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TIMMY
SOLOMITO CONQUERS THE 'CEMENT PALACE'
FOR HIS FOURTH 2016 NWMT VICTORY
Seekonk Speedway Is Now Familiar Territory
by
Denise DuPont |
 On
Saturday, September 10th, the NASCAR Modified TOUR
(NWMT) returned to the Seekonk Speedway, or what is
commonly known as the ‘Cement Palace’, for the first
time since 2005 for the first ‘AnytimeRealty.com
150’ race. Drivers adapted fast to the track and
provided a show that brought fans to their feet for
a green-white-checker finish.
With eleven years between the modified tours’ visit
to Seekonk, it was the first time at the track for
most competitors. The small bullring reminded
drivers of a lot of different tracks, but
surprisingly most correlated the track to Thompson
Speedway Motorsports Park.
Doug Coby of Milford, CT. started on the pole and
led the most laps until he lost the top position
with 35 laps to go. On lap 115, Timmy Solomito of
Islip, NY. used a bonsai move to pass Coby for the
win. On the restart, Solomito started on the outside
and took the chance to slingshot under Coby after a
hard outside run. “I knew on the restarts he started
getting higher and higher and as a leader it is his
right to protect,” stated Solomito about his move of
the race. “I knew the best shot was to back off and
try to get underneath him and I knew I had a car
that had enough grip to get up under him so I ran as
hard as I could outside and I knew if I could not
get him out there I would need to make the bottom
shot. I made the bottom run, dust was kicked up and
we went a little sideways, but it worked for us.
When you are that tight on the track and it is hard
to pass to begin with and cars are about equal you
will have that action on the track. We were able to
hang on to it which was good, it put some excitement
in the race.”
 From
the seat of the #2 modified, Coby did the best he
could to withstand the challenges that each caution
and restart brought. “I have a mirror and I have a
spotter and I thought he had an opportunity to back
out of it,” Coby said about Solomito’s pass for the
top spot. “He did not take the opportunity which is
OK. His passing me really did not bother me, it is
just a race and stuff happens out there that we just
cannot control. We had a good finish. We had a good
car and it all made for a better show for the fans.”
Solomito was sixth in practice and started the 150
lap race in that position. By lap 30 he broke into
the top three. “The crew gave me a great car right
off the trailer. We were second fastest, which just
shows how great Flamingo Motors Sports team is when
they can give me a great car week in and week out.
You are only as good as your equipment and they give
me good equipment which makes me look good. I am
just happy to be their driver.”
“I never saw Seekonk until this morning and I have
to say that I like the place.” Confessed one happy
Solomito. “I knew that we had a good car all night
and that I just had to be smart with it and not
drive the wheels off. I knew that time was running
out and I knew that on a restart was the only way I
was going to get by Doug. I just tried running him
as hard as I could. We are in Victory Lane and that
is all that matters.”
 With
this achievement, the #16 Diversified Metals Ford
has etched in the record books a win at the NWMT
return to Seekonk Speedway. “It really shows how
good this team is,” stated Solomito. “Sly and the
gang just love racing and that is what you need – a
team that works hard and gives you a good car every
week. To come out of here with a win at a track that
I have just seen for the first time, have these guys
give me a good car, and to some out with a win is
really great.”
Justin Bonsignore of Holtsville, NY began the race
in third and remained with the top contenders for
the entire race. He completed the race with a solid
second place finish. “We had a really good night. It
is getting down to the time of the year that you
have to start looking at those things. We finished
ahead of the #2 but did not get any points on him so
that was probably a wash,” disclosed Bonsignore. “I
am just frustrated for no other reason than I just
want to win a race. We have a really good car and we
are at that point where if we do not win and we
finish second or third, we know we have a car that
can win so we go home a little disappointed. Our
team is really at that point where we know we can
win and we are frustrated when we finish second or
third. When it gets down to it there are three
really good race teams running in points. It shows
now that we have gone to two new tour tracks and we
have been the top three teams both weeks.”
