Coates Takes Surprise Victory at the Waterford Speedbowl
Waterford, CT — It might not have been a surprise to some people that Corey Coates took down the victory on Saturday night at the Waterford Speed bowl. But for the rest of the field, it was a surprise as Coates jumped into a truck he had never driven, started last in the race and took the lead with five laps to go to take down the feature event win.
The night started out with Glen Noll on the pole in truck #72 with his brother Duane Noll right alongside in truck #2. As the field came down for the start, Duane Noll got the jump and led the pack off of turn two. As the field came down to complete lap one, Glen Noll would come up the track and make contact with Corey Coates bringing out the first caution of the race. As bad as it looks, both trucks were able to drive away and rejoin at the tail end of the field. On the restart, D. Noll would find himself now on the pole with Tom Metcalf alongside in truck # 8x. As the green flag waived again, Noll would jump out front followed by Metcalf, Chris Correll in truck #7 and Brad Caddick in truck #44. The green would not stay out for long as Caddick and Tony Lafo in the #151 would make contact off turn four sending Caddick to the pits for repairs.
Once back under green, Noll would continue to lead the field but once again trouble would hit as Correll would break in the middle of turn two dropping fluid on the track. Pete Cayer would spin in the oil with truck #5 bringing out the final caution of the event. As the field went back to racing, it was the defending series champion Duane Noll leading the way but Coates had been quietly making his way back up through the field and now found himself in second place. These two would pull away from the field and start battling for the lead. At the same time, Lafo would also find himself in a heated battle with Metcalf for the third spot. With less than five laps to go Coates made the move and put the Chapman #22 truck out front for the final time and held on for the final laps to take down the victory. Duane Noll would have a solid finish in second place with Lafo holding off Metcalf for third.
The next race for the series is this Saturday, May 4th at the Monadnock Speedway in Winchester New Hampshire, Eve of Cinco De Mayo Celebration. For more info go to: www.newenglandtruckseries.com.
Sources: Lorraine Pard/NETS PR