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MSR III
RACING MODIFIED DOMINATES MR. ROOTER 125
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
by
Polly Reid |
 Passing
for the lead on the second circuit, Doug Coby of
Milford, CT warded off the threats of Woody Pitkat,
survived two restarts, made putting real estate
between himself and Justin Bonsignore a quest to
bring the Mike Smeriglio III owned, Dunleavy’s
Repair/HEX Performance sponsored modified across the
line for a solid victory in the NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour Mr. Rooter 125 at Thompson Speedway
Motorsports Park .
Justin Bonsignore crossed the line for second, with
Todd Szegedy third, Keith Rocco fourth and Coors
Light Pole winner Woody Pitkat fifth.
“This car is on rails here,” said Coby about the LFR
Chassis car the team debut at the Icebreaker. “You
know I love racing here,” said Coby who thanked the
fans for coming out on a Wednesday night for the
show. “What a great night for our team, we’ve been
fast all day and I’m just happy when we have a fast
car that I can manage not to screw it up and put it
in victory lane.”
 At
the green, Pitkat brought the thirty car field
around leading the first lap before Coby in the
Dunleavy’s Repair/HEX Performance sponsored modified
dove low going into turn three, side by side Pitkat
and emerged the new leader coming out of turn four.
From there, Coby in the MRS III Racing machine
dominated the show.
Coby and Pitkat, nose to tail, set the pace for the
long green run as the field strung out and settled
into a groove that lasted 82 circuits. Because of
the extensive run, Coby and Pitkat went to task
working lap traffic.
“Everybody kind of ran their race, they gave good
room including a lot of guys that typically don’t
get lapped,” said Coby about the lap traffic. “They
was courteous and that’s all you can hope for when
it’s your day and not their day, so I’ll remember it
and return the favor if I have to.”
When the first yellow waved on lap 82, thirteen cars
remained on the lead lap. Ryan Preece was the
recipient of the free pass as the field came down
pit row for fresh Hoosiers and adjustments.
Pit stops are always key and at the top of their
game, Coby’s crew and Pitkat’s crew answered the
call as both cars exited pit row side by side.
NASCAR officials gave the nod to Coby as first out
and the field lined up for the green.
On the restart, choosing the outside lane, Coby
commanded a start that pulled the line bringing
Bonsignore, Rocco and and Szegedy suddenly into the
mix.
Pitkat settled in line fifth on the restart, falling
back to sixth by the time the next and final caution
came out on lap 100. Ron Silk, stopped high just out
of turn four was towed off as the field gathered
again for the final sprint to the checkers.
 Coby
again selecting the outside lane with Bonsignore on
the inside, Rocco, Szegedy and Pitkat the top five,
Coby remained strong on the point. Bonsignore moved
behind for second with Szegedy moving into third
edging out Rocco for the spot while Pitkat slipped
to sixth behind Bobby Santos. Pitkat was able to
regain the position to end his night with a top
five.
Out front, Coby turned an eight car length lead into
as much as ten at one point crossing the line with a
1.231 second margin of victory for his 12th career
NWMT win, his third at Thompson, second in a row at
the famed CT oval- the MRS III Racing team
duplicating what they accomplished in the season
opening Icebreaker.
“This race track threw us all a curve ball today,”
said Coby. “It was lock down tight all day, then not
so much in the race. It was the freest this track
has ever been since I’ve raced here. I found a
little line that worked for me and waited for the
caution. We all had to pit, the track was telling us
we all had to pit. If I had stayed out I would have
been eaten up, there wasn’t even a question.”
 “We
haven’t had a very good start to the year but they
guys never gave up, they kept digging,” said
Bonsignore about his M3 Technology modified
finishing second. “This is a brand new car last week
so we got the bugs worked out, the guys had a killer
pit stop – you know, pitting in the back because we
are so low on points didn’t really hurt us because
we were able to get a clean shot out and got that
all important fourth on the restart after the pit
stop. This is like a win for us.”
“We over adjusted on the pit stop tonight,” said the
Holtsville, NY driver. “But we’ll take second,
that’s for sure.”
“The guys nailed the stop as far as I’m concerned.
We were just a little too tight at the end up off to
run with Doug. He’s got this place figured out this
year.”
Bringing out a brand new Spafco Chassis five days
ago at Stafford, the team has had a chance to figure
the car out. “We debut this car last week and we
have things we’re working out on it. Stafford is a
tough place but it shows tonight, I’m happy with it-
the car didn’t fall off much at all. It’s something
to build on going forward.”
Dropping to the back of the field at the start for
an unapproved change which Szegedy explained was a
thought out decision to make the car right when it
was discovered the offset on the rims was wrong,
Szegedy was extremely pleased with their finish.
“I’ve got to thank the whole team, these guys put a
great car underneath me,” said Szegedy. “We’re at a
bit of a disadvantage running this motor versus the
spec motor, but that just goes to show you how good
we got the chassis running. I’ve got to thank Bob
Garbarino for putting me in this race car and for
Don Barker setting it up.”
 Probably
the turning point for Szegedy was when Anthony
Nocella spun in turn three bringing out the first
yellow flag on lap 82. The timing could not have
been better for the Ridgefield, CT driver who would
have been the next car to go a lap down. “For once,
luck is going my way. I got lucky that caution came
out and both restarts we had were on the outside.
And I drove my butt off. I’m just happy that we had
an awesome racecar and we’ve got awesome Hutter
horsepower. It’s very impressive how good we’re
running against the quality of cars that we’re up
against. I’m just driving my heart out- I don’t know
what else to say. I’m communicating well with
everyone on the race team.” Szegedy gave a shout out
to his spotter, Jeff Rocco. “Jeff did a great job
spotting for me, he’s been doing a great job, he’s
awesome.”
“The chemistry is there,” said Szegedy. “It’s just a
matter of catching it and getting it right. We’ll
win one of these things before you know it. Tonight
was fun, I had fun driving up from the back.”
Coby, Bonsignore, Szegedy, Rocco and Pitkat the top
five, Bobby Santos crossed for sixth, Ryan Preece
made a rebound from a lap down for seventh, Eric
Goodale, Timmy Solomito and Ted Christopher rounded
out the top ten.
“Tonight,” said Coby the defending NWMT Champion,
“this was Phil, Alex and the guys just giving me a
great set up. I knew from the beginning that it was
solid, it was like, let’s go.”
It’s still early but the math is there- Preece leads
the NWMT points with 215, Pitkat stands at 210 while
Coby climbs close with 209. Santos follows in fourth
with 190 and Szegedy fifth with 183.
The Mr. Rooter 125 will air on NBCSN on Thursday
June 18th at 6pm.
Next up for the NWMT is one of two visits this
season to Riverhead Raceway Saturday June 27th for
the Riverhead Hoosier Tire East 200.
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Source:
Polly Reid / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted:
June 11, 2015 |
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