Preece Scores Another Stafford Victory
Assumes Whelen Modified Points Lead After Third Win Of Season
STAFFORD, Conn. — Heading into the home stretch of the 2015 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season, a trio of drivers are leading the championship charge.
Friday night’s Call Before You Dig 150 at Stafford Motor Speedway did little to separate them, although 2013 champion Ryan Preece moved to the front of the line, courtesy of his third win of the season.
Preece’s No. 6 TS Haulers/East West Marine Chevrolet was out front for the final 69 laps en route to his third win of the season and 14th of his career. Five of Preece’s wins have come on Stafford’s half-mile, including a victory in June’s TSI Harley-Davidson 125.
Challengers Doug Coby and Woody Pitkat followed close behind in second and third.
With nine races down and six remaining, Preece now leads Pitkat, who began the race with the points lead, by four tallies and defending champion Coby by 13. Todd Szegedy, who entered the night just two behind Coby, finished 16th and is now 30 points out of first.
Ted Christopher and Justin Bonsignore were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Patrick Emerling, who won his first career Coors Light Pole Award earlier in the day, finished sixth. Timmy Solomito, Eric Goodale, Bobby Santos and rookie Chase Dowling rounded out the top 10.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be back at it in just five days, with the Budweiser King of Beers 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
RESULTS | RACE CENTRAL LIVE REPLAY | AUDIO: POST-RACE INTERVIEW WITH WINNER RYAN PREECE |AUDIO: POST-RACE INTERVIEW WITH SECOND-PLACE DOUG COBY | AUDIO: POST-RACE INTERVIEW WITH THIRD-PLACE WOODY PITKAT
NWMT Stafford 8/7/15 Results
Whelen Modified Tour
Race: NWMT Stafford 8/7/15
PRINTABLE FORMAT (PDF)
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Status
1 15 6 Ryan Preece TS Haulers/East West Marine Chevrolet 150 48 5 Running
2 3 2 Doug Coby Dunleavy’s Repair/A&J Romano Const. Chevrolet 150 43 1 Running
3 7 88 Woody Pitkat Buzz Chew Chev./TSI Harley-Davidson Chevrolet 150 41 Running
4 14 13 Ted Christopher Mr. Rooter/Cape Cod Aggregates Chevrolet 150 41 1 Running
5 4 51 Justin Bonsignore M3 Technology Chevrolet 150 39 Running
6 1 7 Patrick Emerling Buffalo Auto Auction Chevrolet 150 39 1 Running
7 9 16 Timmy Solomito Diversified Metals /R.B. Enterprises Ford 150 37 Running
8 16 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing/Supreme Skylights Chevrolet 150 36 Running
9 2 44 Bobby Santos Tinio Corp./Dan Kelley/Curb Records Chevrolet 150 36 1 Running
10 11 9 Chase Dowling * S&S Asphalt Paving/Dunleavy’s Repair Chevrolet 150 34 Running
11 13 75 Shawn Solomito Eastport Feeds/Axel Anderson Inc. Chevrolet 150 33 Running
12 18 46 Jeff Goodale * Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet 150 32 Running
13 21 14 Max Zachem * Throw Bridge Trucking/Dunleavy’s Chevrolet 150 31 Running
14 17 36 Dave Sapienza * Frankie’s Towing/Wine Country Chevrolet 149 30 Running
15 19 89 Matt Swanson * Spafco Race Chassis/FMR Racing Chevrolet 149 29 Running
16 12 4 Todd Szegedy Montanari Fuel Dodge 149 28 Running
17 25 37 Dave Salzarulo Brickenmore Bricks Chevrolet 149 27 Running
18 23 33 Wade Cole Performance Engines/Kendall Oil Chevrolet 148 26 Running
19 20 99 Jamie Tomaino Dunleavy’s Repair/Atlantic Sprinkler Chevrolet 141 25 Running
20 6 93 Rowan Pennink Van Wickle Auto Supply Chevrolet 137 24 Ignition
21 24 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Landscape/TRC Electric Chevrolet 134 23 Handling
22 26 1 Melissa Fifield Big Moose RV Chevrolet 114 22 Handling
23 8 29 Brendon Bock * Pro System Brakes/L.I. Performance Chevrolet 83 22 1 Accident
24 22 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Chevrolet 69 20 Accident
25 5 3 Troy Talman * Cape Cod Copper/DCU/NAPA Chevrolet 51 19 Accident
26 10 8 Donny Lia Sypher Construction/Bardahl Chevrolet 45 18 Suspension
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Patrick Emerling, Time: 18.379 Seconds, Speed: 97.938 mph
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 15 mins, 35 secs Average Speed: 59.537 mph Margin of Victory: 1.500 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 1-3 (Cars #14, 33 spin (Turn 1)); 13-15 (Car #8 accident (Frontstretch)); 42-49 (Fluid & debris on track); 52-56 (Car #3 accident (Turn 1)); 71-79 (Cars #18, 33, 99 accident (Backstretch) {Red Flag 6 mins.}); 84-88 (Car #29 accident (Turn 1)). 6 for 33 laps.
Total Laps Led: Ryan Preece 69, Bobby Santos 64, Brendon Bock * 7, Patrick Emerling 4, Doug Coby 4, Ted Christopher 2. 6 changes involving 6 drivers.
* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR