Lia Escapes For New England 100 Victory
Second Career Win For Lia At ‘Magic Mile’
Loudon, NH — The New England 100 ended with a wild scramble on the last turn of the last lap that wiped out two of the leaders and provided Donny Lia his second NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Points leader Ted Christopher led at the white flag, with Lia, Todd Szegedy and Ron Silk jockeying for position. Lia dove inside of Christopher as he headed into Turn 3. Moments after Lia took the lead, Szegedy swept underneath both to the front of the line. As they came out of the final turn heading to the checkered flag, all four bounced off each other, with Christopher collecting Szegedy into the wall as Lia slipped by to grab the win.
Ed Flemke Jr. wound up second, followed by Silk and Rowan Pennink. Christopher managed to gather the car enough to get it across the line and salvage a fifth.
It was the 12th career win for Lia, whose previous victory at New Hampshire came in 2007 en route to his tour championship.
The race had 16 official lead changes among eight drivers, with many more changes for the front position at a track with a reputation for Daytona-style drafting and passing for the NASCAR Whelen Modified cars. Szegedy led a race-high 53 laps.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman led 13 laps and swapped the lead back-and-forth with Szegedy in the early going before he spun on lap 64 and exited the race. The other NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver in the race, Kasey Kahne, was involved in a Lap 72 accident. Kahne finished 31st and Newman 34th.
Doug Coby, Richard Savary, Szegedy, Woody Pitkat, and Glenn Tyler rounded out the top 10. Christopher was able to extend his points lead to 53 over Szegedy, while Lia moved to third place, 72 behind Christopher.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will next race Saturday, July 11 at Spencer Speedway in Williamson, N.Y.
Sources:Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-New England 100 Unofficial Results
Saturday
At New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Loudon, N.H.
Lap length: 1.058 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (4) Donny Lia, Jericho, N.Y., Dodge, 100 laps, 75.095 mph, $15,700.
2. (8) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $11,800.
3. (14) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Pontiac, 100, $9,350.
4. (5) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 100, $6,700.
5. (3) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $5,400.
6. (1) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $4,650.
7. (26) Richard Savary, Canton, Mass., Chevrolet, 100, $3,550.
8. (2) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 100, $3,700.
9. (19) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $3,600.
10. (29) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $3,350.
11. (10) Bobby Grigas, III, Marshfield, Mass., Chevrolet, 100, $3,150.
12. (22) Rob Summers, Vernon, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $2,650.
13. (34) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $3,700.
14. (16) Reggie Ruggiero, Rocky Hill, Conn., Ford, 100, $2,925.
15. (35) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 100, $2,800.
16. (15) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 99, $2,875.
17. (23) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 99, $3,050.
18. (9) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 99, $2,725.
19. (21) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Mass., Chevrolet, 98, $2,900.
20. (32) Tom Abele, Jr., Norwich, Conn., Chevrolet, 98, $2,543.
21. (30) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Chevrolet, 98, $2,525.
22. (33) Johnny Bush, Huntington Station, N.Y., Chevrolet, 98, $2,100.
23. (13) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 97, $2,475.
24. (7) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 96, $2,474.
25. (24) Chris Pasteryak, Lisbon, Conn., Chevrolet, 96, $2,300.
26. (27) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 96, $2,300.
27. (37) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 91, $1,800.
28. (18) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 80, $2,300.
29. (31) Tim Arre, Toms River, N.J., Chevrolet, 80, $1,800.
30. (20) Anthony Sesely, Matawan, N.J., Chevrolet, 72, accident, $1,800.
31. (17) Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, Wash., Chevrolet, 72, accident, $1,800.
32. (25) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 71, accident, $1,800.
33. (12) Rob Fuller, Boylston, Mass., Ford, 66, accident, $1,800.
34. (6) Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind., Chevrolet, 64, accident, $1,800.
35. (28) Jonathan McKennedy, Chelmsford, Mass., Chevrolet, 57, accident, $1,800.
36. (11) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury, Conn., Chevrolet, 20, engine, $1,800.
37. (36) Tommy Farrell, III, Neptune, N.J., Chevrolet, 3, brakes, $2,200.
38. (38) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Chevrolet, 1, accident, $1,800.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 24 minutes 32 seconds
Margin of Victory: .306 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: D.Coby (126.947 mph, 30.003 seconds)
Caution Flags: 5 for 28 laps.
Lead Changes: 16 among 8 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Szegedy 1-12; R. Newman 13-22; T. Szegedy 23-51; R. Newman 52-54; T. Szegedy 55-66; A. Seuss 67-79; E. Goodale 80; R. Silk 81; E. Flemke,Jr. 82-86; D. Lia 87-89; T. Christopher 90; D. Lia 91; R. Silk 92; T. Christopher 93-94; R. Silk 95-97; T. Christopher 98-99; D. Lia 100.