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10/13/2014 |
MSIII RACING
CLOSE TO CAPTURING FIRST NASCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Doug Coby Heads into
Season Finale Race as Standings Leader |
After
nine years of racing in the NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour, Mike Smeriglio III is as close as he’s ever
been to securing his first series championship. The
team owner is cautiously excited as he takes the No.
2 Dunleavy’s Repair/Hex Performance Chevrolet race
team to Thompson Speedway for the season finale race
on October 19.
The MSIII Racing team has consistently secured top
finishes throughout this season. Driver Doug Coby, a
former series champion, has finished in the top-5 in
every race except for three. In those three races,
he finished sixth, eighth and 10th.
“This season with Doug (Coby) has been more than
I’ve anticipated,” said Smeriglio. “He’s a very
confident, calculated and calm driver. It’s beyond
my expectations. I was hoping to be a championship
contender; I wasn’t planning on leading the points
for more than half the season.”
The team kicked off the 2014 race season with a win
at Daytona International Speedway in the Battle at
the Beach non-points event.
“When we were running at the Battle at the Beach and
having a top-5 car and Doug was putting himself in
position to win -- that was a big eye opener for
me,” said Smeriglio. “Once we secured a first,
second and third place finish in the first three
races of the season, I started to realize what we
had in place.”
MSIII Racing first lead the NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour points standings after Stafford, the third race
in the season. The team dropped to second in the
standings after a 10th place finish at Waterford. At
the next race at Riverhead in June, the team was
back to the top of the standings and has been
leading the way ever since.
“Everyone in our series knows how difficult it is to
win races, let alone championships,” said Coby. “The
reason we all teamed up is to chase a championship.
That’s why we do this. I knew we were going to be a
contending team after the win at Stafford. We
managed a 10th place finish at Waterford after being
involved in an accident. So we discussed it and said
if bad days are going to be a 10th place finish,
then that’s pretty good.”
Crew chief Phil Moran has been with Smeriglio since
the team started racing in the NWMT in 2006. Moran
won his only series championship a few years prior
2003 with driver Todd Szegedy.
“This season has been incredible,” Moran said. “Doug
is very smart with the car; he never puts the car in
trouble. If we have a fifth place car, we finish
fifth with it. He has a lot of knowledge of the cars
because he works on them himself and he communicates
changes easily to the team.”
MSIII Racing and Doug Coby have strong records at
Thompson Speedway. This season alone, the No. 2 race
team has secured a pair of third-place finishes at
the high-banked oval. Coby will need to finish 24th
or better in the race to win the championship. The
team is leading Ted Christopher by 28 points in the
standings heading into the season finale.
“I think that experience dictates that you do what
you always do,” said Coby about the upcoming race.
“There’s no reason for us to do anything different.
We’ve run well at Thompson all year. This has been
three years in a row that I’m going for a
championship at this race – but it’s been three
different approaches. I’m going to revert back to
know who you’re racing with, who’s around you and
give that little extra room on the track.”
The Sunoco World Series 150 at Thompson Speedway
Motorsports Park is scheduled take place on Sunday,
Oct. 19 at 3:45 p.m. ET.
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MSIII
Racing – No. 2 Dunleavy’s Repair/Hex Performance Chevrolet
2014
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Results
DATE |
TRACK |
START |
FINISH |
February
18 |
Daytona* |
5 |
1 |
April 6 |
Thompson |
14 |
3 |
April 27 |
Stafford |
4 |
2 |
June 6 |
Stafford |
2 |
1 |
June 21 |
Waterford |
8 |
10 |
June 28 |
Riverhead |
8 |
6 |
July 12 |
New Hampshire |
14 |
3 |
July 19 |
Mondadnock |
10 |
5 |
August 8 |
Stafford |
5 |
4 |
August 14 |
Thompson |
4 |
3 |
August 20 |
Bristol |
7 |
4 |
September
20 |
New Hampshire |
7 |
3 |
September
28 |
Stafford |
3 |
8 |
October
19 |
Thompson |
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*Non-points race |
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Source: Nealie Stufflet / MSIII Racing
Posted: October
13, 2014 |
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