Doug Coby Looking Forward to NAPA Auto Parts SK 5k at Stafford Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT — Over the last three seasons at Stafford Motor Speedway, Doug Coby has had a stranglehold on victory lane in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour competition. Coby has won half of the 10 NWMT races run at Stafford since the start of the 2012 season, but he hasn’t been able to win an SK Modified® feature at Stafford since reuniting with car owner Glenn Johnson. Coby recorded six podium finishes last season with 3 second and 3 third place efforts, but he came up short in the win column. Coby is again knocking on the door to NAPA Victory Lane this season and he feels like a win could be right around the corner for the #15 team.
“We’re pretty happy with the car the last couple of races and we’re really satisfied with the base setup we’ve come up with,” said Coby. “We could be on the verge of winning or we could still be a little ways off. It all depends on things like how traffic goes, where we start, and how the races play out. I think last Friday I might have used the tires up a little too much in the outside groove but we’re getting to where we need to be to win. It’s just a matter of being able to do that week after week.”
With his success at Stafford in the Whelen Modified Tour races, a prime opportunity for Coby to get his first SK Modified win since the 2009 season is the NAPA Auto Parts SK 5k on July 4th. The race distance will be determined by a fan vote where the top-3 choices will be placed into a hat with the polesitter drawing a number to determine the lap count. With the top-3 current choices being 100-laps, 80-laps, and 76-laps, the choice will almost certainly be between 2 and 2 and a half times longer than a regular SK Modified® feature, which could play right into Coby’s hands.
“I think we’re going to plan on putting a setup in the car similar to what we would do for an 80 or 100 lap race and we finished second in the 80 lapper last year, so I think we have a pretty good setup for a longer race,” said Coby. “Most of the guys who race in the SK Modifieds® have been racing at Stafford for a while so I don’t think we’ll have any advantage over anyone, but it’s still a wide-open deal. Glenn [Johnson] would definitely love to win this race. He works so hard on the car no matter if we finish second or twelfth, that I’d love to get the win for him. I’m going to try my best to deliver that win for him. I haven’t won an SK race since 2009 so I have to go to school on that and figure out what I’m doing wrong. I’m comfortable with the longer races it’s just a matter of having a car that can last.”
Should Coby go on to win the race, he will take home a minimum payday of $5,000 from the purse of over $27,000.
“I’m absolutely looking forward to the race,” said Coby. “I wish we could race for $5,000 to win every week! This is a huge deal and whoever wins this race it’s certainly going to make their season. This race is something that we’re all gunning for and this is something that we don’t get to race for all the time. Hopefully we’ll have a good enough car to be competitive in the race. If we end up time trialing I hope we have a good enough setup for the car to come in in two laps because it typically takes a little longer than 2 laps for our car. We’ve been fast this year and we were fast in the 80-lapper last year, it’s just a matter of having the right setup for that night. We’ll have to be smart in traffic and we’ll have to have the car last longer than 40 laps.”
The $5,000 to win SK 5K won’t be the only entertainment at Stafford during the night of July 4th. Stafford Speedway will host Mean Gene and the Flamethrowers, a concert style party rock band that is based out of Long Island, NY. Mean Gene and the Flamethrowers will play both prior to and after the conclusion of the NAPA SK 5K racing program. Along with the band, in true Fourth of July style, Stafford Speedway will have a barbeque taking place on the midway with some great food available to race fans. The midway will also be busy during the July 4th NAPA Auto Parts SK5k event with Big Daddy’s RC Racing on hand; NAPA Auto Parts will have an Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund booth setup to sell tee-shirts with all the proceeds being donated to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund; and the Hartford Wolfpack mascot Sonar will be in the house to greet fans.
Tickets for the July 4th NAPA SK 5K are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets are priced at $27.50 for adult general admission tickets, $5.00 for kids ages 6-14, and kids 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating will be priced at $30.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax. Stafford Speedway offers free parking with free overnight parking for self-contained RV’s available.
For more information on the Inaugural NAPA SK 5K, or to order tickets, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com.
Sources: Scott Running/Stafford Motor Speedway PR