OSWEGO, N.Y. – Doug Coby started strong and then rallied through the field from his mid-race pit stop to capture the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s return to Oswego Speedway on Saturday night.
Coby led a combined 121 of 150 laps en route to his 21st career NWMT win and fourth of the season, capping a dominating performance that included a charge from 10th after his lone pit stop on lap 61 before he parked the No. 2 Dunleavy’s Truck & Trailer Repair Chevrolet in victory lane.
Coby darted into the lead from the outside pole right at the outset, taking the point away from polesitter Bobby Santos III and pacing the field through the first caution at lap 43, when a spinning Gary McDonald forced the yellow lights on for the first time.
Under the caution, Santos dropped back from the second position after pitting for tires, with Coby leading the field back to green on the 50th circuit. From there, the defending champion again gapped the field as Timmy Solomito and Rowan Pennink gave chase.
Another quick caution, at lap 58 for Donny Lia’s spin after contact deeper in the field, allowed Coby to make his pit stop for service and tires – ceding the lead to Pennink after topping the first 61 trips around the five-eighths mile.
Pennink lead the field back to green at lap 68 and held the top spot through the halfway benchmark, but the third caution of the night for Max Zachem’s stalled car would bunch the field back up and give a charging Coby a shot to pounce.
From the lap 86 restart, it took Coby only five laps to rise from fourth on the grid to the lead, which he took on the 91st round just before a two-car crash involving Lia and Jeff Goodale slowed the pace for the fourth time.
At that point, it was a battle of the top two in points – Coby vs. Bonsignore – over the final third of the race, but despite two more yellows on laps 111 and 130 that set Bonsignore up on Coby’s trail, he could not capitalize and was forced to settle for third behind Timmy Solomito in the end.
The finish was Bonsignore’s third podium result in the last four races – including wins at Thompson, Conn. on Aug. 10 and Riverhead, N.Y. on Aug. 27 – but the Long Islander sees his points deficit grow to a margin of 20 with four races remaining.
Rob Summers and Patrick Emerling completed the top five finishers.
Chuck Hossfeld, subbing for the ill Jimmy Blewett, was sixth ahead of Pennink, Chase Dowling, Ron Silk and Craig Lutz.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to action on Sept. 10 with the running of the AnytimeRealty.com 150 from Seekonk Speedway.