 Bonsignore
has captured two 2016 NWMT wins. The ‘Budweiser King
of Beers 150’ at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
and the second at his home track, Riverhead Raceway
at the ‘Riverhead 200’. “It is going to be a tough,
we have three more races which are really good
tracks for Doug. We are going to have to step up our
game a little bit and continue to work hard for
sure. We are trying to get our car back from Bristol
which was destroyed, that is our best piece for the
next three tracks. The guys are going to work some
over time to get it done over the next two weeks. We
are not going down without a fight, we are going to
go down swinging. Last week Doug said that we are
going to have to catch them to beat them. We are not
just going to let them walk away with this. We are
going to keep on this. We want to be the team to go
to the top.”
Coby had the pole, started first, led 112 of the 151
laps run and held on for a third place finish.
“There were just too many cautions.” Divulged Coby.
“Cautions just provide an opportunity to allow
people to just rough you up a little bit. This track
is just so tough, it is just a side by side groove
where you are lucky to gain a foot on anybody. You
can position your car in all kinds of spots but when
you get knocked out of the way there is a lot of
recovery. It breaks your momentum and you have to
get back into it. I still think that we had the best
car out there on anything longer than a five lap run
but when cautions keep happening it is a really
tough track. That is a byproduct of running short
tracks. But it is fun to do this.”
A podium finish was not a win, but it enabled Coby
to maintain his twenty-point lead over Bonsignore in
the chase for the 2016 NWMT Championship. “This was
a good finish for us. We would have liked to have
won but we are thinking big picture.” Coby
expressed. “We have three races to go and we
actually gained on points tonight. Timmy winning for
us is not as big a deal as if Justin won. I had to
remember that even if I was a little upset. I needed
Timmy to win not Justin which was a big deal for us.
I certainly would have taken my chances to get the
extra points and tried to get up to Timmy on the
green-white-checker restart but in the end it was a
good night for us.”
Next the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will run in the
F.W. Webb 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on
Saturday, Sept. 24.
Notes from
Seekonk Speedway:
What occurred between this year and last year to
get the Flamingo Motorsports team into Victory Lane?
Timmy Solomito
“The biggest thing was just forming a notebook and
growing pains. They took a shot in the dark on me.
They could have gone out and picked a guy like Ted
Christopher or someone that has a ton of wins but
they picked a guy who did not have any wins. Coming
into the season last year, did I think I was going
to win one? I was hoping to win one for the guys. It
was a realistic thought, but we ended up not winning
any.”
“We went through the winter and I sat and thought of
what I could do better and everything just seemed to
come together this winter. Right from Thompson they
gave me a great car there and we just built a
notebook and continue to build on it. The team has
taught me a lot. When I came into this I was just a
young kid burning off tires. They taught me how to
save them. They have been patient with me. And that
is what it took to get everything together. “
Was there any Contact on
the track between you and Doug on the bonsai move?
Timmy Solomito
“There was contact out there between Doug and I. We
were rubbing our cars a little bit. I do not know if
when I was going for the bottom shot there if he
thought I was coming up or not. We banged our cars a
little bit and I was able to get by him. That is
good short track racing and that is what the fans
come out to see. I was a little nervous on the
Green-White-Checker. The #51 team seemed like they
had a good car and we were just happy that we could
hold them off as well.”
What happened to the #16
modified during practice?
Timmy Solomito
We “had two flats first thing out in practice. Eight
laps in to each practice we had two flats in each
session. Something caught the inside of the tire and
blew it. We took a look at the right rear and were
able to find what was rubbing if there was anything
rubbing. We cut some things away and moved things
around. I was a little nervous there during the
race. The car started to get loose and was thinking
“Am I getting a flat?” because I was so use to
getting the flats in practice but the guys figured
it out which was good.”
“The crew worked hard for me today. They work hard
all the time and that is why the #16 team is
successful. They give me the cars that they do
because they are really good at what they do.”
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Source:
Denise DuPont / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted:
September 11, 2016 |
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