QUALIFYING: Blewett Captures Loudon Pole
Wrecks On Second Lap, Status Uncertain For Town Fair Tire 100
LOUDON, N.H. – Mixed emotions befell Jimmy Blewett on Friday evening at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as he earned his third career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Coors Light Pole Award in qualifying for Saturday’s Town Fair 100.
Blewett, from Howell, N.J., secured his first pole at the “Magic Mile” on his first lap of qualifying at 29.691 seconds (128.281 mph), but his No. 76 John Blewett Incorporated Chevrolet wrecked hard into the wall in the second circuit.
Without a back-up car at the track this weekend, Blewett’s status for Saturday was uncertain as the Whelen Modified Tour garage officially closed on Friday.
A five-time winner during his Whelen Modified Tour career, Blewett is chasing his first checkered flag at NHMS, where his best career finish in 16 previous events was second place in 2010.
Ted Christopher, a five-time tour winner in Loudon, qualified second-fastest at 29.783 (127.885). Bryon Chew joined him on the qualifying podium with a fast lap of 29.806 (127.786) around the 1.058-mile oval.
Bobby Santos, Eric Goodale, Andy Seuss, Woody Pitkat, Rowan Pennink, Donny Lia and defending Town Fair Tire 100 winner Mike Stefanik rounded out Friday’s top-10 qualifiers.
Season points leader Ryan Preece finished 12th-fastest in qualifying.
Blewett wasn’t the only driver to have problems among the 32-car field in the qualifying session. A two-time winner at NHMS, Ron Silk wrecked on his first qualifying lap while Kyle Ebersole – making his Whelen Modified Tour debut – was not able to get out on the track to take time.
The Town Fair Tire is set to go green on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. The sixth race of the Whelen Modified Tour season will be carried live on SPEED.
QUALIFYING RESULTS | AUDIO: POST-QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR
NWMT New Hampshire 7/13/13 Qualifying
Pos No. Name Sponsor Time Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 76 Jimmy Blewett John Blewett Inc/Sims Metal Mgmt 29.691 128.281 1 1
2 3 Ted Christopher Silver Dollar Const/Cape Cod Copper 29.783 127.885 2 2 0.092
3 88 Bryon Chew Buzz Chew Chevrolet/Elbow East 29.806 127.786 2 2 0.115
4 44 Bobby Santos Tinio Racing/Brendan Kelley Music 29.849 127.602 2 2 0.158
5 58 Eric Goodale Riverhead Building Supply 29.911 127.338 2 2 0.220
6 11 Andy Seuss Tammie Davis/Phoenix Pre-Owned 29.912 127.334 2 2 0.221
7 79 Woody Pitkat Mr. Rooter/Coors Light 29.937 127.227 2 2 0.246
8 93 Rowan Pennink Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner 29.944 127.197 1 2 0.253
9 4 Donny Lia Circle Track Magazine 29.949 127.176 1 2 0.258
10 22 Mike Stefanik Robert B Our Co/Canto & Sons Paving 29.951 127.168 2 2 0.260
11 2 Todd Szegedy Dunleavy Repair/A&J Romano Const 30.013 126.905 2 2 0.322
12 16 Ryan Preece East West Marine/Diversified Metals 30.040 126.791 1 2 0.349
13 64 Ron Yuhas Jr. Fast Track Electric/Scorpion Const 30.042 126.783 2 2 0.351
14 72 Chuck Hossfeld Jerry Gradl Motors 30.109 126.500 1 2 0.418
15 52 Doug Coby Furnace & Duct/Seekonk GP 30.149 126.333 1 2 0.458
16 46 Eric Berndt Cape Cod Aggts/North End Auto Parts 30.187 126.174 1 2 0.496
17 73 Cole Powell* Copps BuildAll/Tricar 30.336 125.554 2 2 0.645
18 15 Rob Fuller 15-40 Connection 30.357 125.467 2 2 0.666
19 51 Justin Bonsignore SEM/M3 Technology 30.364 125.438 2 2 0.673
20 7 Ryan Newman Menards/Wix Filters 30.429 125.170 2 2 0.738
21 39 Richie Pallai Jr. MAHLE Performance/Lucas Oil 30.442 125.117 1 2 0.751
22 99 Jamie Tomaino Supreme Manufacturing 30.570 124.593 1 2 0.879
23 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood/Mehner Racing 30.812 123.614 1 1 1.121
24 28 Ed Flemke, Jr. Ron Bouchards Auto Stores 30.841 123.498 2 2 1.150
25 07 Patrick Emerling Emerling Chevrolet Dealership 30.865 123.402 2 2 1.174
26 33 Wade Cole Perf Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan’s Oil 31.317 121.621 2 2 1.626
27 97 Bryan Dauzat O.B. Builders 31.374 121.400 1 2 1.683
28 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Landscape/TRC Electric 31.446 121.122 1 2 1.755
29 19 Jacob Dore* Harold Estey Lumber/Perkins Paving 31.491 120.949 2 2 1.800
30 38 Brian Schofield Perf Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan’s 31.535 120.780 1 2 1.844
31 6 Ron Silk TS Haulers/Calverton Tree Farm no time –
32 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating no time –