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05/22/2012 |
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SPRING
SIZZLER CHAMPION DOUG COBY HOPES TO MAKE IT
TWO IN A ROW AT STAFFORD IN TSI HARLEY-DAVIDSON 125 |
 Doug
Coby, who won the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler
last month at Stafford, will look to make it
two-for-two when the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
returns to Stafford next Friday night for the 22nd
Annual TSI Harley-Davidson 125. Of Coby’s 3 career
Whelen Modified Tour wins, 2 have come in the Spring
Sizzler. That fact, combined with Coby’s two
Stafford track championships, has the Milford native
excited about the prospects of making it two in a
row at Stafford.
“The car was awesome at the Sizzler, so I would
expect the car is going to be awesome again next
Friday night,” said Coby. “The night race will be
different, even though it’s only a couple of weeks
after the Sizzler, the track is always different in
the May race from the Sizzler. The last three
Sizzlers the pole time has been in the 17’s and in
May it’s usually drops off to 18.2, 3, or 4, and
it’s an impound race, so we’ll have to qualify the
way we’re going to race. We all make a lot of
adjustments for time trials to click off a good lap,
but we probably make less adjustments for time
trials, so that might help us a bit. You see certain
guys who qualify up front for the two-day shows that
don’t qualify up front for the one-day shows.”
After splitting time between two teams last season,
Coby will be behind the wheel of Wayne Darling’s #52
Furnace and Duct Chevrolet for the entire 2012
schedule. Although they raced together last year,
the Coby/Darling pairing is still a relatively new
combination and Coby says that the team chemistry is
one of the key reasons why they are sitting second
in the Whelen Modified Tour standings heading into
the TSI Harley-Davidson 125.
“Last year was different racing for two teams and we
had good runs with both teams,” said Coby. “With
Wayne’s team now, I think we’re still getting to
know each other, we’ve only raced together 14 times
by my count. John McKenna, my crew chief, is really
starting to learn me really well and what the car
setup needs to react with me and he definitely uses
each race we go to as a spingboard for our next
race. At first, he was making changes for the
feature like he would for some of the other drivers
that were in the car, and not that we were bad, it
just wasn’t as good as we wanted it to be.
I like the car to be a little freer to start off
with and he doesn’t have to tighten the car up as
much as he did with some other drivers. It’s nice to
know that when we show up we’re usually pretty
decent and the thing about John’s cars is that they
last the whole race. That’s how we were when we won
at Thompson last year and how we were at the
Sizzler. With this car, how I manage the race and
the way John sets the car up really meshes well
together and it makes me look good because the car
stays under me. We’re really clicking with the setup
and the communication and we’re not making stupid
moves, which is really working out for us right
now.”
With the TSI Harley-Davidson race being 125 laps
instead of 150 laps, it opens up a wide variety of
options for teams to take different strategies.
“In a 150 we’re definitely going to pit, with the
125 we may not,” said Coby. “It all depends on how
good the car is and what our track position is.
Unless there’s only 10 cars on the lead lap with 50
laps to go, you’re not going to get back up to the
leaders to go by them at Stafford. It’s going to be
interesting when it comes time for pit stops. If
we’re in the top-2 and everyone pits behind us,
you’ll have guys with 2 tires right behind you. If a
lot of guys stay out, then it will be a lot harder
to get back through the field. If everyone pits, a
car that pits will win the race, but if 10 or 12
guys stay out for track position when everyone else
comes in, then a car that stays out will win the
race I think. The key is how many guys will have the
same strategy that you do when it comes to pitting
and when you pit. At STafford it’s not about when
you pit, it’s about how many cars come into the pits
when you do. Like at the Sizzler, we pitted from
second and we came out third of the cars that pitted
and we restarted sixth. Ryan [Preece] and I were
back in the lead after a couple of laps and it was
like we never pitted.”
Tickets for the 22nd Annual TSI Harley-Davidson 125
are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box
Office. Tickets are priced at $33.00 for adult
general admission tickets, $5.00 for children ages
6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted
free of charge when accompanied by an adult.
Reserved seating will be priced at $35.00 for all
ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission
Tax. As always, Stafford Motor Speedway offers free
parking with overnight parking available.
For more information on the 22nd Annual TSI
Harley-Davidson 125, 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. |
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Source: Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted: May
22, 2012 |
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