THOMPSON, Conn. - It took 10 seasons, bouncing between full and part-time rides, for Doug Coby to get his second career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory.
Since then, though, the Milford, Connecticut, driver has compiled a resume that puts him among the elite Modified drivers of all-time.
Coby drove his No. 2 Dunleavy Repair/A&J Romano Construction Chevrolet to a sixth-place finish in Sunday’s Sunoco World Series 150 at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park to cap off his fourth career championship. He finished 12 points ahead of race winner Justin Bonsignore to claim the trophy.
In the process, Coby joined NASCAR Hall of Famers Jerry Cook and Richie Evans, as well as NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee Mike Stefanik and Tony Hirschman, Jr., as the only drivers in NASCAR Modified 69-year history to win four or more championships.
He also became the first driver in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour era, which began in 1985, to win three straight titles. All three have come since he teamed up with car owner Mike Smeriglio III. Over the last six seasons, he’s collected 21 wins. In the two years he didn’t win the championship, he was fifth in 2011 and second in 2013.
Coby won five times this season, to move to seventh all-time on the tour’s win list. He entered the finale with a 20-point cushion on Bonsignore and needed to only finish 17th or better to wrap up the title.
Bonsignore qualified seventh and drove his No. 3 Chevrolet to the lead past Coors Light Pole Award winner Timmy Solomito with 21 laps remaining. But Coby, who started second and had drifted as far back as 14th, picked off enough positions in the closing laps to secure the crown.
Sunday was Bonsignore’s fourth win of the season.
Former tour champion and current NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Ryan Preece finished second at Thompson, followed by Jimmy Blewett, Donny Lia and Solomito.
After Coby, Woody Pitkat, Eric Goodale, Matt Swanson and Dave Sapienze rounded out the top 10. Swanson began the weekend having already clinched Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.
Coby, Bonsignore, Swanson and other top performers from the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be honored on Saturday, Dec. 10 in Charlotte, North Carolina for the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards celebration. The event will be held at the NASCAR Hall of Fame at the Charlotte Convention Center for the seventh consecutive year.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park – Thompson, CT
Sunoco World Series 150 – Oct. 16, 2016
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | B/Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 51 | Justin Bonsignore | Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet | 150 | 47 | 4 | Running |
| 2 | 11 | 6 | Ryan Preece | T.S. Haulers, Inc./Riverhead Raceway Inc. Chevrolet | 150 | 42 | Running | |
| 3 | 10 | 4 | Jimmy Blewett | Starrett Tools/Mayhew Tools Dodge | 150 | 41 | Running | |
| 4 | 12 | 8 | Donny Lia | Sypher Construction/Bardahl Chevrolet | 150 | 40 | Running | |
| 5 | 1 | 16 | Timmy Solomito | Diversified Metals Ford | 150 | 41 | 2 | Running |
| 6 | 2 | 2 | Doug Coby | Dunleavy Repair/A&J Romano Const Chevrolet | 150 | 39 | 1 | Running |
| 7 | 3 | 85 | Woody Pitkat | Stuart’s Automotive Chevrolet | 150 | 37 | Running | |
| 8 | 5 | 58 | Eric Goodale | GAF Roofing Chevrolet | 150 | 36 | Running | |
| 9 | 17 | 89 | Matt Swanson * | Central Mass Tree Chevrolet | 150 | 35 | Running | |
| 10 | 15 | 36 | Dave Sapienza | SAP Enterprise Chevrolet | 150 | 34 | Running | |
| 11 | 21 | 99 | Jamie Tomaino | Dunleavy’s Repair/Atlantic Sprinkler Chevrolet | 150 | 33 | Running | |
| 12 | 20 | 46 | Jeff Goodale | Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet | 150 | 32 | Running | |
| 13 | 19 | 20 | Max Zachem | Lu-Mac’s Package Store/East End Statuary Chevrolet | 150 | 31 | Running | |
| 14 | 8 | 3 | Rowan Pennink | Cape Cod Copper/Canto Paving Chevrolet | 149 | 30 | Running | |
| 15 | 9 | 44 | Bobby Santos | Tinio Corp./Dan Kelley/Curb Records Chevrolet | 148 | 29 | Running | |
| 16 | 26 | 26 | Gary McDonald | Lakeland Landscape /TRC Electric Chevrolet | 148 | 28 | Running | |
| 17 | 22 | 33 | Wade Cole | Performance Engines/Kendall Oil Chevrolet | 146 | 28 | 1 | Running |
| 18 | 13 | 82 | Ron Silk | Horton Avenue Materials Chevrolet | 143 | 26 | Running | |
| 19 | 25 | 1 | Melissa Fifield | Eastern Propane & Oil Chevrolet | 124 | 25 | Handling | |
| 20 | 24 | 78 | Walter Sutcliffe Jr. * | Last Minute Racing Chevrolet | 119 | 24 | Handling | |
| 21 | 4 | 64 | Rob Summers | HTE/Dell Electric/Complete Const. Chevrolet | 108 | 23 | Steering | |
| 22 | 14 | 9 | Chase Dowling | S&S Asphalt Paving/Dunleavy’s Repair Chevrolet | 101 | 22 | Engine | |
| 23 | 18 | 17 | Kyle Ellwood | Eastside Building Chevrolet | 81 | 21 | Carburetor | |
| 24 | 27 | 38 | Gary Byington * | Performance Engines/Kendall Oil Chevrolet | 75 | 20 | Handling | |
| 25 | 16 | 56 | Craig Lutz * | Lutz Motorsports Chevrolet | 45 | 19 | Accident | |
| 26 | 23 | 39 | Calvin Carroll * | Power with Prestige Chevrolet | 39 | 18 | Accident | |
| 27 | 6 | 75 | Shawn Solomito | Eastport Feeds Chevrolet | 25 | 17 | Engine |
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Timmy Solomito, Time: 18.643 Seconds, Speed: 120.689 mph
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 7 mins, 44 secs Average Speed: 83.046 mph Margin of Victory: 1.241 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 5-9; 26-31; 40-44; 46-50; 71-76; 102-105. 6 for 31 laps.
Lap Leaders: Timmy Solomito 1-50, Doug Coby 51, Timmy Solomito 52-73, Wade Cole 74-76, Timmy Solomito 77-129, Justin Bonsignore 130-150.
Total Laps Led: Timmy Solomito 125, Justin Bonsignore 21, Wade Cole 3, Doug Coby 1. 5 changes involving 4 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: Doug Coby 684, Justin Bonsignore 672, Timmy Solomito 638, Donny Lia 577, Max Zachem 576, Jimmy Blewett 574, Eric Goodale 570, Ron Silk 565, Matt Swanson * 543, Chase Dowling 543
* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/10/459069/coby-takes-mod-crown-bonsignore-wins-at-thompson