Silk Takes New Hampshire 100
Fourth Career Win, First at ‘Magic Mile’
Loudon, NH — Ron Silk passed Reggie Ruggiero on the backstretch of the last lap and held on through Turns 3 and 4 to earn the victory in the New Hampshire 100 Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
It was Silk’s fourth career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win and his first at the ‘Magic Mile’ – traditionally one of the most prestigious events on the schedule.
Silk, of Norwalk, Conn., swapped the lead with Ruggiero three times and ran bumper-to-bumper in the last 10 laps, with Silk surviving the battle. Ruggiero settled for a fourth-place finish after getting shuffled three spots on the last lap. Donny Lia crossed the line second followed by pole winner Ryan Preece and Mike Stefanik finished fifth.
Lia entered the race third in points but his car caught fire during practice on Thursday and he was not able to qualify. After starting at the rear on Saturday with a provisional, Lia was involved in an early accident and went down three laps. He was the beneficiary during three subsequent cautions, and rocketed toward the front for a runner-up finish.
Lia’s effort moved him up to second, 48 points behind Ted Christopher with three races remaining. Christopher finished seventh.
Rowan Pennink, Christopher, Ryan Newman, Erick Rudolph and Chuck Hossfeld rounded out the top 10. It was the best NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour finish for Newman, who is a full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitor, in his fourth start.
Todd Szegedy was involved in an accident on Lap 84 and settled for 29th, which ended his streak of top-10 finishes at 13 and dropped him from second to fourth in the championship standings.
The race featured 17 lead changes among eight drivers, and was slowed by 11 cautions.
The 11th race of the 2009 season will take place Sunday, Sept. 27 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
Sources:Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR
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