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Riverhead, NY May 14th.
By Bob Finan
Photos Michael Jaworecki/Myracenews
It’s hard to think of a former six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion being called a substitute driver but that is exactly the role Doug Coby of Milford, Ct. played Saturday night at Riverhead Raceway. Like most of his racing roles, Coby met the challenge head on winning the Miller Lite 200 event driving the famed Tommy Baldwin Racing 7NY. Doug was tabbed late in the week to drive for TBR after Jimmy Blewett of Howell, NJ was forced to withdraw due to his daughter Kayla taking ill and being hospitalized. However, the win became much more sweeter when it was discovered Kayla had been released and was home with her family.
An approaching weather system coming off the south shore of Long Island kept the Riverhead Raceway and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on their collective feet with schedule changes being made early in the day to ensure the 200 would go off. Even with those adjustments in place drizzle and light rain halted the proceedings right after NASCAR WMT final practice. Qualifying was scrubbed and Timmy Solomito of Islip quickest in practice won the Mayhew Tools Pole Award and started the race from the pole joined on the front row by his cousin Eric Goodale of Riverhead.
Early on Solomito steering his family car led the early going seeking his fourth career WMT at a track where his is an overall twenty-time winner. However, Doug Coby had other ideas and moved by for the race lead from his third starting position. Once Coby had the TBR entry out front he was able to work the lapped traffic which was plentiful as all 30 cars on the property started the race. Coby, who had a short briefing with car owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. in the garage area prior to practice has become very adept at working the Riverhead traffic and it showed Saturday.
The only issue for the team came late in the race when a caution flew setting up an overtime finish. Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, NY who was the most recent WMT at Riverhead last September had worked his way from 15th starting spot to second and he was going to get at least one crack at taking the lead from Coby. Coby was equal to the challenge and drove off to his third Riverhead win in the last four WMT races at the bullring. Afterwards Doug told NASCAR.com, “the most important thing is Kayla is home with her family”. The victory is the 32nd of Coby’s Hall of Fame career.
Patrick Emerling was second in the Captain Pip Marina & Hideaway Ford, while Ron Silk of Nowalk, CT was third in the Blue Mountain Machine racer. Weekly Riverhead racer Dylan Slepian of Dix Hills was fourth in the Eastport Feeds Chevy with early leader Timmy Solomito fifth in the Highmark Building Efficiency Chevy.
Miller Lite 200: 1. Doug Coby 2. Patrick Emerling 3. Ron Silk 4. Dylan Slepian 5. Timmy Solomito 6. John Baker 7. Kyle Soper 8. John Beatty 9. Eric Goodale 10. Kyle Bonsignore 11. Chris Young 12. Tommy Catalano 13. Austin Beers 14. Ronnie Williams 15. John Fortin 16. Chris Turbush 17. Jon McKennedy 18. Dave Sapienza 19. Ken Heagy 20. Tommy Rogers Jr. 21. Walter Sutcliffe Jr. 22. Gary McDonald 23. JR Bertuccio 24. Jake Johnson 25. Justin Bonsignore 26. Craig Lutz 27. Matt Brode 28. Roger Turbush 29. Joey Coulter 30. Melissa Fifield
