Ron Silk passed Reggie Ruggiero on the backstretch of the last lap and held
on through Turns 3 and 4 to earn the victory in the New Hampshire 100
Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
It was Silk’s fourth career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win and his
first at the ‘Magic Mile’ - traditionally one of the most prestigious events
on the schedule.
Silk, of Norwalk, Conn., swapped the lead with Ruggiero three times
and ran bumper-to-bumper in the last 10 laps, with Silk surviving the
battle.
“My car sucked up in the draft really good,” Silk said. “I think if
I would have passed him on the frontstretch then he would have passed me
back down the backstretch, so I just waited until I could make the move
last.
“He [Ruggiero] moved down to protect the bottom a little bit, but I
got in there and he gave me the room,” Silk said. “It was good racing on the
last lap.”
Ruggiero settled for a fourth-place finish after getting shuffled
three spots on the last lap. Donny Lia crossed the line second followed by
pole winner Ryan Preece and Mike Stefanik finished fifth.
Lia entered the race third in points but his car caught fire during
practice on Thursday and he was not able to qualify. After starting at the
rear on Saturday with a provisional, Lia was involved in an early accident
and went down three laps. He was the beneficiary during three subsequent
cautions, and rocketed toward the front for a runner-up finish.
“After the first wreck, we just didn’t know [if it was going to be
a lost day], but we were able to continue on,” Lia said. “And then we had
that problem down in [Turns] 1 and 2, and we were pretty bad after that. We
broke the upper control arm, bent both spindles and a couple wheels and
ripped some bars off of it.”
Lia’s effort moved him up to second, 48 points behind Ted
Christopher with three races remaining. Christopher finished seventh.
“There was a lot of luck involved, and a lot of heart from my
guys,” Lia said. “I’ve got to hand it to my guys, they never give up.”
Rowan Pennink, Christopher, Ryan Newman, Erick Rudolph and Chuck
Hossfeld rounded out the top 10. It was the best NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
finish for Newman, who is a full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitor,
in his fourth start.
“I’ve always said that this is the best racing that’s here all
weekend, and I’m just honored to be a part of it,” Newman said. “There are a
lot of great drivers in this series and they were a lot of fun today.”
Todd Szegedy was involved in an accident on Lap 84 and settled for
29th, which ended his streak of top-10 finishes at 13 and dropped him from
second to fourth in the championship standings.
The race featured 17 lead changes among eight drivers, and was
slowed by 11 cautions.
Ruggiero - a part-time competitor - was one of the eight to lead a
lap, marking the first race he had run up front in two years. No driver led
more than 18 laps in the race.
The 11th race of the 2009 season will take place Sunday, Sept. 27
at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway . The Made In America Whelen 300 will be the
second and final combination race of the year with the NASCAR Whelen
Southern Modified Tour.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour-New Hampshire 100
Unofficial Results
Saturday At New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H.
Lap length: 1.058 miles
(Start
position in parentheses)
1. (2) Ron Silk, Norwalk , Conn . , Chevrolet, 100 laps,
74.058 mph, $15,165.
2. (34) Donny Lia, Jericho , N.Y. , Dodge, 100, $12,515.
3. (1) Ryan Preece , Berlin , Conn . , Chevrolet, 100,
$9,365.
4. (21) Reggie Ruggiero, Rocky Hill, Conn . , Chevrolet, 100, $6,265.
5. (10) Mike Stefanik, Coventry , R.I. , Pontiac , 100, $5,215.
6. (16) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley , Pa. , Chevrolet, 100, $4,115.
7. (14) Ted Christopher, Plainville , Conn . , Chevrolet, 100, $4,615.
8. (25) Ryan Newman, South Bend , Ind . , Chevrolet, 100, $3,165.
9. (8) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville , N.Y. , Chevrolet, 100,
$3,465.
10. (23) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville , N.Y. , Chevrolet, 100, $2,915.
