Forecast Pays Off For Civali
Mansfield, OH — James Civali can thank his older brother for his third victory of the season.
With Joey Civali serving as spotter and tracking the weather on his cell phone, James Civali elected not to pit with the leaders and was out front when NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour officials called the rain-shortened Mansfield 150 Saturday at Mansfield Motorsports Park.
“He knew it was going to rain – he just didn’t know how much or when,” said James Civali of his brother.
The race was called after 108 laps following several attempts to dry the track.
Doug Coby finished second and rookie Woody Pitkat was third.
Point leader and Budweiser Pole Award winner Donny Lia was fourth and Eric Beers fifth. Ronnie Silk, Matt Hirschman, Ted Christopher, Todd Szegedy and Bobby Grigas III rounded out the top 10.
Coby led the first 13 laps before Civali passed him for the lead. Silk moved to the front seven laps later and led until a lap 54 caution. Silk elected to pit along with the fifth-place car of Szegedy and 11 others.
“We were leading and the car was really good,” Civali said. “When Ronnie got by me, the car got free. But it stayed the same. It had 90 hard laps on it, too. But it never changed that whole run.”
Following the restart, Civali and Coby built a straightaway lead over third-place Pitkat on the half-mile banked oval. The field was bunched briefly following a lap 96 caution. Rain brought out the caution at lap 104 and the red at lap 108.
Lia maintained his points lead at 131 over Szegedy and 139 over Hirschman.
The next NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race will be at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway Sept. 1.
NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR-Mansfield 150 Results
Thursday At Mansfield Motorsports Speedway, Mansfield, OH
Lap length: 0.5 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (10) James Civali, Meriden, Conn., Chevrolet, 108 laps, 81.544 mph, $8,100.
2. (2) Doug Coby, III, Milford, Conn., Pontiac, 108, $3,000.
3. (18) Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs, Conn., Pontiac, 108, $3,800.
4. (6) Donny Lia, Jericho, N.Y., Dodge, 108, $3,600.
5. (16) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 108, $2,450.
6. (8) Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 108, $2,350.
7. (4) Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa., Dodge, 108, $2,400.
8. (12) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 108, $2,275.
9. (3) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 108, $2,125.
10. (7) Bobby Grigas, Marshfield, MA, Chevrolet, 108, $1,550.
11. (11) Tony Hirschman, Jr., Northampton, Penn., Chevrolet, 108, $1,675.
12. (22) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 108, $2,475.
13. (17) Richard Savary, Canton, Mass., Chevrolet, 108, $1,750.
14. (21) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Ford, 108, $1,995.
15. (14) Dick Houlihan, Bridgewater, Mass., Chevrolet, 108, $1,740.
16. (13) Billy Pauch, Jr., Frenchtown, N.J., Dodge, 108, $1,880.
17. (9) Ryan Preece, Kensington, CT, Chevrolet, 108, $1,825.
18. (5) Eddie Flemke, Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 108, $1,900.
19. (24) Joe Hartmann, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 108, $1,325.
20. (15) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 107, $1,600.
21. (23) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 106, $1,575.
22. (25) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 106, $1,550.
23. (19) Glen Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 95, $1,225.
24. (20) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Chevrolet, 22, oil pump, $950.
25. (1) Danny Sammons, Trenton, N.J., Chevrolet, 4, engine, $1,490.
26. (26) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 3, oil leak, $750.
27. (27) Jerry Marquis, Broad Brook, Conn., Chevrolet, 2, ignition, $1,250.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 0 hours 39 minutes 44 seconds
Margin of Victory: under caution
Fastest Qualifier: D.Lia (117.847 mph, 15.274 seconds)
Caution Flags: 4 for 21 laps.
Lead Changes: 7 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D.Coby,III 1-13; J.Civali 14-19; R.Silk 20-57; J.Civali 58; D.Lia 59; J.Civali 60-100; D.Coby,III 101; J.Civali 102-108.
Standings: 1. D.Lia, 1759; 2. T.Szegedy, 1628; 3. M.Hirschman, 1620; 4. T.Christopher, 1504; 5. J.Civali, 1491; 6. R.Silk, 1470; 7. M.Stefanik, 1386; 8. J.Tomaino, 1366; 9. J.Blewett, 1334; 10. E.Flemke, 1318.
Sources: NASCAR PR