CONCORD, N.C. — Despite being in the heart of the ‘Dirty South’ on Friday, four-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby flew the banner for the north as he captured the pole for the Southern Slam 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Coby toured the frontstretch quarter-mile at CMS in 15.211 seconds (59.168 mph) with the No. 2 Mayhew Tools Chevrolet to capture the top spot in his first appearance at Charlotte.
“I didn’t think (the lap) was going to be good enough, honestly,” said Coby. “I have no experience here to know really how hard to go in qualifying. It is a very fine line between being fast and overshooting both corners and that’s what I found out in practice; every time I tried to go faster I ended up three tenths slower. Then I was two car lengths out in the corner, hanging on for dear life.”
Friday night’s race is a non-points special event for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, but Coby is still putting 100 percent of his effort into capturing a victory.
“We’ve been chipping away at it the whole day and used a little bit of knowledge from our Daytona setup and stuff we learned at Riverhead this year to help the car turn a little bit,” Coby explained. “Qualifying up front is the key here, that’s what I’ve been told. I have no idea how to race here and I have no idea how to pace myself here and save the car. It’s a good start, but I’m going to have to pace myself in three 50-lap chunks so that we’re leading after each 50 laps.”
Danny Bohn will join Coby on the front row, timing in second-fastest with the No. 65 Rustoleum Chevrolet (15.218/59.140). Bohn’s best-career Charlotte finish was a third-place run in 2015.
Bobby Measmer Jr. starts third ahead of defending race winner Ryan Preece and NASCAR K&N Pro Series West rookie Derek Kraus.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular Corey LaJoie, Trey Hutchens III, Jamie Tomaino, C.J. Lehmann and Sunoco Rookie of the Year Calvin Carroll completed the top-10.
RESULTS: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour; Coors Light Pole Qualifying; Charlotte Motor Speedway; Oct. 6, 2017
- Doug Coby
- Danny Bohn
- Bobby Measmer Jr.
- Ryan Preece
- Derek Kraus
- Corey LaJoie
- Trey Hutchens III
- Jamie Tomaino
- C.J. Lehmann
- Calvin Carroll
- Jeremy Gerstner
- Lauren Edgerton
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
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