Doug Coby Looks to Begin Climb to Top of Whelen Modified Standings at Riverhead Raceway
MILFORD, Conn. — Doug Coby returns to Riverhead Raceway this Saturday, June 19, carrying plenty of momentum off a victory in the debut race of the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) at Stafford Motor Speedway. Coby bested former NASCAR Cup Series champions and winners — and top drivers from a variety of racing disciplines — to score the biggest win of his career at his home track.
Now, his attention turns towards competing with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Riverhead — fresh off his first win of his career at the New York oval on May 15. After 19 previous starts, Coby finally parked the No. 10 Mayhew Tools entry in Victory Lane last month — but a second straight win at the track would mean even more.
“Just because we won there the last time I don’t think we can plan on it happening again,” Coby said. “We will have a good car and I’m confident in the car — but we just have to stay out of trouble and make sure you are there at lap 200. Everyone is going to do their homework from the last time.”
After missing the tour race at Oswego Speedway to compete with SRX, Coby sits eighth, 47 points out of the title lead, with nine races remaining in the season in chase of a seventh championship.
“I have to think about it as I’m making moves out there,” Coby said of the points battle. “My mission right now is going to be similar to what it was when we were in a hole a few years ago. I’m looking at who is the next realistic chunk of points in front of us that I can make up. Everyone from third to seventh is fair game — I’m going to try and catch them, pass them, and have good finishes to distance myself from them. We will see how the summer unfolds. Just going to try and get max points and put pressure on those guys in front of us to run well.”
One more victory would tie Coby with Jeff Fuller for 31 career all-time wins. Coby has qualified inside the top-10 in his last 12 Riverhead starts, resulting in 10 finishes inside the top-10 in the span.
Whelen Modified Tour teams will have one practice on Saturday, lasting 60 minutes, from 3-4 p.m. The green flag will drop in Mayhew Tools pole qualifying at 6 p.m., with the Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200 set to start at 8 p.m. Tickets will be available at the track. For those who can’t make it to Long Island, the race will air via a live stream through NBC Sports Gold and TrackPass.
For more information on Doug Coby Racing, visit the team on Facebook.
Sources: Souza Media/Kyle Souza
Photo by Noah Watts/My Race News