 43 laps.
Lead Changes: 15 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Coby 1-54; J. Bonsignore 55;
D. Coby 56-62; R. Preece 63; D. Coby 64-66;
T. Solomito 67; D. Coby 68-102; T. Solomito 103; J.
McKennedy 104; T. Solomito 105-109;
D. Coby 110-114; T. Solomito 115; D. Coby 116-143;
R. Preece 144; D. Coby 145-147;
R. Preece 148-150.
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Standings: 1. T. Solomito, 310; 2. R.
Pennink, 303; 3. E. Goodale, 285; 4. J. Bonsignore,
285; 5. R. Preece, 284;
6. D. Coby, 278; 7. M. Zachem, 272; 8. D. Sapienza,
261; 9. R. Summers, 249; 10. W. Pitkat, 249.
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Source:
Jason Christley / NASCAR
Posted:
August 4, 2017 |
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