PRACTICE: Preece Leads at Waterford
WATERFORD, Conn. – Ryan Preece led the way in practice for tonight’s Mr. Rooter 161 in the return for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to Waterford Speedbowl.
Preece, from Berlin, Conn., posted a fast lap of 13.890 seconds (97.192 mph) around the .375-mile oval, which last played host to the Whelen Modified Tour in 2006. Preece will be looking for his fourth pole of the season later today after he captured the first three on the schedule.
Eric Berndt finished second on the board at 13.907 (97.073) followed by Keith Rocco at 13.959 (96.712). Rocco is the two-time defending NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track champion at Waterford in the SK Modified division.
[Photo Gallery] by Crystal Snape
Bryon Chew, Jon McKennedy, Justin Bonsignore, Ron Silk, Todd Szegedy, Eric Beers and Donny Lia brought home the top 10 in the 60-minute session.
Qualifying for the Mr. Rooter 161 is set for 5 p.m., with the green flag scheduled for 9 p.m.
NWMT Waterford 6/23/12 Practice
Pos No. Name Team Speed Time In Lap Laps Diff
1 16 Ryan Preece Diversified Metals/R.B. Enterprises 97.192 13.890 44 54
2 46 Eric Berndt North End Auto Parts/Cape Cod Agts 97.073 13.907 24 27 0.017
3 3 Keith Rocco* Belltown Motors/Macara/Big A 96.712 13.959 46 51 0.069
4 88 Bryon Chew Buzz Chew Chevrolet/Elbow East 96.663 13.966 41 42 0.076
5 79 Jon McKennedy Hill Enterprises/Coors Light 96.580 13.978 44 46 0.088
6 51 Justin Bonsignore M3 Technology 96.580 13.978 70 72 0.088
7 6 Ron Silk Reynolds Auto Wrkg/Mr. Rooter 96.567 13.980 54 57 0.090
8 2 Todd Szegedy Dunleavy Repair/ A&J Romano Const. 96.429 14.000 47 49 0.110
9 45 Eric Beers Horwith Freightliner/John Blewett Inc. 96.422 14.001 40 51 0.111
10 4 Donny Lia Mystic Missile Racing 96.380 14.007 63 65 0.117
11 36 Ted Christopher Al-Lee Installations 96.209 14.032 3 40 0.142
12 07 Patrick Emerling Emerling Chevrolet Dealership 96.010 14.061 48 57 0.171
13 66 Mike Stefanik Town Line Farm/Xtreme Auto 95.915 14.075 23 30 0.185
14 93 Rowan Pennink Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner 95.860 14.083 49 68 0.193
15 76 Jimmy Blewett John Blewett Inc/Ling Trucking 95.711 14.105 46 53 0.215
16 64 Ron Yuhas Jr. DreamRide.org/Hughes Motors 95.684 14.109 41 45 0.219
17 52 Doug Coby Reynolds Auto Wrkg/Furnace & Duct 95.359 14.157 35 41 0.267
18 58 Eric Goodale Riverhead Building Supply 95.332 14.161 46 54 0.271
19 28 Ed Flemke Jr. Ron Bouchard's Auto/Raceworks TV 94.710 14.254 15 31 0.364
20 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood/MacLad Drywall 94.182 14.334 24 33 0.444
21 99 Jamie Tomaino Supreme Manufacturing 93.136 14.495 15 31 0.605
22 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Landscape Supply/TRC Electric 91.912 14.688 39 42 0.798
23 33 Wade Cole Perf Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan's 91.855 14.697 15 18 0.807
24 38 Wade Cole Perf Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan's 90.241 14.960 8 10 1.070
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR