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WELCOME BACK
TO VICTORY LANE JIMMY BLEWETT
Stafford Motor
Speedway
by
Polly Reid |
 In
front of a packed house, fans on their feet, Jimmy
Blewett of Howell, NJ in the Bob Garbarino owned,
Starrett sponsored Dodge was able to capitalize on a
second green, white, checker attempt to bring the
Mystic Missile across the line to win the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour 26th Annual Stafford 150 at
Stafford Motor Speedway.
“We don’t give up,” said Blewett in victory lane.
“This team of guys right here showed what they had
at the pit crew contest at Loudon. They have big
hearts, they work on this car week in and week out,
we knew it was just a matter of time before we got
there. We weren’t sure what the circumstances were
going to be, Bobby had a good car, the 2 car was
good, I wasn’t sure if I was going to get them
tonight but the cards fell our way.”
Coors Light Pole winner Doug Coby dominated the
event until seven to go, Coby was suddenly off the
pace dropping down to the backstretch apron with a
reportedly fuel pump issue. The caution out, Bobby
Santos inherited the lead with Blewett on the
outside for the double file restart on lap 150, Eric
Goodale third, Justin Bonsignore fourth and Timmy
Solomito fifth. At the green, Santos did not come up
to speed, the field scrambling behind taking evasive
action to bring out another yellow.
Blewett
became the new leader for the green, white checker
restart with Goodale, Bonsignore, Ron Silk and
Brendon Bock the top five for the second attempt.
Blewett was not to be denied as he nailed the
restart and solidly took the checkers on lap 157.
Bonsignore crossed for second with Brendon Bock
third, collecting his first career podium finish.
Chase Dowling crossed fourth and Ron Silk the top
five.
 The win marks Blewett’s sixth career win, his first
since 2009. “I’m just happy for my guys,” said
Blewett. “Starrett Tools coming on board this year,
Bob (Garbarino) not really knowing if he was going
to run the Missile this year- two weeks prior to the
Icebreaker at Thompson, then sitting here at
Stafford right now after a win- having the finishes
we’ve had so far this year with a new team, it feels
good to be back.”
Blewett took the green flag 11th, the key to getting
the Starrett/Mayhew Dodge in position at the end
came when the caution waved and nearly the entire
field came down pit row on lap 72. Blewett came in
tenth, his crew, headed up by crew chief PJ Fearns,
got Blewett back out onto the track in fourth- the
valuable spots gained set Blewett up to be in hunt
for the podium.
“My guys, they showed me why they won that pit crew
contest,” said Blewett. “They gained me about five
spots. You know, when I came off pit row and was
sitting fourth, I was like man, this is good,
because I felt like the cars in front of me, we were
kind of equal. It’s hard to gain track position on
the track under racing conditions. You had to be
there, put yourself in position at the end. Once I
got by the 58 for third and I was running down
Bobby, I was thinking man, I hope I have enough time
to at least get second. When Doug ran out of fuel, I
felt right then and there, I got a shot at this.”
 Justin
Bonsignore of Holtsville, NY in the Ken Massa owned,
M3 Technology Chevrolet, came oh so close to victory
when after the first green, white, checker attempt
he appeared to be the possible front runner. NASCAR
officials made the call for Bonsignore to restart
third on the final attempt. Bonsignore was able to
regroup and secure the runner up spot.
“The guys had a good stop, we just missed it a
little bit tonight, a little bit too tight in the
center,” said Bonsignore. “It started to come around
towards the end but track position is so tough here.
All in all, a good points night for us – we’re
getting into a busy stretch here, we wanted to be
able to have this car for the next couple of weeks,
it’s our best car. We’ll go onto Thompson- we had a
really good car in June and I’d like to get back to
victory lane. It’s starting to eat at me here.”
“I said on the radio coming to the one to go, it’s a
whole other season in the season, the second half
and we have to put together smoother races,” said
Bonsignore. “We’ve had speed all year but whether
it’s been me messing up, issues on pit road or just
freak things, we just haven’t had too many smooth
races. Tonight was a little bit of luck - the car
was too tight, we missed it a little bit. But we got
some good restarts with the green, white, checkers-
you’ve got to take luck sometimes, we haven’t had it
so it’s nice things went our way. All in all, I’m
very happy we finished second. We’re going to
Thompson where we’ve had even more speed and we get
to bring this car because I’ve kept it one piece.”
Meanwhile, Brendon Bock of Franklin Square, NY
pulled off the big move of the night – after taking
the green flag 24th, the University of Alabama
student methodically climbed through the field
cracking the top ten shortly after the half. Bock
lined up the George Bock owned, Meadow Brook
Collision/Mesquito Free Organic sponsored Chevrolet
seventh on the first green, white, checker attempt,
survived the melee that unfolded in front of him,
restarted fifth on the final attempt and followed
Blewett and Bonsignore across the line for third.
“I got really lucky,” admitted Bock. “I always had
the inside and the one time I had the outside, I was
able to jump down low- “I’m just ecstatic, this is
my first podium, this is my best finish.”
“Practice and qualifying we were struggling,” said
Bock. The team pinpointed the issue and they were
able to fix it before the green. “I knew we were
going to have a good car, I didn’t think we’d finish
in the top three. After we pitted, we were running
in the top ten, I was happy. This is a whole team
effort. I’m at a loss for words right now. It feels
good to get my best finish.”
The 19-year-old will be leaving for school on
Thursday, the day after Thompson. Bock added
smiling, “We’re running well, I just might have to
fly
 back up for a few more races.”
“It’s a good momentum for us,” said Blewett about
the win. “A good confidence booster. These guys on
my crew, it all comes from the heart. Everything we
all do comes from the heart. To get this win for
them, for Bob, for Starrett, for everybody that put
anything into this effort, it just means a lot.”
Rounding out the top ten was Ron Silk sixth, Max
Zachem seventh, Timmy Solomito, Woody Pitkat and
Craig Lutz completing the top ten.
Doug Coby continues to lead the way in points with
354, Justin Bonsignore moves into second with 334,
Timmy Solomito is four back at 330, Jimmy Blewett is
fourth with 319 while Donny Lia is fifth with 318.
It is the quickest turnaround of the season for the
NWMT as they head to Thompson Speedway Motorsports
Park this Wednesday August 10th for the 27th Annual
Bud ‘King of Beers’ 150.
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Source:
Polly Reid / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted:
August 6, 2016 |
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