Doug Coby Bringing Different Strategy to Stafford for Second for Second Annual Lincoln Tech 80
Stafford Springs, CT — When the Valenti Modified Series came to Stafford last Friday night for the Shark Cycle 80, no driver had more momentum on their side than Doug Coby. Coby had won all three Whelen Modified Tour races at Stafford thusfar this season, and he finished third in both VMRS races held at Stafford last season. But after starting 10th and finishing 6th in the Shark Cycle 80, Coby says he and his Rick Czarnecki owned #20 team will be coming back to Stafford with a different strategy for the Lincoln Tech 80.
“I felt like we would have had a better car,” said Coby. “We had to race a lot harder to get back to the front after we got caught up in that little jingle when Teddy Christopher and Timmy Jordan got together. We pitted and made an adjustment on the car that helped us. We started 9th because Tommy Barrett went to the back and we lost 4 or 5 spots on the start. We were up to 7th or 6th when we got in that wreck and we had to pit. You can try to save all you want, but I guess I’m too aggressive to save those tires. We have to work on that and that’s what we’re thinking about for the next race at Stafford.”
Coby was running as high as fourth in the late stages of the Shark Cycle 80, but he couldn’t keep pace with the cars in front of him and he fell back to sixth at the finish.
“At the end of the race we were sitting fourth behind Rowan [Pennink], Jon [McKennedy], and Tommy [Barrett],” said Coby. “Tommy was saving his tires all race and Rowan and Jon started up front, and then there we were in fourth after coming back up through the field twice and it was one of those deals where I used the car up too much. Last year I drove the car hard in both races and I didn’t use the tires up so I thought I would be able to do the same thing this year and it just wasn’t the case. We’re trying our best to come up with a new strategy. I can tell you you’ll see something different from the 20 car this time around. We could end up going out and finish 15th or crashing, but we’re not going to do the same thing we did last race because that didn’t work for us."
While Coby has enjoyed good finishes behind the wheel of the 20 car at Stafford, he says that he and the team are still searching for a setup that will allow them to race for victory at the end of the race.
“We finished third in both races last year at Stafford and we weren’t a winning car, so we haven’t found what the key is yet,” said Coby. “I think some of the other guys have a better strategy than us when it comes to managing the race. We have a fast car everywhere we go and my guys are very smart, so we’re trying to figure out what we need to do differently to make the car last that extra little bit so we’re competitive at the end instead of being competitive in the middle of the race. It seems we’re real good from lap-20 to whenever and then when the tires give up the car gets terrible. We have great equipment, I think we could go out and win Whelen Modified Tour races with our 20 car. I don’t think anyone that finished in front of us has a tremendously better package than us, so we just need to get a better handle on the car.”
Tickets for the 2nd Annual Lincoln Tech 80 are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $27.50 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating will be priced at $30.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking available.
For more information on the 2nd Annual Lincoln Tech 80, or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway