THOMPSON, Conn. - The wave of momentum for Ryan Preece continued on Wednesday night at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
Preece charged to the front of the 28th Annual Bud “King of Beers” 150 for his second straight NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory and fourth of the season.
The Berlin, Connecticut, driver passed defending champion Doug Coby with just 16 laps remaining en route to the win. In his last six Whelen Modified Tour starts, he has four wins, a second and a fourth. It was his 19th career tour victory.
“Doug put a lot more pressure on me at the end then I thought he was going too,” Preece said following his win. “I have to keep winning races. My career depends on that. We had a really good car tonight.”
Wednesday’s drive was filled with plenty of drama. While some of the top challengers pitted before the haflway point, Preece decided to wait things out and make a late pit stop for fresh rubber. However, on lap 114, his No. 6 TS Haulers/Hoosier Tire of Calverton Chevrolet went spinning in turn 2. Preece fired the car before going a lap down and pitted for tires two laps later.
From there, it was a hard charge to the front.
Preece worked his way into the top five and then passed leader Coby with just 16 laps remaining. While Preece showed the way for the final laps, Coby was not about to let him get away. However, on the final lap, Coby made contact with the Turn 1 wall. Coby was able to continue on and was scored as the runner-up as the race ended under caution. The yellow flag froze the field on the final lap, and NASCAR officials ruled Coby maintained a reasonable speed under caution given the track conditions.
Ted Christopher finished third, followed by Timmy Solomito and Bobby Santos.
Andrew Krause, Rowan Pennink, Eric Goodale, Jon McKennedy and Woody Pitkat rounded out the top ten.
Solomito increased his championship points lead to 10 over Pennink, while Preece moved up to third – 19 back of Solomito – despite missing a race earlier in the season to get married. Coby and Goodale are each 11 points back of Preece.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to the track on Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway with the running of the Bush’s Beans 150.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park – Thompson, CT
Bud King of Beers 150 – August 9, 2017
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | B/Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 6 | Ryan Preece | TS Haulers Inc/Hoosier Tire of Calverton Chevrolet | 150 | 48 | 5 | Running |
| 2 | 7 | 2 | Doug Coby | Mayhew Tools/Dunleavy/AJ Romano Chevrolet | 150 | 43 | 1 | Running |
| 3 | 5 | 82 | Ted Christopher | Horton Avenue Materials Chevrolet | 150 | 41 | Running | |
| 4 | 2 | 16 | Timmy Solomito | Starrett Tools Ford | 150 | 41 | 1 | Running |
| 5 | 8 | 44 | Bobby Santos | Sully Tinio/Brendan Kelley Music Chevrolet | 150 | 39 | Running | |
| 6 | 6 | 24 | Andrew Krause | Supreme Manufacturing Chevrolet | 150 | 38 | Running | |
| 7 | 1 | 3 | Rowan Pennink | Cape Cod Copper/USNE Chevrolet | 150 | 38 | 1 | Running |
| 8 | 15 | 58 | Eric Goodale | GAF Roofing Chevrolet | 150 | 36 | Running | |
| 9 | 4 | 0 | Jon McKennedy | Copeland Toyota & Chevrolet/True City Auto Sales | 150 | 35 | Running | |
| 10 | 13 | 52 | Woody Pitkat | Gunsmoke Stebbins Racing Chevrolet | 150 | 34 | Running | |
| 11 | 14 | 51 | Justin Bonsignore | Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet | 150 | 34 | 1 | Running |
| 12 | 12 | 46 | Craig Lutz | Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet | 150 | 32 | Running | |
| 13 | 18 | 29 | Brendon Bock | Meadow Brook Collision Chevrolet | 150 | 31 | Running | |
| 14 | 9 | 15 | Chase Dowling | 15-40 Connection Chevrolet | 150 | 30 | Running | |
| 15 | 10 | 20 | Max Zachem | Anytime Rental/u-Macs Chevrolet | 149 | 29 | Running | |
| 16 | 11 | 36 | Dave Sapienza | Sapienza Enterprise Chevrolet | 149 | 28 | Running | |
| 17 | 16 | 89 | Matt Swanson | Starrett Tools Ford | 149 | 27 | Running | |
| 18 | 23 | 64 | Rob Summers | Hoosier Tire East/Fast Track Elect/Hughes Motors | 147 | 26 | Running | |
| 19 | 17 | 74 | CJ Lehmann * | IGA Food Markets Chevrolet | 146 | 25 | Running | |
| 20 | 20 | 39 | Calvin Carroll * | Power with Prestige/Cruising w/Betty Chevrolet | 145 | 24 | Running | |
| 21 | 22 | 33 | Wade Cole | Perf. Engines/Kendall Oil Chevrolet | 143 | 23 | Running | |
| 22 | 21 | 45 | Dillon Steuer * | Coram Materials Chevrolet | 125 | 22 | Running | |
| 23 | 19 | 85 | Jeff Rocco * | Stuarts Automotiive/J&R Pre-Cast Chevrolet | 100 | 21 | Power Steering | |
| 24 | 26 | 78 | Walter Sutcliffe Jr. * | Last Minute Racing Chevrolet | 83 | 20 | Clutch | |
| 25 | 24 | 1 | Melissa Fifield | Eastern Propane & Oil Chevrolet | 55 | 19 | Power Steering | |
| 26 | 25 | 38 | Dave Salzarulo | Perf Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan’s Chevrolet | 12 | 18 | Handling |
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Rowan Pennink, Time: 18.697 Seconds, Speed: 120.340 mph
Time of Race: 0 hrs., 59 mins, 35 secs Average Speed: 94.406 mph Margin of Victory: Under caution
Caution Flags: Laps 58-64; 75-80; 114-118; 150. 4 for 19 laps.
Lap Leaders: Rowan Pennink 1-6, Ryan Preece 7-82, Justin Bonsignore 83-87, Timmy Solomito 88-126, Doug Coby 127-133, Ryan Preece 134-150.
Total Laps Led: Ryan Preece 93, Timmy Solomito 39, Doug Coby 7, Rowan Pennink 6, Justin Bonsignore 5. 5 changes involving 5 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: Timmy Solomito 351, Rowan Pennink 341, Ryan Preece 332, Doug Coby 321, Eric Goodale 321, Justin Bonsignore 319, Max Zachem 301, Dave Sapienza 289, Woody Pitkat 283, Rob Summers 275
* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/8/570141/preece-charges-late-to-whelen-mod-win-at-thompson