PRACTICE: Lia Leads At Stafford
Fastest In Preparation For The CARQUEST Fall Final 150
STAFFORD, Conn. – Donny Lia led the way in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour practice for the CARQUEST Fall Final 150 at Stafford Motor Speedway.
Lia, from Jericho, N.Y., posted a fast lap of 18.314 seconds (98.285 mph) in the 75-minute session Saturday at Stafford. A seven-time pole winner at Stafford during his career, Lia will look to make his fast practice time stand up in Coors Light Pole qualifying today at 2:30 p.m.
A three-time Stafford pole winner just this year, Bobby Santos finished second-fastest to Lia at 18.412 (97.762). No driver in Whelen Modified Tour history has swept an entire season of pole awards at Stafford – a feat Santos will look to accomplish later today.
Woody Pitkat finished third on the practice chart at 18.419 (97.725) while Todd Szegedy was fourth at 18.438 (97.624) and Bryon Chew fifth at 18.447 (97.577).
The rest of the top 10 in practice Saturday included Doug Coby, Eric Goodale, Justin Bonsignore, Ron Yuhas Jr. and Cole Powell.
Ryan Preece, who brings a 41-point lead in the season standings to Stafford with a chance to clinch tomorrow, ranked 11th in practice.
The CARQUEST Fall Final 150 is slated to take the green flag on Sunday at approximately 3:15 p.m.
NWMT Stafford 9/29/13 Practice
Submitted by jcunningham on September 28, 2013 – 1:02pm
Pos No. Name Sponsor Time Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 4 Donny Lia Circle Track Magazine 18.314 98.285 38 39
2 44 Bobby Santos Tinio Racing/Brendan Kelley Music 18.412 97.762 17 17 0.098
3 79 Woody Pitkat Mr. Rooter/Coors Light/Hill Enterprise 18.419 97.725 25 27 0.105
4 2 Todd Szegedy UNOH/Dunleavy Repair 18.438 97.624 49 49 0.124
5 88 Bryon Chew Buzz Chew Chevrolet/Elbow East 18.447 97.577 37 37 0.133
6 52 Doug Coby Furnace & Duct/Seekonk Grand Priox 18.455 97.535 35 37 0.141
7 58 Eric Goodale Riverhead Bulding Supply 18.463 97.492 31 32 0.149
8 51 Justin Bonsignore M3 Technology 18.464 97.487 36 37 0.150
9 64 Ron Yuhas, Jr. Fast Track Electric/Hughes Motors 18.480 97.403 26 39 0.166
10 73 Cole Powell* Copps Buildall/Tricar Developments 18.513 97.229 32 32 0.199
11 16 Ryan Preece Sanderson-MacLeod/East West Marine 18.545 97.061 28 38 0.231
12 22 Mike Stefanik Robert B Our Co/Canto & Sons Paving 18.546 97.056 16 16 0.232
13 3 Ted Christopher RB Leasing/Nash Road Motors 18.547 97.051 34 35 0.233
14 6 Ron Silk TS Haulers/Calverton Tree Farm 18.549 97.040 43 43 0.235
15 93 Rowan Pennick Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner 18.551 97.030 47 55 0.237
16 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood/Mehner Racing 18.558 96.993 17 19 0.244
17 46 Eric Berndt Cape Cod Aggts/North End Auto Parts 18.601 96.769 32 32 0.287
18 07 Patrick Emerling Buffalo Auto Auction/Emerling Chevrolet 18.604 96.753 43 43 0.290
19 72 Chuck Hossfeld Jerry Gradl Motors 18.614 96.701 27 29 0.300
20 39 Richie Pillai, Jr. MAHLE Performance/Lucas Oil 18.624 96.649 32 47 0.310
21 28 Ed Flemke, Jr. Ron Bouchard’s Auto Stores 18.815 95.668 37 45 0.501
22 99 Jamie Tomaino Supreme Mfg./Van Wickle NAPA 18.962 94.927 4 10 0.648
23 38 Dave Salzarulo* Perf. Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan’s 18.972 94.877 28 38 0.658
24 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Landscapte/TRC Electric 19.033 94.573 15 37 0.719
25 33 Wade Cole Perf. Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan’s 19.163 93.931 15 15 0.849
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR