Coby Holds on to Win Town Fair Tire 100
LOUDON, NH — To say that the Town Fair Tire 100 was a back-and-forth affair might end up being the understatement of the weekend at the Magic Mile. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway featured 27 lead changes, the last coming on the penultimate lap by Doug Coby, who held on to win for the second straight time at the 1.058-mile oval.
“It was just crazy. You look into your mirror and listen to your spotter,” said Coby, who also won last September’s F.W. Webb 100. “Loudon is the biggest race on the schedule. This is difficult because there are nine teams that can win it in any given week.”
Ted Christopher and Ryan Preece finished second and third, respectively. It was the best finish by Christopher, a five-time Modified winner at New Hampshire, since he placed second in the July 2010 race.
“It was a good race in the beginning, but the cautions (there were four) brought everyone back together in the second half of the race,” said Christopher. “I’m really happy with the car, we were really fast, which is a lot better than we have been the last couple years here. We just came up a little short.”
[Sat. Photo Gallery] by Adam Fohlin
[Sat. Photo Gallery] by Paul Fohlin
[Sat. Photo Gallery] by Nathan Teto
Preece, who sits atop the Tour’s point standings, was looking to extend his winning streak to four straight races after taking the checkers at Stafford Springs Speedway, Waterford Speedbowl and Riverhead Raceway. And with Rowan Pennink (15th), Mike Stafanik (22nd) and Justin Bonsignore (32nd) all finishing outside the top 10, Preece was able to pad his lead.
“Well, this is my fourth third-place finish at New Hampshire, so I’d like to improve on that,” said Preece. “We had a really good race car today and I’m looking forward to coming back (in September) and go for the win.”
Andy Seuss and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran Ryan Newman finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while Woody Pitkat, Eric Berndt, Chuck Hossfeld, Richie Pallai Jr. and Jamie Tomaino round out the top-10 behind Coby.
“We could have been fourth or fifth with the same car,” said Coby. “The question is, are you going to capitalize on someone’s mistakes.
“We are here to win, to put a good car together, get more fans in the stands and that’s what we’re here to do.”
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Sources: NHMS.com