11. (5) Doug Coby, Milford , Conn . , Chevrolet, 100, $3,115.
12. (18) Chris Pasteryak, Lisbon , Conn . , Chevrolet, 100, $3,115.
13. (11) James Civali, Meriden , Conn . , Pontiac , 100, $2,915.
14. (17) Renee Dupuis, Glastonbury , Conn . , Chevrolet, 100, $2,490.
15. (12) Rob Summers, Vernon , Conn . , Chevrolet, 100, $2,365.
16. (32) Joe Hartmann, Calverton , N.Y. , Chevrolet, 100, $2,340.
17. (37) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $3,015.
18. (29) Johnny Bush, Huntington Station , N.Y. , Chevrolet, 100, $2,690.
19. (24) Anthony Sesely, Matawan , N.J. , Chevrolet, 100, $2,265.
20. (15) Kevin Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 100, $2,508.
21. (31) Ken Heagy, Calverton , N.Y. , Chevrolet, 100, $2,490.
22. (33) Wade Cole, Riverton , Conn . , Chevrolet, 100, $2,465.
23. (39) Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma , N.Y. , Chevrolet, 100, $1,992.
24. (4) Eric Beers, Northampton , Pa. , Chevrolet, 98, $2,390.
25. (38) Jake Marosz, Middletown , Conn . , Chevrolet, 94, $2,265.
26. (30) Woody Pitkat, Stafford , Conn . , Chevrolet, 91, accident, $2,365.
27. (26) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays , N.Y. , Chevrolet, 91, accident, $2,265.
28. (40) Mike Christopher, Plainville , Conn . , Dodge, 85, suspension,
$1,865.
29. (6) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield , Conn . , Ford, 84, accident,
$2,365.
30. (35) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington , Conn . , Chevrolet, 83, accident,
$2,365.
31. (7) Glen Reen, Wilbraham , Mass. , Chevrolet, 81, $2,465.
32. (36) Jamie Tomaino, Howell , N.J. , Chevrolet, 78, engine, $2,265.
33. (3) Keith Rocco, Wallingford , Conn . , Chevrolet, 78,
$2,365.
34. (19) Rob Fuller, Boylston , Mass. , Ford, 75, radiator, $1,865.
35. (22) Jonathan McKennedy, Chelmsford , Mass. , Chevrolet, 75, tie rod,
$2,265.
36. (27) Richard Savary, Canton , Mass. , Chevrolet, 26, accident, $1,865.
37. (13) Bobby Santos, Franklin , Mass. , Chevrolet, 26, accident, $1,865.
38. (20) Tim Arre, Toms River, N.J., Chevrolet, 12, rear end, $1,865.
39. (28) Eddie MacDonald, Rowley , Mass. , Chevrolet, 4, accident, $1,865.
40. (9) Bobby Grigas, III, Marshfield , Mass. , Chevrolet, 0,
dns, $2,265.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 25 minutes 43 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.324 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: R.Preece (127.962 mph, 29.765 seconds)
Caution Flags: 11 for 51 laps.
Lead Changes: 17 among 8 drivers.
Lap Leaders: R. Silk 1; E. Beers 2; R. Silk 3; E. Beers 4-10; R. Silk
11; E. Beers 12-17; R. Silk 18-23; T. Szegedy 24-40; J. Civali 41-46; R.
Pennink 47-54; R. Ruggiero 55-65; R. Pennink 66-74; R. Newman 75-82; E.
Rudolph 83-87; R. Ruggiero 88; R. Silk 89-96; R. Ruggiero 97-99; R. Silk
100.
Standings: 1. T. Christopher, 1578; 2. D. Lia, 1530; 3. R. Preece,
1504; 4. T. Szegedy, 1474; 5. R. Pennink, 1438; 6. E. Beers, 1281; 7. C.
Pasteryak, 1259; 8. W. Pitkat, 1257; 9. M. Stefanik, 1225; 10. E. Flemke,Jr.,
1219.
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